post your top 5s and discuss in this thread. mine were:
world of corruption
lofty 2
danmaku minipack
bcmpish 2
(didn't put a fifth because everything else released i felt was a 7/10 at best, and i didn't think it was right to put a 7/10 in as a "favorite")
actually yknow while im at it i'll just rate everything i've looked at this year
Lofty 2 9,5/10
This is a contender to be my favourite pack ever, it was so good for me that i'm still thinking about doing a half improvised video about it.
World of Corruption 9/10
Definitely the most "professional" pack out of the bunch, what makes me place this pack lower than lofty 2 is a combination of everything being a bit better in lofty for me. (music, art, chart style and overall vibes)
What it does have going for it is the fact that it doesn't have random 5/10 files that lofty 2 does have, some people might be thrown off by it but in this case i feel like it adds to the charm of it. (with Invocation files mainly)
My point here is that i'm a bit bored of "game-ish" packs even though they are definitely way easier to make from a charting standpoint. (i mainly chart this type of music too)
Crazy Culinary Revolutions 2 8/10
The only way i feel like i can describe this pack is that it's more gameplay oriented than an artsy pack, and that's probably because the charters here might be players first and charters second.
This devolves in a pack that is definitely not for everyone charting wise (especially because of the average msd) but really hits with me, it's also heavily carried by zaalseen's charts.
Danmaku Minipack 7.5/10
Even though i don't see much replayability on this pack it's nice that someone finally made a high quality minedodge pack, we need more of these.
feel free to recommend other 2025 packs i should take a look at (still havent looked at durvin's pack... keep forgetting to)
Durvin Pack 7/10
Yeah... this pack really puts into perspective the kind of charter Durvin is and the few charts that i like in here justify the rating.
If Crazy Culinary Revolutions 2 wasn't for everyone, this is good for a very select group of people i feel like,
Durvin managed to make his own tech jack heavy style and i believe that is pretty hard to do in this day and age.
My top 5 packs of the year:
World of Corruption 9/10
Definitely the most "professional" pack out of the bunch, what makes me place this pack lower than lofty 2 is a combination of everything being a bit better in lofty for me. (music, art, chart style and overall vibes)
What it does have going for it is the fact that it doesn't have random 5/10 files that lofty 2 does have, some people might be thrown off by it but in this case i feel like it adds to the charm of it. (with Invocation files mainly)
My point here is that i'm a bit bored of "game-ish" packs even though they are definitely way easier to make from a charting standpoint. (i mainly chart this type of music too)
outside of the bit about "game-ish" packs i pretty much agree with all of this (which is why woc's only a 9 instead of a 10). if it had as much of a cohesive identity as lofty 2 or some other packs i'd give it a 10
the bit about random 5/10 files reminds me of something i told zeta when the pack released which was "this is by far the biggest pack to have no bad files". still crazy to think about considering it has 80 files (or does it?)
i'll also say that i probably rate dump packs less in general because i can't play half the files in them 1.0. of course i can still get how they'd play by downrating or just looking at the chart in the editor/preview but it's not really the same; think to build a really strong appreciation playing on 1.0 is needed
1. WOC as number one just because the sheer amount of effort and talent necessary to make something like it is mind boggling to me. It's not even just about the files, which are stellar, or the fact that Zeta and co were able to dig up some super reputable tech charters for extra credibility, it also had tons of extra content. The fucking thing has a banger video and website attached to it, and it was able to create a ton of hype that reminded me a bit of the golden age of stepmania. The fact that the files in the pack were also able to make the hype feel warranted just made it a super special release. I look at it in the editor when I'm bored sometimes.
2. Lofty Minipack 2 2 was my number two because, well, it's my pack and I believe everyone who worked on it did a great job making a fun and interesting pack. I think I personally was able to curate files to form a coherent aesthetic and that the graphics were able to further solidify the choices being made with the files. The invocation/boss structure was also really interesting to work out. I think it's one of the best Lofty packs, if not the best lofty pack. I do however believe that Lofty Minipack 3 2 comes close in quality, even if it doesn't get a ton of love. Surprisingly, Lofty Dump Minipack 1 sticks out to me now as being probably way ahead of its time, although I'll admit, it doesn't come close to the overall quality Lofty 2 2 delivers. Just interesting to look back on it.
3. Etterna Touhou Project, similarly to WOC, had to be included on my list because the amount of work put into this pack was also crazy. You could tell that real passion went into this project and although I personally couldn't really get super into the song choices, I appreciated how thematic the pack was and the files are still very fun. Also not unlike WOC, the extras that come along with this pack are just insane. It is a shame that players will never truly understand the kind of time and dedication it takes to make something of this quality. Though, I can see how this pack alienates itself just by merely existing...still, a very cool project.
I don't know much else about the other packs on the list, however, the BCMP one sticks out to me and I'll probably be looking through that soon.
