Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Songs to Practice

Updated with Tricoro songs. As of 3/28/2013

This is going to be my list of songs that i think are good practice songs for certain patterns / charts. These are songs i recommend and usually play myself.

Practicing these songs may help you progress as long as you have the right mentality to do so.

Practice on things that your weak on. You will find that working things that your weak points will help your overall skill.

Basically you want to practice what you wanna work on whether it be timing, reading, or technique and integrate it into your overall play style. The more things you integrate the more versatile you will be as a player.

Just a reminder, this is all on ANOTHER (Unless noted). Im just going to do level 10s and above unless stated. Play the hyper if you want a easier scale, with a few exceptions like Innocent Walls and what not.

You will probably see songs more than once in different categories.

Straight Forward / Constant Streams / Learning random patterns

These songs are pretty much the straightforward songs. You can either do it or can't. No stupid gimmicks involved and for the most part not swung or staggered. These are probably the best type of songs to play if you wanna get used to random and exposure to more random patterns.

10

Nebula Grasper
Andromeda II
Kakumei
Queens Tragedy
Bahram Attack
Back into the light
Programmed sun (xac remix)
Heavenly Sun
Programmed Life
Fly you to the star
Illias
snow storm
Blue Straggler

11

Inazuma
Quasar
Anthem Landing
Shade
Andromeda
Hyperion
Mint
The Deep Striker
Secrets
Programmed World
Programmed Sun
Spiral Galaxy
Quantum Teleportation
V2
Empire State Glory
Anisaksis
Ubertreffen
D.C Fish
The travelers of virtual space
Decoherence


12

AA
F
Broken
Scirpted Connection => A
Golden Cross
Mendes
Kurokami
Timepiece Phase II
Solid State Squad
Todestrieb
Fatal Attack
Bitter Chocolate Striker
Kagonotori
Wonder Walker
Laser Cruster
Nageki no ki
Cuvelia
SYNC-ANTHEM
True Blue
ΕΛΠΙΣ (Elpis)
Liberation


Timing

These are the easy songs that are easy to keep rhythm on. I would only play these if your working on accuracy. Im not going to list all of them since there is a shit ton.

trigger of innocence
Mermaid Girl + Remix
Dazzlin Darling + Remix
Life Scrolling
Rainbow over the snow
LUV can save you
Shining World
Fly Above
Nadeshiko Rock
Into the sunlight
All Terra Songs

Chords

This is another pretty straight forward thing to practice. Not much variety here but here are some songs

10

Wana
Max Love
Love Shine
Daydreamer
Sorrows
Drive me Crazy
EDEN
rottel da mercury
JEWELLREY STORM
and Much Much More

11

DAWN - the next endeavor -
Key
Time to air
Waxing and waning
Tropical April
R5

12

mosaic

Scratches

A lot of variety here besides just DJ MASS songs. DJ MASS songs aren't the only good scratch songs to practice. Keep in mind though that scratches are pretty song specific since usually each song has its own pattern to it.

9

Watch out
Close your eyes for me

10

Feedback
Buffalo
Really Love
D.A.N.C.E
bass 2 bass
Light shine
rottel da sun

11

naughty girl @ queens palace
digitank system
Halfway of Promise
Rakuen
1st Samurai
Checking you out
Brainstorm
Just a Little Smile
Bounce Bounce Bounce
Wonder Bullfighter

12

Shakuketsu Beach Side Billy
Red. by full metal jacket
Black by CROSS X FADE
Snake Stick
Blue Mirage
VOX UP
Plan 8
Watch Out pt.2
Sense 2007
The Sampling Paradise
Scream Squad
Troopers
one or eight
eVANs

Offset / Swung Songs

Most of the times these songs are pretty unique and have their own feel to them. This is mostly to read swung patterns as well as getting a feel for the keys / key presses.

