DDR player getting started with ItG? Read here!

[Rancidfish]

If you still haven't made the jump from DDR to ItG, there will be some things you'll want to keep in mind the first time you play ItG. This is a guide to these things. If you've made the jump and noticed some other big changes, mention them so I can add them.

NOTE: If you'd like more elaboration on any of these points, and some good starting songs, try Ace of Hearts' guide. It goes into some more detail on many topics, which ought to satisfy your curiosity if you're up for a little more reading.

Song options
Hallway is on by default, which may be a bit awkward to players who aren't accustomed to it. I never had trouble with it, and in fact find it useful for reading very fast speeds, but some people would prefer to turn it off. To get to the options menu, press start twice when selecting a song, rather than just holding the button. Also, note that many modifiers have been renamed. Their names are usually fairly self-explanatory (DDR-style scrolling is "Overhead," btw), and there are a lot of new options thrown into the mix. Also note that "fade-in" and "fade-out" aren't as tricky as the DDR equivalents "sudden" and "hidden", but they can now (as well as basically any other modifiers) be mixed, even though they're in the same row.

Arrow colors
Arrows are now colored in a similar fashion to DDR's "solo." That means, rather than looking at arrow colors relatively, you can look at them absolutely. Red notes are onbeat, blue on 1/8ths, and green or yellow are on 1/16ths. Purple encompasses just about everything else, such as 1/32nds and triplets. No more worrying about those Tsugaru gallops, because any time 1/32nds show up, they're easily visible! Also note that holds (DDR freezes) display properly during reverse scrolling, and have a colored initial note to indicate timing, unlike DDR's solid green freezes.

UPDATE: In the Groove 2
In in the Groove 2, they've added some NEW colors to the mix to make things even easier to read. Now, all 1/32nds are orange, and all 1/64ths (in the smattering of places they show up... though they're more common in ItG2 than ItG1) are cyan. Triplets are still good ol' purple, though.

Mines
Mines are somewhat tricky when used in certain ways, but in general, they're pretty easy. A lot of the time, you won't need to worry about mines, even when they're there. They look like little metal circles with blinking red lights in the middle. In order to avoid they, just keep your foot off of the arrow that they come by on. Be careful, because you don't have to step on mines to set them off. Even leaving your foot there will trigger them. However, a lot of mines are put in places that either you won't hit them if you're doing the steps right or places where you don't need to worry about steps and mines at the same time. It's only in more difficult songs that mines start getting really complicated. Don't worry about them too much if you're getting started with songs below... 8s or so. You should pick them up pretty easily.

Hands
Hands are tough. Sometimes ITG will have you hold two arrows and press other arrows, or even hit a three or four-panel jump, which often requires use of your hands or knees. Always check before trying a song whether or not it has hands, and how many, so you'll be ready when they come up. (Look in the bottom corner for stepchart info.) At first, the idea of going down and hitting the dance pad with your hands seems stupid, but it's actually kind of fun once you get used to it... as long as they're not overused. Unless you're having lots of fun with hands, I'd stay away from stepcharts with a whole lot of them, such as Queen of Light expert.

UPDATE: In the Groove 2
Rolls
Rolls look like spikey green holds, and you have to drumroll on them to hold them. You don't need to step all that fast (about quarter notes at 200 BPM or so), but rolls always come in pairs, so you have to step sort of quickly to hold both at once. They almost always show up as two arrows, one of which is offset by a 1/16th, so I just treat them as 1/16ths and that works just fine. Rolls can be tiring at first, but as long as you don't go too fast and don't lift your feet too much, they're pretty easy.

Song length
Songs tend to be significantly longer in ItG than in DDR. The longest DDR songs are nearly two minutes, while ItG songs average 2 minutes. So, if stamina is a major consideration in whether or not you'll be able to pass a song (for example, "I can barely pass DDR 7s, they're really tiring), then equivalent songs on ItG will be more tiring. You may want to "test the waters" in ItG by dropping a foot level below what you normally play to make sure you have the stamina you'll need for the longer songs.

