Beatmania IIDX New Comers, Post Here.

[Meseki]

Originally Posted by Mushushu

The only real advantage as far as I can tell is you don't have to deal with disc swapping or top flipping.

You can use Japanese PSX and DVD9 games with a J-PS2 compared to a Swap Magic.

[HT3]

Originally Posted by zorahk

Your above post makes 0 sense.

Why didn't you just install the cover yourself?
Also, of course swap magic comes in a cheap box, it's an illegal disc from a third party company. I have been using swap magic for a few years and I have never had a problem getting it to work even though my disc is scratched to hell and my ps2 is almost 8 years old.

i heard swap magic is LEGAL on wikipedia (Swap Magic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
i know wikipedia isnt always true but its plausible

[ngox]

I've played for around 2 weeks, so I guess I'm still new? I'm at the point where I can clear maybe half of the 6s out there and maybe 1 or 2 7s. My main gripe is hitting 1234567 in that order. Are there any good ways of doing this? Hitting 7654321 seems to be much easier... (I play 1P)

[Blackraven]

I would agree that it would be alright to start with BMUS as it is more beginner-friendly (esp. in terms of grading). Once you've pretty much mastered it, then you can start to expand into the Japanese versions.

That's pretty much a basic suggestion

Originally Posted by ngox

I've played for around 2 weeks, so I guess I'm still new? I'm at the point where I can clear maybe half of the 6s out there and maybe 1 or 2 7s. My main gripe is hitting 1234567 in that order. Are there any good ways of doing this? Hitting 7654321 seems to be much easier... (I play 1P)

There are many ways to hit this scale set (depending on your playstyle and preference). Anyways, I've said this before but if you have access to 10thstyle, then you can try playing Doll (the hyper chart should be sufficient enough for your current skill/play level). That song has an ending measure that combines 1234567 and 7654321 into just one whole scale.

Just practice on that and you'll get it

Hope that helps

P.S.
Probably a tip in the future but familiarization of scales will help indeed (esp. in songs like Contract [h] which have a half-scale in both directions along with a scratch). FYI

[m335h73r of PBJ]

Originally Posted by Lentic

Yeah if anyone has any questions about buying a "Japanese" Playstation 2 that will play "legitimately acquired/purchased" IIDX games...just PM me. I'm using a "Japanese" PS2 right now.

"I'm looking for a bunny"

[oOAsians2loveOo]

Originally Posted by zorahk

Your above post makes 0 sense.

Why didn't you just install the cover yourself?
Also, of course swap magic comes in a cheap box, it's an illegal disc from a third party company. I have been using swap magic for a few years and I have never had a problem getting it to work even though my disc is scratched to hell and my ps2 is almost 8 years old.

It was in the middle of the night~ >>'' Sorry if it didn't make any sense.

I did install the cover by myself. And I heard on Wikipedia that it was Legal~ But you can't always trust Wikipedia. Well it doesn't matter. I think I'm better off keeping my PS2 in one piece... Even though it's one of the old ones (( 7 years old I think )) I just don't want to break it.

[Mushushu]

Originally Posted by Meseki

You can use Japanese PSX and DVD9 games with a J-PS2 compared to a Swap Magic.

That's true. And there is speculation that Empress CS may use DVD9 media due to the larger-than-average songlist. (Although that songlist has yet to be confirmed by Konami)

Also in regards to scales, just try playing more songs that will expose you to them such as Kakumei. Even though it will probably destroy you, you'll get more exposure to those kinds of patterns and your mind will eventually develop a means to deal with them.

As far as finger placement is concerned, I usually do scales(1P) both ways with L.Thumb=1, L.Middle=2, L.Index=3, R.Index=4, R.Thumb=5, R.Middle=6, R.Ring=7,

OR

L.Ring=1, L.Middle=2, L.Thumb=3 with the right hand being the same as previously mentioned. Whichever feels more comfortable at the time while the song plays.

[Dara-G.]

Originally Posted by ngox

I've played for around 2 weeks, so I guess I'm still new? I'm at the point where I can clear maybe half of the 6s out there and maybe 1 or 2 7s. My main gripe is hitting 1234567 in that order. Are there any good ways of doing this? Hitting 7654321 seems to be much easier... (I play 1P)

Also try playing contract on Hyper in training mode with lower speeds. That has lots of stair cases. Or try wish the eurobeat one on hyper iirc that also has lots of stairs as well. Both being on DistorteD if you have access to that as well.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by Dara-G.

Also try playing contract on Hyper in training mode with lower speeds. That has lots of stair cases. Or try wish the eurobeat one on hyper iirc that also has lots of stairs as well. Both being on DistorteD if you have access to that as well.

Yup that's work well too

Also, now that you mentioned it, a few other songs do have those same types of scales:
-Two Days of Love
-Gekkou
-Resonate 1794

among other things and as mentioned before: Kakumei

Now most people would want to avoid it and thus use random to get away from those scales (esp. for more experienced one-hand players). However, use that as an opportunity as well as a challenge to improve flexibility in handling ascending-descending scales (which you'd obviously need for Nageki no Ki in the future).

[Aurora Borealis]

Hello all, I'm a DDR player who got interested and started playing IIDX this Sunday. Yesterday was my 2nd day playing (can't play on weekdays because I'm not at home during summer school). At my best right now, I can pass some 4s and at my worst, I'll fail a 2.
My question is, how long did it take for you guys to go from total beginner to comfortably in Hyper mode? I want to get around that level by the end of August (with about 2-3 days a week playing about 1-2 hours a day) because I'll have to rely solely on arcade play when I go back to college in the fall. I have BMUS and DistorteD, so what songs should I be focusing on? This game is possibly the hardest I've ever played, but I enjoy a challenge. Also, right now I'm playing one-handed (2P side) without really having a set finger(s) for any button because that's what's most intuitive for me (though I do sometimes use one finger to press 2 buttons consecutively, and other times I don't know what finger to use for a button and so miss the note), so how far would I be able to go with that style?
Thanks.

