What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

[ToonE156]

Re: What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

A lot of really solid advice, I appreciate y'all.

Is there somewhere I can get feedback / critique and bounce my ideas back? (I imagine probably the FFR discord but I'm not too entirely sure how everything works yet)

The #simfiles channel in the FFR discord (just post a vid or the zip of the file and ask for feedback) or the #charting channel in the Secondary Etterna Discord (my preferred method)

another way to get feedback would be to submit to a pack but its not a recommended way for super beginners.

[Zyxel]

Re: What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

A lot of really solid advice, I appreciate y'all.

Is there somewhere I can get feedback / critique and bounce my ideas back? (I imagine probably the FFR discord but I'm not too entirely sure how everything works yet)

[ToonE156]

Re: What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

I am monkey booty cheeks at explaining things so please bear with me here

- Try not to copy specific patterns but more of structure.

I used to make the mistake of directly copying patterns back when I used to chart ITG. I would see a cool pattern in a vid of another chart and then try to copy that exact pattern in one of my own charts with almost no regard to how it fits within the chart, the differing BPMs between songs, difficulty spikes, etc. An example of this is bracketing. When I first found out about them I would put them whenever I could in the chart even if a normal jump would've worked just fine. Nothing wrong with taking inspiration from another chart but its important to understand why said pattern works in a chart instead of just putting them everywhere in your chart.

- PLAYTEST PLAYTEST PLAYTEST

Pretty obvious one but playtesting a chart can point out the flaws in a specific section of a chart that looked completely fine in ArrowVortex or whatever editor you use.


If you want tips for what makes a good chart, refer to what OPKiller just posted above me. I was just saying tips that I learned about the actual charting process

[Rapta]

Re: What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

Not everyone will like your charts, and that's okay. It's the same for every step file artist. Don't let criticism get to you.

[xXOpkillerXx]

Re: What Constitutes a "Good Chart"?

What I look for mostly as a judge (in a rough descending order of importance):

- Sync. This is a critical element of charting. You must properly align the notes to the music, which means you have to use correct bpms and offset.

- Consistency. The charting decisions you make throughout the song should be consistent. When you break that consistency, you must have an explicit reason to justify doing so. For example, you chart a buzz noise with 48ths rolls everywhere but one buzz you did a jumptrill. If there is justification from the song like the buzz is different enough or you layer something else for other justifiable reasons, then it's probably fine.

- Representation. The chart should reflect the song. There are often many many ways to achieve this, but some ways are more intuitive than others. You can have a lot of consistency and good sync, but if you charted the intense parts of a song as the easiest section of a chart, usually you'll get confused looks from people.

- Balance. The chart should have a justifiable difficulty curve. While spikes are fine in certain contexts, if you fail to justify the existence of a massive difficulty spike/increase in your chart, chances are you'd probably want to rethink it.

- Originality. A chart can have all of the above but still be super bland. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with it if the representation aspect is already pretty good given the song, but if people deem it to have a fair amount of leeway to add variety without sacrificing other important aspects, they may suggest it.


I hope this helps you and good luck with your first charts! Keep in mind that 99% of people are pretty bad the first time around, and then it gets better once they get a feel for the techniques used and what people like to play. ^^

[Zyxel]

I wanna take a stab at charting now that I have a decent bit more free time (and I'm somewhat familiar with the tools, however last time I tried charting i was using ddream in like 2015) and I'd love to make something that is playable and enjoyable. However, I don't think I've developed the skillset required to compose a chart worth playing yet. Any tips or advice for a newbie like me?