DDR OSC 5 - Solo Challenge Round judging **************************************** by the_ditz... ************** DDR B1 & B2 songs only... ************************* The format I'll be using to judge (as outlined by BLueSS, with my own points values for each element): For songs without significant changes... * TOTAL /30: - Technical accuracy [/5] - Workability of chart relative to song [/5] - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [/5] - Use of the extra arrows [/10] - Enjoyability of the song [/5] For songs with significant changes... * TOTAL /30: - Changes made [/5] - Technical accuracy [/5] - Workability of chart relative to song [/5] - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [/5] - Use of the extra arrows [/5] - Enjoyability of the song [/5] In addition, up to 5 points will be deducted for inaccurate GAP/BPM, incorrect difficulty rating etc... DDR B1 JUDGING: ============== 24 - by alphabet55 ****************** - Changes made [4/5] Don't notice much difference with the BPM/GAP but it feels dead on the beat. New BG and banner look good, although the old ones did have a stronger theme. - Technical accuracy [4/5] No major issues here - rhythmically it flows along nicely with the song, and while some of the crossovers (e.g. measure 30 L-D-UR) catch you a little off-guard, the step placement is generally good and varied. - Workability of chart relative to song [5/5] The freeze arrows at the bridge sections are well done, and all in all these steps compliment the song really well... - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [5/5] No awkward double-steps to contend with - placement is logical. - Use of the extra arrows [4/5] Used quite liberally, but they rarely feel awkward - just the odd crossover as I've mentioned previously feels a bit extreme... - Enjoyability of the song [5/5] I've definitely grown to like this song more and more, and these steps help this even more - great job! TOTAL - 27/30 ============= Disco Dog - by sanchny ********************** - Technical accuracy [5/5] The crossovers didn't seem too tough here, and rhythmically the 16ths were just right. I can't find any major technical faults at all... - Workability of chart relative to song [4/5] Some parts niggled a little, like the 8th pairs in measures 37-39 which I didn't feel gelled with the song quite as well as the rest of the steps - but on the whole, everything was well executed. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [5/5] Great flow throughout, logical progression around the pad and varied step patterns - a very fun chart on pad! - Use of the extra arrows [10/10] Excellent stuff - I loved the UR-D-UL-D combos in measure 18, they worked really well. Also, the extra arrows never felt forced, but rather the step patterns were crafted in such a way as to make their inclusion feel totally natural. - Enjoyability of the song [4/5] I enjoy this chart a lot more than the original Heavy one which means that I enjoy the song more as well. Still not my fave song of this type in the contest (Shake It Down gets that honour) but I did enjoy this! TOTAL - 28/30 ============= Emoticons - by PkerUNO ********************** - Technical accuracy [3/5] This didn't feel totally in tune with the song rhythmically in the sense that the steps seemed to take on a life of their own at certain sections (e.g. during the synth hook, they ignored some obvious 16th rhythms leaving rather dull and pedestrian 8th triplets). In terms of placement, things were okay though... - Workability of chart relative to song [3/5] I didn't really see the point in the double jumps at measure 15 and the chorus seemed to emphasise the on-beat more than the offbeat while the vocals did the opposite. Small details like this meant that the steps didn't always seem like a perfect fit for the song... - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] It's definitely playable on pad, although some patterns were harder to master than others (e.g. the L-UL-L R-UR-R in measure 2) - Use of the extra arrows [7/10] Occasionally, they lead to rapid foot movements that unsettled me a bit (e.g. the freeze-step combos in measure 17 make the jump at the start of 18 feel tough to master), but there were also lots of good ideas in there that used the extra arrows to the max... - Enjoyability of the song [4/5] The song itself is awesome! However these steps meant that it was hard to enjoy it all the time as they quite often conflicted with the song's rhythms... [-1 for no readme...] TOTAL - 20/30 ============= Gasolina (Delation Remix) - by TheBaldOneMpls ********************************************* - Changes made [5/5] Nice work with the BPM changes - I was doubtful whether they'd work well as sudden changes, but it goes perfectly with the music. The rest of the changes are fairly cosmetic... - Technical accuracy [3/5] Rhythmically, these were very good, especially at sections like the the Raggaeton beat. In terms of step placement, they were ambitious and at times tried too hard to make things tricky for the player with double-steps dotted about the place... - Workability of chart relative to song [5/5] Gels really well with the song on the whole, the rhythms all seem well-matched to the music and the whole chart feels like some epic journey thanks to the varied patterns (just like the continual evolution of the song...) - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Tough at times to master the crossovers and double-steps, but enjoyable once you understand the patterns. - Use of the extra arrows [4/5] Occasionally fragmented, but most of the time they felt fully integrated into the chart and the patterns were fairly original... - Enjoyability of the song [5/5] This song can never fail to disappoint thanks to the variety contained within, and you reflected this well in the steps... TOTAL - 26/30 ============= Have You Ever Been Mellow - by IkePie ************************************* - Technical accuracy [4/5] Parts of this felt quite lazy if I'm honest, like the really long 8th runs starting around measure 33 - I felt like more interesting rhythms could've been used here. The 16ths always seemed to work well though with the beat. - Workability of chart relative to song [3/5] Again, the long 8th runs were a lazy interpretation of the rhythms in the music - you could have followed the synths or broken up the 8th stream to add a bit of variety. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [3/5] This was generally quite challenging on pad due to the drain on stamina produced by the steps. Some patterns were difficult to do accurately at speed as well... - Use of the extra arrows [6/10] Mostly, the use of extra arrows seemed quite messy and a bit random in places, although I definitely couldn't accuse you of under-using them! No awkward placements that I could pick out though... - Enjoyability of the song [4/5] I love this song - I even bought the CD-single of it in the 90s! The steps were quite full-on for my liking, but it didn't detract from the song too much... [-1 difficulty rating - I'd say this was a borderline 10 with all the 8th runs] TOTAL - 19/30 ============= Identity - by jammitch! *********************** - Changes made [5/5] The BPM stop and speedup/slow down worked miles better than the ITG version. Also, the small trim of the intro and re-colouring of the graphics were good. - Technical accuracy [5/5] Rhythmically, totally in-sync with the music - I loved the 16ths to match the beats in measures 8 & 9 - and the offbeat 8th streams worked nicely as well. - Workability of chart relative to song [5/5] Perfect correlation between the music and steps - they worked together in harmony and there was no clash. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Quite tough on pad, especially some of the 8th runs with UL/UR arrows. Nothing felt really awkward though, and the chart gelled together nicely. - Use of the extra arrows [4/5] Good usage throughout the chart, no fragmentation. Only issue was that some patterns were tough to follow (e.g. the crossovers in measures 14 & 15...) - Enjoyability of the song [5/5] Despite the fact that it does drag on slightly, this is a catchy tune that fits well into DDR and I enjoyed playing this - good job! TOTAL - 28/30 ============= DDR B2 JUDGING: ============== Bad Boy (AvM Remix) - by Shortysnmn2010 *************************************** - Technical accuracy [4/5] The rhythms work very well throughout, although the long synth section towards the end with the fairly uneven 16th rhythms took a lot of getting used to! Foot placement let you down from time to time (see my comments on the use of extra arrows) but generally the vocal sections were stepped well... - Workability of chart relative to song [4/5] All the elements that I expected to be translated from the music have been, and while they perhaps could've been planned out better, the patterns worked well. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [3/5] Quite tough to play because of the extra arrows I found - rhythmically there was nothing too challenging. - Use of the extra arrows [2/10] A lot of problems in this respect - notable examples were the L+R/UL+ UR patterns in measures 7-9, as the transition from gallop on one to a jump in the other in less than a beat was quite unnerving and threw me off-balance. Also, the transition to the jump in measure 11 wasn't fun as it involved a full body twist in mid-air combined with awkward foot placement on landing. I just felt like the extra arrows were more of a hindrence than a help here... - Enjoyability of the song [4/5] I love this song, and I'd never heard this remix before OSC 5, so that's always a bonus! The edit is a