2018 January/February Set 3 (complete)

Re: 2018 January/February Set 3

Wayward Vagabond is picking up Set 3.

Re: 2018 January/February Set 3

Gold stinger took over this set:

Set 3

>Permissions check pass for all files.


Files:
Lavender Town [Fairytale Remix] (XelNya) [8*/10]

>Sync is good. (No changes necessary)
>’(Xx{Midnight}xX)’ listed as subtitle within simfile properties. Suggest removing. No issues found within simfile submission folder contents.

-[00:19.144] Doesn’t feel too justified as a [14] jump here when the previous section keeps this as a single, and is much softer than other jumps. Adequate reasoning, just doesn’t feel justified. Same situation later on in the song at 01:02.774.
(**)-[00:31.142] Definitely should be a [12] jump here.
(**)-[00:33.323] Missing jump.
(**)-[00:50.775] Missing jump.
(**)-[00:52.957] Would work better in terms of Pitch Relevance to not have the right arrow here and have the jump either be a [12], [13], or [23]. Correctly done at 01:09.864 -> 01:10.409.
-[01:19.680] Weird cut, but ok. Would probably work better if this specific sound was cut out and either sustain was used for the previous jump sound at 01:19.135, or cut in the same way.

*PERSONAL NOTES*
Few things here and there that definitely need to be spring cleaned, few other nitpicks. Overall a very slow-paced, and relaxing easy file that introduces jumps in a fair manner. Fix the missing jumps, and the pitch relevance jump, and it should be good to go.

Before Cynthia (XelNya) [8/10]

> Note that this song was submitted before-hand, into the Token Special Batch. Review notes for that submission can be found here: http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...0&postcount=67
Or here: http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...81&postcount=1
>Sync is good. (No changes necessary)
>’CD.PNG’ listed as cdtitle within simfile properties. Suggest removing. ‘CD.png’ and ‘.dsx’ files found in simfile submission folder. Suggest removing.

-Fixes appear to have been applied since the rejection of the file in a previous batch, and the song does now begin to fade at the correct timestamp listed in the original notes for this file. Perfectly fine with this going in as-is with the original score given to it.

*PERSONAL NOTES*
Song is majorly streamlined as a piano piece throughout the entire file. Because of that, the difficulty is quite even, as most piano pieces that keep at a certain pace do. Jacks in a piano piece are not a new concept, but there isn’t really anything that can be scrutinized as incorrect or wrong here.

Rainspark (XelNya) [8.5*/10]

>Sync is good. (No changes necessary)
>’(XelNya)’ listed as subtitle, and ‘CD.PNG’ listed as cdtitle within simfile properties. Suggest removing. ‘CD.png’ found within simfile submission folder. Suggest removing.

(**)-[00:27.997 & 00:29.917] Missing jumps.
(**)-[00:32.436] Ghost 16th that doesn’t go to much other than patterning. Should probably be removed. Repeats again later on at 00:35.316, and 00:37.236.
(**)-[00:42.755] Ghost 16th for the layering that is being provided. Either this 16th here should be removed, or the similar sounding 16ths (example: 00:41.795, 00:40.835, 00:39.876) should be layered as well.
-[00:43.835 -> 00:43.955] I get the layering happening in this section, but this part here resonates jump going into jack, which seems to be the prevalent pattern in this chart.
-[00:44.795] Could be a jump/single here. Respecting the layering here, so this is mainly just a footnote. Same jumps can be at 00:51.514, 00:52.474, 00:59.194, 01:00.154.
(**)-[01:05.913] Definitely should be a jump. All previous transitions going into this similar section have all been jumps.
(**)-[01:06.393 & 01:07.353] Definitely jumps here. No real reason to swap it up now when they have always been jumps.
(**)-[01:06.873] Correct, but this note has been absent in all previous sections. Should probably remove. Alternative would be to add this single to all other locations in the file. (See the footnote with 5 different timestamps.)
(**)-[01:08.673] 16ths transitioning into 32nds would feel a lot more comfortable here if they were getting into position to start a right-to-left roll compared to possibly forcing a minijack for manipulated jumptrill. Kind of like what was done at 00:37.956.

*PERSONAL NOTES*
Very nice song choice, with some very nice patterns to spice things up to boot. Definitely some missing notes here and there, but not a crazy amount that needs cleaning up. Most notable is some consistency errors in layering, and missing jumps. Probably could have made for a very interesting official tournament file if it wasn’t lost in limbo.

