Stepping Stones of Stepmania (Submissions Open!)

[mi40]

layover in vancouver right now

i've been busy for past few days (and will be today/tmrw) w/o internet

since i'm flying to korea and stuff, don't hesitate to send bmah your reviews



to make things clear: necros/i will decide what goes in the pack, but reviews are there to help you make files better so that your file will be enjoyable for the beg-intermediate players, i'm actually surprised we've gotten a good balance of easy/med files, might need more easy files though

[Mollocephalus]

I'll post my reviews later on

this is for hmab-kun

[Mollocephalus]

oh and this is for ferrari's file idk about the text, maybe i'll change it

[FissionMailed1]

Originally Posted by stargroup100

you reviewed 4 charts

there are more than 4 submissions

Great detective work there, did you figure that out all by yourself? I work 32 hours per week and have priorities that don't involve arrow smash, so excuse me for not having the time.

Besides, there are other people that can write reviews too, I just volunteered, so don't try to shift the blame to me.

[stargroup100]

o my bad I misread something, thought you were telling other people to review faster

that wasn't my intention oops

[FissionMailed1]

It's fine, don't worry about it br0seph

[mi40]

in kr now
i review tmrw

[Mollocephalus]

sent bmah more reviews of mine, they should be added to the first page soon

[bmah]

Reviews are updated!

[Kraezymann]

Legitimately going to work on something for this. Right now. I have a few days off this month so I should be able to.

I have an old file that was released in a pack years ago that I'm going to redo. Hopefully no one played it

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by Mollocephalus

Mirror mirror - resubmit with very major changes
let's just start saying that making all vocals holds in this song is a horrible idea. You don't seed that many difficulties and the oni chart is overloaded with jumpstream for a song that sounds as soft as this. It feels unnatural and annoying. Pitch relevancy is off and most streams feel very freeform and random, sorry. Check the sync: this file needs a major revision on both layering, sync and pitch relevancy, but the song has the potential to make a good file. And PLEASE do not just subtract arrows for easier difficulties. Think about how you can make use of the bigger space you have when you tone down the layering.

Thanks for the feedback.

Now that I think about it, I should just get rid of the jump/handstreams and just layer the vocals as jumps, leaving hold for the slow sections. When I was patterning the streams (especially in Heavy) I wanted it to be enjoyable with index, but I see now this comes at the expense of truly following the music.

Though I will admit, the Light chart is completely unnecessary, and anyone interested enough who downloads the pack will probably already have a decent amount of skill anyway. I did step the stream sections in Heavy/Oni differently for the Standard chart, though it can be interpreted as subtracting arrows since the actual stream itself is removed and instead follows the strings in the background.

As for the syncing issue: Did you download the V2 resubmission or the first version I sent in? The V2 fixes the syncing to not include massive color note abuse.

Is there a way to make the steps of a song feel more "chaotic" without introducing dense hand/jumpstream? There's a noticeable jump in energy when comparing the sound in the first and second streams, and like you said, dense jumpstream feels unnatural for a song this slow.

Would you mind if I made some revisions to Oni, but keeping the jumpstream and placing it into Edit? Or should I just leave it out?

I think my stepping mentality was completely changed after downloading ODI3, cause now I always look for ways to make a chart as hard as possible now.

[Mollocephalus]

Making the song as hard as possible is not really a good approach, if you tear apart odi3 charts they are almost all done in a way which combines challenge and music simulation, and this obviously includes what i told you earlier; a "soft" sounding song without aggressive bass lines or very loud instruments has to be followed in a more minimalistic way. I'll break it down for you and tell you what i think you could do to make it better.

[intensez]

ok im going to fix up hawkeye tonight and resubmit it

i also plan on finishing something else for this hopefully sometime this week when i get time to step

[Mollocephalus]

about mirror mirror, measure by measure hints/suggestions

0 - 24, don't use holds. the sounds they go to are so faint it's not worth it, and it clogs the chart right away.

24 - 52, keep following piano, you can occasionally use jumps for when the piano is noticeably stronger or if you want to layer piano and vocals (personally i would still not follow vocals here)

55 - 57 the mines can be removed, they add nothing to the chart and don't feel like the simulate the incoming swoosh

58 - 66 jumps in the streams are ridiculous and they do not belong. make a stream which replicates as well as you can the music in that part

66 + again, do not use holds to vocals. If you want to layer them use single arrows.

74 - 76 make use of these background piano notes to add some spice to this section

79 there is something here you an accent

90 - 94 there is a background roll which you can use, and this section is nothing like you stepped it

94 - 98 remove the ridiculous jumpstream and follow these few prominent sounds

98 - 122 you don't have to follow the faint cymbals on the background. It feels really crappy with all this jumpstream. make this section similar to the one before but accent more the new sounds introduced (except the cymbals) some hands would be acceptable here when more sounds overlap.

120 there are some notes in the background you can accent

122 - 130 you can keep using jumps for recursive beats while you follow the stream. Here a little jumpstream is acceptable, but not too dense. Follow the sounds.

130 - 142 keep using a jump each 4th note. hands are being used well in this section, keep them.

136 there is a (probably) 32nds roll here.

142 - 150 layer together only piano and the high pitched drum

149.50 - there is a 32nd here going into the hand i think.

