Actually zaphod, I think you're the one who's confused about the way we use the word provisional. A provisional grade is simply the grade of an individual game.
In Ti, can one get demoted for failing an exam or for playing poorly in a non-exam? What happens to your saved data if some n00b enters your initials and gets, say, a 6?
That would be an unlogged game. You have to log in for data to be saved, which you do by entering your initials and a password before you play a game.
You can only get demoted in exams.. and your initials are protected by a sequence that you input with the stick and buttons.
So to impersonate you, they have to use your code. without the code, no exam will be given. Seems fair.
can you log into your "account" from any Ti machine? if not, it should be that way. each machine should be uploading your scores to a server at Arika's secret company headquarters.
It's all tied to an individual machine. Jin8, for example, has reached qualified GM on several machines, while KAN has only achieved this on one machine so far.
Japan has something called eAmuse, which could in theory handle this, but TI does not use it AFAIK. SO you must re-earn your GM rank on each new machine. OUCH. One good thing about Jewelry master. Online records.
eAmusement is Konami's online card-based profile system. You can use it to save and compare scores or change theme information in IIDX, for example. Other games use a similar system as well, such as racers like Initial D. I think someone here said that Arika was planning to use a card/online system, but that it was scrapped.
i would be very surprised if TGM4 (if/when/whatever it is) did not have a global record index. such a strange decision for Ti--i have to believe it was just not feasible, either because of time or obligation or money, or they would have put it in, can't imagine it's a real decision to only keep local boards.
Using a card system makes more sense than an online one. Providing you don't forget it, and leave the card in the machine, it causes less problems about someone else using your file too. I suppose the downside is that it is possible to completely lose all of your data.
Unless I'm mistaken, Konami has cards for it's bemani games, however all the data is stored online. The cards are just a way of telling the machine which user is playing.
Yep. All the data is stored online. I'm pretty sure entering a code is an alternative to using a card. The card readers also have a numeric keypad.
Arcade games using the StepMania engine (Konami's In the Groove 2, Andamiro's Pump It Up Pro) have a different card system: everything is stored in a few xml files in a folder on a FAT-formatted USB memory card provided by the player. No card, no record keeping. It also means that an arcade location doesn't have to spend $500 per year for an always-on Internet connection, which isn't as plentiful in North America as it is in Japan or the Republic of Korea.
