Z-I-v Summer Contest 2019

I do plan on doing a new contest in the Fall, so you could enter in that if you want.

Themes are made well in advanced so this was sadly a case of bad timing.

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It's my birthday week, so a week off from making simfiles works for me. I need a vacation from watching Cowboy Bebop while making stepcharts at 4 am in the morning.

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Fabulous! I'll be there!

Hey everyone, we're still waiting on a couple quick fixes to nail down votes and get results out for the last week--at this rate they'll likely be somewhat late, so please stand by!

Heeeey, okay, we got there.
Week 9 votes are officially in. Missing a couple people, and some counts were off a bit to start, but we made do.
Link to the spreadsheet is right here. (SHIFT is on there just for the votes that didn't switch over in time.)

In a solid victory, this week's VIP winner is ohaiimian! Back in the zone, eh? (2nd and 3rd are Gameoson and djVERTICAI okay nothing to see here move along)

Here are the numbers for this round:

20 ohaiimian Guaranteed into VIP Round
15 Gameoson
12 djVERTICAI
10 VanEden
8 Pandemonium X
6 ledgam3r1279
4 mf32892
3 talkion
2 SomethingRandom
1 KevinRocker10

Leaderboard
123 djVERTICAI
98 Gameoson
58 TikalFan9000
52 Pandemonium X
51 DigitalBasic
47 VanEden
46 DDRDAIKENKAI
42 talkion
40 ohaiimian
37 ledgam3r1279
26 hooky
18 FoRCeDNaTuRe
17 mf32892
14 Astroman129
10 _|/-\43D
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8 Braeden47
8 Nezemarth
6 Densetsu.EXE
6 Feraligatr
5 KevinRocker10
5 K-Step
4 TonyAkita
3 HealingDMax300
2 brunobg24
2 SomethingRandom
1 NuVirus
0 everyone else (keep trying!)

All right, one more week to go. Just to clarify, (and as I recall) the VIP winners for this last week will be whoever is in the top pair that hasn't had either person make VIP yet--and if it's only one of the two that hasn't yet, then they're in.

Sooooo let's see what happens! Get above that line! See you on the other side~

Wow, LAST PLACE? Thanks for the kind welcome, guys. I wouldn't consider what I made the best simfile I've ever produced, but I certainly didn't expect to perform this poorly. I can't believe I lost to a handful of clearly amateur efforts when I've had extensive experience as a simfile author in the past. Not so sure how much I really want to partake in the Fall contest anymore.

Also, "Make Me Feel" was robbed.

You should participate! The more participants the better, imo.

The voters are stupid asses.

The reason to enter contests is because it's a competition of quality. I and "Make Me Feel" lost to simfiles that had bad graphics and steps that were either ultra-generic or marred by horribly awkward, karaoke-infested patterns. There is clearly no appreciation for the style I like or bring.

I hate sounding like such a sore-losing sourpuss, but the results of this round give me a horrible impression of how much I really belong here. Getting last when I was legitimately expecting to be near the top, particularly after such a long hiatus, is an absolute slap in the face, no matter how much anybody tries to sugarcoat it.

It may just be rust from the hiatus?

I would not be discouraged by placing low for your first time entering a contest (in a long time). There is a learning curve when it comes to creating enjoyable simfiles, despite how simple it may appear (placing arrows to the beats). There is also nothing stopping a good simfile artist from having a bad file every now and then.

I've been in a similar spot as you. Follow along how I perform in this contest, for instance (and in fact, it's not my first one). In Round A, even thought it may not have been last place, my file was shockingly badly received. I was indeed shocked by this because I made good simfiles not even a year before this so I got a sense of "why did I bother?". However, in the rest of the weeks, I managed to consistently stay in the top half of files (and even hit top 3 three times). I hold a stance that anyone is capable of becoming a good artist if they try: This has been proven with many people that started out rough and even make it to the top of the results in this contest. TikalFan9000, djVERTICAI, ledgam3r1279, mf32892, Nezemarth, the list goes on.

Also... Even if your files are not that well-liked, if you, the creator of them, are happy with them, that's what matters. I wouldn't say to sacrifice your stepping style just to get more points: The last simfile contest I participating in (Simfile Tycoon 2018), I started noticing that too many songs and charts were alike and rather bland (not helped by it only being the same 10 or so people participating every round. It made getting a song and voting a chore and I lost interest in playing because honestly... there have been much more interesting contests I've joined (Summer Contest 2016, Simfile Shuffle 2015, etc.).

All this is to say, keep trying. As Astro said, the more participants the better.

