STsung’s Blog

Since the release of the last version of pumpbi (17/10/08) the server has been down. The server is back online for a day or so for the time being. If you waited long time for uploading your data and weren’t able to do so, NOW it is time to do it because who knows for how long the server will be working.

We always thought that there are no PIU machines in Japan and that never a pump machine would be placed in any Japanese arcades. But beware! In Tokyo Japanese people have the chance to try out the NX2 machines.

Will Japanese people get to the top level in this game?

What news it brings?

New modes:

There are three different modes in this one.
Calculation - where the player is forced to do simple math operations and input the result via the dance platform.
Observation and Memory- you will be shown a certain pattern and you have to input it. In one of those modes it won’t be just arrow patterns but also whatever icons/symbols andamiro came up with (angels, devils, dogs, other weird characters or animals etc)

Yahpp - Blaze Emotion
-Big Bang - La La La
-Eun Ji Won - Adios
-45rpm - Softly
-S.E.S - I Am Your Girl
-DJ Missill - Forward
-Sam-I-Am - Uprock
-Gyfted - Crazy
-Big Metra - Panuelito Rojo
-Nina Pilots - Digan Lo Que Digan
-Wang Lee Hom - Change Myself
-Steve Yoo - Breakin’ Love
-Banya Production - People Didn’t Know
-Banya Production - DJ Otada
-Banya Production - K.O.A ~Alice in Wonderworld~
-Banya Production - Toccata

Step 1: Stomach Muscle
Step 2: Desert
Step 3: 3
Step 4: NX Absolute

So for the time being we know that the new game will be named NX Absolute, we have seen some screens and intro movie (check piugame.com).

I had the chance to personally try out PIU ProX multiplayer system at LIW 08.
The pads are about 10kg each, made of metal and the “sensors” (more likely the the two metal plates) are sealed off which could make this platforms work for a long time. The panels are from different kind of metal than the cover (which is slippery, the panels are not hopefully). The center panel is too big, otherwise the pad would have the real measurements (or could be considered a PIU pad).

The software is mostly PIU Pro with new features. You can select 3 difficulties at once or 1 difficulty. If you select 3 different difficulties and you select easy difficulty it will show easy + the other two that follow (thus normal and hard). Selecting any other higher difficulty will show normal, hard and crazy at once.

The player can choose on what difficulty to play. The computer will recognize what difficulty the player is playing on and will keep counting score for that song. A player can choose in mid-play to switch difficulties. It takes some time for the computer to register the change but it does it. (what the score does is another matter though).

Modifier menu is available.

you can check my PIU ProX video on my youtube account =>
LIADZ2

Changes:

- Added “Half Double” steps, added missing FS and NM charts (view below)
- Red button unready
- Mod names on Results
- Sort by Freestyle, Nightmare, Half Double
- Song wheel icon for Edits
- Faster life regeneration on Easy
- Show disqualified on Results
- Fix high score score name blacklist
- Fix RANDOM SPEED MOD will not turn off unless using “ALL OFF” option.
- Fix some saved mods (like Perspective) shouldn’t be applied in Progressive
- Credits screen names updated
- Fix very short hold notes (Utopia Crazy) complete without stepping
- Add toggle songs screen
- Fix machine eats credits on title screen
- Fix grade gems now displaying correctly in Freestyle and Nightmare

Pump Original revivals:

Can Can - Banya* [1, 4, 7, 10 .2. 8, 11]
Miss’s Story - Banya [1, 4, 6, 9 .7. 6, 11]
(*actually composed by F2 Systems)

In The Groove crossovers:

Euphoria - KaW feat. Smiley, [1, 3, 7, 12 . 9. 4, 11]
Tension - Inspector K, [1, 4, 9, 11 .4. 7, 12]
Tribal Style - KaW [1, 4, 9, 10 .7. 3, 11]

New Songs:

Epilogue - When Machines Dream, [1, 3, 7, 10 .3. 7, 13]
Kitty Cat - Coconut, [1, 3, 5, 9 .7. 2, 9]
Ladybug - Coconut, [1, 3, 7, 8 .8. 4, 9]
London Bridge - SCIGuyz, [1, 4, 7, 10 .8. 4, 11]
Move It Groove It - KaW feat. Sam I Am, [1, 3, 5, 10 .7. 4, 11]
Shooting Star - Coconut [1, 3, 6, 8 .7. 2, 10]
Style On My Speed Dial - Oscillator X [1, 3, 7, 8 .4. 2, 8]

Added FS and NM charts:

Blow My Mind (FS added [4])
Coming Out (NM moved to HDB [10]. New NM added [9])
Dawn -Perpetual Mix- (FS moved to HDB [7]. New FS added [8])
VVV (FS moved to HDB [12]. New FS added [8])
Chicken Wing (FS added [6])
D Gang (NM added [10])
Dance With Me (NM added [9])
Don’t Bother Me (NM added [9])
Emperor (NM added [9])
Eres Para Mi (NM added [12])
Everybody (NM added [8])
Ignition Starts (NM added [11])
Let The Sunshine (NM added [8])
Maria (NM added [8])
Mexi Mexi (NM added [11])
Monkey Magic (NM moved to HDB [9], New NM added [10])
Oh Rosa! (NM added [9])
Space Fantasy (NM added [10])
Starian (NM added [10])

This night Andamiro upgraded their site. Some changes are in the community forums (one forum completely deleted, new submit forms) but mainly all changes were made to PIU ranking.

Now the NX2 ranking is finally available so you can upload scores and be in the ranking. The countries in the NX2 ranking are now: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Korea, Mexico and the USA. If you want to manage your NX2 scores and stats you have to download a PIU manager from the official PIU ranking site. Then you can browse songs scores, whole game scores, world max missions etc.

Unfortunately the system is pretty buggy so Andamiro tries to do its best to get rid of these bugs. But I think this might work well. I have to say that the system now is better than the previous one even though it’s still a mess.

Now I wonder why I have Korean flag next to my nickname and I can only add scores to Polish Internet Ranking. I can’t even browse these scores because they are not in the country with which I registered. cool…

At SportWall’s IHRSA 08 fitness and health trade show booth we could have a second look on the new PIU Pro multiplayer system. The MP system is wireless.

The maximum number of players is 32. An interesting feature is that people can choose from one difficulty to play or three different difficulties to play. Thus if you choose three you will see three different sets of arrows. Modifiers chosen apply to all three difficulties. At music select screen you see the connected pads and the disconnected ones.

During gameplay you see the arrow evaluation for each player on the bottom of the screen. At the end of the song you will see the grade and percentage you got.

The pads are pretty slim and they really look bad. The worse thing (for now I hope) is that the panels don’t have the same dimensions as the arcade ones. Also the pads does not seem to be too sturdy so I don’t know how much they can survive.

Starting January PIU players will be able to purchase PIU USB flash drives and use them to mainly store their PIU NX2 scores. But getting scores saved is not the only thing this will provide.

① Mileage System
② Game Save & Data Management
③ Measurement of the Quantity Motion
④ Internet Ranking
⑤ All Song Ranking
⑥ USB Only Song
⑦ Reward & Special Gift
⑧ Participation in Internet Event

Today the grand festival (which didn’t go that well this year) is over.

Here are the results. For my part I’m glad that Amy won the female division but I’m little sad about Danielita coming up fourth and not in the winning three places.

Speed Male

1. Xuma - Chile
   
2. Kike - Ecuador
   
3. J Boy - USA
   

1. Amy - Taiwan (my fav #1)
   
2. Nayeli - Mexico
   
3. Celia - Chile
   
4. Danielita - Argentina (my fav #2)
   

1. Dae Cheon Kim, Go Seok - Korea
   
2. Kyeon Seok Seo, Kyong Ho Kim - Korea
   
3. Los Garotos - Ecuador
   
4. Sofi y Jam - Colombia