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Beatmania IIDX Community Thread: Deluxe Sound Sensation

Kumubou

Member
That's amazing. IIDX would look great at D&B, too. No idea if it'd appeal to their demographic,but Bemani faithful would flock there in droves.
I think there's a couple of issues with this specifically with regards to IIDX (or any music game) at D&B:

1) The average DDR/IIDX (and possibly SDVX*?) player is nowhere in the universe of D&B's usual clientele. It would be a leap of faith for them to think the games would do well at every location, even if it does OK at a specific location (like in LA or NY or something).

2) The coin drop rates on a DDR or IIDX machine will never rate above average at their locations. An average game of either game takes about 8-10 minutes, whereas plays on most redemption games average under a minute (if that). They would need to be consistently in use to be worth it -- which is not impossible, but again, a stretch.

3) Maintenance. Notice that this is a question that the VP doing the AMA keeps dodging -- their locations have traditionally been awful regarding machine upkeep, which is something that is pretty much required for a music game to do well. If the machine doesn't respond well, core players are not going to waste their time -- and for these games, that is the market. They're not going to bother playing DDR on a pad that drops 1 in 100 inputs, or SDVX on a cabinet that misfires lasers one or more times per stage.

*This comes from the AMA as well, specifically called out as a music game they think they could carry due to easier licensing logistics. I don't know how true that is, but it didn't seem like a huge lift for Round 1 so it may not be that far off?
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I think there's a couple of issues with this specifically with regards to IIDX (or any music game) at D&B:

1) The average DDR/IIDX (and possibly SDVX?) player is nowhere in the universe of D&B's usual clientele. It would be a leap of faith for them to think the games would do well at every location, even if it does OK at a specific location (like in LA or NY or something).

2) The coin drop rates on a DDR or IIDX machine will never rate above average at their locations. An average game of either game takes about 8-10 minutes, whereas plays on most redemption games average under a minute (if that). They would need to be consistently in use to be worth it -- which is not impossible, but again, a stretch.

3) Maintenance. Notice that this is a question that the VP doing the AMA keeps dodging -- their locations have traditionally been awful regarding machine upkeep, which is something that is pretty much required for a music game to do well. If the machine doesn't respond well, core players are not going to waste their time -- and for these games, that is the market.

Sad but true, and I can vouch for 3. Our D&B Pump cabinet has been there for 10+ years and the pads have never been serviced to my knowledge. The manager is also very flighty about upgrading, like the AMA said. We're on 2014(Fiesta 2), and that's a miracle considering we had Fiesta 1 for like three years before that.
 

Yuuichi

Member
I think there's a couple of issues with this specifically with regards to IIDX (or any music game) at D&B:

1) The average DDR/IIDX (and possibly SDVX*?) player is nowhere in the universe of D&B's usual clientele. It would be a leap of faith for them to think the games would do well at every location, even if it does OK at a specific location (like in LA or NY or something).

2) The coin drop rates on a DDR or IIDX machine will never rate above average at their locations. An average game of either game takes about 8-10 minutes, whereas plays on most redemption games average under a minute (if that). They would need to be consistently in use to be worth it -- which is not impossible, but again, a stretch.

3) Maintenance. Notice that this is a question that the VP doing the AMA keeps dodging -- their locations have traditionally been awful regarding machine upkeep, which is something that is pretty much required for a music game to do well. If the machine doesn't respond well, core players are not going to waste their time -- and for these games, that is the market. They're not going to bother playing DDR on a pad that drops 1 in 100 inputs, or SDVX on a cabinet that misfires lasers one or more times per stage.

*This comes from the AMA as well, specifically called out as a music game they think they could carry due to easier licensing logistics. I don't know how true that is, but it didn't seem like a huge lift for Round 1 so it may not be that far off?

I agree with most of this, with the important addendum that putting a game in the right location will lead to a much higher average revenue per-player than almost any other game. People like me will go and play $20-30 worth of credits at a time, something other games can only dream of.
 

Wynnebeck

Banned
I agree with most of this, with the important addendum that putting a game in the right location will lead to a much higher average revenue per-player than almost any other game. People like me will go and play $20-30 worth of credits at a time, something other games can only dream of.

Kind of the reason why our D&B is eager to please us Pump players because we drop so much money on it weekly that they were happy to upgrade from Fiesta 2 to Prime and recently even hooked up the machine to the internet for us for Ranked Mode. I love it.
 
For IIDX/SDVX to be at Dave and Busters, they would have to get on to eAmuse. No connection, no game. Why would Konami allow one of their primary competitors to have the same games they do - especially when they are making a push to expand R1 in the US?
 
