The VideoGame MegaPack 4 (SUBMISSIONS CLOSED)!

[Dj_Ossa]

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

Responses.

What is making this file feel dumpy to you? It all seemed fairly musically justified to me: it's just the snare and the melody for pretty much the entire file, until the JS at the end which is the synth arpeggios plus the melody. I found these sounds to be very prominent - I did include the loud beeps in the beginning as miniholds, I can remove those if they are part of the problem? I'd be glad to make an easier difficulty that follows the melody and the bass instead, if that would help.
Overall I went with a fairly hard file because the whole song is very energetic; an easy file didn't really feel right to me.

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

There's a LOT of sounds in this song and I shift what I'm following frequently. In this case I definitely agree it does feel "dumpy" as a result. The problem is keeping playability in mind, because I found this file getting over-layered really easily if I wasn't picky. If there are sections where you think I should shift what I'm layering, I'll definitely consider making changes.

To be honest, I am not as good a StepMania player as I used to be back in the day. The "too dumpy for me" comment is well... My personal preference. I acknowledge the thought process and the accuracy/potential fun factor these files have to offer and that's the reason why I said yes to them

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

I was hoping this file could go in the pack and be popular for the same reason files like Excite Bike, VS Boss Battle, The Adventures Of Lolo, and Grind 2 are so often played on FFR. People really like short, challenging, whore-able files. This kind of file isn't supposed to be some grand artistic statement, it's just great for scoring.

Is there anything specific I could do that would help in your eyes? I did try repeating the song so it isn't so short, but that got rid of the "short intense" feel for little benefit.

Like I said, to be FAIR, I hate the song. It is up to MacGravel's discretion whether to leave it as a joke/hard file like Metal Warrior and Excite Bike etc.

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

I'm curious what you mean "the second part," are you referring to the guitar solo and the short drum pattern after the break? Because those are the only thing in the file that's not easy 8ths or jacks lol

More importantly, though, I just want to talk about the jacks. If I do anything more with the jack sections they become ridiculously difficult. I originally had the jumpjacks as pitch-relevant split jumpjacks and that alone literally tripled the difficulty of the file. I tried layering in some percussion in the long single jacks and that made it very annoying to play. Jacks are really tough to get right difficulty-wise. I agree there's lots of ways I could express progression (trills becoming jacks, etc.) but as a player those kinds of changes can make the structure of the file feel non-obvious (Linus' Hamsin file is a good example; the trills to jacks in the oni chart are a weird transition for me when I play) so I just went with a focus on having a consistent playable feel.

Fair enough! Again, your file, and I find nothing wrong with it, thus the yes

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

I am not sure exactly what to do with this review. Spray seems like a finished file to me? The layering scheme is fairly simple, yes, but that's because everything else I tried made it lose the pitch relevancy of the streams, and I love how the streams feel.

If I were to layer in the big booming drums, it would be easy in places like 6.201 but it would make proper-feeling PR impossible in places like 7.154
I originally had the snares layered in but that made the transitions in the 23.344 section into just a jumptrills, which felt really lame and was also way harder than the rest of the file.
If hands are used to crashes instead of jumps, it makes proper PR impossible at places like 68.106; all the solutions I tried felt really un-intuitive.

I tried many different layering options and decided that a simpler one was better to preserve the PR and allow flowing patterns (aka no jumptrills), and that experts could just play it on rates. I might be over-focusing on keeping the PR very strict, but that's the entire appeal of the file for me

The song is short, and perhaps that is what you are responding to? Like the other short files I submitted, I feel nothing really changes if it's looped again other than being more annoying to play for scoring.

Overall I definitely want to keep this chart as it is intact. It's a great intermediate D3-ish file and plays amazingly on rates (it's super fun on 2.0x!)
That said if you have suggestions for what layering you'd want to see in another difficulty that would help it get accepted, I'd love to know.

Perhaps a harder difficulty with those added layers? It just somehow feels incomplete to me man, I can play it again and take some notes if you want, hit me up on skype.

[Flossy97]

Battle! Trainer Battle (Flossy) - No. For such an epic song this is a simple file and I hate to say it but it was quite boring. There are a lot of things you could do to make this file better: more progression, better usage of whatever sounds you can get, more creativity with the patterns. Right now, as it is, it's a no from me.

Yeah, I kinda expected as much. Maybe I'm just uncreative but I'm not sure how much more to extend it past what I already have. However I have started working on something else, and the file is already like 3x as exciting as the last one. So I guess we'll see how this one turns out once I'm done.

