I thought Sunset bowl was to close down in a couple months?  Has someone saved it from closing?  That would be awesome.

I think he means Oregon's Sunset Lanes in Beaverton. Different place; I was almost excited for a minute!

Well, hopefully you get one, Bill! Supernova 2 is actually a good upgrade (unlike Supernova). Timing issues have basically been fixed, and the new songs are all pretty cool.

For those who haven't played it, the scoring system is total bullshit.

No more DP.  Instead, you just lose 10 points for perfect and 20 for great.  Good-Miss is no points, and ok counts for full points. (IIRC)
Meaning that more than 100 perfects or 50 greats is ALWAYS under 99% (AAA).  So you basically AAA anything you FC on beginner or light, and most of standard, plus a lot of heavy.

Me getting a sightread AAA on A thing called LOVE on my DT600 (which really doesn't work well enough to call a DDR pad except in theory) is proof enough that SuperNOVA2 is aimed at nobody.  Newbies won't be interested, pros won't be interested.

Nevertheless, I might still check this out so I can get the handful of charts and songs that I couldn't get on Z-i-V.  The songs and charts are good, it's just the scoring, the layout, and everything else that sucks.

I don't think many good players actually care about the scoring system, though.

Wait, there's a scoring system?

I enjoy the songlist a lot in SN2.  Thats more of a reason for me to play it instead of the scoring system.

My concern is that the idiot population of the DDR scene will skyrocket, with more and more people thinking they're good when they aren't, bragging about it, and never actually getting better.

The Perfect 100% AAA, and even ITG's thought-out 99% tri-star are both incentives to get good.

This is gonna go the same way beginner mode went: people are going to start playing the game and have horribly skewed expectations.  Serious players play serious games, and newer versions of DDR are no longer serious games.

On the other hand, the songlist is killer and a few of the charts are really great.  I went through a significant portion of the new songlist and listened through and rated about 43 unspecific songs from it on a scale of 1-5, and my average rating was 4.3.  My typical rating for a collection of unspecific songs is around 3.

The liscenses are the best since Max2 IMO, the Originals are good as always, and the crossovers are some of the best. (still no Mei though)


EDIT: I want to point out that a terrible scoring system, uncompatible tracking/unlocking system, and shitty layout are collectively not enough to get me to not play the game.  But Extreme also has a great songlist and is actually well made, and I can play that for a fifth of the price without going as far.  If a SN2 machine popped up at Wunderland for 20 cents a game or even a little more than that, I'd probably play it pretty regularly, but I'm not going to shell out way more to play the newest mix when the newest mix isn't the best mix.

After posting this I did some research on the internets about SN2 and I agree the lack of unlockables, the farked up change in scoring, and the song list all disappoint me BUT not enough to make me withhold DDR from myself.  I'll still drop a few bucks on it to see for myself.  It isn't like there are lots of DDR locations anyway.  Besides,  I've gotten tired of playing only on 8th, 7th, and SN1's.  It'll be nice to play on something else for a change.

Where is it at exactly? And price per game?

It's in Beaverton off Walker and Cedar Hills.  You can google their website for the exact address.  I don't know the cost since the arcade area is taped off still.

Just thinking about it you could play SN2 at Sunset Lanes then walk a mile down the road to the century theater and play SN1.

Is there anywhere else in Oregon that has 2 DDR machines within a mile of each other?

I don't know if it's under a mile, but it's an easy 10-15 minute bike ride from Avalon to GK and again to Lloyd Center. (I don't know about Lloyd Center; I've only ever walked or taken the Max from GK to Lloyd, and it's a 20-30 minute walk and a 5-10 minute Max ride.

Also, there's a lot of stuff in Medford.  I haven't been there personally so I don't know the details, but there's at least one arcade there with multiple machines, likewise with Seaside.

I'll probably check this out, despite prior knowledge of its shortcomings.  New things are new things, even when they aren't as fun as old things.

Yeah, even if Supernova 2 ends up being pretty bleh, it's at least something new I guess, and the first machine in Oregon?


Do they actually let people into the arcade at Century now without buying a ticket? Last time I stopped by (on a weekend even) they wouldn't let me in.

Good question.  I have no idea.  I just play a few games before or after I go see a movie.  Don't forget there is also the  mini Wonderland up the street as well.  Last time I was there they had a DDR 8th mix in it's own little room.

