Learning Curve

[somethingillremember]

This game is a game with a fairly steep learning curve. You get up to about standard/difficult thinking you are going really fast, and then very difficult doesn't take too much to get to, and then it's like you hit a brick wall. It takes FOREVER to move on to challenging. I finally got there, and I am able to play with skill and little to no mashing most very difficults, many of the challengings, and a few very challenging levels (I think I have gotten 700 combos on CIA rave, have gotten 1 miss from FC on electro rush x8, and on my first play through duality I got 50% of the score achieved from AAAing). I was wondering how long it usually takes to move up from that, to like, very challenging and some masters only. My worst weakness is yellow jumpstream, however I've played BB revenge so much that I got fairly good at reading fast stream with no doubles. Because of this it sometimes seems that masters only is easier, because very challenging seems to have more jumpstream. I would imagine that the hardest jumps are very difficult to challenging and masters only to gurus only, but I guess I wouldn't really know. Again, does anyone know how many game plays or about how long it would take to move up?

[EgomaniaCircus]

It varies from person to person really. Some people play for years without getting farther than challenging songs. Took me 2 months to be able to clean FC FMOs.

[BigBoss37]

I started getting good after about a year. Everyone is different friend.

[Nightfirecat]

Yeah, some people are naturally good at this game (me sorta included--I started on difficulties with FC's first time playing), and some people need lots of practice....

I've played for about a year and a half and now I'm getting pretty good at this game, but it depends how much you play and how often you play (every day, or only once a week for example). Also, playing SM helps with jacks, jumps/hands, and jumpstream.

[beaner692]

I still can't AAA CIA Rave and I've probably played it over 1000 times

in other words I suck, and I play off and on for a good 4 years now

[sp1nzoK]

I guess I started one-handing stepmania early to mid 2006, just recently couple of my better FFR scores are BB Revenge 20-3-0-7 and MAX Forever 2 goods FC, I'd do better with faster speedmod on lots of things though maybe I'll end up subbing who knows but practice practice and you get further, be it faster or slower proggress but still it's insanely hard to go backwards in skill so goodluck.

[TC_Halogen]

Originally Posted by somethingillremember

This game is a game with a fairly steep learning curve. You get up to about standard/difficult thinking you are going really fast, and then very difficult doesn't take too much to get to, and then it's like you hit a brick wall. It takes FOREVER to move on to challenging. I finally got there, and I am able to play with skill and little to no mashing most very difficults, many of the challengings, and a few very challenging levels (I think I have gotten 700 combos on CIA rave, have gotten 1 miss from FC on electro rush x8, and on my first play through duality I got 50% of the score achieved from AAAing). I was wondering how long it usually takes to move up from that, to like, very challenging and some masters only. My worst weakness is yellow jumpstream, however I've played BB revenge so much that I got fairly good at reading fast stream with no doubles. Because of this it sometimes seems that masters only is easier, because very challenging seems to have more jumpstream. I would imagine that the hardest jumps are very difficult to challenging and masters only to gurus only, but I guess I wouldn't really know. Again, does anyone know how many game plays or about how long it would take to move up?

This is so true. Going up to about difficult, it's pretty simple. Once you hit very difficult, you start seeing many different colored notes, much more difficult patterns, faster songs...an even tougher curve is going from 7's and 8's to 9's and 10's. It REALLY starts to get tough.

And if you actually get high enough, there is a HUGE change going from 11 and 12 too. It's like an exponental growth of difficulty.

[danny53x]

I think my most recent breakthrough is a blackflag on the SM Strangeprogram. (I still haven't AAA'd it on here, but I think it's within my reach) But yeah, I remember back when I couldn't pass Alpha Helix. I played it over and over until I could pass it (was one-handed back then). Then I remember AAAing Brightone (under my videos) as my first VD AAA. Soon enough I AAA'd some challengings (I specifically remember ESC Super Version), and my first VC AAA was Szamar Madar. Now I've AAA'd a few FMO's, most recently None Would Escape... and I'm still getting better. Skill-wise, Stepmania makes you a much more precise and agile player whereas FFR is a demonstration of your skill and a measurement tool to compare others to yourself.

[who_cares973]

i agree with you it took me forever to go from very difficult to challenging and im stuck at fmos lol

and like its been said some people take years to get good at this and some people it takes eag to get good

[infinity.]

ive played sparingly for about a year and i can fc most fmos if i cared
just have fun with it, dont try to push yourself to get better, thats when it becomes less of a game, more of a desire

[funmonkey54]

When I first started, I was playing standards.
Now I can FC a little under half of the FMO's.
I have been playing strong for about 6 months.

I had 400 FC's when I hit 5 AAA's.
I just recently hit 100 AAA's and I have over 550 FC's.
This is at 6 months.

[Patashu]

The really big factors are what setup you're using (spread is much easier than index than one-handed most people find) and prior experience (rhythm games especially, musical talent/other games to a lesser extent). Me, I think it took me like 6/9 months to get to what would be C/VC level on FFR, at least from what I remember.

[Bluearrowll]

If you think FMOs have no jumpstream play Exciting Hyper Highspeed Star.

[iceefudgesickle]

I generally find that the VC-FMO jump was the biggest. C-VC is pretty hard as well.

I never had any trouble with VD-C, in fact often I have trouble figuring out whether a song should be a VD or a C.

[Mookage]

I've been here for about 2 years now and I can say that the hardest jump I've had is from VC to FMO. I've been at this level, getting only slightly better for the last 2 months I'd say. I have been getting better in those 2 months but it has slowed down so drasticially that I feel I can do better than almost any score I achieve.

Also to go along with the curve of this thread Stepmania DOES help a ton. I went from FCing Difficults with awful PA to FCing Very Difficults and Challenging with good PA. PA increases your score by a substancial ammount after you can FC constantly.

[awein999]

it doesn't matter how long you've been playing. It matters more how much you have been playing for a certain amount of time...the best way to measure it is by using your grandtotal. The jump from difficult to challenging was the hardest for me. I'm between vc and fmo now (AAA wise) and I have a 7.5 billion gt in a year.

[Xiaounlimited]

Originally Posted by somethingillremember

I think I have gotten 700 combos on CIA rave, have gotten 1 miss from FC on electro rush x8

You can't FC CIA Rave...


...and you're almost FC'ing ERx8.


wut. I didn't realize 240bpm stream was that easy nowadays

[edit]

the best way to measure it is by using your grandtotal.

NO.

That just totals how much you play, contradicting what you say. My GT is 7.4b, and I've been here for 3 years. Barring the songs I haven't played through yet (new song additions), I have single digit avrank. GT is bull****.

Avrank just proves you've played every song.

Overall rank just means you play too much.

There is no figure that will concisely summarize that.

[awein999]

if you don't play stepmania, if you don't have any alternate accounts, and if you play for average rank, gt is a good way to measure improvement

[somethingillremember]

I would quote Xiaounlimited, but I haven't exactly figured out how. He said "You can't FC CIA Rave...


...and you're almost FC'ing ERx8.


wut. I didn't realize 240bpm stream was that easy nowadays"

You sure you aren't thinking of electro rushx8v2? Cause there is NO way I could FC that.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies! I think that maybe it is a bit harder for me to get better, because I generally stink at videogames. Im gonna have to say that grand total is not necessarily the amount of skill you have, however total number of gameplays compared to the level you are at might help you understand how fast you improve (just in case someone checks, I'm actually only at 3,500 about, not the 4,800 it says, because there are a couple of people who play on this account).