FFR Community Pack Spring 2012 Released

[ScylaX]

Alex your reviews are getting are as severe as Stargroup with a dossarlx style point of view haha
why are you people so reluctant at reviewing it backward also

[moches]

I have no clue when I'll finish all of these, so here's what I have so far

1000 BPM (BynaryFission) [5 charts] + [1 solo chart]
Oni’s pretty fun. BPM a bit too varied to be playable—may be a slight problem on xmod.

20 Percent Cooler (Alex S. & LULZ) [2 charts]
Quit out after a bit. A bit overlong and song’s not too interesting for stepping (good song though, I’ll give you credit for that). Also lots of layering confusion and inconsistencies. Most of my complaints with this have to do with its simplicity actually. Not necessarily a bad thing, but file’s not engaging enough to overcome that.

ACCELERATOR (Scylaax) [2 charts]
Very cool mines, freezes, and the whole thing feels incredibly cool to watch. I really wish the patterns here were more carefully constructed, though.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (Profraine) [3 charts]
Not that bad, but I've played this file before. wish you would have gone a bit more creative with this

Awakening, to a World Protected (Midigami vs. Nai vs. Killjoy) [2 charts]
So, them color notes...guess it was easier to do that than just sync the whole thing correctly, hehe. Still synced well so doesn't matter though. Patterns could have been a lot better (pitch is way way off), but the song really saves this—it’s so relaxing and sweeping that I can’t help but like this.

Awakening Wolf's Instinct (choenpam) [2 charts]
At least this is fairly accurate. Just incredibly awkward to play with all the bursts and jacks that don’t really fit with the music. Easier chart is slightly better but still very wonky as well, tons of difficulty spikes and layering choices that I really can’t understand ??

Black Snow (Violin Lead) (~Karmatized~) [2 charts]
Not a fan of this file, sorry; too much stream, strings seem very haphazardly layered (when you’re utilizing longer freezes, it’s important to take into consideration how everything else around it will flow) and not enough variety to compensate.

Brand X (MrTea) [4 charts]
Minimalistic but it suits this song quite well; though I thought some parts could use a little more flair your file was sturdy enough to stand without them. Very fun file, rolls off the fingers well even with all those jacks and bursts. Overall not a lot to say, I enjoyed this.

Burning Rome (LEAD) [2 charts]
Sort of old-fashioned style to this, which I enjoy, but that also means it can be abrasive at times. Pretty fun.

Call Upon the Seaponies (EuroSHOOBEDOO Mix) (megamon88) [2 charts]
Simple but tons of fun. Really dig this file.

Can't Hide Your Love (Kommisar) [2 charts]
Not as distinctive as its prequel but still hella well-constructed and fun.

Carnage! (Rog) [2 charts]
Holy crap. Very well-made and trippy, but some of the gimmicks really do border on unfair. Tons of fun, though.

Chousai Kenbo Sengen (Ziergdsx18) [2 charts]
Sharpnel file on crack but quite a blast to play with all the MA practice green note spurts and the streams. Simple but effective.

Collapsing Floor (Detrimentalist) [2 charts]
Absolutely stunning. A few spots that played a little roughly, but I’m just being picky. I think this may be my favorite file from you thus far.

Coward Killing Time (LegendaryHawk) [2 charts]
What is the measure of a true dump

Crunk De Gaulle (Second Movement) (wc) [2 charts]
So many spiritual sequels in this pack, wow. This is a totally sexy file though and I want to kiss you on the mouth.

Cypher Gate Re-Design Mix (melon) [2 charts] + [5 solo charts]
Nice. patterns could have been much more balanced at spots (the triple jacks and the 32nds in particular) but the layering brings out the rhythms of the song very well

Dance Away (AlexDest) [2 charts]
Awesome use of climax theory and very good expressive techniques for a pretty simple song. I’d say more but this is just solid all-around, excellent work.

Enigma (BynaryFission) [3 charts]
The original is so iconic that it’s kinda a gutsy move to restep it, but this is pretty respectable. Pretty loaded with score fodder, whether it’s the jacks, the streams, the little pockets of bursts, and quite well-crafted all-around. A little awkward at times, but I’m still glad you got to make this file.

