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Old 11-11-2011, 08:57 AM   #1
subin
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Default Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] ~V2~

Please feel free to ask questions in this thread!
Below are a list of questions that are commonly asked, with their respective answers.


Pro-tip: Use Ctrl+F for a quick search


Content

1a) What is the name of the current menu-music song?
1b) What were the names of the previous menu-music songs?
2) What are credits, and how do I use them? Is there a limit?
3) Perfects? Goods and Averages? Misses and Boos?
4) I have heard of people talking about "streams", "crossovers", "sightread AAA" and other terms I am not familiar with.
5) Does FFR have 'Live' Multiplayer?
6) I can't find the right song to play - some are just too hard!
7) What are tokens/skill tokens, and how do I unlock them?
8) I can't find Token #18! [Vertex BETA vRofl]
9) What do all these characters, settings and little buttons do?
10) How are people ranked on FFR?
11) How can I get better at the game?
12) Why are some FFR songs heavily off-sync and blue?
13) What is the rhythmic value of each coloured arrow?
14) What is a standalone player? How can I access it?
15) What songs are easier to play on Mirror?
16) Where did the FFR simfile database go?
17) How do I make my own song on FFR?
18) Can you please add this song to FFR?
19) How do I add songs to the 'Favorites' genre?
20) How does the FFR scoring system work?
21) My keyboard doesn't register 3 or more notes at the same time!

FFR the Game

1a) What is the name of the current menu-music song?

The game's current menu music is "45", by SessileNomad.
This song is not in the game.

The official news post can be found here, along with 2nd and 3rd place submissions.

1b) What were the names of the previous menu-music songs?

The previous menu-music was "Emotions", by trance[]control.
You can find the song in the Legacy genre. You can also listen to it here.

Prior to this was the original menu music, that played a short, looped segment of "Activity Unbroken", by SGX.
You can find the song in the Legacy genre.
You can listen to the loop here.


2) What are credits, and how do I use them? Is there a limit?

Credits are a sort of in-game "currency" used in FFR. They are normally obtained in correlation with a registered player's overall score. Users can also increase their credit count by wagering credits in challenge play, participating in FFR events and tournaments, or by having them transferred from another user.

You can use them by:

1) Purchasing additional songs from the FFR Shop in the main menu. Prices can range between 3 to 5 digit figures. Once bought, your purchased songs can be found in the 'Purchased' genre and will be ready for you to play.

2) Discovering 'secret' songs. You may have realised that your 'Secret' Genre is empty, or some songs in it may have disappeared. The song availability depends on your current tally, so if a wager, purchase or transfer puts your tally below the indicated number, you will lose that song until you can build the necessary amount of credits back up. The list of secret and purchased songs and their respective prices/current tally, can be found in this thread.

3) Transferring credits to another registered member on FFR. In the FFR Shop, enter the name of the member you wish to send credits to, along with the amount of credits.
Make sure you spell the user's name correctly and do not attempt to transfer more credits than you currently have, or send credits to yourself.


Also, the maximum number of credits you can save on one account is 8,388,607 credits.

Code:
8,388,607 = (2^23) - 1

The number is associated with the database cell storage - 3kb, which totals 24 characters.


3) Perfects? Goods and Averages? Misses and Boos?

Every key press during game play will yield a result:

PERFECT = An arrow was hit it at exactly the right moment (FFR's best accuracy rating).
GOOD = An arrow was hit slightly off its timing, but was still accurate.
AVERAGE = An arrow was hit early, barely considered accurate.
MISS = An arrow passed through the stationary marker at the top of the play field, a complete miss.
BOO = Given when a player presses a directional key while an arrow is not at the stationary marker.



Perfects and Goods add to your score and life bar (performance meter) while Misses and Boos subtract from them. Averages will neither increase nor decrease the life bar. Perfects, Goods and Averages also increase a player's current combo of successive hits by one. A Miss resets the combo counter to zero while a Boo does not affect the current combo.


4) I have heard of people talking about "streams", "crossovers", "sightread AAA" and other terms I am not familiar with.

You can find information about these terms in The Official FFR PICTURE Dictionary.


5) Does FFR have 'Live' Multiplayer?

We do. Please make sure to read the 'FFR Multiplayer: Complete Guide and Rules' before entering the multiplayer lobby.


