2 Otaku’s and 3 Rings – #47, #48, #49
So, you guys are in for a treat. Sort of. You get the chance to unlock THREE songs tonight (no, there will not be 1 tomorrow. there will still be 2 every day for the rest of the month.) The catch, you ask? 2 of the 3 are REALLY REALLY hard to unlock. Including one so hard that it is the 1st requirement that I am unable to unlock myself.
Otaku Speedvibe is a crazy Hardcore Gabba song by DJ Sharpnel alias Neon Genesis Gabbangelion. The story behind this dual release, and file, is that hi19hi19 stepped a crazy ass version of this and submitted it to Shash and me for consideration. We said it was way overstepped, and he needed to tone it down. So he did, and we accepted it. But, he still kept his crazy version in the dwi for us to have. Then, Shash comes to me and says, “Tass, we need at least 1 retardedly hard skill token. Just 1.” So, I’m like…. ok, sure. Why not? Anyway, we decided to use hi19′s Otaku file for it. Only… I go to test it today, and it’s mad easy. And I’m like, “Crap. We can’t have this easy song as the unlockable for the crazy retardedly hard skill token…. LETS RELEASE THIS WITH AN EASIER REQ, AND USE THE UBER OVERSTEPPED VERSION FOR THE CRAZY REQ!” So, that is what I did. Both versions, Otaku Speedvibe [Heavy] and Otaku Speedvibe [Oni] are fairly identical files, just that Oni has a bunch of 212bpm 32nd rolls and 212bpm 16th jumpstream, while Heavy does not. Which is why I classified them as Heavy and Oni, as opposed to v1 and v2. Heavy has about 140 4-framers, and is a fairly challenging 10/12. Oni has 2 3-framers and around 220 4-framers… the 32nd rolls are by far the hardest part of the file. So much so that I’ve rated the Oni version 12/12, For Guru’s Only.
The unlocks for both are quite challenging. I refer you to this thread on FFR Difficulties, for your reference. To unlock Heavy, you must AAA one of the files listed as a “65″, aka… one of: Seven, the Brain of the Moon, Famouz, The Games We Played Part 4, Video Out A, Evil Approaches, Ruins, Amefuri Koneko, or Tribal Transcendency. For those who are observant, you’ll notice that Exciting Hyper Highspeed Star v2 is not on that list, despite being a 65. I decided to not include Tokens or Skill Tokens for the unlock req. So, you have 9 songs to choose from, and you have to AAA 1 of them.
The unlock for Oni is even harder. You have to AAA one of the For Masters Only songs. Silence, Vertex BETA, Sympathizer, k8107, Balloon Fever, Turkish March, HELLBEAT, Rottel-da-Station, Lawn Wake IV, Flight of the Bumblebee, Strangeprogram, AIM Anthem, BB Evolution, or Exciting Hyper Highspeed Star. And so you know… only 13 people have ever done it: Shashakiro (9: silence, vertex, sympathizer, k8107, balloon fever, hellbeat, lawn wake iv, fotbb, ehhs), darkshark (5: silence, vertex, k8107, balloon fever, fotbb), smartdude1212 (3: vertex, hellbeat, fotbb), danceguy117 (3: vertex, balloon fever, hellbeat), jimerax (2: silence, k8107), dynam0 (2: silence, balloon fever), skeleton-gotw (2: vertex, hellbeat), xxxsmittyxxx (2: vertex, sympathizer), cetaka (2: k8107, ehhs), bill_clinton (2: k8107, balloon fever), bahamut-x (2: balloon fever, ehhs), scottish (1: fotbb), and ledwix (1: k8107) AND, 5 of the 14 songs have never been AAAd (Turkish, Rottel, SP, AIM, and Evo)
MY NOTE TO THOSE CAPABLE OF GETTING THIS TOKEN…. PLEASE DO NOT SEND OUT CHALLENGES ON IT! YOU EARNED IT, NOT THE RANDOM PERSON YOU SEND A CHALLENGE TO ON IT! Also, any clearly fake AAA score who gets the token will get their account banned, have their scores wiped, and have their stats set to negative numbers.
