Translation of 1048's further thoughts on SINOBUZ

Translation of 1048's further thoughts on SINOBUZ
Original post: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13nhfEQYv8SwWLrlOZkvCbLSbqKXh6yEqx-6u-7_qF7I/edit

[1] SINOBUZ summary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VQIqqjnCuJoTTKekneMiV9H2ktVRLlOXq6OzCmtrbXM/edit

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In the SINOBUZ summary[1] I've written down some superficial things but here I'll write about something deeper...

The following contains strong expressions and may cause misunderstandings.

I have asked for opinions from current top rankers but their names will be anonymous.

As I've written in the other summary, out of the previous few styles SINOBUZ was actually pretty good.

For example,
- No need to play N and H charts: It used to be the case that you had to clear (or play and fail out) N and H charts but now you only need to pick Anothers which makes the already time consuming events more bearable.

- Revivals and new songs/licenses that respect and are inspired by previous versions.
For example, Summer and Sweet Clapper are both catchy and contain elements that current IIDX needs.

There are other things that were good, but moreso what I felt strongly during SINOBUZ is:

IIDX is quickly nearing its end at SINOBUZ

Let me state my conclusion first.

IIDX will become nothing other than paid insane BMS

That is, the end of IIDX is when it converges with insane BMS and becomes the same thing.
Since this is only predicted by looking at the history of IIDX and what happened in SINOBUZ, there's no guarantee the trend will continue.

Most hardcore players reading this might say that this has already been the case.
It's just that SINOBUZ was the style where I had no choice but to accept it.
Of course, in rhythm games where *the difficulty is the story* it may be inevitable that the two will eventually converge.

I'll now write what made me come to that conclusion.

Most of you may already guessed it's because of
Mare Nectaris
Icarus black another

Certainly these immediately come to mind, and indeed they confirmed my beliefs.
But before we get to that, we need to ask:

What does Insane BMS even mean?

Once we know that then we can think within that context of how SINOBUZ (mainly Mare) has affected things.
But since there is no accepted definition, I'll define it here as follows.

Insane BMS, as opposed to usual BMS, seeks only difficulty and does not ask for any other enjoyable qualities.

When playing rhythm games, there are many enjoyable qualities such as the feeling of playing music and listening to the songs themselves.
However, Insane BMS only focuses on how difficult it is to hit falling objects and its density (that is, only on the charts).
As a consequence, *there is no need to have the players focus on which sounds they are playing and worst case they don't even need to be playing any sounds*.

Once we accept that, anything goes.
For example, duplicating a 16th stream phrase and turning into manual delay, or cutting noise up into arbitrarily many pieces and placing them however you wish.

Now we come back to Mare Nectaris and realize that's exactly what's happening.
Let us recall the song comments from the official site:

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SOUND / KAGURA

Where is humanity's limit?
20 years since Beatmania's birth in 1997.
1 button = 1 sound (sample).
In 2017 this rule remains unchanged.
32nd note piano arpeggios at 256 BPM.
I've released this song thinking that as a reaching point but it has been easily overcome.
I'm full of respect for the players.
======================================================


Ok.

It says sound, but
THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT THE MUSIC.
As a joke, this is actually pretty good.
But in the context of IIDX, not at all.

This even sounds like they are admitting to be inside the context of Insane BMS.
The feeling of playing msuic, the quality of the song, none of those things matter.
There was a point where IIDX kept balance, and they just decided to go right past it by releasing this song.

When they mention "easily overcome", it could mean
- clear, or
- full combo, or
- AAA.
However, looking at how things have been the past few years it's more likely to be the former two.

The makers issuing a challenge aimed at a very small group of users, and that small group overcoming it.
Encouraging this cycle risks rapidly shortening the game's lifespan.

That's how I feel.
And I fear this style helped accelerate it too much.
Cutting noise into arbitrary pieces and placing them arbitrarily is exactly in line with Insane BMS, as well as the almost delay-like stairs.
You can't hear what's playing, and I'm not sure if there is a player who can play while knowing exactly what sound they are hitting.

At the "reaching point," is there any strong identity like aesthetics or originality?

Now on Icarus black, although it's inside the Leggendaria (aka Anything Goes) folder, seeing as how originally it was for a CS release where you could challenge as many times as you want and was also designed for closer turntables it was very disappointing to see it imported into AC especially after following Mare.
Many people have already talked about it, including some protesting top players, so there is not much new to say here.
But at the very least, many people are starting to be suspicious of the directions IIDX is taking.