[Walrusizer]

how can you hate escape of the infidels it wouldve been the best file in the pack

[MooMoo_Cowfreak]

Originally Posted by Flossy97

Yeah, I kinda expected as much. Maybe I'm just uncreative but I'm not sure how much more to extend it past what I already have. However I have started working on something else, and the file is already like 3x as exciting as the last one. So I guess we'll see how this one turns out once I'm done.

No one is amazing when they first start charting, keep at it and you will definitely improve mate

[macgravel]

Originally Posted by Walrusizer

how can you hate escape of the infidels it wouldve been the best file in the pack

I said yes. If Tsuka says yes then it's in

[DigitalS3r4ph]

I kind of appreciate hi19's feedback I'm seeing so far on Ossa's statements haha.

Sorry I havent gotten around to judging/reviewing files yet. I've been working on some graphics and files of my own in a crunch, but I'll have verdicts up soon! I have a lot to check out and catch up on, so bear with me.

[Dj_Ossa]

Yeah, thanks hi19 for your feedback dude, that's a whole lot of files you got it though hahaha

[Kalre]

Submitted another file

[Dj_Ossa]

Originally Posted by Flossy97

Yeah, I kinda expected as much. Maybe I'm just uncreative but I'm not sure how much more to extend it past what I already have. However I have started working on something else, and the file is already like 3x as exciting as the last one. So I guess we'll see how this one turns out once I'm done.

Maybe a new song is all you need! Good luck, there's still time!

[DigitalS3r4ph]

omg tsuker bazucker raveiewz11]

FYI I'm drinking Wine as I play all these so please excuse my crunkness as I get drunk playing this yay.

Alien's Lair - Yes - Fun and short score attack file. Reviewed with fix #3 (Latest one I think?) Good stuff. Layering felt accurate, even if the song was a bit simple.

Angel Island Zone - Conditional but leaning towards Yes - The file is otherwise flawless, but the 24th note segments really annoyed the hell out of me. I'd like to see an easier alt chart with this segment stepped differently, with this as the hard chart, and then the expert chart with both layered in combined. I'm a fan of charts that have multiple difficulties, and I feel like that could definitely be done to add that extra bit of 'polish' to a song so deserving of it. Not a dealbreaker though. I'd love to have this file in the pack, so please consider my suggestion.

Battle! (Ho-oh) - YES - It's really interesting to see how you've grown as a simfile creator after all these years. I actually remember being quite underwhelmed waaaay back in the day with almost all of your simfiles/ffr files included/ that I felt you were lower tier. This file was really well done though and I had a major blast playing it (Same with Shard which is equally amazing). At this point, I'm looking forward to all of your submissions because they're hype!

Battle! (Lugia) - YES - Great job on this too. Had a blast playing it.

Battle! Trainer Battle- Yes - First off, EXCELLENT JOB on this. Despite it feeling very easy, considering the song, I got the sense that it was a well polished file with no real glaring issues or errors with it. That being said, I'd encourage you to give it a look once more and see how you could make a more challenging chart for it as well, since I know the music definitely has more to offer in the note-stepping-opportunity area. I love seeing stuff from newer step artists. Again, good work bro.

Betrayal - Jesus Christ - My hats off to you, sir.

City - Yes - You are perfect. I tend to never find much of anything wrong with anything you ever submit, and this is no exception. Thank you for stepping one of my favorite VG songs of all time from one of my favorite franchises of all time.

Dark World - A Link to the Past - Yes - Who stepped this? This was the most fun I've had playing a Zelda file in a long time. My only issue with it is, are you afraid of using freezes? Take advantage of that shit bro, that would only serve to make this awesome chart feel more complete.

Escape of the Infidels - Yes - Medium chart was fun, Hard was tolerable, Expert is pure garbage. I can see the point of this file, which is why I'm leaning towards a yes, but this kind of file really isn't my cup of tea.

Fighting of the Spirit - YES - 10/10

Grab the Crystal Popcorn! - Yes - Really cool file overall.

High-Speed Beast - Yes - Definitely an endurance test, really stressful file to play overall. I love the minijacks. Great for scoring.

In the Fires of Ignition - Yes - Fun little file.

Kindgom of Devotindos - Yes - It is no secret that I love swing files like this.

Lily Islands - Yes - Two swing files back to back, I'm reaaaaallly being spoiled today haha. Love it!

McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure Final Boss - Yes - Loved both charts. The jacks on the harder chart are on POINT. Love it!