EXEC_ViiBaCi_MjiiRa (Yesssss) [4 charts] + [4 solo charts]
I’m not going to even lie, this file just had me grinning like a dork the whole time. I love all of the Ar Tonelico files you’ve done and this is just another addition to that streak of awesome.

Mahou no Fu (plopadop) [2 charts]
Very FFR, but that's not bad at all. clean, good for scoring. long jack was a bit abrupt and freeze usage could have been more judicious

Main Menu (plopadop) [2 charts]
I ****ing love this file. So clean, so easy, yet so whimsical and inspired that I can’t even really criticize it. Experience tells me that good files are born out of sweat and blood: this file reminds me that inspiration plays a pretty damn big part as well.

No, but seriously, file’s awesome.

Maniera (0) [1 chart]
Some dork will get the AA on this…someday....

Meltdown 2 (Oubliette) [3 charts]
VGMP-style file but nothing wrong with that: pretty simple and fun. A little pattern bias, maybe.

Mind Mapping (Kors K Mix) (wc) [2 charts]
Straightforward and enjoyable. I still enjoy the original more, but this is plenty fun on its own.

Moves Like Jagger (Sargon) [3 charts]
Interesting song choice and file’s pretty fun (albeit incredibly scatterbrained).

Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix) (bmah) [2 charts]
Pretty nice file, but somehow I feel that the file doesn’t quite match the bombast of the song…it needs a bit more texture, a bit more depth. Still a lovely file, but not as transcendent as the song is really. (This is me being a snob. Sorry.)

Space Armada (BynaryFission) [2 charts] + [1 solo chart]
I'd complain about the 32nd patterns/jack distribution but no need; it's a rigid, ruthless scoring file that suits its purpose very well.

Tengu's Playful Mind (Gpop) [4 charts]
Decent file, but reaches a climax of inspired lunacy that kinda upstages the rest of the file. This stepman’s efforts are clearly flourishing with each file, though.

to Luv me, I xxx for u. (reprise) (Scylaax) [2 charts]
Like I am towards all sequels, I was a bit skeptical of this, but this is a fantastic reinterpretation of the source material. A few awkward splotches, especially with jacks, but really really fun and good for scoring

Twilight Prince (Sanzath) [3 charts] + [1 solo chart]
Very cool usage of background changes, so props. Some parts of this are very well done, but others felt a bit confusing because you oversimplified or didn't bring out the layers well enough. Decent overall, nice for 16th rhythm practice and song’s pretty nice.

Umbrella Beach (Shiron) [2 charts]
There’s an unabashed joy in this file that I really dig; the rhythms and patterns may be a tad sloppy, but whatevs this is pretty darn fun to play. My love for this song may be coloring my perception of the file a bit, I must admit, but there’s some pretty cool stuff in here regardless of that.

Vocaloid in D (Mina) [2 charts]
THIS IS NOT A 10. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, GUNDAM. Technical dump—in D.

We Are The Sound (Gundam-Dude) [2 charts]
Pretty stunning.

YOUR VIBE (Scylaax) [2 charts]
Some of this is awesome, other parts just fall apart. I think a bit of planning and condensing would have done wonders for this. Solid file, missing a little extra something.

Vodka (Rog) [2 charts]


Want U Back (moches) [2 charts]
REMEMBER ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU AND I DID FIRST

To Punish The Weak (Torrent) [2 charts]
Heavy but surprisingly rhythmically light file. Fun patterns, they’re hard but fit the song well. Nothing much to say, solid file.

Tokitsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku (Gundam-Dude) [3 charts] + [1 solo chart]
Pretty nice. Simple MA file but has a lot of dynamic power.

Make Us Your Brides (melon) [3 charts]
Challenge is incredibly overstepped. Heavy file was quite fun, though I didn't like the way you simplified the 24ths (very awkward to hit). Good usage of minimalistic freezes and hands to emphasize the rhythms of the song.

