Pump up the volume

Last night I decided to bust out Konamix to break in my new pad. I have my PS2 hooked up to my surround-sound stereo with subwoofer, but usually I keep the volume fairly low out of respect for my wife. But she wasn't home last night so I cranked it up.

I did better in one session than I've ever done before! I full-comboed almost every song I played, including some I've never FC'ed before, like Make It Better (so-real mix), Dead End and DXY! And I was getting REALLY low numbers of greats: 10 on .59, 10 on Absolute, 12 on B4U, 20 on DXY!, and 7 on Genom Screams (!).

I think the key to that performance is being able to hear clearly what part of the music the arrows go to. Like, I always thought the off-beat gallops at the beginning of DXY! were just random, but they actually match a beeping noise in the background of the music. Wild.

I always play loud. Maybe that's why I don't see the performance issues with soft pads that you do.

By the way, the Xbox version is weird if you happen to have the a/v breakout box and can do Dolby Digital via the optical cable. They put weird parts of the songs in the rear channels, and really split out the bass. Kinda neat!

Nah, I think you were right a long time ago when you said that you play the best on the pad you're used to.

Loud DDR machines = me bustin' out with some PA madness. I adore loud DDRs with excellent pads. *needs to try out Genom Screams*

Genom Screams is awesome. Lots of step-jumps and that long section of eighth-notes where one foot hits down over and over where the other foot alternates between left, up and right. Not to mention, the demented robot voice that says "Chili Pennzoil." At least that's what it sounds like to me. ;)

Most of the arcades in my area do not turn up the machines loud enough. At GameWorks you literally cannot hear the machine unless you are playing. On the other hand, at Cedar Point the machines are so loud, when you put the quarter in, the sound hurts your ears. That's what I like! :)

I needz me some Cedar Point! :) But at least I have Magic Mountain's DDR in the meantime. I assume that CP's is better because it attracts crowds. MM's EX is smack in the middle of the arcade surrouned by other games, so only other gamers see. Then they have the DDR USA which attracts crowds, but...it's a USA.

Just tried out Genom Screams and i pulled off 18 greats. And you pulled off 7. whoa. Anyway, i'll put in the rest of my accomplishments in the repective thread.

Fun song, isn't it? I should mention that it is one of two SDG's I have, and one of very few AA's, so you still have me trumped bigtime.

Cedar Point's arcade has two very large arched doorways, and the two Extremes are each inside one of the doorways, about 10 feet apart. And the arcade's on the main midway, so you can get HUGE crowds of people.

In contrast, all of PKI's DDR machines are either deep within arcades or out of the way, so no one ever stops.

I just heard that the Magic Mountain (not SFMM but a local arcade) moved its two DDR machines to the balcony that overlooks the arcade, so that should be good for crowds. Not that I'm a crowd whore or anything. ;)

btw, doesn't it suck when some random person or people start watching you play a hard song, and you do awesome on it, and then you turn around and there's nobody there??

/not a crowd whore

*** Edited 3/18/2004 6:50:48 PM UTC by Den*** *** Edited 3/18/2004 6:51:08 PM UTC by Den***

lol, i hate that! It's like "damn, i do all good then nobody is here to see me get a AA on So and so" *is also not a crowd whore* :)

I need to go to CP and bust out some DDR! Hey Den, buy me a round trip ticket, yeah? =D *** Edited 3/19/2004 4:45:49 AM UTC by Kel***

Road trip!

I love playing on loud machines. The machines at the arcade I go to are nice and loud, and since the owner lets the DDR players take care of the machines, they're getting louder every week it seems. Machines can be a little to loud, though. The Extreme at Lagoon is so loud that it's almost painful to play on.

When I can, I also play loud at home. When I'm not playing in my room, I'll sometimes take the PS2 into the den and play on the big screen and with surround sound. Now that's awesome.

I'm completely opposite when it comes to timing, though. I've noticed my timing is a lot better when I can actually hear my steps along with the music.