6) I can't find the right song to play - some are just too hard!

Check out the In-game Song Information thread. It should contain everything you need to know about song difficulties, max combos, BPM, number of notes and much more.


7) What are tokens/skill tokens, and how do I unlock them?

Tokens are small circular icons that, once found, will unlock a new FFR song.
Skill tokens are tokens that require you to play FFR the Game and set particular scores on specific songs - this will also unlock a new FFR song.

Token information can be found here.
Skill token information can be found here.
If you want to discuss token-related issues, requirements, or methods on how to unlock skill tokens, you can do so in The Token Thread ~V2~

Once unlocked, you will be able to find them in their respective "token" and "skill" genres.
Please do NOT post ANYWHERE on FFR, hints or any information on how to find tokens.


8) I can't find Token #18! [Vertex BETA vRofl]



Unlike the other Tokens (up to Token #29 - 25/5/08), it is not a token where it can be just simply found and added to your collection.
There are three ways that users can earn this coveted token:

1) Place in the top 8 of any skill division in an Official FFR Tournament.
2) Earn 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) grand total score in 24 hours, before the 12am server time (server clock is in the banner of the site), since that is when the daily stats reset. If you qualify, post here.
3) Earn a lifetime grand total score of 50,000,000,000 (50 billion).

The step file was created for a one-day (April fools - as implied in the title) release on April 1, 2007, and hasn't been made publicly available since that day.

9) What do all these characters, settings and little buttons do?

After loading FFR the Game, you will see a page which looks similar to this:




There are multiple features available to you. These are not limited to the following:



Quality:
By clicking on this icon, you can toggle the quality settings of the game. If you experience runtime issues such as lag while running FFR, we recommend you to run the game on low quality.

Songs [Dropdown Menu]:
This feature enables a user to select a song without the need for searching through the FFR Song Wheel. You may also choose to "Random Select" a song according to the difficulty range of your choice.

Mute:
By clicking on this icon, you can mute or un-mute the game menu-music. When it is muted, the bar will be displayed in red.
This will NOT mute any songs you decide to play.



This is where you may change your in-game scroll direction (the direction of the arrows).

1. Multiplayer scroll:
This signifies that the game is in Real-time Multiplayer Mode. Currently, there are only two scroll options available in multiplayer; the up scroll (default) and reverse scroll.

2. Left scroll:
Selecting this option will make all arrows scroll from the right side of the screen horizontally toward the left.

3. Right scroll:
Selecting this option will make all arrows scroll from the left side of the screen horizontally toward the right.

4. Reverse scroll:
Selecting this option will make all arrows scroll from the top of the screen vertically toward the bottom.

5. Up scroll (Default):
This scrolling option is used automatically if a different scroll method is not selected.
Selecting this option will make all arrows scroll from the bottom of the screen vertically to the top.

6. Diagonal scroll:
A unique scroll method that has the arrows scrolling from the top corners of the screen to the opposite bottom corners in a diagonal pattern.



Along the bottom of the menu screen are a row of rectangles that represent individual FFR "characters".
Selecting a character will NOT impact game play. They will only react to your game play results on the song results screen.

To de-select a character:
1) Click on this link.
2) Scroll through the websites in the Website Storage Settings Panel, and locate FFR.
3) Click "Delete Website", then confirm.



The following image is accessed by clicking the "Settings" option.
Press "Settings" again to hide it.




There are a number of options you will need to understand listed in the "Settings" option.

Speed:
This modifies the rate at which the arrows scroll during game play. The default setting is set to 1. By setting the speed to 1.5, the arrows' scroll rate will be 1.5 times faster than the default scroll rate, and so forth. Click "set speed" when you are happy with your scroll rate.

IMPORTANT: At first, increasing the rate may not seem like an advantage, as the arrows are spaced further apart. However, this gives players a chance to focus on the incoming patterns rather than taking in all the information of patterns that are still yet to come.
This has been a major factor in improving in-game performance.
Find one that works for you!



Mirror:
By turning mirror ON, this will make all song chart patterns mirror itself:

Right becomes Left; Left becomes Right
Up becomes Down; Down becomes Up

The default setting is "Off".


Effect:
This modifies the way in which the arrows will scroll, usually adding more difficulty to the game. The default setting is "Off".

