General tips/tricks/strategies

[LanceBriggs55]

Post screwed up while editing, revision below.

[LanceBriggs55]

Post screwed up while editing, revision below.

[LanceBriggs55]

What's up guys. Thought I would start a thread so everyone can chime in on any tips or tricks that have helped them tackle DJ Hero. I have become a decent player, with a few songs in the top 10, and most in the top 20-30 on the PS3. The only songs I haven't 5 starred on expert are Groundhog, Rockit, Beats & Pieces & Monkey Wrench/Sabotage, hopefully i'll get there eventually. Unfortunately I do have Multiple Sclerosis, so it affects my concentration, thinking, hand-eye co-ordination and my hand movements in general. It's still an early stage in the disease for me, but it's there. Here's some strategies that have helped me:

- Obviously practice, practice, practice! I think this is half the battle when doing the higher intensity songs. You will know whats coming, and be mentally prepared for the sequences. It will give you a chance to adjust the turntable into an optimum position for those up, up, up, up/down, down, down, down scratch patterns. Being prepared will prevent the turntable from being in an uncomfortable/undesireable position (ie where the buttons end up as high as 12 o-clock, thus making it more difficult to tap & move the turntable).



- On directional scratching in general: I think the key is finding an optimal speed/rhythym depending on how spaced out the scratch sequences are. Eg:

Pretty much as fast as you can



A more controlled, deliberate pace



Controlled, while releasing the button in between scratches. I find releasing the button much safer than holding onto it and waiting to scratch.


Remember to start/finish off your scratches with the correct up/down motion.



Also keep in mind the actual speed of the on screen platter, this will help you gauge how fast you will need to perform certain scratches/taps/crossfades. The speed of the platter will vary from song to song on expert. Comparing Universal Mind Control to most of the other high intensity songs, the platter moves much faster (pretty much like hyperdeck.)

CREDIT TO MAHALO VIDEOGAMES ON YOUTUBE FOR THE SCREENCAPS

[LanceBriggs55]

What's up guys. Thought I would start a thread so everyone can chime in on any tips or tricks that have helped them tackle DJ Hero. I have become a decent player, with a few songs in the top 10, and most in the top 20-30 on the PS3. The only songs I haven't 5 starred on expert are Groundhog, Rockit, Beats & Pieces & Monkey Wrench/Sabotage, hopefully i'll get there eventually. Unfortunately I do have Multiple Sclerosis, so it affects my concentration, thinking, hand-eye co-ordination and my hand movements in general. It's still an early stage in the disease for me, but it's there. Here's some strategies that have helped me:

- Obviously practice, practice, practice! I think this is half the battle when doing the higher intensity songs. You will know whats coming, and be mentally prepared for the sequences. It will give you a chance to adjust the turntable into an optimum position for those up, up, up, up/down, down, down, down scratch patterns. Being prepared will prevent the turntable from being in an uncomfortable/undesireable position (ie where the buttons end up as high as 12 o-clock, thus making it more difficult to tap & move the turntable).



- On directional scratching in general: I think the key is finding an optimal speed/rhythym depending on how spaced out the scratch sequences are. Eg:

Pretty much as fast as you can



A more controlled, deliberate pace



Controlled, while releasing the button in between scratches. I find releasing the button much safer than holding onto it and waiting to scratch.


Remember to start/finish off your scratches with the correct up/down motion.



Also keep in mind the actual speed of the on screen platter, this will help you gauge how fast you will need to perform certain scratches/taps/crossfades. The speed of the platter will vary from song to song on expert. Comparing Universal Mind Control to most of the other high intensity songs, the platter moves much faster (pretty much like hyperdeck.)

CREDIT TO MAHALO VIDEOGAMES ON YOUTUBE FOR THE SCREENCAPS

[LanceBriggs55]

Crossfading/Crossfade Spikes
Ok, if you aren't good at doing multiple things at once, it may help you to play through a particular track dozens of times, and work out how long each crossfade will last going from left/right, left/centre, right/centre etc. It can be a help where there is a shitload of crossfading & button pushing going on at the same time (3rd verse in Groundhog). Basically rather than paying attention to the crossfades, you're just timing them. For some of the harder songs I have to rely on this, due to my reduced mental function, but this may help you guys out until your mind gets used to doing so many things at once. Certain crossfade spikes can be easy ie. where they go left, right, left. (Counted as 3 hits) Even if you misjudge the timing, they will still register. Timing is important for others though, such as Robot Rock, and the dreaded ending of Groundhog. Groundhog you can get away with using Euphoria, Robot Rock is another story, as the spikes are in the 1st Euphoria section.

