ITG 2-3 Judging Thread

[BLueSS]

ITG Bracket 2-3 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

Change - hellrazor
Gone Astray - Valex
Kung Fu Empire - sudzi781
Rising - Chmurek
Rougoku - Greg

Thanks to Lisek (and will-i-am for ITG fixes), here are easy to use scoring templates

Option 1 - Complete Review

Code: Select all

[b][b][size=150]Song Title[/size][/b] __ / 25
[color=#0000FF]__ / 10 - Expert[/color]
[color=#FF0000]__ / 10 - Secondary Chart[/color]
[color=#BF8040]__ / 05 - Presentation[/color]
[color=#40BFFF]__ / +/- 01 - Tilt[/color]

Template Song 24 / 25
08 / 10 - Expert
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=#0000FF]__ / 10 - Expert[/color]
[color=#BF8040]__ / 05 - Presentation[/color]
[color=#40BFFF]__ / 01 - Tilt[/color]

example:
Bad Song 08 / 15
06 / 10 - Expert
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)

[Telperion]

Change 17 / 25
6.5 / 10 - Hardest Chart
When it's not the chorus, the file seems pretty fun. Unfortunately, the chorus. Each time it appears, it's repetitive and contains jumps that really don't feel warranted or flow well. Plus, these doublesteps at b27.000 and b35.000 (which are honestly extremely easy to read and I ordinarily wouldn't think twice about them, but I know you don't like doublesteps). The first four hands out of six are uncomfy.
6.5 / 10 - Second Hardest Chart
Repetition issues, but not quite like Expert. That beginning - I know it's a 7 block, but why THAT simple? At least throw some more jacks in to break it up. The choruses could use longer phrasing over the shamisen, and the non-chorus sections could be stepped a bit less karaoke stepping.
3.0 / 05 - Presentation
Nice graphics. The BGV is a great complement. Sync is pretty off, though - I'm averaging about 70% perfects on judge 4 index on my SM5 setup; it might be due to use of the MP3 format or the video although I doubt it because no other file with those components has had such an issue. Also, the music preview is really borked and sounds like a near-zero sample length, wonder why--
EDIT: why on earth is this a DWI simfile? I haven't been taking off points for people using improper file formats for ITG, but pairing an MP3 with a DWI kind of shows a severe lack of understanding of the way customs work >_>
+1.0 / +/- 01 - Tilt
Liked the song a LOT. Monkey Majik + Yoshida Bros. = <333333 And despite the somewhat scathingly technical reviews above, the charts aren't all that un-fun - they just don't afford much replay interest.

Gone Astray 23 / 25
8.5 / 10 - Hardest Chart
I have the same sentiment for this chart as I did Brilliant 2U AKBK: too much Chain of Pain placement x_x The rhythms are basically spot-on, but the placement's making it more work and more boring than it should be.
9.0 / 10 - Second Hardest Chart
Better placement handling, albeit still figure-eightish, and nice rhythm selection. Although I'm capable of passing the Expert, I think I'd much rather play this chart.
5.0 / 05 - Presentation
Nice graphics, good sync.
+0.5 / +/- 01 - Tilt
dude I gotta play more Technika, wtf, I knew this tune was on there but wasn't aware it was so sexy

Kung-fu empire 24.5 / 25
9.5 / 10 - Hardest Chart
Great treatment of a very complex song. There's a hundred layers to choose from here, but I wasn't rubbed the wrong way by anything you picked. I especially liked the isolated triplets (xref. b22.667, etc.) and the longer arpeggiated streams. The 24ths were just a tad strange but I couldn't think of a way to approach them better. I think I saw some copy-paste-mirror, you're getting much better at hiding it ;P
9.5 / 10 - Second Hardest Chart
Also a strong chart. The gradual introduction of different rhythms is excellent, and I liked use of jumps and 16ths to accent pulses in the last few measures. The jacks in b200-248 are a little annoying. For a secondary chart and a 9', this looks like a lot of fun to play.
4.5 / 05 - Presentation
Fantastic graphics and spot-on sync. There's one spot in the cut (b200.000) that could segue a lot better - even if one hasn't heard the original, it's easy to tell that was a cut line.
+1.0 / +/- 01 - Tilt
As someone who's not only stepped Nekomata Master for ITG before, but tried (and failed) to step this very song, my hat is off to you for crafting these charts so handily. (I still like the IIDX cut a bit better, though, so I think I'll give it another try sometime~)

Rising 24 / 25
9.0 / 10 - Hardest Chart
Great chart. It's been a while since full rows of mines were commonly used to force air into charts, but they fit perfectly here. The rhythms were well-laid, although in the end I would have preferred more distinction between the full onslaught of the instruments and the shamisen solo.
9.0 / 10 - Second Hardest Chart
I strongly doubt this is even an 8-footer, lol. That said, it's the perfect complement to the SX, with all the rhythmic cues being redrawn into movement cues. Very DDR of you - but in a secondary chart for ITG, I see nothing wrong with that at all (and that's usually the approach I take with my own simfiles).
5.0 / 05 - Presentation
Graphics are a little rough, but you get points back on the BGV. Sync felt fine, but you might want to be careful, since it looks like you might have a fractional BPM that could wander by a few milliseconds over the course of the song.
+1.0 / +/- 01 - Tilt
Two Yoshida Brothers songs in one bracket? Today is the best day ever 8D The charts also look especially fun; I'll be sure to card this next time I can.

