Stepping Stones of StepMania 3 Released!

[YungDaVinci]

Hey Kraezymann, did you intentionally get rid of the scrolls I put in WTF?

[XelNya]

Originally Posted by YungDaVinci

Hey Kraezymann, did you intentionally get rid of the scrolls I put in WTF?

Scrolls?

[Kraezymann]

If you are talking about the rollds, no, I never alter someones file without their explicit permission. I may have failed to update the file, but I'm positive that I did an entire folder replacement instead of just the .sm

If something is missing it is entirely unintentional, so if there is, I apologize! I tried to make sure I went over everything three times before I released it, so I'd really hate to see something fall through the cracks

[Celirra]

I got bored and wanted motivation to play, and I like to feel important, so I did a very mini review for everything.

Three levels I used:
-Amazing; I'd go back to this pack just to play it.
-Decent; if I'm stumbling through the pack I may play it occasionally.
-Unimpressed; likely would just skip right past it.

4 Walls
I'm naturally not a huge fan of holdstream, but the minijacks made it more fun and the patterns fit the song well.
Decent.

A Baptist Church in Georgia
Even though I understand this is more of a low-leveled pack and thus needs some easier files, this file was also somewhat boring, though I feel that was more due to the nature of the song than anything.
Unimpressed.

Butterfly Joe
A lot of thought went into this file, and the mapping suits the song well. I'm just not a big fan of the patterns, though that's more my own preference than anything.
Decent.

Byzantium
Unlike Baptist Church, this is a fairly easy file but there's a lot of fun elements. It touches on many different techniques, from jacks to rolls to simple streams and everything in between; it's pretty good as a pretty good precision test.. Very fun and decent with rates too.
Amazing.

Cafe Terrace Polka
This one's good fun, and the notes match up well. It's just not my cup of tea really.
Decent.

Carry the Blessed Home
A really fun song all around, it's fairly easy to AA due to all the holds but even still it's very enjoyable.
Amazing.

Chicken Head
Somewhat bursty file, it's good but there's definitely other similar files I prefer, even from this same pack.
Decent.

Cyllage City
I remember Stepping Stones 2 had The Sailor's Hornpipe, which is similar in nature with the short song alongside bursty-ish patterns. It serves for a decent precision test and does decent on rates.
Decent.

Glitch Nerds
I really like this file. It's fun to play and nice to listen to. The only thing that irks me slightly is that around halfway through there's parts where more notes could have easily been added to match the beats in the song, but instead were left out. While I understand the pack is geared toward easier songs, it would be cool to see a version that's more "true" to the song. Still really good though.
Decent.

Gokusaishiki
First I played the edit, thought the file was a ton of fun. Then I played the oni file, still found it fun. I really appreciate how this file covers a breadth of difficulties, so it fits the pack theme and also caters to more progression.
Amazing.

Highscore
I haven't had this much fun playing Stepmania in a long time. What a great song, and a great file. This is where I'd give a 10/10 if I was doing a normal rating system. It's a beautiful thing when jack-based files are done right.
Amazing.

Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird
I really didn't enjoy this file too much. It felt like a generic speed file, though based on the song I guess there's not much else that could have been done.
Unimpressed.

Hua Sui Yue
The edit file is a bunch of trills, and that upset me greatly, wasn't a big fan of that. The heavy file wasn't horrible though, I liked some of the patterns.
Unimpressed.

Kyuusei Argyos
It's a similar vein to Hiroari in this pack, but it was a bit more fun due to more variety and some neat tricky burst sections. I think it could do with a but more love in the making of it, though.
Decent.

Little Too Close
A harder version of Highscore in this pack, there's a focus on jacks for sure but more jumps and holds alongside. It was very good for sure, and a good challenge. But at the same time, some of the hold patterns felt a bit awkward with the song, and there were other parts that felt a bit off as well.
Decent.

Logic Agent
Very fun file, it flows well and lines up nicely. It's on the easier side of the spectrum definitely, and it doesnt feel as good with rates, but still an amazing file all around.
Amazing.

Mega V
it was an interesting take on the file to focus mostly on jumpjacks, but I don't think it fit very well. Parts were definitely nice, and I liked the 12th note section, that was really neat. Again, it's just that I don't think double jacks fit wonderfully.
Decent.

My Friend Mudkip
Don't know if it's just my imagination but a lot of the notes seemed off. I'm not sure if the file was out of sync or what, but it just didn't match well. The patterns weren't too enjoyable either.
Unimpressed.

