----------------------- DDR OSC5 - ITG Division ----------------------- Judge: Shortysnmn2010 Note: Best viewed in fullscreen. Intro: First off, I would like to thank BLueSS for letting me help participate in this event. Always have been a fan of DDR OSC, and this release seems to be very promising. Here is how I am going to judge: 1. I ghost all the steps with autoplay on - my SM has messed up timings. For syncing issues, I will play songs in the step editor with assist tick on. If it sounds early or late in the beginning of the song, it should sound the same near the end. If not, there are BPM issues. Gap will only be taken into effect if the steps are incredibly offbeat. Also, any problems with syncing will be noted under "song - playability." 2. I am using an ITG Theme to check out graphics and such. I believe I am pretty generous in this section (I have terrible photoshop skills), but am looking for things like positioning of the text, readability, etc. It is SM 3.9, but for the songs with rolls, I will play them in 4.0 to avoid trouble. Also, most of the points are for artist/title and format, so scores are fairly high. 3. Before playing a stepchart, I will examine it through the step editor to get a feel of how the steps flow. Then I will play it through, so I know what to expect (advanced turning, weird BPM changes, etc). 4. I look at readme's after fully judging the simfile, to keep things anonymous. 5. "Double-stepping" = using one foot to hit step consecutive steps, otherwise leaveing the player in an awkward situation. 6. Sorry if the reviews seem short - have to judge and work on a research paper at once! If I don't mention something when giving comments, it probably means I enjoyed it :). Also notice: I am not trying to sound harsh, but am saying where improvements can be made and things to look out for next time. 7. I try to be very systematic when grading. With song, graphics, bug-free, difficulties, and tilt, the average of scores will be fairly high. 8. Instead of using "steps," I tend to treat them as notes in sheet music (ex: quarter steps = 8th notes). 9. I am just one person voicing an opinion on these stepfiles. Nothing I say is fact, so don't take it to heart if I seem harsh on anything. What appeals to one person can seem horrible to the next. What matters is how confident you feel for yourself :). Here we go! ************************************** A New Ray of Light - Sir Nuts & Sadorf ************************************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Pretty cool song. Great length, and there are a number of different rhythms involved. The middle seems hard to step on easier difficulties, though. Whats up with the number of 0.00 BPM stops on measure 56? Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The colors chosen for the banner were great. Only problem was that the title and (a small portion of the) artist texts were cut off in the ITG theme. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Very good start for the graphics portion of the pack. The text couldn't have fit better. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Pretty enjoyable overall. However, it was definitely a 4, with the long 4th-streams and the offbeat arrows. Glad someone else likes to use mines in easier charts. There was a few parts where double-stepping was involved, but it was very minimal. STANDARD (11 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 11 - Comments: Ignoring the difficulty, I found this to be a pretty creative chart. Liked the usage of mines in this one as well. The jump-step-jump- step rhythms got old fairly quick, but glad to see them mixed with freezes. Difficulty-wise, I would almost rate it a 7 - the quantity of 8th-steps is large, and runs near the end is definitely not suited for a 5. No double stepping was needed :). HEAVY (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Felt a tad too hard for an 8, especailly near the end. Same jump-step pattern was used near the beginning; little variation would have been nice. Liked the usage of the mines, and the part following measure 24 is great. Had a couple of parts where it was hard to determine which foot to use next, and the streams were fairly long. Good variation with the jumps in the runs, but more breaks were needed for an 8. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Felt dead-on to be a 10. The jump-step-jump-step patterns fit very well, and the 16th-runs were not too complicated. However, there was a high concentration of triple steps. While easy on a keyboard, they would be hard to pull off near the end on a pad. Measures 23 to 30 was full of double-stepping, and would have been cool if they followed the beat similar to the heavy steps in that section. Despite these few problems, it would definitely be one I would play at an arcade. Tilt: TILT (7 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 5 out of 7 - Final Comments: Definitely had the right patterns and techniques used in this sim. Only problems throughout was the difficulty ratings of the easier charts, and some of the double-stepping. The mines were placed greatly. A little more variety of steps in general would have been a plus as well. TOTAL SCORE: 83 out of 100 ***************************************** A Voice Spoke To Me - Tekno Dred & AD MAN ***************************************** Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Thought it sounded similar to Bloodrush at first =P, then I saw the artist name. Was pretty repetitive, similar to Bloodrush. Also, the ending cut was very abrupt. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Looks pretty good. The color scheme is not exactly what comes to mind when I hear this song, though. BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Like how the text was the same as the banner, but it was an exact copy and paste (could tell because the yellow and orange curve go over the top-left corner of the V and in the right of the T. Stepcharts: BASIC (6 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: These steps needed a lot of variation. The only 8th-steps used were at the slowdown (which I thought was clever), and the rest of the steps were filled with jumps. The beat at measure 20 is different than the beginning of the song, but the steps stayed the same. Felt like more originality was needed for this. Last nitpick: needed to do some double- stepping after the slowdown. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: Had a good flow, but the 8th-streams were too long (measure 28 to about 36 is all one stream). Did like the part prior where every beat was the down arrow. Steps needed some variation - the jump-jump-step-step-step pattern was used quite a bit. The two down arrows in measure 19 felt weird, becuase of the freeze arrow prior. Overall, it was enjoyable, but would use variation and maybe should have been the hard steps, with it being an 8 and all. HEAVY (12 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 15 - Comments: Glad you mixed up the beat at the end of the song, but still needed more. A good deal of this song was just an 8th-stream (not a fan of Driving Force Classical). While good for practicing FA, it fails to stick out. When the jumps were thrown in the stream, a lot of double-stepping was needed. Liked the usage of freeze arrows following measure 20, but became a hassle when the jumps were thrown in soon after. Enjoyed the slowdown the best. CHALLENGE (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Definitely a 13, entirely for stamina issues. Up to the slowdown, there was no double-stepping needed (minus the freeze arrows). Near the end, the 16th-streams forced you to spin a few times - not good thing to do. The slowdown didn't work too well, I thought. In Bloodrush, it was alright because most of the steps didn't require heavy turning. However, the slowdown here was all over the place. Consecutive (good), but really hard to read on 2x and below (not so good). Mine usage was pretty good. Felt like more gimmicks could have been used - more concentrated minefields, some more hands, etc. Lastly, measures 28 - 32 didn't feel necessary for a long 16th-run; didn't have that drum roll like in other parts of the song. Tilt: TILT (7 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 4 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: While light through heavy were pretty fun, they badly needed some variation. Also have to watch out for the double-stepping - especially when it's in a 16th-run, like in expert. +1 for the beginner steps, although even here there was some variation needed with the constant down arrows. TOTAL SCORE: 72 out of 100 ******************* Asteroid - Shuriken ******************* Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 3 out of 5 - Comments: This song is pretty interesting - different beats, and is pretty upbeat. However, it felt like it dragged on for too long, and the BPM stop should have been longer (it starts again in the middle of no where, which leads to no anticipation of hitting the next note). Slowdown also added some color to this song. Graphics: BANNER (7 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Kind of an eerie background, felt appropriate. Also liked how the red text blended in. