The Pop'n Music Beginner/Tech Thread

[Opethian]

i think excessive hi speed mods can hurt you because you wont be ready for song with alot of speed changes like classic songs and pyrimid/athletic meet
i say practice complex patterns at low speeds because if you can read at low speeds its real easy to read at high and you dont have to towel as much (yea also a towel can help alot on EX songs at least for me)

[ratna]

Originally Posted by Opethian

i think excessive hi speed mods can hurt you because you wont be ready for song with alot of speed changes like classic songs and pyrimid/athletic meet
i say practice complex patterns at low speeds because if you can read at low speeds its real easy to read at high and you dont have to towel as much (yea also a towel can help alot on EX songs at least for me)

Well with Pyramid, I'd think you need speed mods-- it only goes up to 270 at one point in the song then sets back to... 150? or something like that? Playing that without hi-speed may be difficult, but I see what you mean by excessive. Like 6x on Cyber Gagaku... wait, that's not excessive, that's just stupid...

But I guess you should start off without HS mods then get into them for the best result. That's what I did, at least.

[Alex]

Honestly it's good to learn reading at low speeds, but for consistent BPM songs, the twitch reaction works best for the best score and combo. I can pretty much read at 750bpm on 10 and up, but I'm comfortable with as low as about 625 for complex stuff.

It's best to get good at a range, then adjust your speedmods accordingly.

[ratna]

Okay, so I thought I'd post in here. I've hit the 29-30s wall. I don't know what to do. No 29-30 I choose, other than J-Punkish Girl (which I got absurdly lucky on), I can do. I'm thinking it's a matter of how to alternate beats... if that sounds right. For instance, I can do Twee Pop H (30) up to the point where it alternates between green/white and ALSO does "ma ma ma ma ma ma" etc etc.

Basically, if anyone can, other than suggest practicing(which I do), suggest a 29 or 30 that I probably overlooked that isn't too insane...

[Kuhazan]

I thought all of the PNM games in-game tutorials and free training options were more than enough to get started... PNM 8 even had ONE button mode... come on... one button? No one is that bad... haha

Anyhow I play with an ASC... and I can never go back to the mini-con...

[Owen]

Yay, stickied .



Oh, and my thoughts for newbies: I personally like 5-line. I started with it and it helped me get comfortable with the button layout. Maybe it's just me, but after like an hour with 5-line I was able to hop right into 9-line and move up pretty fluidly through it.

[Action Man]

No, no, Owen, as a beginner I can completely agree with you. I’ve played 5 button all the time whenever I go to conventions. Now it’s extremely easy for me to get into levels 14-15 9 button.

[Secef]

I'm also stuck at the 29-30 wall. That isn't to say that I haven't tackled a couple at and above that level... I've cleared Hip Rock [H] along with a slew of 31s and others. However, with the vast majority of 29+s, I find myself struggling to beat them. A good example of a 29 I have a crapload of trouble with is Message Song [H]. My bar just sinks into the ground and never goes back up.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm getting more comfortable using higher speed mods for uptempo songs (less than 170 for 4x) and moving my hands quicker, but I'm still having problems with 4+ button smashes and doing two different parts of the song (eg, steady beat or simple pattern on left, main melody on right). Any good recommendations on what songs to practice to improve those particular skills, or any other good advice for tackling the barrier in the 29-31 area? Thanks.

[Slarty]

You sound like my friends who's having the same problems.

Are you reading the notes horizontally across the screen or vertically as they fall? You need to be able to identify patterns using both visuals.

There are times when you have to think of the note patterns in relationship to your hands. Certain times the chords are linear/adjacent and other times they are more spread out. You have to be able to break up the pattern into which hand will hit which notes in the chord.

And don't forget about what comes after the chord. I dunno if that's your probelm of not but break up reading the patterns.

I can't come up with any specific songs to practice or any specific examples.

[meis]

Originally Posted by Twee Popper

Basically, if anyone can, other than suggest practicing(which I do), suggest a 29 or 30 that I probably overlooked that isn't too insane...

Raspberry Heart [H](PNM 10). A 30's song that I cant clear it... (But I'm able to pass the song 33's Love Love Sugar [H])

[ratna]

Hmm. That may work.
I passed Lesson Hyper... which is a 30.... but not really....

[Shito]

i'm going to start playing on ex with dualshock, soo... give-me some tips

[Ichibo]

FOXY tips :

1) Moving farther away or closer to the TV is like changing the hispeed setting. The closer to the TV you are the faster the notes seem to scroll. If anybody watched me play at the arcade, I'd move back a little on higher BPM songs or move closer to the screen during slowdowns.

2) During complex parts of songs where all the notes cluster to one side of the screen, actually move your head a little so you are focusing on just that section. This happens a bit in Rinsei EX where you have these one handed rolls on the left or ride sides.

3) Get used to actually moving your hands to hit White Blues combos instead of trying it with one hand. You will not be able to hit this consistantly when you are just starting out. Try HoneHoneEX for an example of this.

4) Anything to the left of the red button is the responsibility of your left hand. Anything to the right is the responsibility of your right hand. HOWEVAR, you will need to learn how to reach over during more complex patterns. Hands like to play together and they need help every once in awhile :<

5) Hit the buttons. Hit 'em hard! It is much easier to stay on beat when you can hear the popping of the buttons over the music. Even at higher levels of play being able to hear the buttons pop is more helpful to me than hearing the song >.>

6) You can hit chords with one hand. Stretch out your hand and hit one button, then quickly slide your hand and hit the side of the other button. You will eventually get to know how hard you need to hit the side of the button to make it register. Playing on SRandom is a good way to practice this. SRandom will also help you learn to hit jackhammers, or at least double and triple taps.

7) Don't be afraid to hit extra notes on chords. Reading 3 and 4 note chords is hard, and it takes awhile to get used to the hand positions. See: The middle of Girls Band 2 EX, Vivid EX, Hip Rock 3 EX, the end of Athletic Meet EX. I always get extra bads here, especially on Vivid. Getting an extra bad is much better than actually missing the note. As you get better you will learn to read the chords more clearly and hopefully be able to cut out the extra misses.

8) Have fun. I almost forgot this rule myself.

edit:

9) Learn to read the notes by the position of the lanes and their relative spacing to one another. A white is about |--| away from a blue which is |------| from the other blue on screen. This will help with your twitch reactions immensely. I can read the WhitePopkun-Ojama and Chara pop almost as well as I can read regular charts because of this. You don't really need to focus on this as it will probably come naturally, but playing with Charapop or the WhitePopkun ojama will help.

[darkarn]

*Looks at the 1st tip*

Oh ****.... I should have known....

Anyway, if I trained too much (Approx. 10 credits of 3 short songs) on 5-button, is it too late for me to train up on 9-button?

And what songs should I go for? Should I use "Beat Pop" while training?

Thanks!

*My country has only PnM13 as the latest machine.... Cannot play PnM14 stuff....

[Owen]

No, it's not too late to move up to 9-line :P; it never is. I would avoid using Beat Pop however, but it's really a matter of personal preference.