Nannou
It's a simple file, sure, but it was very pleasant and nice to play. It's on the fringe of being amazing; it's charming, but it lacks a bit of impact.
Decent.

Nibelung Valesti
Yeah, the edit file is very tricky, relative to the rest of the pack. The oni file is more in line with the rest, and is pretty good. I'm just not a huge fan of any of the difficulties, just not my style.
Decent.

Onna Kotoba no Soushitsu
Super fun song. It's the kind of file I'd expect from yolomania or a hi19 pack, albeit a bit easier. Highly recommend, though some of the minijack patterns are frustrating
Amazing.

OppIrish
The edit was spectacular, it was bursty and trilly in a good way, liked it a lot. The oni file was very good too, I'm pleasantly surprised by the song as a whole. Bravo.
Amazing.

Panda
There were some parts where trills were used, and others with the same kind of music with proper rolls. I'm all for variety, but I'd say it would have been better to stick with one. That being said, I didn't like either; I think technical rolls (dont know how better to differentiate between the kinds of rolls) would have worked better. Didn't enjoy the file I'm sorry to say.
Unimpressed.

Pistolero
A lot of people probably didn't like the length, but I loved it. Beautiful song, and it was really fun to play too.
Amazing.

Precious Heart x 3
Splitting it up into three different files of varied lengths was a neat idea for sure. The files themselves were decent, nothing special but nothing horrible.
Decent.

Riddle Solving Step
Really cute file, the beginner me would've loved the lack of jumps. As a whole the file was fun, but it could've used a bit more maybe. Really nice though, went well with the song.
Decent.

Silhoette of My Mind
It would serve as a good introductory jumpstream or holdstream file. It was just kind of boring for me though, it lacked style in some ways.
Unimpressed.

Sonata V
Look at what I said for the previous chart. Except this one is fairly fun, though a tad repetitive. Similar difficulty too.
Decent.

Sting Chameleon Uses Bubble Crab's Very Essence as a Bathroom Product
There were sections of the chart that sounded like they were following the bass, and others that were following the melody. I'd say either stick to one, or use both at all times. Due to the way this was done, there were several sections that I felt should've had notes that simply didn't. What was stepped of the song was fun though, but it could do with some work.
Unimpressed.

Supersquatting
To preface, it was a fun song. But there were various times when I felt the use of 24ths or 32nds was chosen randomly, and could've used some more precision when charting. I had a fun time playing the chart though, so there's that.
Decent.

SURVIVOR
Fun file. Fun song. All in all, it's great. Some strange difficulty spikes at a couple parts, but still loved it.
Amazing.

The Deep Striker
The file's alright, but it wasn't very enjoyable at parts. While a lot of it was fun, some of the patterns seemed randomly thrown together, as well as the note usage. Most of it was pretty good though, even though I usually don't like this kind of song and file.
Decent.

The End of the Journey
Another great file. It's jack-y, and again in a good way. There's also a good use of holds, and the non-jack sections are lovely too. All around, great file, and works well with rates too.
Amazing.

The Entertainer
I'm amazed I haven't seen a file for this song before. Anyways, the file itself is alright; it's all the same style of jumpjacks throughout at the same tempo, though, so it gets somewhat dull.
Unimpressed.

The Game is Over
Pop songs typically don't lend well to Stepmania keyboard charts (unless dumped I guess), and this one isn't much of an exception. It was largely a dull file, and the 24th bursts felt random, even though they helped to spice up the file a bit.
Unimpressed.

Up and Down
One of few pop song files that I think worked pretty well. Parts weren't great, sure, but the 24th rhythms were fun and the holds were well placed. It's good for a pop song.
Decent.

Verrucktheit
Well, that chart was certainly unexpected. Fun, challenging, and very well put together. I'll be coming back better prepared next time.
Amazing.

Walk With Me
It didn't leave much of an impresion on me. Slow at parts and tricky at others, it was average throughout.
Unimpressed.

Waxie's Dargle
More fun that I thought it'd be. I'd recommend it to anyone who's new to keyboard files; it's not too difficult, but a good stepping stone (ha!).
Decent.

We Like Springs
What a creepy file. The song is eerie, and the file itself is... weird. The fakes threw me off, those are rarer than me AAA'ing a file. I don't know how I feel about this one.
Decent?

WTF (Where They From)
I didn't think I'd like this file so much. It's great, it's rhythmic, it's diverse, it's original, well done.
Amazing.

[SPECIAL] Luv Sick
I don't like this kind of file personally, but it's pretty good regardless. Nice song, might come back to it someday.
Decent.