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Liked how it corresponded with the banner, but was modified. Looks like something that would be in PIU (except for the BPM display). Stepcharts: BASIC (5 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: If you used the freeze arrows and jumps the same way you did after the BPM stop, it would have been great. But, the freeze arrows before were sloppy. No need for any of the freeze arrows that last 1/2 beat, and almost all the long freeze arrows should be 1/2 beat shorter. It makes the sim look more professional when the freeze arrows end on the last arrow stepped for it. Definitely need to break up the beat; was all one large stream. STANDARD (8 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 11 - Comments: The first 18 measures were awesome, but then it quickly became a matter of trying to guess what the arrows are trying to follow. Freeze arrows were not used correctly - freezes should be at the least 3/4 of a beat long (which would have been ok if you did that at the end, instead of 1/2 beats). Had good rhythms when the steps were "simple" - like measure 27 on, minus the freeze arrows. The slowdown was incredibly hard to follow. Very glad there was almost no double-stepping needed. Last nitpick: making standard an 8 is pretty risky to do, probably would have been better to make it simple and rate it a 6 or something. HEAVY (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Was pretty decent for a 10. The rhythms near the beginning were much easier to follow, but the slowdown still felt offbeat, even when played at 0.7x musicspeed. Freeze arrows are too short, but I liked the idea of them starting at measure 31. The hands, while positioned at a good spot, felt a little overkill with the freeze arrows that dragged for too long. The quad freeze could have been simpler by spreading the beats out and making the freeze arrows longer (one quad over the space both quads were used). The jumps near the end needed variation, but the ending overall was good. CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Definitely felt like a 12. The mines were used wisely, and helped made it more difficult without being overused (With the exception of measures 41 - 47). Most of the 24th's used seemed like they were there just to increase the difficulty, though. The hands at measure 43 and 44 were great, but the freeze arrows needed to be shorter. The jumps near the end were good, but felt like more was needed at measure 80. There was also a part in that last run where you were forced to double-step. Tilt: TILT (4 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 2 out of 7 - Final Comments: There is a lot of potential here - the rhythms used were pretty good (minus the slowdown and the part near the beginning), just need to work on how to vary up the beats. Biggest problem was the freeze arrows. Any freeze arrows that is 1/2 a beat or less have no effect, but make things look harder. Also, making the freeze arrow stop on the last note pressed during that freeze makes things a lot more professional. TOTAL SCORE: 71 out of 100 ***************************** Bad Boy (AvM Remix) - Cascada ***************************** Song: SONG (15 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Great choice of song! Never heard this remix before, but it fits very well. No complaints here. Gap felt a little early, but was consistent. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Really liked how you blended the texts together, but it's hard to read "Cascada" with the subtitle in front of it. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Background looks appealing, but the text with the artist and subtitle are together. Liked the idea, but didn't think it executed properly, given the font choices and the highlights in the subtitle. Stepcharts: BASIC (9 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Very nice chart overall. The patterns were not too difficult, and the two 8th-notes were a good introduction to those kinds of steps. Enjoyed the few mines that were in there (always believed they should be in easier steps), but had to do a couple weird crossovers that threw me off at first. STANDARD (11 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 11 - Comments: A few of the patterns seemed too advanced for a 6. During the middle, there were freeze arrows, jumps, and a number of 8th-notes which could easily throw off people new to this level. The freeze arrows were great in mimicking the voice, but the first freeze arrow felt awkward with the two right arrows following right after. HEAVY (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Enjoyed the mine usage the most out of this chart. While they were concentrated in a few places, they could easily be avoided. The beginning and end were a little sketcky; the beginning with the freezes and the end with a few of the 3-16th's step patterns. Also felt like another long freeze arrow was needed on measure 15 to mimick the beat on measure 11. CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Crossovers and mines were implemented greatly. Unfortutely, a number of the steps felt forced to increase the difficulty level (second half, mainly). The jump-step-jump-step patternts also felt a little out of nowhere. Found the rest of the jumps to be pretty fun. Tilt: TILT (7 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 5 out of 7 - Final Comments: As a whole, this simfile is quite fun. A few parts need some tuning up (jump usage, consistency of steps), but the mines and crossovers were marvelous. TOTAL SCORE: 84 out of 100 ************************* Be Princess - DJ Sharpnel ************************* Song: SONG (10 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 1 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 2 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Had to turn my speakers down when playing this one - definitely was louder than a lot of the other songs. Personally, I think the song is annoying, but does give way for a variety of steps. However, there were parts in the beginning that could have been cut out to make the song shorter (it would repeat itself like 3 or 4 times). Felt like the cut off at the end was arbitrary. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Liked the red theme, but the girl seemed to stand out too much. Little more variety in the text would have been used (two colors or different fonts). BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Nice background, but could match the banner more. The text also seems to stick out a lot. Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: With a 190 BPM song, I'm glad you didn't get carried away, for the most part. Little heavy on the freeze arrows; would suggust shortening them so there is a break between the end of the freeze arrow and the next arrow that needs to be hit. The ending felt a little much, with the long stream of consecuting arrows, but loved the usage of jumps. Felt more like an easy 5 overall, as opposed to a hard 4. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 11 - Comments: Felt a little hard for a 6, but not hard enough for a 7. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the long 8th-streams are too much (especially at 190 BPM). Had to double-step a couple of times, but not too much. Also got too jump happy at measure 41. Loved the pattern used in measures 97 & 98. Good chart, but needs to be watered down some (mainly thinking about freeze arrows and the 8th-streams). HEAVY (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Measure 93 and one were well built. The usage of mines were implemented very nicely. However, the main problems I've had with this one was the double stepping. Not turning-wise, but hitting the same arrow over and over. Kind of painful at 190 BPM. Also, following the melody after measure 72 was not the way to go - too much space between the arrows. However, the steps redeemed itself on measure 85 and on. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Pretty well built. Only thing that felt overboard were some of the 16th's used. Mines played a great role - kept things interesting. This is good because the beginning was pretty bland - measure 15 to 40 was one long 8th-stream with some jumps and a few mines in it. Needed some variation. Did a better job with the vocal section at measure 72, but didn't feel interesting enough for an 11. Also enjoyed the hand used in measure 92. Tilt: TILT (6 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 4 out of 7 - Final Comments: Felt pretty well built overall. Only complaints would be the double-stepping used on the same arrow, and mix up the steps to follow both the lyrics and beat more. Would have stood out more if the cut was slightly shorter (cutting off some of the repetiveness in the beginning and making it quiter). TOTAL SCORE: 74 out of 100 ***************** Breathe - Prodigy ***************** Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 3 out of 5 - Comments: A different type of song; can call for creative steps, though. Nice slowdown at the end. Not much to say about this one. Graphics: BANNER (7 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: An interesting background, but works. The tilting of the text also made it more appealing. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Same background, but gladly the text was moved (can't tell if it has a different tilt than the banner). Nice job with this one! Stepcharts: BASIC (6 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 4 out of 7 - Comments: Way too hard for a 4. The amount of 8th-steps used makes it a hard 5, probably a 6. The patterns used were good, and was very consistent. However, a number of the steps ended up making the player turn 360 a lot. Good usage of freeze arrows. STANDARD (9 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: A hard 6, if not a 7. There were large 8th-step streams that needed more breaks between the steps. Also, the steps felt chopped up in general, with most of the steps starting on the offbeat when the vocals kick in. Need to watch out for double-stepping; had to focus too much on which foot I was using to hit the next step with. HEAVY (16 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 13 out of 15 - Comments: Much better with the double-stepping; don't think there was a part that forced me to do that. The freeze arrows were screaming for change, after being in both light and standard (the parts similar to measure 49 and 50). The weird patterns seen in measures like 52 could have been a little simpler. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: A hard 9, but a 9. Mines were used a little much, but most of them fit in place. The 24th's used may have been better off with 16th's, for simplicity. Liked the usage of jumps in here. What needed improvement the most is the freeze arrows. Any freeze arrow 1/2 beat and shorter is not needed. Also, a lot of the longer freeze arrows should have ended 1/2 beat earlier, so that the following steps do not start immediately after. Tilt: TILT (9 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 5 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: Pretty good overall, but still needs refinement. Said all things to be worked on above. +1 for challenge double chart - they had some crossover issues, but was enjoyable overall. Would love to play the heavy chart on a pad in an arcade sometime. TOTAL SCORE: 82 out of 100 ********************************* Cheap Trick Kinda Girl - Infernal ********************************* Song: SONG (15 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: The notes were dead-on, no syncing issues at all. First impression was that the song wouldn't fit, but I was wrong. Very catchy and great cut. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Great job getting the text to be centered with the tilt of the ITG theme! However, the text felt a little "forced" (the black and white outlining). The very bottom of the artist text is cut off (the black and red), but that's just a small nitpick. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Enjoyed how the background was completely different, but was entirely similar at the same time. The text also blended well with this one (doesn't really conflict with any objects in the background). Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Had to double-check to see I wasn't playing the standard steps. Incredible steps, but way to difficult for a 3. Overall, it felt like a 4, with the ending feeling like a 5. The stream is also pretty long for the lower difficulty. STANDARD (13 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 11 - Comments: Steps-wise, I can't find a thing that's wrong. They flowed very nicely, and felt very professional. Felt more like a moderate 7, especially with 350+ max combo. HEAVY (16 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 14 out of 15 - Comments: Great quality, like the previous two charts. Still felt a little under-rated, though, with the 450+ combo that includes a number of 16th's and jumps. Mine implementation was pretty good, no complaints there. Probably could have done without the 16th-notes in measure 7-11; felt odd. CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: A pretty good chart, although heavy felt more enjoyable. The crossovers near the end were pretty clever (especially start at measure 35), and the hands couldn't have been in a better place. However, the mines mixed with the hands could have had more variation. They were placed will right after, but the steps after felt incoherent - way too much double-stepping needed. The "x-x-xx-x-xx-x" patterns felt a little out of place; hard to tell what it is going to. Tilt: TILT (9 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 6 out of 7 - Final Comments: With the exception of the challenge chart and difficulty ratings, it was spectacular. Felt incredibly professional with the video, and the steps had great flow to them. Definitely one I would play numerous times on a machine. TOTAL SCORE: 89 out of 100 *************************** Clear Blue Water - Oceanlab *************************** Song: SONG (13 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Oceanlab is always a good choice of music :). However, her style of music is hard to step, since it is mostly repetitive. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 1 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The text for the song title, while readable, blended way too much (adding a drop shadow would solve this problem). The color balances also felt too concentrated in the middle of the banner. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The background looks great, compared to the cut used in the banner. As with the banner, the title text needed to stick out more. Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 4 out of 7 - Comments: A daring chart, but was executed pretty smoothly. Overall, the usage of hands was good. However, some of them were hard to hit then the up and down arrows were freezes, or when the up and right arrows were freezes. Also, the parts that did not focus on the hands were kind of bland. Needed more stream or 8th's. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: The hands were a good idea in this chart, but many of them were painful. Many forced you to arch your back backwards in order to hit them, such patterns as an up-left freeze, followed by a down freeze. If they were made so that they were in front of the player, and all the player had to do was crouch down to hit them without bending, they would have been great. Also, the freeze arrows at measure 61 felt sloppy - would have been great to make them more like measure 65. HEAVY (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: The "backwards" hands went a little overboard again. Also, the freeze turning that made you do 360's were fun the first two or three times, but became a nuisance when it started doing that constantly. Liked the usage of the triples. In the first half, when there were no hands around, it felt pretty bland. Including some mines and some 16th's would have helped colored this chart up a bit. CHALLENGE (12 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 15 - Comments: Couldn't get into this chart, as with the previous ones. Main problem that took away the enjoyment was that there were too many quad freezes. A lot of the time was spent crouched like a spider, a lot of times with your feet in front of your hands - pretty painful. The parts that didn't focus on the hands were alright - good usage of mines, but the short freeze arrows only made things look more complicated than it really is. Near the beginning, there were too many freeze steps that forced you to turn 360 degrees. As with the previous chart, it's ok a few times, but it was a little out of control. Tilt: TILT (8 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 3 (+3) out of 7 - Final Comments: Liked the concept of tryint to mimick Bend Your Mind, but it could have been executed better. Focus on making the hands enjoyable by making them so that the player doesn't have to arch their back backwards to hit the arrow (or worse, hold the arrow). Also need to tune up the parts that don't have hands to make them more interesting. +3 for doubles and beginner, although (this is a first) beginner needed more steps, and doubles had same problems as singles. With some work, this could create beautiful results, similar to Bend Your Mind (if not better). TOTAL SCORE: 75 out of 100 *********************************** Days Dreamer - Sampling Masters AYA *********************************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Pretty catchy. Could deifnitely see this in an arcade machine. Probably could have been cut down slightly. Graphics: BANNER (4 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 0 out of 1 - Comments: While this may look good on a DDR theme, it is damaged under ITG standards. Took off the point in size not because it was 256x80, but because when sizing to make it fit in ITG, the artist text is cut off and is significantly harder to read. BACKGROUND (5 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The background picture looks good, but the blurring was hard to tolerate. Also, the artist text is missing. Did enjoy the positioning of the title, though. Stepcharts: BASIC (6 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 4 out of 7 - Comments: Overall, it felt like a 2, but it had a few things that shouldn't be there. The first 8th-note should not have been there, especially if it is the only one in that entire area. The 8th note may be appropriate at the ending, but not the 16th note. Also, the stream felt a little long in a few parts. So it went from too easy, to too hard, and back and forth. The beginning freezes felt cool, but not for a 2. STANDARD (12 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 11 - Comments: Pretty well made. Loved the usage of 8th-steps in this one. However, the first two 16th's felt unneeded, especially after the 8th-steps. Also, a considerable amount of double-stepping. Was forced to go into a circle a number of times. HEAVY (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: There was so much potential for this chart. Was surprised, since this is one of the few charts in this pack that felt OVERrated, not the other way around. The steps were not very innovative for an 8 - was laid back and had simple patterns. Got better near the end, but the main melody and the ending synth were screaming for a few 16th's to be added. Way too many patterns that forced the player to turn 360 degrees. A few freeze arrows would have been nice as well (interesting it didn't have any). CHALLENGE (10 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 15 - Comments: The difficulty was right, but for the wrong reasons. What did it for me was the usage of the freeze arrows. There are loads of 64th-long freeze arrows. They serve no purpose. While some of the freeze arrows mimicked the voice and whistle, they were also too short to matter. Also, measure 35 should have done without the freeze arrow. Despite the low BPM, it's still hard to get. Some of the steps during the sax solo were also awkward. The rhythms used at other parts were good, but the arrows forced the player to guess which foot to use next. Too much double-stepping, especially with the 16th-step before a jump. Overall, great patterns for the most part, but freezes and turning took a big toll. Tilt: TILT (4 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 3 out of 7 - Final Comments: Main things to look for in the future: correct usage of freeze arrows, and making steps that don't force the player to turn 360 or double-step (although big crossovers are a plus). Another thing to focus on is also make the steps match the background beat more. While there was a good amount of that in challenge, the heavy steps feel like they would work well in any song. Have to make them stand out and fit the song in a way no other song can. TOTAL SCORE: 68 out of 100 ******************* Devastation - Bolin ******************* Song: SONG (13 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Interesting song. Liked the background beats in it, but the first slowdown felt dragged on for too long. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Good idea with using the red bar; makes things new. Could have lowered the opacity on it, though. The artist text also looks a little plain. Did enjoy the background! BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Wasn't expecting this after seeing the banner. However, that is for the better - the red theme works well with this song, and the placing of the text was executed greatly. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: This was great. The beginning was incredible with the mines, but after the speedup it became too hard for a 4. Was not boring, but the slowdown at measure 41 should have had a freeze arrow, or mine, or something. STANDARD (12 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 11 - Comments: one of my favorites in this bracket. However, it felt a little jump-happy after the first speedup. A nitpick: in light, measures 63 and on had the 8th beat in the middle of the second beat, but they are not seen in this chart. Wasn't too hard, and didn't really have to double-step. Measure 41 felt really dull as well - needed something there. HEAVY (16 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 13 out of 15 - Comments: Very smooth, and almost no double-stepping needed. A couple jumps felt uneccesary, but many of them were fun to do. The beginning was creative, but the mines felt a little dull, being on every downbeat only, and filling up what is left to occupy all four targets. The freezes in measures 11 and 12 should be 3/4ths of a beat long, not 1/2, to make it slightly harder (too easy to cheat as it is, but very good crossover). Not much more to say. CHALLENGE (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Felt like a solid 10, but seemed kind of dull. When it was not a 16th-stream, it was an 8th-stream. The mines in the beginning were a little much; would have been more interesting if the mines were more seperated and not grouped together in 8th's. Had a good flow, but the slowdowns after the initial part were dull. Could have done nuts with mines, or maybe a freeze hand, or something, but it was like the other 3 charts. While this chart may be one people would play for a good score, it didn't seem innovative/interesting enough for an ITG 10. Tilt: TILT (10 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 4 (+3) out of 7 - Final Comments: It was enjoyable overall, but the challenge steps did not entirely grab my interest. More ITG-ish gimmicks would have been nice, especailly at the slowdowns. +3 for the doubles steps, and the beginner steps. Pretty well built, and definitely would be the type to try out in the arcade. TOTAL SCORE: 85 out of 100 ************************** Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls ************************** Song: SONG (15 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: This is a pretty good remix (much better than the original, in my opinion). Just under two minutes, and is not boring. The ending felt a little sudden, though. