Endless & Workout question

[lusciousmango]

I danced 35 songs in Endless today once I'd unlocked it, and then when I checked out my daily workout stats, NONE of it had recorded. The songs that I danced in regular Game mode had recorded, though.

Is there any way to get the work done in Endless mode to show up in Workout? I know the whole point is that I *did* the work, but I'd really like to be able to see it on the little chart!

Thanks!

[abrannan]

Which game, Max2 or Extreme? Workout mode works differently in each.

[Sinistar]

Extreme.

Sorry to say that there's no way to get your workout in Endless mode to count calories. The Workout Mode in Extreme will record stats in Game Mode only.

They actually made Workout Mode nearly entirely pointless in Extreme. I've been meaning to do a full write-up of it but haven't had a chance yet.

[abrannan]

Sinistar said:

They actually made Workout Mode nearly entirely pointless in Extreme. I've been meaning to do a full write-up of it but haven't had a chance yet.

Please explain. I prefer the Workout mode in Extreme to the previous versions. My plays count toward unlocks, my high scores are recorded, etc. Yes, it could be expanded (So that it works across all modes) and include a profile system to track individual users, but overall I think it's an improvement over the MAX/MAX2 workout mode.

[Sinistar]

abrannan said:

Please explain. I prefer the Workout mode in Extreme to the previous versions. My plays count toward unlocks, my high scores are recorded, etc. Yes, it could be expanded (So that it works across all modes) and include a profile system to track individual users, but overall I think it's an improvement over the MAX/MAX2 workout mode.

I, too, was excited to see my scores during a workout. It's a good feedback system for how well I'm doing at DDR play in general. But there are a number of other points that, I feel, drag Extreme US's Workout Mode below Max/Max2 levels.

First, they removed the goal and stat system during play. I rather liked the fact that I'd get an alert when I hit my 45 minute mark or when I had reached X number of calories.

Second, they made it so that you see only per song calorie counts at the grade/score screen instead of being able to see your cumulative workout total (just in case you wanted to use the cumulative total as a goal point... now you can't).

Third, to see your stats, you must exit the Game Mode completely, go to Workout Mode, and view your stats there. When you're done, you exit Workout Mode and go back to Game Mode. Before, it was a quick screen between tracks.

Fourth, game saves now take longer when Workout Mode is enabled as it has to do a dual save of both game data and separate workout mode data. It may have done this before, but now you actually see both being saved.

Fifth, when you enable Workout Mode, you are prompted to overwrite data. I'm sure a lot of us just say Yes, but why does it have to prompt for an overwrite when autosave is enabled?

Workout Mode counts towards unlocks, sure, but if that's your goal and you're not looking to use the Workout Mode as a per session monitor, you might as well just be playing Game Mode. Workout Mode works now as an aggregate stat tracker over time, but for per session goal monitoring, it is now much more cumbersome than it used to be.

It isn't so much a 'mode' now as it is a game option. And it is an option that applies to Game Mode only. I was jazzed when I thought I could use Workout Mode with Endless, but such was not the case. If it isn't going to work with any other mode of play, why make it a seemingly universal setting?

UM2 does a better job with it, retaining Workout Mode as a mode, but it, too, did away with goal notification. However, it defaults to endless non-stop, which is nice, and lets me get to the stat screen with a button press between songs, after which it takes me right back to the song wheel. The addition of the pedometer was a nice touch, too, though I'm convinced that UM2 miscalculates estimated number of miles. I haven't sat down yet to confirm this, though.

[abrannan]

Ah, I see. It's all in how you use workout mode. I just check it when I'm done playing, to see how many calories it says I burned that session (I'm a non-believer that it's accurate) as a realtive guage of my progress.


As an aside, many games that are autosave are not auto-overwrite automatically as well.

[Sinistar]

abrannan said:

Ah, I see. It's all in how you use workout mode. I just check it when I'm done playing, to see how many calories it says I burned that session (I'm a non-believer that it's accurate) as a realtive guage of my progress.


As an aside, many games that are autosave are not auto-overwrite automatically as well.

I don't believe the calorie counter is at all accurate either, but it's useful as a progress delta. While it is not truly representative of actual calories burned, it does serve to indicate that there was an increase or decrease in activity from one session to the next. By setting calories as a goal, I'm really just saying, "I want to do x% more work" or "I want to maintain my current level of work".

The DDR games on PS2 have historically done auto-overwrite with auto-save, so it seems odd to change that behavior. But then, it seemed odd to take out the dance play controller settings, too.

[Happyniss56]

--so dose Max have the best workout mode? with the calorie counter total and the option of setting a goal of x amount of time or calories??? Or dose this option come with a different game?-

[StarDrifter]

Wow. I'm sorry for coming in late and bumping an old one, but I'm finding the same issues with Extreme's workout mode. (I just got it for my birthday last night.)

First of all, my plays in DDRMax2 did count toward opening more songs. The catch was that after it saved the workout data, I had to go back to the main screens, then to options, then save game data again.

DDRMax 2 had the goals (well trod upon ground) and also remembered my preferences a little better. I'm finding myself right now having to go into Workout options to turn event mode on every time the game starts. Then into song options to turn off Freeze arrows, which I feel are a distraction (just to myself.) Then play. Then stop playing to see if I've reached my goal, since I also use the kcals as an "activity meter." Then play some more, and remember (again) to turn Freeze arrows off.

I'm loving this game, but I really do hope the next one maybe tries to give us workout mode players the best of what both systems have to offer.