Official Simfile To-Do List

Oh yeah, I finally fixed the 4thMIX PLUS pack download issue. CELEBRATE NITE and SEXY PLANET should be included now. 😅

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Related to what n00b_saib0t brought up on the previous page: Taj He Spitz (Tommie Sunshine's Brooklyn Fire Re-Touch)'s SM uses the song's jacket as the banner instead of the actual banner.

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I charted the maniac steps already and PM'd al2k4 the steps. (also there are no Maniac double steps)
Steps: https://mega.nz/file/1zEBlLSC#FaYX_3ZRFdizLjTF-iqux0eFhwSak4ae5t6gpE7fd9M
Proof: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvBv4VtRei34w9w367qkmQL4MLCbT04Uq

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Thanks for charting those. I gotta say, after waiting 20 years for these charts only Twilight Zone was actually garbage. Whoever charted Macarena deserves a god damn medal. That ending was some Grade A bait and switch trolling lol.

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So I wasn't sure where best to post this, but I saw the post on the front page by xRGTMx with the intention of overhauling the stepfiles and...

So this is probably well, well outside the scope of what anyone at zenius would want to do, but I always felt like having more choice and control over simfiles would go a long way, if there were a system built for it.

Personally, I try to avoid a lot of the "custom made" banners and jackets; in my personal builds, I have a wide mix of resolutions for banners, just based on what the largest official banner was. the 1st and 2nd Mix files having the transparent DDR X2 images. Some songs from 5th Mix have functionally-not-a-banner banners like the "Oops I did it again" banner that is just "!!!!".

For jackets, I use a wide range of things; for many older mixes, I use the CD images from the games; for songs that don't have that, I just let the background be used.

But I understand my style of doing things isn't for everybody. I'm not a web dev or programmer, but I toyed around with the logistical idea of a website designed to build custom packs for people; letting them even choose what individual charts go into a simfile (as it's EDIT data or what have you) and custom building the SM file. But I realize that's an absurd amount of work that no one would want to do...

So I almost wonder if having some kind of database of images, to allow people to pick and choose as they go, might be useful; and having (at least) 1 "fan made" banner/jacket for songs that need them, as an option. That one Github repository with all the images has a lot of what we'd need for that already, but it seems to be on hiatus.

Similarly, for bgchanges. There's a repository for that, but I'd love to see so much more of it; songs typically have different animations/videos based on what game they appear in, so having options available to select from would be a really cool thing!

I just want to see this happen in a way that it's not a total nightmare for whoever is capable of setting it up. At the same time, I want to make sure it is user friendly; it's nearly impossible for me to update my own simfiles when things change, because of how many small changes I've made (adding in BGchanges, changing formatting on song titles when needed, etc.), so I can't replace files wholesale; and I can't always tell what even has changed in an individual file when it gets updated.

That does remind me, even small things like how a song's title is formatted, changes from game to game, and it'd be nice to make sure we have consistent rules to follow in how we do that; I've noticed the usage of #subtitle is really inconsistent, and I'd like to see that change as well.

I realize what I'm suggesting is probably way too out there, but I'm willing to work with ya'll in whatever way I can.

I'm not really understanding what the qualifiers are for custom backgrounds being replaced. Front page mentions subpar post-SN backgrounds, but it seems like a lot of quality custom backgrounds are being replaced with jacket backgrounds. Is this because the custom backgrounds are 4:3? Or is it just temporary. Also, why do simfiles with BGAs need to have their backgrounds replaced with black pixels?

I have a handful of 4:3 aspect ratio backgrounds I've made I can contribute that come from jacket crop/cleanups/text adjustment

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Majority of the videos especially the MAX-EXTREME style ones from X2 starts with black frame.

All DDR 2013 files except for Tsukematsukeru have been updated.


BUMP: Thanks to razorblade (shoutouts, you're best), DDR X2 has now been updated with the following:

• New official data sync (A20)
• Updated 512x512 jackets
• Various custom banners
• Individual video files (the Download Video Pack is now obsolete and will be removed!)