bit chopped up in places though. TOTAL - 17/30 ============= fffff - by #Infinity ******************** - Changes made [4/5] New graphics look quite clean and crisp, but the artist text is as boring as hell! - Technical accuracy [4/5] Can't really fault this rhythmically - very strong use of 16ths to pick out the complex riffs in the song. Step placement (not including the interesting patterns mentioned in the extra steps part below could've used a bit more work to make them flow easier without double-stepping or twisting every 2nd measure or so... - Workability of chart relative to song [5/5] Everything works really well with the music, and it's good that you didn't always stick rigidly to the same 16th patterns as it kept things interesting. The final two jumps irked me a little, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on them! - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Quite frantic on pad at times, but very satisfying when you get it right. Enjoyable on the whole with only a few niggles holding it back from being perfect... - Use of the extra arrows [4/5] The extra arrows were an integral part of some of the more interesting patterns here (like the "fan" patterns at the start, and also the UL- D-UR-D variations). However, at times they did lead to some annoying double steps... - Enjoyability of the song [5/5] An interesting song with a lot of energy and some great rhythmical patterns - quite addictive actually! TOTAL - 26/30 ============= High School Love - by Akira *************************** - Changes made [4/5] Graphics are an improvement, although even your character looks a bit rough around the edges... - Technical accuracy [4/5] Rhythmically, spot on - no issues at all. Placement was a bit messy sometimes (see the UL+UR jump in measure 38) but on the whole, you did pretty well. - Workability of chart relative to song [5/5] No issues at all - everything went just as you would expect it to, no dodgy rhythms. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Frantic at times and it had me jumping about all over the place sometimes - the high BPM for a Solo novice like me was a massive barrier with these steps as they used all of the pad all of the time. I can't take points off for that though, as a slower runthrough shows a nicely progressive step chart with only a few dodgy placements that spoiled things. - Use of the extra arrows [3/5] Mostly good, although there were certain occasions where I got the impression that you'd kind of forgotten they existed (e.g. the first 3-4 measures of the 1st chorus [measures 34-38]). Generally, they were well integrated into the patterns, but at times the transition between the 4 panel sections and the extra arrows was a bit choppy. - Enjoyability of the song [4/5] Definitely one of the better Pop'n songs I've heard - the strange layout of the chorus does kind of ruin things a little, but it still has a good beat and works well in DDR. TOTAL - 24/30 ============= Love Is Eternity (SF Synth Trance Mix) - by will-i-am ***************************************************** - Technical accuracy [3/5] Some of the 16th patterns during the second half seemed to wander off course a bit (see measures 61-63 for example - they seemed to take on a life of their own!) No major placement issues, but the whole chart just felt a bit safe and didn't seem to take many risks with challenging patterns. - Workability of chart relative to song [3/5] Works okay on the whole, but the repetitiveness of the song was always going to create the possibility of you varying rhythms until they no longer accurately resembled what was going on in the music. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Things flow really well on pad, and nothing really felt that awkward. My only criticism was that it just seemed a bit pedestrian at times and could use some spicing up in terms of step placement... - Use of the extra arrows [3/10] Put it this way - I was more or less able to pass this chart on pad without even touching any of the UL or UR arrows. Instead of feeling like an integrated part of the chart, they felt more like annoying little hurdles getting in the way of a decent 4 panel stepchart. I'm not saying that they were used badly in terms of placement, but they just didn't feel used to their full potential... - Enjoyability of the song [3/5] Yeah, another Konami-style trance song that gives you the opportunity for 16th patterns. Whoopee, but I've seen it all before to be honest. Listenable but nothing more... TOTAL - 16/30 ============= Over There - by Dark Luke ************************* - Technical accuracy [4/5] Hmmm, when I saw this I thought it was going to lead to a big controversy over 10+ footers in DDR again, but I'd say you probably over-rated this as it plays a lot like a slightly trickier A Oni. Rhythmically I can't pick out anything out of place and the placement was logical on the whole, but very twisty... - Workability of chart relative to song [4/5] Some of the 16ths during the slow part seemed to want to make things more complicated than they needed to be, but generally everything else gelled pretty well with the song. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Definitely the toughest out of the lot - partly due to the high BPM section but also because the steps are designed to be very technical and as a result this isn't something you could easily sight-read and pass easily with flying colours first time. A challenge for sure. - Use of the extra arrows [8/10] Used to maximum effect throughout, and definitely gave the opportunity to experiment with some cool twist and crossover patterns. At times, they verged on being over-used, and some sections take a while to get used to and you need to study the step placment very closely... - Enjoyability of the song [2/5] If I'm honest, I wasn't mad keen on this. It sounded a bit like a rock cover of the soundtrack to a porno...not that well suited to DDR IMO... [-1 overrated difficulty - I'd call this a 10] TOTAL - 21/30 ============= Radio Star - by pokecapn & Azure Haights **************************************** - Changes made [4/5] Graphics are a really interesting idea, but it's safe to say the BG works much better than the banner here (the title text looks horrible in the banner) God to see the lyrics are fixed, and we even get some alternative graphics - why you're spoiling us! - Technical accuracy [5/5] Nice and simple rhythms and patterns here that worked in harmony with the music and kept the spirit of the original steps alive. - Workability of chart relative to song [3/5] I don't know whether it was because this was made as a joint effort between two different authors, but at times it felt like a slightly mismatched jigsaw puzzle with fragments of steps placed together badly. The offbeat section in the middle stands out as being completely detached from the rest, and I really wasn't sure about its merit at all... Rhythms went pretty well with song though. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [5/5] Easy and fun on pad - this would probably be quite a good introduction for 4 panel Heavy players wanting to move into playing Solo charts... - Use of the extra arrows [5/5] Felt pretty natural throughout, and they never felt alienated from the other four panels. The intro was a classic example of a nice and simple way of including the extra arrows in a stepchart. - Enjoyability of the song [5/5] Perhaps the most DDR-type song in the whole contest - everything about it works (in a 4th mix sorta way of course!) TOTAL - 27/30 ============= Samba Brazil - by zeh ********************* - Technical accuracy [4/5] Rhythmically, these steps pick up the fairly hypnotic synchopation in song which was cool. I'm still left feeling that the step placement wasn't the most interesting in places, but some patterns made up for this shortfall. - Workability of chart relative to song [3/5] Everything works well - from the 12ths to the 16th gallops - but I was left with the feeling that the patterns hadn't really been planned out as the rhythms and placements changed so drastically between very similar sections of the song. See how the last 4 reprises of the chorus have completely different feels - it lead to a sense of fragmentation. - Playability in the assumed environment (pad for DDR and ITG, keyboard for KB) [4/5] Works well on pad, although some of the crossovers weren't really called I don't think... - Use of the extra arrows [6/10] The usage of these arrows felt a bit uneven in this chart. One minute the 4 panels were being used completely independenty with virtually no UL or UR (measures 14-16 for example) and then they were all over the place (measure 19, which I have to add was a really cool pattern!) There were no issues with awkward placements of extra arrows, but I just felt they could have been used more evenly. - Enjoyability of the song [3/5] Not Captain Jack's finest - in fact the song irritated quite a bit. For DDR? Yes. For my personal listening pleasure - no! TOTAL - 20/30 ============= ************ IN SUMMARY:- ************ 1st= Disco Dog (sanchny) - 28 [DDR B1] 1st= Identity (jammitch!) - 28 [DDR B1] 3rd= 24 (alphabet55) - 27 [DDR B1] 3rd= Radio Star (pokecapn & Azure Haights) - 27 [DDR B2] 5th= Gasolina (Delaction Remix) (TheBaldOneMpls) - 26 [DDR B1] 5th= fffff (#Infinity) - 26 [DDR B2] 7th. High School Love (Akira) - 24 [DDR B2] 8th. Over There (Dark Luke) - 21 [DDR B2] 9th= Emoticons (PkerUNO) - 20 [DDR B1] 9th= Samba Brazil (zeh) - 20 [DDR B2] 11th. Have You Ever Been Mellow (IkePie) - 19 [DDR B1] 12th. Bad Boy (AvM Remix) (Shortysnmn2010) - 17 [DDR B2] 13th. Love Is Eternity (SF Synth Trance Mix) (will-i-am) - 16 [DDR B2]