Stepping Stones of Stepmania (Submissions Open!)

[mi40]

Welcome to Stepping Stones of Stepmania!



Necros and I heard the cries of the people.. we heard them praying to the gods of stepmania to make easier files so that more people can play files without having to quit out

So we decided to make the Stepping Stones of Stepmania Pack (temp name??)

We're hoping to make the pack not too big but medium-sized (looking for absolute maximum 75 files), and everyone is welcome to submit. Keep in mind that since easier songs have less notes, you will need to be extremely dedicated to your files since we believe that it is harder to make easy, memorable songs than harder songs.

Submissions will go on til probably mid July, depending on the submissions rate. Necros & I are also looking for a few judges (maybe just 1 or 2) to quickly approve & disapprove the charts during their spare time. Necros & I will help as well.


(Copied some rules from ODI3 rules, thanks GLoVE!)
Rules:
This is a keyboard pack.

Both unreleased files and released files can be accepted. But I won't accept any modifications to released files, so if you want your file in this pack it would not be a good idea to release it before it has been judged here.

A file can have as many stepcharts as you like,
basically if you wanna cater to more players: 2 charts+
if you wanna cater to intermed (or) newer players only: 1 chart

As long as we have an even balance of files, #-charts-required-rule won't be enforced!
If your file is accepted and you don't have graphics they will be made for you.


Submissions:
Send them to our pack email! quadbait@gmail.com

All submissions will be published and judged openly in this thread.

If you submit a bad file without potential, we will simply reject it without much feedback.
If you submit a sloppy file that has many obvious errors, we will very briefly point out what's wrong, and reject the file.
If you submit a good file we will thoroughly go through the file and give all types of criticism we can to potentially improve it more, and when it is as good as it gets, it will be accepted.


General guidelines:
Only easy files will be accepted. This doesn't mean that you should step files with 100 notes and files with notes every 8 seconds - but we're looking for files where you don't have to worry about passing. We're looking for files that everyone can enjoy but be challenged to potentially AAA & quad at the same time with enough practice.

Take your time and find a GOOD SONG for this. Don't focus on getting as many files as possible in the pack since we're looking for a maximum of 50 files anyways. I personally believe that in order to make easy songs memorable, song choice comes firsthand. Hard files may be remembered for their scoring antics, but easy files will be remembered for their unique & enjoyable experience that pertains to the song & steps.

Cut your songs if they are too long. For easy files, I believe having short and memorable files are better than having 5 minute songs that drag on. Of course, if it's a good file then it will prove itself during judging, but otherwise cutting songs would probably be better if it's too long. Use your own judgement! You can use programs like Goldwave & Audacity for this.

About mines & holds: utilize them to your best ability if needed, but don't overdo it!

A few things to keep in mind!
Be precise with your steps and patterns following the music, but don't forget to be creative. With easy files, it's even harder to make memorable files.


Sidenote: 75 files is the maximum but if we don't have that many files accepted by mid-July we'll probably release it regardless, seeing any amount between 30-75 seems good. (75 being the absolute upper end)

[mi40]

Pastebin with reviews
http://pastebin.com/38rnvdQg

Submitted Files:

5ive STAR (valor)
Across the Nightmare (ilikexd)
a broken heart can mend (mrtea)
Adept (Kommisar)
Always Yours (Kommisar)
Astro Teemo (ReikonKeiri)
Blah Blah Blah(moches)
boss the boss pt.1 (arksuki)
boss the boss pt.2 (arksuki)
Clumsy thoughts (bmah)
Cross Galaxy (rparty89)
Daybreak (Fission)
derezzed (arksuki)
Eclipse (rCaliberGX)
Faint (ilikexd)
Favorite Daughter (Lemm!!!)
Flower Flag (Kaneh)
For the Win (TheSilentLord)
forbidden tracks (rcalibergx)
GAIA (rparty89)
galactic encounter (arksuki)
Ganryu (Scintill)
green hill zone (arksuki)
Guren no Yumiya (TheSilentLord)
Halcyon (rCaliberGX)
Hajimari No Resolution (XelNya)
horizon variations (ilikexd)
I Don't Care (Reggae Mix) (moches)
Information Leak (danceguy)
Kirlian Voyager (rCaliberGX)
Light House (bmou)
Melody Circus (shenjoku)
Mirror Mirror (rCaliberGX)
Moneratsu Title Theme (d4u7211)
monkey island (prawnskunk)
Mysterious Exorcism Rod (PP)
Mystery Metropolis (Kaneh)
night time story (spookymagician)
Opening (XelNya)
Our Turn (MrTea)
Petite Feet (ilikexd)
Po Pi Po Kouka de Uchi no Miku wa Kyou mo Genki Desu (0)
Quartz Quadrant (Present - JP) (MrTea)
Rain (valor)
Roxas (James May)
Petite Feet (ilikexd)
Plastic Promises (ReikonKeiri)
Sacred Campaign (Kaneh)
sannin no dragon slayer (prawnskunk)
Shanghai Flight (skor)
Scream of [roki] (roundbox)
Symbolic (Kraezymann)
Shy Guys Toy Box (alloyus)
Taiyou Iwaku Moeyo Chaos (Kommisar)
Theme of Hawkeye (ferrari)
This is a Virus (Mollocephalus)
This Will Be the Day [James Landino Remix] (rCaliberGX)
Thousand Cherry Blossom (PP)
Try And Follow Me (moches)
Vertex Delta TRUE (rCaliberGX)
Virus (Live Launchpad Original) (CosmoVibe)
vision in crystal (arksuki)
up n down (rcalibergx)
Want U Back (moches)
Weed Circulation (ReikonKeiri)
yume wa nando mo umarekawaru (YTY)

