BEST-mix.net - DDR Simfile Tournament

DDR Bracket 2-2 Judging Thread
- The scoring from this thread will determine which 3 songs move on to the next round.
- This thread will be locked sometime on Friday morning/afternoon. Get your reviews in before Friday.
- You must pick 1 review method, you can't mix them.
- The entire bracket must be reviewed.
- The list of songs in this bracket are below for reference:

Code: Select all

2011 The Aftermash - hellrazor
CANDY GIRL - #Infinity
Control Your Mind - y3v0n
Shine We Are! - mintessence
Ska a go go (Get the Funk Out Mix) - NIQ9
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Dark Luke

Thanks to Lisek, here are easy to use scoring templates

Option 1 - Complete Review

Code: Select all

[b][size=150]Song Title[/size][/b] __ / 25
[color=#008040]__ / 10 - Heavy[/color]
[color=#FF0000]__ / 10 - Secondary Chart[/color]
[color=#BF8040]__ / 05 - Presentation[/color]
[color=#40BFFF]__ / +/- 01 - Tilt[/color]

example:
Template Song 24 / 25
08 / 10 - Heavy
Great fun chart but lacks something. It needs more 1/16th jackhammers.
10 / 10 - Secondary Chart
It's great, nothing to add.
05 / 05 - Presentation
The background is dazzling so much that I lost my eye-sight.
01 / 01 - Tilt
Nice video but I understand that some people may not like it.

Option 2 - Partial Review

Code: Select all

[b][size=150]Song Title[/size][/b] __ / 15
[color=#008040]__ / 10 - Heavy[/color]
[color=#BF8040]__ / 05 - Presentation[/color]
[color=#40BFFF]__ / 01 - Tilt[/color]

example:
Bad Song 08 / 15
06 / 10 - Heavy
Could be better. I thought that this was pad competition thought.
02 / 05 - Presentation
The background is ugly. Comic Sans is so 90's.
00 / 01 - Tilt
No tilt. Leave me alone.

Option 3 - Approval Vote

Code: Select all

[b][size=150]Song Title[/size][/b]

example:
Blue Sad Song
I cried. I cried a lot. It's nice.

Option 1: Complete Review (25 points/song)
- Heavy (10), secondary chart (10), presentation (5), and tilt (±1)
Option 2: Partial Review (15 points/song)
- Heavy (10), presentation (5), and tilt (±1)
Option 3: Approval Vote (5 points/song)
- Typical approval vote style; vote for as many songs as desired, each vote awards equal points (5)

2011 The Aftermash 15 / 25
08 / 10 - Heavy
Long song, but the whole bunch of songs stuffed in the mashup doesn't make it seems too long luckily. Given it is a mashup, it makes the steps feel like they have a personality disorder a little -- not the most cohesive. The section with groups of five 16ths felt a little weird. I think it's because the synth prominently plays 6 or more of them in a row each time. The Till the World Ends part at end spaced out a little too much in comparison -- feels awkward.

All that being said! You have overall good patterns, and I think made some good choices on which parts of the song to follow. And I'm sure it took a while to put together a heavy chart for a 3 minute song.
04 / 10 - Standard Chart
I can't in good conscience give you higher than this for your standard chart. Up until around measure 50-something, this chart is your heavy chart just with some notes deleted. If you go into Edit mode and look back and forth between the charts, it's painfully obvious.
2.5 / 05 - Presentation
Banner looks ok with that design, but translated to a bg image looks really messy.
+0.5 / 01 - Tilt
Glad you included the video - looks like quite a lot of music videos put together. Felt a little weird that the music video playing often didn't belong to any of the songs currently being featured though.

