PLEASE READ THE PREAMBLE BEFORE READING THE SCORES/COMMENTS! __________________________________ I use DDR terminology sometimes, if you don't understand them there's a helpful thread on the BEST-mix forums that gives you some definitions. If you still don't understand, ask and I will clarify. :) __________________________________ Some scoring info: I feel song choice is very important. And that does -not- mean I take into consideration how much I like the song. What I mean by that is, I think songs should fit DDR well, be a proper length, etc. I asked BlueSS where song scoring should go, and he told me tilt except for song quality (like, is the song fuzzy/quiet or not) which is presentation. I only mention this because I see a lot of public reviews that include song in presentation, which is perfectly fine with me (and how I would prefer it actually) and I guess BlueSS as well, the only reason why I point this out is to explain why I have it the way I have it. I didn't notice the way the PRs were doing it until after I started grading, so you'll have to deal with the way I did, which I still feel is fine, it's just a little different than what you may be used to. So here's how I roll, with approval from BlueSS: Song quality: Goes under presentation. Song length, repetitiveness of the song cut, appropriateness for DDR, other misc. song stuff: Tilt. Keep in mind you -cannot- lose points here. If I feel your choice is adequate in all three of these categories and doesn't have some other misc. thing wrong with it (ex. awkward fadeout), you will get a point. As for the rest of tilt, I was going to go with a system that didn't involve exact points for each extra, but I realized that could get me flamed beyond belief, so I'm going to go with a set points system: .5 for beginner .5 for challenge 1 for a full set of doubles charts (.5 for incomplete set) 1 for overall song quality (see above) (.5 if it's in between) Having everything will net you a 3/3 for tilt. Note that you get 0 for a video. Video is already under presentation, and even if it wasn't, I don't feel it (or lyrics) should be given any extra points, since it's not a core part of the file like steps are. Remember, the rules say judges can give tilt for -any reason-. Keep in mind this is all contingent on quality. For example, If your beginner chart is horrible, it's not getting any points. Etc, etc. I also will not be giving tilt points for ITG related charts-- yes, they are allowed, but I am assigning points based on DDR standard, because this is a DDR style tournament. I will comment anything that is present (including song choice) regardless if you receive points for it, so you can see my reasoning. __________________________________ Just another small note: I complain about "unnecessary short freezes" here a lot, what I mean by that is freezes where if you were to step on them, and then lift your foot up right away, it will still register all the time. An extreme example would be having Freezes on Max 300 that only lasted an 8th of a beat. I complain about this a lot, but please know nobody loses major points for it. you could argue it's merits (I have never seen it in DDR but who knows, maybe I missed some), but again, it's not a big deal to me, but I feel obligated to mention it bugs me, and only a minimal amount of points is taken off, if any at all, depending on how often it is. Keep in mind unnecessary "short" freezes is different from when I just say unnecessary freezes. When I say unnecessary freezes, I just mean I thought freezes in general didn't work. __________________________________ Alright, now go check out the scores and comments! __________________________________ Can U Feel It? - John Robinson Light: 5/5 Excellent light chart, no issues. Standard: 4.5/5 Again, very nicely done, a great standard chart. I felt the stream during the verse was a bit erratic at times; it didn't seem to flow very well with the music as it stuck to the vocals a bit too tight for my liking, but everything else is great. Heavy: 9/10 And again, we have a really enjoyable chart. Awesome step patterns and it stayed varied throughout. That one really long 8th note stream seemed a tad out of place, but overall this was a great chart to play. Presentation: 5/5 Great graphics, great presentation all around. Tilt: 2/3 +1 Song fits DDR well. +.5 Challenge. +.5 Beginner. Total: 25/25 FAT LIP - SUM 41 Light: 3.5/5 Nice job overall, felt a little too difficult in places for a light chart, especially with some of the freeze-step patterns, but the jumps were well placed. Standard: 5/5 This -might- be on