And then to counter the 2 really really hard tokens, I give you a really really easy token. Three Ring Nightfall is a remix of the Casino Night Zone from the game Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This remix comes from Haydn, and is part of Project Chaos, a group working to put out a remix cd of music all from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Stepfile is by Neonatrias. I rated it a 6 for its 5 note trills at 120bpm, which is the hardest part of the file. It is a bit long, at a shade over 3 minutes. I hope you enjoy this circus-esque mix based off of my favorite Sonic level music. To unlock Three Ring Nightfall…. pass Sonic 1 Final Zone, found in arcade.
Enjoy, and start with the complaining.
-Tass
Edit: Also congrats to our 2 newest members of the “I can AAA a FMO song”, Reach and Xiaounlimited.
FFR Launches First External Custom Embedded Version for Making April
For some time now we have been working towards creating a custom embedded version of FFR. Recently while I was in the middle of toying with the embed code, DrugstoreCowboy messaged me and told me about this really amazing band on Myspace that was interested in creating a custom embedded version. That is when it dawned on me that FFR would be a perfect tool to help promote bands externally while driving up the visibility of FFR itself. Why not gear a special version of all our products for use outside of the site?
Who was that interested band? That band was “Making April“. They are one of the top if not the top unsigned band on Myspace currently. Making April is a Rock / Alternative / Acoustic band based out of Cortlandt Manor, New York. They have aquired nearly 100,000 friends and around 40,000 song plays PER DAY on their Myspace page. You can imagine how floored I was when I heard they were fans of FFR and were excited to have a custom version created for them. Needless to say, I began work right away to complete this special version. Both Tass and DrugstoreCowboy started up the simfile group and within a couple days we had 3 solid files ready for the Making April embedded version.
What titles were chosen?
Song: “Jump In” Stepfile Author: DrugStoreCowboy
Song: “Roses & Butterflies” Stepfile Author: Neonatrias
Song: “Driveway” Stepfile Author: SulferDragon
You can play these levels exclusively for a few days on the Making April Myspace Page. These levels will be released over this weekend on FFR itself and I imagine more difficult versions will be released sometime in the future on FFR. Currently scores on external versions do not record but we are working on embedded stats and all kinds of interesting features for the external versions (including special hi-score lists).
I really hope you guys head on over to their Myspace and show your support. After hours upon hours of talking to Greg and others, I have learned that they are not only talented at what they do but also some of the coolest people you will ever meet. I sincerely wish them the best with their band and will be doing what we can to improve on the embedded player to bring them new songs and features on a regular basis. There are rumors circling of new songs twice a month on the Making April embedded version. 
Again, thanks again to everyone involved in this effort. There are more people than I can thank that helped organize this effort very quickly. We look forward to creating custom versions for other bands. Afterall, we do exist to promote the music and provide entertainment.
*NOTE* SpinItUp!2 embedded version is also currently available to bands externally.
Cheers,
SpinItUP! Gets Makeover and Multiplayer! Say hello to SpinItUP!2
For those of you following the thread in the forums regarding SpinItUP! You will remember that I promised something new for SpinItUP! within the next week. How does today sound instead?
Today we unleash the new beta version of SpinItUP! for beta team and subscribers to run it through the routine and try to make it break. You will notice that they is not only an interface upgrade but we have added REALTIME 4 PLAYER MULTIPLAYER. (if I could have made that anymore bold I would have). It also includes new graphics and approach for Single player and an embeddable version that is being built in to allow the embedding on any external site with auto-launch of your favorite level.
No, this is not an April fools joke. This version is a reality and we will be trimming, polishing and adding to it over the next week. So as always, we will welcome your suggestions and look forward to your comments in the beta team / subscriber forum. WIP!
Those who are beta team members or subscribers will be able to find the link in the forum shortly here this afternoon. We are creating the page for it now.
