Tips for those using Holodance to work out...

[80hd]

Just wanted to share some things I have found that have made Holodance my current go-to (along with Holopoint, for different reasons) for my a good portion of my cardio.

I started out with this gem of a game just doing the by-the-numbers rhythm game approach... one night when I was particularly amped up, I decided to treat it as more of a speed-boxing simulator than just a rhythm game, after I read that the speed the controller is traveling affects your score.

Results? I get so into it and lose track of time to the point that by the time I am done I am thoroughly exhausted, soaked with sweat (soon to be RIP Vive facepad, I am sure), and I always have a blast doing it.

To do this you want to stand back far enough from the impact plane that your hands only reach them at full extension. You want to bounce back and forth to each side and keep your feet moving as if you were really boxing. Keep your hands up, and time it to where you are meeting the note globes/tonal spheres/whatever the bubbles are called at the instant they are meeting the plane as you normally would.

Carefully try to alternate hands some of the time, even on the rapid-fire staccato sections... and by carefully I mean be aware of your controllers and don't smash them into your hands or one another. Throwing the same hand in rapid sucession is also good for speed and dexterity, so mix it up!

Safety wise, it should go without saying, but definitely ensure that you're standing back in your bounding box and that you can throw full extensions without coming anywhere near anything solid, for obvious reasons. I.e, probably don't do this right in front of the china cabinet.

I'm not a doctor, but if you have joint problems, specifically elbow or shoulder, I would assume you aren't playing games like this to begin with, but just in case: this is going to be strenuous on the joints and limbs. Footwork will put a good strain on your legs/knees as well, and if you do it right you'll feel like you've been doing squats for an hour or so as well.

Some notes and caveats to this:

1. I have to stick with mostly dragons 1 and 2 for this, as a lot of what the Mantasharkdeer throws down is too fast, and it's very difficult to rock this out with more than just both hands in play at any given time.

2. Stay hydrated, Camelbacks and the like are great, even if they are on a chair back, but a time out between songs is recommended for sure regardless as to what you're drinking out of (water, kids, definitely mix some just plain water in hahaha)

3. Don't worry about blowing it out your tailpipe the first few tries, it's quite a bit different than standing right up next to the plane.

4. You can fake the height adjustment to force you to varying degrees of crouch. A little bit is great just as an aid to maintaining a good stance with a low center of gravity, but a little bit more really ups the ante as far as squat mechanics go.

5. Don't forget to move around, go crazy, just don't break anything.

[jashan]

Awesome! Thank you for sharing this ... I'll sticky this ... could probably even become a guide!!!

It's really one of the things I find most awesome about creating a VR-game: Instead of keeping people sitting in front of a computer, you can make people dance and workout! :-)

[80hd]

Thank you sir, and thanks for creating a title that offers so much value and potential! I know you've a lot of work ahead of you, but HD is one of the things that makes me glad I am an early Vive adopter!

[jashan]

I have just noticed that this thread should get a note on osu! beatmaps: There are plenty of those that are an extremely intense workout! Literally, while implementing that feature, I sometimes eventually had to stop playtesting because I simply couldn't move anymore. So if you want to use Holodance for workout, make sure to give this a try ... and share your favorite osu! workout beatmaps here ;-)

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

I just want to say that the thought of using this game as a fun way to do exercises at home was the selling point for me. I had it in my wish list for a while but wasn't sure, to buy or not to buy. And then I watched a trailer and thought that using it to move a little will be both, fun and useful. And I bought it. And boy, it excels in both!

[jashan]

Great, thank you! We appreciate the feedback! :-)

[realpudgy1]

I had the same idea to use Holodance as a workout, and came up with the same techniques you mentioned above. Same thing about how the earlier songs work best. That being said, has anyone found osu! beatmaps that are best for this type of work out? I want to just punch the air rhythmically, without all the arm waving. I never heard of osu! before this and there's so much to look at, I wouldn't know where to start.

[jashan]

The higher difficulty maps in osu! work really well for that. Two gems I currently enjoy playing a lot:

xi - Akasha (mapped by Atsuro)[osu.ppy.sh]

... and ... my all-time favorite so far:

Camellia - d:for the DELTA[osu.ppy.sh]

d:for the DELTA shows up as just "d" at the moment (this seems to be a bug in the beatmap browser that I still need to fix), and it's a "Catch" beatmap. My arms usually hurt after playing this ... but it's an amazingly joyful experience if you like that kind of electronic, highly energetic music.

[realpudgy1]

Thanks for the quick reply! And thanks for trying to kill me ...I did manage to hit 1400+ notes on DELTA, and it was a great workout.

[jashan]

Great to hear you have enjoyed it! Just don't play it too often today, or you won't be able to play (or do anything else for that matter) tomorrow ;-)

[80hd]

Hahahaha I had a hell of a summer/fall, and haven't been able to get back into VR much until recently... and I fired Holodance back up... first off, the updates are fantastic, guys... well done! Second, hearing the music again... dunno what to say, but not to get too sappy, it was like coming home after being away for a long time. You've done something really special here!

That being said, my hamstrings are quite sore, but I already feel better from the activity!! Keep up the good work, Merry Christmas and a blessed and productive New Year!!

[Jax]

Beautiful advice. I'm just very worried about my facepad....It's summer in Australia so even I got the aircon on at max, I need to take my helmet down every 3-4 songs.....
It is indeed very good exercise :)

[80hd]

My wife bought me a replacement pad that is 10x better than the default, blocks more light and no where near as bad sweat wise, let me see if I can find the brand, but probably any aftermarket facepad for "sports" as they call them are gonna be good for that!

[jashan]

Originally posted by TWB 80hd:

Second, hearing the music again... dunno what to say, but not to get too sappy, it was like coming home after being away for a long time. You've done something really special here!

Thank you! The last few days have been a particularly crazy ride, with christmas and family stuff going on and trying to push a few really important and long overdue features / polishing in there, and a one-week meditation retreat starting, um, tomorrow (like, in about 5 hours ;-) ).

Doing a hopefully final build right now. Next year is gonna rock even more, with the native beatmap editor and community features coming, the story-mode finally finding completion and hopefully a lot of people on various platforms enjoying a spatial, rhythmic, audio-visual experience of pure ecstatic joy ;-)

[Jax]

I've just figured out something. You can increase the intensity by adjusting your height. The reach will extend drastically on all directions. If you increase that by 10cm above your real height, sometimes you need to jump to hit the notes on the top, and forced to move to hit those on the sides. Adding another level of exercise.

[80hd]

Ahhh nice! I'd been lowering heigh to force squating, but I'm gonna give that a shot too!