Dizzy: Arrows will scroll up rotated 180 degrees. This means that the left arrows will scroll up facing the right, up arrows will scroll up facing down, etc. You are still required to hit them as left and up arrows.

Tornado: Arrows will veer left then right in a 'tornado-like' fashion.

Mini: Reduces the size of the arrows, making it harder to match the arrows in line with the stationary area.


Appearance:

This modifies the view of the arrows as they scroll, usually adding more difficulty to the game. The default setting is "visible".

Hidden: The scrolling arrows will fade-out from view halfway towards the stationary arrows.

Sudden: The scrolling arrows will fade-into view when they are halfway towards the stationary arrows.

Stealth: The scrolling arrows will be completely invisible, making the player rely on memory/muscle-memory to remember where all the arrows in the level are located.

Blink: The scrolling arrows will flash in and out of view as they make their way towards the stationary arrows.


Dark:
Off: The default option. Does not activate any of the dark modifications.
On: By selecting this option, the stationary arrows will have an appearance like this:



This is used to lower the chances for you to hit a Perfect arrow. It is not a physical alteration, but more to the side of a user not being able to recognise the exact position of the stationary arrows.


Offset
This modifies the number of frames earlier or later you would like the arrows to arrive. The default setting is set to 0. This is used for players who wish to sync the arrows with the music, for songs that have not been 100% aligned with the audio. It can also be used for anti-skill token requirements or events (ones that require you to hit things other than "Perfects".

If you want the arrows to come up 10 frames later, you will enter 10.
If you want the arrows to come up 10 frames earlier, you will enter -10.


Autofail:
This will trigger an instant fail when the set values have been attained.
The default setting is all fields set to 0.

By entering values into the various rating fields, you can trigger the game to automatically fail the song at your set values. This can be useful for AAA or FC practice (setting to 0-1-1-1-1 and 0-0-0-0-1 respectively), or for skill token requirements.


Key Configuration:
This feature will enable to use almost any part of your keyboard to play FFR. By clicking the space beside a given direction command, a small red text will appear beneath it, reading Press a key:



You may then press a key for your designated arrow to suit your style.


Masking and MP Masking
This feature will allow you to hide your combo, or your accuracy, or both elements during your gameplay. It is used to clear distractions. The default setting is "Off".

Likewise, MP Masking will act in the same way, but in multiplayer mode.


10) How are people ranked on FFR?

There are currently 3 different ranking systems on FFR.

IMPORTANT: Remember to refresh the page to update your ranks!

Overall FFR Rank:
Your overall FFR rank is determined by your grand total score, your lifetime score accumulation on FFR. It is a less accurate depiction of skill, and a more accurate depiction of player activity and number of games played.



You can view the top 1000 overall FFR player ranks here.

Average Rank:
Your average rank is determined by taking the average/mean of the ranks of every song you have played or haven't played. New files are being added into the game all the time (one reason why the average rank is not the most accurate ranking system), and some players have not played every song in the game.

Your level ranks can be found here. Your average rank will be shown at the very bottom.

If you are a veteran, FFR enables you to view other player's average ranks. If not, you can see rounded-up average ranks on other player's FFR profiles.

Eg.



Tier Points:
Your tier points are determined by your ability to earn points through accomplishing difficult song requirements. You can find your tier point stats page here. Perhaps the most accurate skill-related ranking system, it only applies for more accomplished players who are able to score 1 or more tier point/s.

Please visit the Completely Revised Official Tier Point System for more information.


Regional Ranking: This is not a different ranking system.
The regional ranks is just a distribution of the top 10 players of each region placed accordingly to their average rank. The regional leaderboard consists of the top 10 average ranking users in each region.
You can find the regional leaderboard here.


11) How can I get better at the game?

It is important that you are playing at your highest potential by equipping yourself with the correct speed modifications and playing styles.

Click here for tips on how to get better at FFR.


12) Why are some FFR songs heavily off-sync and blue?



Quote:
Originally Posted by devonin View Post
The bluenote/synth songs are a number of older songs from the earliest days of the site, where the files were actually made basically in notepad with some frame timings on them. As a result, they're pretty wildly offsync, and as they predate the period where notes were coloured based on their timing, are blue noteskinned throughout.
Sometimes referred to as the Blue Note Syndrome (BNS), these files depict the earliest files on FFR. They have been kept at their original state for nostalgic and historic reasons.
They will NOT be removed, re-stepped, re-synced or fixed from its current state.