It's all about the new content, man.
I really want to check this out. I'm still on a "I MUST PLAY SUPERNOVA" kick since I haven't play in the arcades enough and I'm freakin' tired of Extreme. It being an SN2 is only an added bonus.

so schlagwerk and I played it today...

First of all the new arcade they have sucks shit. There is practically nothing else worth playing there now, they got rid of all the old games. At least the old arcade had House of the Dead 4 and Strikers 1945 Plus (and Raiden Fighters at some point). Now it's nothing but redemption shit and some other lame games. Standup version of Let's Go Jungle looks so bad.

Anyway, the new machine seems like one of the Betson dedicabs and looks brand new. Despite being brand new, it is a dedicab and thus it already sucks! P2 Right arrow was misfiring and one/some of the arrows on that side weren't holding freezes very well. No complaints with P1 side though.

75 cents / 3 songs. Arcade uses a card system now that's identical to Bi Gals. When I saw it was a card system I was honestly expecting the price to be worse, so that's good I guess.

VOLUME IS EXTREMELY LOW. Zero bass so you can't hear the beat very well at all. And there's screaming kids and air hockey tables nearby. Also there's lights overhead which kind of causes an annoying glare. I could easily overlook that last part if I could at least hear the songs! So basically I was sightreading songs I'd never heard before and couldn't hear on that machine, and was having problems reading the step patterns at some points because of that glare. Ugh.

US Supernova 2 is such a horrible crippled mix.

"blah blah horrible arcade and low volume"

But Supernova 2 is a crippled mix?   Sounds like your arcade is crippled, unless you have reasons that actually relate to... you know, the mix and not the conditions the machine is placed in.

Did I specifically say that this arcade is the reason US Supernova 2 is crippled? No, read it again. I figured everyone knew why US Supernova 2 sucks and didn't need to go into it so I threw that in at the end.

But here's why - Konami's put so much emphasis on the e-amuse network for stuff, that it makes any machine not connected to the network... well, crippled. They don't get all the song unlocks, they don't get the little bonuses like noteskins, etc. The worst part is that there's no way to unlock all the songs otherwise, short of Betson issuing an "update disc" like they did with the first Supernova. But even then, the boss songs were never unlocked in Supernova 1.

The worst offense that comes about from not having e-amuse is that there are no more song high scores. Supernova 1 at least saved machine records for each individual song, but now... nothing. This is a huge step backwards from Supernova 1's interface, it's inexcusable to take it out now (not that their current system for saving scores wasn't as good as ITG's, but whatever). In fact, there are NO HIGH SCORES whatsoever, not even for special "Ranking" Oni courses, which makes it the first arcade mix since 4th/4th+ that is completely lacking in high scores of any kind.

This last part is subjective, but I feel that Supernova 2's new songlist (what little there is of it in its crippled locked state) really isn't all that great. There are hardly any songs that make me say "Oh yeah, I wanna play that". The new songs are usually the big motivating factor behind people wanting to play new mixes, and there's not much reason to with this one. With a subjectively weak songlist and no e-amuse, there's really not much that makes me want to go back and play it a lot.

Ok? Is that a more adequate response as to why Supernova 2 blows?   

edit: yes I'm aware that some arcade in Chicago is getting e-amuse but I'm not optimistic about what's going to happen for the rest of the country. This is Betson, after all. (Supernova 1 memory card slots)

Ah, that makes more sense. I haven't been reading a lot about it, so seeing your first post was kinda weird. Thanks for the explanation though.

I feel pretty strongly about this. I like the music in SN1 (synch issues and questionable charts asside) more than SN2. The only exception is with the "boss" songs in which case I prefer SN2's to SN1's. Also I don't like the heavy usage of 8ths into jumps into possibly more 8ths and jumps that is prevalent in SN2's charts.. silly DDR thinks it's PIU. It's like Daikenkai, DXY!, and stoic were the chartological parents of most of SN2's stuff...

yo.

the arcade is a little more "child-oriented," which works to the benefit of sunset lanes. not many people are really into vertical-scroll flying games, or second rate gun games. the arcade looks a hell of a lot more appealing now than it did before. additionally... why the fuck do you even care about DDR still? there's no more competition in the game. it's nice to see new cabs every now and then to play a couple new songs... no real harm in that. the volume issue is easily fixed... just talk to the staff. i'm acquainted with the managers... and i already told them to turn up the volume after playing a set.

from what i played of it, there really wasn't any glare, at least like there used to be. there used to be a huge glare on the ddrex cab, and to me it seems they did something to remedy it (at least the time of day i was playing).

it's a new cab... quit your bitching guys. itg cabs won't be as common anymore.

