August 2002

Now Playing!

Max 300!
Candy Unlimited!
True Trance!!

Actually, here's a story for you to chew on, if ya care for it. Oh, and there's a little more good/funny news besides just the songs being open now. See, here's the deal. When we opened up DDRMax, there were like....tons of switches. I'm only used to 2 of 'em plus 2 dials like DDR 3rd Mix. So anyways, I start screwin with one of the dials thinking it's somethin else and say "oh crud that isnt it." Then when I take my hand away, i see a TINY TINY TINY label on it that says "contrast." I think to myself "ah crud i just screwed up the game!!" but I blow it off, and keep on movin. Then we try the codes, they dont work. I come back later, we finally get it.

But there was a nice suprise that happened after I messed with the dial. Remember the discolorations on the screen? Well, they're gone now! Hahahaha, talk about your dumb luck! Man I'm a lucky little SOB...:)

Wow. This is just shocking to report.

AC now has a perfect-working DDR machine. Steve took 'em appart last night (8/03) and cleaned 'em the way they're ment to be cleaned. Don't try and thank him though. I thanked him today, and he said "For what?" "For fixing the DDR pads." "I didn't do anything to 'em." So, he wont even admit to it which I see as kinda odd, but Joe witnessed him doing it, so, hey, whatever works, right?

Even a bigger shocker, today, he changed it to FIVE levels, not 3. So, now, it's $0.50 for 5 levels, puting it at $0.10 per song! This is the, now, best price for DDR in the city.

On a side note, we're trying to change the location of DDR night from AC to Century 16 Theater for several reasons.
1. It's DDRMax, the best machine in the city.
2. If we start showing up more, maybe they'll consider lowering the price
3. We don't have to pay 5 bucks to get in
4. We can play longer than an hour
5. They close at something like Midnight, I think? So, we don't have to kill the fun at only 10 pm.

This is my arguement for changing the location. I'm not just doing it for the machine, although that is a part of it. If you feel that AC is a better place to continue having DDR Night at, because of the new price and fixings, feel free to discuss it on the board in the DDR Night forum.

Oh ya, neglected to mention, I updated the Locations page to include the new Max machine last night.

Wow, it's really been a busy week for us DDR players in CC, hasn't it?

A post from Freddie:

Ok, it's confirmed we now have a DDR 6th mix machine at century theaters. I just got back from playing it. 2 of my friends and i went. The pad is great all the buttons work perfectly and they arent all dirty or slippery like PPP or aladdin's castle. It seems like there arent too many song available, perhaps an unlock code is needed.

The songs that are available are fun i almost FC bye bye baby balloon i had 1 great and 34 goods not bad for 1st try. I did pass so deep, that one was pretty difficult but i got an A on it.

the only bad thing about it is the pad moves WAY TOO MUCH. It is still on wheels on not on the floor you get use to it but it is something that needs to get fixed.

It is .75 cents for 3 songs, which is standard I guess, but hey we finally have something better than 3rd ass korean V.2

Why are you still reading go play, now!

Peace!

Freddie's right. I just got back, it rocks. Totally great. A few minor problems he didnt mention though. Nothing major, well, not to bad anyways. The left half of the screen's fazed out, color-wise. No big. A bigger problem. The pads are on 2 different circuits. This is good cuz if one breaks, the other wont. But there's a problem. I'm a small guy; all of you who knows me knows this. I played on both pads. The left is easy to use hold arrows. The right, on the other hand, requires a little more work. Not a big problem, but could be easier. The pressure sensor is the problem, I imagine. And, ya, hardly any songs open. I plan to go over tomorrow and open up Max 300. I played it tonight after about 12 levels and I lost. I have to do it early in the game to beat it, cuz to unlock it, it has to be beat as an extra stage. No big. Just need more energy. Time to work out! See ya there!

Well, that was pretty spiffy speed. I already got a reply from Namco! It sounds pretty good too. Let's just hope it isnt all smoke and mirrors.

[begin letter]
I am forwarding this on for *Name Change* as he is experiencing email problems sending to the internet from internal company email. If you need to contact him further, feel free to correspond through me, and I will pass the information on to him until we get his email fixed.

Thank you,

*Name changed by Posty*
Webmaster, Namco Cybertainment Inc
http://www.namcoarcade.com
*Email changed by Posty*

____________________Forward Header_____________________
Subject: Response from your visit
Author: *Edited*
Date: 8/1/02 2:08 PM

Mr. Castillo,

I appreciate your time in writing us to tell us about your visit to our location in Corpus Christi, Texas. We always want to hear from our guests; (even the visits that weren't up to our standards) This allows us to improve the level of the guest service and the quality of your visit.

