arcade showdown: song selection
now, several things occurred to me while arcading with angel_ng, hongkheng, and seekoutastar today.
please read the entire thing, regardless of the cuts. this is important.
PARA: LEVEL SELECTION
now, if you can play songs on hard mode and pass reasonably well, obviously you're going to be able to ace any song on hormal mode. if your opponent is going to be playing on normal mode (because she can't play hard mode at all, or passably well) then if you want to play normal mode, that's up to you. but if your opponent is going to be playing hard mode, and you yourself can play at least 6 or more hard mode songs, then it would be better for you to choose hard mode.
after all, while you ARE supposed to try to win, this isn't supposed to be a one-sided competition. if it was, i'd allow myself to play light mode for ddr. this insight was due to watching bezzie play nonstop-normal. 5 star songs, and she's getting full percentages for it. now, unless your opponent is some super para-er who can get such scores for more or less any/every song (which i doubt neither me nor angel is), this is gonna turn out pretty one-sided. and then there'd be no point in playing to begin with.
challenge yourself. if you can play only around 6 or so songs on hard mode, list out the songs that you are able to play. this will give your opponent an idea of what songs to pick. after all, while we ARE supposed to be evil, we are NOT supposed to try to make whoever our opponent is, fail on the first song. that's just a waste of money. the first song (if you can't play many hard mode songs) will therefore DEFINITELY be a song from your list. but you MUST list all songs that you can pass on nonstop mode. including those you don't do too well on.
PARA: SONG SELECTION
now, another thing i noticed was that there was a lot of confusion on which song to pick, and if time runs out too fast, you won't be able to pick the songs you want your opponent to play. therefore, i'll be giving out slips to fill in on EOY. you fill it in, so that whoever is entering the songs can put in the correct songs, in the correct order.
again, since we do NOT want to waste money, please do NOT choose songs you know you opponent is horrible at or cannot pass, as the first song. it's a waste of money, and surely, you don't want that happening to you, right? if you want to pick a song that you know your opponent is horrible at, pick it for a later stage.
FIRST SONG
this should be a song that your opponent DEFINITELY can pass, but i'm sure you want to make it a song that is still difficult for them (unless you're a nice person).
SECOND SONG
you are picking this song for yourself. make sure you can pass it well, as this will be your only chance to fill up your lifebar to as full as you can (especially if you've got KILLER songs for the last 2).
THIRD SONG
this should be a song that your opponent has the ability to pass. it doesn't have to be a song that they've even played before, but the star-level should be at least around there. i'll be supplying a list of songs as well as their star-levels when i give out the slips. i'll also mark songs that i feel aren't rated properly (are either too easy for the rating, or too hard). this song should be challenging for your opponent. feel free to pick something that will wipe out a good half of the lifebar if you want. BUT MAKE SURE IT'S NO A SONG THAT YPUR OPPONENT WILL DIE ON.
FOURTH/LAST SONG
this can be any song. in fact, if you know that your opponent usually can't pass this song, or has never ever played it before, feel free to select it. try to keep it close to your opponent's star-level. after all, if i give e.g. tezu or bezzie a 7 star song to play for the last one, that's a bit overkill. it's unlikely that they'll pass it (now, anyway). it's more fun if your opponent can pass that song, even if there's only 1% of life left. XDD!!!
SONG SELECTION: PART 2
about what i'll be giving out on EOY for the song selection, it's a simple sheet of paper with blanks or boxes that you fill in and stuff. each sheet will have your match on it: meaning a slot for your opponent's songs, and another for yours. you will have to fill in the song you are choosing for yourself, as well as the songs you are selecting for your opponent. REMEMBER THAT YOU CHOOSE YOUR SECOND SONG. ALL OTHER SONGS (1ST, 3RD, 4TH) ARE TO BE CHOSEN BY YOUR OPPONENT)
tentatively, it will look something like this:
Your Name: ________________________
Match: _________________ VS. __________________
PARA Play Mode: Non-stop NORMAL/HARD*
Modifiers:
Speed: NORMAL/HI-SPEED*
View: NORMAL/MIRROR*
Arrows: NORMAL/SUDDEN/HIDDEN/INVISIBLE*
Song Stage Song Star-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
DDR Play Mode: LIGHT/STANDARD/HEAVY*
Modfiers:
Speed: x1.5 / x2 / x3 / x5 / x8*
Song Stage Song Foot-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
Fifth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
NOTES: * (please delete where applicable)
ON THE ADJACENT SIDE
Your Opponent's Name: ________________________
Match: _________________ VS. __________________
PARA Play Mode: Non-stop NORMAL/HARD*
Modifiers:
Speed: NORMAL/HI-SPEED*
View: NORMAL/MIRROR*
Arrows: NORMAL/SUDDEN/HIDDEN/INVISIBLE*
Song Stage Song Star-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
DDR Play Mode: LIGHT/STANDARD/HEAVY*
Modfiers:
Speed: x1.5 / x2 / x3 / x5 / x8*
Song Stage Song Foot-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
Fifth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
NOTES: * (please delete where applicable)
it looks better on MSword than here. trust me. anyway, this is what i came up with right now. there might be changes to it as time passes. i'll be giving you the song lists with the forms, so don't wory about that. but try to think about it now, so that on EOY, when i'm sure you don't want to spend the whole time thinking about what to fill in, you can minimize writing time.