On top of all this we have a very exciting piece of news for later tonight concerning a well known band and an interesting new use for FFR.
In the meantime, here is some eye candy for you. Don’t forget to thank Mr. Xelius for the amazing multiplayer coding and of course Mr. Bemaniruler for working with us on the interface.
What Would CAULI FLOWER Taste Like At ~Absolute Zero~? – #33 & #34
CAULI FLOWER is a song by onoken. It reminds me a bit of Moonbeam, in its length and varying difficulty levels throughout. I’ve been informed by bmah that it’s style is Piano House. It’s long, at 3:31, but only has a few challenging parts. but of 16th jumpstream bursts and a few 24th rolls. It also has the distinction of being the 2nd song in FFR with white arrows. Stepfile is by Brilliant Dynamite Neon, and is rated an 8 by me. I guess it could be a 7, but I felt the non 16th notes made it a bit harder. I also like to err on the side of more difficult as opposed to too easy. The req to unlock this is very straightforward. Full Combo Brightone (found in Dance2) with 9 or less goods.
~Absolute Zero~ is our 3rd song in FFR by Envy, and the 2nd that has to do with temperature. It’s a techno song, full of 8th chains and 4 32nd rolls. I rated it a 9 in difficulty, as it took me a few tries to AAA. Might just be because I’m awful at chains. Could be an 8. Stepfile is by Valtrix, who also stepped Fahrenheit . Valtrix also came up with this req for the song, so blame him if you can’t figure it out. To unlock ~Absolute Zero~, get exactly a total of 0 on Fahrenheit (found in Dance), while still hitting at least 1 note. It IS possible. My advice is this: each 1 combo is worth 1000 points, each perfect is worth 550, each good is worth 275, each average is worth 55, each boo is -20, and each miss is -310. Hope that helps. Also, I’m aware that the ~ shows up as a []… we’re looking into fixing that.
In other news… you all know I fixed up the links to FFRs artist’s webpages. Well, I have also now fixed up the Style of each and every song, courtesy of bmah. So, check that out. No more Kill Rabbits or Sup Jewp or 100% Pure Torley for the styles. They should all be accurate. If not, let me know your feelings about it, but make sure to include why.
Enjoy,
-Tass
EDIT: So, it has been brought to my attention that you get the Absolute Zero ST accidentally when your score doesn’t record. Which is nobody’s fault. Anyway, we’ve tweaked the code slightly so this won’t happen anymore. NOW… instead of just needing to get a score of 0… you have to get a score of 0 with hitting ONLY 1 arrow.
Dance To Moroder & Angel Stays On This Ground – #31 and #32
Dance To Moroder is our 2nd song in game by Joy Electric. It’s a bit down tempo, yet still conveys energy that really does make you want to get up and Dance all the way to Moroder. Except that every time I try and go to Moroder, I wind up in Mordor. I think it is that stupid eye that keeps staring at me. Regardless. File is by jimerax, my main man always willing to do what is asked of him. He’s also the expert on file difficulties, and rated his own file a 4…. but I feel that it is a 5. So we can start the debate now on that subject. If you’d like to play the file to weigh in your input, just pass From Mount Chorus with 15 or less averages. FMC is in Misc.
Angel Stays On This Ground is another non-Vertex song by Silvia to be in game, also by Silver_Brian. The song has a very euro dance feel to it. No offense to Joy Electric, but ASOTG makes me want to Dance to Moroder even more than Dance to Moroder does. I rated the file a 7, but I could see it being a 6 also…. so, more debate. Also, the file kind of ends abruptly, about 2 seconds before the music does. Not really sure why, but that’s that. To unlock ASOTG, play Water Like Pudding. Get EXACTLY 243 perfects on it. 0 goods, 0 averages, 0 misses, 0 boos. I’ll let you guys figure out how to do that.
Enjoy
-Tass
Chardish edit: Quit your hatin’, Tass, you know you love Joy Electric. How could you not?