150 - 176 completely redo this part, its totally wrong and almost nothing goes to actual music. otrageous amount of missed notes/ghost notes.

177 - 225 again, don't use holds for the vocals, use some variation for things that are too repetitive and instead try to find some patterns to stress recurring melodies. there are some faster notes missed in there. use some climax as the percussion gets louder near the end of this segment.

225 - 289 another long jumpstream? can't you hear all the variation going on in the background? you chose the worst way to represent this segment, again, forget about the cymbals and take advantage of anything else without overdoing it. towards the last two measures you can lead into a jumpstream to accent better the progression and the final climax.

289 - 305 angain, don't use hold for vocals and if possible just use the piano - which also need to be synced properly.

my advice is to keep holds open for usage over specific sounds and intruments, which are quite unique over the chart. this will give your file much more depth and charachter. Other than that, i suggest just an easier difficulty without most of the streams, accenting maybe more on the main sounds and vocals in order to make sense and at the same time being easier. No need to make any other charts imo.

[mi40]

Originally Posted by intensez

ok im going to fix up hawkeye tonight and resubmit it

i also plan on finishing something else for this hopefully sometime this week when i get time to step

yes!!

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by Mollocephalus

about mirror mirror, measure by measure hints/suggestions

0 - 24, don't use holds. the sounds they go to are so faint it's not worth it, and it clogs the chart right away.

24 - 52, keep following piano, you can occasionally use jumps for when the piano is noticeably stronger or if you want to layer piano and vocals (personally i would still not follow vocals here)

55 - 57 the mines can be removed, they add nothing to the chart and don't feel like the simulate the incoming swoosh

58 - 66 jumps in the streams are ridiculous and they do not belong. make a stream which replicates as well as you can the music in that part

66 + again, do not use holds to vocals. If you want to layer them use single arrows.

74 - 76 make use of these background piano notes to add some spice to this section

79 there is something here you an accent

90 - 94 there is a background roll which you can use, and this section is nothing like you stepped it

94 - 98 remove the ridiculous jumpstream and follow these few prominent sounds

98 - 122 you don't have to follow the faint cymbals on the background. It feels really crappy with all this jumpstream. make this section similar to the one before but accent more the new sounds introduced (except the cymbals) some hands would be acceptable here when more sounds overlap.

120 there are some notes in the background you can accent

122 - 130 you can keep using jumps for recursive beats while you follow the stream. Here a little jumpstream is acceptable, but not too dense. Follow the sounds.

130 - 142 keep using a jump each 4th note. hands are being used well in this section, keep them.

136 there is a (probably) 32nds roll here.

142 - 150 layer together only piano and the high pitched drum

149.50 - there is a 32nd here going into the hand i think.

150 - 176 completely redo this part, its totally wrong and almost nothing goes to actual music. otrageous amount of missed notes/ghost notes.

177 - 225 again, don't use holds for the vocals, use some variation for things that are too repetitive and instead try to find some patterns to stress recurring melodies. there are some faster notes missed in there. use some climax as the percussion gets louder near the end of this segment.

225 - 289 another long jumpstream? can't you hear all the variation going on in the background? you chose the worst way to represent this segment, again, forget about the cymbals and take advantage of anything else without overdoing it. towards the last two measures you can lead into a jumpstream to accent better the progression and the final climax.

289 - 305 angain, don't use hold for vocals and if possible just use the piano - which also need to be synced properly.

my advice is to keep holds open for usage over specific sounds and intruments, which are quite unique over the chart. this will give your file much more depth and charachter. Other than that, i suggest just an easier difficulty without most of the streams, accenting maybe more on the main sounds and vocals in order to make sense and at the same time being easier. No need to make any other charts imo.

This is really helpful. Saved to notepad just because . Though I'd like to use holds for the intro and ending vocals. I realized that the vocal solo in the middle takes up too much space if I use full length holds, would minifreezes work as a good alternative?

I initially ignored stuff like the harp arpeggio and background drum rolls because I felt like they would clutter up the chart (the irony being that a dense jumpstream follows after haha).

I'm still learning, this is my 2nd simfile anyway.

@ the mines: I originally made this simfile to go in a minipack I was to send to my friend, simfiles of the songs from the RWBY trailers, Mirror Mirror being one of them. This is why the banner and bg are screenshotted from the album cover and video respectively. The W that the mines make are supposed to symbolize Weiss, and I put the same idea in the other 2 theme songs that I'm doing right now.

[mi40]

when stepping files that have a lot of things going on, i find it more enjoyable (and replayable) if i can remember certain parts of the song

for example: "oh i remember this guitar / drum solo in a song that was really fun to hit! i'm gonna go play that again!"

as opposed to: "oh i think this one song was just all jumpstream and the sounds were all mashed together..."

tl;dr emphasizing certain sounds over others in different parts of a song can create a more varied and enjoyable file

[FissionMailed1]

Well then. I guess my notes for Mirror Mirror were really lacking. Not sure if I should keep writing notes if they are that off the mark. Apologies, rCaliberGX.

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by FissionMailed1

Well then. I guess my notes for Mirror Mirror were really lacking. Not sure if I should keep writing notes if they are that off the mark. Apologies, rCaliberGX.

No problem!

They were still helpful and improved the file overall, even if it didn't make it godmode.

[rparty89]

did you get my file?
i don't see it being submitted