Note: The Chinese songs, plus the two extra GOLD RUSH versions, have not been updated. Sacred Oath's banner is missing, as there hasn't been a custom banner made for the current jacket design.

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I'm actually bothered by the presence of the Chinese songs, hence the delay hahaha.

I'm having thoughts running inside. I don't know if you guys are ok with my suggestion. I want to remove those Chinese covers *BUT* their audios will be moved to the zip of the original and of course they have different names. Instead of sm files, they will be replaced with ssc since you can set different audio per step. The Chinese covers will be playable only on Challenge steps. Any thoughts?

Personally, with how the Chinese covers are no longer present in Challenge charts as of DDR A, I don't think we even need them anymore... I'd be fine with removing them, but I don't know how other people would feel.

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razorblade's idea is nice

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Here is a test simfile for example. I'll revert it if it doesn't look good.

MAX LOVE

I placed it in a custom zip because it looks like it's not possible to add more than one audio in a regular zip.

That actually works, but pack zip downloads may be affected when they need to be updated.

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I’m not sure why they should be removed, they’re official songs right? It would be like removing Waka Laka from 7th Mix since it’s not in the newer games, in my opinion. Would it be possible to do two packs per game? One that has all the songs that debuted in that game and one that has all the songs that are still in the newer games? Then people could easily still get all the songs from that game in one click or just get all the relevant songs in one click.

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Having packs that include songs that are available in other packs would be a terrible idea, primarily for bandwidth reasons.

Something I did want to bring up for consideration is the current categorizing system, though. Recent games (going back a while) just have 1 folder for each mix; but that means, 4th Mix is both 4th Mix and 4th Mix Plus; Some Solo songs are (I think) in 2nd Mix; and the delineation between DDR 2013 and DDR 2014 isn't based on which game it was actually released for, but an arbitrary Konami decision.

And while I think it's worth honoring those categorizations, I also recognize that the songs exclusive to home games... cause an issue. I've tried to sort them into categories myself to avoid folders with only 1 song in them, and I think I like how I have it set up; but ultimately, I think giving people options and letting them be aware of it, is the best option, always.

I agree, why would they need to be removed? They're technically official songs

Everything except the audio are being removed. The audio will be moved to the original simfile while sharing the same ssc file. Chinese covers are still playable when you select steps just like how X2 to 2014 was. It's to prevent redundancy in the song list.

Okay but how would you play the original version of the song with the challenge steps? Like iFUTURELIST on Strike, Supernova, Supernova 2, and X has challenge steps and it’s the Japanese version of the song. Why scrap that entirely for the alternate version? Can the alternate music be placed on an edit chart? A couple of the songs here have edits like I think Celebrate Nite has the DDRGB steps as an edit. If you insist on getting rid of duplicates then surely an edit would be better than getting rid of the official original Japanese song’s challenge steps.

Also will this quest to get rid of redundancy lead to getting rid of multiple versions of 7th Mix oni songs that got full charts on Xbox versions? It only makes sense, if we need to take the Chinese versions and merge them with the originals then we need one version of Still in my Heart Momo Mix, one version of Higher Next Morning Mix, and don’t forget Tsugaru Apple Mix getting a full set of beginner - heavy on PS3. That redundancy should be cleaned up too, right?

I mean, I get what you’re trying to do but if the goal is actually to make things accurate to the most recent arcade version as I’ve been told in regards to why songs are placed in the mix they are regardless of where they actually first appeared then all this redundancy is actually necessary to maintain that accuracy. How X2 handled it wouldn’t really matter when that isn’t the most recent version.

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Nevermind what I said. I'm currently doing what I was being told. (but my butt and eyes says no so I'll continue tomorrow morning)

I spotted an incorrect note placement in "Sound Of Freedom" Single Expert from DDR X CS
On the 298th note, (60 seconds in) if anyone wants to correct that.
Also spotted a single note error in El Ritmo Tropical Expert from DDR 2ndMIX LINK Version, I don't remember whether it was single or double.

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