Any of you in the Baltimore area? May want to come out to Marley Station Mall tonight...

For IIDX/SDVX to be at Dave and Busters, they would have to get on to eAmuse. No connection, no game. Why would Konami allow one of their primary competitors to have the same games they do - especially when they are making a push to expand R1 in the US?

I... what? Konami and Round1 are unrelated entities. Konami is not in competition with Dave and Buster's. If Dave and Buster's wants to get on their network, they would pay the hookup and related fees, just like Round1 does.
 
I... what? Konami and Round1 are unrelated entities. Konami is not in competition with Dave and Buster's. If Dave and Buster's wants to get on their network, they would pay the hookup and related fees, just like Round1 does.

This was my misunderstanding - I had read somewhere that Konami owned Round1, but can't find anything supporting this.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
In case you're subbed to this thread.

0CfhKF9.png


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1105712
 

Quote

Member
Are the original hard drives from the cabinets worth anything? I found a RED drive sitting in my closet from when we upgraded to DistorteD.
 
Are the original hard drives from the cabinets worth anything? I found a RED drive sitting in my closet from when we upgraded to DistorteD.

From a preservationist standpoint I consider all drives valuable on the off chance it's a variant that doesn't exist in someone's archive yet. But that's just me...
 

dog$

Hates quality gaming
http://www.geocities.jp/asahi3jpn/bofu2015package.html

BMS Of Fighters 2015 is out.

I know what I'll be downloading this weekend.

On the subject of fanmade stuff, if you haven't heard, there's going to be a Western BMS event of a similar nature. Preliminary planning is done, I'll share more details when it's finalized (unless it has done so already and some else would care to talk about it).

Oh, also, Copula has a release date of this coming November. Maybe Armistice Day, just did a skim of the post.
 

Aizo

Banned
So I'm more of a Taiko no Tatsujin player myself, but there is no Taiko near my apartment. There is, however, a little place about 100m from my door that has a Beatmania machine, and they're open until 6:00am. I've only played Beatmania like twice (the second time being tonight on my way back from work), so I just now realized that you can access songs from all the versions. I'm pretty terrible, but I'd be interested to get some recommendations—any song from any game, I suppose. Also, any recommendations on how to rest my hands/which fingers I should focus on using?
 
So I'm more of a Taiko no Tatsujin player myself, but there is no Taiko near my apartment. There is, however, a little place about 100m from my door that has a Beatmania machine, and they're open until 6:00am. I've only played Beatmania like twice (the second time being tonight on my way back from work), so I just now realized that you can access songs from all the versions. I'm pretty terrible, but I'd be interested to get some recommendations—any song from any game, I suppose. Also, any recommendations on how to rest my hands/which fingers I should focus on using?

When you're building the basics, choice of song doesn't really matter a lot; just play something that sounds like you could follow the beat easily. You can also look at the clear rate for a rough gauge of how difficult a given song is compared to other songs of the same difficulty.

Different play styles work for different people, but there's one piece of advice I give everyone: don't forget to use your thumbs. Thumbs become very important at higher difficulties and if you've built a playstyle that does not incorporate them, you're in for bad times down the line. I made this mistake and I'm still working to fix it; I've gotten to the point that I can usually get my right thumb to work button 3 or 5 (numbered from left to right) but I've not been able to incorporate my left thumb into my playstyle - which is a big problem, because that makes scratching and hitting notes with the same hand pretty much impossible and I'm forced to basically have my right hand handle the entirety of the keypad in scratch heavy songs.
 

Aizo

Banned
Luckily, I intuitively used my thumbs immediately. My current issue is that I'm all over the place—using different fingers with each button each time.
 

thiscoldblack

Unconfirmed Member
I'm pretty terrible, but I'd be interested to get some recommendations—any song from any game, I suppose.

I'm sure you have noticed the level number before each song's name. Stick to the lower levels and build up to the upper levels. Once you feel confident, you can increase the game difficulty and start once again in the lower levels of said new difficulty.

SAJ874g.jpg
 

dog$

Hates quality gaming
I'd be interested to get some recommendations—any song from any game, I suppose. Also, any recommendations on how to rest my hands/which fingers I should focus on using?

Luckily, I intuitively used my thumbs immediately. My current issue is that I'm all over the place—using different fingers with each button each time.
First, I'd stick with songs in the range of 160 to 180 BPM, these being most of the Eurobeat/Dance songs. They tend to have straightforward charts with most of everything being on quarters or eighths, and not much in off-beat syncopated rhythms. I'd think they would feel easy to time as well.

