Thread: StepCon 2022
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Old 04-15-2022, 07:17 PM   #82
Psychotik
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Stepmania Cavern
Age: 32
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Default Re: StepCon 2022

Here are my notes. No voting results or anything but you can sorta infer what way I voted based on my impressions. I voted for 3 Koneko's, 2 If You Can't Hang, and 1 for the other two.

Boss 1 - If you're going to recolor all of the notes to match very specific elements, better make sure it's consistent.
Definitely there are times where it strays.
Even then I think it's a little overkill and not necessary to adhere to a strict color-coded policy.
This also leads to issues with layering where I thought some parts were too spiky considering the overall difficulty of the file.

Boss 2 - Pretty fun, mostly consistent layering, if maybe a little heavy at points for my tastes.
Also decent patterns that flow pretty well. I do wish the song had a more natural end to it, but that's mostly personal preference.

Boss 3 - This song really needs a cut more than the others just due to the very repetitive nature of it.
There were some inconsistencies in jump usage I noticed during the rap verses, so I wasn't exactly sure what they were following.
Also noticed some missing notes perhaps on my first run through.
Overall it makes sense and flows well, it's just too long for me.

Boss 4 - Oof, almost everything in this chart is defined by OHT transitions and patterns with almost no respite.
This doesn't help conduce a feeling of variety and ease of tension in the hands.
Mix that in with all vocals being stepped as jumps but avoiding gluts just makes it even more trilly. Not something I'm very fond of.

Boss 5 - Plays very well in terms of patterning.
The layering leaves more to be desired though.
The chorus is very dense compared to all the verses, which leads to an imbalanced feel.
I think you could have gone heavier with the jumps in those verses.

Boss 6 - The foundation is there. Like 3, the song really needs a cut due to its repetitive nature.
I didn't really see a point to the BPM changes, since the tempo didn't really change.
Pitch relevancy needs the most work, specifically during the verses, as right now patterning feels a little haphazard.
Noticed some ghost notes going to nothing in particular and some missing notes throughout. It's not a bad start, just needed more polish.

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Koneko 1 - Not too bad. PR felt decent and patterns were comfortable to play.
Felt a little underlayered at points and I think it could have had some sections a little more filled in.
My biggest qualm I guess is I think the 32nds all being rolls feels a litte too safe and boring. I wish there was a bit more variety.

Koneko 2 -

Koneko 3 - Basically takes what I like from Koneko 1 with some interesting patterning for the 32nds.
I even like the 24th in place of the 32nds for the more muted sections, works quite well.
I do think there's one 32nd trill that's a bit spiky, one of the longer ones.

Koneko 4 - Love the layering and patterning in this.
Very clearly subdued in ways that feel organic, nothing feels really out of place.
Only gripe I guess would be some of the jumps feel inconsistent, but it's pretty minor.

Koneko 5 - Some of the 32nds drills are very hard to hit compared to the rest of the file, and could have been toned down a bit by changing up the patterning.
Same with some of those jack transitions, they felt awkward to hit.
Some jumps I couldn't really make out what they were following. The flams around 150 appear to be the wrong quantization.
I think overall it didn't a little more polish.

Koneko 6 - Possibly the most polished and technically accurate and fun to play patterns of the bunch.
I just wished the burstier musical moments were at least achknowledged by something in the chart.
It's basically the identity of the song and it isn't present in the chart, even in a subdued way.
Mostly just a personal gripe, but there are more interesting ideas personally to me in a few of these other charts.

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Hang 1 - Very fun patterning, good cut. Maybe a little too heavy on the jacks, feels like they could have been toned down a bit.
There were also some chords I'm not too sure what they were going to. Still good though.

Hang 2 - Not a bad easier interpretation of the song.
Biggest gripe for me is just the PR felt a little too rigid, leading to a lot of left hand bias at points.
And the ending stream felt like a little much.

Hang 3 - This is a chart with an identity crisis.
It's very inconsistent in terms of intensity.
Some more quiet parts feel overlayered with chord jacks and bursts but then powerful verse or chorus sections then feel underwhelming with simple jump-step patterns.
It just delivers a confusing play experience for me.

Hang 4 - Good use of BPM changes to denote tempo.
I liked the minijacks motif to the pretty face lyrics. The rest needs more work.
There are moments were the notes just don't correctly match up to the rhythm it's following, the pitch relevancy is barely there, and you got difficulty spikes with the minijacks at the end of the 16th note rolls.
Sorry if it's a little harsh. It just needs more polish and sounder structural foundation.
Keep it up though.

Hang 5 - Really good. Reminds me of an easier version of Hang 1.
Structure is very explicit and consistent. Pattern are fun. Yeah not much to gripe on this one.

Hang 6 - Really missing out on a lot of variety by omitting the vocals.
That with most of the percussions being stepped by jumps makes this quite repetitive.
I'm also not too crazy by the anchory patterns to being with.

Hang 7 - This chart fucked my wife.

Hang 8 - This is so similar in structure to 1, but lacks some of the polish and pizzazz personally.
There were some anchor-y patterns I didn't really care for all that much, but overall it was fine I think.

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Passing 1 - Unfortunately the file is just fundamentally flawed as the incorrect quantization is used.
It is not 16th/32nd notes but a mix of 64th note and 12th/24th note swing, for the most part.
Besides that, there are some difficulty spikes with the 32nd one handed trills that burden the enjoyment of the file.

Passing 2 - Structure is pretty explicit and consistent. Unfortunately most of the swing at the start is 64th note swing, not 24th.
Overall I think PR can be a little better. Patterns flow smoothly in the second half, even a little too smoothly, where I wish there were some minijacks or anchor to spice things up.

Passing 3 - The overall structure I think is sorta confusing.
I'm not entirely sure what the jumps are following explicitely, after a few plays.
Again, the swing at the start is 64th swing, not 24ths.
There's also a moment around 1050 where I don't quite follow what rhythm it's following exactly.

Passing 4 - Very good. Patterning makes sense with accurately quantization as far as I can tell (without being very nitpicky anyway).
Structure is consistent throughout. Fun, I like it.

Passing 5 - Most of the swing at the start and end should be 64ths, not 24th, which is a shame because you actually start at the correct quantization.
Besides that, the patterns are inoffensive. I think PR can generally be a bit better.

Passing 6 - A pretty good and fun dumpier chart.
Not exactly to my tastes at all, but I can see people liking it.
Kudos and having proper quantization throughout.
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