Messages

61

Songs / Re: A couple of songs to try out on Iron Ninja.

« on: February 22, 2009, 02:31:40 pm »

To each his own right? If I said I liked amateur metal and you hated metal then you would tell me my opinion in music sucks (which isn't necessarily true). What were you expecting from a non-professional with no experience?

I only uploaded them NOT because I thought they were GOOD songs but because I thought the beat and tempo MAY prove to be a challenge. Obviously not to the veterans which would instantly decry it.

Yes, you are correct. I shouldn't have given my personal opinion about it from a musical standpoint.

My apologies for that -- it was very bad form on my part.

62

Songs / Re: A couple of songs to try out on Iron Ninja.

« on: February 20, 2009, 10:05:22 am »

While I doubt these files are viruses (but I could be wrong), there is something wrong with them.

I downloaded the Breakneck Vestibule file and WMP doesn't actually recognize it as an MP3 file.
So I didn't allow WMP to play it.
VLC player does play it (and the "tune" sucks anyway).

My question would be what app was used to encode these files and why does WMP not recognize it as an MP3 music file in spite of the extension?

63

Songs / Re: The Ultimate Monkey Mix

« on: February 14, 2009, 01:56:18 pm »

Okay -- now I believe you. 

Dylan should put a new category into AS Radio -- "Player-Made Music."

After all, it was AudioSurf itself which got me into trying my hand at learning to make music.

People who claim that, "Video games are a waste of time" don't know what they're talking about. Video games have always given me ideas which I probably never would have had without them.

I will be making more music but it might be a long time coming and hopefully better.

Thanks for the encouragement -- that kind of feedback makes it easier to proceed!
Plus, it makes me feel good!

64

Discussion / Re: happy anniversary!

« on: February 14, 2009, 01:43:19 pm »

ViRUS said it the best!

It's the love of the game.

I might add that the Dylan and Lebeth are two of the best I've ever run across when it comes to actually listening to what the players have to say and being so open to suggestions which might improve the game.

You guys are both "My Valentines." 

65

Songs / Re: Complete Album Thrones

« on: February 12, 2009, 06:33:00 pm »

I think I have one of the "Jingle Cats" albums. 

Just kidding. But I have played some of them.

66

Troubleshooting / Re: 'Wink' of performance after 2/10 update

« on: February 12, 2009, 06:23:12 pm »

My apologies for misunderstanding. 

The "stutter" is something I have usually only experienced in Premium graphics *prior* to the Feb10 update. With the update, I can actually use Premium graphics and didn't seem to experience anything like what it was before the update except that incident I described to Lavos. When it did that, I restarted the song and it seemed to be okay after that.

If the blackness I'm getting is something already known, then why is it I didn't get it until *after* the Feb10 update? Is the background object interference a new bug also?

To me, "wink" seemed to be the best description because the screen "winked." The stutter on the other hand, lasted a few seconds and I wouldn't call that a "wink" -- but it's still my mistake and I'm sorry if I wasted anyone's time.

67

Troubleshooting / Re: 'Wink' of performance after 2/10 update

« on: February 12, 2009, 02:17:01 am »

Lavos,

The wink and the stutter might be two different issues (although perhaps caused by the same thing).

I say that because I experienced something like what you just described earlier today before doing the wink tests. There would be a stall and the track motion came to a crawl while the music continued -- then it would suddenly race ahead (almost like the 'alt' key thing) until it was caught up with where it was supposed to be.

My initial reaction was that it was due to Windows 7 -- I've not done anything to tweak my install yet and everything is pretty much at default values except for its looks.

The "wink" is a blackness that descends over the screen from the top and going down -- all in a split second -- and is separate from any track stall that I've experienced.

68

Songs / Re: The Ultimate Monkey Mix

« on: February 11, 2009, 11:39:22 pm »

See -- this is what I want to hear -- the answer to whether the music is good or not!

But I don't know how to take your stating that it's, "...some of the best music of the genre I've heard. It's better than any electronic music that's been featured on AS Radio."

And you follow it with --> : -p

So...obviously you must be kidding.

But in case you really did like it and weren't kidding: Thank you very much, I honestly appreciate that!

Regardless, at least the highway it created wasn't half bad.

I'm glad you appreciated the contrasting quotes as well -- that was precisely my intention and you "got it" perfectly!