the edge of being unnecessarily difficult for a standard but I'll let it slide. Nicely done here, I loved the rhythm that was followed. Heavy: 9/10 The first very long 8th note stream felt awkwardly positioned, and the first 16ths near the start also felt awkward, everything about this chart was very enjoyable. It went with the music very well throughout, nice chart. Presentation: 2.5/5 Banner is nice, but the bg is not very pleasant to look at. Text is well done. Tilt: 2/3 +.5 Just a little too long of a cut, otherwise the song is a decent fit for DDR. +1 Doubles. +.5 Beginner. Total: 22/25 Fugue - DR1010 Light: 2/5 Felt much uninspired. A large portion of this chart is just groups of 3 4th notes over and over, and that long stream near the start felt unnecessary and completely out of place. The steps didn't seem all that exciting either, even for a light chart; they just seemed to drag on and on. Still, there are no major problems. Standard: 2.5/5 Very similar to light in regard to my comments here. Again, repetitive patterns throughout most of the song, and the steps just seemed to drag on and on. Some pointless short freezes in there too, though that's just minor. No major problems here, but not very exciting. Heavy: 7/10 Much better than the other two charts. A few double steps were awkward, and the patterns got a bit repetitive in places, but overall this chart is solid. I like the difficulty spike at the end, feels very appropriate. Also, watch the pointless short freezes; they got a little excessive here. Presentation: 3.5/5 The banner seems slightly blurry even in non full screen, bg is very nice. Tilt: 1/3 + .5 Beginner +.5 Just a little too repetitive, but it's a decent choice for DDR fit. Total: 16/25 In The Army - Status Quo Light: 2/5 Notes primarily on the 2nd and 4th beat of the song for mostly the entire time was pretty uncreative, though admittedly you didn't have a lot to work with. Stepping into a fadeout is a no-no. Seemed very messy and thrown together without much care to placement or rhythm. Steps seemed to drag on and on. Just not a very solid light chart. Standard: 3/5 Ok, we're getting somewhere. Nice job varying the patterns this time around. But, the chorus was mostly just one long 4th note stream, which seemed incredibly uninspired compared to the unique patterns used in the rest of the song. The chorus should be your primary showcase of steps! Again, stepping into fadeout is a no-no. Much better than light, though. Heavy: 8/10 I can tell much more thought was put into this chart than the others. Very solid chart, nice rhythms and patterns, but I felt the stream was a little too intense in some places for the feel of the song. Also, you again stepped into the fadeout. Still, this is the showcase of this simfile, and the chart is pretty well put together overall. Presentation: 1.5/5 The text looks fine, but the rest of the banner and bg being primarily black isn't very aesthetically pleasing at all, and the effect on the soldiers doesn't look very nice either. Tilt: 0/3 +0 Not danceable enough to fit well in DDR. Total: 14.5/25 Liar Game - Nakata Yasutaka Light: 1/5 I'm not going to claim that 8ths aren't allowed in light charts, because they are. Sometimes, it's completely necessary for a light chart to use 8ths sparingly. However, you clearly used 8ths when you did not need to, and you used them a -ton-. In other words, this chart was waaaaaay more difficult that it needed to be. You used an excess of freezes at times, and the rhythms you followed were also awkward sometimes. On the plus side, at least the steps were varied! Standard: 2.5/5 See what I said about 8ths in light and apply it to 16ths here, but you used them more sparingly so I'm not that irritated by it. Still, this chart was way more difficult than it needed to be. You followed a decent rhythm throughout, and you kept the patterns varied, though sometimes I felt like you were trying too hard to make the player forget about how repetitive the song is by using drastically different patterns. Not bad, but could be improved. Heavy: 4/10 Again, you try way too hard to make people forget about the repetitive nature of the song by putting in all kinds of different step patterns. This ends up forcing you to use patterns that may very well not fit well with the music, which is what happened. You have all kinds of stream near the start then it all of a sudden drops out. The freeze-step patterns didn't fit well either. The jackhammers on the right arrows made little sense as well. Not much of this chart is very enjoyable, but the rhythms you follow are