Rougoku 18 / 25
7.5 / 10 - Hardest Chart
Solid, but suffers from placement that doesn't really change direction or feel like it goes with the music a whole lot. Reminds me of a lot of ITG officials at this BPM, actually :I
7.0 / 10 - Second Hardest Chart
Endless eighth stream. I do see a lot of consideration in the movement here, but it screams for more breaks. There's plenty going on in the music to pick a more technical, involved 8 out.
3.5 / 05 - Presentation
Graphics are OK but a little rough (especially the -45 text effects/shadow). Sync is very solidly in the Perfect range.
<> / +/- 01 - Tilt
For how repetitive the track was, you did a good job with the charts. Problem is, the track's really repetitive. I'd recommend the charts to people wanting to push themselves to pass 8's/10's respectively, but there's not a lot of replay value here.

In summary:
Kung-fu empire 24.5 / 25
Rising 24 / 25
Gone Astray 23 / 25
Rougoku 18 / 25
Change 17 / 25

[hellrazor]

ChangeSync is pretty off, though - I'm averaging about 70% perfects on judge 4 index on my SM5 setup; it might be due to use of the MP3 format or the video.

Using .mp3 or .ogg does not cause sync issues by themselves, they both sync up the same way OFFSET and BPM(s), no difference. Video does not cause issues (at least not in SM3.9 and 4.0) it's a native 320x240 and I've never seen slow-down caused by 320x240 video files no matter how weak the PC, plus any slowdown would be a frame-rate and that doesn't cause off-beat.

I'm absolutely confident in the song-cut, I calculated them out and I'm absolutely confident in the BPM so it's a GlobalOffset issue, I sync my entries to the ONLY standard ever officially endorsed, the STEPMANIA Sync standard: http://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/downl ... leid=19461
So if my files don't sync up to your machine, I can't help you, I cannot anticipate what value will work best for you, I even understand that had I submitted an .ogg it would not play well on an ITGR21 machine because that doesn't follow the STEPMANIA Sync standard. If you want I can provide 20 more .dwi files (there was zero data lost by using .dwi for this file which is why I choose it) with different OFFSET values and you can pick the one that suits you best but there's no way for me to anticipate how to meet your needs beforehand and synching to a standard is the most logical choice IMHO. Thank you for the review BTW, I can't believe I missed those two double-steps (haha). Oh and I didn't realize the rules required .SM ONLY

General Guidelines
- .SM File required

But I was clearly told that judges cannot mark down points for violating the rules and this isn't the only entry in the contest that has a .dwi ONLY stepfile chart and the others haven't been DQ'd or marked down because of that.

[rikame]

This is a really good bracket. I'm gonna just do a vote of approval though, because there's nothing much for me to say about most of this.

Kung Fu Empire
Gone Astray
Rising

Related: Greg, I came really close to giving Rougoku a vote. The graphics look fairly nice and the chart is good given how repetitive the song was. -45's songs are just really repetitive lol (though it was great to see that somebody gave -45 a chance).

[Nusa]

Approval vote:

Kung Fu Empire - sudzi781

Srsly, where did you come from? :D Truly genius :D

[joe2]

Approval Votes
Gone Astray
Kung-Fu Empire (few missing notes in m52)
Rising (change that ending run before the solo)

biased as shit for Rougoku, so I'll just say I didn't really like the cut/quite a few rhythms were missed or grossly oversimplified

[cpubasic13]

Approval Vote

Kung-Fu Empire

[Excel]

Approval Vote:
Gone Astray
Kung-Fu Empire
Rising

[Yuke]

Approval votes:
Rising
Rockhill x shamisens? Hell yeah! This is what I call the powerful song. Steps live up to the name of Rockhill's author. They are great, very entertaining, and they are matching the music very vell. I liked the usage of mines here, body turns and some great patterns. I do think, though, that your simfiles are suffering from the usage of too many crossovers. You like your crossovers, don't ya? :>
Other than that - great job.

Rougoku
I just had fun playing this, and thought it had a really good flow. My only complaint here is opposite to the Rising's one - your arrow placements keep the player in one spot, mainly facing one direction for a long time. This simfile could benefit from some clever crossovers and body turns that would make the chart more interesting and challenging.

Kung-Fu Empire
I have no further complaints because I, more or less, liked everything here. Good job.

[Lisek]

Approval Vote:
Gone Astray
Kung-Fu Empire

[Hainaut]

Change:

Hard - 6/10
This gets pretty boring quickly. Although some of your placement is pretty solid, there's just a little too much emphasis on predictable karaoke during the easier phrases and long, unimaginative streams during the harder ones.

