Konami Released DDR PC

[Laura Moncur]

I can't tell when this was released, but they are offering a trial version that you can download right now and play with.

Here is the link:
www.konamihwi.com/DDRPC/index2.php

I am downloading it right now. I'm going to install it, play with it and get back to you guys with the details.

Woot Woo!

[abrannan]

It's at least a year and a half old, that's when I downloaded it. I didn't install it, mind you, but I downloaded it.

[Laura Moncur]

I played with the trial version. It works with the Stepmania setup (i.e. the PS/2 adapter and my Red Octane pad). I had to reset my pad to get the thing to register two steps at once, but once I did that, it worked.

The trial version only allows one player, on light setting on one song with the choice of one character. It DOES let you see all the things that the real version has.

Most importantly, it has LESSON MODE. That was missing from UltraMix and I would really like to learn twirly-doodles and crossovers. It's only $15 at Outpost.com, so I'm ordering it. I'll give another update when I finally get it.

You can't just pay for the real thing and download it. That sucks. You actually have to find it in a store or order it online.

Here's the link to order it:
www.outpost.com/product/3293531

[sly rax]

Crossovers are a little more intuitive than they sound. You can start doing them without the lesson mode. You just need to find a part of a song that has this pattern: Left, Down, Right, Down, Left... or replace the Rights with Lefts, or Downs with Ups, or both. Then, practice that part with alternating your feet. This will require you to hit both the left and right steps with one foot. To do this, you will cross your foot over or behind the other one and hit the step. If you have to, you can turn and face to the side to do it.

You could slow down and practice the start of Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) on heavy, but there must be some song in Ultramix on Standard that has that pattern in it (I found it for a brief 2 measures in Exotic Ethnic, but I don't feel like looking any further). If you can't find a good one for practice, you could just make an edit of a song full of that pattern in edit mode.

The idea to crossovers is that you should be able to hit all four buttons with any foot, and then there will be less ways that they can mess you up with complex patterns.

[Laura Moncur]

I paid the extra five bucks for next day delivery, but when it came, I was down with the flu. I installed it and played it with the arrow keys on the keyboard and still couldn't get better than a C.

Today was the first day that I could play with it the dance pad. I had to go into the options settings and tell it how my dance pad works, but other than that, it was perfect.

Even though it looked like the game had some of the same songs as UltraMix, they are totally different mixes and dances. The arrows are different. Afronova is totally different than Afronova Primeval. It's like I have a bunch of songs that I am familiar with, but I'm not sick of yet. Yeah!

The workout mode lets you keep data on more than one person at a time. Imagine that...

I haven't played with the Lesson Mode yet, so I'll report back to you tomorrow.

[sly rax]

Different Mixes of songs (almost) always have different steps (very few exceptions exist, like Paranoia vs Paranoia Max -In Roulette-).

I can't find any songs in common other than the different mixes of songs thing (La Senorita vs. La Senorita Virtual, Let the Beat Hit 'Em vs. (Classic R&B Style), etc.) If you have the songpacks, there are a few in common: Midnight Blaze and Dynamite Rave.

On PS2, we are sick of getting new mixes of old songs WITH the old songs repeated: Silent Hill, AM-3P, Kind Lady, etc. They did a better job of not making us sick in Extreme. We still have another set of Oni remixes left to go!

That is interesting about the workout data. I wonder why they don't just implement that across the board.

[iamjay]

that's cool is that the first mix? cause u can download it right? right? stepmania? eh? eh? n/m tell me if it's any good

[sly rax]

You should probably stick with Stepmania, iamjay...DDR PC is kind of the bastard child of DDR US PSX and Konamix (actually, throw in Max US, and you have all of the songs but the original Let the Beat Hit 'Em and Still In My Heart!) It is not a bad mix, but it really has nothing that is hard to find on it.

[Laura Moncur]

I wouldn't buy DDR PC just for the songs. I bought it for the Lesson Mode, which I played all the way through last night.

I've heard a lot of talk about the mystical Crossovers. I don't know if they were in my lesson or not. Spins were in my lesson, but that seems like a style thing more than a learning how to play this game on anything but Light/Basic mode. I thought Crossovers would be the magic thing to help me get to a higher level.

I'm going to be disappointed if Crossovers turn out to be the lesson where I learn to press the front and back arrows with the left and right foots (like on the chorus for Butterfly).

[abrannan]

Crossovers are the Down-left-down-right patterns that you find in songs. Usually at slower speeds you can play them leftfoot-leftfoot-rightfoot-rightfoot, where it ends up looking like the old two-step from the 80s. At higher speeds and 8th note runs, however, you can't step fast enough to do the same foot twice in a row, so you use one foot for the down arrow and one for the left and right arrows, crossing the foot over your body.

If you can, find a video (aaroninjapan.com, maybe) oif someone playing Can't stop falling in love speed mix on heavy. You'll see the crossovers there.

[cnlohr]

Would you want "lesson mode" in StepMania?

Right now, we're in the RC stage so it'll be a month or two before we start adding features again, but what exactly would you want it to do for lesson mode?

And is it worth adding into stepmania?

[Laura Moncur]

Having lessons that explain things like crossovers and spins would be nice. The things that would make it easier to move from one level to the next.

There should be a beginner mode for people first learning, a standard mode for people who need to learn how to move up to the standard level and a heavy mode to teach complicated things and speed techniques.

For example, having a visual explanation of crossovers, just like abrannan just gave me and a place to practice them at a faster and faster pace would be a good thing for the standard training.

[sly rax]

Yeah, I have ended up making edits to practice getting faster with things like streams of gallops, jumps, crossovers, etc. I think that sort of thing would help others as well. Whatever you put in, you should make it so you can play it anywhere between Music Speed 0.5 and 1.5. That way one lesson can help multiple groups.

[henryuureesaa]

ahh DDR PC. I really do NOT enjoy it at all. No real good flexibility. Not exactly the most stable program either.

I'm surprised Konami never tried to buy the StepMania engine. It's much more stable than what they put together.

[Laura Moncur]

Actually, I've never had a moment's trouble with DDR PC. I just got a new computer for Xmas and had to re-install it and set it up. It was so easy to get it working.

I use a Red Octane pad and USB to PS/2 converter. I had to set up the controller by hand using the controller settings menu, but it was nothing compared to what we had to do to get Stepmania working the first time.

[abrannan]

HenryuuReesaa said:

I'm surprised Konami never tried to buy the StepMania engine.

Buy from whom exactly? It's open source, they can use it if they want, but they have to conform to the terms of the Open source license.

[Skycania]

Maybe the coders of the StepMania engine should approach Konami looking for jobs? They could rewrite the StepMania engine themselves to work with the better Konami interface... Mmmmm that would be nice.

[abrannan]

You already can re-write the Stepmania interface. You don't need Konami's permission for look and feel.