solid, and it would have been worse if the steps were just as repetitive as the song. You made the effort to vary it, and that's definitely the better of the two options. Presentation: 3/5 Graphics are solid, could use a little more emphasis on the text. Video should be 320 x 240 to prevent FPS drop (you did not lose points for this). Tilt: 1/3 +0 Waaaaay too repetitive of a song to fit well in DDR. +0 Beginner breaks the rule of no different arrows on consecutive beats. +0 Challenge has ITG elements. +1 Doubles. Total: 11.5/25 Make Me Your Own - good-cool feat. Raj Ramayya Light: 2.5/5 This wasn't too bad, but a lot of it seemed completely random, both in arrow placement and in rhythm followed. It felt like a light chart, but I would have liked to see it a little more polished. Standard: 2.5/5 Well, the rhythms you followed made much more sense here, though there are a couple things that make this chart awkward. All the double stepping doesn't work very well at all in this chart and neither do the (admittedly minimal) use of the unnecessary short freezes. Lastly, watch those 16ths in a standard chart-- I don't mind 16ths in standard, but only when they're really needed, and I don't feel they were here. Still, your use of them was minimal and I won't take points off. The biggest thing was the double stepping, though. Try to avoid that in so much excess when it isn't really called for in the future. Heavy: 5/10 The double steps are what kill this chart. double stepping during chaotic streamy runs is not very pleasant to do over and over again throughout a song. If you played this on a pad, you may understand why this is so awkward. On the plus side, I did like the rhythms you followed for most of the chart. The section after the rap confused me a bit, since it seemed like you were putting arrows in places that made little sense with the music, and then the last time through the chorus had more arrows than there needed to me. Still, the first 2/3rds of the chart has a nice rhythm and the whole chart is pretty solid placement wise minus the double steps. Presentation: 3.5/5 Text is pretty fuzzy, small, and hard to read, but a nice video is included. Tilt: 1/3 +1 Excellent song choice, fits DDR very well. Total: 14.5/25 Mario Paint Intense Color Remix - Sephfire & SuperGreenX (Note to author: always include the full title on the Stepmania song wheel) Light: 2/5 Just overall more difficult than it should have been. I'll let the 8ths slide, they fit pretty well, but the 16th at the end was uncalled for, though that's minor. The big thing was just that you had a pretty constant stream of arrows though the whole song where you didn't really need it. Also, the jump usage was pretty excessive; they didn't really fit too well with the music. On the plus side, you kept the step patterns varied. Standard: 3/5 Better job here. A lot of these steps flow well, and have nice standard chart appropriate patterns. The use of 16ths is fine here, but I think you went a little overboard during the slow parts at certain points. Overall, this chart should have been a little less difficult, but not as drastic as light. Heavy: 4/10 For the most part, these steps are overly difficult and messy. Most step patterns and rhythms you used make little sense. The steps during the slow part are especially awkward. The chart begins alright, but goes downhill as it continues and really picks up downward speed when the BPM slows down. Just not a very polished DDR chart. Presentation: .5/5 Banner/BG are grainy and plain, not very pleasing to the eye. Also, there's about 20 seconds of silence after each stepchart before the song ends. Tilt: .5/3 +0 Song doesn't fit DDR very well at all, not very danceable and also pretty repetitive. +0 Challenge makes little sense and doesn't feel suited to DDR at all. +.5 Doubles Hard +0 Doubles challenge is just like singles challenge, makes little sense and doesn't feel suited to DDR at all. Total: 10/25 SATELLITES - SEPTEMBER Light: 5/5 Excellent. Everything a light chart could ask for, no problems. Standard: 4/5 Very nice. I felt it the stream got a little uncreative after awhile, and it was also just a tad repetitive, even for standard, but those are just minor nitpicks. I really liked the use of freezes here, very nicely done overall. Heavy: 9.5/10 Another excellent chart. If I had to nitpick I'd say it just got a tad repetitive step-wise towards the end, but this chart really is fantastic. Great use of freezes again, nice use of jumps too. The chart felt very DDR authentic. Presentation: 5/5 Banner/BG are pristine quality, especially like the