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FINALLY, I just got my Beatmania US Pack today.

I've been playing for a couple hours straight...and I read that people who start and play through the higher difficulties on 5 key, have trouble switching to 7 key.

Is this true for anyone? i read that, so i started on 7 key..and can only do 1's, some 2's, and like 1 3 on beginner mode.

Hmm.. It's really tough and i don't see a whole lot of development. But i'm hella good at 5 key.. What should i start with? 5 or 7?

i found transitioning from 5 key to 7 key to be cumbersome because i had to rework my enetire finger layout. do the training and keep practicing. once you get finger placement down the rest comes to you naturally.

I found it hard to go from 7 key to 5 key, actually...

But 7 key is more fun in the long run. So I'd say inform yourself as to the styles of 7-key playing that are out there (1-handed vs. 2-handed vs. true 1-handed), experiment around and see if one is easier for you to master than the others.

Happy slogging!

I skipped 5 key all together cause I couldn't do it....I would endup hitting those worthless keys so I immediatly went to 7 key

lgolem wrote:I skipped 5 key all together cause I couldn't do it....I would endup hitting those worthless keys so I immediatly went to 7 key

Quite true...

5-key is easier on an actual 5 key controller.

I tend to want to focus on the screen while playing and not my fingers. As such, I am inclined to feel for the edge of the keys to find my position on them. If I see a note to the far right, I will move my fingers to the right edge. But those are not the correct keys when playing 5-key on a 7 key controller.

And Arka...
What is the difference between 1-handed and true 1-handed?

Ho wrote:5-key is easier on an actual 5 key controller.

I've suspected as much...

Ho wrote:I tend to want to focus on the screen while playing and not my fingers. As such, I am inclined to feel for the edge of the keys to find my position on them. If I see a note to the far right, I will move my fingers to the right edge. But those are not the correct keys when playing 5-key on a 7 key controller.

That's a very good description of the problem. It's akin to playing music written on a 4-line staff instead of a 5-line staff; you get used to using both ends as a reference, and so when their position changes relative to each other you're screwed.

Ho wrote:And Arka...
What is the difference between 1-handed and true 1-handed?

In my very unscientific naming scheme (i.e., I made the terms up because I needed something to describe the styles of play I was referring to):
1-handed is what you do when you play all 7 keys with one hand but use the other hand for the turntable. True 1-handed play involves using one hand for all 7 keys and the turntable... and the other hand for bracing the controller, or tapping against your leg, or surfing IndyDDR*, or if you're a complete psychopath doing improv on a normal keyboard**. It's essentially one half of a doubles position (though that's an oversimplification, since in doubles play you can and do wind up "crossing over" between controllers on the harder songs).

I go back and forth between the two - unfortunately, there are many 7key songs on which you need to use a specific hand to minimize stretching, since they have simultaneous keying and turntable work, and I'm frequently too lazy to figure out or remember which hand that is for any given song. (And for some songs it's not even possible, more's the pity.)

*I've never actually checked the IndyDDR forums while playing a song in Beatmania, but now I have the sudden urge to try. O epmfrt og O vsm gomodj ,u ,rddshr ejo;r [;suomh Rta?

**I've only tried this once. It was a head trip, but hysterically funny. Remind me to demonstrate sometime, preferably in front of a friendly audience.

sam wrote:keep practicing. once you get finger placement down the rest comes to you naturally.

Beatmania skills can also carry over into other activities in life!

i saw this sitting in EB today and i ALMOST bought it.

ShammerS wrote:

sam wrote:keep practicing. once you get finger placement down the rest comes to you naturally.

Beatmania skills can also carry over into other activities in life!

Huh?

Dyme wrote:i saw this sitting in EB today and i ALMOST bought it.

Doooooo it!

Arka wrote:

ShammerS wrote:

sam wrote:keep practicing. once you get finger placement down the rest comes to you naturally.

Beatmania skills can also carry over into other activities in life!

Huh?

let me show you how I work dem fingaz

RAIDEN SAYS PLAY MORE IIDX!!!

Seriously, it's a fun game, but it does have an extremely steep learning curve. I still suck at it, and I've been playing it for over a year... Just stick with it, and you'll get better. It gets really fun once you start being able to do real charts.

MonMotha wrote:

RAIDEN SAYS PLAY MORE IIDX!!!

Seriously, it's a fun game, but it does have an extremely steep learning curve. I still suck at it, and I've been playing it for over a year...

Now that is a cool case....lol

FINISH HIM

So, should I buy it? My PS2 (and 360 for that matter) haven't been getting a lot of play time recently (read:none), so I want to get some games to get me back into home gaming. The whole pack (controller + game) is only $40, right?

dance1005 wrote:So, should I buy it? My PS2 (and 360 for that matter) haven't been getting a lot of play time recently (read:none), so I want to get some games to get me back into home gaming. The whole pack (controller + game) is only $40, right?

$60 is how much I paid for it and it was worth it.