[TC_Halogen]

SUPPLEMENTAL RATINGS

TC_Halogen

Piano Sonata No. 16 (ilikexd)
Rating: 7.5/10 -> [+.]
- a few parts of the song could use some tighter sync (21.663, 41.206 as two examples)
- PR could use some tuning in a few spots
- otherwise, file is done acceptably well and has a good structure

Child Protective Services Theme Song (ilikexd)
Rating: 9/10 -> [+]
- very good structure, have absolutely nothing to complain about

Child Protective Services Theme Song (t-rogdor)
Rating: 8/10 -> [+]
- structure is questionable in a few areas (52.562 really bothers me, 77.707 as well)
- some PR mechanics are a bit more interesting than ilikexd's chart, but there are a few structural errors/abnormalities
- different enough in difficulty to be a complementing Oni chart to ilikexd's

Plousia (Silvuh)
Rating: 9/10 -> [+]
- some pitch relevance in the file is questionable, but hardly incorrect
- excellent file

(The Title Is) Too Long To Write Here (Charu)
Rating: 6/10 -> [+?]
- missed sample at 3.725
- because of the way that you've structured the introduction, your chart doesn't notably progress into the high intensity, 2x BPM section -- your structure isn't wrong (questionable, sure) but there's a lack of continuity between phrases
- 31.475: remove jump
- 44.100 to 52.100: a bit dull just accenting bass drums here when things like 45.225 can be caught
- 68.350/(etc): these should all be three 32nd notes
- 76.100: no accommodation for lyrics? d'aw
- 100.100: no need for quads here; it's also a horribly repetitive motion here - yes a new synth comes in, but no you don't have to layer it out and just make players smash their keys like that
- 124.100: I'm just seeing up arrows on the 8ths and it's glaringly incorrect towards the melody; accenting with triples horribly constrains pattern usage here
- 132.600: layering lyrics with percussion here makes your chart feel more intense than earlier sections despite the same running bass drum and general percussive structure (which generally dictates the intensity of a song in the first place)
- 151.767: eh? can't hear this rhythm; the percussion has a different rhythm compared to this
- 196.100: so many jumps; you could accomplish a lot more here layering the bass drum and following the lyrics and adding jumps for coinciding notes
- 224.100: see 44.100
- jump accents are a bit overdone throughout the file
- file is quite dull, and the song really could use a cut

(The Title Is) Too Long To Write Here (ilikexd)
Rating: 7.5/10 -> [+.]
- file is alright, really not thrilled by it
- similarly to Charu's chart, I'm really not a fan of the increased layering at 101.756 despite that really subtle synth entering the picture
- shorter length compared to Charu's, but it still feels quite draggy

samurai7694

Against The Dragonflames (t-rogdor) 3/10

- The beginning feels overlayered and awkward because of the hi-hat being mostly on the right arrow which can cause awkward patterns and transitions.
- 9.827s and 17.827s, it's really hard to make out of these are legit 32nds or not but it looks overstepped on 1.0 rate.
- 18.077s and 178.077s, the 16th notes are so quiet that I feel that it shouldn't be stepped. The other instruments are much louder and it's like the 16th notes are just there to boost up the total arrow count and NPS for that section.
- 37.827s, awkward transition and mini jacks/trills at that speed probably wouldn't convert too well in the first place. Especially the trill at 49.327s, that down jack would convert badly on FFR.
- 8th note jumps drag on forever
- 112.827s, 4th note arrow that goes to nothing
- Unnecessary minijack and mini trill at 148.744s and 156.660s respectively
- Why is there no jump at 153.202s for the bass kick?
- At this point, the layering is a bit inconsistent. I understand the use of hands for the main melody but then it waters down the emphasis of the bass kicks which were layered as hands in previous sections.
- 194.077s is pretty much copy-pasted from 34.077s. Pattern variety would be nice, even for the mini trills which I don't agree with in the first place.
- The song is repetitive (a cut is strongly recommended) and the layering is shaky. The 32nds need to go or at least be stepped differently.