We Cannot Get Out of Here Forever (Condoct) [2 charts]
Yellow Zone (Yesssss) [2 charts] + [2 solo charts]

The Big Crunch (Kommisar) [1 chart]
Always dependable for a good chip file. This is no different.

The Disco Rangers Bus Knows How To Rock N' Roll (eastsideman09) [2 charts]
Mines seemed very overused here; I was watching out and still ended up hitting them left and right. Decent gimmicks, though the file feels a little overcooked. Kinda fun?

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley (wc) [1 chart]
Stabwound (wc) [2 charts]
Still Alive in Love (Yume) [3 charts]
Szycag (MrTea) [4 charts]
TearVid (choenpam) [3 charts]

Final Battle (VS. Satan) (Kommisar & Don) [3 charts]
I prefer Kommisar's approach to this, to be honest; Don has some parts he emphasized very well but his file falls into the monotony of the song a little. Kommisar's is much more dynamic. Both charts have their merits, though and this is definitely a well-made if simple file.

Haru no Minatoni (melon) [2 charts] + [1 solo chart]

Ithavoll Building - Lower Floors (Profraine) [3 charts]
Relaxing but pretty enjoyable file. I wish the patterns had been a little more thought-out, though. Probably one of my favorite files from you to date.

Jannenkei Rinjinbu Hoshi Futatsu Han (Yume) [3 charts]
Pretty fruity file but rhythms are lovely to hit. A few patches of awkwardness here and there.

Kagachi (Yume) [4 charts]


Kanon (leonid) [2 charts]
I appreciate that you can make replayable scoring files without resorting to cheap tactics, and this file, while tough, is always fair. Great song and masterfully crafted.

Love B.B.B. (Niko) [2 charts]
Very fun file that rolls right off the fingers. Love this song too.

Ludicrous Speed (Sticklydude) [2 charts]
Everything about this file is at least passable...but those 32nd trills have got to go. They are a complete blight on the file, whether we're talking about difficulty consistency or flow or fun. Otherwise, kind of enjoyable file though patterns could have been more planned out.

Magda (xanox) [1 chart]
I really do not comprehend this file at all. Refraining from commenting.

Remain (leonid) [2 charts]
You’re really stepping your game up, dude. Beautiful scoring file.

Rhapsody of the Scarlet Moon (Don) [1 chart]
I don't remember the last time I had so much fun with a Don file, hahaaa. Great, great file full of little surprises and expressive tricks.

Right Back (Gundam-Dude) [2 charts]
Fun, fun, fun. You always nail these kind of files.

rog-limitation (AlexDest & Bynary Fission) [2 charts]
Very good scoring file, simple but solid and has some replay value.

Sacred Campaign (Kaneh) [2 charts]
Simple but effective file; somebody compared this to He's A Pirate and I have to agree with that. Pretty enjoyable.

Na o kansuru mono-tachi (Scylaax) [3 charts]

Native Faith (Niko) [1 chart]
Pretty great file though I felt some of the polyrhythms got a little out of hand. Some of the patterns were awkward. Quite fun for the most part, though and there really hasn't been a file like this in a while so this was nice to see.

NNRT (bmah) [2 charts]
Hahaha wow. Pretty ridiculous file, but it’s high-energy enough to get away with doing a lot of things. Very fun.

Oh My Love (WTFBrandon) [2 charts]
This is a pretty fun file, but my hatred of Chris Brown will knock it down at least a few pegs.

Omen vs. The Box (eastsideman09) [1 chart]
I did not see this coming at all. Awesome file, the gimmicks just fit the song so well and your patterns captured the tension of the song nicely. This is just a joy to play, well done dude.

Perilous Paradise (Midigami) [2 charts]
This file is just way way way too cramped. You got greedy and as a result, nothing in this stood out. Taking a bit of discretion when choosing what to layer will help you bring out the potential of your files a lot.

Philosophyz (Niko) [2 charts]


Poo (Yotipo) [4 charts]
Heh, neat little file if a bit generic.

Raindrops and Puddles (plopadop) [2 charts]
Interesting attempt at a relaxing file. Partially succeeds, but the freezes kill the mood: they’re too heavy to complement the lightness of this file. The piano bursts, while correct, feel a bit egregious as well and probably should have been toned down as well. About 70% there, just a few things that break the tone.

