ZIv's Summer Contest 2010

Each week is a new competition, so yes, you are allowed to join.

Anyone can join. The purpose of this contest is to attract new blood into our simfile community and it's working great if you want to participate.

---

When you have a simfile ready, I'll hook you up so you can submit it..

---

So I went to the r21 tonight with all the Doubles Week sims, intending to play and review them all, and I couldn't load a single one. Turns out r21 has a little programming foible that essentially disregarded the fact that I'd lovingly converted all the MP3's to .ogg, and instead decided I couldn't play them if I accidentally left the MP3 in the folder.

Upshot is, everything's getting Stepmania-reviewed on index, but I will be tracing patterns on my soft pads to check very carefully for awkwardness.

---

Abstract (Radical Mix)
don't be afraid to use pivot crossovers on light charts. Freckles D- is a perfect example on how a D- chart should be
again, don't be afraid to use pivot crossovers. Look at CELEBRATE NITE on D- so you can see how much room you have to play around with standard charts.

Thoughts: This simfile lands a little on the bland side. The song is nice to play, but the charts feel lackluster. There were parts that felt like it could have used more creativity.

Electrify
The chart is too hard to be a four footer. This chart lands in the five/six footer range
I had to check to see if I wasn't playing the This chart is way too hard for . Complex patterns and fast BPM do not help this chart. It's a solid seven footer. The perfect example for a six footer at this speed would be Why not.

Thoughts: The charts are too melodic-driven. I saw the oni chart was a ten so I decided to take a peek into it. It's a nine, not a ten.

Heartbeat
what separates a four footer from a five footer in doubles is the connection in streams. This chart is just as hard as Dynamite Rave, so it's more of a five than a four.
No. It is not a five. Refer to Dynamite Rave to see what five footers are. As with Electrify, this chart is too melodic-driven. This chart is a seven footer.

Thoughts: The charts are fun, but the ratings are very, very misleading. As much fun as I had playing the standard chart, the spins that I made felt unintentional so you may need to look into your step placement when making stepcharts.

In Scottish Highlands
oh great, another misrated chart. Except for Remember You, all doubles charts start with a two footer rating. Sequentially speaking three is harder than two, but easier than four. (2<3<4) People new to doubles should be able to play all two footers and a majority of three footers. I want you to get a person new to playing this game to play this three footer chart.
another misrated chart. This is a seven footer.

Thoughts: This simfile shows little to no experience in making easier charts. The charts are also lacking any pivot crossovers.

at this point, I'm getting fed up with the misrated holic/era-like charts

Losing My Religion
oh hey, a nice refresher. This chart is a four footer and needs more pivot crossovers. Even for a four, it's too melodic-driven. I'm going to infer that the standard chart will be properly rated with a margin of error ±1, and will have the same pivot crossover issue.
ok, ok, not bad. This chart is hard to put a rating on it, meaning that there are parts that should be simplified. This is more of a six footer than a five footer.

Thoughts: This song sounds like that Blue October song that's dedicated to the singer's brother/drummer. As nice as this simfile is, there are parts that need improvement. I find it a little funny how the song's title captures my feeling on these charts.

Never Gonna Come Down
Pivot crossovers will not hurt you either. Personally, I would remove those freeze arrows near the beginning and make it one huge freeze arrow. Working with freeze arrows should be left for five footers, so that newcomers can get used to the pad layout before working on complex rhythms
the beginning is too complex for a standard chart. As a matter of fact, the whole chart would be a great seven footer chart.

Thoughts: The song sample put me off in playing this for a while. I manned up and played it. The song isn't bad, but it's not exactly a song that will catch on right away. You need more experience playing standard charts.

TETRIS
pivot crossovers will not kill you, I promise. The chart was great until the steps started going to the atrocious vocals.
It is a shame that a good chart was wasted on a shit song.

Thoughts: If the standard chart went with the music as much as it can, what else is there to step to for the heavy chart? This is the best chart I've seen out of the entire batch. This song is hard to give a proper rating because of the beginning. If the beginning were simplified, it would be an ideal six footer. Personally, I hate when step authors step until the very end, even when the song is fading out. I would have ended the simfile after the jumps, especially for this song since it's just a minute-thirty-second loop.


I tried my hardest to give positive feedback, I but I grew tired of typing out the same thing over and over. I see potential, but I also see that the entrants have little to no experience in making easier charts. If you have time to make simfiles, you also have time to dabble in doubles charts and seeing doubles charts on autoplay. All of these charts show that you started with Heavy steps and started removing arrows to get the "easier" charts.