Drumhead Trial (Condoct) 6/10

- Layering is kind of questionable. I can't quite tell of the jumps are going to the percussion, vocals, guitar. It seems to be blended all at once in some way with hands going to crash cymbals.
- The rhythms are all stepped correctly.
- 118.333s and 119.117s, I found it weird that the forced mini jacks due to pattern choices for the 32nds were present when the previous 32nds didn't cause mini jacks for the same sequence.
- 120.980s, this section feels overlayered. There's a guitar solo going on and it feels to heavy with the jumps/hands and 32nd notes
- Contrary to the above mentioned, the section at 146.078s feels underlayered.
- 152.156s up until 175.686s, the main guitar sounds quiet compared to the heavy guitar riff and percussion in this section.
- 163.921s, these are actually 24th notes not 32nd notes
- 188.235s up until 200.392s was stepped beautifully in my opinion. Very nice layering here and it's not overwhelmed by the 16th note rhythms of the main guitar lick in the background.
- Section starting at 200.784s, insanely quiet 16th notes which almost makes it seem like it's not going to anything which might be the case here. Please remove them. I suggest layering in instruments that stick out the most (aka loudest).
- I think the song is good but the file needs work.


Rape (hi19hi19) 8/10

- I'm iffy about the 24th notes in the file except for the one at 17.876s which sounds legit at 0.5 rate. The rest I feel are just there to emphasize that particular sound with an unclear rhythm.
- Everything else is okay to me. I was questioning some layering choices but I noticed that some 16th note jumps were to emphasize hi hat rhythms.
- All I would ask is to get rid of the 24ths except for the one at 17.876s.

Akasha (DarkZtar) 6/10

- 23.620s, 24.106s, 34.485s, and 120.917s,there's really no need for those mini jacks. I personally think it would be best fitted if the same note for a particular instrument is hit twice.
- 44.134s, missing jump for bass kick as well as a really awkward pattern (24th notes) which might not convert well
- 74.681s and 74.823s, what's with the arrows here? it's just straightforward 16th notes
- 121.323s, layering is inconsistent. Jumps first go to the bass kick and then to the piano notes/chords.
- 151.485s, splitroll pattern here that maybe others might disagree with
- The ending has an awkward cut in my opinion.
- Percussion tends to be louder but not layered in for some parts (example: 130.404s). Instead the piano is stepped and while rhythmically correct, it's very quiet in comparison to the percussion.
- Please fix the errors mentioned above and maybe consider a different cut for the song.

ilikexd

Aggressor (DarkZtar) - 5/10

17.8s-20s - makes no sense to stop layering in the 16ths
20.462s - should be jump for snare, and the layering here starts to get ambiguous although the jumps are going to louder snares
27.298s - ditto
33.373s - ditto
44.386s - jump usage in these beats doesn't make sense
46s - layering is quite confusing in this part
112.3s - missing notes here to guitar
118.057s - this beat is 24ths into a 16th
142.835s, 143.215s, 143.405s, and all over the place in this section
150.968s - these 12ths jumps are an 8th and a 16th
159.449s - misrhythm
160.525s - ghost note
175.272s - same as 150.968s
181.285s - misrhythm

there are numerous layering errors, ghost notes/missing notes, and misrhythms including many not listed here
pr wasn't that great and for a lot of parts patterns felt pretty random


Bit Howl (t-rogdor & Detrimentalist) - 5/10

4.954s - pitch is just descending here
45.304s - feel lacking to not accent here but at 50.104s
55.804s - unneeded long anchor
94.955, 97.805s - these are next to unhittable on ffr with no chord cohesion
122.855s - this shouldn't be a minijack
154.280s - ghost note
184.205s - 267 bpm minijack, no (for example, there is seriously no need to put the jump here and be so rigid with the layering, it's ok to stop layering in the middle of bursts)

it's one thing to step every sound to make a super hard file, but in this case so many of the sounds were barely audible that they play like ghost notes, and it's especially bad when they start forming really nasty bursts or forced jacks when the player can't even hear what they're going to


Rape - 7/10

17.283s - not a fan at all of double minijack transition after 32nd splitroll, especially when the sound is better off not as jacks by themselves, and you're already using minijacks for the vocals
38.794s - this is stepped as a minijack here but not at 40.426s. frankly it shouldn't be stepped in either spot

file is decently structured, the main issue is minijack usage; i think it should be more reserved and not applied to multiple sounds at once particularly given how quiet those sounds are


Wanderlust (Gradiant) - 5.5/10

93.422s - missing note, especially given the quieter pitch bends stepped earlier
123.902s - weird to have the highest notes on the right column
159.172s - trills to this sound is pretty unintuitive given it's a sound that repeats in sets of 6 32nds, or technically 12 64ths, same with the ones at 165.892s, 169.732s, etc
203.892s, 204.132s 204.852s - there are no 12ths here
207.852s - these jumps are just 16ths (all these sounds align to 32nd notes)
219.172s, 223.012s - again, rhythm here doesn't correspond well to what's actually happening in the music
224.012s - pretty nasty uneeded 188 bpm minijack

the 12th/24th usage at the end was quite a big issue
the other version seemed to be better

