A player is allowed to create a room or join a room. The 'DJ' (the player who creates the room) is given power to choose songs and settings for the room. The DJ also has the power to kick people out of the room and close the dance floor off. The song's BPM (beats per minute) usually will determine the song's difficulty (with certain exceptions e.g. beat up mode).
The basic game is played by pressing the arrows displayed on the screen (with the exception of red Chance arrows, which the player must do the opposite of) and pressing spacebar or the control key on every 4th beat of the song. The more accurately the spacebar or control key is pressed, the higher the score, "PERFECT" being the best. The player currently with the most points during the game will have their character in front and the most visible part of the stage.
A special move during most gameplay modes is the "Finish Move". If a person does not miss the move before it, they have the option to do the "Finish Move". Finish moves issue a lot of points and can often be the key to success.
When a player does 2 or more PERFECTs consecutively, he will get bonus points for doing so. These PERFECT combos (or "Perfect chains") enable players to interfere with the opposition. A blue circle indicates that you made a PERFECT in your move, and acts as a shield. When a player performs a PERFECT X1 (or perfect X2 in some cases) they will make either the player ahead or behind them receive a yellow circle. While under the yellow circle, points will not be given if that person does not achieve a PERFECT (in a finish move it reduces a percentage rather than the whole move). In addition, players can increase their points by playing 'chance'. This can be activated by pressing the delete key or the . key on the number pad whereby red keys appear and players have to press in the opposite direction of the red keys. At the end of the dance battle, the person with the most points is the winner. Each player will receive experience points and Den/BEATS according to what position they finished in.
If a single/group game (not including NPC, One-Two Party and Beat Up modes) is full, while also having the music set to random, a random event will occur. This is where bonuses are given if you accomplish a certain challenge. Examples are not getting a specific beat judgment (e.g. no COOLs or no BADs), getting perfect combos (e.g. PERFECT X3), or getting a standing (e.g. getting number 1). The music can be random, random(new), or random from any range of tempos.
Chance levels (not available in all versions)
There are chance levels from 1 till 6. With the addition of Chance levels, the DJ can now set a standard number of red (opposite keys) arrows a player will face when they use the chance mode. The choices range from 0 to 6. Alternatively the DJ can select the free chance mode which will allow players to cycle through the levels at their leisure. The more red steps a player clears, the more points they will score. The ability to choose your own level of difficulty adds a new level of strategy and can greatly stratify scores between weak and strong players. In addition, whether or not players are using chance and their current chance level are displayed next to player scores during the game.
Microphone function (Korean Audition)
There is a new function that allows the player to interact within the game using a microphone. There are settings for the player to set whether he/she wants to be muted, adjust the volume and so on.
Server-side exclusives
Different Audition Online servers around the world have their own unique features added-in for gameplay modification and visual enhancements:
- Korea, Indonesia, China and Vietnam - Lyrics
- Philippines - Music Ticket, which gives access to hear Phiilippines exclusive songs. They are playable without this item, but will be replaced with a metronome.
Updates
Because the Korean Audition has been out the longest it has had the most updates. They currently have many more features in gameplay as well as options. Examples of some functions would be removing distracting stuff during replays as well as having a windows mode and being able to Alt+Tab. The bonus options were designed due to high request for such features. However, the gameplay features (dance moves, songs, modes, etc.) are regularly added based on updates. Depending on the update rate as well as the size of the update, different versions will have different number of gameplay features.
T3 Shop
The Korean Audition also has its own shop known as the T3 Shop. The T3 Shop sells merchandise based on its game. Though it is mainly clothes based on the game, they have also sold other items such as an official board game.
Real-Time Song Download function (Korean Audition)
As of the patch on January 8, 2009, Korean Audition now uses a new method for players to receive the song files. Songs are no longer included in patches and the songs that come with the installation has been reduced. The songs (with the exception of lobby songs) are now downloaded from the server when you play the song. This is to reduce the client size and the patch size. If the lobby song that's coming up next isn't already downloaded the game will also automatically download the song for you. Once a song is automatically downloaded, it is no longer needed to download it again. This is a one time thing for songs you have not played before.