Braedon, you're an idiot for submitting a simfile without doubles charts.


So based on chart quality for light and standard, here are my votes:

TETRIS - 3 points
HEARTBEAT - 2 points
Losing My Religion - 1 point


Edit: Total Votes

Abstract - 3
TETRIS - 3

Electrify - 2
HEARTBEAT - 2
Coloris - 1
Losing My Religion - 1

---

I think i read the next theme is anything goes so ill go through all my files and finish one of them up to work me back in

I've added you as a co-owner now Adrei


Proposed, Flower, Wolf Part 2 / ReX (From DJ MAX)
2 4 7 9 (about a 13 on X scale)
http://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/viewsimfile.php?simfileid=10007

---

I'm doing my PATENTED last day rush. Stuff will happen, eventually. Provided I don't get distracted by Top Gear again.

---

Don't you mean the Shagohod? fufufufu*gets shot*

---

It's Review Time with Telperion!!

abstract (Radical Mix)
: Good step density. Reminds me of what ElectroTuned would have been in a different universe. Very, very predictable, though (however, I can't decide whether that's a good or bad thing).
: Haha, I see those Carouselle crossovers. Nice. The chart has a bit of an issue with going back and forth between pads at a very constant pace up until the end, but the rhythm saves it.

Believe
All sarcasm aside, you don't have doubles charts, and therefore there is nothing to review. Sorry, man.

Losing My Religion
: Meh. The copy-and-flip deal isn't good at all on doubles and gets super repetitive. The jumps get kind of weird from time to time - a lot more distance than a 7-footer player would expect.
: Nice patterns (no more than a couple doublesteps, and good use of crossovers, too!), but I wouldn't see myself using this as more than a warmup due to the slow speed and endless streams. I think I just really have started to hate this song, unfortunately :/

In Scottish Highlands
: I just realized you've got BNS. Also, I don't like stringing freezes together on one foot. I think I see what you're getting at with the "walking in Scottish highlands", but a little more variance would be greatly appreciated.
: lol it's ITG. I think it's just a bit overstepped. Lots of 16th rhythms, mostly facing front, OK that was a nice crossover, WTF 16ths WITH FREEZES ON A GUITAR RIFFS? Dude, that's not what they're for. However, coming from somebody who actually plays ITG doubles occasionally, the rhythm is really fun for the song.

So Fabulous!!
: It's got a great sense of humor in the beginning, and I'd really be able to play this up on pads. The end got kind of boring though.
: The patterns were great, but I didn't really feel the blue note section at all. I also had to do a lot of foot trading (i.e. having your left foot on an arrow and realizing your right foot needs to be there, or vice versa), and that's natural for me, but not for most people. Overall, the chart didn't really snag my attention.

Lolitabot (Initial P Remix)
: Also fun. The step placement really fits the song, and nothing's overdone (except for maybe the stomping in the second verse).
: 8D I like this. A lot. Crossovers, well-done freezes, everything. It's harder than END OF THE CENTURY, though, so I'd put it on the high end of 9-footers. That totally doesn't matter, though - the chart is GOOD.

Tetris
: The first bit was a bit boring, but as soon as those freezes came by, I was hooked. Good solid 6, 1P-2P movement is a bit slow but well-done, and the rhythms are excellent.
: OK, this isn't going so bad. Kind of repetitive, but decent patterns, even if I keep feeling like there could be more crossovers AAGH A PARANOiA -Respect- WITH A HALF TURN liking how you brought out the different layers at the end.

Heartbeat
: Ain't a 5 - between the eighth-note bits and the jumps, we're looking at at least a 6 here. The 1P-to-2P action kind of degraded into Holic.
: Doublesteps killed some really interesting patterns. The one time you managed to make the crossover flow into the other pad, it was beautiful, but I wish you'd been able to make it work every time you tried it. The 16ths rhythms after the second chorus weren't right.

LUV TO ME (FROM NONSTOP MEGAMIX)
: A lot of spins, and some of them feel complicated for a 6'. Good movement though, something that's absolutely necessary for any LUV TO ME mix.
: A really well-constructed 9-footer. I like what you did with the 16th-based rhythms before the last chorus, but I know I'd miss all of that the first time I played it. There needs to be more of that abbreviated Afronova walk in doubles charts.

coloris
: There's a few awkward moments around those freezes (which there's a lot of dependence on), and the jumps are a bit far afield for a 7.
: I really, really wish I could have reviewed this on r21 this week. I'm still going to have to take it and see if I can actually navigate those stop patterns...they look really fun. Lots of good pad-to-pad movement.