Yeah, it's more appealing if you're 11 years old. I am not, hence I have reason to complain. It wasn't just the games I listed, there was a fairly decent selection of other video games to play, and even a couple pinball tables. Now, the number of non-redemption games there can be counted on one hand.

And while I'd obviously concede that vertically-scrolling shmups don't have much appeal in the mainstream any more, gun games most definitely have appeal. Also, House of the Dead 4 is "second rate"? Compared to what, might I ask? If you're going to tell me that House of the Dead 4 is second rate compared to Let's Go Jungle, then I'm afraid I can't take your opinion seriously on anything.



Because I still enjoy playing DDR every now and then? I could care less about "competition", and I'm not one of those people that are obsessed with the ITG 13-block charts or other bullshit like that. So obviously since I still play DDR it's nice to have some new songs to play, but most of the new songs in Supernova 2 didn't seem that appealing (from listening to the OST anyway), and on a locked US machine there isn't a very large new songlist either. Plus the Supernova 2 interface is just so disappointing, mainly in the fact that Konami doesn't give a shit about throwing arcades without e-amuse a bone.



Ok. If the volume is raised that would make the machine much more playable.



http://bbh.marpirc.net/g2012-sn2.jpg

you can clearly see a huge glare right there in that picture. I don't know if it's better or worse than it used to be when they had Extreme, but it's still there.



Uh yeah, because ITG cabs are so obviosly overabundant in the Portland area in the first place?  What the fuck does that have to do with anything?

Yes it is a new cabinet, which would be great if it wasn't a Betson-made dedicab. It's pretty sad when one side on a new cabinet has an arrow constantly misfiring and arrows not holding freezes very well. That's not a complaint towards Sunset Lanes, that's a complaint with the new Supernova dedicabs.

yeah, i seldom wish they still catered to that audience but eh... not too big in the arcade scene anymore.



house of the dead 4 isn't even fun to me. i like some good ol' time crisis , and maybe even point blank. as for the jungle one, i thought the game looked hilariously fun. to each his own i guess.



well i enjoy playing ddr every now and then also, but i suppose in comparison, i'm rather apathetic when it comes to what i'm tapping my feet to. i'm also not bothered by interface much, but i'm glad they implemented marvelous at least. plus i get to choose a sweet dancer every time i play now! (l o l).



yeah, i sincerely hope they do this.



well, i guess they didn't fix it. depends on whether that light is on or not i suppose.



well you seem so incredibly pissed off about the machine, it seems you're a little under appreciative about the whole thing. i was also implying that IF there were going to be any new machines, they won't be ITG. yeah i'll hear you on the misfiring though, i did play on the p2 side... and i said to my friend behind me: "well that's crap, i can't blame the pad because it's new, but i really don't know what else to blame for random combo breakers." rather ridiculous for a new cab to have a unreliable side, but eh, i'll just play the p1 side.

If it's anything like SN1, the pads will probably stay like this for a month or so then get a bit better. New machines aren't always the best; I've played on a literally brand new (as in just unboxed) Pump GX cabinet before which had similar issues. It's usually that the sensors need to break in a little. I agree that this shouldn't happen at all, just wanted to point that out. I think I'll be playing on this when I go down to Portland in May. Sounds like something neat to try at the very least.

Time Crisis and Point Blank are cool. House of the Dead 4 is really fun once you learn how the game works, it seems cheap/unfair at first but it's completely playable with a little practice. I got a lot of long-term enjoyment out of going for higher scores on it.

As for Let's Go Jungle, it feels a lot more unfair to me than the average gun game. But then again I don't really like "mounted" gun games that much.


You could pick a dancer in SN1 too    My biggest beef with the interface is the complete removal of song high scores from SN1, and high scores in general. That and the new Extra Stage system is a really silly change. They're not making a lot of changes in the game for the better. Of course including Marvelous in regular play is a good thing, I've never really been very big on Marvelous Attack but I'm not complaining about it being added.


It's mainly because it was the most underwhelming experience I've ever had with a new DDR game. The mostly lame new songlist and low volume/screen glare wasn't a good combination, and made me wonder why I went out there to check it out in the first place.


well, new Pump machines are always a viable option. As far as 4-panel goes, that's the sad truth, since Konami doesn't know what they're doing any more.


Unfortunately from what I've heard that's been a common occurence with new Betson-made dedicabs.