[Lynn.]

This is my subjective review, from my own perspective. I couldn't play every songs in the pack. Gonna play more later. Btw, I played only the hardest chart of the songs.

Burning Rome - A common file but it was enjoyable

Can't Hide Your Love - Spaceman 2

Crunk de Gaulle - Rhythmic file but it gets bored at the end with the song

Dance Away - There's lots of songs like this one in Korea, meaning the song not the patterns, so I hadn't felt anything particular of this one.

Enigma - Impressive one, replayable for me

Jannenkei Rinjinbu Hoshi Futatsu Han - Another version of this song. The mines are excessive but it was fun.

Kagachi - Lovely

Kanon - Too hard for me

Magda - Really fun

Mahou no Oshigoto - It could have been better if the song was non-vocal. Nice

Make Us Your Bride - Man I was startled at the gfxs. Anyway thx.

Maniera - ae;rijae;ti

Moves Like Jagger - MAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON5 / Not repetitive, surprisingly.

Rhapsody of the Scarlet Moon - Nice file, yes.

Right Back - I often play this song in Technika 3. Anyway, extremely replayable.

Tokitsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku - Another solo file, yay.

We Are The Sound - Me too

We Cannot Get Out of Here Forever - Why didn't you layered the vocal? Anyway it was decent.

Yellow Zone - Fun

Your Vibe - Thought this one'd be boring but it wasn't. Really impressive.

[tunsz555]

I don't have time to review but I enjoyed the pack My fav probably ACCELERATOR and Right Back and Native Faith.

Also thanks for liking moves like jagger lol

[ScylaX]

Your Vibe - Thought this one'd be boring but it wasn't. Really impressive.

My fav probably ACCELERATOR and Right Back and Native Faith.

<3

[AlexDest]

cypher gate - more inconsistent layering, and unfriendly patterns 1/10

dance away - now that i think about i sure could have added mines in the beginning 8ths, oh well

enigma (oni) - this would actually be a perfect old-school file if you hadn't overcrowded jumps with short 64th bursts and kept some parts from the beginner chart in the oni chart (ex. kept the triplets as trills), still decently enjoyable to say the least 5/10

exec - intense yesssss layering, what more could you ask for. building up a climax with the color notes, etc 7/10

final boss (vs satan) - not much of a memorable file, but hey, still has its moments
don's chart: kil-esque up in dis 7/10
kommi's chart: just as fun, puyopuyomania finale 7/10

haru no minatoni - i dont get your stepping style at all

ithavoll building - much much better than alice in wonderland. you could at least shorten the holds in the beginning, hitting 16th streams while holding a note tends to overcrowd stuff and disrupts the "fluency" of the patterns. overall a good file 6/10

jennenkei - this was actually getting interesting to play, some hands might not be needed in a couple places but it's not a bad file. 5/10

kagachi - this was actually getting to be fun, until the trills leading into hands in the ending kind of ruined that moment. but nice job overall 6/10

kanon (heavy) - gets gradually harder near the middle, replay value may be on the weak side but whats a pack without any tarolabo (o: 6/10

love b.b.b - other than it being excessively fluent, nothing is too interesting in this file. 5/10

ludicrous speed - dont know why you have to layer the synth instead of the bass which is more clear to hear, had to quit out 0/10

magda - makes no sense at all 0/10

mahou no oshigoto - oh so the seinfeld cdtitle = plopadop, THE MORE YOU KNOW
could have toned down the layering in the beginning as it distracts away from the climatic jump/handstream in the middle, at this speed the 16ths could have been more friendly to hit 4/10

main menu - kinda seems vgmp inspired, didnt exactly need to express some sounds with holds but it's not bad 4/10

make us your brides - i don't even know what to say for this at all

maniera - hard pain

meltdown 2 - technical and interesting, haven't seen an oubliette file in ages 5/10

[t-rogdor]

lmao alex i can't tell if you're serious or just trying to make fun of how stargroup reviews files

[Gundam-Dude]

probably a mix of both

shitting on other files makes you feel better about yourself regardless

[AlexDest]

Originally Posted by t-rogdor

lmao alex i can't tell if you're serious or just trying to make fun of how stargroup reviews files

im completely serious

[Lynn.]

