DDR bug has hit hard
Jeff - it's the opposite with me. Sometimes reading is a little hard, but I just use the "assist with handclaps" option once, and once I know how a pattern goes, I can get it. Some of those 16th-note laden songs (i.e. the beginning of Healing Vision or the slow section of Era Maniac) I never would have figured out without the handclaps though.
But I think at this point it's impossible for me to move my feet fast enough to complete some songs. Even ones that are easy to read, like Dead End trick, I have trouble getting good scores on because I just can't move that fast.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
In my little world of DDR playing, I managed to finally move up into some Manaic songs on a 5th Mix machine. . . It's taken some practice, but I'm finally starting to recognize patterns of arrows more, so every song doesn't seem completely new and different.
Today's accomplishments include:
End of the Century on Trick
Dream A Dream, Higher, In the Heat of the Night, and Walkie Talkie on Maniac
Go me.
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~~~ Maddy ~~~
"Stalkee: The woman everybody wants"
Currently I'm working on Can't Stop Falling in Love maniac. It has a ton of off-beat jumps that are really fun. The intro and ending are killer, though... constant gallops for several measures.
Edit: Here, see for yourself! http://www.ddrfreak.com/steps/stepserver.php?Songs=cantstop&Mode=Single&Difficulty=Maniac&Code=Normal&Submit=Submit
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
*** This post was edited by Den on 12/3/2002. ***
I believe I can move fast enough, even at my age (as Kara can attest), although it does take some "warming up" first. But processing those arrows as they fly across the screen on the higher levels is nuts.
My son has pointed out the patterns, and says once you get the pattern figured out (which can be done by practicing those "bars"), it gets a bit easier. He had me doing certain portions of songs over and over again until I got the "pattern" figured out, then switched me over to the full song and I increased my grade by two.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
I think a common mistake made in reading arrows is not looking far enough ahead. When I play, my eyes are focused in the middle of the screen, just below where the "perfect" or other notation pops up. I quickly "memorize" the arrows for the next couple of beats so I can focus on the arrows that are still a ways off.
I think a lot of people try to read the arrows right as they are touching the arrows at the top of the screen, which is not really enough time to react.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
What you're talking about is called sight-reading, and it's a skill that's almost necessary to evolve into a better DDR player. A lot of players who take a long time to reach the catastrophic level do so because they get "dyslexic" easily with the arrows. I still have some problems with huge clumps of arrows that are all very close together in quarter/eighth/sixteenth configuration (see My Summer Love Maniac, towards the end for an example) but I can sight-read long strings of quarter/eighth/few sixteenth thrown in notes easily. Also I tend to do better at higher speeds. Songs greater than 170 bpm are what I do best on.
I haven't really had the money/time to play frequently in the last few months though, unfortunately. I think a bit of my Christmas money is going to go into a couple of long DDR sessions - one in the Cleveland area and one in the Pittsburgh area. Anyone who'd like to join me for either is more than welcome.
-Natalie
Who misses the game...
*** This post was edited by Natalie on 12/3/2002. ***
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
When I was getting started 3 or 4 months ago, that was a big problem for me as well. Now, it's the exact opposite. At least on the 7 and 8 footers I'm now starting to pass, I can read the arrow patterns just fine, I just can't catch up on the fast-moving songs without tripping over myself or running out of gas. I'm trying to learn not to lift my feet so high, but it's hard to change style now. Once you get a fraction of a beat behind on these high BPM 8-footers, it's hard to get back when you have no time to catch up.
Another frequent thing I do is get my ups and downs mixed up...don't know why, but when an up follows a down or vice versa, I always end up reversing the two.
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Sean, who was ID'd when buying RCT2.
Nitro, Gemini, Laser, Ice, Thunder...The American Gladiators!
The only Coasterbuzz member with Ridgeline Racer in the Track Record.
Does anyone else find that they need absolute concentration when playing hard songs? If I'm playing and I think of, say, what I'm doing that evening, or whether someone is watching me, or anything other than the game, I immediately lose it.
Sometimes I concentrate so much that I forget to blink, and when the song's over and I blink, my contacts are so dry that they pop out. Fortunately this has never happened in the arcade. :)
btw, last night I pretty much nailed Can't Stop Fallin' In Love, and I think I'm gonna make my first 9-footer Matsuri Japan. I got about 3/4 of the way through it last night before I failed. Woo-hoo!
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
I love being watched (dancing--get your minds out of the gutter!) but I hate being spoken to.
I think I may have singsonged to Da 'Midget, "Shut uuu-uuupp" while getting beat up on a doubles dance. She was asking me a question about something when I needed be reacting as opposed to thinking. She started laughing--so don't get all self-righteous.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
Oh come on man, I've played In The Navy '99 Maniac while on my cell phone before! Concentration is for the weak!
You played it, but did you pass it? ;)
Actually I finished Make a Jam maniac the other night while talking on a cordless phone, but that one's so easy, it doesn't count. At least I don't get a "look." ;)
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
That was back in like March IIRC.
Just curious...this thread has reached 10 pages without a single post from me [until now]. Is that a record?
LOL!
Moosh
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Coaster & Amusement Park Christmas cards available here. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! We ship Priority mail -- Order today and receive your cards in 3 business days!
Nah, just shows what a loser you are that you apparently don't play! ;) Either that, or we don't want to give the RRC crybabies any more closed-thread fodder!
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Climbing as we fall, we dare to hold on to our fate, and steal away our destiny to catch ourselves with quiet grace" - The Stairs, INXS
No, I'm a loser and I don't play. You got it right with your first guess ;)
Moosh
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Coaster & Amusement Park Christmas cards available here. NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! We ship Priority mail -- Order today and receive your cards in 3 business days!
Den said:
Does anyone else find that they need absolute concentration when playing hard songs? If I'm playing and I think of, say, what I'm doing that evening, or whether someone is watching me, or anything other than the game, I immediately lose it.
Sometimes I concentrate so much that I forget to blink, and when the song's over and I blink, my contacts are so dry that they pop out. Fortunately this has never happened in the arcade.
btw, last night I pretty much nailed Can't Stop Fallin' In Love, and I think I'm gonna make my first 9-footer Matsuri Japan. I got about 3/4 of the way through it last night before I failed. Woo-hoo!
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
The trick is to not try to concentrate. Lose yourself in the music. Listen to the song you want to pass a million times before you try it on ddr and try to get the main bassline of the song stuck in your head.(Assuming you have the soundtrack or kazzaa) DO NOT! Use the arrows as your main guide they are a safety net. Try to get the steps by listening to the beat which I know is hard but with some experimentation and practice it becomes natural. When I concentrate really hard on a song it makes me nervous and stiff it also makes me look like a complete jackass.
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http://rathergood.com
As for crowds, I actually prefer them. Which is probably why my favorite place to play is Cedar Point. The machine itself sucks, but the crowds are so easy to please.
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www.ddrcoasternuts.cjb.net - when DDR and Roller Coasters collide...
2002 Coaster Count - Villain: 40 Magnum: 12 Millennium Force: 9
Closed topic. Archived.