But those two songs aren't the only reason why I've arrived at my conclusion.

Lately there have been too many Insane BMS-like charts, or songs that have been overcharted for the sake of difficulty.
For example, this is a picture that a certain well-known player made:

https://i.imgur.com/PCcEpCT.png

Does it look like it comes from one song? In fact each of the six columns are all from different songs!

There are no adjacent note placements.
The fact that there are no adjacent notes isn't the core issue, but since there is only a finite number of patterns you can make with 7 buttons (and scratch) if you disallow adjacent notes you will tend to converge to patterns such as these.
As such, they will have the same good and bad randoms and will play the same.

There are many such charts, they are nothing new.
That's because Insane BMS has already been doing this for 10 years.

Personally I think there is a recent trend of overcharting and too much inclusion of notes faster than 24ths.
In most SINOBUZ Another charts there are 24ths and 32nds.
Of course the chart depends on the actual song so this is a difficult point...

But as I've noted, there are many charts that compensate for the bland charts (caused by lack of adjacent notes) by adding 24ths and 32nds.
The most prominent happens when a note is placed slightly before or after a measure line which weakens the sense of hitting on beat and playing the music.
eg) HADES, Magical Girl, shuriken, summer, etc
These charts certainly contribute to the difficulty of playing for score, but personally they are not very fun.
Since it's getting too specific (even though I have more specific things to say), I'll state again my conclusion.

Recent IIDX is quickly turning into Insane BMS.

That is all.

Personally there is no need to try to become harder than Mei, and in the long run there is more demerit than merit to BMS-izing quickly..

As an aside, this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTJWppmIJCY chart is extremely fun but I don't think it would work as a nonrandom chart in today's IIDX.
As well, if this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBGC9yOI0Rw were to be included in modern IIDX it may have ended up having all its sounds charted.

It's not that I want to talk about the Good Old Days, but...

Old charts feel like they were made with groove and feeling in mind.
Not bound by any strict rules but made with how it feels.
That's why some charts have a certain kind of difficulty looking back, but on the other hand these charts are very memorable and individual.
Conversely, modern IIDX charts feel like they are just taking what you hear, cutting the sounds, and placing.
You could say that's "proper charting", but you could also say that just leads to charts lacking individuality.

However, when you think about what makes a good IIDX chart, it feels like there's a hint in those charts.
To say specifically will be too long and detailed, so I'll give a few examples.
First is Beach Side Bunny.
This is a simple yet difficult chart which is very IIDX-like.
(Giving a scratch song as an example here is probably because it's leading to what I will write about next time...)
As well, One or Eight is a truly timeless chart.
I feel that what makes a chart IIDX-like comes from not only the keys but how they interact with the turntable.
This is really personal preference, so perhaps I will talk about it at another time.

Now, why do we need to consider Insane BMS at all?

It's precisely because BMS and Insane BMS has existed alongside IIDX.
Since it has already existed, this is really due to IIDX trying to include more Insane BMS influences.
(That is, if Insane BMS never existed and IIDX became the way it is on its on then we can only conclude that's just difficulty inflation and natural evolution for IIDX.)
(Furthermore, it seems that rhythm games as a whole can no longer exist without influence from BMS.)

When Mare just released, as I was thinking about this topic, there was the announcement for Cannon Ballers location test.
I decided to ask many top players for their opinion, similar to loctest surveys.

I asked for opinions on the loctest survey topics: good songs, bad songs, good charts, bad charts from this style; as well as what they thought about Mare and any other thoughts.

Everyone I asked, myself included, has of course cleared Mare and Icarus and AAA'd either one or both.
That is, these are honest opinions (not things like "this is a bad chart because I can't do it").

I can't list everything here as it will be too long and lead to identifications so I've summarized a few of them here.
I hope to eventually publish these opinions at a different time or place.