Effects Dial
Good way to significantly increase your high score. I have found you score the most points when turning it fast, and the on screen dial actually goes all the way to the left, and all the way to the right. Also try to get used to quickly turning the effects knob, specifically when you are in a left/right crossfade zone. It will increase your mutiplier, and give you a few extra points (which add up at the end.) Even if you don't get the points for turning it, the multiplier is still there collecting points for the crossfade.



Rewinds
Probably more important than Euphoria in adding to your score. I think on Medium you get a rewind after 40 hits in a row, Hard - 50 hits, Expert - 60 hits. Try to use rewinds after you have just completed a point-laden section. To get the most out of a rewind, I have found you need to spin the turntable back either really fast, or get a 360-720 degree spin on it. Half assed spins will only go back a second or 2. They're also useful if you screw up a Euphoria section.

That's it for now, i'll come up with more stuff if I can think of it. Cheers

[LanceBriggs55]

Crossfading/Crossfade Spikes
Ok, if you aren't good at doing multiple things at once, it may help you to play through a particular track dozens of times, and work out how long each crossfade will last going from left/right, left/centre, right/centre etc. It can be a help where there is a shitload of crossfading & button pushing going on at the same time (3rd verse in Groundhog). Basically rather than paying attention to the crossfades, you're just timing them. For some of the harder songs I have to rely on this, due to my reduced mental function, but this may help you guys out until your mind gets used to doing so many things at once. Certain crossfade spikes can be easy ie. where they go left, right, left. (Counted as 3 hits) Even if you misjudge the timing, they will still register. Timing is important for others though, such as Robot Rock, and the dreaded ending of Groundhog. Groundhog you can get away with using Euphoria, Robot Rock is another story, as the spikes are in the 1st Euphoria section.

Effects Dial
Good way to significantly increase your high score. I have found you score the most points when turning it fast, and the on screen dial actually goes all the way to the left, and all the way to the right. Also try to get used to quickly turning the effects knob, specifically when you are in a left/right crossfade zone. It will increase your mutiplier, and give you a few extra points (which add up at the end.) Even if you don't get the points for turning it, the multiplier is still there collecting points for the crossfade.



Rewinds
Probably more important than Euphoria in adding to your score. I think on Medium you get a rewind after 40 hits in a row, Hard - 50 hits, Expert - 60 hits. Try to use rewinds after you have just completed a point-laden section. To get the most out of a rewind, I have found you need to spin the turntable back either really fast, or get a 360-720 degree spin on it. Half assed spins will only go back a second or 2. They're also useful if you screw up a Euphoria section.

That's it for now, i'll come up with more stuff if I can think of it. Cheers

[malictus]

For those long stretches with a repeated up or a repeated down motion, I actually end up slowly turning the turntable around a full 360 degrees, while TAPPING the button where the scratches occur. This only works if you are familiar with the song and don't get stuck halfway around.

Also, can anyone confirm the method to avoid half rewinds? Sometimes I feel like I should be getting a full rewind but only get a half...
_________________

RB3 Pro Keys Expert Progress:
FC's: 39/63 on-disc + 38 DLC

[malictus]

For those long stretches with a repeated up or a repeated down motion, I actually end up slowly turning the turntable around a full 360 degrees, while TAPPING the button where the scratches occur. This only works if you are familiar with the song and don't get stuck halfway around.

Also, can anyone confirm the method to avoid half rewinds? Sometimes I feel like I should be getting a full rewind but only get a half...
_________________

RB3 Pro Keys Expert Progress:
FC's: 39/63 on-disc + 38 DLC

[AnubisGX]

Well, for me anyways, I found that I get full rewinds (the long one?) by not doing it right after doing a down scratch. I believe the hardware that detects downward platter movement doesn't have time to reset to neutral and will turn your hard spin into the half rewind, no matter how hard you spin it (just my speculation). If I do choose to rewind right after a down scratch, I buffer a button-less up scratch followed by the hard rewind motion. This seems to be working for me so far. I would like to hear others' thoughts on this half rewind thing though.

[AnubisGX]

Well, for me anyways, I found that I get full rewinds (the long one?) by not doing it right after doing a down scratch. I believe the hardware that detects downward platter movement doesn't have time to reset to neutral and will turn your hard spin into the half rewind, no matter how hard you spin it (just my speculation). If I do choose to rewind right after a down scratch, I buffer a button-less up scratch followed by the hard rewind motion. This seems to be working for me so far. I would like to hear others' thoughts on this half rewind thing though.

[LanceBriggs55]

[LanceBriggs55]