New Macro System (Korean Audition)
The macro system was altered to make it simple to change even for new players. The player now has the option of manually editing the file from the macro.txt document in their Audition game folder or simply by going into the messenger options and changing it through there. The new macro system also allows players to save their macros to the server's database and allow them to use them on another computer.
[edit] Fashion Shop
In similar fashion to many of the Microtransaction based online games, Audition features an item shop in which players may customize the look of their character. Players may choose from a variety of hairstyles, shirts, pants, shoes, faces, and miscellaneous items (not all items are available in every edition of Audition). The in-game rewards system is called Den, or Beats in the American version of Audition. In every game in which a player competes against or with another player, a Den/Beat reward is given at the end of the song as long as a player achieves a rank higher than miss on a certain amount of bars (amount of bars required varies between each mode). Players may redeem this Den/Beats for the clothes and accessories in the Fashion Shop.
In addition to Den/Beats, players may use the Cash system. By purchasing Cash through Audition's online payment system, players may buy Cash items in the Fashion Shop. Many of the items in the Fashion Shop are only available if bought with Cash. Different forms of payment are used to get cash, including PayPal, M-Payment, and various Prepaid Card and Code systems.
[edit] Game Modes
There are many game modes including single, group and battle party modes, available in Audition Online. They have different characteristics allowing players to compete in different skills. Some modes such as Beat-Up and One-Two Party, has game-plays that are unique to the other game modes.
Single modes are essentially a free-for-all where each individual plays and competes to get the highest score in the room. Group modes, on the other hand, require co-ordination between players to win the game. Battle Party modes are avenues for players to earn Den/Beats by competing against NPCs. There is also a story mode that consists of missions that are continued by stories. This mode allow players to explore more about the game alone.
New modes, such as Beat Rush, Team Beat-Up, Club Dance II and Crazy FreeStyle, are currently being released as the game develops, providing players with new features constantly.
Single Modes
- Practice (4 and 8-Key)
- Normal Individual
- Freestyle Battle
- Crazy Freestyle Battle
- Choreography
| - Expert Choreography
- SYNC-8
- Choreography-C (4 and 8-Direction)
- Dynamic (4 and 8-Key)
- Crazy Dynamic (4 and 8-Direction)
| - Beat Rush (Normal/Crazy/Random, 4 and 8-Direction)
- One-Two Party (Easy and Hard Mode)
- Beat-Up Mode (4 and 6-Direction)
- License Mode
- Story Mode
|
Group Modes
- Normal Group
- Sync (4 and 8-Key)
- Choreography-C (4 and 8-Direction)
- Choreography
- Choreography Free-C
- B-Boy Battle (4 and 8-Key)
- Couple Dance (4 and 8-Key)
| - Expert Couple Dance
- Couple Dance 31 (4 and 8-Direction)
- Dynamic (4 and 8-Key)
- Night Dance (4 and 8-Direction)
- Crazy Dynamic (4 and 8-Direction)
- Club Dance (4 and 8-Direction)
- Club Dance II (4 and 8-Direction)
| - Wedding Party
- Love Party
- Ballroom Dance (4 and 8-Key)
- Special B-Boy Battle (4 and 8-Direction)
[Battles: 1:1 Lead, 2:2 Serve, 3:3 Team] - Beat-Up Team (4 and 6-Direction)
- FAM Battle
|
Battle Party Modes
- Battle Party (Single and Team, 4 and 8-Direction)
- Couples Battle Party (4-Direction, Expert and 8-Direction)
| - Beat-Up Battle Party (4 and 6-Direction)
- Union Battle Party (4-Key, 8-Key or Both)
- Beat Rush Battle Party (4 and 8-Direction)
|
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audition_Online
