The game mechanics of whammying - findings, questions, discussion

[Xpertlefty13]

Well, squeezing seems to be a lost art nowadays, but hopefully we're able to come up with some answers, because I could really use it.

So, I'm playing I Get By, which has really tight measure lines. I'm finding that the back end of my activations are all over the place - sometimes by almost a full second. I was trying to figure out why this was happening, and then I realized that some of the short sustain OD notes weren't giving me extra OD. I figured out two explanations:

1. The whammy bar needs to be fully extended, not touched at all, before the sustain note is hit. If the bar is pressed in when the note is hit, even if you move it, no OD will be awarded.

2. How quickly you need to whammy to continue to pick up OD is not universal across songs, and it has to do with the tempo.

Now, this might be common knowledge, I but I thought I might as well spell it out. My question is, are both of these ideas I came up with true?

Specifically pertaining to #1, my main question is: what is the best way to put the whammy bar back to its resting position before each note for a series of short sustain notes like in I Get By or Dead on Arrival?

Pertaining to #2, how is the best way to whammy faster? This basically only applies to I Get By because the tempo is so damn fast.

I know these are weird questions, but being left handed and playing on a right-handed guitar is a problem when it's the stratocaster and the whammy bar is on the flip side. I'm asking where fingers should be, arm angle - literally every tiny detail you can think of.

Right now, I'm downstrumming with my thumb before the whammy note with 3 fingers on the whammy bar. It's facing very far down, so that I'm just barely not having to reach for it. This is supposed to help with the extension problem. As far as whammying fast, I have no idea on how to fix that. Upstrumming is natural for me, but downstrumming seems to be the only way I can get to the whammy bar fast enough. Any ideas are very welcome.

Feel free to answer my questions, ask your own, or discuss. I never really explored how the game registers whammy, so this all is very interesting.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[Xpertlefty13]

Well, squeezing seems to be a lost art nowadays, but hopefully we're able to come up with some answers, because I could really use it.

So, I'm playing I Get By, which has really tight measure lines. I'm finding that the back end of my activations are all over the place - sometimes by almost a full second. I was trying to figure out why this was happening, and then I realized that some of the short sustain OD notes weren't giving me extra OD. I figured out two explanations:

1. The whammy bar needs to be fully extended, not touched at all, before the sustain note is hit. If the bar is pressed in when the note is hit, even if you move it, no OD will be awarded.

2. How quickly you need to whammy to continue to pick up OD is not universal across songs, and it has to do with the tempo.

Now, this might be common knowledge, I but I thought I might as well spell it out. My question is, are both of these ideas I came up with true?

Specifically pertaining to #1, my main question is: what is the best way to put the whammy bar back to its resting position before each note for a series of short sustain notes like in I Get By or Dead on Arrival?

Pertaining to #2, how is the best way to whammy faster? This basically only applies to I Get By because the tempo is so damn fast.

I know these are weird questions, but being left handed and playing on a right-handed guitar is a problem when it's the stratocaster and the whammy bar is on the flip side. I'm asking where fingers should be, arm angle - literally every tiny detail you can think of.

Right now, I'm downstrumming with my thumb before the whammy note with 3 fingers on the whammy bar. It's facing very far down, so that I'm just barely not having to reach for it. This is supposed to help with the extension problem. As far as whammying fast, I have no idea on how to fix that. Upstrumming is natural for me, but downstrumming seems to be the only way I can get to the whammy bar fast enough. Any ideas are very welcome.

Feel free to answer my questions, ask your own, or discuss. I never really explored how the game registers whammy, so this all is very interesting.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[malkieriking]

I generally try to end whammying notes in long strings of OD sustains with the whammy bar up, as to avoid worrying about the bar not being up for the next note. For most songs, because most sustains start on a beat, I whammy once per beat (or twice if the song is slower because it just feels natural). This is always good enough to get all of the OD for me, although I haven't really explored limits for OD.

I've also found that extreme familiarity with the engine helps too. I've gotten a lot better at RB1, and with that my squeezing ability on RB1 has improved as I've gone down the setlist; I'm picking up better how early I can EW and how late I can activate. It's been pretty successful so far, if you ask me. Overt familiarity with small engine quirks makes for happy squeezing.

I also have found trying easier difficulties can be fun and rewarding as well. It focuses more on the squeezing and less on the play, so you're more likely to try hard for extra points. I've done a little bit of this on RB1, and again have seen some progress because of it.
_________________

zage1337, in my accomplishments thread wrote:

Ever since I started Blitz I played the silver ball From Thrasher down to One Vision, I've must've played them all but you aint seen nothing like him in any song at all that malkieriking SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL

[malkieriking]

I generally try to end whammying notes in long strings of OD sustains with the whammy bar up, as to avoid worrying about the bar not being up for the next note. For most songs, because most sustains start on a beat, I whammy once per beat (or twice if the song is slower because it just feels natural). This is always good enough to get all of the OD for me, although I haven't really explored limits for OD.

