DanceDanceRevolution A (AC)

Astrogazer chart looks better than the Cytokinesis chart, I hope at least Cytokinesis get a challenge chart to make justice. Nice additions to the DDRA tracks.

The songs aren't bad, but the charts are...not that great.

BPM for Astrogazer seems to be around 154.

Cytokinesis stepchart seems pretty disappointing

but i do like how Astrogazer stepchart works, looks fun!

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FINALLY GOT TO UNLOCK POOCHIE EXPERT

fucking 28 songs in a row / 8 rounds

played babylon too!!!

Astrogazer sounds great, and the chart looks fun as hell. I like how it fits fairly well with the EDM theme they've been going for with DDRA, too.

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Neato.

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Cytokinesis reminds me of S-A-G-A in that it sounds much harder than it actually is, has gradual speedups and slowdowns and is just begging for a Challenge Chart/Edit.

Thoughts on Cytokinesis:
When I heard about this, deep down I was overjoyed that this song made its way into DDR. Hommarju is all over the place with this song, but that's why I like it when I first heard it in Reflec Beat groovin'!!

However!! There are a few things that happened in that chart that shouldn't have happened.

Right from the get-go, somebody tell me how anybody is going to time that speedup from 0:26 onwards...even if there were just 4ths throughout that little section? And that speed-up at around 0:29 was uncalled for. I'm thinking half-BPM and naturally speed up to the next section. But the techno section (starting at 0:32) makes up for it.

The speedup right before the breakbeat part (0:57) was very well handled. However, the same couldn't be said for the steps in the breakbeats section. I felt like it needed to follow the rhythm of the drumkit more. Particularly measures where you only had the "4th 4th 4th 4th-8th-4th pattern" (0:58, again at 1:03) could've used more.

The breakdown with the synth lead (1:12) wasn't handled in the best way IMO, and what makes it worse is that the sudden slowdown at 1:42 was very uncalled for. If anything, what would've been better is to maybe start at half-BPM from 1:12 and speed up from there, or halve the BPM at 1:33 and then speed up. Either way, it would've been nice to see a brief triple/quadruple BPM speedup before the speedcore ending.

Speaking of which, the speedcore ending (1:52) is a freaking mess. If I can think of a more poorly written song/section, it's VDO. And Cytokinesis Expert isn't even a 19 like VDO. The only good thing I could see in that section is the mini-16th bursts thrown in. Otherwise could've done a lot better with long 8th note streams. Either way, the last speedup, let alone the entire song, was not handled well.

Now on to Astrogazer:

First off, that jacket is very well designed! I feel like the sphere in the jacket reminds me of something...

Even for a 16, the chart looks like fun, especially with a mix of 16th streams and 12th streams throughout the chart. The stops at the end were well-placed; I felt like at least one part could've been run at half BPM (maybe songs like this one--Gravigazer dubstep ver.--seem to need at least one section of it. But that's only my personal taste in stepcharts).

The synth in the middle reminded me of The Safari -DJ Totto Remix- for some reason. Maybe it's just me.

The song as a whole seems to be a mix of dubstep and dance...very cool blend indeed.

Overall...a nice addition to Extra Exclusive!

(P.S. I only had so much less to say about this because I've listened to Cytokinesis enough to know what I want in a chart.)

Well, here's hoping S!ck gets at least a semi-decent chart.

Both of your versions are better than theirs. It was my initial thought when watching the video. I was honestly surprised to see it as a 14.

Astrogazer looks really fun! Can't wait to play it next time I go.

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It seems nobody liked Cytokinesis chart. Well, i don't blame you all, because i'm on the same boat

Really i expected more of this chart, trying to follow all the beats but w/e, is just one of many songs with weird charts

Have you forgotten the great saga of NGO, PARANOiA ~HADES~, PR, and DEGRS (all on , of course)? SN2 says hi. Also, OT"P" says hi.

I'll fully admit I'm not a fan of Cytokinesis ending (the patterning is a bit of a mess), but honestly it's not that bad. It's slow enough you can literally just doublestep the entire mess, unlike the songs mentioned above.