Expert - 6.25/10
There are lots of good ideas in this chart, but unfortunately it's brought down by a few serious technical issues. First off, the double-step transitions, namely the 4th beat of measures 7 and 9, are awkward and ineffective, as are the handplants in measure 13. Also, I really dislike your frequent use of 16th-phrased step-jumps during the areas with heavier step concentrations. It's fairly enjoyable overall, but far from perfect.

Presentation - 4.5/5
Graphics are a tacky mess. The music video compensates a little for that deduction.

Tilt - 0/1

Final Score: 16.75/25

Gone Astray:

Hard - 7.5/10
This is mostly good, not great. The song's melodic tracks are pretty subdued, and so there isn't a whole lot that you can take advantage of here.

Expert - 6/10
This could've worked just fine as a Walking On Fire-style 11-block, but instead, you decided to force the difficulty up to 13 by following the guitar riffs directly. The fast notes don't work at all in context and instead distract from an otherwise rhythmically solid chart. And, of course, there's too much across-the-pad figure 8 movement in the placement.

Presentation - 5/5
Graphics are really nice.

Tilt - 0/1

Final Score: 18.5/25

Kung-Fu Empire:

Hard - 8.75/10
A nice, interesting set of Hard steps. Placement is occasionally a little awkward, but for the most part this is really fun.

Expert - 9.25/10
Quite effective and interesting rhythmically. It's rather complex, but the chart is still engaging and coherent. There's maybe a little more foot movement here than I'm comfortable with - most of the patterns are comprised of quick bursts of chaos that are tricky enough rhythmically and which I think you could've made a little more accessible placement-wise as well - but it still offers quite a fun challenge.

Presentation - 5/5
Graphics are fantastic. Song choice is cool, too, even though that's irrelevant to this rating.

Tilt - 0/1

Final Score: 23/25

Rising:

Hard - 8.5/10
A fun chart overall. I do wish there were more breaks though, as this is mostly comprised of long 8th streams with some occasionally creative placement but still not that much pattern variety.

Expert - 8.75/10
A pretty creatively challenging batch of steps. This is mostly quite engaging, although I think you could've eased up a little bit on the amount of foot movement you applied during the middle areas.

Presentation - 5/5
The text effects don't quite work with the font you chose, but the video enhances this factor in compensation for that.

Tilt - 0/1

Final Score: 22.25/25

Rougoku:

Hard - 4/10
I pretty much knew exactly what kind I chart I would be dealing with as soon as I saw the groove radar. I'm sorry, but the only word I can use to sum up this stepchart is BORING. Even though the placement is technically fine, the whole thing has almost no rhythmic variation to offer. There's not one moment when this chart takes any kind of break; aside from the repetitive 3-note 8th patterns, almost the entire chart is one big, laggy 8th stream. It kind of just goes on and on, leaving me desperate for an ending.

Expert - 5/10
Although there's not anything particularly erroneous about these steps, they don't really achieve anything aside from following the obvious melodies in the song while supporting them with dull, continuous 8th streams. There's virtually no creativity employed the entire time, and the whole thing ends up feeling really generic and one-dimensional.

Presentation - 5/5
Pretty odd, but nonetheless pleasing text effects in the graphics. Not really anything to dock points for here.

Tilt - 0/1

Final Score: 14/25

[will-i-am]

CHANGE 12 / 15
7 / 10 - Expert
Annoying 16th-stream-into-jump patterns, but otherwise enjoyable.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Graphics are surprisingly satisfactory. Video is intriguing and entertaining.
0 / ±1 - Tilt

Gone Astray 13 / 15
8 / 10 - Expert
Great rhythmic accuracy. A bit too much movement. Would've been nicer to have that toned down a bit to make room for imaginative patterns.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Good stuff.
0 / ±1 - Tilt

Kung-Fu Empire 15 / 15
10 / 10 - Expert
Amazing.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Looks like this was taken straight from of one of TLOES's outtakes.
0 / ±1 - Tilt
Young grasshopper, you have acquired the skills necessary to fight the kung-fu. You are ready.

Rising 14 / 15
9 / 10 - Expert
Fabulous attention to the music. Implied foot-switches were missing mines to signal them.
5 / 5 - Presentation
Text could use less sharpness around the edges and more color. Video makes up for them.
0 / ±1 - Tilt
More shamisen music. What is this, TSUGARU pt. 2?

Rougoku Umineko no naku koro ni OST 10 / 15
6 / 10 - Expert
Lackluster placement. Waste of a grand opportunity.
4 / 5 - Presentation
Not the most appealing graphics. I do like the effects used on the title font.
0 / ±1 - Tilt
This actually had real potential. Too bad.

1) Kung-Fu Empire 15 / 15
2) Rising 14 / 15
3) Gone Astray 13 / 15
4) CHANGE 12 / 15
5) Rougoku Umineko no naku koro ni OST 10 / 15