[SPECIAL] phantasm
Yeah it's pretty good, but very boring. Might be a decent AAA grind, but I don't think I'll go for it.
Unimpressed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Overall, great pack. Apologies if I was a bit harsh with some of the files, there were no really bad files, I'm just a bit picky at times. The best of the stepping stones packs so far, bravo to everyone involved!

[bmah]

Originally Posted by Kraezymann

If something is missing it is entirely unintentional, so if there is, I apologize! I tried to make sure I went over everything three times before I released it, so I'd really hate to see something fall through the cracks

Hmm, I just noticed SURVIVOR's video was removed. No wonder no one commented on it lol! Can you please add it back? If someone doesn't want to see the video, he/she can simply turn off videos. That is more reasonable than removing the video from the pack altogether.

[Kraezymann]

GODDAMMIT.

I will reupload the pack in the morning, with OppIrish v2, the bg video for SURVIVOR and I guess a better sync for Mudkip and Little Too Close. I'll also make sure to copy/paste WTF right out of the email to make sure I didn't screw anything else up

Now I'm sad

[James May]

Odd...for the sync on Mudkip shouldn't have been affected because its still synced on my end o.o

[DigitalS3r4ph]

Originally Posted by Kraezymann

GODDAMMIT.

I will reupload the pack in the morning, with OppIrish v2, the bg video for SURVIVOR and I guess a better sync for Mudkip and Little Too Close. I'll also make sure to copy/paste WTF right out of the email to make sure I didn't screw anything else up

Now I'm sad

Thank god, lol. My file feels really off in the pack after playing it with the correct offset for so long. XD

[Kraezymann]

Reuploading pack now. Will update this post and OP when finished.

EDIT: New link is up

[Arntonach]

Originally Posted by macgravel

And cmods + no fakes fixes those problems... xD

Of coarse. :s

[YungDaVinci]

Originally Posted by Kraezymann

If something is missing it is entirely unintentional, so if there is, I apologize! I tried to make sure I went over everything three times before I released it, so I'd really hate to see something fall through the cracks

I was talking about the speed segments/scrolls. It's an SM5 thing where you can alter the scroll speed of the chart without having to actually code in tempo changes. It's cool if it's not in there, they make the chart borderline unreadable anyway :P

[Kraezymann]

I had no idea those existed! That's so cool!

Anyways I don't think I got rid of them... at least if I did, it was again, unintentional. The OP has been updated with a link to the updated pack, so hopefully it is still there. I did a direct copy/paste from your email, only changing the gfx to the ones I made.

The update should properly include your .sm for WTF, OppIrish new version, the bga for SURVIVOR and the sync edits to Mudkip and Little Too Close. Again, really sorry everyone! I'll make sure to go over everything a bit more thoroughly next time

[AutotelicBrown]

My overall impression of the pack is good so nice job man. Decided to make a review of the whole thing as well (have yet to check the updated stuff though).

Played everything in the highest difficulty unlesss otherwise noted, and with mines off (sorry, but I didn't fix my setup to make mines readable):

4 Walls - Not a big fan of song selection, but the chart does capture well what the song offers.

[SPECIAL]Luv Sick - Intro and the jumpstreamy parts were really sweet. Patterning on jacks in a lot of places are unnecessarily awkward and the part around 2 minutes in is pretty out of place difficulty wise (both for the file and for the pack). Could also use a cut.

[Special]phantasm - I quite like the song although it's not something I expect to listen when booting stepmania. Pretty minimal song with interesting rhythms and serene ambiance; chart captures it well and with interesting patterns. Would definitely play to practice accuracy.

A Baptist Church in Georgia - Another sweet song but pretty straightforward and less interesting to play than the previous one due to not much happening (not the charter's fault anyway). Would still play for the song though.

Butterfly Joe - Kudos for stepping ping pong OST. Not much to say other than it is nicely charted and that it's cool to have slower jumpstream files. Jacks caught me a bit off-guard but I feel its justified within the ending climax.

Byzantium - Would be satisfied by song choice alone but the chart lives to its greatness. Quite a journey, with the fun and diverse patterns along the song progression it didn't even feel like I played for almost 5 minutes. Also great job with sync, it really pays off in a song like this.


Cafe Terrace Polka - Great to see this song in a stepmania pack, it's a lot like what I would pick to step in many regards. Anyway, fun chart and in particular I liked the usage of split vs one hand trills where appropriate. Will definitely play again either for accuracy or simply chill.