Teatime (XelNya) [5.5/10]

>Note: There is already a version of this song in the game. See: ‘Tea Time, stepped by dashoe93’. Notes for dashoe93’s Tea Time is located in the easy batch here: http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...7&postcount=40
>Missing ‘title’ within simfile properties. Should be labeled as ‘Tea Time’. Missing ‘artist’ within simfile properties. Should be labeled as ‘YMCK’. No issues found within simfile submission folder contents.

-[00:03.103] Missing 8th.
-[00:07.103 -> 00:07.466] These 8th here shouldn’t be in the same column as the previous repeating 8ths, for pitch relevance sakes (sits better as right arrows for this specific set.)
-[00:21.103] Missing 16th? Layering so far has been following two different instruments complementing one another, but one of the instruments is missing its note here. Same happens again at 00:23.285.
-[00:21.891 & 00:45.164] So, these are technically 32nds, rather than 12ths, but will allow it to slide as grace notes.
-[00:26.375] Missing 8th again.
-[00:29.285] I see what’s happening in this section. It’s a change from following the second instrument to a different second instrument. In this case, the 8th here doesn’t fit too well.
-[00:32.012 -> 00:32.921] Super confused as to what instruments being followed here, because it switches between the 3 of them. If we’re layering the 8th electric piano, then the 8th at 00:32.194 is missing. If we’re layering the backing instrument, then the 16th at 00:32.739 is missing. 00:32.558 (4th) is only really there because it’s layering another instrument that was shown in the immediately previous part. Either way, this specific part is very confusing to play, and should be cleaned up to follow one specific instrument (whichever one the stepartist wants to bring out & focus on).
-[00:38.012] Not really seeing the reason for placement of the 8th when the layering is focusing specifically on the main instrument in this section.
-[00:47.103 -> 01:10.376] This is going to feel like a personal stab, because I understand that it’s going to come as unfair that dashoe’s version made it in before yours got judged. Overall, the entire song is quite easy, simple, and well stepped, except for this specific section that goes into a solo of sorts, because the difficulty jumps quite high in comparison to the rest of the chart, high enough to be nearly identical to dashoe’s Tea Time, which is already in-game.

In this situation, I would probably keep the intro (00:47.103 -> 00:48.558, 01:09.103 -> 01:10.376) as the same. Let those be the peaks of your file. Everything inside of those sections, is probably going to need to be overhauled to be easier. There is a backing track behind the main electric piano that could be stepped, but what’s ramping the difficulty is mainly 32nds, extended 16th stream usage, and following the electric piano of all things.
-[01:15.467 -> 01:15.649] Should be a 16th on 01:15.649 at a minimum here. Preferably 16ths for the whole part. Same as 00:05.649 -> 00:05.830.
-[01:18.558 -> 01:18.921] Noticed a few inconsistencies throughout the chart for similar sections, this is one such example. Could probably be cleaned up.
-[01:21.831 -> 01:23.103] Why not the same as 00:12.011 -> 00:13.284? It’s the same progression, just at a different part of the song.

*PERSONAL NOTES*
Fun song, definitely at an appropriate difficulty level to slide in as its own entry if the solo is worked on to be easier. The problem is, there’s a lot of consistency errors mostly related to how the beginning and the ending of the song are layered, when both of those sections are almost identical in nature and instruments being used. It’s a great concept to follow many different instruments, but for each of the sections outside of the solo, the focus on which instrument is being stepped is just swapping way too frequently, and is not consistent throughout the file. I would love to see this resubmitted with some fixes taken into account, but for the amount of work that needs to be done both in difficulty scaling and consistency, it’s going to miss the conditional queue.

The Last 8 Bars (XelNya) [6.5/10]

>Sync is good. (No changes necessary)
>No issues found within simfile properties. No issues found within simfile submission folder contents.