Well, when I make files, I try to show my feeling of the song. So actually, I don't have any style of stepping files, just it's ok when they're fun to me. (Some people say that my stepping style is similar to Leonid's.)

[t-rogdor]

Originally Posted by AlexDest

im completely serious

o never realized you reviewed like that. neat or something.

[Gundam-Dude]

Originally Posted by Gundam-Dude

shitting on other files makes you feel better about yourself regardless

neat or something.

[t-rogdor]

egotism is a hell of a drug

[AlexDest]

Originally Posted by Gundam-Dude

neat or something.

but egotism makes everything better

:'(

[Gundam-Dude]

I never review packs I release... because I've already played every file and my comments at this point would be absolutely redundant.

you can question all you want about why certain files ended up in the pack but it wouldn't make any difference—the pack is already released and any attempts to re-release would be absolutely stupid. on the other hand, constructive criticism is what people need to improve—it's a double edged sword.

do what you want and review however you want `~`

[Wineandbread]

Reviewing right now. I'll update semi-live though I'm for certain not going to finish today xd

I went in random order

Meltdown 2:
(heavy) - short and sweet file. Not exactly the best replayability factor for the higher tier pl;ayers, but it seemed solid to me and I enjoyed it. <3 Cave Story
(standard) - kool (I thought the beginning triplets to the melody were kinda weird cause it seemed a little odd layering to me, but w/e)
(light) - kool

Dance Away:
(heavy) - pretty decent file. I found your layering/difficulty choice kind of weird but I guess you were trying to give some variation to the file towards the beginning before the entrance of the solo; I would have just cut the file tbh but w/e. Nothing much to say otherwise.
(standard) - okay as a standalone, but doesn't deviate too much from heavy imo. I would have eased up on the solo a little more and changed more of the beginning, or you could have beefed up heavy a little more.

Love B.B.B.:
(heavy) - Not bad. Layering seemed alright good, idk what else to say. Love the song btw (o:
(standard) - good. I enjoyed this more than heavy actually, maybe cause I'm a huge noob now. Just seems more appropriate as standard for a 4key file I guess, idk

rog-limitation:
(heavy) - this was decent. Seems like it would make for a good scoring file. Streams are well patterned (aka not awkward). Genereally flows pretty well, though I wasn't a huge fan of the 4-freeze repeated sequences, but not a huge complaint.
(beginner) - serves its purpose as a beginner file. exceptional difficulty spike; niec jackmanias. I thought I was going to have to mash through this but it wasn't as bad as I thought I guess. thought heavy was better.

(as a side note, why does it say XAKI on the Banner but the artist is ZTS?)


Your Vibe:
(heavy) - dat groove. This was not bad, and fun to play. A tad dragged on though in length. Also your little mine trick with the synth gliss or whatever was kinda of odd. Plus you only used it one time ?_?
(standard) - not much of a difficulty lowering :/

Right Back:
(heavy) - TANUKIIIIIIIIIII. Superb file. The jumpstream at first seemed kinda funky to me cause the synths didn't compose the entire js but I got it later xd
(standard) - Forever in your arms is where I want to be~

Crunk de Gaulle Second Movement:
(heavy) - kool stuff, wc. Solid file. i think some more minifreezes could have helped at the 16th scratch section towards the earlier half ot the file. Also the end was a little dragged, but I think it might have been a little awkward to cut.
(standard) - Ah--ah--ah--ah--ah--ah--ahah, ahah, ahah- ah-ah-ah-ah-ah---ah


Can't Hide Your Love:
(heavy) - kool, kool. I don't have much to say xd, aside from one thing: I have some weird ghost note thing going on while playing this where I would hit a note that came up but it wouldn't register, and it wouldn't break my combo. Am I missing something here ?_?
(oni) - o. I guess another thing I have to say about both of these are that the charts are both pretty heavily percussion oriented. (just sayin, not really implying it's good or bad)

20% Cooler (remix):
(heavy) - uhh.. was this stepped for FFR? From a technical standpoint, I don't see how this even got into the pack without revision. Bunch of offsync spots and layering issues. Song is uninteresting for a chart at best. This person has the basics down, but the chart still needs quite a bit of work; even then it will be limited hugely by the fact that it's rather long and non-dense. On a side note I figure pat would have quality controlled the background but I guess not lololol
(standard) - I couldn't bring myself to finish this, sorry.

