Author Topic: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]  (Read 7843 times)

Spectere

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DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« on: March 05, 2018, 09:29:29 AM »
The North American release is finally arriving tomorrow. Who else is grabbing it? ;D

If anyone is on the fence, I played on an imported copy a couple of months ago and it's seriously incredible. As far as I can tell, all of the UI elements and videos were rerendered in HD. I didn't even see the slightest hint of pixelation. It's clear that a lot of love and RESPECT (derpderpderp) was put into this.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2019, 08:00:27 AM by Spectere »
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Bobbias

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4]
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2018, 02:10:41 AM »
Ive watched someone stream now and then. Looks great, but just as distracting to my eyes as djmax always has been. I'm not a fan of rhythm games with really flashy shit all over everything. Still, looks damn fun for everyone who can play without problems. Theres a reason I play with as much visual distractions as possible removed in o!m.
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Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4]
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2018, 11:14:47 AM »
You can adjust the opacity of the gear in the options so that the BGA doesn't bleed through as much. You can also dim the background videos by pressing the touchpad during gameplay. I imagine that if you dim the videos and make the gear opaque it probably have fewer distractions that IIDX.
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Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2019, 08:00:20 AM »
Oh hey, so this is out on Steam now as DJMAX RESPECT V.

I basically played it daily this past weekend until my hands started to hurt (i.e. going a little overboard on the 14s and 15s). Here's a few quick comments:

It definitely runs on the DJMAX Respect engine. A lot of screens and such were carried straight over from the PS4 version. Lag compensation was removed, so if you play on a TV and run your audio through said TV (like I do) you'll have to plug in an external DAC or plug your speakers into your soundcard. I use a USB DAC with headphones and it feels fine. Additionally, make sure that VSync is off. The input lag that it introduces is awful. The PC version also supports 144hz monitors natively, and from what I've been told it looks exquisite.

It's US$50. For some reason people are really whining about this despite the sheer number of songs, unique/remastered BGAs, and difficulty coverage in it. What's really hilarious is that some people who are complaining about this are comparing it to Rock Band, a game that, uh…also cost $60 and didn't include nearly as much. Hm.

It's in Early Access through Q1 2020. The game is playable, and all of the on-disc tracks from the PS4 version are available to play (in addition to a few new additions) with the DLC coming at a later date. Mission mode isn't in the current build, nor is online play, but freestyle and AIR mode are both in the game. Freestyle is the same as it ever was, while AIR mode is what I like to call "shuffle with chat."

AIR mode is…weird. I don't get the chat aspect at all, as it's not like you're watching anyone play, or vice versa, it's just a randomized playlist at a specified difficulty range with a ton of Hangul flying all over the place, with "ez" spam after every chart. Thankfully, you can turn the chat display off to remove that distraction. I kind of like the randomized aspect since it does get me to play songs that I wouldn't normally think to play, but it's largely a means to an end—just a way to play through and unlock charts.

I'm not sure what modes they're going to be adding aside from mission mode and online play. Hopefully they bring back the classic arcade mode experience, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Apparently they are going to be adding a 10-key mode at some point, which honestly kind of scares me a bit. :P

As you can probably guess by the mere mention of 10-key, you're going to need a good keyboard or a controller (same button layout as the PS4, with rebinding support) to have a decent time. I'm using a Logitech G910 and it feels fantastic. The game feels great to play, and I've even managed to do something I'd only dreamed of doing—max comboing For The Ikarus 6B MX. Goddamn, I love that song.

The DRM that they're using (Xingcode 3) is kind of questionable from what I've read. That's kind of been true for all of the previous DJMAX titles, really. I mean, Trilogy shipped with a bloody dongle, and some of the Portable series wouldn't even let you transfer saves between PSPs, and apparently even the AC releases had crazier protection than most other arcade games. Personally, from what I've read, Xingcode doesn't seem much more egregious than Denuvo or SecuROM (read into that how you will), but your feelings may vary. I primarily use Windows as a gaming OS so I'm not too concerned about it.
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Zephlar

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2019, 01:55:59 PM »
Where can a man get a quality pad these days?

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2020, 07:39:06 PM »
How was DJMax compared to O2jam?  I really only played O2jam back in the day and DJMax kinda looked like a clone of the game afiak.

Also while I enjoyed it O2jam never filled in for stepmania/IIDX for me.

I don't currently play the genre at all...nor have for years and years now, but if it's solid, might be worth a dip.

Bobbias

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2020, 06:24:53 AM »
O2jam was honestly a janky game engine. The timing was all sorts of silly, and the charts often ignored playability and threw stupid patterns at you. From what I know djmax has a way better engine. Plus its not just 7k. That said, i played the very original djmax for a few days or something then quit, so i cant really say too much.
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Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2020, 08:36:29 AM »
Where can a man get a quality pad these days?

DJMAX is a keyboard/joypad game. No need to buy a controller for it as long as you have a DualShock-style controller or a decent keyboard (I use a Logitech G910).

How was DJMax compared to O2jam?  I really only played O2jam back in the day and DJMax kinda looked like a clone of the game afiak.

Also while I enjoyed it O2jam never filled in for stepmania/IIDX for me.

DJMAX is so good that I regret going with O2Jam instead. In terms of both the soundtrack and quality of the charts it's a worthy rival to IIDX. From a difficulty perspective it isn't anywhere close to top-tier IIDX (I believe I can beat all of the 4B/5B/6B charts, but I haven't really touched 8B much so there's still a ton of progression remaining), but I find it more than hard enough to be interesting.

O2jam was honestly a janky game engine. The timing was all sorts of silly, and the charts often ignored playability and threw stupid patterns at you.

