Row Length

Description

Rows with various lengths. From top to bottom:

• 7-beat: Samurai
• 6-beat: Edega
• 5-beat: Mark
• 4-beat: Cockatiel
• 3-beat: Owl

Row Length is a modification to Classic Beats. It changes how many beats a classic row has. While the core mechanic of Rhythm Doctor is hitting on the 7th beat, different row lengths require hitting on a different beat instead. 7 beats are the maximum, so different lengths are always shorter.

A non-7-beat row is first introduced in Welcome Back, with Mark having 5 beats instead. He is also the only patient to have a row whose length is not 7. In Blurred, there is a brief instance of Mark (and Edega) having a 6-beat row.

Row Length is primarily defined by the row's length property, and its classic beats' length property. While patients like Cockatiel feature a row that sounds like 4 beats, it is still a 7-beat row due to being 7 beats long.

Levels

• Welcome Back (Tutorialized)
• Boss Fight
• Blurred
• Miracle Defibrillator
• Miracle Defibrillator (Cole's Song)

Cueing

Before 1.0, all rows could only be 7 beats long. Creators could make shorter patterns by including Row Xs at the start of the row, such as to make the perceived first pulse a different pulse. For instance, a xx---- pattern acts as a 5-beat pattern, because the amount of beats from the perceived first pulse and the hit is 5.

Before 1.0, patterns with an X on the first beat were considered illegal in custom levels under the assumption that all classic beats were 7 beats long. To use these patterns, it was required to use Counting Sounds to specify the number of each pulse, so that the player could know where the perceived first pulse was actually located.

After 1.0, when variable row length was added, this method of cueing is still required in most cases, however it may be omitted if it's immediately clear what a row's length is before any gameplay.

History

• Non 7-beat row visuals were added in 1.0
• Visual row lengthening/shortening was added in 1.0

Trivia

• Know You includes a xx---- pattern for Hailey, which is taught in its tutorial. This is functionally the same as a 5-beat row.
  • If the player has the Audible Skipped Beats accessibility option enabled, Hailey's pattern will play the first two beats audibly. However, for different length rows, this does not happen.
  • Similarly, Cockatiel primarily features a -x-x-x pattern, which can be interpreted as 4-beat.
  • Similarly, Owl primarily features a -xx-xx pattern, which can be interpreted as 3-beat.
  • Similarly, Parrot uses a -x-x-x pattern in Corazones Viejos which can be interpreted as a swung 4-beat row.
  • Similarly, Oriole uses a -x-x-x pattern in Corazones Viejos which can be interpreted as a swung 4-beat row with holds.
  • Treble has a xx---- pattern in Worn Out Tapes, though it isn't tutorialized, instead using counting sounds as a cue.
  • Lune has a similar xx---- pattern in Kingdom of Balloons, though it also uses holds.
• Row length can be applied to Oneshot rows. This has no effect on gameplay, but can be used as a visual effect.