text. Tilt: 1.5/3 +1 Excellent song choice, fits DDR very well. +.5 Beginner. Total: 25/25 Second Heaven - Ryu Light: 5/5 Really nice, fits the song perfectly, great patterns and rhythms, nicely done. Standard: 4.5/5 Another really nice chart. Great rhythms and patterns again, the only thing that bugs me was that towards the end of the song you developed a fascination with the up and down arrows and sorta ignored the rest, but that's just a minor detail. Nicely done overall. Heavy: 8/10 And another quality chart. The very beginning had some awkward double steps, but then the chart settled in and was incredibly fun to play. During that drum section near the end you began to spam jumps and that felt very unnecessary, and that trend continued toward the end. However, your use of 16ts at the end felt spot on. Overall, a pretty solid chart. Presentation: 5/5 Decent graphics, made better with a cool video. Tilt: 1/3 +1 Song fits DDR very well, great choice. Total: 23.5/25 Someday, Somewhere - BoA Light: 2/5 All of those 8th notes were uncalled for... Light charts should avoid 8ths unless really needed, and these weren't. Otherwise, you used some cool patterns, but the difficulty of this chart was completely warped by the 8ths. Also, those unnecessary short freezes were a little annoying. Standard: 2/5 This felt more like a heavy chart. Step-jump 8th note patterns usually don't work well at all on standard, and this is no exception. Again, watch the unnecessary short freezes. But aside from that, this chart felt too unnecessarily streamy, it would have been more fitting to go with something simpler for standard. If this were the heavy chart it would have scored higher. Also, some of the steps near the start seemed to go with nothing prominent in the music. Heavy: 5.5/10 There's just "too much" stuff happening here. Too much unnecessary stream, too many freezes (also freezes that are unnecessarily short), and too many jumps that felt out of place, the 16ths at the end felt out of place as well. On the plus side, the steps flowed decently and you chose some pretty decent patterns rhythms. The whole chart just needs to be less clogged. Presentation: 3/5 I think the text should stand out a little more in the banner. However, the background is very pleasing to the eye. Tilt: 1/3 +.5 Awkward fadeout, otherwise a good song choice +0 Beginner shouldn't have 8th notes, ever. +.5 Challenge, but I'm being generous giving this to you because challenge is even worse off concerning "too much stuff." Total: 13.5/25 Something Good '08 - Utah Saints Light: 3/5 If one were to play this on pad, they would face to the left for most of the time, and that shows a lack of varied step patterns. Also, some of the rhythms you chose to follow made little sense, in such a way that you seemed to put gaps in very odd places, and stream in sort of odd places. Otherwise, this was a fine light chart. Standard: 4/5 Pretty solid. I didn't like the consecutive arrows on the upbeat (8th notes only) during the chorus, it felt very awkward and didn't feel like it went with the music. Aside from that, this is a very nice standard chart. Heavy: 7.5/10 Many of the 16ths felt unnecessary, especially the jackhammers and gallops. Otherwise, this was a very nice heavy chart. I liked the rhythms you followed aside from the 16ths, and the step-jump 8th notes fit the song. Solid chart overall. Presentation: 2/5 Rather plain and the text could use some polishing. The video has incorrect dimensions (should be 320 x 240 to prevent FPS lag on some computers) Tilt: 1/3 +.5 Song is pretty repetitive, but otherwise a good fit for DDR. +.5 Beginner. Total: 17.5/25 SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW -OVERHEAD CHAMPION REMIX- - F-50's Light: 4.5/5 Very nice. The only problem I had was that some of the jumps felt out of place, but there are very few jumps to begin with so this is just a nitpick. Nicely done. Standard: 4.5/5 Another awesome chart here. I felt that the beginning of the second chorus (the quiet part) was a bit overstepped, I would have liked to have seen it a bit lower key step wise. Everything else is spot on, though. Great rhythms and patterns, chart flowed very well. Heavy: 8/10 Very nice chart. I felt the 16th barrage at the end was just a little overstepped, I agree in a small spike in difficulty there but not quite that much. Also, I felt like some misc. patterns were a bit bland throughout the song, but not much. Lastly, the step-jump 8th note patterns near the start -sorta- worked, but I would have gone a little easier on them. All three of these points are minor, though. This was a very fun chart to play, flowed excellently with the music and had great use of freezes. Presentation: 5/5 Excellent graphics, good use of DDR style videos. Tilt: 1/3 +0 Beginner has different arrows on consecutive beats, at this BPM that is a big no-no. +1 Great song choice, seems like something straight off a DDR machine. Total: 23/25 Soul On Fire - L.E.D.