9

Dual Control
Summer Vacation
Moon Race
Tommorow Perfume
Thunder

10

水上の提督
Golden Palms
evergreen
Double Thrash
Whats Next
D.A.N.C.E
Make a Difference
Mr. T Take me higher
QQQ
POINT ZERO
Votum Stellarum
Snow Storm
bluemoon
Blust of Wind
Yellow Head Joe
Freeway Shuffle
portal


11

Bounce Bounce Bounce
Broadbanded
in the Blackest Den
Caldera
Usual Days -remix-
Beyond the Earth
four pieces of heaven
Giudecca
Saturn
DROP
ZED
S!ck
Illegal Function Call
rainbow flyer
rislim REMIX
Spica
Xenon
The Flying Rerun
Quantum Teleportation
Holic
天空脳番長危機十六連打



12

A
AA
F
fffff
HAERETICUS
perditus paridisus
Fuchikan Candy
Tripping Contact
Due Tommorow
bad maniacs
Session -9- Chronicles
Session -12- Esther
Sejin no Tou
Children's Sketchbook
quell
gigadelic
Shounen A
NNRT
Proof of the existence
SYNC ANTHEM
Tamayura
Little Star
Concertino in Blue
neu
DAY DREAM
Sol Cosine Job 2


Speed / Stamina

These songs are basically songs that are 175+ bpm with fast ass runs plus patterns that require alot of move ment.

10

Phoenix
Hardcore Mania
Lovely Storm
end of world
POINT ZERO

11

Anisakis
Aurora
Genocide
Im so Happy
1st Samurai
in the Sky
Snow Goose
Smile
532nm
Sound of Giallahorn
prompt
Light and Cyber
Breaking Dawn
No. 13
Four pieces of heaven
New Decade (IIDX Edition)
Conceptual
Tripping Contact Remix
Tranoid
Kamaitachi
君のハートにロックオン


12

Little Star
ΕΛΠΙΣ (Elpis)
Devilz Staircase
Torikago no Houoh
狂イ咲ケ焔ノ華
The Limbo
NNRT
YAKSHA
Colorful Cookie
G59
Quaver
Perditus Paridisus
One More Lovely
Cookie Bouquets
DOMINION
Candy Galy
VOX UP
Biometrics Warrior
Bad Maniacs
Fatal Attack
Exusia
neu
Sol Cosine Job 2
Evans
Paradise Lost
HAERETICUS
Session -12- esther
Thunderbolt
Fatal Attack
3y3s
NAGISANOKOKUMA LOVELY RADIO
Confiserie
Seijin no Tou
Mei
恋する☆宇宙戦争っ!!

Drumrolls

Not just R5 drumrolls. There is shit more advanced then that.

10

Feel It
Love Magic
RE:generation
Space Time
Door into the Rainbow
The Hope of Tommorow
Vermillion
Narcissus at oasis

11

Pollinosis
R5
D.C Fish
405nm
Do it Do it
Drop
Hyperion
Inazuma
TYPE Mars
Steel Needle
Nemesis
Kailua
Let the Track Flow
G2
Stellar Wind
Beastie Starter

12

Paradise Lost
Gigadelic
NAGISANOKOKUMA LOVELY RADIO
Erasermotor Phantom
quaver
Colors

Jacks

These include songs with a lot of double taps and jackhammer notes. This will help you look for those random double taps that appear and just kill you. This will also help you learn where the double taps are.

10

Jack
Lab
Mr.T take me higher
D.A.N.C.E
Dive into your heart
Hyper Eurobeat
Power Dream
Leaving
Macho Gang
Scripted Connection => N mix
LAB
Traces

11

Bounce Bounce Bounce
Click Again
Saturn
D
G2
Stoic
The Flying Rerun
Nemesis
Be Quiet
Scripted Connection => H mix

12

Sense 2007
Scripted Connection => A mix
Electric Massive Diver
Innocent walls
one or eight
please dont go
Balace of Astaria
Dances with snow fairies
reunion
DAY DREAM
Setsugekka
Implantation
Fascination MaXX
ワルツ第17番 ト短調"大犬のワルツ"

Holds

Honestly there are probably only a few hold songs worth practicing. Most hold note songs are pretty straight forward or simply don't have enough holds (like D).

10

Door into the rainbow
Golden Palms
Everlasting Resort
Light Shine
Spinning Around
Almace

11

New Sensation
Elisha
Scharfrichter
Kailua
Flower
Sakura Reflection
The Black Knight
Blooming Feeling
Miracle Meets
Energy Drive
Kagachi

12

Almagest
Electric Massive Diver
Paradise Lost
Hollywood Galaxy
Periditus Paridisus
Sakura Storm
Todestrieb
Balance of Astaria
Timepiece Phase II CN ver.