As far as your hand positioning, let me steal this post from over there to give an example of a default position:
1P side:

Left hand:

1:Thumb
2:Middle
3:Index

When scratch:
2:Index
Pinky scratch
3:Right thumb or mash (1+3) with left thumb

Right hand:

4:Index
5:Thumb
6:Middle
7:pinky
Using different fingers for same keys nor having a rigid default position aren't issues, either. Certain charts and/or using Random modifier will demand for your positions to change from the defaults.

Finally - use Floating Hi Speed so that you can adjust your green number (hold Select or Start or whatever to see it) to precisely where you need it to be. If most of your off-JGs are Fast, reduce the number (make the scroll speed faster, giving you less time for your brain to react to pressing the note); likewise, if most of your off-JGs are Slow, increase the number (make the scroll speed slower because you are not reacting quickly enough to hit the notes at the right time).

Overall, spend some credits on Free Mode and play some baby charts to tinker with all the field modifiers. Hi Speeds, Lift, Sudden. I play at Green of ~270 and Lift of 200 (and Sudden of 0). Try to find what works to give you the best results. IIDX is a game of milliseconds, so every adjustment matters.
 

Aerocrane

Member
I'll be buying a Djdao controller next month. I've got a couple questions I hope you guys could answer.

A friend of mine says that I shouldn't buy the controller with Sanwa buttons, because the choice of microswitches is more important for the feel of the controller. He recommends I get to 50g Omrons. I've got no real reference point for controller feel as last time I played IIDX in a arcade was more than three years ago. Are the Djdao buttons less reliable? Will they last fewer button presses than the Sanwas?

The FP7 model seems to be larger than the FPS and also has a larger turntable. Are there any significant differences in build quality? I'd prefer a smaller controller, so I'd probably be getting the FPS with turntable on 2P side.
 
I'll be buying a Djdao controller next month. I've got a couple questions I hope you guys could answer.

A friend of mine says that I shouldn't buy the controller with Sanwa buttons, because the choice of microswitches is more important for the feel of the controller. He recommends I get to 50g Omrons. I've got no real reference point for controller feel as last time I played IIDX in a arcade was more than three years ago. Are the Djdao buttons less reliable? Will they last fewer button presses than the Sanwas?

The FP7 model seems to be larger than the FPS and also has a larger turntable. Are there any significant differences in build quality? I'd prefer a smaller controller, so I'd probably be getting the FPS with turntable on 2P side.

I have an FP7 with 50g Omron switches and Sanwa switches, and have felt of an FP7 with 50g Omrons and Dao keys. The Sanwas definitely feel nicer, and the Dao buttons almost felt like the top row of buttons was ever so slightly higher than the bottom four. That said, the general consensus tends to be that Omrons are a necessity, Sanwas a luxury. I'm only playing up to 9's and 10's and would probably be okay without them, but I figured that if I was spending hundreds on the thing already I might as well go all the way.

Not sure about the build quality of the FPS, but my FP7 is rock solid.
 
Copula countdown : http://p.eagate.573.jp/game/2dx/23/p/index.html#!page1

I wonder if/when the Round 1's in America will be upgrading?

As long as they're connected to e-Amusement, they have no choice in the matter. Konami doesn't continue supporting old revisions and if they don't upgrade, they become very large, very expensive paperweights.

Given the last two upgrade cycles there is a brief delay vs the Japanese launch of a new title because of a need to receive physical materials to complete the upgrade.
 
Hey I've been seeing this thread lately and as a fan of rhythm games I want to get into Beatmania.

What games should I start off with and where's the best place to buy hardware?

I'm going to assume you'll want to know what's available today (and not Infinitas for PC, which is coming soon).

You'll want a 7-key controller. You could buy a used Konami one or a new third party DJ DAO from http://www.gamo2.com/en/ .

If you want to play the older 5-key games, all are readily available for cheap on the PS1. I'm a fan of Sounds of Tokyo, Best Hits 2 and Dreams Come True. There are two types of discs - you'll need a Key disc to use Append discs.

For IIDX, all styles are fantastic, but some have more content than others. Empress was the last release and is getting expensive; older ones are easy to find. Even 7th Style, which was a limited release.

Everything requires a Japanese PS1/PS2 or a modded system.
 
If you want to play the older 5-key games, all are readily available for cheap on the PS1. I'm a fan of Sounds of Tokyo, Best Hits 2 and Dreams Come True. There are two types of discs - you'll need a Key disc to use Append discs..

I'm also going to go to bat for GottaMix2
Great in house tracks, amazing licensed music.
 
I'm going to assume you'll want to know what's available today (and not Infinitas for PC, which is coming soon).

You'll want a 7-key controller. You could buy a used Konami one or a new third party DJ DAO from http://www.gamo2.com/en/ .

