DDR Thread

Stormy · Mar 03, 2014 6:39 AM

I don't know if anyone will have any use for this topic except maybe KingLambda and Paranoia, but whatever. roll If you don't play much, or at all, feel free to share any experiences you may have had with the game anyway.

I found an arcade with a DDR machine near where I live, and I've been playing a lot lately. The left arrow on the left side is pretty broken, but it's better than nothing.

I'm trying to get back up to where I was in skill when I was in high school. Which was... pretty good, but nothing compared to some people I've seen. Also trying to learn to play double because I'm getting a little bored of trying to beat the same songs over and over.

And then there's this. Passing this one song was like my goal in life, but I don't think I'd even be physically capable of this. And apparently there are even harder ones than this now. o_O

Flapjacks · Mar 03, 2014 7:51 AM

I never played much DDR, mostly because I was embarrassed to play in an arcade in front of a bunch of people, since that was the only way I could possibly do it. Now, though, I probably wouldn't care, but who goes to arcades anymore? tongue

Stormy · Mar 03, 2014 2:39 PM

A lot of little kids and a few nerds, basically. tongue

Gekoncze · Mar 03, 2014 6:17 PM

Hmm :3 I was thinking of playing it. It is always on czech brony cons meetups (along with karaoke ^.^). I only played something like that on ps1 using controller.

bmah · Mar 06, 2014 5:34 AM

Playing DDR at the arcades was always a hit and miss experience for me. I used to play the game to death and spend quite a bit of change on it. The problem is that the quality of your experience all depends on how much the arcade owners maintain the machine, and most often they don't have a clue. Most amazing videos you see of players on youtube and such are on well-kept machines, and consider yourself lucky if you have staff who cares. The process typically goes as such:

people play DDR --> newbies don't understand the degree of responsiveness you need to step on the arrows, so they will step hard --> general wear and tear of the machine --> arcade owners/staff members are complete duds to getting the machine fixed, machine doesn't get fixed --> arrows become less responsive --> any player who wants the arrows to respond need to stomp even harder --> arrow pads become too unresponsive to play --> arcade owners/staff wonder why the machine doesn't get played --> machine removed due to loss of revenue

It's much more possible to play the difficult songs with a more responsive pad. A lot of "pro" players don't actually use their whole body to play; instead, they just use their toes and heels to arch over two arrows at once, and then suddenly the game becomes a bastardized version of Irish tap dancing with all the 16th notes flying on the screen. To actually score well using your entire body is that much more amazing. I can't do this, because 1) the machines I played always had terribly unresponsive arrow pads, and 2) my shoe size is small...I can't straddle two arrows at once conveniently.

In the end, I found it much more rewarding to buy a hard pad at home, and play DDR on my PS2 or something. (and never buy a soft pad if you ever hope to score well on hard charts)

Last edited by bmah (Mar 06, 2014 5:35 AM)

Stormy · Mar 06, 2014 5:33 PM

Yay, someone who will understand what I'm talking about! big_smile

The staff at mine seem to care a little, at least more than the ones at the bowling alley I used to play at sometimes. I finally decided to report the arrow being broken the other day, and they actually wrote it down and put it in their computer system! I fully expected them to just say "Yeah, okay, whatever" and do nothing. The arrow still wasn't fixed the next time I was back, but I asked again and they basically said their technician hadn't gotten to it yet, I think. So maybe next time, but I don't have my hopes up. tongue

I always cringe when people get on the machine and just stomp. D: This is the only machine in town that I know of, so if it's broken, there goes my DDR. It's kind of funny to watch people try to work the machine, though, actually: most of the parents who take their little kids to the arcade don't know the first thing about how it works, so they just keep swiping the card expecting the game to start automatically, despite the fact that it already has 30+ credits in it from other people doing the same thing. They just stomp around on the arrows and hit random buttons until they finally pick a combination of buttons that will start the game in some form or another. Usually it's the five-year-old kid who actually figures it out. roll

I've definitely noticed the really good players not using their whole body, but I haven't seen the two arrows at once technique you mentioned. I was thinking for a while I might have to learn how to play while moving less if I ever wanted to improve, but it seems like it wouldn't be as much fun to just stand there. I also noticed that, like, everyone except me who plays on Heavy/Expert turns the speed up to 1.5 or 2. Finally asked someone why and he told me it's easier to read that way, and that's just how he's always done it. Weird.

I would buy a new pad to use at home, but I live on a third floor apartment, so actually playing on it would be kind of out of the question. If a good deal on a Cobalt Flux ever pops up, I'll buy it and just wait until we move in a few months, hopefully to somewhere with ground floor access. big_smile

Speaking of responsive pads, I found this amazing SuperNOVA machine when I was on vacation one time. It felt like the arrows had a physical response to being stepped on, like they would kind of spring back up. I basically fell in love with the thing and was very sad to leave.