-G vs. GUHROOVY fw NO+CHIN (wtf kind of artist name is that) Light: 5/5 Excellent, no issues. Nicely done. Standard: 5/5 Another excellent job. No problems. Heavy: 9.5/10 Fantastically done. Stream jumps, freezes, everything worked perfectly. My only minor nitpick is that a pad player would face to the left for a significant portion of the chart, not too often enough for it to be a huge issue but still enough for me to notice it. Again, only a minor issue, this chart was truly great. Presentation: 4.5/5 I really like these graphics, very artistic. I don't like how the title and artist text are the same colors, though. Everything else is great. Tilt: .5/3 +0 I'm not feeling this song choice. Not very danceable, felt like a long cut, sorta repetitive, and the whole song just sounds monotone to me. +.5 Beginner. Total: 24.5/25 Spice of Life - Beck Light: 3/5 Way too streamy, could have used many mane breaks. Otherwise, this was solid. Standard: 2.5/5 Way too streamy again, just too difficult for a standard chart. There was no need for 16ths here. This would have scored higher as a heavy chart. It's not all that bad of a chart in general (some good patterns and flows pretty well) but again, this is not how a standard chart should be. Heavy: 5/10 This chart is pretty messy as a whole. A lot of the 16ths at the beginning and end felt unnecessary, as did the 32nds or whatever those were in the slow part. The step-jump 8th note patterns, though used sparingly, were completely awkward at this BPM and made little sense with the music. Also, there are some rather awkward double steps scattered throughout. The chart gets a little better as it goes on, patterns and rhythms start to settle down and become pretty solid, but only for short times. Just not a very polished chart overall. Presentation: 2/5 Text is small and doesn't stand out well at all. Tilt: 0/3 +0 Song doesn't feel very danceable to me. Total: 12.5/25 Superstar - Rollergirl Light: 4/5 The only thing that bugged me about this chart was that most of the jumps (in the first third of the song) made very little sense placement wise, they seemed to follow nothing prominent in the music. Other than that, very solid chart. Standard: 3.5/5 Again, jumps in the first third of the song made little sense with the music. In addition, just a couple patterns felt a little bland. Other than that, solid chart, the steps flow very well. Heavy: 9/10 A rather nondescript chart to me, but I can't really fault it. The step patterns felt bland in places, especially towards the end, but the rhythms were great and the chart overall is enjoyable. Presentation: 4/5 I don't care for the thick stroke on the text but other than that this is a nice set of graphics. Tilt: 2/3 +1 A good song choice for DDR +.5 Challenge (Very nice by the way, I enjoyed it more than heavy) +.5 Doubles Heavy Total: 22.5/25 Twister ~Gang Mix~ - SAWA Light: 2.5/5 The patterns and rhythms you used here didn't make a lot of sense, but it wasn't completely terrible. Quite a few of the streamy patters felt out of place. Not bad, but needs polishing. Standard: 1/5 Most of the step patterns felt completely stale and bland, but again, it wasn't terrible. Watch the step-jump 8th note patterns here, not very appropriate for standard. This chart was copy/pasted from light, and that's fine as long as you change the steps a good amount, but comparing the two charts shows a whole lot of similarities placement wise, which shows lack of creativity. Heavy: 3/10 Steps follow the vocals way too closely, and there are numerous unnecessary short freezes. Too many 8th note step-jump patterns, just way more complicated than the song calls for. There's some awkward double stepping scattered throughout the chart, too. You have some neat ideas, but the chart overall is just too overdone for DDR style steps. Presentation: .5/5 The bg changes are a nice touch, but the banner and main BG are plain, fuzzy, and the text is so small you can barely see it. In fact, it's cut off in the background. The samplestart is in a very odd spot. Song is poor quality. Tilt: 0/3 +0 Challenge is similar to heavy as far as comments go: Too overdone for DDR. +0 Beginner is copied from light and not changed enough, and