
The list will mostly be limited to abbrevations/terms related to DanceDanceRevolution, In The Groove and StepMania, and also generally limited to things that are relevant to us as DDRNL members.
I will attempt to keep this updated at all times, if there are any abbreviations or terms you've come across that you couldn't figure out or if you think something's missing/incorrect/improvable, let it be known and the list shall be updated!
Abbreviations
- DDR = DanceDanceRevolution Note: older releases separated the three words, newer releases concatenate them. Known as 'Dancing Stage' with the older releases for Europe.
- DDRNL = DanceDanceRevolution Netherlands Not like anyone on here would mistake us for some Germany-related forum or something though lmao
- FC = Full Combo
- ITG = In The Groove
- KB = Keyboard
- PA / FA = Perfect Attack / Fantastic Attack
- PFC = Perfect Full Combo
- PSMO = PARANOIA survivor MAX Oni
- SDG = Single Digit Great(s)
- SM = StepMania Note: Any number suffixes refer to the software version (i.e. SM3.9 / SM4 / SM5)
Terms
- Black flag: A full combo with only 1 great. As painful as it is impressive.
- (Step)chart: The collection of notes that belongs to a certain difficulty in a playable song.
- Crossover:
A move that (when performed correctly) makes the player turn their (lower) body (-)90° from the screen. The four basic crossover patterns are as follows:
Basic crossover downleft:
Basic crossover downright:
Basic crossover upleft:
Basic crossover upright: - Double step:
A pattern where the player is forced to hit two different steps with the same foot (lest they end up backwards relative to the screen).
This can be an error made by the the creator of the chart, but it can also be an intentional one to fit in with the music.
A lot of players who want to save energy make use of double stepping to avoid having to perform a crossover. - Foot switch:
A pattern where the player is forced to hit the same target with two different feet one after another.
It wasn't a known technique in the initial games, but was discovered by a few step editors in the online community.
They are often used as alternatives to regular jacks, but unlike jacks, foot switches can easily be implemented in fast paced streams as well.
Foot switches only apply to the UP or DOWN panels, but in doubles, they can be applied to any panel, except for P1 LEFT and P2 RIGHT. - Gimmick:
A visual manipulation of the way the targets are scrolling throughout the screen achieved through BPM changes and/or stops, which can add difficulty to a chart or create an effect to accentuate a certain part of the song. See here for a more detailed explanation. Example of song in DDR with lots of gimmicks - Jack:
A sequence of two or more steps in the same directions. - Oni: The Japanese name for the Challenge difficulty in older DDR games, which is the hardest difficulty available. The equivalent of ITG's Expert difficulty.
- Perfect Attack / Fantastic Attack:
The act of trying to get as many perfects/fantastic judgements as possible (in other words, trying to score as high as possible). Can be used with any type of judgement (for example 'Great Attack'). - Perfect Full Combo: Getting a full combo with only perfect judgements (or better).
- Simfile: A set of files that together compose a playable song for use in software such as StepMania.
- Single Digit Great(s): Getting less than ten greats on a song.
- (The) Swipe:
A move that lets the player hit a jump consisting of opposite directions (i.e. up-down & left-right) using only one foot, realized by quickly hitting the two arrows after each other slightly before and after the jump respectively. This forces the player to 'swipe' their foot across the pad. Coining of the term originated from DDRNL competitions at Dutch conventions where advanced players would join the Light competitions, handicapping themselves by playing with just one foot (letting the other foot rest on one of the corner panels of the pad) in a humorous attempt to mitigate the (often) relatively low amount of participants in the light competitions. - Stream:
Any section of a chart that consists of a continuous consistent flow of notes. Generally, the term 'stream' is only used for patterns running at higher speeds.
For more exotic/specific terms, please check out the individual lists provided in this thread by various members:
Miscellaneous terms/abbreviations, mostly old-school
ITG/DDR Scoring and ranking + stepchart terms