Operation Scrutiny: Current Status

[sleumas2000]

I am going back over all the old songs, starting with the Official songs, checking them all for the smallest of problems and fixing them as I find them.
Due to the massive scale of this task, I may occasionally post a few songs here that I have found issues in, but haven't got the time to fix.
I will eventually get to fixing them, but if anyone is looking for something to do (not that that ever happens in this day and age) then feel free to help fix them. (If you fix a song, and you are a mod, please move it into Fixed. If not a mod, reply and I'll edit the post)
PLEASE CHECK THE SONGS IN RED

EDIT: MOVED TO SPREADSHEET: This can be found at

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n1k-IFI9Zmc54qpJm78r2DRhwfkvMCT0SrpZI4X6630/edit?usp=sharing

for edit rights - message me or Renard with your gmail address



Color Codes:
Red = needs a second opinion
Orange = Needs fixing
Green = Dealt with
Black = Never had a problem to start with

inb4 you ask, S2K = me



Next in queue: Becoming Popular



Problems Identified: Need Fixing
======================

At The Gala - There is one problem, but it's so small that it's almost not worth the extra filesize in the download. (2nd last line 2nd note should be 2 semitones higher) - If someone wants to fix this, they can. If they don't, it's fine.
Ballad of the Crystal Empire (already in Fixes - Timing needs a lot of fixing)



Problems Identified: Fixed
====================== N.B. Songs here should get a second opinion, put your name next to it when you move it here or check it. If you find a problem (other than a small timing error) Mark it here, but don't fix it. If you don't find any problems, keep the song in this section, but colour it green
[SHOW - EN]
Apples to the Core (updated by S2K)
Art of the Dress (updated by S2K)
Babs Seed (updated by S2K)
Bats! (updated by S2K)
Smile Song (updated by Smiley)



No Problems Found (All Clear)
======================

MLP G1 - Call Upon the Sea Ponies
99 Buckets of Oats
A True True Friend

[Smilley]

Good thing you go back and check them - especially older songs suffer from lack of experience, and we just don't have the time and/or nerve to work our way through them again.
That said, you should only upload the fixed note files, unless you plan replace the backgrounds or audio/video files. We already have all source files in the RTM folder.

[Renard]

Awesome initiative, thanks!
(But yeah, same as Smilley: there probably is no need to re-upload the videos if they're untouched)

[sleumas2000]

cool.
I'll only edit the Notes files then.
I just noticed the total-wrongness when trying to sing Love Me Cheerilee, and so I decided I'd go back and check through all the old songs.
(Seriously though, I crunched the numbers, and about the same number of notes were at the correct pitch as there would be if they were just random numbers. That's not even starting on timing.)

[sleumas2000]

I will get round to this (honest)
But do we all agree - this needs to be done before AC3?
especially on the Show songs.
Any help is appreciated

[Renard]

Yes - this would be fantastic. :)
I still need to fix two issues regarding EQG2 videos (some songs are incomplete in the movie); AC3 won't be released till a workaround is found.

[Diponi]

Just popping in to say I'm glad you've introduced this project :D I think more people should certainly focus their efforts on fixing old songs - I've come across some songs so off that they weren't even fun to sing. Well, those were all community songs (I'm looking at you, Vicious Lies). The official songs are generally very good, but of course checking them takes top priority.

First suggestion: A spreadsheet in Drive, or something like that, would be far easier if/when others join in. I know I could play my part :) or you could tell me that my songfiles suck and I shouldn't be allowed near QA ever again. that's fine too

Secondly, it might be a good idea to have a list of little technicalities to look out for, since the plan is to go systematically over all the songs and make them the best they can be. Fixing these while we're at it would save time, and nobody would have to look at the files ever again. For example,

• removing punctuation (mainly commas, semicolons) from line endings
• capitalising words that start a line
• changing British to American spelling
• consistently using "~"'s or "-a"'s throughout the songs
• doubling the BPM if it's way too low for the song

Feel free to tell me if it's just useless nitpicking, though.

On an unrelated note, if the task feels daunting, revel in the knowledge that the songs are already far better quality than some official SingStar ones I've seen. Sometimes they feel like having been done by monkeys with typewriters.

[Smilley]

I think more people should certainly focus their efforts on fixing old songs - I've come across some songs so off that they weren't even fun to sing. Well, those were all community songs (I'm looking at you, Vicious Lies). The official songs are generally very good, but of course checking them takes top priority.

Most of the songs that need a serious overhaul were the Pony Rock Project imports. I dunno if Rockband uses a very different set of notes, if it's the conversion process, or simply that they have different standards for vocal tracks, but you can often tell at first glance which songs weren't created for this game. Unfortunately, we went a bit for quantity over quality there and are still picking up the slack.

First suggestion: A spreadsheet in Drive, or something like that, would be far easier if/when others join in. I know I could play my part :) or you could tell me that my songfiles suck and I shouldn't be allowed near QA ever again. that's fine too

Good idea. That way, we might not focus on certain songs too much while leaving others unnoticed. Again...

Secondly, it might be a good idea to have a list of little technicalities to look out for, since the plan is to go systematically over all the songs and make them the best they can be. Fixing these while we're at it would save time, and nobody would have to look at the files ever again. For example,

• removing punctuation (mainly commas, semicolons) from line endings
• capitalising words that start a line
• changing British to American spelling
• consistently using "~"'s or "-a"'s throughout the songs
• doubling the BPM if it's way too low for the song

Feel free to tell me if it's just useless nitpicking, though.

Not at all. Those are cosmetic fixes, though. First and foremost should be technical concerns:

• Checking that the first note starts at beat 0 or later.
• Checking all notes for correct timing.
• Checking all notes for correct pitching.
• Seeing if sliding notes (like the "me-e-e-e" line in Anthropology) can't be divided up better. It doesn't change much on Easy, but it vastly improves the quality on harder difficulties.
• Doing some simple spell-checking. Even the best of us can make errors.
• Look through every linebreak. At ~400 BPM, a 3-beat pause should be between the last note of the previous line and the transition. I found that manually editing the .txt works best.
• On long, sustained notes, see that they don't end too early or too late. In the USDX editor, you can create an "empty" note of 2-3 beats and check it against the end of these long notes.
• Try to keep Golden Notes bonus to around 1000-1500 points. Ideally it would be exactly 1000, and Composer has an option to calculate how many beats of Golden Notes it takes, but no-one in their right mind wants to hunt for the last 4-beat-long so that you get no more or less than 1000.

On an unrelated note, if the task feels daunting, revel in the knowledge that the songs are already far better quality than some official SingStar ones I've seen. Sometimes they feel like having been done by monkeys with typewriters.

To quote one of the old Warner Bros cartoons: "Aw, you're only saying that because it's true!"
Sometimes, it does the old ego good to hear someone say it, though.

[sleumas2000]

Did someone say spreadsheet?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n1k-IFI9Zmc54qpJm78r2DRhwfkvMCT0SrpZI4X6630/edit?usp=sharing

Give me or Renard your gmail - and we can give you edit rights.

Sorry everyone that I haven't been doing much - but life has a habit of happening, and I've been VERY busy.

[Renard]

Maybe we should merge it with this doc?

[sleumas2000]

Maybe we should merge it with this doc?

Sorry - I didn't have edit rights. And anyway - it might be nice to keep it seperate, then everything can be kept clean.

[Smilley]

I slightly updated 99 Buckets of Oats - yeah I know, the most important songs first. ;-D

[sleumas2000]

Whast's your Gmail (pm it to me) so I can add you on the Doc