Niala

Arcanum Guardian - (VisD)
5/10
-the single 32nd at beat 6.375 is late.
-baet 18.250 is a ghost note, and according to your layering scheme 18.750 should be a jump. That being said, I'd just redo the whole area 'cause it's a poor musical representation imo.
-so right at measure 11 is a little weird. the 16th jump right after indicates you weren't even layering one-to-one with the sounds, but the bass kick was intended for jumps regardless of other sounds, and then beat 40.750 is empty even with the bass kick. You go from one extreme to the other.
-missing a 16th at beat 56.750
-beats 60 and 62 are missing jumps
-The trill starting at beat 66.500 is fine but what's with all the jumps? Where are they even coming from? Maybe if beat 68 also had a jump it would be a bit more fitting but right now I just don't get it.
-Okay so I'm now seeing what you've done in this section (starting around measure 14.) You've applied the layering in the beginning where the jumps come with the snare and not with the kick, which is all fine and good. But then it comes to sections where the melody is playing where the kick is, and instead of layering the jump with the synth, you ignore it on the kick. Which is not so good. It's unintuitive and unrefined.
-My overall opinion of this file is that it lacks polish. The scheme is really strange and awkward, and it feels unfinished. The layering seems to change up on a whim and it's too hard to follow, and it doesn't feel like the file plays to the song. It feels like pieces of several different files intended for different songs were pushed together into this one, instead of feeling congruent.

Spectrum - (beamer & Xiz)
7.5/10
-I have to say adding that random chain at beat 24 was really really weird.
-measure 68/76 i don't get the 32nds. I don't hear a reason for them to exist. Really strange addition.
-the 8th at 338.500 (+repeat) should be a jump
-that being said the jumps in that section are pretty much impossible to tell what's going on. The music is unce unce and not enough sound to distinguish a real rhythm there...
-So yeah, the only thing I don't really like is the ending. The file is pretty good but somewhat imperfect. Perhaps just a tad off-kilter.

Star Girl and the Fantasy Cinema - (Yulanik)
5/10
-The intro follows a very loose layering scheme, which I'm fine with, but is there any reason the first note isn't a jump?
-What I am not fine with, however, is the PR. beat 2.750 is not the same note as beat 3.000. Beat 5.750 IS the same note as beat 6.000. beat 10.750 is the same note as the next, but the rhythm is entirely wrong.
-Why does a hand represent an incredibly soft, low note? Measure 5. It's also repeated once right thereafter, it's two seperate piano strokes, not one.
-First things first, what's with all the off-timed colour notes? I don't see any reason for them, they look like they're just randomly put in there. If you were just trying to spice up the chart, it might've been better to use colour theory on the vocals.
-There's also a veritable issue with not being able to decide what you're stepping. Sometimes the 8ths come from the synth, sometimes it comes from the drums, and I can never figure out which is which.
-Then there's the issue of notes missing. Sometimes they're missing from the vocals (beat 98.500), sometimes they're missing from the synth (beat 110.500, 115.500, 122.333 [which btw is an example of is this drums or synth or what's going on here?]) and then there's stuff missing from the drums (beat 157.167, 170.333) and stuff like the first half of measure 47, which has the 24ths an entire beat too late.
-Now the layering. None of it plays particularly poorly, but it's more like you didn't pay attention to what was going on and instead did generic "close enough" kinda stuff. Then there's stuff like beat 249.000, 268.500, and 269.500, which are just clear mistakes.
-NOW, all that review nonsense being said, this file is a lot worse under the microscope than at it's face value. The sync is really well done early one, and there's no issue with poor patterns. It's just lazy, there was no real attention to the details of the music.

Silvuh
[8.5/10] Queen of Bootlegs (TC_Halogen)
// The file is actually pretty fun. Patterns are smooth, layering is good.
9.29s: Missing 16th to that drum sound that isn't a hi-hat, clearly playing through this beat at 1.0x
13.09s: Melody+bass and should be a jump
17.22-25.22s: Whoa, this stream looks just like a double helix, love it.
34.29-42.29s: Not sure what makes those 8ths special here. Interesting that 37.75s is the only 4th out.
47.22s: Anchor to previous jump to bass.
49.62s: Similar sound to 47.49s yet there's no repeated 16th here.
52.35s: Cool.
117.49s: Good how the pattern contour changes with the sound here.
145.69s: Some of these last notes are a little early.

