Subscribe to download
Cruel Angel's Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ)

good

Cadence get in the Robot

There's an intensity formula which seems sort of consistent. You calculate the notes per minute (NPM), divide by 10, and then adjust it ±5 intensity points based on the rhythm, traps and monsters.

Perfect examples:
Portamello Hard: 146 NPM, 14.6 -> Intensity 15
Necro Sonatonica Medium: 165 NPM, 16.5 -> Intensity 16
Matriarch Hard: 184 NPM, 18.4 -> Intensity 18

Outliers:
Ravevenge Easy: 109 NPM, 10.9 -> Intensity 11 5
She Banned Medium: 177 NPM, 17.7 -> Intensity 18 11
Glass Cages Hard: 123 NPM, 12.3 -> Intensity 12 17

I based this on note count data from about 25 charts of varying difficulty. The whole "±5 intensity points" thing gives this a HUGE subjective swing, but it's a place to start

Oh yeah, now it looks great!

By the way, could you tell me what you base "intensity" on when setting it? Honestly, I just set it more or less randomly—I’m not really sure what to rely on. Is it the number of monsters per second or something else?

That's an interesting viewpoint! I think there's pros and cons to putting vibe chains on easier and harder sections of the song, and I think there's good reasons to do both. You can really increase the score ceiling on a track by awarding a vibe chain during a difficult-to-combo part of the song, so that players who master the chart get a big score boost which isn't awarded to novices.

I've modified the chart with a BPM change at the start, by the way!

The reason official charts have this pulsing rhythm of vibe chains, I think, is because all the tracks are naturally structured that way (simpler section, harder section, easier again, and so on). After all, the music was composed for the game and shaped by game design goals.

I believe vibe chains should work like this: you build up charge during an easier section and then spend it during a more difficult, high-scoring part. The approach should be based on the chart itself, not just time intervals, and vibe chains should be placed with the same strategic consideration as HP-restoring items.

Interesting viewpoints. I see the logic behind having a tempo change at the start of the song, I'll consider adding it soon.

I always assumed red harpies passing over other enemies was an intended gameplay feature, but the official charts seem to dedicate specific lanes to red harpies to prevent this. I'll keep it in mind for future charts.

My rule of thumb is to have a vibe chain around the 1 minute mark and every 30 seconds thereafter, as this seems to match the official charts. You're right with this chart I could have skipped the last vibe chain, it was a judgment call.

In my opinion, a tempo change definitely should have been used here, as the beginning of the track is at a different tempo than the rest of the song. This creates chaos in the sounds since the green dragons click on the beats but don’t align with the music. Visually, the starred enemies hint at a broken rhythm, but in the beginning, the rhythm isn’t broken—just different.

Also, the red harpies pass right through other enemies, which, as you already know, I see as untidy. :) That said, this is probably just my personal dislike, since in this case, it doesn’t interfere with reading the chart properly.

Ah, and one more thing: the last vibe chain is placed very close to the end of the track—does it really need to be there? After all, it’s not just for scoring but also for getting through a difficult section without losing HP, and I feel like there’s hardly any space left to make use of it properly.

Wow that's amazing, thanks for the high praise Elby!

I think this song is just perfect for rhythm games -- the melody has such a memorable rhythm that your fingers automatically know what to do. 😀

I downloaded a handful of custom songs for this game and this is by far the best of the lot. It could be just the Medium or Hard versions by itself and that would still be true (I'm sure the Impossible version is similar quality but I am frankly just not that good at the game). The fact you have such a variety of enemies and yet not once did it feel messy, flowing with the song that made me intuitively know what to do even before consciously discerning what the enemies were doing half the time, and feeling so intensely satisfying as a result, I truly can't sing this custom track's praises enough, it's so well made!