In regards to your concerns about the games not operating properly; I have spoken to our manager at the location and these issues have been addressed today and I wanted to Thank You again for allowing us to correct these concerns for your benefit and the rest of our guests as well. The Corpus Christi location is one of the highest volume locations in Texas and unfortunately games do receive a certain amount of wear and tear, but I believe you will find that this is one of our best locations on a regular basis and I would hope that youe future visits will reflect that.

I have spoken to the manager at the location and we would like you to return as our guest so you can see the improvements we have made since your last visit. The Manager's name is Stephen Wenhold and he will be glad to assist you.

In response to some of your requests for newer games. You should be pleased to find the New Soul Calibur 2 has reached that location this week and is a tremendous new fighting game that is one of the most played games in the country for the summer. We would like to upgrade the DDR versions as well, but currently the only versions available are foreign or bootleg copies which are not licensed or legal in the United States. I do realize some companies have chosen to purchase or make copies of these versions, but from a moral and ethical standpoint as a company we have chosen not to. Once the versions direct from Konami become available this location will definitely be considered for the newer version.

In addition, we have made the adjustment to the DDR machine. We had previously changed the levels to a much more challenging level due to requests by our guests like yourself that want the most difficult possible challenge and although the game play was longer on the less difficult settings; it did not provide them with the challenge they were seeking.

I hope I have answered all your questions and appreciated the opportunity to address your issues so we can improve our quality and standards as we strive to on a daily basis. Please write back if I can be of any additional assistance.

*Name Change*
Area Manager -Texas
Namco Cyberainment

---------------------------- Forwarded with Changes ---------------------------
From: *Name Change* at NAMCO-CYBER
Date: 8/1/02 2:08PM
To: Posty Jr
Subject: Response from your visit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[end letter]

Oh ya, and if you havnt been to the arcade lately, TODAY, they got Soul Calibur 2. I didn't get a chance to try it out tonight, but I'll be headed up bright and early tomorrow (ha, ya, 5 pm's bright and early, lol) to give it a test run. Ya, it isnt DDR, but it's still a really good game. Well, I hope that letter answered your questions. Seems like they're willing to help us, right? At least they're kind about it. If it gets done is another story, but we'll keep an eye out. Be sure to email me if you see them doing some changes to the machines or somethin that should be noted. Thanks alot!

Well, I finally got a good idea about AC. We all know how bad the controls are, how bad the games are, and how it's just getting really bad lately. Well, here's the deal. I went to their website (www.namcoarcade.com) and went to their feedback form. I filled out the requested info, and send them this letter:

[Start Of Letter]
Hello Sir or Ma'am

I visit Aladin's Castle several times a week (usually daily, if I have time) and I'm sorry to say that I have several problems with the arcade. Not only are many of the games outdated, such as DDR 3rd Mix and Daytona USA, plus more. But, not only are they outdated, as that isnt their largest problem. Their biggest problem is that many of the games such as DDR and House of the Dead 2, plus more, have broken controls. My friends and I are very unpleased with these games. DDR is almost completely unplayable, Soul Calibur is dieing fast, and in Tekken Tag Tourament, the right player is almost guarenteed to win due to sticky buttons on the left hand side. I really love this arcade because I've been going there since I was a child, but lately, the games have gotten just plain frustrating. To make the matter worse, the manager has DDR, my friends' and my own's favorite game, at level 8 diffaculty, so after you miss 3-4+ steps, you lose the level instantly. This, combined with the horrible pads, makes us lose within 1-2 levels, and makes us very angry.

My friends and I would deeply appreciate it if you would please have all the games in the arcade, which require it, repaired. Also, if it wouldn't be too much to ask, we'd also like DDR and a few games upgraded to a newer version. Thank you very much for your time.
[End of Letter]

So, ya, that's about the size of it. I send that to them, now all I can do is hope they contact me or we hear something. I hope the letter meets all of your requirements. Now all we can do is wait on them. But, let's move along to somethin else. How many of you play Soul Calibur? Well if you do, you're gonna love this news. In about 1-2 weeks, they're upgrading to Soul Calibur 2. I'm totally all over that game, so it's gonna rock once they get the new board. I just hope that they fix the controls before they get the new one; the controls have been really bugging me. Anyways, them's the haps right now. Not bad, eh?