Additionally, the earliest form of creating stepfiles on FFR was using a keystroke recorder, where you have to tap the keys in sync with the music. This would have obviously been inaccurate and heavily off-sync. The next earliest forms of creating stepfiles had to be created in notepad, or the songs had to have static BPM ratio, which in many cases, the songs were not.

These songs are stored in the Legacy Genre.


13) What is the rhythmic value of each coloured arrow?



You will understand what "rhythmic value" indicates if you have a basic understanding of music. In short, the 4th note acts as a crotchet and an 8th note acts as a quaver.

Rhythmic values:

Red - 4th note
Blue - 8th note
Purple - 12th note
Yellow - 16th note
Pink - 24th note
Orange - 32nd note
Light blue - 48th note
Green - 64th note
White - 192nd

White notes generally represent a free rhythmic value. Choice of arrow colours are occasionally chosen for appearance (such as the song 'Counting Snow', where the entire chart has been stepped using white notes).


14) What is a standalone player? How can I access it?



At this current time, many users have chosen standalone players over the regular FFR the Game engine, for it often reduces the effects of lag. These are engines that are run the game through flash players. Not all of these engines will record your scores to the FFR Server; find out which engines do and do not record scores before you play.

For a list of some available engines, follow the prompts outlined in the FFR Standalone! thread.


15) What songs are easier to play on Mirror?

This really depends on the player's strengths and weaknesses. For a player's guide for mirroring songs that are level 10 (Very Challenging) and beyond, click here.


16) Where did the FFR simfile database go?

The FFR simfile database was disabled on November 13th, 2010, due to copyright reasons. The news post can be found here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by November 13th News Post
Removals
- The Simfile Database has been disabled and will not be brought back at any time in the future. We don’t have the time nor patience to deal with a huge DMCA liability. We are considering bringing it online in the future so that users can access their own files for archival.

17) How do I make my own song on FFR?

The process of making your own file on FFR is known as "stepfiling", or sometimes "stepcharting". In addition, songs that you wish to step may not already have permission - if not, it is of ABSOLUTE importance that you provide proof of permission from the artist of the song you wish to step. Stepping a song also requires a fundamental knowledge of music-rhythm games, and assumes that you have a basic understanding of their mechanics.

A comprehensive guide to stepping can be located here.
You can find the copyright and permission guideline here.

Please check the threads/stickies in the FFR Songs/Permissions Subforum for details on file submissions, blanket permissions and other important updates.


18) Can you please add this song to FFR?

In many instances, the answer to this question will be a 'no', due to copyright and permission issues. If the song that you want is not restricted by any laws, but you are unable to make the song yourself, you can request a member/s of the community to add the song into the game. If you wish to make the file yourself, please read the "How do I make my own song on FFR?" sub-heading in this thread.

You can find the copyright and permission guideline here.


19) How do I add songs to the 'Favorites' genre?

You can add songs to this genre by clicking the symbol beside the song you wish to add (It may look different in other engines, but the principle will be the same). To un-select your favorited song, click the icon that appears either next to the song name in your regular genres, or in your 'Favorites' genre.

At the moment, there is no limit to how many songs you can store in this genre.


20) How does the FFR scoring system work?

There are two main types of scoring in FFR: Raw Scoring and Combo Scoring.



The lower grey box is your raw score. The upper grey box is what affects your raw score.
The lower orange box is your combo score. The upper orange box shows your combo, which acts as the biggest factor in your combo score.

For a complete and concise deconstruction of the scoring systems, refer to Dossar's concise FFR scoring guide.


21) My keyboard doesn't register 3 or more notes at the same time!

Keyboards are designed with circuity that groups sets of keys into a matrix, of which when pressed simultaneously will cause them to not register. In FFR, songs can have up to 4 keys being played at once. Be sure to work with a key set-up that can hit all 4 notes simultaneously; You can easily test this by opening a word document and pressing your 4 desired keys.

To change your key set-up, refer to Question 9), under the sub-heading "Key Configuration".

Last edited by HammyMcSquirrel; 02-1-2012 at 12:12 AM..
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