If you want to play the older 5-key games, all are readily available for cheap on the PS1. I'm a fan of Sounds of Tokyo, Best Hits 2 and Dreams Come True. There are two types of discs - you'll need a Key disc to use Append discs.

For IIDX, all styles are fantastic, but some have more content than others. Empress was the last release and is getting expensive; older ones are easy to find. Even 7th Style, which was a limited release.

Everything requires a Japanese PS1/PS2 or a modded system.
I have none of that :l

Expensive purchases this holiday....

Thanks btw ;)
 
As long as they're connected to e-Amusement, they have no choice in the matter. Konami doesn't continue supporting old revisions and if they don't upgrade, they become very large, very expensive paperweights.

Given the last two upgrade cycles there is a brief delay vs the Japanese launch of a new title because of a need to receive physical materials to complete the upgrade.

Good to know. Our R1 is brand new so they've never gone through an upgrade cycle before :)
 

dog$

Hates quality gaming
Hey I've been seeing this thread lately and as a fan of rhythm games I want to get into Beatmania.
Don't spend any money on the old games until Infinitas officially comes out.

The PS1/2 games were designed to be played on CRTs and have limited song rosters and game mechanic options. They are basically obsolete. This isn't to say that you wouldn't enjoy playing them if you had them, but if I were you, I'd probably fully regret spending any money on the old stuff when something actually new is just around the corner.

Splurge on a controller and get Lunatic Rave 2 to play sim BMS files on PC, and play the thousands of fanmade songs for free (and other stuff like at bms.bemaniso.ws).

I have all the PS1/2 Beatmania discs and haven't touched them in years. Sim and arcade (physical, not data at home, I don't care about that) is enough for me.
 
I was linked this fairly old video recently. I think it does a good job of demonstrating the hand position recommended above - the left thumb is on button 1 which allows for a minimal pivot to hit scratches while still being able to use that hand to hit buttons.
 
Good to know. Our R1 is brand new so they've never gone through an upgrade cycle before :)

Eastridge? I'm super worried they won't have Copula before the SDVX Policy Break is over. I played so much IIDX before finally asking one of the other players how to do the Policy Break and they said we needed Copula :C

Are the Class songs random for every Dan, or are they hand-picked?
 

Kumubou

Member
Eastridge? I'm super worried they won't have Copula before the SDVX Policy Break is over. I played so much IIDX before finally asking one of the other players how to do the Policy Break and they said we needed Copula :C

Are the Class songs random for every Dan, or are they hand-picked?
They'll have to upgrade soonish, since Konami usually terminates support for the old games a month or so after the update launches (and they may be doing this specifically for Round 1 internationally, as the IIDX upgrade kits have to clear customs).

Dan ranking songs are always fixed, although they can change from version to version. A couple of game had a system where certain ranks had a pool of songs that were randomly selected from, but they haven't done that in years (be thankful you got to miss things like the hot mess that 10th Style's 8th Dan course was).
 
Don't spend any money on the old games until Infinitas officially comes out.

The PS1/2 games were designed to be played on CRTs and have limited song rosters and game mechanic options. They are basically obsolete. This isn't to say that you wouldn't enjoy playing them if you had them, but if I were you, I'd probably fully regret spending any money on the old stuff when something actually new is just around the corner.

Splurge on a controller and get Lunatic Rave 2 to play sim BMS files on PC, and play the thousands of fanmade songs for free (and other stuff like at bms.bemaniso.ws).

I have all the PS1/2 Beatmania discs and haven't touched them in years. Sim and arcade (physical, not data at home, I don't care about that) is enough for me.
Yeah I'm probably going to put all my money into a controller and hope Infinitas comes to America in some way, shape or form.
 

Yuuichi

Member
They'll have to upgrade soonish, since Konami usually terminates support for the old games a month or so after the update launches (and they may be doing this specifically for Round 1 internationally, as the IIDX upgrade kits have to clear customs).

Dan ranking songs are always fixed, although they can change from version to version. A couple of game had a system where certain ranks had a pool of songs that were randomly selected from, but they haven't done that in years (be thankful you got to miss things like the hot mess that 10th Style's 8th Dan course was).

I saw a picture going around today of someone with an upgrade kit and a LA location listed so I would probably expect them to be rolled out across the US within a week or so.
 
I haven't confirmed (and won't be able to for a week), but word on pnwbemani is that Seattle's machines are upgraded to Copula.
 
Eastridge Round1 just got Copula installed sometime Saturday. Played it last night, new song are great! The Hell charge notes took me by surprise, those things are gauge killers.
 
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