Steel Massimo - Yes - Solid breakthrough file man! Great song choice, short and sweet, to the point, and interesting overall. It feels a bit off-kilter but the file is good overall. Hope to see more from you soon.

TAKE OFF - Yes - Pretty brutal but straightforward file, I'd say it's a good inclusion to the pack. I enjoyed the jacks for sure!

The Valedictory Elegy - Yes - Both charts are rock solid. Good shit.

Working Together - YES - VAST improvement over the original submission from what I can remember. Excellent job on this man!

[Buta-san]

be the first to judge fields of honor! theres two mp3s and idk which i wanna use '~'

[bmah]

Yeah I have no probs making an easier difficulty for Angel Island, and that would help justify the file in this pack even more. Don't think I will layer the harder chart any more though.

[Flossy97]

Battle! Trainer Battle- Yes - First off, EXCELLENT JOB on this. Despite it feeling very easy, considering the song, I got the sense that it was a well polished file with no real glaring issues or errors with it. That being said, I'd encourage you to give it a look once more and see how you could make a more challenging chart for it as well, since I know the music definitely has more to offer in the note-stepping-opportunity area. I love seeing stuff from newer step artists. Again, good work bro.

Wow. I'm really glad you liked it! One of the reasons I would say it was really polished was that I playtested the hell out of it. But unfortunately I started this game in January, and would still consider myself to be weaker than the average player. So I'm kinda afraid to try and make more challenging files as I'm afraid it'll end up too difficult for me to playtest, and I won't really be able to do the file justice. I'll still try though, but it'll probably be at least a month or so before I feel like I'll really be able to do the files so they're as good as I want. But I'll still try and see what I can do once I've finished and learned from what I'm working on now.

[Arntonach]

On monday I'll be going to school where I can use a proper version of photoshop, so expect something from me then. I can also do gfx for the pack if it's still needed too.

[cedolad]

Originally Posted by bmah

Do you have anything in mind? Or should I find something? Hit me up on Skype etc.

I have a few songs I still want to step, but we should talk more about what we want to step because I know we have different tastes. Also I'm not on Skype much anymore these days, but expect a PM

[cedolad]

Originally Posted by Arntonach

On monday I'll be going to school where I can use a proper version of photoshop, so expect something from me then. I can also do gfx for the pack if it's still needed too.

Ffs pls for all that is holy pls do all the gfx for the MvC2 ost that I stepped

[macgravel]

Originally Posted by cedolad

Ffs pls for all that is holy pls do all the gfx for the MvC2 ost that I stepped

We've already got them taken care of.

[choof]

gonna work on some motoi sakuraba

[-paexaea-]

Originally Posted by choof

gonna work on some motoi sakuraba

daaaaank

also macg, tell me youve got that sexy ass italian stallion doin graphics for this

[hi19hi19]

Originally Posted by DigitalS3r4ph

Battle! (Ho-oh) - YES - It's really interesting to see how you've grown as a simfile creator after all these years. I actually remember being quite underwhelmed waaaay back in the day with almost all of your simfiles/ffr files included/ that I felt you were lower tier. This file was really well done though and I had a major blast playing it (Same with Shard which is equally amazing). At this point, I'm looking forward to all of your submissions because they're hype!

I've always said that it's a unique privilege and simultaneously a unique problem that essentially every file I made for the first 3 years I was stepping is publicly available. I mean look at the stats for {Rose}, the first file I ever released has been played over 350,000 times. It's awesome, but it's also really embarrassing, because I know now that so many of my early files were straight garbage.
I'm glad I can at least change your opinion now!

I'm also glad that you appreciate the feedback... I'm not going to lie, it's really frustrating to get a file rejected without knowing what you could do better. And even for the files that were accepted, I want to make them better. If a reviewer has a feeling that a file is "dumpy" or some other issue, and its bad enough they bother to mention it, other people probably will feel the same way too - and if I can fix that and improve the file, I should. I'll see if I can catch you on Skype at some point.

Also, I realize now part of the problem seems to be that I misjudged what the pack is going for. I've always associated VGMP with simple guilty pleasure files like Zagh's Sewer Surfin' file, which I played to death after the first VGMP came out. Files I submitted to this pack like In the Fires of Ignition and Spray were trying to recreate that simple kind of file.

But I notice the files that are being best received are the more... artsy and modern (for lack of a better term) files.
I'm going to send another file in tonight. If my hunch is right, it will probably be a lot more what you guys are looking for than things like Escape of the Infidels or Med Sci 1. I'm eager to see what you think.