I'm not as interested in playing FFR regularly like I used to once upon a time, but I try to visit here every now and then. I may not do all that much when I'm here, probably just play a few games (despite having lost much of any skill I used to have) or read the forums, but it's still nice to stop by and see what's happening. I'm glad to see the site's still here and going strong. I hope everyone's enjoying their time here. It's a nice place.

I've been losing interest in FFR for a while now. One reason is because I got a digital piano for Christmas (with a full keyboard, 88 keys), and I enjoy actually playing music more than just tapping along to it. Another is what I perceive to be a continued lack of easier songs being added to the game, which makes it feel like the middle and lower range players are being neglected. Above about 7 or 8 on a 12-point scale, I can't play the songs well. I can do them, but my scores are pretty bad. And yet most of the songs that seem to be added to the game are above that, with difficulties of 9-12. The lack of new songs that I can play decently well doesn't help keep my interest. Also, there's my lack of improvement. Granted, I haven't played a lot recently, but even when I was playing regularly, I felt like I was reaching the maximum of my ability. That's not necessarily terrible if the game is still fun. But since I seem to have maxed out around difficulty 8 songs, the lack of songs at or below that do not help make the game more fun. I'll probably play now and then just to avoid having a massive list of songs to catch up on, but maybe I need some time away for the game to become more interesting again. That and/or FFR should not forget about the less experienced/capable players. I know the top players want challenges and they're probably the most vocal players here, but please try not to forget about the rest of us.

Apparently I've played a lot of FFR on my computer, because I've somehow managed to wear holes in the down and right arrow keys. I can still play fine with the arrow keys, but decided to get a USB numeric keypad and try that. In general, it works OK and the keys offer the same pattern/set-up as the computer's arrow keys. However, there appears to be a small delay between pressing the key and the computer registering it in the game, because I get a lot more goods than normal on very easy songs (ones I should PC or at least SDG without real trouble). I think this may be from the computer having to recognize this as a numeric keypad press, because that indicator light goes on every time I press a key on the pad (and off when I release it). I'm probably going to keep trying it though and see if I can get used to it.

So many new songs are being put in the Purchased genre. Currently on the song list, only 1 of the last 15 isn't a purchased song. It will be almost 7 weeks from the last non-purchased new song to the next one. I know they want credits to be more valuable, but adding so many purchased songs at once doesn't give people time to save up for them, especially if they're still trying to get secret songs. This doesn't seem ideal to me, but I suppose it does give us something to work for. I guess one good thing is that almost all of the new purchased songs are out of my comfortable playing range anyway, so I don't really need tons of credits to get the couple I should be able to play fairly well.

Not that it matters, but I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be back for at least a week. Hopefully my ranks won't suffer too much. :)