[TC_Halogen]

Huge respect for adding a section on chart connotation -- it's something that more stepartists need to learn.

Typically, a song will be split into 4 measure phrases, but of course, every song is different, and should be treated case by case.

I personally would revise this to 8 measure phrases, as a theme changing every four measures in a 4/4 song might sound a bit strange. I know you mention case-by-case, but it's still worth mentioning.

Limiting your pattern choices by avoiding jacks severely limits your work, especially for 4-key, where you don't have a lot of room to begin with. By incorporating jacks into your patterns, you not only have more options, but these jacks will add a lot of expression into your work. Mastery of jack theory will put a lot of personality into your charts, as well as making your patterns stronger and more dynamic.

This is correct, but it needs to be refined a bit. For one, jacks use should be limited in proportion to the BPM of the song -- you don't want to incorporate properly represented jacks for a bass drum in a 250 BPM speedcore song when a synth riff decides to come in (obviously, this is an extenuating and quite stupid circumstance). In addition to this, simfile artists might be trying to avoid a level of rigidity. While obviously a joke, you made a chart for Amber Shores (if I remember correctly) that illustrates a great counter-example to this theory, despite being rather unrealistic. Also, a simfile artist might be working on a file that is intended to be mid-level in difficulty, with intentions to represent the song with a high number of notes with a high amount of pattern fluency (therefore, an easier file, despite the increased density).

I'm not noting that the jack theory is incorrect, but it should be used stringently.

Streams can be tricky because without enough experience, it can be very difficult to create streams that flow properly, and do not contain any awkward pattern choices. There are some general guidelines to follow to create stream patterns that will not be problematic. Keep in mind that these are still just general guidelines. If a concept requires that some of these guidelines are broken, then it could be justified.

Thank you for adding the bolded area.

3.3.3.1: Advanced Pitch Relevancy/Counterpoint

Fantastic section.

3.3.6: Grace Notes

Also a fantastic section with great examples.

3.3.8: Mine Usage

This has something I would like to address:

You mention:

Because the player needs to avoid the mines, they are perfect for most situations where it is preferable to force the player to release a key. These can be placed at abrupt changes in the music, such as silences in the music or wherever particular instrument tracks stop. This is the most literal usage of mines.

and:

In addition, because mines will activate as long as the key is held down, care must be taken not to place them too close to the notes, making them feel very tight and forcing good accuracy and absurdly quick lifts for those notes.

When you mention wherever particular instrument tracks stop, could we possibly incorporate staccatos? Staccatos are excellent ways to utilize mines because a player literally has to do a motion that is cut off/intended to be fast. While they don't provide the best visual stimuli, one can argue that a staccato using mines is the most appropriate way to do it; a mini-hold would imply that the note should be sustained for an extremely short period, which well... isn't possible. If you're hitting a staccato, you have no intentions on sustaining the note at all.

That's all I have. This is a really good guide, Bufang.