That's a pretty arrogant attitude to have. People have different tastes, it just so happens that There's a Whole Lotta Lovin' Going On and Make Me Feel didn't quite appeal to this particular (and small) audience. (Actually, I thought Make Me Feel was horrible and I'm surprised to learn someone actually liked it. To each their own, I suppose.) If you want to know why your file did so poorly, you should ask for some reviews instead of just sounding like a sore loser.

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Yeah I changed my mind. Don't feel entitled to votes because you're a long-time player and simartist. You could be a good maker of files and the quality of simfiles tend to decrease (yeah maybe I suck too) but if you're so bothered about it, there's not anything you can do about it.

I've taken part in numerous simfile contests in the past, and never have I come in last place, nor have I even come close to finishing at the bottom. It has nothing to do with rust. At best, the problem is that I chose a song that people didn't like and whose steps were too simplistic. There's no way I deserve to be ranked in the same tier as people who don't even know what DDR is.


I'm fully aware of how much of an arrogant jackass I sound like, but the results here are so messed up that it has done nothing but prove that standards of quality in simfile contests now have completely changed since my generation.

How can you possibly say "Make Me Feel" is that horrible when the placement is clearly controlled and the patterns aren't overly forced or karaoke? Whether or not it's your cup of tea, you can't fault its technical expertise.


It's all you people's opinion, but based on the way the votes were allocated, not just for my own entry, I can say for sure that I do not gel with this community. I will leave it at that.

Can you expect anyone to take you seriously when you waltz back in here out of nowhere and make self-entitled posts like that? It doesn't even matter what your opinion is; your comments didn't do anything constructive. You could've at least asked for feedback like what Gameoson said. Sour attitudes bring down discussion between everyone.

I'm sorry, I'm not really asking for constructive feedback. It's more than the simfile community, albeit not on Zenius, was once a second home to me and I felt that my entries were much more appreciated then. I had missed the experience and wanted to return for old time's sake, and I very much did not expect to perform bottom-of-the-barrel when I still feel confident in my abilities. For me, it goes well beyond simply trying to grow as a simfile author and feels more like a world where I was once loved suddenly betrayed me and sees no value in what I bring anymore. Hate to say it, but that is not an easy thing to handle personally. It's like your family suddenly disowning you after you reach back out to them after spending time away. At this point, I'm not trying to make friends anymore, so I'm just saying everything as openly as possible. If you don't want me, then you don't need me.

I stand by my decision that I'm done participating in or voting in these contests. They used to be personally meaningful to me, now I'm barely even recognized or appreciated.

It...

It's one file that hit the bottom. One.

If it was many files in a row that weren't doing well, maybe I'd understand, but don't be so quick to assume that's how all of your files are going to turn out from now on. ._.

If belittling the rest of the competition because your simfile didn't do so well makes you feel better then by all means, but you won't earn bonus votes for telling fellow experienced simfile artists with many well-crafted files under their belts that they did a bad job.

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there's a lotta love going on wasn't bad, but i felt like "more" could be wasted out of it
wasn't expecting it to get last, though
on another note, the speedups/slowdowns in make me feel were unnecessary and unpredictable
easily my least favorite file of the week

append: on yet another note, graphics are irrelevant from my point of view
there can be a file with the "shittiest" graphics in the world, but if the steps are good, i will vote for it

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Your simfile wouldn't even fit into DDR these days so I'm not sure what point you are making.

Things have changed in the time you've been gone. Adapt in your own way, but don't blame others for the massive changes all around.

I haven't even heard the excuse of "steps too karaoke" in many years either lmao

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My thoughts mostly echo those of Tikal. There were a few ambiguous pattern choices (mainly a lot of use of some extended up/down patterns going out of lr jumps), and I didn't feel like the use of mines was creative enough to bring the file up to a vote. And...


for what you said there, you implemented quite a lot of karaoke stepping in your file too.

As for Make Me Feel, I felt that a lot of the mine placements were headscratchers; they'd be uncomfortable to actually play. The speedup drills looked like a diet Horatio from DDR, and the flow from one set of mines to another were awkward at times. The file's rhythms were also quite inconsistent...

but you got 3 points!
Even for last place, that is not too bad!
there are many other players in last place that truly lost, and I used to be one of them. It just happens, and you have to accept it and move on! If you did submit for Double Trouble, hopefully you'll do amazing! Don't feel bad about this week, I know you expected more and it happens, but keep your chin high!

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This is good to know. I'm pretty old school at heart, so if my work doesn't fit into current standards, then so be it.


There's a difference between occasionally following the vocal or synth melody directly and litetally following the exact same track pretty much all the way through.