EDIT: Just looked at the last stream. Seriously, the patterning on that isn't even that bad - yeah, there's some nasty crossovers, but as long as you orient your feet right you can do that without any doublestepping at all. Nowhere near VDO-quality. Only flaw in my opinion is that it's understepped - it could use a few more 16ths.

As for the slowdown, I have two theories:
1. (short theory) According to RemyWiki, Cytokinesis has a BPM of 111-280 in REFLEC BEAT, which means I think that tempo half-drop was in the original song - it's just REFLEC BEAT doesn't use conventional scrolling so you don't notice it. It may have been "eh, whatever, just leave it that way"
2. (long theory) They also might have been trying to avoid the thing where they force players to read a slower speed mod due to one part being fast - I might be wrong, but if they didn't do the half-tempo, that would've pushed the tempo to 560 BPM or so, and forcing everyone to read 1x to 1.5x for one part of a stepchart is considered really distasteful of a chart, unless you're a MAX series chart.

Even I hate that, and I typically LIKE bpm gimmicks.

Basically, 111-560 BPM is a much bigger tempo range (tempo difference of 449) than conceivably any song outside of boss songs (see: PR, DeltaMAX, 888, VDO, MAX. (Period), OT"P") would conventionally get away with.

Here's what I meant: at 1:33 you get something like "jump...step...jump...step...". What I had wanted to say was, why couldn't they just halve the bpm there so that the speed up feels more like a speed up (in that it feels like the tension--for lack of a better term--is increasing)? They can have a 560 BPM section at the end for all I care, but I still think the slowdown just didn't start at the right spot.

Right before the speedcore ending, I was thinking of a brief triple/quadruple bpm jump like REVOLUTIONARY ADDICT.

Hope this clarifies a couple points I wanted to make!

On top of all of those you mentioned, I still hate Pluto The First more. I agree with everything you wrote about Cytokinesis's S- though, it's really not that bad although not many of us enjoy those kinds of speed change challenges.

Here's the way I look at it: Given that it's an EXTRA SAVIOR song, maybe they wanted most players who tried to unlock the song on to actually clear it and get a feel for the gimmicks, rather than to flat out fail from it being too difficult (and not bother trying again because there's gimmicks while the steps are also hard). For all we know, they could always put a difficulty later to surprise us. I think people's disappointment in general for the chart comes from just having high expectations of it rather than from the chart being unenjoyable or poorly made.

That is a nice gimmick actually. It would make it feel a bit like MEI, I'm guessing. (Wow my typing sucks today...)

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"Nasty crossovers"????? Nephilum Delta is way harsher with its crossovers than this.

Honestly, I enjoy the new stuff. Quite fun and surprising, especially considering I didn't even look at videos of the songs prior to playing them. Cytokinesis is a nice fun song.

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Astrogazer is pretty shit hot.
Cytokinesis is just shit.

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I'm gonna be that guy that disagrees with most people but honestly, I don't mind cytokinesis' chart. Sure the speed changes are a bit different and it's not as difficult as we expected it to be but the chart flows pretty well. I actually kind of like it.

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I do think it needs a Challenge chart. BUT with those speed changes I can't see one being any good.

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It doesn't need a Challenge chart. None of these do.

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I agree with the above statement.

I watched Cytokinesis with headphones in and couldn't work out what most of the steps were going to, there's so much wasted opportunity plus its the one occasion where konami have put a lower bpm than that i'd expected. The gradual speedup after halfway that then halves back down seems REALLY jarring and if anything having it just go faster for an ending would have been a lot more fitting for an Extra Stage track.

The files dont neccesarily need challenge charts but i'm severely disappointed there wasn't SOMETHING new for make a jam, like an extended version or even just a shock arrow chart like what they did for boom boom dollar or something, although i'm definitely happy to see the song back! But it would be nice if a few of them had them anyway just because a lot of the songs are gonna get played for a PFC/MFC then never touched again at their current state.