[Meseki]

Originally Posted by Aurora Borealis

Hello all, I'm a DDR player who got interested and started playing IIDX this Sunday. Yesterday was my 2nd day playing (can't play on weekdays because I'm not at home during summer school). At my best right now, I can pass some 4s and at my worst, I'll fail a 2.
My question is, how long did it take for you guys to go from total beginner to comfortably in Hyper mode? I want to get around that level by the end of August (with about 2-3 days a week playing about 1-2 hours a day) because I'll have to rely solely on arcade play when I go back to college in the fall. I have BMUS and DistorteD, so what songs should I be focusing on? This game is possibly the hardest I've ever played, but I enjoy a challenge. Also, right now I'm playing one-handed (2P side) without really having a set finger(s) for any button because that's what's most intuitive for me (though I do sometimes use one finger to press 2 buttons consecutively, and other times I don't know what finger to use for a button and so miss the note), so how far would I be able to go with that style?
Thanks.

You might be able to play average Hypers well by August if you haven't been playing for a week yet, but since you're playing one-handed, you will definitely hit a wall around 6s-7s.
Also, Karma would not be a good idea to play at least until you're very comfortable playing 5s, as I beat every other 5 in Distorted one-handed and never beat that before switching to playing two-handed (which may or may not be something you want to do, since that's most common and most higher level charts aren't really made with consideration for one-handers)

[CG ZiO]

I'm assuming you're left handed, if you're right handed I suggest you switch to 1p.

It's more beneficial to have a set finger placement when playing one handed, whereas if you play two handed it's probably better to have a more fluid playing style with your hands and fingers moving around a bit more.

1-thumb
2-index
3-index
4-middle
5-ring
6-ring
7-pinky

This is the most common finger placement. When I started playing (one handed as well) I made an effort to follow it and it helped me improve.

But I wouldn't worry about finger placement or anything like that if you've only been playing a couple days.

[Mushushu]

It took me about 2 weeks before I could start playing Hyper mode while maintaining a consistent clear rate for songs. But this is with me practicing every day for about an hour or two, so that probably doesn't give a good enough estimate for the timeframe you're after.

Some people are more naturally gifted towards IIDX though, and you may only need as much as a week to begin tackling hyper easily. Realistically though, if you only have the opportunity to play over the weekends, I'd say no more than a month since you have previous music game experience with DDR. Having a decent sense of rhythm will already give you a big advantage.

As for finger placement, I'm right handed and play on the left(1P) side. This may not help you much but this is generally what I alternate between:

L.Pinky = Scratch
L.Thumb = 1
L.Middle = 2
L.Index = 3

or

L.Pinky = Scratch
L.Ring = 1
L.Middle = 2
L.Thumb = 3

depending on the situation, and right hand is just
R.Index = 4
R.Thumb = 5
R.Middle = 6
R.Ring = 7

I'm jealous! You'll get to play on an arcade cabinet.

Lucky you.

edit: I also personally wouldn't worry too much over finger placement since you're just starting. Focus more on getting used to where the keys are, since the first obstacle is trying to get used to the controller itself.

[Dara-G.]

Honestly when i learned how to play i was playing ddr for about 3 yrs then. Back then i seemed to do really well on the ddr songs aka songs i knew like the back of my hand on ddr. So try that. You know V colors holic era etc...

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by Aurora Borealis

Hello all, I'm a DDR player who got interested and started playing IIDX this Sunday. Yesterday was my 2nd day playing (can't play on weekdays because I'm not at home during summer school). At my best right now, I can pass some 4s and at my worst, I'll fail a 2.
My question is, how long did it take for you guys to go from total beginner to comfortably in Hyper mode? I want to get around that level by the end of August (with about 2-3 days a week playing about 1-2 hours a day) because I'll have to rely solely on arcade play when I go back to college in the fall. I have BMUS and DistorteD, so what songs should I be focusing on? This game is possibly the hardest I've ever played, but I enjoy a challenge. Also, right now I'm playing one-handed (2P side) without really having a set finger(s) for any button because that's what's most intuitive for me (though I do sometimes use one finger to press 2 buttons consecutively, and other times I don't know what finger to use for a button and so miss the note), so how far would I be able to go with that style?
Thanks.

Wow nice 2P side one-handed player.

Interestingly, you sorta remind me of that one-hand leftie in Japan who can AAA stuff like Crossroad [a], Why Did You Go Away [a] and stuff like that. With practice, focus and determination, you too could become like him someday

Anyways, with regards to how long one must play to achieve a certain result. Well, it really depends on the player and their pacing (as obviously, different people improve at different rates).

For slow players like me, it probably took me one month before I passed my first 7k song (Ride on the Light hyper). Some can do the same thing faster so it really depends. Btw, it took me a month to clear it when I played it with two hands (and another month for me to master it one-handed)

Also, if you're playing one-handed or doubles (anything that involves one hand on one keypad set), it's highly recommended to have a set finger placement.

For 2P side one-handed, here's the common arrangement:
8 = left pinky
9 = left ring
10 = left ring
11 = left middle
12 = left index (and left thumb sometimes)
13 = left index
14 = left thumb

Hope that helps