Thursday, October 25, 2012

Whats going on? / Whats next.

Hey everyone,

I haven't had much time to write articles recently due to moving to a new house and other life shit and Borderlands. I'll give you guys a heads up on what i will be writing about in the future thanks to some suggestions that people made.

Some of the things i will be writing about in the near future:

Songs to practice
Approaching harder songs/patterns
My favorite charts
My training sessions
Getting over walls
Review of Tricoro (if we get it)
Controllers/Monitors to use

Of course i'm always open for suggestions.

For those on Facebook heres a great community to join:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/301373199970205/

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Scratching

So you know that disc shaped thing that is next to the keys? What is that? Its the most fucking pain in the ass part of this game.

What makes scratching hard?

So think of a easy song with just like a easy run of notes. Now try think of it with like multiple 16th scratches, its now really fucking hard.

Scratching is hard because of the fact that it forces you to put yourself out of position and also limits the amount of fingers you can use on your scratch hand. Not to mention it also makes hard to time shit because you not only have to focus on the notes, but now you have to focus on the scratch when its scratch heavy, two things are harder to focus on then one. Not to mention its a lot harder when the notes are random.

What can you do to make scratching easier?

These are all shit that i do for pretty much every scratch song like Beachside Bunny and shit. I probably could not do any of these songs without thinking about these.

Memorize the scratch patterns / Where the scratches are

This especially helps when there are notes involved. When you memorize where the scratches are and what the scratch patterns are then this allows you to focus on the notes more.

Knowing where the scratches are will also allow you to react faster into getting in a better position for the notes.

The scratch is the only key that will never change unless you use Random+ or All Scratch so it makes sense to memorize it.

Feeling the scratches

This mostly applies to heavy scratch songs like any DJ MASS song. The easiest way to get used to a heavy scratch song is to just to memorize the feel of the stream of scratches. Its pretty hard to actually treat a stream of scratches as all separate notes especially when its faster then 150 bpm or when they are 24ths.

This one is a little tricky because depending on what machine you are playing on and what kind of controller your on as well because not every scratch is the same.

If its a loose scratch then you probably have to keep in mind that if you scratch too hard and you have to scratch on the way back, you will probably get a misfire or hit it bad which can lead to shit like a bad run.

Tight scratches will probably require you to put more force into the scratch. My personal preference is a tight scratch since i usually find myself a little more accurate with it.

Think about the amount of fingers to use / Hand placement and fingers to use

You don't always have to pinky scratch. Try pinky scratch on BSB (Beach Side Bunny) another, you probably wont be able to hit it well and you will get a mean blister. If its more scratch heavy then consider using more fingers so you have more hand strength to work with which will help with doing constant streams. I use my middle, ring and pink together on songs like Black, Red, and BSB etc.

As for your fingers and hand placement, You will only probably will have your pointer and thumbs to work with on your scratch hands. For your non scratch hand you will probably have to cover 6 keys or even play one hand. Use your instincts to determine when to change your placement, some times its not always necessary depending on when the notes are placed on random.

Conclusion

Scratching can make everything a lot more complicated. Not to mention that scratch songs are pretty much a whole different game. Just remember that when there is scratching involved you will probably have to change your play style. Don't just revolve your play style on hitting keys only.




Thursday, October 18, 2012

Lunatic Rave / BMS

Haven't been able to get back to this in awhile thanks to Borderlands 2 and other life shit.

A lot of people ask me this question: "Do you have to play Lunatic Rave (LR2) in order to get better?"

Well this article should be able to answer that question.

What is LR2?

First off for the people that don't know, LR2 is a IIDX simulator that you can play on your computer. I'm not going to write a tutorial on how to get it running and what not since there are a bunch of start up guides that you can find. I will post a bunch of links at the end for people that want to get into LR2.

LR2 allows you to play BMS's which are original made charts by users. Most of the time these charts are often WAAAY harder then IIDX 12's, but not all of the charts are like that and there are multiple rating systems. But most of the time in order to play on the standard scale of BMS's you have to pretty proficient in IIDX 12s.

Rating systems

These are totally unofficial just to let you know.

The first rating system is the what im going to call the "White Star" system, which varies from 1-12. This is closer to actual IIDX ratings. I'm not too sure how accurate it is to IIDX since i never played any of the charts before.