i've also realized that i never specified how the song selection for DDR will occur.
in DDR, assuming at least one person is able to survive that round, there are a total of 5 rounds. you are allowed to pick 2, your opponent picks 2, and a random participant of the showdown will pick the last. whoever the random persons are, please don't be biased. just choose a song you want to listen to, or one where both ddr-ers will suffer. XDDD!!!
now, which 2 songs will you get to pick? that one you can discuss with your opponent. decide however way you want: scissors/paper/stone, tikam using slips of paper, or just selecting the RANDOM choice for all 4, whatever. but do NOT let your opponent know which song you intend to pick.
whichever song stages you are picking, make sure you can at least pass that stage (there's no real logic in picking a song that you can't play, because remember, in ddr versus mode, both you and your opponent will be playing simultaneously. you play what she plays.) so choose wisely. if you're feeling evil, choose songs that you are good at, but you know your opponent SUCKS at. but that's just if you're feeling sadistic, of course.
when filling in the forms, your opponent will NOT know what songs she will be playing until the actual match itself. why? shock factor. and also so that she can't prepare herself or mentally rehearse the steps/moves. i want to keep this as spontaneous as possible. more fun. and because i'm a sadist.
that's all for now. if there's anything i feel i need to add, i'll post another entry. stay tuned!!! i'll of course let all of you know if i have more details up. ^^
please read the entire thing, regardless of the cuts. this is important.
PARA: LEVEL SELECTION
now, if you can play songs on hard mode and pass reasonably well, obviously you're going to be able to ace any song on hormal mode. if your opponent is going to be playing on normal mode (because she can't play hard mode at all, or passably well) then if you want to play normal mode, that's up to you. but if your opponent is going to be playing hard mode, and you yourself can play at least 6 or more hard mode songs, then it would be better for you to choose hard mode.
after all, while you ARE supposed to try to win, this isn't supposed to be a one-sided competition. if it was, i'd allow myself to play light mode for ddr. this insight was due to watching bezzie play nonstop-normal. 5 star songs, and she's getting full percentages for it. now, unless your opponent is some super para-er who can get such scores for more or less any/every song (which i doubt neither me nor angel is), this is gonna turn out pretty one-sided. and then there'd be no point in playing to begin with.
challenge yourself. if you can play only around 6 or so songs on hard mode, list out the songs that you are able to play. this will give your opponent an idea of what songs to pick. after all, while we ARE supposed to be evil, we are NOT supposed to try to make whoever our opponent is, fail on the first song. that's just a waste of money. the first song (if you can't play many hard mode songs) will therefore DEFINITELY be a song from your list. but you MUST list all songs that you can pass on nonstop mode. including those you don't do too well on.
PARA: SONG SELECTION
now, another thing i noticed was that there was a lot of confusion on which song to pick, and if time runs out too fast, you won't be able to pick the songs you want your opponent to play. therefore, i'll be giving out slips to fill in on EOY. you fill it in, so that whoever is entering the songs can put in the correct songs, in the correct order.
again, since we do NOT want to waste money, please do NOT choose songs you know you opponent is horrible at or cannot pass, as the first song. it's a waste of money, and surely, you don't want that happening to you, right? if you want to pick a song that you know your opponent is horrible at, pick it for a later stage.
FIRST SONG
this should be a song that your opponent DEFINITELY can pass, but i'm sure you want to make it a song that is still difficult for them (unless you're a nice person).
SECOND SONG
you are picking this song for yourself. make sure you can pass it well, as this will be your only chance to fill up your lifebar to as full as you can (especially if you've got KILLER songs for the last 2).