world of corruption and lofty 2-2 were definitely standouts, danmaku minipack too
the creativity in world of corruption that i saw in the files that i played, even if i have not played everything there has stunned me and is one of those packs that's going to leave a lasting impression on me, in no pack more than others in the last 5-10 years of either actively playing or peeking my head back in, have i felt like something truly new was displayed to me (favorite file in the pack thus far: undiscovered colors)
lofty 2-2 is an extension of the feelings ive had playing any minty pack, and post lofty 2 lofty pack, i remember when minty 1 came out and that was a big deal, id also say it changed the landscape for stepmania/etterna charting for its time with more emphasis on creative dump charts rather, and im amazed to see that the quality of the charts had basically only gotten better, how well rounded the pack felt was also big to me as well, while i dont feel like the song choices are as strong as the other packs (this is a minor criticism and maybe some bias because minty 1 and 2 had such iconic song picks for me), there's still an identity that i think is only represented in a lofty / minty pack. (favorite file in the pack thus far: FUCK anime)
danmaku minipack is a standout to me because it more than anything, reminds me that etterna is very much a video game, and that sounds strange, but let me elaborate, minedodge feels like i am playing an extension of the game ive been playing for years, there's a real video game esque progression in every file you play in order that only gets harder, terracotta is also a STELLAR file even though i cant play it (it's fucking difficult u can't blame me on this one). it really elevates an aspect of the game that i feel like could've been so much more, and is now so much more. (favorite file in the pack thus far: terracotta but simply on a level of appreciation for the chart)
These were the five packs i chose in the survey, and below i have my opinions on a few more. So, in no particular order:
Pink band-aid:
Played few files, but liked the ones i did play. Got weirdly pumped to set a good score on Override, so kept coming back.
Durvin Pack:
I like my pack!!! It seemingly went into obscurity very quickly, which felt strange. It does make sense with how there are "too many" packs nowadays i suppose, and i am undoubtably not the first to experience this. Too biased to properly talk about my own pack in under 600 words, so instead i will thank snover for not making me quit charting in 2023. Don't let haters stop you from having fun!!
Goober 'n Friends 2
Played an above average amount of files from this pack (1/5 ish), which is way above the average pack experience for me. Files aren't necessarily heavily polished, but many of those i played were very fun, which is more important to me.
Splivision
Favourited all three files i played in this pack. The charting decisions of them were very satisfying to play, and the songs were pretty good too. Very different style from the older Xingren files; in most ways an improvement, but in some he loses a bit of the old flavour. I liked reading the forum post he made =).
World of Corruption
After playtesting the entire pack two times (including all difficulties aaaaaa), i am uncertain what a non-playtester Durvin would think about it. I feel like the steps were placed very deliberately in most of the files, but it sometimes also lead to a distruption of flow and immersion, and made it hard to me to enjoy a lot of the files (essentially an art above gameplay pack). Those i did enjoy makes up for this (like it does in most packs really). I appreciate that it has consistently high-effort charting, so that no files felt "bad" to play, and i could enter a 18 minute long file without worrying. That's pretty cool, and probably the "main thing" i will remember about this pack. I think i would like it a lot more if i wasn't so picky with music.
[Honourable Mentions of packs i opened enough to warrant having an opinion on]
EDMS BII
Very unique charting style, with a mix of "oh this is cool" and "why did you do it like that" in most files. Having 7 diffs for all the charts seems an odd choice to me
Lofty 2 2
I don't get why people like this pack as much as they do, and the difficulty system existing without being used is... is it a joke? *shrug*. A bunch of people in DPRE wanted me to play a chunk of the pack (which i did), but i just don't get it. This has been a years-long discrepancy between me and a good chunk of the members there, so this is probably not surprising for them to read.
Etterna Touhou Pack + Extras
This is a "jam with the song" type pack, but i did not feel the jam with the files here (apart from my own submissions). Being picky has downsides.
Temptress of Handstreams
This packs main issue is that most of the charts have hands forced into them without fitting the song/chart style, which just makes for a poor experience. The files where they fit well were notably better, and a couple of them surprised me (+eraby+e connec+10n comes to mind). Ambie also seems to like resteps a lot, but i'm not sure why.
Edslash's Good, Bad and Ugly Simfiles
do NOT let her go to Australia. Also this pack has some surprisingly good files. Maybe should've picked this instead of pink band-aid? They're about the same i guess. The real crime here is that edslash was a side-character in is own pack, as i only played one of his files.
I like my pack!!! It seemingly went into obscurity very quickly, which felt strange. It does make sense with how there are "too many" packs nowadays i suppose, and i am undoubtably not the first to experience this. Too biased to properly talk about my own pack in under 600 words, so instead i will thank snover for not making me quit charting in 2023. Don't let haters stop you from having fun!!
yeah i think its a given that pack releases of exclusively one charter will fly under the radar unless if you're a really big name or really go out of your way to market the pack to people. one of the advantages of the 100+ chart megapacks that i dislike is that since usually over 20 people are involved thats at least 20+ people with a vested interest to download and play and talk about the pack
Lofty 2 2
I don't get why people like this pack as much as they do, and the difficulty system existing without being used is... is it a joke? *shrug*. A bunch of people in DPRE wanted me to play a chunk of the pack (which i did), but i just don't get it. This has been a years-long discrepancy between me and a good chunk of the members there, so this is probably not surprising for them to read.
i dont know if you're referring to the [X-X] thing or the fact that all of the chart ratings are set to 2 when you talk about the difficulty system. either way im pretty sure lofty does it more as a joke rather than a serious thing. w/o specifics cant really comment on the fact that you dont like it but i imagine you have your reasons
This packs main issue is that most of the charts have hands forced into them without fitting the song/chart style, which just makes for a poor experience. The files where they fit well were notably better, and a couple of them surprised me (+eraby+e connec+10n comes to mind). Ambie also seems to like resteps a lot, but i'm not sure why.
i agree with all the criticisms voiced here, the pack overall just felt like CCC but for handstreams to me. like you said though there's a handful of good charts in that pack, my list being:
Kono spoon, suteki desu ne
DMRIw's rayquaza ex (i cant believe everyone plays yellow version instead, i think its significantly worse. deam's version does a much better job of not just following the song but keeping the difficulty consistent despite the bpm changes)
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