Dawn of the Giggles Color. #29 & #30
Sorry for the lateness of the tokens…. but it’s still only 9:30 here on the West Coast. Anyway…
Dawn is another Trance song by Kyle Ward alias KaW. File is by Triplex72, and has the distinction of being in the queue longer than any other song. EVER! (Except July, but that doesn’t count, since I specifically held off on releasing it for a reason. Dawn was just random that it was never released earlier, mostly). So big thanks to Triplex on being so patient on getting his first file in the game. Difficulty is set at an 8, mostly for length. The song is 3:30, bunch of gallops. Unlock req: Get a FC on The Pylons Are TRAP BALLS with at least 546 perfects.
Color of Giggles is a real fun song by sleeplessdragn, one of our in-house music extraordinaires. The song is 200bpm, full of upbeatness. Rated a 10 for its 4-framers, but overall it doesn’t have any long streams; just many long bursts and 8th chains. File is by dAnceguy117, his 2nd. The unlock req is interesting on this one…. Shash came up with it. Your combo must be 5 times greater than your combined total of goods, averages, misses, and boos on Vertex BETA (along with passing it). Aka, a Full Combo (1755) with 200 goods, 100 averages, 0 misses, and 60 boos would NOT unlock it (200+100+60 * 5 = 1800). BUT, a combo of 500 with 20 goods, 20 averages, 20 misses, and 20 boos WOULD unlock it (20+20+20+20 * 5 = 400).
Enjoy! And check back again tomorrow for 2 more Skill Tokens, hopefully earlier in the day.
-Tass
Lolharp5000, Satori v2… A Subscriber New Feature… and a Flash Player Update.
1st, lets start with that Flash Player update You can download the update from Adobe’s website, here.
The new subscriber feature is something that has been asked for for a long time now. It is a levelrank for token, skill token, and subscriber only songs. It looks and functions exactly like the normal levelrank, just has all those fun songs that aren’t on the original. Expect some fun new updates to the top AAA list page as well, to factor in these songs. Is it possible we might now see those songs giving Tier Points?
The 2 skill tokens for today… #27 and #28 of the month…
{Satori} is a song by cornandbeans found in the token section. Apparently, some people were not a fan of the 24th trills found throughout this file, so Kit- decided to make a v2. Speaking of Kit-… her file for Venetian Snares‘ song Szamar Madar was released to subscribers last night, and has been getting RAVE reviews. Anyway, I’m sure you guys all know what Satori sounds like, so I don’t need to give you that part of the speech. I rated it an 8; it might be a 7. I made it an 8 because of the 32nd bursts and the 2 sections of 2-2-4 minijacks that form a total of 8 4-framers. To unlock…. play Satori v1. Pass Satori v1. Get 0 averages on Satori v1. Get 5 or less boos on Satori v1. That’s it.
lolharp5000 is…. well… it’s noise, to me. Although it does make for a fun stepfile. Definitely a solid 10 in difficulty, it is only 70 seconds long, but has 632 notes and 38 4-framers. Took me a bunch of tries to Full Combo it. Song is by iPatch and Kil, under the amazingly creative names of “CATSMASHER feat. SH*TSCYTHE.” Stepfile is by hi19hi19. The req to unlock this is quasi-anti, and yet isn’t…. you must pass Lawn Wake IV while getting averages, misses, and boos all within 5 of each other. Aka… 0 averages, 0 misses, 3 boos would unlock it. 20 averages, 14 misses, and 17 boos will not unlock it. I’d go so far as to say that this req is most certainly easier to do than the song it unlocks merits, but we’ve had a few that have been the opposite of that so far, so I’m not worried.
Enjoy.
-Tass
2 Skill Tokens & An Artist URL Update!
I’ve been busy today… in addition to the 2 skill tokens, I’ve spent most of my morning updating our list of URLs for all of FFRs artists. After all, exposure IS the reason why these bands/artists give us permission. Still missing some, mostly ones from 3+ years ago or japanese artists… so I’m going to rely on you guys to help me out. If you know of a URL for an artist that is currently missing a URL, please PM me the link. You can view all of this information in THREE different places…. The FFR Song List (does not include Secret, Token, or Skill songs), The Genre List (does not include Secret), or you can view the information from each level’s individual levelstats page.