THIRD SONG
this should be a song that your opponent has the ability to pass. it doesn't have to be a song that they've even played before, but the star-level should be at least around there. i'll be supplying a list of songs as well as their star-levels when i give out the slips. i'll also mark songs that i feel aren't rated properly (are either too easy for the rating, or too hard). this song should be challenging for your opponent. feel free to pick something that will wipe out a good half of the lifebar if you want. BUT MAKE SURE IT'S NO A SONG THAT YPUR OPPONENT WILL DIE ON.
FOURTH/LAST SONG
this can be any song. in fact, if you know that your opponent usually can't pass this song, or has never ever played it before, feel free to select it. try to keep it close to your opponent's star-level. after all, if i give e.g. tezu or bezzie a 7 star song to play for the last one, that's a bit overkill. it's unlikely that they'll pass it (now, anyway). it's more fun if your opponent can pass that song, even if there's only 1% of life left. XDD!!!
SONG SELECTION: PART 2
about what i'll be giving out on EOY for the song selection, it's a simple sheet of paper with blanks or boxes that you fill in and stuff. each sheet will have your match on it: meaning a slot for your opponent's songs, and another for yours. you will have to fill in the song you are choosing for yourself, as well as the songs you are selecting for your opponent. REMEMBER THAT YOU CHOOSE YOUR SECOND SONG. ALL OTHER SONGS (1ST, 3RD, 4TH) ARE TO BE CHOSEN BY YOUR OPPONENT)
tentatively, it will look something like this:
Your Name: ________________________
Match: _________________ VS. __________________
PARA Play Mode: Non-stop NORMAL/HARD*
Modifiers:
Speed: NORMAL/HI-SPEED*
View: NORMAL/MIRROR*
Arrows: NORMAL/SUDDEN/HIDDEN/INVISIBLE*
Song Stage Song Star-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
DDR Play Mode: LIGHT/STANDARD/HEAVY*
Modfiers:
Speed: x1.5 / x2 / x3 / x5 / x8*
Song Stage Song Foot-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
Fifth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
NOTES: * (please delete where applicable)
ON THE ADJACENT SIDE
Your Opponent's Name: ________________________
Match: _________________ VS. __________________
PARA Play Mode: Non-stop NORMAL/HARD*
Modifiers:
Speed: NORMAL/HI-SPEED*
View: NORMAL/MIRROR*
Arrows: NORMAL/SUDDEN/HIDDEN/INVISIBLE*
Song Stage Song Star-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
DDR Play Mode: LIGHT/STANDARD/HEAVY*
Modfiers:
Speed: x1.5 / x2 / x3 / x5 / x8*
Song Stage Song Foot-Level Percentage
First Song
Second Song
Third Song
Fourth Song
Fifth Song
(this is in a table)
Score: __________________
NOTES: * (please delete where applicable)
it looks better on MSword than here. trust me. anyway, this is what i came up with right now. there might be changes to it as time passes. i'll be giving you the song lists with the forms, so don't wory about that. but try to think about it now, so that on EOY, when i'm sure you don't want to spend the whole time thinking about what to fill in, you can minimize writing time.
i've also realized that i never specified how the song selection for DDR will occur.
in DDR, assuming at least one person is able to survive that round, there are a total of 5 rounds. you are allowed to pick 2, your opponent picks 2, and a random participant of the showdown will pick the last. whoever the random persons are, please don't be biased. just choose a song you want to listen to, or one where both ddr-ers will suffer. XDDD!!!
now, which 2 songs will you get to pick? that one you can discuss with your opponent. decide however way you want: scissors/paper/stone, tikam using slips of paper, or just selecting the RANDOM choice for all 4, whatever. but do NOT let your opponent know which song you intend to pick.
whichever song stages you are picking, make sure you can at least pass that stage (there's no real logic in picking a song that you can't play, because remember, in ddr versus mode, both you and your opponent will be playing simultaneously. you play what she plays.) so choose wisely. if you're feeling evil, choose songs that you are good at, but you know your opponent SUCKS at. but that's just if you're feeling sadistic, of course.
when filling in the forms, your opponent will NOT know what songs she will be playing until the actual match itself. why? shock factor. and also so that she can't prepare herself or mentally rehearse the steps/moves. i want to keep this as spontaneous as possible. more fun. and because i'm a sadist.
that's all for now. if there's anything i feel i need to add, i'll post another entry. stay tuned!!! i'll of course let all of you know if i have more details up. ^^