O2Jam's timing windows changed depending on the speed mod. No, I'm not joking. :|

And yeah, the charting was generally pretty fucking atrocious and the difficulty ratings were all over the show. Not to mention the sheer number of songs that are poorly keysounded (notes that didn't make any sound, keysounds that were just chopped up clips of the song itself and double up, etc). Even the mastering process was inconsistent, with some songs clipping like crazy.

To be fair there were some fantastic songs/charts, but it always felt like O2 emphasized quantity over quality while DJMAX aimed more toward being Korean IIDX in terms of variety and polish.

From what I know djmax has a way better engine. Plus its not just 7k. That said, i played the very original djmax for a few days or something then quit, so i cant really say too much.

I remember playing the original DJMAX Online when it was in beta, but I wasn't able to get too many rounds in before the beta ended. I don't really remember how good the engine was in that, honestly.

The Portable series had a fantastic engine, and Trilogy runs great on everything from XP to 10. As previously mentioned, RESPECT V even supports 144hz displays, which is something I'd really like to try out one of these days.
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Bobbias

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2020, 10:53:04 AM »
O2Jam's timing windows changed depending on the speed mod. No, I'm not joking. :|

And yeah, the charting was generally pretty fucking atrocious and the difficulty ratings were all over the show. Not to mention the sheer number of songs that are poorly keysounded (notes that didn't make any sound, keysounds that were just chopped up clips of the song itself and double up, etc). Even the mastering process was inconsistent, with some songs clipping like crazy.

Actually, the timing windows changed on bpm, but had a multiplier for speeds. At 1x scroll speed, you need 80% of your note in the red line to get a cool. At 4x, the timing zone is 4x taller than the red line. But bpm doesn't affect size, so higher bpm meant tighter windows.

And yeah the official charts had some seriously janky keysounds and mastering issues for sure.

I actually like how o2 charts will sometimes throw out bullshit nobody is expected to handle well though.
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Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2020, 11:36:49 AM »
Ah, gotcha. That makes far more sense.

I do appreciate that they tried to do things differently at times, I just wish they would have done it in a better way. :P Like, Brain Storm in DJMAX is insanely hard to score well on, but that's just because the song is weird as hell.
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NewF

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2020, 03:40:15 PM »
Love the game, but come on...Fuckin' really? For some extra songs and be able to play online with others....

TECHNIKA 1+2+3 BUNDLE
CDN$ 58.22

DJMAX RESPECT V - Cytus Pack
CDN$ 17.49

DJMAX RESPECT V - Deemo Pack
CDN$ 25.80

DJMAX RESPECT V - BLACK SQUARE PACK
CDN$ 25.80

DJMAX RESPECT V - Clazziquai Edition PACK
CDN$ 17.49

DJMAX RESPECT V - GROOVE COASTER PACK
CDN$ 17.49

DJMAX RESPECT V - TRILOGY PACK
CDN$ 28.99

DJMAX RESPECT V - V Extension PACK
CDN$ 208.77 Estimated total

A little excessive with their stupid fuckin' micro transactions, considering we already spent like 70-80 bucks on the game itself already. Shit like this really bothers me.

Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2020, 07:06:51 PM »
How else are they going to pay the artists? Music licensing is generally a recurring cost.

Those packs are reasonably substantial, too. The Clazziquai Edition pack has 24 songs, Black Square has 21, and Trilogy has 21. The cross-game packs are a bit less generous (10-12 songs each) but they're still larger than most other rhythm game song packs, and DJMAX generally includes more charts. That's pretty damn cheap. For games like Beat Saber and Rock Band you're looking at around USD$2 per song.

$10/$30 for gear packs (i.e. skins)? Yeah, that's bullshit. The song packs are fine, though.
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NewF

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2020, 09:17:55 AM »
I just prefer the old days where you buy a game for 50-60 bucks and you get the full game. Not $300-$400 later and 20 DLC's later. :-/

Spectere

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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2020, 12:34:10 PM »
Once again: music licensing costs money, so it's content that they can't put out for free unless they want to lose a ton of cash.

To use your example, back in the day you'd pay $50-60 for a rhythm game with a static, ~40 song playlist (if that, in many cases) and whenever they come out with another ~40 songs they'd release another full-priced title (see: FreQuency/Amplitude, Bemani CS releases, PaRappa, Guitar Hero 1/2, and the list goes on and on). I can say from personal experience that, even with the song packs, DJMAX has proven to be cheaper and far more content-rich than keeping up with the PS2 DDR releases (or, for that matter, previous DJMAX PSP releases). If they kept doing things the way they did in the old days, you'd be stuck with that same limited track list until they pressed and released a new title.

I'm not knocking them at all for the old approach, by the way. In that era that was the only thing they could do. Not only would they have to pay licensing fees and royalties, but they'd also have to pay for distribution costs. Nowadays, the software itself can be easily updated over-the-air, and having Internet-enabled devices is commonplace. Rhythm games have actually gotten cheaper in the long run as a result of largely cutting out the cost of distribution. Not only that, but you can actually download the content you're interested in (eg. I'm not a fan of Clazziquai, so I don't need to drop $15 on that DLC) so you don't end up buying the latest revision—again, at full price—and end up hating half of the soundtrack.
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Re: DJMax Respect [PS4/PC]
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2020, 10:00:15 PM »
Well don't get me wrong. I still bought it and love most of it, lol. It's just. UGH. I guess I'm being more comparative to stepmania, where it was all fan/user based created music and step charts and all that. But meh, it is what it is. I've been playing the fuck out of it today, and completed quite a few songs, achievements and FC's.
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