Good Songs/Charts

Caterpillar: I felt the scratches were used very interestingly. However, the jacks near the end felt unnecessary...
Amazing Mirage: There were many parts in the chart that matched with the music and had a strong sense of performing the song. The occasional scratches were also nice.
SAMURAI-Scrable: This is a song that's approachable for beginners to experts. As well it's very true to the song.
Selfish sweet: I just love this song. They didn't just place all the scratches in the song, and this is a very fun zure chart.
Beat Juggling Mix: Both the song and the BGA excellently matached the concept.
INVISIBLE STRIX ,  お命ちょうDAI！901娘 , SAMURAI-Scramble ,  Steel Edge: Gives a IIDX-like underground vibe.
BREAK OVER: Love the song chart and movie. This is a nice use of 24ths.
Egret and Willow: Firstly the song is too good. The scratches come at the best times and it's very nice.
〆: The quintessensial otoge song and chart. Fun to play.

Bad Songs/Charts

RISING FIRE HAWK: There's a sound in the middle in the DDR version but not in IIDX. Maybe they didn't need to chart this...?
九尾狐夜行: The trill is awful. I've been thinking from before but long 32nds are not at all fun to play. The trill ruins it.
DISAPPEAR feat. koyomin: Dumb
Affection、Steel Edge、Sky High、Go Ahead!!、月雪に舞う華のように、GuNGNiR、Summerlights(IIDX Edition)、
Kailua (HCN Ver.)、Almagest (HCN Ver.)
PAPAYAPA BASS: Can't hear the 32nds at all
Surf on the Light: Didn't need the piano ornaments and there was no need to chart it like airflow. Garbage.
EBONY & IVORY†(chart): Does the charter think super fast trills+notes are fun? Dumb. Liberation/Last Dance/超青少年† etc would have been selected a lot more without the super fast trills.
忍恋花: Chart feels like it was made in three minutes.

Other individual/overall opinions

- Please stop fast trills. Also is R-RANDOM working correctly? (I get many similar charts)
- Please revive the cabinet top score from pre-Lincle results
- I'm not sure how appropriate it is to have an Insane Kaiden from BMS oversee charting. Is this foreshadowing that future charts will be more like Insane BMS?
- I want a way to see overall skill. It's unfortunate that Ninja Rank only looks at DJ Point and only charts focusing on keys get evaluated.
- There is no need to insist on using nonrandom to unlock Extra Stage songs (like Buzra Arts). This game's default option is Random.
- They should focus more on what makes IIDX unique.
- There are more and more new charts and times change, but please slow down and look at old charts and as well think about the player base as a whole.
- If you're going to make super difficult charts aimed at super top rankers, it's better to make them feel very special (e.g. Extra scenes, only a few people can unlock, etc)
- 1000 plays for 12s, being forced to play Dan course on release day, etc... We need to get rid of these unreasonable traditions. For example, if we made it 500 plays instead it wouldn't devalue Pfree and also might motivate more players.
- I don't understand what song deletions are based on. Please don't delete any more SLAKE songs.

On Mare Nectaris

- I think the song is actually nice. The chart is... Can't help but feel they're just trying to make it hard for the sake of difficulty.
- This is exactly in line with BMS (overjoy) thinking. If we allow charts consisting of only noise then anything goes from here.
- I have no idea what each note is playing. Play for me what each note is playing.
- There's no need to add it at this time, ignoring history and context for IIDX.
- The chart is forced. No idea what I'm doing in the chart. There is no sense of playing the music for this chart/song.
- If we accept this does it mean we will see more charts like this in the future?

That's about it.
This is a very sensitive topic w.
However, being the top players there are many critical and thought out opinions.
It felt like we had the same thoughts and came to the same conclusions.
However this was from the summer, so maybe some of them have changed their minds (I doubt it though).

The reason why I'm trying to warn at this time is due to the recent trend of DIAVOLO, Thor's, Cat Waltz and the Dokyou charts.
If we "appear" to have accepted this, there may be even more to come in the future (as in the last of the opinions).
Needless to say, once that happens we will only move closer and closer to my first conclusion.

In rhythm games, the chart is the closest to the physical players.

You listen to the song with your ears and see the visuals with eyes, but you touch and play the charts.

To have the context of beatmania influenced so heavily by that of Insane BMS felt it could not simply be addressed to diversity, and that's why I decided to write this.

The next style will release soon.
I've heard about how the hard disk will become SSDs and all cabs will feel the same, and how adding lane brightness feels like BMS but I'm excited for it.
There are many new things that I'm genuinely excited for.
From now and onwards I want to continue to love what I love, and I write this with hope for the future.

Also the old IIDX style web pages keep giving me 404, so please fix that!