The second system is the "Black Star" system which varies from 1-24. This is what you would call the "standard" BMS scale and includes most of the harder BMS's.

The third system is the "Overjoy" scale which are insanely hard or stupid ass songs. OJ varies from 0-7 (Only 1 song in the OJ 0 category). Basically to compare it to the standard BMS scale a OJ 1 is equal to a 21 or so on the standard scale.

There are other rating systems such as the long note system, scratch and what not.

When to start playing LR2?

There's no absolute time when to start playing LR2, its a good option for people who don't have access to CS or for people that want to play more songs since CS is currently dead at the moment.

I haven't started played it until maybe about 1 year ago or so, my reason being that i wanted to get better at reading denser / harder shit and work on stamina.

Where to start?

If you just wanna play more easier and casual stuff then i would recommend playing stuff from like BMS of fighters or from the white star rating system. Most of the stuff here will be easier and closer to IIDX ratings.

I would recommend to start playing on the standard scale if you can consistently beat 12's such as AA another, Golden Cross another, and what not. A level 1 on this scale is about equivalent to AA another. If you are already like a pro then i would just play like different levels of difficulties until you know what your threshold is of clearing stuff. Once you find your threshold then i would practice songs from that level and if you want to progress then play songs that are 1-2 levels above.

Don't even try OJ unless you can beat 20's or so on the standard scale.

Progressing  levels in LR2

I'm just going to give a general range of level gaps on the standard scale. You probably want to make sure you can beat most of the songs in each level before moving on to the next level of songs. There are some exceptions with stupid songs that have dumb ass gimmicks. Keep in mind playing the lower level songs are always a good thing to practice, when i practice them i just work on combo-ing, timing, and control of my hands. Where i wrote "wall" is where i had the most problems and is where i believe good checkpoints are of progress.


1-4
5-7
8-9
10-11
12-14 Wall
15-16
17-18
19
20 Wall
21-22
23 Wall
24
FDFD = DANNY LEE

I basically brute force my way to read shit by doing stuff like playing the charts that im trying to get used to reading to over and over even though I 2% it. Keep in mind that doesn't mean you can just play a hard ass chart and mash on it. Just make sure you know yourself that you can COMPREHEND it and HIT it to a CERTAIN extent. Don't do this when you can't even comprehend it.


There is a dan ranking system in LR2, for people that are curious i'm only a 10 dan in LR2.


4 Songs that's a good gauge to judge your skill that isn't gimmicky as shit

12: Gengaozo -GOD-
20: AIR -GOD-
23: Little HeartS -GOD-
OJ: FREEDOM DiVE FOUR DIMENSIONS


So what can LR do to me to get better?

This is what LR2 will help you with: READING notes, stamina, and overall technique to a certain point. Technique is something i don't really focus on in LR2 just because i do feel like you DO have to wrist scratch  ESPECIALLY if your playing on a non-KOC dimension controller. As for myself I play completely different from IIDX AC and LR2. There are players that don't wrist scratch on LR2 and still get around just as crazy.

LR2 v. IIDX

These are the biggest differences between IIDX and LR2.

1. Timing on songs are different

Every BMS on LR2 can have its timing adjusted when its made. The most common timings you will see is EASY and NORMAL. EASY timing is a lot easier then standard IIDX timing, the windows for JG and Greats are a lot bigger. NORMAL is closer to IIDX AC, in my opinion its a little tighter then AC but it could just be me and my game going off sync.

2. The normal bar on songs are also different

The normal gauge can be adjusted on each song on how fast it builds up. You will run into a lot of songs that have high ratings but have noticeably easier charts and a REALLY hard normal bar. When i mean really hard i mean it takes about 800 combo of greats to get to 80%. Of course if you can hit most of these charts then you can just hard bar it since hard is standardized for any song.

3. Holds

The holds in LR2 do NOT need to be let go. IIDX you have to time when you let go the holds.

4. Randoms are replay-able / select-able

Yes, you can keep playing a random you cherry picked. Just hold a blue and white key when you get to the result screen. You can even choose your random if you have IR activated with G-Battle, which allows you to play the same exact chart that someone played on IR, but you will have to play the same bar as the ghost your battling. Playing fraud randoms all day is pretty fun once awhile.

5. Notes are a lot more mashable

You can literary mash all 7 keys during a cluster fuck and combo it.