I've also found that extreme familiarity with the engine helps too. I've gotten a lot better at RB1, and with that my squeezing ability on RB1 has improved as I've gone down the setlist; I'm picking up better how early I can EW and how late I can activate. It's been pretty successful so far, if you ask me. Overt familiarity with small engine quirks makes for happy squeezing.

I also have found trying easier difficulties can be fun and rewarding as well. It focuses more on the squeezing and less on the play, so you're more likely to try hard for extra points. I've done a little bit of this on RB1, and again have seen some progress because of it.
_________________

zage1337, in my accomplishments thread wrote:

Ever since I started Blitz I played the silver ball From Thrasher down to One Vision, I've must've played them all but you aint seen nothing like him in any song at all that malkieriking SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL

[r0bd0g]

I've never really had issues with whammy speed, I guess I just usually go in and out once per beat. It just makes sense when you often see beat-long whammy sustains... On the GH games they want way more dramatic whammying than RB and I almost always drop some.

Anyway when I first started squeezing I thought being left-handed was going to be a problem but now I almost feel it's actually easier...? I use a gh3 guitar so IDK what the other guitars are really like but, I can turn the whammy bar so that it's under my palm and out between my pointer and middle fingers. Thumb and pointer are on the strum bar, and the select button is under the edge of my palm. If I want to strum and whammy there's a certain motion I can do to get the whammying started ASAP without losing any from whammying too late or early. If I want to strum and activate I can just mash my whole hand onto the controller and I can get a very close activation+strum... sometimes I do miss the front end if I'm not paying attention enough to tilt my hand a bit when I go to do it. The only times I have issues with whammying is when I also need to activate and strum at the same time or when the sustain is a hopo that's too quick to strum.

[r0bd0g]

I've never really had issues with whammy speed, I guess I just usually go in and out once per beat. It just makes sense when you often see beat-long whammy sustains... On the GH games they want way more dramatic whammying than RB and I almost always drop some.

Anyway when I first started squeezing I thought being left-handed was going to be a problem but now I almost feel it's actually easier...? I use a gh3 guitar so IDK what the other guitars are really like but, I can turn the whammy bar so that it's under my palm and out between my pointer and middle fingers. Thumb and pointer are on the strum bar, and the select button is under the edge of my palm. If I want to strum and whammy there's a certain motion I can do to get the whammying started ASAP without losing any from whammying too late or early. If I want to strum and activate I can just mash my whole hand onto the controller and I can get a very close activation+strum... sometimes I do miss the front end if I'm not paying attention enough to tilt my hand a bit when I go to do it. The only times I have issues with whammying is when I also need to activate and strum at the same time or when the sustain is a hopo that's too quick to strum.

[Xpertlefty13]

Malkieriking: Familiarity is important, but only with the engine to a certain extent. I realized being familiar with strings of short whammys is very important. I was never good at it, so I never did it right, but practicing really helped a lot. And yeah, I've definitely been focusing on points, not the quality of the FC. I just want to see my 9.238 mil go even higher.

R0bd0g: Once per beat definitely makes sense. I guess that means if the note is under a beat, you only have to press the bar in once to get the full OD from the sustain. That would be cool. And I used to use the Les Paul back when I wasn't as good at squeezing because it was easier than the strat, but I had to learn to do it on the strat so I could FC hard songs and squeeze them. Your method sounds pretty good, I'm trying to work on something that's similar based on your description.


So, the magically breakthrough was increasing the elastic potential energy of the whammy bar when it's pressed in. So basically that means taking 4-5 rubber bands, putting them around the whammy bar, then taking the other end and looping it around the part of the guitar that sticks out. I was doing this before because my whammy bar broke and wouldn't pop back up by itself, so I just tightened it a little. It's been working pretty well.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[Xpertlefty13]

Malkieriking: Familiarity is important, but only with the engine to a certain extent. I realized being familiar with strings of short whammys is very important. I was never good at it, so I never did it right, but practicing really helped a lot. And yeah, I've definitely been focusing on points, not the quality of the FC. I just want to see my 9.238 mil go even higher.

R0bd0g: Once per beat definitely makes sense. I guess that means if the note is under a beat, you only have to press the bar in once to get the full OD from the sustain. That would be cool. And I used to use the Les Paul back when I wasn't as good at squeezing because it was easier than the strat, but I had to learn to do it on the strat so I could FC hard songs and squeeze them. Your method sounds pretty good, I'm trying to work on something that's similar based on your description.