Candy Girl 25 / 25
10 / 10 - Heavy
You have a great patterns and rhythms - even a couple crossovers toward the end. The syncopated beats remind me of certain DDR charts like Miracle Moon. Also, ridiculously cute to dance to.
10 / 10 - Standard Chart
Definitely different enough from the Heavy chart. In places where the occasional 16th gallop upped the difficulty for Heavy, you kept the interest in this chart by utilizing jumps and freezes. I can't complain here.
05 / 05 - Presentation
Beautiful, very DDR-esque graphics.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Great job. I kind of wonder though if it isn't easier to make a spot-on chart when the song is so straight-forward? Not really tough to choose what to follow. However, even if that's so, you were smart enough to pick this song, so who cares. : )

Control Your Mind 24 / 25
9.5 / 10 - Heavy
I really did like this. Good variety of patterns - some crossovers, 4th spin, and things like the 16th bursts were stepped within reason. You made this song a bit challenging without going overboard. There were a few double-stepping spots that felt awkward, but they weren't bad at least based on their placement.
10 / 10 - Standard Chart
This step down in difficulty was handled very nicely. Instead of the 16th bursts, you had good 8th note runs, and some jumps and freezes mixed in. The song sets you up well for having those little breaks between phrases too. (It lets the stepchart breathe)
4.5 / 05 - Presentation
Typography in banner is very even keel between song title and artist and just fills up the whole banner. Background is a little washed out, but pretty good.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Kudos picking an energetic song and making it fun to dance. This is one I'd enjoy playing often!

Shine We Are! 08 / 25
05 / 10 - Heavy
I didn't love this chart. You seemed to do fine with your rhythms, but the patterns weren't well thought-out. The times you did have double-steps or patterns leading you into a spin were often right before a tricky rhythm or a freeze. Maybe more obvious places for spins and double-steps would've been more enjoyable.
01 / 10 - Expert Chart
I understand this was supposed to be freestyle, but it should've been done with an Edit chart of lower difficulty. We need a second full chart to rate. And unfortunately what IS there in this one didn't really stand out anyway.
01 / 05 - Presentation
The typography was just blah. A rainbow gradient and what appears to be the first sans-serif font you could find. The non-text part of the banner looks like it was going somewhere at least. But as far as the background graphic … plain text, hand-drawn clouds and a pokemon do not a background make.
+01 / 01 - Tilt
You had lyrics included which is nice. I think you missed a couple lyrics near the beginning though.

Ska a gogo ~Ska Core Mix~13 / 25
06 / 10 - Heavy
Your patterns are fine, but the steps are very karaoke. Whenever the singer comes in, you followed him religiously and seemed to almost ignore all the other potentially interesting things going on in the background with the instruments. I appreciate the couple nods you made to the original Ska a go go chart -- it was amusing.
06 / 10 - Standard Chart
Okay, you played with the background sounds a bit more in this one during the half-tempo. You did an okay job with the steps here but the song doesn't do you many favors. It just felt boring. Some jumps or hold arrows at opportune times might've helped.
01 / 05 - Presentation
Text on a solid color for the banner. Crazy text on a textured, solid color for the background. No effort here.
00 / 01 - Tilt
The way the drums play in this song it makes me almost fall over.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 21 / 25
09 / 10 - Heavy
I have trouble with what I call "floaty" songs in DDR. Orchestral pieces without much in the ways of solid beat…sometimes singing or instruments can feel delayed compared to what you're stepping in songs like this, but it didn't really cause much of a problem here. But these types of songs don't feel like they drive you…especially if you're making a tougher chart.

All that aside, you did a very nice job with it. I had to play 3 or 4 times and it started to grow on me. Only an awkward spot or two (one part felt forced starting on an offbeat, and there was a double step or two that were hard to compensate for at this speed.) Also, you made good use of jumps on accents in the song.
08 / 10 - Standard Chart
Your steps were fine in general. The groups of 4 8th notes felt spastic at this speed for a Standard (especially starting off the beat)…maybe you should've just let those go on this chart? Or maybe make the pattern a touch more pleasant for them. This song does offer up some good rhythms and accents, and you took advantage of them quite well.
04 / 05 - Presentation
The graphics are nice looking, but they are just existing art with typography put over the top of it. Let me know if you did 'collage' the art though or anything, as currently I'm assuming you used the art just as you found it.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Kudos on picking a waltz : ) With a 'one' feel no less thanks to the speed (as opposed to 3/4)