Again… if you know a working URL for one of the bands or artists that I am missing, please PM me the information. As you guys are unable to view the Secret genre songs except individually via their levelstats, the artists from that genre that I’m missing are: Kil, Sampling Masters CHANG, DJ Destruction, DJ Lain, Jordan Neff, DJ RageVI, and DJ Bladerunner. As you can see, I had trouble with people who had DJ in their name.
As for the 2 skill tokens! Heavy Danger is from a popular newsground artist named Manmademusic. Pretty cool sounding song, if you ask me. Little rock-ish, little techno-ish. File is medium difficulty; I listed it as a 7. Made by SulferDragon. All you have to do to unlock it is AAA Free Space, which is found in Dance.
What-ever is our first non-VertexBETA song by Silvia. I’m certainly no expert on music genres (as I’m sure you all know by now), but it has a bit of an epic trance sound to me, at least in the beginning. Anyway, before I continue to show off my lack of musical knowledge, I’ll digress. File is by Silver_Brian and is again of medium difficulty; again rated a 7 by yours truly. To unlock this fun little piece, pass Delirium with a 400+ combo. Delirium is in Dance2.
I think that is about it for now… subscribers can expect a song later tonight. Assuming Kit- is finished sending me updates on it. I think she’s given me about 12 so far. Everyone else can expect a subscriber song to go public some time on Sunday.
-Tass & LD & something that we’ll let you come up with yourself.
EDIT: Thank you to the multiple quick responses… I now have DJ Destruction (who I found, but thought it was the wrong person), Jordan Neff, and DJ RageVI. I have a URL for DJ Lain, but I think it is the wrong person. Also, in case you are lazy… I’m also missing: DJ Kankaoh (kwik, any ideas?), Analog Boy, Chuk & Gek, Good Job Company, Prophecy, Dj GULIT (kwik?), DJ Ascent, The Red Rebel, WipEOut, Braille & J5, Richee, Just Will, F.T.S., D.I. – LVC Producitons, Leroy Watkins Jr, KgZ, Wlokos, AKHT (I know of their 1 page non-english website, but I want something that is actually useful), Excluded (is it the offbeat’s site?), DJ Plaeskool, Sektone, Hiro, Dissonance, DJ Naphouse, beatMARIO, Dan & Jea, Kajmaster Kajet, and Paraoka. That is the FULL list of artist’s I’m missing, minus the ones that clearly don’t have them.
EDIT2: Again, big thanks… still missing: DJ Kankaoh, Analog Boy, Chuk & Gek, Prophecy, Dj GULIT, DJ Ascent, WipEOut, Braille & J5, Richee, D.I. – LVC Productions, Wlokos, AKHT, Excluded, Sektone, Hiro, Dissonance, DJ Naphouse (found out this is our very own FishFishRevolution), and beatMARIO. And I’m sure once Rebirth0 and hi19hi19 see this, half of these will be taken care of.
Finally, EternuS has come. Along with my Trapped Balls. #24.
EternuS is now working…. you can blame my inability to read code for the error.
Our 2nd skill token for today is The Pylons Are TRAP BALLS, an internet meme song by Kajmaster Kajet. I’m not big into the meme scene, but there are clips from Starcraft and Yu-Gi-Oh in there… as well as a few others that I don’t know the origin of, but I’m sure you all do and will now think less of me for not knowing. Anyway. The file is by Alucard4_6, his first file. Took him 4 or 5 re-submits to get this accepted. File has a few 24th rolls, but mostly some 16th runs. I’m rating it a 7, but it might be a high 6. To unlock this ballerific token…. you must get 1 good or a AAA on All of the World, which is also a skill token.
Have fun!
-Tass