Okay, one more thing I wanted to brag about: almost passed Max 300 the other day. I used to pass it easily at home, but it's so much different at the arcade for some reason. Anyway, I was standing on the very last freeze arrow when the pad stopped recognizing that I was on it and failed me. sad

bmah · Mar 09, 2014 4:31 AM

Congrats on almost passing Max 300 in the arcade! It's still pretty good in comparison to the regular DDRer. The 12th note jacks at the very end can be a killer for sure, but it looks like you got past that...it's too bad you failed at the ending freezes. I really wasn't that great at DDR, but then again I had no clue what measure of skill I had since the home console versions seemed to be slightly more lenient on the timing (could just be getting used to my pad), and the arcade cabinets frequently failed on me. The best I did on whatever machines I played on was probably AAing Xenon on heavy or just Aing Sakura heavy.

The true crazy players don't play DDR but rather ITG (In the Groove). Some of those machines have been modified so that one can put in edits, new charts, and new songs (created using Stepmania on your computer). Check out the youtube videos for ITG; many videos feature truly special players. Again, finding an modded ITG cabinet in the arcade really depends on how much the staff is in touch with those things. Uptight staff members who know nothing about DDR would never allow for such a thing. You might be lucky if the staff members love DDR and ITG as much as you do!

On another subject, what do you think about the songs on the newer DDR versions? I haven't really caught up to DDR lately but I think right now we have Dance Dance Revolution 2013.

Stormy · Mar 09, 2014 5:06 AM

Thanks! I do Sakura a lot too, seem to be incapable of getting A's on this machine, though. I started paying more attention to my Perfect/Great ratio, and it's much worse than I remember ever getting at home. I did wonder if something was different about the timing on the arcade pads.

I've seen some freaking insane ITG stepcharts. Seem to remember a couple that require three arrows to be pressed simultaneously. o_o

The latest game I have is DDR X, so I'm not exactly up to date on that, unfortunately. When I was still buying the latest console games it seemed like they were moving more in the direction of adding more English pop songs, and I'm kind of just neutral on that, I guess. I don't mind them, but it seems like kind of a futile attempt to make DDR more mainstream. They kept adding harder and harder boss songs as well (like the video in the OP, Fascination Maxx), which was good, but slightly annoying that I couldn't keep beating them. tongue

bmah · Mar 09, 2014 5:23 AM

I think the hardest DDR song now is Pluto Relinquished iirc. Those have very awkward crossover patterns in one long 16th stream at the end at a high BPM. The timing window of DDR is smaller than ITG, so it's that much harder to score well.

And yeah I wasn't much a fan of the mainstream songs. It was obviously a tactic to get new players into the game, but at this point in time, rhythm games aren't a new thing anymore. A lot of songs now seem to be transplanted from Konami's other rhythm games such as beatmania IIDX and so on. Many of those songs are well-suited for a game like this. Mainstream songs, not so much.

ITG does have hands (three-arrow chord) and quads (all four arrows). You have to use your hands to hit the other arrows not covered by your feet. It shows once again that you need a very well-kept machine with sensitive arrow pads. If only they had that at my arcade, it would've open up a world of new possibilities. There actually was an ITG machine that was modded with all sorts of weird songs that some regular players added in, but that machine is long gone now. The new arcade owners don't know anything about DDR. Arcades in general are on a decline where I am, and probably is a growing trend in general.

Stormy · Mar 09, 2014 5:48 AM

I might be mixing it up with one of the other boss songs, but I think Pluto Relinquish might've been one of those songs I could just barely get through with a C or a D. I suuuck at crossovers, though (I fail Kiss Kiss Kiss if it ever comes up on random because of those freeze arrows), so either I'm thinking of a different song or there were just barely not enough of those patterns to fail me. I remember my brother and I always considering Fascination Maxx to be the hardest one. I'm pretty sure it had the highest rating, at least: an 18-footer, if I remember correctly.

The mainstream songs might make inexperienced players do one game or so at the arcade, but they won't actually get hooked unless they have an interest in the game itself anyway. My parents even liked some of the older songs they had, but even though we had the machine available in the house all the time, my mom was only interested enough to try it once or twice.

I have one ITG game; it's just called "In the Groove." My brother got it because he kind of mastered all the songs we had available on the DDR games. Anyways, I don't think I ever tried it because of the reputation it has for being so difficult. I wanted to beat all the boss songs in X before trying it, I think, but obviously that never happened. Lol.

