Chrystalize: Extra Lv. 5a (Something sweet to bite)

Well, it is October 31, 2013. Some call it Halloween, some call it Nightmare Night, some call it All Hallow's Eve, some call it "Go to your Neighbour's Door Unannounced and Beg for Free Candy Day" (Too old for free candy? *SQUAWK* Never...). But there's something more important about this day in relevance to us. In particular, TrotMania I came out just 365 nights ago! (Yes, note, 365 nights. Not days)

But now, how far have we come? As of now, we have at least 221 songs and 2 full "mixes", all the work of a team of 13 contributors (now, obviously, if you want to be one, just get in touch with me or RIME and we'll hook you up. Preferably in the chat room). But anyway, today, we're going to backtrack a little; in honor of this particular milestone, the following update contains five new Lunatic charts for five songs from the aforementioned first pack! Specifically:

• Doctor Who Theme (JAKAZiD Remix)
• Evil Enchantress (Euro Spell Mix)
• Luna (Dream Mode)
• Octavia's Overture
• Smile Smile Smile

But I know you're probably wondering, "Hey, but its Nightmare Night! Why aren't you adding that WoodenToaster song about it too?"

Well...

jukebeat notice!

For those of you with an iOs system, here's a cool notice for you! The free app jukebeat has recently added the 29th Konami Music Pack, which contains a couple of songs you may recognize from Rhythm is Magic.

Getting the pack on day 1, I can say the charts are quite difficult but entertaining! Little Star -EXTREME- and Luv Can Save U -ADVANCED- are very fun, while Luv Can Save U -EXTREME- is an extreme test of your sight-reading and rhythms.

Packs seem on the slightly expensive side at first, costing $3.99 (+tax if applicable in your territory), but it should be noted that these 2 tracks are joined by 2 others: Twinkle Wonderland and KIRA KIRA STATION, which are both awesome tracks. In the end, the cost per track is fair, so give it a shot! If you don't know if the game is right for you, have a go at the demo tracks, hailing from classic KONAMI series like Frogger and Contra.

Several other songs from Rhythm is Magic and DanceDanceRevolution are spread throughout these packs, so give them a try if you liked them in our dancing game! Find them below the page break.

Rhythm is Magic is Done!

What a great 8 months the game has had. With 8 patches, and ending up with 89 songs, this package sure ended up meaty. It's been great to have the opportunity to bring show songs, PMV songs, originals, and even crossovers from other BEMANI titles into this, and we celebrate the end with the final patch, 1.80. This one has 3 specific themes, culminating into a final single track.

The first group is the Enhance Trio. We brought back Queen and Coldplay, artists available at launch, and released tracks from them older and newer respectively compared to the launch tracks. Daft Punk's track, on the other hand, is an enhancement of the Sweetie Belle theme of patch 1.70, which, as you may remember, had a bit of a setback with a lost track.

The second group is the Rock Trio. A bonus theme here is that each song is a different type. The license is Lay Down, which received its fame from Guitar Hero 3. The BEMANI crossover is Friendship, hailing from jubeat copious. The original is Daddy Discord, and it is a vicious boss track!

The final group is the Tricoro Trio. All songs hail from Beatmania IIDX 20: Tricoro and all contain highly difficult charts. 405nm (Ryu Mix) is the easiest, with a level 16 as its Lunatic and standard difficulties otherwise. LUV CAN SAVE U is easy on all difficulties aside from Stallion, where it has a 17. Little Star is difficult all around, with a Stallion leveled 17.

The final single is D.A.N.C.E. by Justice. What better way to send the game off than to appeal to its core: dancing? This track has appeared in previous DDRs, but it has a new cut here along with an awesome PMV! I do believe we gave it great treatment, and we hope you enjoy this final package!

Remember, the link for download instructions is here, and the post below has the preview for our upcoming sequel, TrotMania Chrystalize!

The Tradeoff

One of the songs promoted in the 1.70 teaser is now unable to be released. It was confirmed under the assumption that DanceDanceRevolution Dance Wars' simfiles would be available in the near future. As they are not, we are unable to have 4 of the 5 difficulties and we have copious sync issues with the song. Be assured that we have tried to find a solution, but none rises to the quality standards we have for the game.

(By the way, I'm still not revealing what it was directly. Sound off in the comments to guess, and know that you only have 18 songs to pick from, essentially!)

However, as the title suggests, good is coming in place of the bad. There was a bonus 9th song to be released to finish off the 1.70. Due to this issue, we've decided to release it early!

Ultimate Sweetie Belle has been a popular request since its release, and it has finally come to the game to cap off the Sweetie Belle (former) trio! While it isn't very difficult, what difficulty it has is mainly concentrated on the Sweetie Belle samples, and it makes for an interesting chart.

Let us know what you think of this turn of events in the comments!