Carry the Blessed Home - >Blind Gaurdian. Predictable song structure given the song, really drags on unless you really enjoy the tune by itself. Of note, that big transition in the middle feels less memorable to play than it should.

Chicken Head - Both the song and the chart overstay their welcome, especially beyond the 2 minute mark. Other than that a couple patterns don't feel quite right, but not really offensive.

Cyllage City - Unexpected but cool to see a chart for this. Not much to say, really brief and well executed file.

Glitch Nerds - Sorry for not providing my review in a timely manner Kraezymann! Added my in depth review rest because I did have a closer look on ddream before. tl;dr: Nice song and some really cool stuff happening here but some of its problems make it not as great as it could be.

Intro up to 14.385: I find it really strange that you did not pr that main sound like you do for the rest of the chart. The layering of the sound that first happens in 1.313 is pretty inconsistent like ignoring it in 2.599/2.706/2.813 and the three notes on 3 from 6.242 to 7.099 don't really go to anything. It's strange to not have a note on 12.670 but include 13.099.

Build up from 14.385 to 28.099: This section felt really nice, especially its ending. The 32nd in 20.974 is mistimed (it's the same as 7.206) and it barely feels like you were following that sound in the first place due to the layering right before including unrelated notes in the same column.

Long freeze: It's long!

41.813 to 55.527 - This section felt pretty off due to how the main motif is stepped. Layering suggests you are following the main 32nd based melody and the big synth every two beats, otherwise it would be a straight stream with the notes every 4th included. Following that interpretation, the big synth as a single note get drown out in the middle of everything happening and hurts the representation of the melody single note rest as the whole thing turns into a cohesive single note stream while playing. Added to that, the patterning feels more restricted than what you'd do in twice the speed, and barely represents what's happening in the song (things like 44.277 and 44.492 getting proper pr as the same note could help a lot already). Also, the transition in and out the deviations off the main motif feel way too sudden and could've been smoothed out by patterning or layering (46.742 is particularly bad). I see no reason for patterning on 54.456 being different than 13.313 and the ending of the song.

Build up from 55.527 to 69.242 - Another good build up, ignored 16ths in the ending gets me a bit but it makes sense in this context.

69.242 to 96.242 - Really good section, just some minor notes. Considering how tight is the sound you follow as minijacks in the rest of the song, 73.313 and 90.456 are too minor to warrant the same accent (and they get further drown out by the preceding 32nds). Not sure what the three note jacks in 81.777 and 82.635 are supposed to go to, but it's probably not proeminent enough to warrant the micro spike.

96.242 to 110.385 - Way too empty as it is, song still keeps much of the intensity of the previous section with the synths burning hot but the chart decides to take the backseat, at least difficulty wise. Following the main melody synth only in its 32nds also feels pretty arbitrary.

110.385 to 124.099 - Similar to 69.242 in a sense, another good section.

124.099 to 136.099 - Contrasting to 41.813, this section is actually the best and a pretty strong finish to the chart. My only qualm is with the patterning of the 32nd bursts, having a trill but not starting it on the 8th is misleading, having the 16th precede the hand making the minijack is unnecessarily awkward and the chart in no way acknowledges that the second one is not quite like the others.

Outro - see intro.

All in all, what really hurts the chart are the sections 41.813 to 55.527 and 96.242 to 110.385. Still pretty interesting to see as an easy chart for this, contrasting to how I would envision something considerably harder for the song.

Gokusaishiki - Following the drums marking a generic rhythm with generic patterns for 90% of the chart isn't really fun, it feels like added filler around the bursts that make the meat of the chart. Patterning on the bursts could use some work as well (on both edit and oni difficulties).

Highscore - Found the song boring but the chart is all right. The anchors are cool to play and it might be fun on rates.

Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird ~ Till When - A few cool sections but kinda underwhelming as a whole, a touch up on the patterns could make this a lot funner.

Hua Sui Yue - Had a good chuckle playing edit. Regarding the oni chart, I feel like the layering of piano chords (or more like the bass notes) hurts a bit feeling the melody while playing. Still a sweet song and chart anyway. It's not really that long but I would've probably cut around 1:40.

Kyuusei Argyoi - The 32nd bursts could use a better sync: in the intro there are two notes that are way off even considering that you tried to quantize over 32nds, and the second one the first few notes doesn't feel right as a straight stream. Starting off with a difficulty spike of non-trivial rhythm is also annoying. Rest of the chart took a pretty conventional approach but it works well in this case.

Logic Agent - Song choice doesn't help much but the chart flows really well, just a bit repetitive for its lenght.