2011 The Aftermash 11 / 15
5.5 / 10 - Heavy
-So this was a pretty ambitious chart to tackle in terms of figuring out how to keep it interesting without going overboard. This chart is overall pretty fun but suffers in some key areas. First, and I completely understand the reasoning behind it, but the song cut negatively affected the chart. It's a mashup of a bunch of songs so the cut's gonna be long, but I don't think this would have suffered if some of it had been cut to make it shorter. So since the song kept dragging on, I started enjoying the steps less and less. I do want to point out, though, that you do a good job of keeping the step patterns/rhythms varied. Now, I do have some issues with the step patterns. First, and I remember saying this about your Olympics entries, but there's not a whole lot of movement in a lot of these patterns. Things like LRLRLR, URURUR, etc. the kind of patterns that alternate between two arrows. Especially with such a high-energy mashup, I was hoping to move around a bit more. My other issue with step patterns were the 16th runs towards the end, those felt awkward given the rest of the chart. However, let me end by saying I did find the use of step-jumps and the jump clusters appropriate and fun given the song. So in conclusion, this is fun, but there were some things that bothered me enough to get in the way of some of my enjoyment.
5 / 5 - Presentation
-Banner looks very DDR-ish. I like the initial background especially.
.5 / 1 - Tilt
-I liked the inclusion of the lyrics and the coloring to differentiate between the artists. That was pretty neat.

Candy Girl 14 / 15
9 / 10 - Heavy
-Very nicely done! Really, it's one of those song choices hard to mess up, but even beyond that there's some creative things going on here, like the use of 16ths in the gallop-y fashion. Rhythms and patterns are both top-notch as well. That being said, I did feel the song held the steps back in places, in the sense that the song is pretty straightforward and has some stagnant periods. This song never really "takes off," if you will, and the steps are held back a bit as a result. Still, this is really just a minor nitpick in an otherwise stellar chart.
5 / 5 - Presentation
-Great graphics, as usual. I like the "Candy Girl" text especially, as it really fits the theme here.
0 / 1 - Tilt

Control Your Mind 13.75 / 15
9 / 10 - Heavy
-Love the phrasing and those gallop-y 16th bunches. I also like how the second time through the synth section, there's jumps to change things up. Slightly repetitive in places, mostly due to the song, but I enjoyed this chart a lot. Nicely done!
4.75 / 5 - Presentation
-Very authentic, but the text edges look a little rough.
0 / 1 - Tilt

Shine We Are 7.5 / 15
5 / 10 - Heavy
-I'm totally cool with the simplicity of this chart. In some places it got a little karaoke, but it wasn't too extreme. The vibe I got from this chart is that it would be the first song highlighted by default on an arcade mix, like graduation in extreme. My biggest concern with the chart is all the double-steps/spins. Those weren't very fun at all, and didn't seem to match the song very well. That being said, I feel like a lot of people will complain about this being under-stepped but in that aspect I thought it was very well done. I just didn't like all the double-steps/spins.
2.5 / 5 - Presentation
I like Wingull. It's a waterbird. The banner font is really rough-looking, and while Wingull evolves into Pelistorm, I don't see the logic including a Pokemon in the background.
0 / 1 - Tilt

Ska a gogo ~Ska Core Mix~ 4.5 / 15
3 / 10 - Heavy
-This was pretty bland overall, though I can see what you're getting at, with the obvious homage to the original with the 16th run at the end. The slow portion was much too karaoke for my tastes, and the patterns throughout the rest of the chart were very stale. For example, a series of repeated crossovers, followed by alternating between LDUR and RDUL 8th note runs. This just wasn't a file I could get into.
1.5 / 5 - Presentation
-Really bland, and the font is oddly positioned in the banner.
0 / 1 - Tilt

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 12.5 / 15
7.5 / 10 - Heavy
-A very solid chart here. I especially liked the timing of the jumps throughout the chart. I do wonder about the BPM. I feel like I would have liked to have seen the BPM thirded, since the song doesn't seem to reflect the energy of the fast-scrolling steps. This chart needs some toning-down in places due to the nature of the song, and cutting the BPM down would help in that regard. All in all, this is a solid chart and definitely enjoyable, but I think I would have liked a slightly simpler chart with a slower BPM.
5 / 5 - Presentation
-Reflects the vibe of the song.
0 / 1 - Tilt

