Random Tempo Changes Are CHEATING!!!

[the_gneech]

I mean c'mon, we were on BEGINNER mode, for crying out loud!

lythandra had an unfortunate spill on the stairs this morning, so wasn't really up to the jumps anyway, but I gotta give her "The Ol' College Try Award" for going a good 20 minutes in "Workout Mode." When she couldn't stand any more, I put it into game mode and tried another few songs, and managed to get a "B" on "Wherever You Are" -- which is an easy song and I was in Beginner mode, but still, it's my second time on the game and the first time I've gotten better than a "D" so I'm happy.

But I gotta say, this "The arrows suddenly speed up! The arrows suddenly slow down!" thing is a dirty cheat, particularly in Beginner mode. How are you supposed to time THAT?

-The Gneech

Comments

[bauske.livejournal.com]

Hah, the first time you see a song do that, it's always considered cheating. You never know it's coming. You'll soon come to remember the songs and which ones have speed changes in them, and then you'll like 'em.

Also, if you want to know which songs have temp changes, check the BPM when you're selecting the song. If the BPM number is fluctuating, that means it'll change.

[drfgeek.livejournal.com]

Man...deja vu.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I tried to use your "stay on the arrow instead of going back to middle" tip last night, but without much success. I'll keep trying tho.

-TG

[confusedoo.livejournal.com]

It takes practice to recognize the patterns. One of the easier ones is in Butterfly. When it's going left, down, left, down, right, down, right, down, etc. keep your feet on the left and right arrows and alternate which foot you hit the down arrow with. It can be hard, because often times the pattern is easy if you start with the correct foot, but if you start on the wrong foot, you get hopelessly tangled. The key to getting good like Bauske is to be able to recognize those patterns, and that's just a lot of practice.

[bauske.livejournal.com]

It may be hard, but trust me, keep at it. It's well worth it. There's no way you can make it to the higher levels of play by constantly going back to the middle.

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

i don't particularly enjoy the speed changing songs, myself.

how is workout mode? on whichever version of the game i tried it on, it seemed to be just like game mode except all the songs were the same difficulty (something low, like 2 feet) and the steps were more boring. but a lot of things change in different versions...

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I dunno, the difficulty on workout mode seemed to be all over the map -- there were several that I just plain couldn't start to keep up with. The step-counting and calorie-calculation seemed pretty out-of-whack, too, but I'm not an expert so it's hard to say.

My inclination is to stick with game mode, I think.

-TG

[indigoangelcat.livejournal.com]

ROFL, try teaching your almost 60 year old father how to DDR while doing that, when you are a novice yourself.

That game mode is no joke!

[rhanlav.livejournal.com]

Heh. Only thing worst than that... are the quarter arrows, where the just seem downright strange. Its like, Beat, a beat on 3/4, and a beat on 1 1/2 and I'm like O_O, Well, F*** that. I still can't do those yet and I play most of the easier songs on Normal.

[mooivos.livejournal.com]

Oohhh, I hope Lythandra is OK after the tumble. Having had a spill earlier this week, all I can say is "Advil" and menthol rub for the bruise. Helps sleeping at night.

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

My right knee is the part that's suffered most, not at its best under normal circumstances, but I'm still able to walk. I just can't do much jumping around. I ended up with bruises in various places and not much else, thankfully. It's the third time I've fallen on the stairs in our place. They're compressed as it is, and then they've got so much carpet padding on them that it makes each step even narrower. I'm glad of the carpet for padding, but I wonder if I wouldn't fall in the first place if there was thinner carpet on them.

[d-l-leonine.livejournal.com]

*looks around at all the DDR experts*

My wife is wanting a home DDR game. Is there a good one that doesn't require a console? If not...what does everyone recomend?

continuing the DDR saga.....

[chanur2000.livejournal.com]

John, don't worry about it. I'm your size and after a year of playing I'm starting to edge into the hard/8 foot songs. it just takes time. As for the 1/4 notes as you move along believe it or not, they make sense if you listen to the music while you move.

I know, I know..... too much too fast.....

The step counting is accurate though, I'll bet what you're seeing as extra steps are nothing more then you shifting your weight while a paw is on one of the pads. As for the calorie counting, figure 350-400 per hour of light play, 500-550 for standard, and 650-800+ for heavy, about the same as a hard arobics work out.

Tinaslion, there is BUT..... what I've seen of the stand alone DDR pads wasn't impressive. If you have a fairly modern computer you can go to www.stepmainia.com and download a copy of the game, and locations where you can by a pad that will connect to the usb port of your computer.

Pesonaly, myself? I prefer the Playstation 2 version of the game, but there you're looking at $150 for the console and $50 for your first pad/game bundle. Of course, after that you can just buy the games themselves. I happen to have a BIG HONKING HOME THEATRE SYSTEM and the steel dance pads for it, so my opinion IS a little biased. There are others though that prefer the X box's option of being able to download new songs and other players versions of dance steps for them.

Gneech? It does work. I've lost 60 pounds playing this damn thing.

Hope this helps!

Chanur.

Re: continuing the DDR saga.....

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

steel dance pads? what kind? how do you like them?

i've never seen hard ddr pads that were satisfactory, let alone as good as the ones on the arcade machines (which have the advantage that you can feel the edges of the plates with your feet, of course, unlike the soft pads). but i keep looking...