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 1 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Good choice of background! The text was kind of bland, though (same font for title, subtitle, and artist). More text effects felt needed here. BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Love the background, but the text did it again. When played with the ITG theme, the vertical life meter cuts off the left side of the text. Also same issues with the fonts. Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 4 out of 7 - Comments: This is a pretty hard 4, due to its long stream of 4th-notes and the few 8th's. Had a considerable amount of turning, but liked how you worked the jumpds. Freeze arrows need a little work (measure 44 - not needed, measure 47 - should end at the last beat of the measure, to make it match the one in the following measure). The 8th-notes were nicely placed. STANDARD (9 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: Way too much double-stepping in this (although it was quite fun to turn with the steps). Also had a high concentration of 8th-notes, which should be saved for charts that are at least a hard 6. Had a good rhythm, but just following the lyrics before the main chorus came got old pretty quickly. HEAVY (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: This chart flowed pretty well. Was basic, like a 7 should be, but the steps had variation in it. Some of the crossovers were creative, but others still forced double-stepping. The lyrics were used too much for steps as well - more steps on the beat would have made it feel more smooth. A few of the freeze arrows were too short to be needed, but was creative (like in measure 42). CHALLENGE (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Couldn't really get into this stepchart. The 16th's stream in measure 8 was creative. However, there were an excessive amount of 16th streams near the end. Measures 17 - 31 were fun for a few measures, but then quickly needed a change. Did enjoy the main chorus, but after that there was a good deal of turning involved. Tilt: TILT (6 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 3 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: There is a lot of potential for this sim. The author had the right idea when it came to the background beats, but focused too heavily on the chorus. Beginner steps felt a little hard, but was decent, so added a point in the "other" section. While I found it fun in a number of parts, still needs work for it to be par with ITG standards. TOTAL SCORE: 74 out of 100 ************************ Emerald Sword - Rhapsody ************************ Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 2 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Heard of this song before (I know it's a popular KB song, but personally don't like KB sims). Gives way for great step patterns to be used, but also runs the risk of being repetitive, similar to the song. The BPM stop was unneccesary, as nothing really changed, music wise, in that section. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Clever choice to swap the usual locations for the artist and title - especially with the "P" inbetween the two words. Someone about the artist logo though that makes it stand out a little much.. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Loved it. Only gripe is that the title text could have been smaller. This would prevent the targets from covering up part of the text. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Main problem with this is the streams. They make this a solid 5. If they were broken up, this would have been flawless. STANDARD (14 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 11 - Comments: Hands down one of the top 2 standard charts in this division, if not the top. No double-stepping was needed, and despite it being a 7, it was not crazy and flowed incredibly well. May want to loosen up on the number of jumps, but it still made it fun. HEAVY (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Was good overall. Only things to work on is the number of jumps (got a little jump-happy at parts), and making most of the freeze arrows shorter, so the arrows precessing it do not follow immediately after. CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: A solid 12. However, it doesn't stand out like most of the ITG 12's do. Felt like the focus was on stamina and the jump-step patterns that were used. Enjoyed the beginning quite a bit. A good 12, just didn't feel up to par with the arcade 12's (probably needs a few more gimmicks). Tilt: TILT (10 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 5 (+2) out of 7 - Final Comments: Although I do not like Rhapsody music, I found this sim to be very enjoyable. Not sure how much it mimicks the KB version, if at all (never played it), but loved the patterns used. Only complaint about this sim is that the freeze arrows need a little tune up and that doubles steps are not worth many points, if at all. Loved the double steps as well, and would give you more points, but can only fit 2 points into the "other" section :(. Crossovers were magnificent. TOTAL SCORE: 86 out of 100 *********************** Endless Journey - L.V.4 *********************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Only problem I had with this was the fade out in the end. Besides that, perfect. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Overall, it looks pleasant. The text needs some editing in order to fit with ITG standards, and the outlining of the both texts stuck out greatly. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Big improvement from the Banner. With a larger image, the outlining is not a problem. Also, the placement of the artist text fit the background extremely well. Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: Great job making the basic steps follow the song. Got a little freeze arrow happy, but it was only noticible between measures 29 - 37. The stream near the end also felt more fit for a 4, with the freeze arrow action within them. Break up the beats near the end and change some of the freeze arrows, and this would be flawless. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 11 - Comments: Felt a little heavy on the freeze arrows, but were good in the beginning. What killed it was the 8th-long freeze arrows - while they mimick the instrument, they are ineffective. Thought the part starting at measure 21 was clever - somewhat hard pattern, but that is all the player has to focus on. Seemed like a pretty hard 6, with the somewhat high concentration of 8th-notes, mixed in with the freeze arrows. Enjoyable overall. HEAVY (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Rhythm-wise, this chart was incredible. Fit the music perfectly. Unfortunately, the short freeze-arrow problem and double-stepping was apparent. Felt a little rough for an 8, as well - especially near the end. Liked the usage of hands used starting at measure 22. Two nitpicks: measure 27 had two hands in it, why wouldn't measure 23? Also, the left freeze arrow in measure 30 should have been another beat longer to match the other ones; kind of stood out. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Loved this stepchart. Very minimal double-stepping, which could have been avoided. Also, the short freeze arrows was what made this chart imperfect. Doesn't matter if they match the music, it would fit just as well as if they weren't there. The jump-step-jump-step patterns also fit pretty well. The freeze-turning was good, but could have improved near the end of it. While the 24th's used fit with the song, they felt a little arbitrary (sounded slightly off when played at 0.5x musicspeed). Tilt: TILT (9 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 6 out of 7 - Final Comments: Definitely one of the more developed sims in this division. Main things to focus on is the short freeze arrows and the double-stepping. All short freeze arrows do is make things look harder, when in fact it is not. Despite the score in the low 80's, it is one of my favorites in this division. TOTAL SCORE: 82 out of 100 *********************************** Graduation - The Natural Mahoganies *********************************** Song: SONG (13 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Not my type of song, but it works as a sim. Feels a little repetitive, and fairly mellow throughout. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Enjoyed how the text "sat" on the horizon and how the title and artist texts line up evenly. Would have been killer if the background was more colorful, like the text. BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: If the text was 20% smaller, it would probably fit much better, and the left target wouldn't cover that small bit of "G". The color for the artist seemed to fit pretty well. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: Pretty good, enjoyed this stepchart. Got a little happy with the freezes, especially after measure 20. The freeze arrows were placed well, just that the quantity was a little much. Cut up those freeze arrows, break up the steam there, and this is perfect. STANDARD (14 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 11 - Comments: Provavly my favorite standard chart in this division. Good patterns for a 7, and didn't have to double-step once (besides the step-jump patterns). Was simple, but was not boring. Just a nitpick: thought that the freeze arrow in measure 38 should end 1/2 beat earlier, so that the next step doesn't follow immediately after. HEAVY (17 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 14 out of 15 - Comments: These were exactly what I was imagining when I was playing light and standard. Steps go right with the song, but the usage of jumps and mines keeps things interesting. Only problem I had with this was the usage of "x-xx-xx-x-x-x" patterns. While they fit, it could have used some variation - possibly with soem freeze arrows or more mines. CHALLENGE (16 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 13 out of 15 - Comments: Follows the trend of professionality. The freeze arrows, mixed with the hands, could have appeared less frequently. The 16th-streams near the end fit pretty well, and are not too hard given the BPM. While there is no need for double-stepping, it can be hard to tell which foot to start on following measure 13 because of the jumps. Very enjoyable overall. Tilt: TILT (9 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 5 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: Very well made - what impressed ne the most was the clever crossovers that required no double-stepping at all. Much consideration was taken into that, and it shows. A little clean up with a few of the freeze arrows, and it would be 100% awesome. +1 for beginner chart (little overkill with the jumps, though). TOTAL SCORE: 89 out of 100 ***************************************** Have You Ever Been Mellow - Party Animals ***************************************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Very "bouncy" song. Actually like this one better than the one in DDR. Also liked how, even though it is almost two minutes, it did not feel too long. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Interesting choice of text for the artist - I like it. Unfortunately, the title is not so easy to read. The ITG theme also cuts off part of the "H". BACKGROUND (5 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The horizopntal line theme, mixed with the text and the shadow text, made it somewhat hard to read. Also, there is no artist text. The text was placed very nicely. Stepcharts: BASIC (12 out of 15) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 12 - Comments: Was pretty good for a 5. Only problem was that it was really repetitive. Seemed to have gotten a little freeze-happy near the end as well. Liked the stream of notes, but felt like it needed more variation. STANDARD (18 out of 20) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 15 out of 17 - Comments: The freeze arrows were both good and bad. The section that starts on measure 33 is fantastic (no pun intended), just wish there was a few more mines. When the chorus was going, it felt like the freeze arrows were in abundance, and just left the player hangin'. Mixing up the steps near the beginning and end to match both the beat and the lyrics would have had a better flow. HEAVY (22 out of 25) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 19 out of 22 - Comments: Enjoyed it overall, but had a few things to work on. Noticed a fair amount of double-stepping between some steps, and the middle part is too similar with the standard steps. Mines helped highlight the middle part and make the long 8th-note runs more interesting (although they need a little variation in there). Felt pretty complete, overall. Tilt: TILT (8 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 5 out of 7 - Final Comments: Pretty solid overall, definitely a keeper. The video is hilarious. Main things to focus on would be variations during long runs, and making sure steps do not force double-stepping. TOTAL SCORE: 84 out of 100 ********************************** I Wanna Talk About Me - Toby Keith ********************************** Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 3 out of 5 - Comments: A funny song, but is somewhat catchy. A little on the short side, but that's not a problem. Hard to see how there is going to be variation in the steps, based on the song. Graphics: BANNER (4 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 1 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Not really something that would be seen on an arcade machine. The text was essentially the same for both the artist and title, and the title is cut off. The text effects also made it hard to read. BACKGROUND (5 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: While the artist and title look good together, they are in a place where the targets and the "%" cut it off. Also, The text is pretty hard to read (too much "emboss," I think). Background was different (poster idea was pretty cool). Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: Pretty good, only thing is that it is definitely a 3 - too much consistency for a 2. Also had a few too many freezes for a light chart. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 11 - Comments: Noticed a little double-stepping, but not a lot. Felt pretty consistent, but was a 6 - too much for a 5. The 1/2 beat freeze arrows are also not needed, and only makes things look more complicated. Fit well with the song, but now with the difficulty. HEAVY (11 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Anything more complicated than a 16th-note should not be seen in a 7. The weird patterns and complicated drills are 8-material. Noticed a good deal of double-stepping, as well as some great crossovers. Mines near the beginning were not necessarily needed. Same problem with the short 1/2 beat freeze arrows. Could not get into this one. CHALLENGE (11 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 15 - Comments: Had to focus a lot on double-stepping, as opposed to enjoying the steps. The hands also got out of hand near the end, and it became a game of trying to cheat the (way too many) short freeze arrows to hit the third arrow. Mines could have been better utilized, as they felt annoying (not the 4 mines in a line, though - they were great). Some of the more complicated patterns didn't feel right; keeping them to 16th's may have been better to do. Overall, didn't find this enjoyable due to the double-stepping, short freezes, and the hand-happy sections. Tilt: TILT (4 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 3 out of 7 - Final Comments: Main issues to focus on for this one is making sure none of the steps force the player to double-step, and that the hands do not force the player to tie themselves up in a knot. Easier difficulties were alright, but they were too hard for their labels, and needed simpler patterns. Didn't feel like arcade-material. TOTAL SCORE: 64 out of 100 ************** Identity - SHK ************** Song: SONG (11 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 1 out of 2 - Creativity: 2 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: O2 Jam songs, while not creative, do give way for great pad steps. The beginning could have been cut out, as it makes the first step over a quarter of a minute to come. Even though the original mp3 is loud, normalizing the volume would have been a big plus. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Love O2 Jam graphics, and the banner cut you used is great. The two points were docked because the "I" was cut off, and it was a direct cut from the babkground (or incredibly similar). BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Awesome background. Although you had no control over this, the title is cut off by the "Round " oval. Great for an O2 Jam background, but would need alteration to be seen in ITG. Stepcharts: BASIC (4 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: Had mixed feelings about this one. There were parts where it felt like a solid 3, but most of it was about 5 or 6 material. The freezes with the quarter steps, the numerous 8th steps, and turning near the end should be seen at the standard level, at the lowest. Having the steps match the simple melody (the two 8th notes) was a good idea, just not for this difficulty. STANDARD (8 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 11 - Comments: These steps were still incredibly hard for a 5. The long 8th streams (especially ones that ended with a jump), mixed with the numerous jumps can easily throw an intermediate player off. Ignoring the difficulty, I did enjoy this chart. The half-a-beat freeze arrows were not necessary, though. HEAVY (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: The beginning was great, up until measure 19. Then it became pretty repetitive with the 8th-note steam with jumps. The few mines in that area also felt like they were there just to be there. The arrows during the speed up is also a negative - unexpected and hard to get. Found the part with the offbeat jumps quite enjoyable. Also had more half-beat freeze arrows that weren't necessary. Hard, but nice, finale.2y CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Well, the difficulty averages out to a 12. The beginning parts felt about a 10, maybe an easy 11, but the runs made it feel like Summer on expert. Nice death run, like Delerium. Measures 57 - 65 felt iffy; the freeze arrows were too short to matter, and the steps in measure 57 and 58 could use some refinement. Enjoyed how you used jumps to match the piano parts near the end. The last hand was also neatly placed. However, hands during the fast speed up is not enjoyable. Tilt: TILT (5 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 3 out of 7 - Final Comments: The BPM changes were pretty cool; added variety. The sample cut could have been much cleaner (start right on the melody). The steps need some refinement, in general, but there is a load of potential for this author. Good job at making challenge really hard, but not a KB-only chart :). TOTAL SCORE: 67 out of 100 *************************** Inner Universe - Yoko Kanno *************************** Song: SONG (9 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 2 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 2 out of 5 - Comments: Don't see the potential in this song - it is mellow throughout the entire song, and right when it started to get interesting, it ended. Also, the ending felt a little abrupt. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Pretty well done. Only thing is that the U and N are a little hard to read. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Enjoyed the background (nice correlation with the banner), but the text seems pretty plain. Stepcharts: BASIC (5 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 2 out of 7 - Comments: Well, it was fit for a 5. However, it was incredibly repetitive. The parts with the jumps was overkill - hitting 57 jumps in a row is pretty painful. Also, the 8th-notes felt random. They should have done with the backbeat of "x-xx-xx-xx-xx-etc". Too many turns in here forced the player to turn 360 degrees. Huge room for improvement. Mix up the beats, and put breaks in there now and then. STANDARD (6 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 4 out of 11 - Comments: Best way to improve this chart would be to start over. Had the same problem with the jumps, and (like light) it was hard to see what the steps followed started at measure 44. The amount of double-stepping is unbearable, as I was forced to worry more about not turning 360 than enjoying the chart. Was hard to follow the steps used near the beginning (this is also due to the song itself). Most of the song was 8th-streams - need to cut those out and mix them up with stuff - freezes, jumps, mines, anything. Could not get into this one, and was hard to understand the reasoning behind the steps. HEAVY (9 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 15 - Comments: The same problems that reoccured in standard was also seen here. Enjoyed how you mixed up the jump section with the 8th notes, but still way too many jumps. Also, all of the 32nd and 48th notes were not needed in a mellow song like this. Throughout most of the chart, I was faced with the problem of double-stepping. While the 16th-steps may follow the music, it is hard to fear it and makes it hard to follow. Liked the "x--xx--xx" pattern, and was a good variance. However, more patterns were needed, rather than the large 8th-stream. CHALLENGE (8 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 15 - Comments: Needs improvement. All of the 32nd's and 48th's were not needed. Not as much double-stepping as heavy, but still a good amount. The mines could have been varied a good deal to give it more of a "minefield" feel. Measure 33 also doesn't not follow the music. The usage of the 16th-streams felt arbitrary, as there was little variation in the song itself throughout. Unfortunately, the song did not give you a lot to work with, as far as 11 material is concerned. The crossover in the beginning (with the down arrows, then up arrows) was clever. Overall, this felt like an overkill attempt to make hard challenge steps. Tilt: TILT (3 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 2 out of 7 - Final Comments: The number one reason who this got the score it did is because of the song. Not the type that would be seen in a music game. As a result, most of the steps felt forced, and many of them did not make sense (the 32nds and 48ths). Need to add variation between the three charts - every set was similar (especially with the jumps). Also check for double-turning; if you are forced to turn 360 numerous times in a run, it is not very enjoyable. TOTAL SCORE: 53 out of 100 *************** Jump - Angelina *************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Fun song. Only problem is the bass - it is rather loud and annoying after a while. Graphics: BANNER (4 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 1 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Well, given the background, it's hard to make something that mixes well. The text was pretty simple, and the location of both texts left the rest of the banner with nothing. BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Better job with this one. The text, while not enhanced with effects, mixes very well. Someone playing on the 2P side would have a hard time knowing, though, since the targets cut off the title text. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Very fun to play. It is a solid 3 (not a 2), and the mines were used perfectly, for light steps. If the player hit one, they recognize they are bad and have ample time to avoid the following ones. Despite the title, it would have been nice if a few less jump steps were in there, and have some more consecutive, flowing steps. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 11 - Comments: Fun, and innovative with the usage of the mines. However, more breaks were needed inbetween jumps and the streams. The 8th-notes were also too much for a 5. While there is no double-turning (or not a lot), s number of the steps were ambiguous as to which foot to use, making it slightly confusing for standard players. Good rhythms used, but the main melody seemed to have been copied and pasted right at the end too. HEAVY (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Pretty fun - would be something I'd play in an arcade. The freeze roll should have been a simple one - like the kind you see in Renaissance. Mild double-stepping was used, but the jumps were used wisely. The middle felt a little mellow, and needed to have something exciting in there (when the bass is really noticable). Would have been nice to follow the vocals more in the middle (felt weird the way it is in this chart). CHALLENGE (14 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: Needs a little tuning up. The freeze arrows should be slightly shorter, however the one with the LR jump was great. Mines were good, but used a little too much in the main melody. Jumps led to some more double-stepping, as well. Liked how it matched the vocals for the most part. Tilt: TILT (7 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 5 out of 7 - Final Comments: Slightly higher than the average in this simpack, but has the potential to shine. Focus on the flow of the song, making sure there is little confusion on which foot to hit which step with. Could have done without the freeze roll, and freezes need to be fixed up a little. Other than that, it was great. TOTAL SCORE: 78 out of 100 ********************** Kiss Me - Debbie Scott ********************** Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 2 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Nice PIU song (though I've never played it), but was one of the more mellow songs to choose from. Pretty repetitive, but it's not so bad, given it's fairly short. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: So glad you didn't include the BPM, as PIU banners do. Placement of the text is a little odd, but catchy. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Pretty cool background. Like with Identity, you don't have any control over this, but the BPM is included here. Wouldn't be seen in ITG. Stepcharts: BASIC (7 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: Nitpick, before I forget: measure 25 needed a note there - it's a big downbeat. Despite the low combo, it felt more like a 4, with the with the numerous 4th-note streams. Ignoring the difficulty, I found this one to be pretty enjoyable, but needed some more. Freeze arrows could have been used to mimick the vocals, and a jump or two wouldn't hurt. Good job on the no double-stepping! STANDARD (7 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 11 - Comments: Going with the vocals is good, but when it's the only thing that is going on for most of the song, it hurts a lot. Going with the vocals made the steps too chopped up, with weird breaks between each segment. Also, the 8th-streams were way too high for a 5. A few here and there is good, but not in the concentration used in this chart. Glad to see no double-stepping. HEAVY (12 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 15 - Comments: Going with the vocals again had the same effects as it did on standard. Need to focus on how to mix the background beat in with the vocals, to create more interesting patterns that are more consistent. A lot of the steps, although do not force you to double-step, felt random. Couldn't find any general "patterns", except for following the vocals. CHALLENGE (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Same problems as with the other two, but not as much. Glad to see a few steps go with the background, but not enough. Also, the 16th streams felt too long - at first there was no drum roll to go with them. Going with the vocals also called for weird steps, such as in measures 39 and 40. The jump-step-jump-step section in the end could do without the mines. The rest of the mines were in good places, though. Tilt: TILT (6 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 4 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: Given it's a PIU song, this chart was definitely not lived up to its fullest. What did it was the steps that go with the lyrics. Only going to them is never a good thing, especially in this case when the rhythm is weird. If they were blended in with more basic ptterns that fit with the background beat, it would dramatically increase its fun factor. +1 for beginner steps. TOTAL SCORE: 70 out of 100 ******************************( Mario Takes A Walk - Jesse Cook ******************************* Song: SONG (10 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 2 out of 5 - Comments: The ending was pretty abrupt. The song gives way for interesting patterns. However, the gap was pretty off - had to change it from 0.23 to -0.01. The style of the song also makes it hard to step. Graphics: BANNER (4 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 1 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Was generous on giving the point for format, when the banner is 256x80, but was harsh on the text. The artist is missing, and the title is not well places. While it makes it easy to read due to the background, it would look weird with artist text anywhere. BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Background looks like a good introduction into a music video. Text seems a tad small, and the artist text is missing. Stepcharts: BASIC (6 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: Main gripe with this one is that most of it is just the slow 4th note stream. Not much goes on with this song - introducing some freeze arrows would have made it more interesting. There was a number of times where I had to double step to prevent me from turning 360 degrees. One of those where the steps would fit in any song - nothing stood out. Break up the streams, add a couple more jumps and some freeze arrows, and it would be more enjoyable. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: This one was more enjoyable, but had a great deal more double- stepping. Liked how the 8th-note streams fit in with the more "chaotic" melodies. Very conservative with the freeze arrows, but they were used at the right time. Have to focus more on the positioning of the player and preventing 360 turning. HEAVY (12 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 15 - Comments: A pretty solid 9, in difficulty. Technicality wise, there are major improvements that need to be done. Not so much double-stepping, as with the other ones, but it was still noticable. Main killer was the offbeat notes. There were no need for the 48th notes used in this chart, along with the 24th's. Felt pretty bland as well - only three freeze arrows used, and there were no jumps. A slow song like this could really take advantage of jumps. CHALLENGE (13 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 15 - Comments: This felt more like a hard 10, as opposed to an 11. The difficulty seemed concentrated on the part with the with the 32nd-run, and measures 17 - 21. The mine rows were somewhat effective, but could have been used in more strategic locations (parts where it's just 4th-notes). The offbeat arrows are also seen in this chart - while they sound on with the assist tick (after adjusting the gap), they fit better in 16th's and 12th's, and the offbeat arrows make the patterns look really confusing. Little double-stepping in here (actually liked the crossovers used). The part with the 24th-run is good, but makes it hard to read on slower speeds. Tilt: TILT (5 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 3 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: Do not be afraid to use jumps and freeze arrows. The lack of them in this simfile restricted its ability to catch people's interest. Little work needs to be done with double-stepping, but the main focus is getting the correct beats. Granted this song is hard to get rhythm-wise, it can be done with just 16th's and 12th's (with the exception of the 24th's and 32nd's streams). +1 for beginner steps (little hard for a beginner 1, but not overkill). TOTAL SCORE: 66 out of 100 ******************************* Multiball - Machinae Surpremacy ******************************* Song: SONG (11 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 2 out of 5 - Comments: Machinae SUpremacy always has good music for ITG - can come up with very creative patterns. However, the mp3 cut is really aprupt (you hear the note, then it gets cut off), and the bpm is slightly off - the notes get out of sync near the end. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: The cut for the background is good, and has a lot of potential. The effects used on the text makes it incredibly hard to read BACKGROUND (6 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Pretty nice picture used, like the banner. Still felt the text was hard to read, though. The location of the artist and logo felt arbitrary. Stepcharts: BASIC (4 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: If the steps to this were at it's normal BPM of 150, it may be suited for a 5. However, the speedup made the 4th-runs a lot to handle. A lot of double-stepping was going on, and there was an excessive amount of freeze arrows in this chart. Don't think this would be the type of light chart people would enjoy. Overall, needs to be more mellow. STANDARD (8 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 11 - Comments: The fast speed of this song makes it a solid 9. The hands were placed in great spots. Incredible amount of double-stepping - it felt like the main focus was which foot to start off the next step pattern with. Also, the 1/2 beat freeze arrows in the beginning are not needed. A lot of steps need to be changed around in order to make this one really stand out. HEAVY (11 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 15 - Comments: Felt more like an 11. Freeze arrows in the beginning need some tune up, along with some of the steps (the odd 32nd's and 64th's were offbeat). At 300 BPM, a 16th-long freeze arrow is not even going to be noticed, but they are used a lot. The steps also felt a bit arbitrary at times, streams just to increase the difficulty. Freeze arrows like in measure 92 are good, while the ones used similar to measure 34 makes things confusing. Had to double-step a great deal to prevent from turning 360 degrees, which is not good with a song with such high BPM. Lose most of the freeze arrows, and make the steps a little more predictable, and it would be much better. CHALLENGE (8 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 15 - Comments: People who are playing this want something straight-forward, as a 300 BPM song is purely a stamina song. The stamina was clearly seen, which makes this possibly a 13. However, the amount of 360 turns embedded within the runs were unbearable. All over the place there were double-stepping, and at 300 BPM that is killer. There were also "built-in" double-stepping, such as the Pandemonium "step-step-jump" patterns, and jumps at the end of an 8th-note run. The freeze arrows need to be but in the beginning, since freezes that short are ineffective. While this may be possible to do on a pad, it would not be a fun one to do - the player is forced to turn in all directions and focus on which foot to use for the next step, which can't be registered well at such high speeds. Tilt: TILT (3 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 1 (+1) out of 7 - Final Comments: +1 for the beginner steps; although it is probably a 3 in difficulty, it fits well with the song. It is easy to get carried away with a song like this, and that is what happened. My suggestions would be to play back the song with a lowered music speed, and check to see if you are forced to turn 360 degrees. Also, any freeze arrow that can't be missed and is not part of a stream of freezes that force you to turn, should not be in the stepchart. TOTAL SCORE: 56 out of 100 *************************** Namida Girl - Miki Fujimoto *************************** Song: SONG (14 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: A different type of song, but definitely see the potential for the charts in this one. Felt a tad early later throughout the song, though. The BPM changes went right with the song. Graphics: BANNER (6 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: While not my favorite banner, it looks pretty professional. Love the title text, and only thing that may make the artist text be more appealing would be to change the opacity and move it a little higher. BACKGROUND (8 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Could completely see this on an arcade machine. Sucks that I had to wait until the end of the song to see it :(. Stepcharts: BASIC (9 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 6 out of 7 - Comments: Pretty solid overall. At 170 BPM, it's easy to go overboard with the light steps, but that isn't what happened here. Kept a good rhythm with the steps. Could use a little less sream though, considering the BPM. Also, felt like it needed a few more jumps. STANDARD (12 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 10 out of 11 - Comments: Was pretty easy to follow. Felt pretty hard for a six, especially with the "-xxx-xxx-xxx-" 8th-notes. Difficulty aside, I loved it. Needed a little more variation with the steps - with the "x-x-xx-x-x-x" steps. Goes with the beat, but maybe throw in a freeze arrow or two to mix it up. HEAVY (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: Main complaints about this one is the stream. Felt like too many 8th-note runs were in there to increase the difficulty, even though it fits with the song. The speed up felt pretty rough for a 9 - maybe simplifying it to something like "xxxx--xxxx--xxxx"? The freeze arrows felt good the frist time through, but needed something else the second and third time. Enjoyable overall. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: The freeze arrow and mine section really made this one enjoyable. However, the rest of the chart needed some variation. The beginning part was filled with uneventful 8th-note streams. Mixing them up like you did closer to the end with the jumps was needed. THe speed up was great. Also, almost all (if not all) the mines are on the beat. Mix them up a little - for example, with the freeze arrows and mines, it would have had a better effect if the patterns were like this (making it harder to read): steps: "x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x" mines: "x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-" Tilt: TILT (8 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 6 out of 7 - Final Comments: Very solid entry. The speedups and BPM stops really added color to this chart. Didn't have any problems with double-stepping, which was a relief. Overall, it felt like it needed some variation throughout. TOTAL SCORE: 87 out of 100 ***************************************** Satellite - Oceanlab feat. Justine Suissa ***************************************** Song: SONG (13 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 4 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 3 out of 5 - Comments: Love this song, been a favorite of mine recently. BPM is dead-on. The chorus in the middle is hard to step, though, as it is mostly just her singing. Hard to work with almost 30 second of little beat. Fade out at the end shouild be changed to have a more "definite" ending. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 1 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Background was perfect. If the text was smaller (both the title and the artist get cut off) and the artist was easier to read, it would have been flawless. BACKGROUND (5 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Still had a rough time reading the artist text. While the picture used is great (especially for this song), it should have been cropped and resized to get rid of the black on top and bottom. Stepcharts: BASIC (6 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 3 out of 7 - Comments: Biggest plus is that you used the 8th-notes sparingly. There were a number of patterns where double-stepping was needed, though. The freeze arrows in measure 20 didn't feel needed (especially the last one). The steps also come pretty early in measure 22, and the follow steps after feel completely arbitrary. Measure 37 and on were pretty well done, with the exception of double-stepping. STANDARD (10 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 11 - Comments: Found this one pretty enjoyable. Was a little sketchy in the middle, though. Best thing to do in that situation is to keep the notes very simple. Beginning was good, but was begging for something new shortly after. HEAVY (10 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 8 out of 15 - Comments: Improvement needs to be done here. Double-stepping right in the beginning (the URD-URD-URD pattern should have been mixed around). Did enjoy some of the 270 degree turning shortly after. However, it became quickly repetitive and hard to follow once the beat faded away. Measure 22 - 26 have no beat behind it, so it feels like the steps are following nothing. Would recommend using the same patterns used in standard for this part. Measure 31 and on was also hard to follow, and measure 36 on is on is one continuous stream. Would recomment breaking this up into different patterns, as this feels like a solid 9. Also had a lot of 360's during this stream. CHALLENGE (10 