2011 The Aftermash 09 / 15
05 / 10 - Heavy
Generally I'm not a fan of long version songs, and I don't think this one needed it. The difficulty is quite unbalanced in this song, with some tough drills and jumps that I don't think add much, and a remaining chart that's pretty boring and uninspired. However, this would actually be a neat idea as a starting point for the end of a course in a real DDR mix.
03 / 05 - Presentation
I don't think the art looks very good, personally. Everything else is fine.
01 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Full singles, video, lyrics with oddly specific color hex codes.
Given how hard I was on the rest of the file, I'll give that a point.

Candy Girl 13 / 15
08 / 10 - Heavy
Another example of karaoke done right. Rhythms are predictable, but made fun through the proper use of double-taps.
05 / 05 - Presentation
Good art. No deductions.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Full singles.

Control Your Mind 08 / 15
05 / 10 - Heavy
The sixteenth-note bursts and step-jumps are gratuitous for a DDR 9. While there's definitely not enough of them to warrant a 10, I'd stick with 8th note runs unless there's enough difficulty spike to shoot for a 10. Besides those, the chart didn't stick out much to me at all.
03 / 05 - Presentation
Sample cuts out after 6 measures; I'd expect 8. Art is aliased in the background, but not bad.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Light.

Shine We Are 05 / 15
04 / 10 - Heavy
The steps here are bland eighth note runs attempting to "smooth over" the rhythms in the song rather than actually going to anything. I'm hoping the Challenge is better, but I don't have time to play it. Not a fan of the spin.
01 / 05 - Presentation
Sample is very short, and cuts out at an odd spot. Lyrics file is missing a line early, and is inconsistent with ENGLISH CAPS. Art is only as required. No entrant name in the readme.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Lyrics

Ska a go go (Ska Core Mix) 08 / 15
05 / 10 - Heavy
Not a fan of the drills, even if they are an homage. I liked the freeze crossovers, but not enough to see them four times; everything else didn't really stand out.
03 / 05 - Presentation
Art as required. No other deductions.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Full singles
Still waiting on a legitimate apology, by the way.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 10 / 15
06 / 10 - Heavy
This is definitely a 9. This chart didn't grip me, and I'm not sure why. I think it's the way there's a bunch of quick runs, but with sparse notes in large gaps between them.
04 / 05 - Presentation
Good art. Sample is a bit short.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Extras: Light

2011 The Aftermash 14 / 25
6 / 10 - Heavy
I admire the effort made in even attempting to step something as redundant as an end of the year mix. However, this went exactly how I had imagined it would go: overtly karaoke. It's cool to follow vocals, but next time focus on organized placement because lyrics have structure, too.
4 / 10 - Standard
Felt like a watered down Heavy.
3 / 5 - Presentation
I can tell you tried with the background. All those artists scattered throughout the Pac-Man maze make for an extremely messy visual, though. Sound quality isn't great. Video helps.
1 / ±1 - Tilt
Kudos for the lyrics.

CANDY GIRL 23 / 25
9 / 10 - Heavy
Some fine ideas for the chorus. The use of doublesteps gave the chart a DDRMAX vibe.
9 / 10 - Standard
Could use a bit of touch-up on the placement, but swell movement and again, DDRMAX doublesteps.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Effective graphics. I personally wouldn't have went blue bubble-font with the bambee text.
0 / ±1 - Tilt
Super cheesy song choice. Were you saving this for Cheesemix 7?