69

Troubleshooting / Re: 'Wink' of performance after 2/10 update

« on: February 11, 2009, 11:18:36 pm »

Wink Tests in Windows 7

System Specs:

2.4GHz P4
400MHz FSB
1Gb RAM
ATI Radeon AIW 9700Pro
128Mb VRAM

Tests performed using the same MP3 file for each test using Free Ride - Classic mode.

Times are approximations from actual counting (no stopwatch or anything fancy like that).

All tests done in Full Screen at 1024x768, no AntiAliasing.

Test times counted as per this diagram:

Start song >--->first wink>----->Second wink is time counted from first wink until second wink

=-=-=
Test 1 - Normal AudioSurf Feb 10 Update

Premium Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds.
Subsequent ime to second wink: 1:45

Enhanced Graphics

Time to first wink: 32 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:45
=-=-=
Test 2 - Using WinkTest "NoBackground Objects"

Not ONE instance of "winking" in any mode.
=-=-=
Test 3 - Using WinkTest "NoCliff"

Premium Graphics

Time to first wink: 32 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:43

Enhanced Graphics

Time to first wink: 31 seconds
Subsequenty time to second wink: 1:42
=-=-=
Test 4 - Using WinkTest "NoFloaters"

Premium Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:42

Enhanced Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:41
=-=-=
Test 5 - Using WinkTest "NoRings"

Premium Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:42

Enhanced Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:42
=-=-=
Test 6 - Using WinkTest "NoSquid"

Premium Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:42

Enhanced Graphics

Time to first wink: 33 seconds
Subsequent time to second wink: 1:42
=-=-=

Winks did NOT occur in either "minimal" or "normal" graphics modes under any circumstances.

I think it is obvious that Test 2 is the winner here.

70

Troubleshooting / Re: 'Wink' of performance after 2/10 update

« on: February 11, 2009, 08:19:18 pm »

I'm just now downloading the WinkTests.zip file and will try them out in my Win7 install first (will have to swap drives for XP later).

I'm only testing on a single MP3 file (my Mindless Primate Mix) so that I can see if it occurs in the same places as well as timing when the winks arrive.

71

Troubleshooting / Re: 'Wink' of performance after 2/10 update

« on: February 11, 2009, 12:58:42 pm »

EDIT: I'll be testing if it happens on Win7 today...

I just tested it on my Win7 install and it does it.

In my post to the other thread about it, I said it seemed to happen in all the graphics modes except "minimal."

That was probably wrong, but I'm going to have to switch back to XP to find out. My testing for the past few minutes in Win7 only seems to create the issue in "enhanced" and "premium" modes, not in "minimal" or "normal."

I'll post my results later on today.

72

Troubleshooting / Re: Game constantly pauses in fullscreen mode.

« on: February 11, 2009, 10:49:30 am »

I had that problem for ages, it made windowed mode impossible and I had to use fullscreen, it's existed for months, it's not a new problem.

I never play in windowed mode -- fullscreen always.
But it's a new problem for ME since the Feb10 update. It never happened at all until the update.

73

Troubleshooting / Re: Game constantly pauses in fullscreen mode.

« on: February 11, 2009, 01:39:22 am »

I noticed a little bit of this earlier tonight after I received the update.

For the most part, performance improved but there is a sort of 'wink' every 10 to 15 seconds.
This wasn't an issue before the Feb.10 update -- I was playing the same songs just an hour or two before. It seems to do it in normal/enhanced/premium modes but not in minimum, so Dylan may be right about it being the squid.

But this never appeared for me until this update.

And no, this isn't an issue of needing a clean install of Windows since my current install is just about 3 months old at this point. I usually last a year before needing to do that.

74

Discussion / Re: Fins and jumping. Necesary?

« on: February 10, 2009, 06:23:35 pm »

For some that may be true, but for just as many others, not so true.

Try dj-corny's Still Alive feat. GLaDOS (english club mix) for example. There are many more like that which without using fins you might *think* you got all of the blocks in a cluster but you really didn't. I'm speaking mainly of many red blocks which will amount to something one way or another for the final score depending on whether you got 'em all, or not.

75

Discussion / Re: Fins and jumping. Necesary?

« on: February 09, 2009, 09:02:11 pm »

Using the fins on Mono Pro is extraordinarily useful and, inded CAN be a "game breaking" advantage. Once you've got the hang of using the fins, then mindlessly swiping back-and-forth on the track becomes a thing of the past for areas with high block counts. Heck, even picking up just two at a time (from opposite lanes) is an advantage.

If you are good at looking ahead to see what is coming, then using the fins becomes second-nature.

The less un-necessary moving around the track, the better!