6. Controllers

Use a KOC if you wanna get good at LR2. Use a ASC if you wanna have more of a feel for IIDX.

Epilogue

To me LR2 helped me progress a lot in IIDX mostly from reading, stamina and the ability to wrist scratch on AC IIDX to a certain extent. It didn't help me too much in timing since when i play LR2 my play time doesn't really focus on timing but more on hitting notes.

I'll admit LR2 does take some dedication, but don't get demoralized if you don't get better at it, since this is WAY HARDER and WAY STUPIDER then IIDX, you will run into the dumbest gimmicks that will piss you off. Pretty much any song you run into from 19+ will have some kind of dumb ass gimmick.

Links

Setup tutorial
http://pastebin.com/89ZtkYeE (I think this was originally wrote by LongGone so give credit to him)

All the songs ready for DL on the standard scale of 1-24 + Overjoy 0-7.
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=b95cff3a8a971013&sc=documents&id=B95CFF3A8A971013%21104

Website for all the BMS events such as BMS of fighters and what not
http://manbow.nothing.sh/event/event.cgi

BMS uploader, you can find a lot of fan made charts here.
http://absolute.pv.land.to/bmsuploader.html

3 rating systems
http://losak.web.fc2.com/normalSP.html
http://losak.web.fc2.com/insaneSP.html
http://achusi.main.jp/overjoy/nanido-luna.php

LR Internet ranking
http://www.dream-pro.info/~lavalse/LR2IR/search.cgi?mode=search&type=insane&exlevel=0&7keys=1


Saturday, October 13, 2012

Training, Mentality and Your Sessions

Ever ask yourself this question? What do you do and think when your playing IIDX? I myself think of a lot of things when i'm playing and what i'm doing. I don't exactly have all the time in the world to play, so i really believe in this phrase,

"It doesn't matter how much you play, it matters what you DO when you are playing"

Everyone of course is different, but this is just my viewpoint. I know myself on my most played song(s) i have probably less then 600 plays.

Things to think about when your playing.

1. Everyone has a different level of progression.

Some people progress slower then others and don't hit as much as walls. Don't over think about this, just realize it.

The more you think about it the more its going to get to your head and your just going create a self created mental wall. When you "realize" it i'm sure you will know your place and your speed of progression. You might even progress and not even realize it.

2. Find out what your weaknesses are.

When i'm playing a song i ALWAYS look out for what i'm not hitting or timing properly. If you watch for what your not hitting good then its a good way to figure out what you need to work on. For myself it would be drum rolls, awkward ass patterns and scratching. Once you know what to work on then you can go ahead and practice those kind of songs.

3. Variety

As much as i mention this, the only reason why i do cause i seriously believe its a huge part of getting better. I don't believe in playing a song 90 times in a row (unless you trying to fish randoms) will get you better. If anything it will get you better in that song only and songs SIMILAR to it instead of your overall game play.

A example would be like playing a song like Anthem Landing over and over will probably not get you better on shit like Nageki or Beachside Bunny, it would probably help you a lot on songs like Andromeda, Shade, and Inazuma. Some songs are obviously unique like Faxx and Paranoia Hades which have speed changes which relies on more of knowing the song. Then songs like rage against usual, Diavolo and Fake Time which are totally based on one hard ass part.

4. Take a break

Sometimes taking a break is one of the best things you can do, especially if your getting to a point of frustration. Whenever i take a break (which is often) i always come back better since i find myself more mentally refreshed and renewed. You may be rusty when you come back from a break, but this is your chance to find new ways to hit things. So if you feel like you are at a wall, don't be afraid to take a break and slow down.

5. Finding your Green Number

Your green number is probably one of the most important things, its what finds a comfortable high speed for you. Make sure you know that the number your playing at is COMFORTABLE for you, don't use a low green number just because you "can". I used to play at 270 or so which i got some good scores at, until i realized that in order to get those scores i had to focus HARD on the wrong thing which was just reading the fricken notes.

So from there i went to lower speeds starting from 290 then eventually dropped down to 284-282, which made me score a lot better and a lot more consistent since i could now focus not as much just reading the notes since it was now easier to see and i could focus more on timing.

