I will say, most people approach files in an understandable way and they just have micro-inconsistencies, but I think these little inconsistences add up without many charters knowing and this is really an area that should be commented on when giving feedback on a file.
this is very true and probably the main issue i see w/ new charters (difficulty spikes and overlayering probably the next two highest)
rest of the points are good too. i think its a good idea to keep tech charts uprateable too though i think a closer look at what rateability actually means and how it works could be a whole writing in itself (which i have a draft for but havent finished)
| Dash- wrote: * | Thu Dec 04, 2025 12:23 am |
complete beginners will receive a different type of advice compared to someone who's ankles-deep into charting, if someone comes from another rhythm game that might give a hint on why some decisions were made, etc
also true. the bit about experience is funny because i remember talking about how for ankles-deep people its better to give ankles-deep critique (i.e. timestamps of errors and whatnot) though that sort of critique style is pretty hated by some experienced charters. on that note i usually try to balance the tediousness of that sort of criticism by applying the changes myself so if they really cant be assed they can just read through, say "ok" and thats that (shoutouts to zeta for doing this in woc)
the bit about prior rhythm game experience is also very true. you can see this in particular with charters with bms experience (linus and mizuki immediately come to mind) and their very spiky and dense patterns. nvlm charts also make a lot more sense when you realize he was a ddr player (back when ddr charts made a point to not follow the music but rather their own dance) and also an o2jam player (if you have seen an o2jam chart this needs no elaboration)
| Zeta wrote: * | Thu Dec 04, 2025 3:15 am |
i agree with most of the points that have been brought up. i think "good feedback" has to start with figuring out what kind of feedback the charter wants, even when they don't explicitly say it
most of the time when you're dealing with someone who drops a video with zero context, it's not always obvious if they want feedback or what kind of feedback they want
1. interpret first, judge second
before giving opinions, i try to "reverse-engineer" their approach: their layering, pattern choices, how they represent certain sounds. even a couple sentences saying "i'm assuming you were aiming for X" shows you're meeting them halfway. so even if your interpretation is wrong, they can correct you - which in its own is kind of useful feedback
2. respond within their framework
if their micro-logic is inconsistent, point out those inconsistencies. if the macro-approach fundamentally doesn't fit the song, also point that out. the trick is distinguishing "this approach doesn't work" from "this approach is fine but executed inconsistently"
3. add your own perspective as an optional layer
after giving feedback based on their apparent intentions, you can then say, "from my own perspective, i might have done Y instead". that way they're getting both kinds of value: coaching for what they tried to do, and insight from how you would approach it
4. match the depth of feedback to their experience
beginners often need clearer, more concrete corrections ("this is why these anchors feel accidental"). while more experienced charters benefit from nuance ("this pr shift breaks the tension you built earlier")
this is all to say there is no "right" format. for me, the goal is to try and understand the chart on its own terms, give feedback that respects those terms, then contribute your own stylistic perspective separately without dismissing their approach
yeah this is all true and what i think i was trying to get at in my original writing, though i think this is much clearer (i'll probably steal this structure for my rewrite). though sometimes i feel like with really inexperienced charters theres like a 10:1 ratio of effort to interpret vs effort to make which can make steps 1 or 2 quite ass
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