Sonata (Sanxion7 Remix) (it's easier to just put it in its own section, haha)
TC_Halogen
Sonata (Sanxion7 Remix)
Rating: 6.5/10 -> [+?]

For a new stepartist, you are very very good at following instructions. Kudos to you at the relatively successful attempt of fixing so many things mentioned in my last review of this file. Now that we've addressed issues on the foundation of the structure, let's continue to progress a bit more in detail.

First off, the good: your layering is very solid compared to before. It's very easy to understand, and a player can easily pick up on what you're following -- this is a great thing. Considering your earliest submissions to FFR, you have come a long way. Keep it up!

Areas of opportunity: your overall structure in the file (not just patterns, but BPM schemes) still could use a bit of improvement, and there are areas where your pitch relevance could be improved.

- look at 63.584 -- you see how you have this 34213412 pattern? while it would be better as a repeat, the reason why I mention this is because it's generally acceptable in pitch relevance. Look a bit later though: the same arpeggiated melody at 67.140 uses 34323432, a three-note pattern; visually, it looks incorrect.
- 75.140: while you took the time to improve the section and make it a bit more concise, your structure is a bit ill-conceived. The piano is appropriately accented and the percussion coincides create jumps, but why do you have the mini-jacks? The piano doesn't repeat notes here at all, and they're the only possible thing that jacks could sensibly go to.
- 89.362 to 101.806: this half BPM cut doesn't need to happen; in fact, this structure is musically the same as the earlier one at 18.251. Double the BPM back up and structure your layering accordingly.
- if you look throughout the file, you have a relatively large amount of repeating 8th notes, but they don't clearly accentuate something repeating in any case. This is something I like to call pattern collision: you're accenting multiple things, but your patterns are colliding with other things making your structure a bit more convoluted. Pattern adjustment can alleviate this easily.
- if I had my opinion, I would suggest that you start working on other files that are a bit more complex. You have an idea of what you should be doing now. This song isn't bad, but it's repetitive and overall quite difficult to make something workable.

kommisar
Sonata (5/10)

-File starts off nicely, but pay attention to the synth's notes. some are missing (ex: beat 51.250 you can hear 16th synth notes missed completely. Lots are missed in this secton, yet you step them in the following section?)

-m37 I like the accentuating here, but it's obvious the piano notes are constant 16ths.

-the 16th jump jacks afterwards are a little awkward. I feel like this part could be accented a little better.

-m51 this slowdown really isn't necessary, not for visual effects nor playability. This section is also underlayered for no reason.

-pitch relevancy is alright for the most part except some areas where descending notes are going up (ex: beat 257.500). Maybe look over your leads carefully to get the full effect of ascending vs. descending.

Silvuh
[5.5/10] Sonata / Sanxion7 // M0nkeyz
// The jumping is mostly okay, but many of the patterns feel arbitrary. PR needs work. Even though it's only 2:16 long, there's lots of repitition and could be cut.
7.58s+2m(3): Repeats the same pitch as the previous 8th, so the 8th should be anchored to this jump.
15.58s: Jump here for consistency with 12.02s.
16.02s: Single for consistency.
16.47-18.25s: Doesn't need to be so left-hand biased.
21.25s+2m(7): Shouldn't be the same as the previous 16th, because the melody does BABC, not ABAB. also would be better if these 8ths didn't anchor onto 21.36s
21.69s+2m(7): Background synth is noticably louder here and could be stepped. If you don't add in those 16ths, then don't anchor 21.58s+2m(7) to the previous jump.
32.47s: It's good that this section has more in it for climax theory, but there are some more 16th sounds you could step.
44.69s: And here you should anchor this 8th at least to the previous jump to go with the bass kick.
49.80-51.58s: All the 4ths are different in pitch and should not be repeating like this. The 16th should be the same as the 4th before it, which you don't do at 50.14s. The 8ths don't need to all be the same, either.
52.47s: Three different pitches and shouldn't be a triplet.
68.02s: Hand here? You kind of just forgot about hands after 46.69s because that ended in a jumptrill (which could be a single into hand if you want to emphasize the crash.)
75.14s: The minijacks are innacurate. Start stepping the melody from before that comes in here. Also, the 4ths alternate with the clap, so there shouldn't be same 4th jumps in a row like this.
89.36s: The feel of the music doesn't change enough for this to be a half-BPM section. The decrease in layering does enough.
92.02s: These should be something like 231, peaking in the middle, rather than a straight 123 for PR.
99.58s: Same pitch as 99.36s and should be the same arrow.
Rest is just a repeat of stuff that's happened before.
The pattern being a trill at 128.47s is unnecessary.