6 Key FFR

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WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ ONE OF THE BEST IDEAS TO EVER HIT FFR

I made this post a long time ago but I think it's time to put it back in the spotlight and try again.

I'm sure most of us know about 6 key simulation already. It's the same game as FFR/SM except instead of 4 arrows you have 6. It's pretty freaking awesome. At one point I began to think, "Wow, why the hell don't more people play this?

Recently though, this trend has been catching on, and now FFR has a tiny 6 key community of its own. However, a few obstacles just seem to keep getting in the way of expanding it even further:

- lack of easy files
- lack of interest
- no one's ever thought about trying/never heard of 6 key simulation

I want to put an end to that.

I WANT TO MAKE A 6-KEY VERSION OF FFR
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By creating a 6-key version of FFR we are accomplishing many things:

- Promoting higher quality file-making
Because there are 6 keys now, there is a lot more room for things such as pitch relevancy and layering, making it easier to make better files and stuff. On the other hand, it does make it a little more complex since you do have to learn which patterns are friendly, which is highly important in all rhythm simulation, but even more so now.
Since 6 key is more complex, once someone grasps how to make a good 6 key file 4 keys becomes much more simple. Everything about this promotes higher quality files.
In addition, this will really put in place the idea of spread files, and not just generic index-biased files that FFR keeps getting.

- Spreading the word about 6 key
Very few people play 6 key, and that will change once FFR can do something about it. FFR got tons of awesome players into SM, and it will no doubt do the same for 6 key.

- New way of playing will keep players interested
Some people may be getting bored of 4 key by now. Introducing a totally new way (okay, not COMPLETELY new, but new nontheless) of playing is one of the best ways to keep the game fresh.
Besides, at the level that 4 key players are at now, we really can't go much further from here on.

- Push player's reading skills
I'm pretty confident when I say that few will immediately catch on to 6 key as soon as they start trying it. It'll be a while before they get used to reading it. Once they do, they'll realize that they have to push their reading limits to the max.

- Finger dexterity
Your pointer and middle finger soon become dominant while the other fingers are horribly underdeveloped as you play 4 key. While this doesn't balance out all your fingers it does develop your ring finger, which is an improvement nonetheless.

For example, with 4 key, it's difficult to make jumpstreams with doubles and especially triples, but in 6 key, you have so much room that double streams can be varied and completely aired, no jacks, and still have enough room to throw in triples and quads (whoa quads).

Don't even get me started with quints.


This is an edit off of a thread I made over a year ago, so I'm sure there are a lot more reasons a 6 key version of FFR should be implemented, I just haven't added them yet.
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In fact, if there's enough support, I even have the basic ideas planned out.

- Same judging system as the FFR1 batch, but with different judges who have experience and knowledge with 6 key files because it's different (I guess I'll do judging if we can't find qualified people.)

- Noteskin should be something similar to notebar or orbular. The directional arrows just don't make sense in this case. Noteskin color should remain the same, but we should also include something similar to Pop'n Music so new players can get a feel for it. For those who don't know it's something like this:
[b][g][r][r][g][b]
Colors are organized by placement instead of rhythm. Although this is kinda optional.

- In-game organization can be the current genre system or something similar to SM's. Problem with SM organization is that it's slightly more complex and we'd be making a clone. We could do something in the middle... I dunno, whatever works.
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That's all I have so far, feel free to leave suggestions and I'll update this.

This shouldn't be too difficult to implement because it's almost the same engine as FFR, just a few things modified. Everything I've recommended so far should be simple, seeing how things are with FFR1 right now.

Above all though, this is the way keyboard files should be played. 4 arrows is just not enough and doesn't make much sense considering the vast majority of files in game right now. It's not really keyboard anymore, more like mashing the hell out of 4 fingers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying 4 keys are bad or to abandon it, but 6 arrows is much more meaningful.

I NEED AS MUCH SUPPORT AS POSSIBLE GOGOGO

EDIT:
Decided to add an FAQ

Q: If we do this, aren't we getting closer and closer to StepMania?
A: No, the different ways in which FFR and SM register keys means that 6 key files on FFR will be very very different than SM 6 key files. For example, files like BCMP3's quell and Fysx's Speed Japan would never get on FFR because the brackets are too intense to hit accurately.

Q: What about all the coding work? I don't think this will ever happen.
A: If all of you think like that nothing will ever get done. NSane, the Flash developer, seems to be supporting this idea, and he does have a lot of the power, since he's doing most of the scripting. Just trust me on this.

Q: 6 key is for "hardcore" players. New players will be turned away.
A: This is a logical fallacy. You can't assume players won't touch 6 key because they're scared. In fact, I'm quite a masochist player myself, and a lot people start on games such as Pop'n or IIDX, which have 9 and 8 (7+1) columns respectively. If anything, this adds a new dimension of play. Besides, even the hardcore players need this.

Q: 4 key is more important and we should focus our efforts on that.
A: Quite the opposite. 4 key play has pretty much reached a dead end. Impressive scores have become vibrating scores, accuracy has become almost machine-like, and almost every stepping technique has been exhausted. Where else to go? 6 key.

Q: Most of the community will not be interested in this.
A: Most of the community has never even thought about 6 key, so you can't assume that. In fact, almost everyone so far who has tried 6 key prefers it over 4, and there are lots of people who would try if they weren't so lazy. This would be perfect for them.


P.S. Don't even think about 8 keys until we get 6 keys implemented. I just know someone's going to say it.