ZIv Contest 2025 -FIFTEEN YEARS OF ZIv SIMFILE CONTESTS-

I will be more than happy to take this conversation toward DMs, or my discord account (vective.). I don't intend to cause more drama.

Woo! I have good memories from summer contests! (not really) but I learned a lot throughout the years I participated in. Considering this is a special commemoration, I'd like to be part of it. ♥

and please, do not make a collab week. I don't have any friends here

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You're in! Welcome!

tried to join that Triple Cross server and was instantly banned before i could say anything, so i guess we have that going for us

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the song audio for the edits needs to be the same as the one featured in the original?

When we created (what used to be) the Zenius Contest Discord server in 2021, we did so for many reasons, including the outdated functionalities of old internet forums for discussion, and for possibly having a small alternative community for likeminded people. Over time, the size of our server ballooned and participation exceeded previous records - we had multiple rounds in Summer Contest 2024 that broke 50 files, more than the previous record in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. The actual zenius website ended up being used just for file uploading and management.

In fact, it turned out that what intended to be just a small offshoot, or even just a place to talk about the contests, became its own community that ended up far eclipsing the very low activity that is on the actual site these days. I used to think that this was just caused by how outdated this place is...

...but this thread (and countless previous ones) have shown to me that the reason why our community actually ended up growing, completely independently of this place, was because this forum in 2025 is a small scattered mess of people who hold bitter grudges against others based on fights happening here, or in certain other microscopic adjacent communities and private Discord servers, from all the way over 5 years ago. All of these people either weeded themselves out from our server or just were banned for repeated negative behavior. Everyone else, the people who ACTUALLY are wanting to be in a community that is passionate about DDR, DDR contests, and other rhythm games too, just joined our server and completely abandoned this website.

When my moderators had the idea of rebranding our server and completely abandoning the Z-I-v branding, I initially had small reservations just from a feeling of wanting to preserve tradition - but this thread of pure toxicity has shown once again that this was the best decision we've made in a long time. Goodbye!


If you are interested in joining an active and vibrant community of over 250 people all about DDR, charting contests, and other rhythm games, consider joining the Triple Cross server!

✨ discord.gg/triplecross ✨

We are currently holding the Triple Cross Summer Contest 2025 with over 50 participants - we are currently in the submission period for Week 3 and judging for Week 2 :3



Here is an excerpt of Week 1's participant list - surely some familiar names for you in there ;)

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It says it has to be everything new except the song, but i'm not completely ssure about the song cut itself. I guess it has to be different as well
//
Me quedo con la duda si es obligatorio, pero dice que tiene que ser todo nuevo. Sólo dice que "la cancion" tiene que ser la misma.

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You can COMPLETELY COPY the cut!! The person who made the cut has no rights to the audio UNLESS they are the sole copyright holder of the song (i.e. they made the song or they made a remix of the song). So if you like someone else's edit of Katy Perry's song Roar, you can use any existing cut you find! Hope that answers your question.

However, if you would like to make your own version for the cut, feel free to do so instead! All that matters is that it is the same song.

Sounds like ElectroJuan is asking if they have to copy the cut?

Anyways, just quickly popping in to clarify one thing since I have original music from past contests that can be used for the theme: yes you guys are allowed to step my music for the purposes of this contest. This not only applies to this round and the songs that would be eligible, but for all my music for the entire contest.

That is all. Me go back to living the life I've moved on to and thinking about how I want to handle what has transpired here.

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Quote: forcednature

this thread of pure toxicity

I tried to compile the toxicity on this thread. Let me know if I missed anything.

Quote: Ben Speirs

And to your last point, if this goes ahead, we can just compare the signups and participation levels LOL

Quote: Ben Speirs

The last two events under the ZIv branding we carried out we posted here, and the only people who engaged with it are those who are banned!

Quote: darkanine

It just feels like every contest on there is a popularity contest and year-after-year, the people who win the contest are the people who helped host it in the first place

Quote: Kikoia

You are not owed a chance for redemption, regardless of tenure or emotional investment in a community. The fact that in your petition to us, you couldn't even bring yourself to even name the reason why you were banned at all shows that it wasn't a frivolous ban, or an attempt to make it some kind of popularity contest move.

Quote: Vinylyarou

Woo! I have good memories from summer contests! (not really)

Quote: forcednature

this forum in 2025 is a small scattered mess of people who hold bitter grudges against others based on fights happening here, or in certain other microscopic adjacent communities and private Discord servers, from all the way over 5 years ago. All of these people either weeded themselves out from our server or just were banned for repeated negative behavior. Everyone else, the people who ACTUALLY are wanting to be in a community that is passionate about DDR, DDR contests, and other rhythm games too, just joined our server and completely abandoned this website.

Reminder that the deadline for Round 1 is July 21st. The round will officially start on the 14th, so please do not upload your simfiles until then. I will post the category where you are to upload files, but it will be on Zenius -I- vanisher. Here's a reminder of the theme! You can work on your files now if you want

[Round 1 - ZIv EDIT WEEK]

To meet this theme, you must submit a stepchart to a song that has been previously stepped by someone other than you and uploaded to ZIv. This can be an edit of a DDR XX original, a song from a previous simfile contest, or any other song that does not originate from DDR itself. So no DDR EDITS, but any other song appearing on ZIv is fair game. Feel free to use the search function to see if your song counts for the theme.

I think it goes without saying, but DO NOT COPY ANY OF THE STEPS OR GRAPHICS FROM THE FILE YOU ARE EDITING. Please make a new simfile entirely, just using the same song that they did.

The deadline for Round 1 is July 21st. The round will officially start on the 14th, so please do not upload your simfiles until then.