Accepted Files: 36 as of 10/21/13 (Goal: 40 or so)

A Broken Heart Can Mend (MrTea)
Across the Nightmare (ilikexd)
Adept (Kommisar)
Always Yours (Kommisar) note to self, remove mines
Blah Blah Blah (moches)
Clumsy thoughts (bmah)
Daybreak (Fission)
Faint (ilikexd)
Favorite Daughter (Lemm!!!)
Forbidden Tracks (rCaliberGX)
Galactic Encounter (Arksuki)
Ganryu (Scintill)
Hajimari No Resolution (XelNya)
Horizon Variations (ilikexd)
I Don't Care (Reggae Mix) (moches)
Kirlian Voyager (rCaliberGX)
Melody Circus (shenjoku)
Mirror Mirror (rCaliberGX)
Moneratsu Title Theme (d4u7211)
Night Time Story (Spookymagician)
Mysterious Exorcism Rod (PP)
Our Turn (MrTea)
Petite Feet (ilikexd)
Plastic Promises (ReikonKeiri)
Quartz Quadrant (Present - JP) (MrTea)
Symbolic (Kraezymann)
Sacred Campaign (Kaneh)
Sannin No Dragon Slayer (PrawnSkunk)
Taiyou Iwaku Moeyo Chaos (Kommisar)
Theme of Hawkeye (ferrari)
This Will Be the Day [James Landino Remix] (rCaliberGX)
Thousand Cherry Blossom (PP)
Try and Follow Me (moches)
Vertex Delta TRUE (rCaliberGX)
Up 'N Down (rCaliberGX)
Want U Back v2 (moches)

[dAnceguy117]

Originally Posted by mi40

necros' reviews
information leak - edit it
the song should be definitely cut. if you can't do it yourself properly find someone who can do it for you. The chart has some dumb difficulty spikes with the 16th jumps sections and especially the 24ths at the end. don't be afraid to use some jumps to accent sounds around the song and instead tone down the harder parts. i want to see a resubmit for this, get on it.

good point about the 16th jumptrills. they're super easy for all of us but probably out of line for newer players.

to be honest, I have no idea how to represent the 24th section as anything other than 24ths. even a straight trill would be a huge difficulty spike for new players >_> I'll see what I can come up with though.

do you think it would make sense to cut everything before 1:10?

thx for feedback!

[stargroup100]

Originally Posted by mi40

virus (cosmovibe) - accept w/ cut and little fix
- good song choice, except it repeats starting @ 106s, i think if you cut the song @ precisely like... 106.68s (thats the time on my editor), basically i think the last note should be the [134] hand you have after the trilly part, i think that would make the song a good length of 1:47, perfect imo
- the hands in heavy felt kind of hard but the heavy chart is meant for intermed players so i think it's fine
- light chart is good, nice difficulty management

virus - accepted with minor fixes
this file is amazing, it really fucking owns! but… was it necessary to make it long the entire song? i think the second part which repeats is entirely useless. Easy chart is really well done But still would greatly benefit from a cut. One little note: measure 25 needs something to accent the sudden lack of sound. Also i noticed a particular sound which may need more attention starting at measure 43 and happening a bit around the song which could use a 16th minijack to be highlighted. It feels like it's missing right now…

about length/cutting:
personally I feel like 3.5 min isn't that long. in my mind anyways, having a piece repeat once is fine, because the first time is "fresh", and the second time gives the players 1. more of chance to understand the music better the second time around, 2. lets them experience the variations of the piece when they happen second time around, 3. lets the players experience the ending of the song (in this case), 4. gives them the impression that the song is almost like a "boss" level, something a bit more impactful when it deserves it/can live up to expectations. I've noticed that I really enjoyed this trait about a lot of charts from odi pack, which is why I felt the desire to repeat it

measure 25: I have no idea what you're talking about

measure 43: are you sure it's measure 43? I hear absolutely nothing there

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by FissionMailed1

Mirror Mirror - Oni
@ many sections of your chart - when this kind of color note usage starts to happen starts to happen, it's better to increase or decrease the bpm to compensate for it. nothing changes in the song to warrant the use of 192nds and 64s, so quantize them to 4ths and 8ths instead

I agree. I did the BPM syncing in the SM editor, and synced the actual notes in DDReam, but left the BPM alone. I'll go in DDReam and fix this ASAP.