6. Be aware.

When i mean by being aware, i mean by noticing things in the songs you play such as where the scratches are / scratch patterns, tricky parts, that stupid random jack hammer in the middle hard part of nageki, and the types of random you get.

The most important being what type of random you are playing (ex. right side/ left side heavy, middle, spread out) which would allow you to get in a better position on the fly easier and knowing what to look out for.

I believe in heightened awareness, which in reality supposedly increases your reaction to a certain situation by a great amount.

7. Don't go WAY beyond your skill level / anything stupid.

Pretty straight forward.

You don't wanna play 12's when your just beating 10's. You probably don't want to try EX-HARD on 11's if you are just starting to beat 11's.

You probably don't wanna use S-Random unless you are playing for fun or playing R5, 5.1.1, and 100% minimoo-G or if your name is "Dane's Son" who believes that Random makes you better so that means S-Random makes you EVEN better using random OR if you want to beat Plasma Strike LAST BOSS of this GYM.

You don't want to get to beating level 12's on 5 key autoscratch then try switch over to 7 key no assist thinking that you can do 12's.

You don't want to get salty to the guy next to you cause hes better than you. Man the fuck up and better yourself. Use competition for motivation.


Conclusion

This pretty much sums it up for my mentality towards IIDX. I'm not going to get into LR2/BMS training this article but i will get to an article on it sooner or later.

Hope this makes you think more when you are playing IIDX.

aw do it.

DJ REA










Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Timing

The bane of IIDX. Getting that fucking AAA

Timing, the second most important part in IIDX. Combined with technique this makes a what a IIDX player.

How do you get your timing down?

There are four things that can help you get your timing down.

Reaction
Sight
Sound
Feel


Reaction

How do you use reaction for your timing? Well this is what Sudden+ and Green number is for (which ill cover later on in this post).

So the goal of using reaction is to find a "sweet spot" green number. Generally you will look at the top or top-middle of the screen where the notes come down and basically hit the note as soon as you see it. By the time you react to the note it should be at the JG (Flashing Great) timing window.

Most of the time if your green number is low (270 or below -280) then you probably base your timing more on reaction.

Sight

Sight is pretty simple, you look at the line and hit it when its at the JG spot. You will probably look at the bottom of the screen to the middle of the screen. Sight also includes knowing what notes are STAGGERED and SWUNG as fuck. Sight will also make you hit the closest to the line

You will play with high green numbers (290+) if you look more toward the line.

Sound

Sound is far by the one thing that will keep you on rhythm to get consecutive JG. Listening to the sound of your key presses is far by one of the most helpful things when trying to stay on rhythm and on point for timing.

This is how you will keep your timing on point for the most of the song, REGARDLESS of how hard the song is. A single note stream will sound the same as a stream with three and four chords.

Listening/knowing how the song suppose to sound also helps as well.


Feel

Feel is simple,try to remember your movement when you are getting a perfect JG run, if its something that you can repeat then throw it in along with everything else. Listen to the sound of the key spaces and remember how each 4ths, 8ths, 12ths, 16ths, 24ths and so on sound.

Same as sound, everything should feel similar regardless of how hard it is.

So how do i get flashing GREATS and continue on getting flashing greats.

Reaction/Sight: For hitting that flash

Sound/Feel: To consecutively hit that flash

Technique: Make sure that you can even hit the notes the first place. (and that your not on a laggy ass TV)

Some things to keep in mind for timing

1. You have FOUR things to work with that i mentioned above. (this is what i go with) You may have more then what i mentioned above.
2. You will be surprised as shit when you find out when a song is swung / off as fuck.
3. Its NOT easy to grasp. (Everyone is different though)
4. Your technique is what makes or breaks your timing.
5. Focus. (not to a point of frustration)
6. TV's are all different
7. Everyone has a different sweet spot

How to improve timing?

1. Knowing the song

When i mean knowing the song i mean more than just knowing what it sounds like.

This includes: Knowing if its swung (a lot of songs don't sound swung, but they are actually swung), knowing what it sounds like, knowing what the key presses sound like through out the song, knowing where the scratches are and how the scratches feel.

2. Feeling / Listening to the BPM's

Pretty simple to think about. A song thats 150 BPM will have the same feel and key press sounds as another
song that is also 150 bpm. How do i get a high score on a song i never played before on my first try? How am i so consistent? (to a certain extent) Well here's your answer.