-[00:29.063] Personal opinion, single 24th feels like it would go really well here.
-[00:32.043] Missing 4th
-[00:36.659] Missing 4th
-[00:45.889] Missing 4th
-[00:34.832, 00:36.370] If you’re doing the 48th gimmicks like the one at 00:33.101, then there probably should be similar gimmicks at these spots as well. Multiple other places that could use it, but these are just an example of where to look.
-[00:54.255] Missing 8th. Same with 00:56.562.
-[01:14.928] 12th here would probably look real good as an up arrow.
-[01:18.197] Missing 4th
-[01:21.947] Missing 8th. Repeat at 01:24.255.
-[01:46.081] Might do well to introduce a 12th here as there is a small bump in the transition. Similar in scale to the one at 01:43.485, just of a different caliber.
-[01:53.004] Same as the above note. Happens again at 01:55.312.
-[02:05.024] 24th here doesn’t belong. Should be alright with just removing it. No nearby patterns really need to change.
-[02:11.658] 12th is capturing a ‘ssshh’ sound, but the actual syllable from the vocals lands on the following 24th, meaning this 12th is not necessarily needed.
-[02:18.293] Ghost 24th. Suggest removing. Similar note located at 02:19.735.
-[02:19.543] 12th here should definitely be stepped as a single.
-[02:20.504 -> 02:21.081]... I’ll let this one slide.
-[02:23.004] Missing 12th
-[02:29.158] Stopping the 24th stream here is a bit awkward. I get that it’s done for vocals, just awkward imo.
-[02:43.389] Definitely a justified 12th note here.
-[02:47.139] Not all that justified 24th. Would consider removing.
-[02:51.754] Same thing as the previous note. Surprisingly though, an opportunity for this feels plausible at the next available 4th jump located at 02:52.331.
-[02:53.293] Why the jack? Does a lot better for the flow and previous patterns with this arrow as a down arrow.
-[02:54.254] Missing 8th
-[02:56.369] Same 24th that’s not entirely justified. Availability for it exists at the next jump though, at 02:56.946.
-[02:56.562] Missing 8th
-[02:43.004 -> 03:01.466] Overall, to address the elephant in the room over all the problems in this section, every 4th note should be a jump in this section. There are so many single 4ths that aren’t jumps here, but are still jumps in other parts within this specific section under the same sound.
-[03:10.600] Should probably be a 24th single going into a 4th jump. Highlighted as such at the beginning of this file with the same progression.
-[03:20.360] Same ‘ssshh’ sound issue as 02:11.658. Should be removed.
-[03:20.696] Same 12ths as suggested for a similar section earlier in the song.
-[03:24.110] Move to 12th position at 02:24.158 for better pattern flow. Same with 03:24.975 (move to 03:25.023, 24th.)
-[03:25.312] Same 12ths in same section. Again at 03:27.619.
-[03:28.725] Why 16ths here? You did the same thing with 24ths at 01:47.235. It’s the same pattern and everything, but the notes do not match.
-[03:29.591] 16th should be moved to 24th. Again at 03:34.206.
-[03:29.927] Same suggested 12th. Repeat at 03:34.542.
-[03:36.514] This is absolutely a 24th. Waveform does not lie.
-[03:37.667] Same situation as previous note.
-[03:38.581 -> 03:39.542] Does not sit well when there’s just so much opportunity for jumps and layering from earlier in the file that would fit better than this ministream. Would suggest just stepping the raw rhythm for this part.
-[03:40.119] This is very cool.
-[03:40.889 -> 03:41.273] Missing 8th. The second 12th in this bar should be moved down to the 24th at 03:41.177. Vocals here are different than the usual progression that was layered here.
-[03:43.004] Missed opportunity for a jump in this transition.
-[03:43.196] Missing 12th?
-[03:45.215] Missing 24th
-[04:08.773] Super quiet 12th. I would probably not step, but technically accurate. The one at 04:10.504 is much louder, and acceptable.

*PERSONAL NOTES*
Not sure exactly what to say about this chart other than it’s going to need a lot of tiny, small fixes. There were a few slip-ups utilizing 16ths instead of 24ths for certain sections, and a small amount of what feels like copy-pasting certain parts that did not line up perfectly. The intro before the bass kicks in is very pleasing to listen to and very well stepped. Vocals could use a bit of cleaning up. I’m all for color theory, but it’s worth taking into account that in this particular song, the vocal doesn’t sync up with the backing music perfectly, and the closest matching rhythmic note should be used. Good examples of this are green notes like the one near 00:52.235, and white notes like the one at 00:53.389. Both of these are close enough to be set as 8ths. I very much like the chorus sections of the song like the one at 01:38.389. There’s just something to dropping consecutive 8th jumps for a brief section in an otherwise quiet song that uses mainly singles. Give all the notes for this chart a look-over.