3y3s (not-so-full version)
: Good ideas. As long as you were in a stream, things were fine, but the repeated red-blue-red patterns are something I'm not a fan of. Personal opinion, though, and I've seen it before.
: Tough for a 9-footer. I wish I was better at spins, but there's no way I can actually get through those eighth-note ones without doublestepping. They look awfully fun, though. Must...skills... Also, the 16th snaps through the speedup is a bit surprising and threw me off.


And my votes:
Lolitabot - 3 pts.
coloris - 2 pts.
abstract (Radical Mix) - 1 pt.



Totals:

abstract (Radical Mix) - 4
coloris - 3
Lolitabot - 3
TETRIS - 3

Electrify - 2
HEARTBEAT - 2
Losing My Religion - 1

---

Oh hey, someone noticed.

---

105-158 BPM, 1/4/6/7, 4/6/8


135 BPM, 2/3/7/9

---

I wasn't satisfled with my entry for this week. Guess I lost my passion or something, because I felt like I was just phoning it in. The reviews I've seen for my past entries haven't helped. So, I'm officially withdrawing it from the Summer Contest. However, I'm still putting up in my own category. Besides, I wanted to try out some things like CD covers and X difficulty ratings. It's here for you to check out:


Sexy Chick / David Guetta feat. Akon [2009]
Single
Classic: 1 3 5: 7
X Meter: 2 4 6 10

---

I'm in!

(click)
SP: 1/4/5/7/9

---

One more:

4
7
8

This is pushing the length, but it was worth it 8)

Only three people have voted for doubles week.

I strongly suggest to impliment the vote or disqualify rule.

---

I'll answer to the reviewers of my file (In Scottish Highlands) because you said a lot of interesting stuff and i want to improve.

:s My most important chart is always the harder one.
I try to make so good/ok charts for the other (i failed apparently for now).
I spent maybe more than 3 hours on the one... and i think you didn't played it... meh

Also, thanks for the advices on the easier charts. I'll try to improve again and again for next time.

The only things i want to argue a bit it's this :
I play double sometimes but the rating on ddr makes no sense at all.
I'm really confused when i'm rating something.

For exemple So Deep is a piss easy 9 (Paranoia is easier but still a 9) and freakles is an hard 7 (lot of good crossovers but omg).
And some charts are... weird...
I rated 6 my chart because of the lack of crossovers (it was on purpose). But i guess you're still right, it's a low 7 (because of the density at the beginning and the end).



Telperion : What is BNS ? :s
I liked when you said "lol it's ITG" :p
Yeah i know that one particular part could seems overstepped. For me, it was a background rythm who goes well with the song (i'm talking about little triplet every mesure). So i know this part could be overstepped.
But for the others, imo, this goes well with the music (intro, end, guitar part).

I used freezes on the guitar part for 3 reasons :
- The notes are long (the lengh of freezes changes because of the lengh of the notes).
- The musical instrument was different and i wanted to show this better.
- Give a little more variety.

Hmm i know what you mean with "Lots of 16th rhythms, mostly facing front" i was a bit scared to do some crossovers on 16th part but maybe i had to try (or at least, more on 8th).
I trough there is still some. I didn't fell the need to do some cross kind of chart even there is some.
I think it was too holic-ish for you ^^

I'll try to work on what you said too. Thanks for the time used for playing the charts and reviewed them

Btw, what hapend with your usb ? My file was R21 ready (song was in ogg and less than 2min).
I played it on a dedicab this weekend (first itg training session in... a year :s).

---

It's a competition and I have my own unorthodox way of reviewing/judging simfiles. In a competition, you should never put your entire focus and energy one one part, because if someone exposes the weaker parts, you're out of the competition. Kinda like a triathlon; concentrate on the running aspect only, and you'll be out of the race when it's time to swim.

And Freckles is an 8 by the way

---

LIKE!!! (not shouting, just for emphasis..hehehe) ow, I forgot this is not Facebook hehehe

---

Yeah i know what you mean and i fully agree with that.

I always try to make something good for the easier charts but my main one is always the hardest one (not because it's hard but because it's the rythms/patern that goes well with the song).

Freckles is a 8 ? S*** i knew i played a 7' on extreme and i was like "uhh that's hard" i trough it was freckles. Maybe it was Fantasy then (lot lot of crossovers but very fun).

---

Fantasy is a 9

---