@ 17.715 - i would modify this to use a different pattern to compensate there being 5 notes that ascend instead of 4. for example, use 13234 instead of 12342. after that, you can make the next 3 notes 234 and the corresponding pitches will match a lot better

Agreed. On my laptop (have SM on desktop and laptop) I made the pattern 21234, which I think suits it better than 12342.

@ 34.828 - this freeze is ambiguous. you have freezes for the vocals, but now you have one for a piano sustain. make sure you are using freezes consistently, or else your chart will get really cluttered

Agreed, but when I initially heard it, the vocals go up by 6 notes, and I changed that to 21234 also to compensate.

@ 35.695 - you should make this 2 because it is the same pitch as the piano note before it

Agreed.

@ 38.227 - not sure why this is a double freeze. the vocals just increase in volume, the aren't harmonized with anything. if it is for the piano, again, ambiguous use of freezes. i don't know why the freeze on 1 lasts for so long either, the vocal note dies out a full beat for this

The freeze on 4 was for the piano, and initially I felt the sustain was long enough to warrant it being a freeze, but after playing some piano files (Karmafied) I agree with you. I noticed the 1 freeze being a bit long about half an hour I sent it, and it's already fixed.

@ 89.027-96.116 - you might want to slow this down and listen to it again. quite a few misrhythms and phantom notes

Yeah, this one was a bit of a pain to step. There are a lot of sounds going on, and I did the best I could. The minijacks go to the snare rolls and jump are supposed to go to the bass drums, but they are terribly synced. The Light chart does a better job of interpreting this, but it's still not perfect. I'll do what I can.

@ 147.617 - missing 16th note and 8th note that shouldn't be a hand

I removed the 8th hand, but the missing 16th note is because the song changes and the string rise becomes the melody. I'm surprised you didn't cite 76.29s because that does the same thing.

Thanks for the help, I'm making these changes right now. I'll send the revised version once I'm done.

[FissionMailed1]

Originally Posted by rCaliberGX

I removed the 8th hand, but the missing 16th note is because the song changes and the string rise becomes the melody. I'm surprised you didn't cite 76.29s because that does the same thing.

TBH, I started to skim through some of the hand stream because it all looked ok from a high level view and probably missed some things because of it I understand why you did it now, though.

[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.

[xVaLoRx]

submitting!!

edit: actually i have to edit some shit in my files so i will submit later

[alloyus]

Not sure if it's too hard but sending something

[mi40]

yissss

[Arntonach]

I have stuff for this.

[rCaliberGX]

What would be the definition for easy in this pack? I'm currently stepping a file that is 146 BPM jumpstream.

[mi40]

comparing to ffr, FMOs would be the absolute, absolute upper bound
VC & lower would be ideal

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by mi40

comparing to ffr, FMOs would be the absolute, absolute upper bound
VC & lower would be ideal

And I'm just sitting here wondering what FMO and VC mean. Search doesn't bring up anything.

[igotrhythm]

Originally Posted by rCaliberGX

And I'm just sitting here wondering what FMO and VC mean. Search doesn't bring up anything.

Before the 99-point difficulty scale, FFR rated files on a scale from 1 to 12. Difficulty level 10 was called Very Challenging or VC, while difficulty 11 was "For Masters Only" or FMO.

In modern times, VC would be around the 55-65 range. Anything more would definitely be pushing it for this pack.

[rCaliberGX]

Originally Posted by igotrhythm

Before the 99-point difficulty scale, FFR rated files on a scale from 1 to 12. Difficulty level 10 was called Very Challenging or VC, while difficulty 11 was "For Masters Only" or FMO.

In modern times, VC would be around the 55-65 range. Anything more would definitely be pushing it for this pack.

Thanks.

I'm guessing this pack is going to try and bridge the gap between easy pad songs and hardpain packs?

[kommisar]

fuck you

[moches]

awesomeness alert !!!

brb stepping something

[kommisar]

i think i have a file for this if srs

[Gundam-Dude]

Suggestion: Get actual casuals (as in people who just started playing this game) to play test the files to get the absolute most out of what you're aiming for. If you don't get feedback from your target demographic, what is the point of making a pack that's supposed to cater to them in the first place?

A panel of judges is fine for accepting submissions and all, but you should still have a select few people who aren't all that great at arrow smash games to play the pack's files before release and let them leave their commentary/feedback. Having any "veteran" players and simfile authors play testing files prior to release should be absolutely out of the question considering your target demographic.