So, the magically breakthrough was increasing the elastic potential energy of the whammy bar when it's pressed in. So basically that means taking 4-5 rubber bands, putting them around the whammy bar, then taking the other end and looping it around the part of the guitar that sticks out. I was doing this before because my whammy bar broke and wouldn't pop back up by itself, so I just tightened it a little. It's been working pretty well.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[Xpertlefty13]

Malkieriking: Familiarity is important, but only with the engine to a certain extent. I realized being familiar with strings of short whammys is very important. I was never good at it, so I never did it right, but practicing really helped a lot. And yeah, I've definitely been focusing on points, not the quality of the FC. I just want to see my 9.238 mil go even higher.

R0bd0g: Once per beat definitely makes sense. I guess that means if the note is under a beat, you only have to press the bar in once to get the full OD from the sustain. That would be cool. And I used to use the Les Paul back when I wasn't as good at squeezing because it was easier than the strat, but I had to learn to do it on the strat so I could FC hard songs and squeeze them. Your method sounds pretty good, I'm trying to work on something that's similar based on your description.


So, the magical breakthrough was increasing the elastic potential energy of the whammy bar when it's pressed in. So basically that means taking 4-5 rubber bands, putting them around the whammy bar, then taking the other end and looping it around the part of the guitar that sticks out. I was doing this before because my whammy bar broke and wouldn't pop back up by itself, so I just tightened it a little. It's been working pretty well.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[Xpertlefty13]

Malkieriking: Familiarity is important, but only with the engine to a certain extent. I realized being familiar with strings of short whammys is very important. I was never good at it, so I never did it right, but practicing really helped a lot. And yeah, I've definitely been focusing on points, not the quality of the FC. I just want to see my 9.238 mil go even higher.

R0bd0g: Once per beat definitely makes sense. I guess that means if the note is under a beat, you only have to press the bar in once to get the full OD from the sustain. That would be cool. And I used to use the Les Paul back when I wasn't as good at squeezing because it was easier than the strat, but I had to learn to do it on the strat so I could FC hard songs and squeeze them. Your method sounds pretty good, I'm trying to work on something that's similar based on your description.


So, the magical breakthrough was increasing the elastic potential energy of the whammy bar when it's pressed in. So basically that means taking 4-5 rubber bands, putting them around the whammy bar, then taking the other end and looping it around the part of the guitar that sticks out. I was doing this before because my whammy bar broke and wouldn't pop back up by itself, so I just tightened it a little. It's been working pretty well.
_________________

2.9.10 - First Bass FSFC
3.20.10 - First to FGFC 3 instruments on RB2.

[r0bd0g]

Heh, from how I hold my guitar, I guess the bar took some abuse and my whammy bar doesn't come back out on it's own anymore, but it's was fine because it was between my fingers so it was getting held out manually anyway.

[r0bd0g]

Heh, from how I hold my guitar, I guess the bar took some abuse and my whammy bar doesn't come back out on it's own anymore, but it's was fine because it was between my fingers so it was getting held out manually anyway.

[ProffessorJoe]

For question #1 i think the answer comes from using the mechanic from question #2. Knowing when you can stop whammying will give you the time needed to return the whammy bar back to resting position.


Now for question #2: I am at least 60% certain the game continues whammy for 1/2 beat after the whammying motion stops. What i've found is that short sustains (3/4 beat sustains) will always give you full whammy due to the time it takes the bar to spring back. It allows for quick single taps which gives time to prepare for the next sustain.



Now, this is a bit off topic, but i think another big factor in whammy on fast tempo songs like i get by is the correlation between the timing window being measured in time (ms) and early whammy being measured by distance (beats).

Andddd all of that was worded poorly and is already known by both of you i'm sure so this was probably a wasted post but i always enjoy chit chatting about game mechanics
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[ProffessorJoe]

For question #1 i think the answer comes from using the mechanic from question #2. Knowing when you can stop whammying will give you the time needed to return the whammy bar back to resting position.


Now for question #2: I am at least 60% certain the game continues whammy for 1/2 beat after the whammying motion stops. What i've found is that short sustains (3/4 beat sustains) will always give you full whammy due to the time it takes the bar to spring back. It allows for quick single taps which gives time to prepare for the next sustain.



Now, this is a bit off topic, but i think another big factor in whammy on fast tempo songs like i get by is the correlation between the timing window being measured in time (ms) and early whammy being measured by distance (beats).

Andddd all of that was worded poorly and is already known by both of you i'm sure so this was probably a wasted post but i always enjoy chit chatting about game mechanics
_________________

My Accomplishments / YouTube / Twitch
Over-Rated 'R Us Accomplishments
Over-Rated 'R Us Videos
Go there for videos of Over Rated R Us featuring the amazing RJUCPU!

[Xpertlefty13]

[Xpertlefty13]