The games
SOUND VOLTEX: knobs, gauges & volforce
konami's knob game. 4 buttons, 2 FX, 2 lasers, one very loud cab. notes on input, gauges, scoring, and volforce.
1. the hardware#
- BT-A, BT-B, BT-C, BT-D: the 4 white buttons
- FX-L, FX-R: the two wide orange buttons below
- VOL-L (blue), VOL-R (pink): the knobs, optical encoders. lasers are the coloured lines you track with them
- START: menus, also hold for... nothing useful mid-song
- valkyrie model cabs have a bigger vertical screen, better speakers, and a subwoofer under the seat. regular cabs are fine but tiny
2. note types#
| note | input |
|---|---|
| CHIP | tap a BT or FX |
| LONG | hold a BT or FX |
| LASER | follow with the matching knob |
| SLAM (right-angle laser) | snap the knob hard in the direction. timing barely matters, direction does |
| LASER + FX combos | the pain, basically |
3. judgement#
- S-CRITICAL (only counted for EX score / valkyrie "S-CRITICAL" judgement)
- CRITICAL
- NEAR (early or late; the game tells you which, use it)
- ERROR (miss)
holds and lasers are judged in "ticks" across their length; you get CRITICAL ticks as long as you're holding/tracking.
4. scoring#
- max score: 10,000,000
- every chip and tick is worth the same share of 10M
- CRITICAL = full, NEAR = half, ERROR = 0
- EX score is a separate counter (S-CRITICAL = 5? Verify) that rewards exact timing; used for leaderboards, not grade
grades#
| grade | score ≥ |
|---|---|
| S | 9,900,000 |
| AAA+ | 9,800,000 |
| AAA | 9,700,000 |
| AA+ | 9,500,000 |
| AA | 9,300,000 |
| A+ | 9,000,000 |
| A | 8,700,000 |
| B | 7,500,000 |
| C | 6,500,000 |
| D | below |
clear marks#
from worst to best:
- PLAYED (failed)
- COMPLETE (normal gauge clear: ended with ≥70%)
- EXCESSIVE COMPLETE (hard gauge survived; starts at 100%, fail at 0)
- MAXXIVE COMPLETE (newer even-harder gauge, depending on version) Verify
- ULTIMATE CHAIN (no errors)
- PERFECT (all criticals, 10,000,000)
5. volforce#
per-chart volforce:
vf = floor( level × 2 × (score / 10,000,000) × grade_coef × clear_coef × 10 ) / 1000(gives a value in the ~0.3–0.45 range per chart at high levels.)
grade coefficients:
| grade | coef |
|---|---|
| S | 1.05 |
| AAA+ | 1.02 |
| AAA | 1.00 |
| AA+ | 0.97 |
| AA | 0.94 |
| A+ | 0.91 |
| A | 0.88 |
| B | 0.85 |
| C | 0.82 |
| D | 0.80 |
clear coefficients:
| clear | coef |
|---|---|
| PERFECT | 1.10 |
| ULTIMATE CHAIN | 1.05 |
| EXCESSIVE (and MAXXIVE) | 1.02 |
| COMPLETE | 1.00 |
| PLAYED | 0.50 |
total volforce = sum of your best 50 chart volforces. shown as a coloured tier (sienna → cobalt → dandelion → cyan → scarlet → coral → argento → eldora → crimson → imperial) (verify cutoffs).
quick heuristics#
- clear mark matters: an EXCESSIVE clear vs COMPLETE is +2% vf on that chart for free if you can survive hard gauge
- level 18s/19s are where volforce lives for me right now
- an S on a 17 ≈ an AAA on an 18. pick whichever you can actually do
6. charts & difficulties#
- NOV / ADV / EXH / MXM (maximum)
- 4th slot per song, depends on version: INF (infinite), GRV (gravity), HVN (heavenly), VVD (vivid), XCD (exceed), etc.
- levels 1–20
sources#
- RemyWiki sdvx pages
- community volforce calculators