Brand X:
(heavy) - not bad dude. patterns seemed good, flow was fine. I think that your aversion to using hands kinda hurt the layering impact of the chart a little bit but it's still a pretty good file.
(standard) - solid standard chart. This is how a difficulty lowering should look like.
(light/beginner) - getting lazy oop

Want U Back:
(heavy) - eheh I remember this song. Nice easy, upbeat song to play. Mines were kinda annoying though xd Side notes: dat bubble gum. dat helicopter
(standard) - If I wanted to play with less mines, I'd play with MinesOff. (O: (I tease, but really, not much of a difficulty gap)

Coward Killing Time:
(heavy) - decent, I guess. One big quirk I had was the stream leading into the drum trills you stepped twice which wasn't actually a stream but w/e. The mines didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but that's much more minor. Otherwise this file seems technically okay to me.
(oni) - Failed at the first long 32nd trill. Whatever I'm not going to judge this, have fun sm scores thread

Moves Like Jagger:
(heavy) - surprisingly fun !! Technically sound, other than the 24ths on the last whistle, which I thought was kinda quirky, but I'll take it. also n1 censored version xd
(standard) - kool
(light) - passed

Perilous Paradise:
(heavy) - not too shabby. I thought stream was an iffy choice here because it was rather background. Layering transitions were kinda subtle to me. Pattern were hard where you had a lot of layers going on.
(oni) - afaik the main difference was the addition of the 32nds at the end of every percussion phrase; same complaints as heavy.

Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix):
(heavy) - For some reason I expected this to be better from the song preview. The file was still pretty good though. I kind of understand what you were trying to go for towards the first third of the chart, but tbh I think it would have been better if you had cut some more out of the beginning. Technically sound and still pretty fun to tap to though (:
(standard) - getting really lazy. I played through some of it and it seemed kool

Maniera:
(oni) - well, I tried. I won't make too many judgements about this since I can't play it well but in terms of layering it seems rather over the top. But I suppose that's the point isn't it...

Chousai Kenbo Sengen:
(heavy) - lmfao, the bg. Anyways I thought this was okay. I didn't expect the jumpstream later on, seemed much harder than compared to the rest of the chart.
(oni) - hard pain voice step. I don't think this is really enough of a step up from heavy.

Remain:
(heavy) - I can barely scrap my file past this file, but I still think that it's one of your best files to date. Flows really well and adheres to the song nicely. You should really ease up on the mines imo unless you want everyone to play your songs with NoMines xd (I kept them on just 4 U man (o
(standard) - Very reasonble step down in difficulty, and still pretty enjoyable.

Yellow Zone:
(heavy) - wow this is way harder than I expected it to be lol. Solid file, though a little over the top imo
(standard) - Thought this was a more appropriate chart for the song.

Done for today pce

[kommisar]

being egoist is still just an opinion

[XxMidigamixX]

Originally Posted by Wineandbread

Can't Hide Your Love
(heavy) - kool, kool. I don't have much to say xd, aside from one thing: I have some weird ghost note thing going on while playing this where I would hit a note that came up but it wouldn't register, and it wouldn't break my combo. Am I missing something here ?_?
(oni) - o. I guess another thing I have to say about both of these are that the charts are both pretty heavily percussion oriented. (just sayin, not really implying it's good or bad)

dem rolls don't work on 3.9~

[ddr_f4n]

so when will keyboard charts start moving onto SM5/SSC?

[XxMidigamixX]

Originally Posted by ddr_f4n

so when will keyboard charts start moving onto SM5/SSC?

if only my comp will allow SM5 to work