Why do you play FFR (the game)?

[qqwref]

I think everyone here knows that FFR isn't exactly the most fully-featured rhythm game around. All the charts are 4-key; there are no holds, mines, xmods, or marvelous judgments; the game isn't as flashy or customizable as some others; some songs are entirely blue arrows; and so on. Stepmania's been around for years, and is objectively a far better game.

And yet, despite what some might perceive as drawbacks, we still play and enjoy the game itself. What are your personal reasons for this? Is it the high scoring system and the competitive shaving of goods, or the nostalgic and set-in-stone gameplay, or the accessibility and simplicity? Or something else entirely? Don't think about the community, since you can be part of it without actually playing the game - just think about why the game itself keeps you playing after so long.

So, let's discuss. I think the community's answer to this could influence the future direction of the site.

[iironiic]

The main reason for my stay on FFR is to prepare me for the real life. As strange as this sounds, I use FFR to set my limitations which I will discover when it comes to my future. More importantly, it's to understand how emotionally stable I am when it comes to failures on FFR and how to celebrate how much I have achieved in the past.

Also, you'll deal with a good variety of people in this community. Obviously you'll encounter people who aren't your type vs. people who are. Similarly, in the real world, you will meet these two types of people as well.

tldr, to prepare myself (in terms of how I can handle what comes my way) for the future.

[m0de]

setting and accomplishing goals i set for myself.

also: the weekly updates of songs is nice. i dont have to store shit tons of packs or files on my HD.. or go through the time to download them.

[qqwref]

Ah, but you could get the same stuff from SM, right? (Or any other active rhythm game.) You could hang around the SM scores thread and share scores, for instance. So why do you play FFR itself, when there are other "better" alternatives?

[iironiic]

Originally Posted by qqwref

Ah, but you could get the same stuff from SM, right? (Or any other active rhythm game.) You could hang around the SM scores thread and share scores, for instance. So why do you play FFR itself, when there are other "better" alternatives?

FFR was my first rhythm game I ever picked up seriously. I find it better to make goals with a game you first start off with to keep a longer lasting memory. Like in life, we all begin making goals when we were young. I remember saying, "I wanted to be a doctor one day" when I was a little boy. Even though medical practices is out of my limitations, I will still remember the goals I have made ever since I was a child.

[pmonibuv1]

This thread is tl;dr.

Community and competition. My reasons.

[Kiani_cc]

Just for the music. Not much of a competitive person..

[DossarLX ODI]

All the charts are 4-key

This is a big reason why I play FFR. When you start getting to more panels, it encourages "new generation stepping" and also makes for much more awkward anchors and layering abuse. 4 keys is enough for file memorability and also allows players of all playing types (one handed, spread, index, etc) to give it a shot. Honestly, going above 4key is like attempting to turn the game into music theory, which is NOT what I find memorable.

there are no holds, mines, xmods, or marvelous judgments

Holds, mines, and xmods are fake difficulty. Holds and mines are mainly abused in stepfiles. xmod is not my interest since it's another AAA-fest type thing about getting several less perfects by trying to memorize certain changes of a chart. Most of the time when I do xmod files, the bpm changes or stops aren't easy to detect, so it winds up being fake difficulty again.

some songs are entirely blue arrows

I actually like this since it's only for a few files, and it gives the nostalgic feel. I remember when Balloon Fever was all pink notes, and Grand Galop Chromatique was all red notes.

high scoring system and the competitive shaving of goods

Raw scoring would be better, I'm not really fond of the AAA fest thing (shaving off a few goods). However, it is interesting to see big improvements on really hard files (such as in my MiniMegaTournament). It makes for interesting competition. I'm personally not too competitive unless in a tournament or trying to achieve a high goal.

the accessibility and simplicity

Yes. I don't need to download a ton of packs that I don't want to play, and I don't lack files if I'm ever in multiplayer (unless it's a token or something).


Holds and mines remind me of "new generation stepping". I like memorable files - files which have a certain part that stands out and makes me remember after playing it while also having high replay value. Since FFR is flash based, we saw an example of a cool file - Winning. This was a neat visual challenge; holds/mines aren't "nice visuals", they've instead been a huge annoyance seeing how much they're abused.

There are many memorable songs on FFR too - and seeing how I've accomplished a lot of tough goals on stepmania, it's interesting to see how I do on these files. I even made my own tournament to see how much of the file I actually do (since chord cohesion doesn't exist in FFR, I can't BS patterns as easily).

[psychoangel691]

Nostalgia


and I've become pretty close to people in the community here. It's kinda like home.

[flashpantss]

FFR was the first Music Rhythm site I found, and Loved it.

Also, Competition and the Music. I've also met some amazing people.

Also, all I do with my life is play video games, so this helps me out.

[kmay]

people come because of me, i come because people want me. simple fact.


but no really. i HATE this game... i just come here to post SM scores now XD
and i like being good at something

[G.S.M]

Personally I played the other rhythm games and I say FFR is the most fun for me. And I also think it's the best flash game I have ever played as well.

tokens, ranks, fun love how it works etc

[stavie33]

Immediate uploading of scores to a competitive database structure (unlike SM) with songs that I'm capable of trying to get better at and perfecting instead of trying to mash less and pass insane crap I'll never do while I realize there are people far better than I'll ever reach. I also don't have to download the music and it has a community that's easier to familiarize with

[alloyus]

It's fun :P (Yes that's it xD)

[DossarLX ODI]

That's also a good point. Many other rhythm games have confusing layouts and too much complicated shit. FFR is easy to understand and there aren't any unfair bonus/extra things ingame (like you know how Guitar Hero has Star Power which increases score more and you need to remember certain star power paths, and then how you can release notes to hit hammer-ons or pull-offs).

If there's also another thing I should mention, FFR has a reasonable timing window. It is just ludicrous to see games have ridiculously small timing windows; that's again just fake difficulty and makes you focus more on the steps than the actual song itself. Although there are a few files in FFR that have nasty difficulty spikes (lol 12 bar bloops and Crowdpleaser), it's done a pretty good job at managing them in a way that isn't too extreme. If you've been to Thirdstyle, wow, their files are simple for a large majority of the file and then some insane difficulty spike comes along later in the file that totally throws off the difficulty.

[Coolboyrulez0]

I don't play the game anymore due to lag issues regardless if using standalone or not but I hang around to annoy the community with my input, music and files.

[DustyFart]

To get my overall rank lower and to piss people off in the forums,multiplayer, and chats

[Hurleyisgod]

I dont

[Hwscottsmcgram]

First rhythm game I found on the computer after I became infatuated with ddr a few years back. Meeting some amazing people and hearing their life stories. The music, and continuous updates. Not having to download every song that I want to play.

[Kibblre]

I think the main reason I like FFR over SM is the fact that it's not stored on my computer. SM was great feature wise and I had a lot more files, but if something goes wrong I have to spend hours upon hours getting all the stuff I had back. FFR will be there for me no matter what computer I'm on, and the files are constantly expanding. Also, the higher-level files are challenging enough without the need of holds or mines.