What makes a good chart, for you?

[qqwref]

What is it that makes you play a chart and like it? Do you insist on technicality, or are you only worried about fun factor? Or is it something else entirely?

I think it'll be interesting to see the community's views on this. I always see files that some people love and some people hate, and it really makes me wonder if it's just because people want different things. Try to choose the one option that best describes your preference; if you're having trouble, imagine a file you enjoy and think about why. (If you can't imagine a file you enjoy, maybe you should stop playing this game ) And of course, if none of the options really fit, choose 'other' and try to explain in the topic.

[Tarrik]

I mainly play fun files. Nice long jump streams are nice :P

[Kinx]

if it involves 6 keys

[iironiic]

Personally, I would prefer files that heavily emphasize the "fun factor" than technicality, although technicality should be somewhat important. After all, FFR is a game that is meant to be fun, but then we face the issue of the subjectivity of fun. What one person considers fun doesn't necessarily imply that others would equally find that file fun. There could be some people here who would find technical files fun, but I'm not one of them.

[Poison-]

Some mini jacks are nice, not too many though.
Jump streams are pretty fun too I guess.
One handed trills kinda suck.
Technicality is a must though.

[00Razor00]

To me, there's gotta be a sweet spot between one having their own personal style within the chart and being technical with it. I mean, I wouldn't want to play a chart with random notes everywhere that lacks expressiveness and technicality, but something that can combine both with added fun in it is what would make a 'good chart' imo.

[leonid]

song choice
and completeness as in every pattern should mean something

[BethanyBangs]

Song needs to sound good, and it has to be fun. AND SHORT, i dislike songs over 2 minutes. Some are an exception though. Good songs: Aztec Templing, Hatten Carnival, State of Emergency, etc.

[sakura080789]

i think a file must be fun. song choice though also is nice

[DossarLX ODI]

I voted "other".

The files that I can enjoy most are memorable files. Certain files have unique aspects to them, so fun factor isn't always the issue - it can be a certain part, pattern choice, abstractness, and other things.

For example, Grist is not only a very memorable song (it has the most plays in my iTunes) but the stepfile itself does a good job in emphasing the velocity of the electric bursts in a reasonable manner (some patterns could have been better though). Arch0wl's Energizer has the slowdown jack that made the file - but it got rejected as shit when submitted to FFR (it got 1/1/1/1- lol), yet it was totally memorable with its idea of abstractness.

[samurai7694]

Fun factor, yes, but mostly it's about being expressive, and how the notes "flow" well with the file. I also like to see notes/chords to emphasize the power of each sound. (a single note = weak/one instrument and a quad = indication of the beginning of a climactic section within the chart).

[BeatofIke]

Originally Posted by samurai7694

Fun factor, yes, but mostly it's about being expressive, and how the notes "flow" well with the file. I also like to see notes/chords to emphasize the power of each sound. (a single note = weak/one instrument and a quad = indication of the beginning of a climactic section within the chart).

This ^

[Velocity]

Good songs, fun steps, not made by Midde. <3

[zolaric]

Originally Posted by Kinx

if it involves 6 keys

yeahh

6 keys or more

[MarioNintendo]

Technicality, expressiveness and fun factor are priorities, all of them equally.

[LongGone]

Originally Posted by Kinx

if it involves 6 keys

This

But anyway in general...

-Fairly balanced difficulty (you don't really want to play a 4nps file for 2 mins just for that 15nps ending etc.)
-Balanced patterns not overloading one hand (unless novel or warranted), flow (which is more of an issue in 6k)
-Use of non-generic patterns, giving impression of effort in file
-Completeness feel, see above
-Technicality isn't *too* important so long its not noticeable when playing (no one is going to open up the editor to find every single mistake in your file unless its that blatantly wrong)

EDIT: forgot to add importantly
-Song choice definitely
-Fun factor overrides most of the above

[bmah]

A mix of fun factor and technicality. Miss one or the other, and it'll go downhill fast...
And song choice helps a lot too. Sometimes there are songs we all love, but are not very interesting to step, and it's often hard to let your favorite songs go because they're really repetitive.

Now what I don't get is people's inconsistency in liking/disliking certain types of files. Not long ago, people were babbling out how bursty files are "technical" and non-palatable. In fact, Xayphon's The Bird's Poisoned Bathwater was criticized for just that in the DF custom tourney iirc. And now, people are raving about Fast Asleep, basically the same type of song and file made by the same person. What's up with that? Be consistent, dammit. Why do you like the same sort of file and hate another song with those exact same mechanisms? [with practically the same type of music] Furthermore, the criticisms come from the same high-leveled players, so it's not entirely taking two situations out of context.

[yo man im awesome]

Originally Posted by bmah

A mix of fun factor and technicality. Miss one or the other, and it'll go downhill fast...
And song choice helps a lot too. Sometimes there are songs we all love, but are not very interesting to step, and it's often hard to let your favorite songs go because they're really repetitive.

Now what I don't get is people's inconsistency in liking/disliking certain types of files. Not long ago, people were babbling out how bursty files are "technical" and non-palatable. In fact, Xayphon's The Bird's Poisoned Bathwater was criticized for just that in the DF custom tourney iirc. And now, people are raving about Fast Asleep, basically the same type of song and file made by the same person. What's up with that? Be consistent, dammit. Why do you like the same sort of file and hate another song with those exact same mechanisms? [with practically the same type of music] Furthermore, the criticisms come from the same high-leveled players, so it's not entirely taking two situations out of context.

This this this. ^^^

[Gundam-Dude]

fun factor

I couldn't care less about being 200% technically correct because I myself break technical stepping conventions for file flow and fun

[NeoMasterPie]

i voted expressiveness, but that's part of what makes a file fun for me. i like to feel like i'm playing to the flow of the song, sorta hence why kil is one of my favorite step authors.

otherwise yeah fun factor and song choice are both really important to me