Mega V(Volt) - Straightforward and fun to play. Heavy layering takes a bit from feeling the song but I find the song unremarkable anyway so I guess it's better like this. Should work well as a jack file on rates.

My Friend Mudkip - Sweet for the most part, but the spikes of longer trills and fast one hand trills feel pretty out of place considering how easy the rest is. The long ending after the hard part drags a lot too and could use a cut.

Nannou - Nice song selection and chart fits it well.

Nibelung Valesti - Another song that I'd be happy just for the fact that it has been stepped. Pretty straightforward cornstream file; simple, fun to play and flows well. The minijacks and anchors also give a really nice touch and the lenght feels just right. Will definitely play on rates.

Onna Kotoba no Soushitsu - Not a big fan of the song but it works pretty well for a chart. Just felt the middle of the minijack section that starts at around 30s felt a bit too empty, other than that I couldn't ask for anything better, really good chart.

OppIrish - haven't played the updated version yet, will edit later

Panda - One hand trills would've been awesome if everything else was remotely as hard to hit, split trills would work much better difficulty wise. Other than that the chart was actually cool even considering I don't like the song at all.

Pistolero - The last minute feels unnecessary but the progression until then feels pretty good and justifies its lenght. For the intended audience of easy files this looks like a great marathon and past me would love to have this chart to play.

Precious Heart(Theme of Sakura) - Easy file is simply great. Medium is also pretty good but I feel the ending was too similar to the earlier parts and lacked impact. Hard gets a bit boring as the sax melody gets drown in the heavier layering and even though the solos were fun, the added total lenght makes it too long.

Riddle Solving Step - First thing I said for Cafe Terrace Polka is valid for this too. It feels pretty repetitive to play after the break as the patterns remain more or less the same. Fits the song but unfun moving of fingers.

Silhoette of My Mind - Freeze usage gives a lot of life to the chart. Layering in general is on spot and neatly patterned. My only problem is that I don't like the song all that much.

Sonata V - Weird track + chart. Not really much to say, chart fits the song and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Sting Chameleon Uses Bubble Crab's Very Essence as a Bathroom Product - Really nice song choice (aside from its title). Really good work in general for an easy file, and second half in particular was ace befitting the track in itself. Will definitely play this again for accuracy.

Supersquatting - Solid file overall. The first in each set of 32nd triplets could use an additional note or something to accent the fact they don't cut off early like the others. Patterning in the 24th streams didn't feel very good. And on a positive note, ending jumpstream patterns felt particularly good.

SURVIVOR - Really cute chart, feels pretty good to play. I know it happens in the song but the little 32nds feel kinda random at like two points. Sorry to hear about the video thing, have to check that later.

The Deep Striker - My issue with the chart is the same I have with the song, second half doesn't add enough to the table to justify its existence. That being said the first half was generally good and the very ending was nice as well.

The End of the Journey - More tofu. This works pretty well, nothing specific to add.

The Entertainer - Nothing really wrong with this but playing strictly 8ths for the entire song at this speed is quite boring. It's funner on rates though.

The Game is Over - Trying to ignore the fact this is NSYNC for a moment, not much happens in the song and chart to justify spending over a minute playing this, same thing over and over again. Chart isn't terrible otherwise but I should note that those minijacks are pretty dumb.

Up and Down - Song selection doesn't do the chart any favours. It's all right given what you had to work with, just a bit too long and generally repetitive.

Verrucktheit - Streams are fun but stepmania freeze mechanics simply don't make all the freeze sections interesting to play and they are a major part of the chart.

Walk With Me - Had a problem with sound not working in this, will edit after I fix.

Waxie's Dargle - lmao song choice. Not much to say, it was a brief and ok file.

We Like Springs - First minute had a cool ominous atmosphere but from then it kinda loses it. Fakes are questionable and the difficulty structure off.

WTF (Where They From) - Like Panda, the chart was actually cool considering I don't like the song at all, but they layering is inconsistent and feels pretty off when ignoring some proeminent sounds. Particularly egregious towards the ending from the section where you start ignoring the strong 12ths and suddenly get back to them. The 12ths following the vocal right after don't feel good with the rest going on as well. Some parts could use some stricter syncing.

[Kraezymann]

So if Izzy could get a mirror up asap that'd be great because I've had to replace the link a few more times due to some songs denying permission.

Newest one is up, let me know if there are any more issues dl'ing

[CaptainAhab]

Hey just wanted to say thank you so much for putting these beginner/intermediate packs together; as someone who doesn't get to play very regularly, these Stepping Stones are a godsend. Love 'em.