besides that this chart is entirely too difficult for beginner. Remember, different arrows on consecutive beats don’t work in beginner for most songs and this is no exception. +0 The song is a decent fit for DDR but is poor quality, and that one section where the beat drops out makes the song less danceable than it should be for DDR. Total: 7/25 Watch Us Work It - Devo Light: 2.5/5 Some pretty questionable rhythms are followed here. Near the start, when there are two 4ths per measure, they are on the 2nd and 4th beats f the measure, and I can see why that was done, but it doesn't feel right to me. I think putting them on the first and third would have been better. The chorus made little sense rhythm wise to me, your step placement just felt awkward. Lastly, there were unnecessary short freezes scattered throughout. That sounds like a lot of bad stuff but the chart wasn't too bad overall. Standard: 4.5/5 Solid chart. I felt the two consecutive 8th note mini-pattern got old after awhile since you used it so much, but otherwise this is a very solid standard chart. Heavy: 9/10 This chart is fantastic. Great flow, unique and fun patterns make this chart stand out. Those short freezes ran rampant again, and that really bugged me. However, that's my only complaint. This chart is still a ton of fun to play. Presentation: 4.5/5 Graphics are kinda plain, but get the job done. Great use of DDR style videos. Tilt: 1.5/3 +.5 Excellent song choice, fits very well with DDR, but the cut felt a little long. +.5 Beginner. +.5 Challenge, though not as good as heavy. Total: 22/25 We Are Your Friends (Edison Radio Mix) - Justice vs. Simian Light: 2/5 Some of these jumps felt unnecessary, and the steps overall stuck way too close to the vocals. An awful lot of double stepping but its 4th notes so it's mostly fine, but the sheer amount was pretty strange. Chart was fine otherwise. Standard: 3.5/5 This is very solid. I felt the jumps were a bit excessive, and those short unnecessary freezes bugged me, but that was minor. Overall, a very solid chart. Heavy: 3.5/10 Just very messy overall. Step-jump 8th note patterns don't go with the music, awkward double stepping on 8th notes scattered throughout (you could spin, but 8th note spins at this BPM is too nuts), and unnecessary short freezes make this chart in need of polishing. The chart was just overdone, too much happening when it didn't need to be. You had some decent patterns here and there but overall the chart needs work. Presentation: 3/5 These kinda look like old-school DDR style graphics, but the text is still pretty plain. Tilt: 0/3 +0 Song is pretty repetitive and not very danceable. Total: 12/25 WOW - KYLIE MINOGUE Light: 4.5/5 Very nice chart. Good flow and rhythm, some of the jumps felt unnecessary, but otherwise this was great. Standard: 5/5 Wonderful. No problems to report, just a very fun standard chart overall. Heavy: 9.5/10 Some of the jumps are awkwardly twisty on pad, but otherwise this chart is simply fantastic. It feels very DDR authentic and makes great use of freezes. Nicely done! Presentation: 5/5 Excellent. Very appealing. Tilt: 2.5/3 +1 Excellent song choice, a great fit for DDR. +.5 Beginner +1 Doubles. Total: 25/25 YOU CAN - Kate Project Light: 2/5 Way too many jumps that went with nothing prominent in the music, and just too much stream overall, this is overkill for a light chart on a song like this. The patterns weren't too bad but breaks in the steps are needed muchly. Standard: 1.5/5 Pretty bland. Step patterns were repetitive and relatively uncreative, like the parts where there are only left and right arrows for a decent amount of time. There was also a portion of this chart where jumps were again uncalled for. Not a completely terrible chart but definitely needs polishing. Heavy: 6.5/10 Not as bland as standard but still pretty uncreative. The rhythms followed were very nice, but the patterns used were again boring, being mostly stuff that alternates between two arrows. Don't get me wrong, that kind of pattern is fine, but not when used excessively through the entire song. Also, I felt the step-jump 8th note patterns were a little on the excessive side as well, but not majorly, they fit with the "you can" parts. Overall it's an alright chart that needs a little work. Presentation: 2/5 Banner is decent, though the text looks rough around the edges, and I see what you did there in the bg, but it isn't very aesthetically pleasing, and the text isn't very prominent. Tilt: 1/3 +.5 Beginner. +.5 Songs ends at a somewhat odd time, and while somewhat steppable is pretty repetitive. Total: 13/25