Paranoia · Mar 09, 2014 8:16 AM

Ah, this thread makes me sad cause I used to love playing DDR. Home metal pads are my favorite as you probably know... I was able to pass Pluto Relinquish pretty much every time on Expert...Just as soon as I went to college no machine around miles where I live is decent enough for arcade play. I actually found someone a few months ago on craigslist that was selling Cobalt Flux pads, and when I contacted him, he decided not to sell them. :/ Really wish I had a reliable way to play more DDR, but it seems to be dying unfortunately. Me and Stormy's metal pad we bought on ebay just stopped working when I was back in high school, and I've never found a good one to replace it.

Stormy · Mar 10, 2014 7:15 AM

Our metal pad lasted a pretty long time, though. Way better than those Red Octane soft pads, at least. Those things broke the day after the warranty was up. And the warranty was like 7 days. Lol.

I have one of those soft, flat Konami mats just sitting in my closet right now. I wonder how many songs it would take to destroy it. If it's not already broken from being folded and stuffed in a closet. tongue

Stormy · Apr 14, 2014 6:44 PM

Stormy wrote:

Okay, one more thing I wanted to brag about: almost passed Max 300 the other day. I used to pass it easily at home, but it's so much different at the arcade for some reason. Anyway, I was standing on the very last freeze arrow when the pad stopped recognizing that I was on it and failed me.

After more than a month of not trying, I did it yesterday! It wasn't even that hard. o_O I guess Cartoon Heroes and the Paranoia Survivors are my next goals.

Paranoia · Apr 14, 2014 10:00 PM

Nice! If I ever get the chance to visit, we should play some DDR. I haven't done it in years now. sad I can still remember most of the step patterns for Max 300 in my head though, haha.

Stormy · Apr 15, 2014 4:01 AM

You should definitely visit sometime, then I can see if I'm better than you yet. big_smile Probably not

RangerOfIthilien · Apr 16, 2014 2:58 AM

I don't completely suck anymore either! I can do Light now!

Paranoia · Apr 17, 2014 3:07 PM

Maybe this summer sometime. Or you could chill at my place seeing that I'm going to have an entire 3 bedroom apartment to myself pretty much the entire summer, haha. But that would mean no DDR sad

I think I've finally given up on my metal pad search seeing as nobody sells them, and when I do find one, they're over $200.

Stormy · Apr 18, 2014 6:10 AM

Yeah, we might be getting a newer place that would just happen to be even closer to the arcade, but they haven't gotten back to us about our application yet. hmm (Kind of off-topic...)

I found a pad, and the bidding is only at $28 right now! (Not including the $47 shipping....) I'm going to try to win it, but I don't want to bid much higher than $200... Then there's these, too, not Cobalt Flux, but if I don't win that one I'm thinking about these too. It would be nice to have two of them, but I don't know where I'd put them without a basement. sad

I've had two people I don't know play with me in the past week or so. ._. First a teenage guy just came up to me and "challenged me to a dance-off." tongue He didn't really know how to play but picked Heavy for some reason, probably just because I did. But he failed right away. tongue Then there was this other guy who pretty much does nothing but boss songs the entire time. I guess he was getting tired of having to take turns for the machine, so we just played together for a couple rounds. He destroyed me, of course, haha.

Stormy · Jun 08, 2014 4:30 AM

Bumpity bump tongue

I didn't win that CF, but I just placed my order for one of these. I know probably no one cares, but I'm really excited. Lol. Should be here in about two weeks.

Had a pretty crappy experience at the arcade today. First a couple little girls came running up onto the machine right when I was about to start my song, causing me to fail. Then I was right at the end of Max 300 when the machine just... died. It just turned off and started saying "hardware error." hmm

Also started a local DDR group on Facebook, but there are only three members right now, including KL and myself.

Breaking Bad · Jun 08, 2014 4:59 AM

I'm pretty awful.

Paranoia · Jun 10, 2014 6:36 PM

Cool you're getting the DDR pad! Hopefully it will prove to be durable. Were you planning on getting/making a bar attachment for it as well?

And that sucks that the arcade machine just stopped working. Were they able to get it back up and running again?

Stormy · Jun 10, 2014 6:56 PM

Yeah, I'll be buying all the stuff for a bar after it gets here. I honestly don't know how I used to be any good without one, haha.

A mechanic came and restarted the machine, but I was so annoyed by that point that I just left. They didn't even refund my $0.85! tongue

Stormy · Jul 18, 2014 3:11 PM

Okay, so I just got the pad... and there's a bunch of hair and dust visibly stuck between the plexiglass and the image. hmm I hope they'll fix that or replace it because I paid a lot for this thing.

Flapjacks · Jul 18, 2014 8:06 PM

How the hell did hair get in there?

Stormy · Jul 18, 2014 8:58 PM

They make them at home, and they have a dog that sheds a lot. When they were gluing the printed image to the plastic there must have been some dog hair stuck in there that they didn't notice.

I contacted them and they're going to see what they can do to get it fixed without having to send the whole thing all the way back.

#1 Mar 03, 2014 6:39 AM

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