Song information
I've mentioned this before, but it merits its own section. In the lower corner (left for 1P, right for 2P), information is displayed about the song. Take advantage. It says exactly how many steps there are, how many jumps, how many holds and mines, and so on. Check this information before you play so you know exactly what's coming to you. Bend Your Mind has hands even on easy, and if you aren't expecting them, it can really throw you off.

Excellents and Fantastics - (PA players only)
If you're new the ItG, note that the timing windows are a bit different, and there's now a new, tighter timing... "fantastic." Early on, don't feel too discouraged if you're getting a lot of excellents. Fantastics are twice as tight as excellents are, and require a lot of precision. When you think you're ready to move on to FA, I'd recommend playing some songs on easy just to get used to the timing windows. Then, ItG's percentage scoring will really shine, letting you know exactly how well you did on a song without having to do the math yourself. Go for 96% to get that elusive "star" rating! I've only managed it on easy and a few hold-heavy harder songs, myself. Higher scores will even get more stars, up to a four-star for 100%.

Hard vs. Expert - (heavy players only)
Expert mode is here, and it's here to stay. Now there aren't just 10s, but 11s, 12s and even a few 13s. The easiest songs on Expert are 9s, so just because you've been playing on the hardest difficulty on DDR doesn't mean you should jump straight to expert. There's a lot of fun stuff in hard, and you may be caught off-guard by the difficulty of some of the stuff in expert. More on that, later.

9s and 10s - (heavy players only)
The gap between 9s and 10s is less than in DDR. On the one hand, there are 10s in ItG that are much easier than stuff like PS and MAX 300. Tribal Style (ex), on ItG2, is a good example. It's only a little trickier than So Deep. However, this also means there are 9s harder than any of the 9s you'll find in DDR. Tell (h) and That Sound (ex) both have 1/16th runs more difficult than you'd find in DDR 9s.

11s, 12s and 13s - (experts only!)
These higher ratings are probably the biggest change between ItG and DDR. If you're not up to this skill level, then don't worry about it! There's still plenty of content for 1 through 9-level players. However, many experienced players are interested in making the jump to these extra-difficult songs. They all use high-level skills. Start by getting several ItG 10s under your belt and figure out what sort of challenges you're good at.
In terms of good starting 11s, there's Xuxa, Utopia and Charlene. Xuxa is fairly straightforward, with a lot of 1/16ths at 160 BPM. It has a lot in common with MaxX Unlimited, but with a very difficult middle portion with several back-to-back runs. Utopia is faster than Xuxa, but less difficult in general. However, the middle runs are a bigger killer, and there are some parts that are rhythmically very strange. If you can survive through one difficult portion, you may find Utopia easier. Charlene, on the other hand, is very slow comparatively (130ish BPM), but uses a bunch of difficult techniques, such as jumping while avoiding mines, tricky holds, and so on. This is a good starting 11 if pure speed isn't one of your strong points.

Marathon Mode
(not for new players, but there are several medium-level marathons, and a few easy-level marathons)
Marathon mode is a lot like DDR's nonstop mode, but with one big difference: Scripted modifiers. This is another fun addition which can really throw you off if you aren't expecting it. Look in the lower left corner of the course banner to see whether or not the course has mods at all. (If it does, it will say "mods" there.) If it does, be prepared for the unexpected! Unlike what you're used to, modifiers aren't set at the beginning of each song. Modifiers will almost constantly turn on and off in the middle of every song. Many easier courses turn on modifiers like wave, drift, accel, float, and so on. Trickier courses do much, much worse. A good thing to check is the difficulty of the songs in the course vs. the difficulty of the course. Caddywhompus (normal) contains three 2s and a 9, while the course is rated a 9. This is because the modifiers in the 2s make them far more difficult in terms of reading the arrows.