CONTROL YOUR MIND 20 / 25
7 / 10 - Heavy
Another DDRMAX reminiscent chart, except this one was much more sporadic. Fairly sloppy, but that actually adds to the DDRMAX feel.
8 / 10 - Standard
Pretty clean up until it picked up in pace. Got a little out of hand because there was a lack of structure. Freeze usage is a standout feature.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Background is very cool. Reflection used to be a very typical DDR technique. Title text could use more livening up.
0 / ±1 - Tilt

Shine We Are! 9 / 25
5 / 10 - Heavy
Average.
1 / 10 - Challenge
Premature concept and embarrassing execution. Be drenched in shame.
3 / 5 - Presentation
Wingull, though I'd rather not, I choose you!
0 / ±1 - Tilt

Ska a gogo Ska Core Mix 14 / 25
5 / 10 - Heavy
lol. I liked the twistytwisty part. It was funfun butbut thenthen gogo HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIII
7 / 10 - Standard
Really improved post slow section.
2 / 5 - Presentation
C'mon. This makes Braeden's graphics look up to par.
0 / ±1 - Tilt
GET THE FUNK OUT

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 20 / 25
8 / 10 - Heavy
Decent. Much better than butthurt BEST-mix #3's attempt.
8 / 10 - Standard
The dependency on vocals was nearly cancelled out by all-around crafty placement.
4 / 5 - Presentation
Heeeeyyyy, now wait just a second there! I've seen that background before...
0 / ±1 - Tilt

1) CANDY GIRL 23 / 25
2) CONTROL YOUR MIND 20 / 25
2) Umineko no Naku Koro ni 20 / 25
4) 2011 The Aftermash 14 / 25
4) Ska a gogo Ska Core Mix 14 / 25
6) Shine We Are! 9 / 25

2011 The Aftermash 06 / 15
3.5 / 10 - Heavy
Pretty uninspiring and dull. Not much variety which would be expected for such big mashup / mix. Some fragments of this chart felt offsync, I had nearly 2 times more greats than Perfect and Marvelous. I got bored halfway the file to be honest. The thing that those songs were changed to 154 BPM didn't really help, it would be much better with original songs.
2.5 / 05 - Presentation
BN is ok, BG is disaster. Until the video came I couldn't the target arrows. Video and sound quality is ok.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Nothing to add.

CANDY GIRL 14 / 15
09 / 10 - Heavy
It's a little understepped in some places. Also, don't like those double steps but musically I think that they can be justified.
4.5 / 05 - Presentation
I don't like bevel and border on "CANDY GIRL". Other than that - great.
0.5 / 01 - Tilt
It seems fun and DDR-ish.

Control Your Mind 15 / 15
10 / 10 - Heavy
Loved it.
05 / 05 - Presentation
The uglyness! They look like really old DDR graphics. Great job, I liked them :D
00 / 01 - Tilt
Would tilt it but no need for. Awesome file!

Shine We Are! 03 / 15
02 / 10 - Heavy
Arrow placement feels random. A few well used doublesteps may be useful in charts like CANDY GIRL had but those were unneeded. Rhytmically it's ok but arrow placement kills everything.
1.5 / 05 - Presentation
Graphics are bad. Preview is ok, sound quality seems ok too.
-0.5 / 01 - Tilt
I'm deducing 0.5 point for bad joke in lyric.

Ska a go go (Get the Funk Out Mix) 4.5 / 15
04 / 10 - Heavy
Beginning was dull, mid was getting better and finale... well duh, got pretty bad again.
0.5 / 05 - Presentation
Sound quality ok. Title on banner/bg/wheel don't match. Pretty bad graphics didn't even centred the text.
00 / 01 - Tilt
Not really good.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni 14.5 / 15
10 / 10 - Heavy
Great solid chart.
4.5 / 05 - Presentation
Why did you slap the text over her face in banner? Other than that everything was great.
0 / 01 - Tilt
I'm taking away 0.5 point for using song from previous BEST-mixes. But boosting it again for overall quality.

Approval vote:

CANDY GIRL
Oh, the sweetness... :D
The chart itself was a perfect 7-footer, it had some very interesting ideas and I liked the feeling of it. I do not like to doublestep stuff, though, but since it is a 7(not a 200 BPM 10)-footer they are acceptable and not that unpleasant to do.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Hey, I loved this one! It's way better than the other Best-Mix's Umineko attempts I have seen. It has some nice patterning, use of crossovers, it is not overly karaoke - just as it should be.

Approval Vote

Control Your Mind

Approval vote


Control Your Mind
Candy Girl
Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Approval vote:

2011 the Aftermash
Candy Girl
Control Your Mind
Umineko no naku koro ni