Crossovers?

[Midnight Frost]

It's one of those words that I hear from my friend who is scary good at this game. I'm trying to make the transition from Standard Mode to Heavy Mode and he keeps telling me that in order to be any good at heavy is to learn the Crossover.

.....

Um...what the heck is a crossover?

[abrannan]

Crossover refers to a 3-step series that goes Left-Down-Right, or Left-Up-Right, etc. Basically, you can pull it off on quarter notes by double stepping two of the arrows (i.e. Using your left foot for left, and your right for the down and right). However, when you're faced with streams of crossovers or eigth-note crossovers, it happens too fast to double step.

They way to do a crossover "properly" is to use your right foot for the left and right arrows, and your left for the down arrow. By doing this, you need to twist your body to allow your right foot to "cross over" your body. Hence, the name "crossovers".

Once I can come up with some songs that have good examples of crossovers on standard, I'll try and post them here.

[Spooty Biscuit]

Ok, one of the fundamental rules about most stepcharts is that you don't do what is called "double stepping". Double stepping refers to hitting two arrows on different panels in a row with the same foot. Keep in mind, this is different from multiple arrows in succession on the same panel (such as R-R-R-R-R). These are called jackhammers, and are meant to be hit with the same foot.

Double stepping works for lower difficulties and slower steps, but not as well on faster, more difficult step charts.

As Andrew mentioned, some basic crossover patterns include step patterns like L-U-R, L-D-R, R-U-L, or R-D-L.

Definition wise, a crossover is a step pattern that forces (or at least encourages; double stepping is always an option as long as there's no freezes or holds, but not necessarily a pleasant one) you to turn your body away from the screen, such as hitting the right panel with your left foot or vice versa.

There are a few things to remember about crossovers.

1) In order to get yourself to execute a crossover properly, you need to understand that your body does NOT need to be directly facing the screen at all times.
2) Double stepping, as mentioned before, is considered bad. Try to constantly alternate which feet you hit the steps with.
3) Try to learn to recognize the patterns that make you crossover so that they don't catch you off guard. If you're not prepared for crossing over, it can throw you off balance easily.

Anyway, let's look at the first pattern I mentioned: L-U-R

So, first you hit the two steps normally: Left foot to left arrow, right foot to up arrow.

#R#
L#[]
#[]#

Then, rather than hitting the right arrow with your right foot, turn your body slightly to the left and hit it with your left foot.

#R#
[]#L
#[]#

Congratulations. You have just successfully completed a crossover.

Generally, this will be followed by a pattern like R-U-L to get you back to facing the normal way. (Follow the above instructions, but in reverse).

This just covers the basics, though. You'll see much more complicated crossover patterns later on (L-U-D-U-R-U-D-U-L for example). For more extreme examples, see charts like Paranoia Survivor Max on Challenge level, or the Expert charts to ITG songs like The Beginning, Mythology, and (believed to be the most difficult crossover chart in any of the games) Bloodrush (link to vid of Bloodrush).

[xstatic]

I still fail at crossovers. Sometimes my body will instinctively double step. I think this is one of the main reasons I can't advance past 10 foot.

[psisar]

Yeah you have to learn how to do crossovers properly, but it's best to learn how to double step effectively. Saves stamina

[agent709]

Sometimes you just gotta double step.

[DDRMom]

abrannan said:

Once I can come up with some songs that have good examples of crossovers on standard, I'll try and post them here.

Enter the Dragon on Standard (Extreme, PS2) can be good for practicing crossovers.

And oh yeah, don't forget Boom Boom Dollar on Standard (Extreme 2 PS2) also - lots of crossover practice!