UPDATE: In the Groove 2
Survival Mode - (experts only!)
Survival mode is new to ITG2, and is the next step after DDR's oni mode. In oni mode, you had to keep your combo going or else you'd lose lives. This takes it even further. You have a limited amount of time to complete each song. Every Fantastic you get adds 0.2 seconds to your clock. However, every Great you get subtracts 0.5 seconds. Decents, Way Offs and Misses subtract 1, 2 and 4 seconds respectively. On top of that, you almost always start with less time than you need to finish the song. So, you need to be not only keep a good combo, but also get good score attack just to stay in the game. Additionally, like in marathon mode, songs have mods, though they don't change mid-song, only between songs. On top of all that, you aren't given a chance to access the mod menu before you play, and the scroll rate is scripted for each song. Give this mode a try once you're fairly confident in your ability to get *s on Medium-level and easier Hard-level songs, especially on 1.5x (the usual default scroll). Many of the courses are mostly 5s and 6s. However, again, check the song difficulty vs. course difficulty. If the course is much harder, the mods are probably tricky. Also, watch out for songs with a lot of 2s and 3s. When playing songs with so few steps in Survival mode, you'll need to get very good FA just to give yourself the time you need to make it through the song.

In conclusion
Above all, though, just find songs you like and have fun! It's a very similar game, so you should be able to carry most of the skills you've learned from DDR across to ItG. Keep these things in mind, and you'll be in your dance groove before you know it!

Also, remember to go back and play DDR from time to time. It's older, but it's still an excellent game in its own right.
_________________

Check out my bad PA!
"They call me... Brother Mojo."

A newbie's guide to ITG. If you like dance games, check it out!

[J. S. Mill]

Great post Fish! Let's see how popular this is and maybe we shall sticky it.
_________________

[[Do V] muffin]

[Rancidfish]

[cfusionpm]

i got 96.01 on some song, and it gave me a star. so im guessing its 96.00
_________________

DDR | My YouTube Channel

[Rancidfish]

Well then dang, stupid out-of-date information. Updated.
_________________

Check out my bad PA!
"They call me... Brother Mojo."

A newbie's guide to ITG. If you like dance games, check it out!

[GeeForce]

As of right now (no license), I have no access to an ITG machine, but when the PS2 version releases (or I get my license, will be pretty soon), I'll be sure to refer back to this; seems very informative.

I definitely think it should be stickied
_________________

Kiba's debate skills at their finest...

Tassadar wrote:

MinsiKid wrote: is just a good feeling. Have you considered heroin?

[voldekillssnape]

Awsome thread.

I gathered enough info from that one post.

[Thomas Hobbes]

I think that's a good FAQ. Good job man.
_________________

"I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark."

| Pics | Play-Asia |

[Flarone]

*does the sticky chant*
_________________

[ICNH]

[DAF]

okay i've never played in the groove nor have i ever seen it anywhere. I was just wondering...what is the best you guys can do on pandemonium...I was searching for the hardest in the groove song and i found this one...
_________________

Drink up baby, stay up all night
With the things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be that you'll never see
The promises you'll only make

[PKMN.YnoT]

I personally can't even pass it on Hard (11 feet) yet, but on a good, non-tiring day... who knows. You should check on http://www.groovestats.com to see who has the highest scores on that song.
_________________

My DDRecall
My Groovestats

[GdUp4liff]

great faq. i dont have access to itg but im still very intested in the game and cant wait for the ps2 version to come out so i can test my skills that i have gotten from ddr. but i have a question. what is the highest step rating (like in ddr its 10) ?

[DAF]

i haven't played in the groove either, but i've become interested in it as well. To answer the previous question, I have seen a song with a rating of a 13. It's Pandemonium, and it has 848 steps, so let's hope you've built up a ton of endurance as well
_________________

Drink up baby, stay up all night
With the things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be that you'll never see
The promises you'll only make

[diddrstrait]

just to sort of describe pandemonium...it's 330bpm (close to LOM, just a hair slower). the max combo is in the 900s, and it's about a minute and fifty seconds long. essentially the song feels like a really long run with jumps in the middle of it, and sounds like the unholy devil spawn of afronova, LOM, and gamelan de couple (yeah, there are steel drums and cowbells in the song...it's really tribal).

needless to say, the song is pretty intimidating. there are two much harder 13s in ITG2 (which will probably be released to arcades later this year), just so you know.

[Flarone]

[KenG>j00]

I would have to say the first post was one of the best stuff I've ever seen on DDR freak.
_________________

[Rancidfish]

[kablooie13]

Such sweetness, request sticky
_________________

SKINYAH