3. Playing a variety of  harder to time songs

I'm sure MOST people that somewhat have a grasp of timing can AAA trigger of innocence / dazzlin darlin / mermaid girl. Just because you can AAA easy songs that have a easy rhythm to follow does not mean you have good timing overall. You just got a good feel for those songs / patterns / bpms.

Playing a variety of songs will force you to use more of your other "senses". Songs that are swung or songs you never played will make you rely on sight and feel more. Songs with constant streams / chords will make you rely on feel and sound more.

4. Technique

This goes beyond just hitting the notes, but finding a way where you can hit the notes ACCURATELY is a another story. The key here is to find a way to hit certain patterns that will allow you to flow throughout the song without losing rhythm. Control of your fingers play a big part here.

CS vs. AC Timing

I've been asked this question a lot since there are a lot of CS players that can't score as well on AC. (I'm actually opposite, I cant score for shit on CS.). Between the two, timing on them feels different to me.

In my opinion, its a whole different game between them and i find it easier to treat them as two different games. Same as with LR2 which every song has adjustable timing. Not to mention if your not using a AC dimension controller then of course everything is different.

I find it much easier to just treat them as different games if your going to play both. Pretty much the only thing i use LR2 / CS for is to work on my technique / reading ability.

Perhaps i will write an article on CS v. AC in the future.

Conclusion

This pretty sums it up for my general idea behind timing. If you feel like i'm missing something or need explain something clearer or more in depth then by all means let me know.

and just 123456 DO IT.

-DJ REA

Monday, October 8, 2012

Technique

First off, I didn't mention it but i am a right side player, and excuse my grammar and mistakes. I haven't written in ages.

Lets start off with the base of this game which is Technique

Technique

Remember this: 

Technique is far by the MOST important thing in IIDX, if you cant hit shit then you obviously cant time shit.

Your technique is pretty much what makes you and breaks you in this game. If you got a shitty technique then i'm sorry to say your never going to get anywhere.

What is a right technique and wrong technique?

Honestly i believe that there's no such thing as a right technique or a wrong technique, do whatever works for you but at least realize when its not working anymore its time to do something about it. I'm just going to say this: Try not to watch videos and copy what someones doing, what they are doing may not even work for you. The best thing you can do is to use videos for ideas to improve your playstyle.

This is a template for a basic technique that should work:
  
1. Pinky scratch (Unless you one hand or play any kind of DJ Mass song)
2. Your scratch hand should cover no more then the 3 closest keys to you.
3. Your non-scratch hand should at least cover the left 4-5 keys.

Somethings to think about regarding technique:

1. You don't have designate a finger for THAT one key only. (Its pretty good on high density songs)
2. You don't have to always pinky scratch (Especially on scratch songs. I use my middle+ring+pointer for better control and timing.)
3. Key 4 can be split among your hands (depending on position of notes)
4. Its ok to jam. (If your just trying to hit shit)
5. Think about position of the notes and the type of random it is.
6. Nothing is set in stone, you can always change your technique even though its the hardest thing in the world.
7. CONTROL of your hands
8. Your fingers can slide.
9. DO what works for you.

How can i improve my technique?

Well, this is just my opinion and it might not work for everybody.

1. Use RANDOM

To all you non-random advocates, sorry but theres only so much songs like in the sky, colorful cookie, diavolo, faxx and scratch songs. Your hands will be only good at doing scales, shit thats slapping, and up and down shit like 13 24 rolls. If you believe random is fraudulent or "not playing the game" then i suggest you quit. Top players don't use random for no reason and there are a shit TON more bad randoms then good randoms.

Random will pretty much open up your eyes to different types of patterns and different ways to hit keys.

Just don't "Random whore" and cherry pick your randoms (i still do this btw) play through every song you get even though its a horri-bad random. To me long as your trying to hit it, you will eventually get better at it and gives you more exposure to more patterns.

2. Get creative

There's no concrete way of hitting a certain pattern. Trying hitting things in a ton of different ways, you will be surprised that hitting things differently can open up a lot more possibilities. Just don't do something like hit the furthest key from the scratch with your scratch hand though. You have your whole hand to work with and i'm sure there's no rule saying your fingers have to hit the keys at your fingertips and im pretty sure there's ways to hit 2 keys with your thumb on your scratch hand. Not to mention, your hands can turn too.