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 15 - Comments: Could see where you were trying to blend the vocal and beat together in the beginning, but it didn't work out. The half-beat freeze arrows only made the steps look harder, and felt like a distraction. The jump-step-jump patterns were fun, but shouldn't have been mixed with the freeze arrows. Also found the short 16th-stream before the vocal solo creative. As with the heavy steps, the vocal solo felt like notes were just thrown in. Long freeze arrows that match the vocal would have been ideal. Some of the steps were also offbeat (such as in the end of measure 28). The rhythms used after were good, but the quarter-long freeze arrows were not needed. The last melody felt like there were another step or two used in each measure that did not fit - it felt a little off. Also, the steps should have stopped at measure 61. Tilt: TILT (4 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 1 out of 3 - Other: 1 (+2) out of 7 - Final Comments: There is much room for improvement here. Most of the suggestions I've mentioned in the chart reviews. Main issues to work on would be making sure to not put a lot of steps where there is almost no beat. Also, make sure that there are no steps that force you to turn 360, especially during atreams. Added two points for all 4 doubles charts. While the same problems showed up in the doubles charts, they had a couple good momoents. TOTAL SCORE: 63 out of 100 ***************** Speedy Cat - Y&Co ***************** Song: SONG (12 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 2 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 4 out of 5 - Comments: Pretty interesting song - definitely my type of music :). Feels slightly long, though. It felt like a couple of sections could have been cut out to reduce to the time and repetitiveness. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Interesting cut, but the text was cut off and colors made the "cat" hard to read. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 2 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 4 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Enjoyed the background quite a bit. The "155 BPM" was not needed, though. Text looks great! Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 15) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 12 - Comments: Liked how you tried to introduce hands in this light chart, but it was executed poorly. Way too many triple steps in this one; One or two is good, but only if there was a lot of space before and after. The spaceing between notes were instead put between areas that were not too hard, making it somewhat boring. Also used the step-jump-step pattern too much. Would have been better to leave hands out in general. STANDARD (11 out of 20) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 17 - Comments: Very triple-happy with this chart, and it's overkill by far. The main issue with them is that they are one right after another, and that they are in the middle of a bunch of other arrows. If they were isolated and by themselves, they would be alright. Also, the usage of jumps were sloppy, and they felt thrown in to increase the difficulty. A good deal of double-stepping was necessary as well, due to the positioning of the arrows. Was not enjoyable overall. HEAVY (9 out of 25) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 2 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 22 - Comments: Lots of problems with this one. Would have been better off making this the challenge steps, and putting in easy heavy steps. The usage of triples were overused, and were a killer in the 8th-stream later on in the song. Also, a lot of the steps didn't seem to follow, and were thrown in for difficulty's sake. The beginning was begging for 16th's streams, but instead there was an 8th-stream with jumps. Also had to turn 360 way too much in this chart. The freeze rolls were also arbitrarily placed - they did not shape the song in any form. Felt too arbitary and inconsistent in general to really be enjoyed. Tilt: TILT (2 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 0 out of 3 - Other: 2 out of 7 - Final Comments: Need a lot more work in order for this to shine. I'm hoping this was just an experimental simfile to see how the usage of triples will work, becuase they were what did it for this sim. Focus on making the steps follow the music more, making it more enjoyable. Hands or triples in easier charts is ok, but only if they were heavily isolated, which they weren't. They felt unpredictable and arbitrary. Freeze rolls should also be used very sparingly, only in a part where it feels appropriate. Gimmicks can help make or break a simfile, and unfortunately it was the latter in this case. TOTAL SCORE: 54 out of 100 ************************** Startin' - Ayumi Hamasaki ************************* Song: SONG (13 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 3 out of 4 - Playability: 5 out of 5 - Comments: Steps fealt dead-on, no synching issues. With the slower BPM, two minutes is not bad, but felt slightly dragged near the end. Good cut, but forced the steps to come way too early (started on measure 4 would have been ideal). Graphics: BANNER (4 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 1 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 2 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Main problem was with the positioning of the text. The color was great and fit well with the background, but both artist and title text were cut off by the ITG theme. BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Actually found this one to be pretty catchy. While the text was big, it felt appropriate. The artist text was placed well, but still stood out a good deal. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 10) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 5 out of 7 - Comments: Pretty enjoyable. Very consistent, with keeping patternts similar while keeping the arrows different. Liked the long freeze arrow part, but would feel more suitable for a 5. The crossover that start on measure 8 is good, but pretty hard for just basic steps. STANDARD (12 out of 14) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 9 out of 11 - Comments: Almost flawless. Clever usage of the 16th-notes. Felt a little easy at first, but glad it became harder during the second half. Only gripe would be the mines. Great place to put them, but having them after the freeze arrow makes it feel awkward (due to slow BPM). HEAVY (17 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 14 out of 15 - Comments: Quite enjoyed this one. Only a few things I would nitpick at: Measure 23 and the last measure felt boring, with no arrows on that last beat. The mines were also a late reaction, coming three slow beats after. The jumps in measure 8 and 9 felt a little off, but is not too big a distraction. CHALLENGE (15 out of 18) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 12 out of 15 - Comments: For the most part, it felt like a genuine 11. Could use some work on the mine usage though; seemed like most of them were groups of two in the same "direction." Some of them appeared to be put arbitrarily. The crossovers were what really made this one enjoyable, along with the trips. Tilt: TILT (9 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 3 out of 3 - Other: 6 out of 7 - Final Comments: Defintely a keeper. Only suggestions would be to keep working on mines, and to not start the steps on the first beat of the song. Graphics-wise: Positioning of the text to accomodate for ITG Theme. TOTAL SCORE: 85 out of 100 ********************************** Stickshifts and Safetybelts - Cake ********************************** Song: SONG (11 out of 15) - Bitrate/sound: 2 out of 2 - Creativity: 3 out of 4 - Length/cut: 4 out of 4 - Playability: 2 out of 5 - Comments: Liked the slowdown in the BPM at the end, but the steps became pretty late near the middle and closer to the end. The voices also did not provide for interesting steps (the numerous BPM changes and the 12th's and 16th's to match the lyrics felt off). Wasn't exactly an ITG-ish song, but was a good change. Also, the cut was great, and length was perfect. Graphics: BANNER (5 out of 7) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 1 out of 3 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: While the text was nicely placed, it could have been enhanced a good deal. Picture doesn't seem like a good one to use in the background (hard to place text in). BACKGROUND (7 out of 8) - Song/Author title: 3 out of 3 - Aesthetic appeal: 3 out of 4 - Format/size: 1 out of 1 - Comments: Great usage of the title and artist! Feels like a weird picture to use for a background, though. Stepcharts: BASIC (8 out of 15) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 7 out of 12 - Comments: Good usage of freezes (matches the voices well). Also, jumps were very enjoyable. However, the 8th notes were excessive. A few are alright, but the "xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx" patterns were overkill. Felt more like a 6. Had to resort to double stepping a number of times as well. STANDARD (12 out of 20) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 1 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 11 out of 17 - Comments: Enjoyed the jumps in this chart - made things jumpy and fun. The difficulty is heavily underrated. The long 8th-note streams were way too much, especially with the double stepping. Going with the lyrics can be tactical, but didn't work in this sense. The BPM changes and the voice gave way to too many 12th's and 16th's. HEAVY (20 out of 25) - Bug-free/Difficulty: 3 out of 3 - Fun/technical: 17 out of 22 - Comments: Much better job with being consistent in this chart. The steps felt better placed, and the rhythm worked. Going with the lyrics made a few parts pretty bland. Enjoyed the 8th note streams, and loved the triple freeze hold (although that may be a little much for a 9). Still needs improvement on double stepping, though. Tilt: TILT (5 out of 10) - Enjoyable: 2 out of 3 - Other: 3 out of 7 - Final Comments: While I thought the steps were alright, the difficulties were highly underrated and going with the lyrics was not beneficial in this case. Main area to work on would be double-stepping: in all difficulties I found myself guessing which foot I should use next. Subtle crossovers are great (like the end of the heavy chart), but too many steps went in a circle. Last tidbit: start the steps later in simfiles. TOTAL SCORE: 68 out of 100 **************** Well, I hope that these comments have been helpful to everyone who entered. Sorry if I sound a little harsh at times, but wanted to point out where I thought there was room for improvement :).