When trying new things i will tell you this. ALWAYS remember the playstyle that you left off from.

3. Play harder songs and a variety of songs. 

Playing harder songs will of course improve your ability to read and hit shit. Just don't play stuff that's like WAAAY out of your league though. To me if i play a song that's like a few levels above me and somewhat CAN hit it, the song that i wanted to improve on will look and be a lot easier. This might involve playing crazy shit on LR2 though. And don't feel so bad for 2% a song all the time, I still do this shit. This especially helps on fast songs, playing a faster song will probably improve your overall control of your hands on the BPM you wanted to get better at.

As for playing a variety of songs, your not going to get better by AAA full comboing Mermaid Girl, any Terra song, mosaic, etc 80 times. Unless you really love Mermaid Girl (which i do). To me playing the same songs over and over doesn't really help me but make me feel stagnant. I play different songs to get different ideas.

4. Persevere 

Your going to have to try new things in order to improve and those new things may not work right away or not work at all. Don't feel bad if your playing like shit cause your trying something new, no one gets good instantly. Don't feel bad if it doesn't work, if its not working then go back to the drawing board and go back to your old playstyle. Who said shit will work a 100% of the time.

Wrist Scratching:

Ok so alot of people ask me about this cause im probably the only player that does this in the English speaking community that plays on AC

Is it something that i should do??

No and Yes. If you think it can work for you then go ahead and try it out and see how you like it. I'll be honest though, its pretty fucking inaccurate timing wise but it allows you to hit shit. Its not the BEST play style and ONLY playstyle that can make you better. Crazy ass players like DOLCE and TAKA.S dont wrist scratch and look how fucking good they are. I don't wrist scratch 100% of the time, now its maybe 30/70, the 70 being regular scratching. I've been changing my play style to wrist scratch on the fly when i need to recently just to improve my accuracy.

I'm not going to go into the details of improving in certain aspects like chords, streams, scratches and dense shit or what not since idk what people are bad at. In the future i will try to attempt to write on specifics if people want. But for now you can ask me questions and ill answer as best possible.

I hope this helps you open your mind on Technique.

-DJ Rea




Welcome to The Limbo.

First things first, let me introduce myself.

I am known as REA on Programmed World for AC IIDX, the jackass who has most of the top scores on PW. I also go by other various names like Hentai, loluralimey, djkc, H, Cien and whatever else i may use or used. I've been playing IIDX for about maybe a total of 5 years.

I started on 4th style when the local arcade here in Hawaii got a machine. From there i played for a good 2 years or so when they upgraded to 6th style then 9th style and i was pretty fucking horrible back then, (probably actually somewhere along the bottom.) After a long ass time of having 9th style and no upgrades i pretty much quit for a good 3 years until i took a trip to Japan and played Happy Sky and when i came back our local arcade somehow got their hands on a Happy Sky. From that Happy Sky i played all the way up until DJ Troopers which was when the arcade stopped upgrading. This period of time i played i improved a hell of a lot and reached a ton of milestones.

After no upgrades, once again i was put on break until another local arcade got a Sirius machine from here i played again for a little bit then slowly drew away from AC and moved on to Lunatic Rave 2 for about a year until we got Lincle with PW. This period of time until now brought me to the highest point in my IIDX career, i seriously never imagined myself getting this good to be honest.

Alright, end of that shit.

So what is the purpose of this site? Not to Dickwag obviously.


Basically, this is going to be for people that WANT to get better and have a better look at IIDX. I have a lot of advice and philosophy about IIDX that can help players that are new get into it and for experienced players that are stuck at a wall. To me its really nice to see people level up, perhaps one day someone will be as godlike as DOLCE or better then me (I honestly know and feel that there are other players that exist) among our community then i can be asking his ass for advice.

I also will answer questions regarding IIDX that anyone throws at me in the best possible way.

I probably wont write the nicest things either so expect some criticism and try not to get offended. I seriously do have a lot of shit to say about this game and the community. Doesn't mean i hate you though. I don't hate people for no reason.

Well, however you want to view this as which will either be useful advice, bunch of bullshit garbage, jamming, pants wrestling, or "why is this fraud who wrist scratches is even writing this shit, he doesnt even play the game right". I'm sure you'll find it a good read.

-Rea