1.70 Teaser #3

Congratulations to Jukebeat on its 50th pack! As a celebration, we here at the TrotMania team are bringing you 3 tracks from the original series, jubeat. Here are the details:

-Track #1 is Green Green Dance and is available now! Originating in jubeat knit and making it to jukebeat in KONAMI Music Pack 14, this frolicking tune is fast-paced and features a variety of solos along with minstrel-like melodies.

-Track#2 is Baby Bleep March and is available now! This hyper track fits so perfectly with the chaos the Cake twins wreak on Pinkie Pie initially, and the steps are a definite challenge! If you've been following recent developments with jukebeat and jubeat plus content, you'd know that what was (in Japan) saucer pack 02 corresponds to KONAMI Music Pack 26 in the US. However since saucer pack 01's song DIAVOLO got pushed to pack 26, one of the corresponding tracks (this one) got pushed out. Let's hope it's in 27!

-Track #3 is Flip Flap and is available now! Originating in Reflec Beat limelight, the track was crossed over to jubeat saucer at the beginning of May, so it is quite fresh to the series. While it doesn't have the raw speed that its relatives smooooch and Wuv U have, it still has plenty of difficulty due to its triplet timing.

1.70 Teaser #2

It's that time again! Part 1 of the update is taking longer than expected for various reasons, so we're going ahead with part 2. Here are the hints for the 2 tracks:

[ALL USED UP]

Revealed

(Relevant hints: Revocaloidization (Rolling Girl), Silhouette (Fluttershy))

(Relevant hints: Silhouette (DJ PON3), Think Math (PON3 = PON * 3 = PON & PON & PON), DDR 2013 Artist (Tsukematsukeru [cover]))

Sound off in the comments if you think you got it, and we may confirm or deconfirm your guess!

1.70 Teaser!

Yes, those images are hints. To help, lemme just debunk a few songs that could be answers:

Image 1

Gold Dust / DJ Fresh

Gold / Spandau Ballet
[Anything relating to bling]
[Anything hiphop for that matter]

Image 2

Irony / ClariS
Ironic / Alanis Morissette

Image 3
Howlin' for You / Black Keyes
[Anything by Michelle Creber]

Sound off in the comments if you think you know the tracks! Who knows, we might just confirm the track.

Patches 1.60-1.80

Here's information for any new patches for TrotMania: Rhythm is Magic. Note that official support ends once CHRYSTALIZE is released, so request new features and bug fixes sooner not later!

1.60

Released: April 9, 2013

 

-Finally. another DanceDanceRevolution track makes its way to TrotMania! Drop the Bomb is coming with a new Challenge chart and the PMV from rsmv2you.

-Ah! There's fancy speaking here! Radio Song by french pop-rock group Superbus is coming to the game, with a CMC-focused PMV.

-Party 4U (Holy Nite Mix) by Japanese artist cranky is in! Now, why would a rave song from the late 90's come here with what seems to be no connection? Well, the connection will become apparent in the sequel...

-Spring Pony from both BEMANI titles pop'n music and jubeat is now in DDR! This energetic little track will get you out of your winter hibernation!

-Opportunity (The Flim Flam Brothers Song) has finally gotten a Challenge chart and another sync fix!

-The Land of Equestria now has a Challenge chart. With this, Flouride Soundscapes, and I Love Everything receiving new charts through these past patches, there are very few songs that won't provide a challenge to experienced players!

-I Love Everything now has a Single 02 and 06 for Pump it Up!

-Big Macintosh (JackleApp Remix) now has a Single 09 for Pump it Up! I feel like I''m missing something, though...

-Luna (DREAM Mode) now has a Single 09 for Pump it Up! 

-Diamond Dogs (Euro-Dirt Mix)'s Expert has been moved to Challenge to make room for a new Expert! Now all the Mane 6 boss tracks have 5 difficulties each!

-Sweetheart is now rerated to a level 10 on Expert. It may have been fast, but faster songs with more consistent streaming (Think "Why Not" by Darwin) have been easier than 11.

-Several songs lacking genres have them added.

1.70

Released: May 29, 2013

-Irony from ClariS has been added into the game. ClariS is no stranger to BEMANI, with a cover of Connect in DDR X3 and various other music games, along with a master of it, this track, Naisho no Hanashi, and Wake Up being in jubeat plus as a featured artist pack. Stepped in a beginner friendly fashion reminiscent of recent arcade license steps, this one is definitely fun!

-Flutter Girl by wowaka is now in the game. Vocaloid has been heavily featured in fellow BEMANI game Sound Voltex Booth, so let's bring some to DDR! This is actually a revocaloidization of the awesome Rolling Girl, spliced together from various lines of Fluttershy to mimic the Japanese lyrics. It's an interesting experiment, and the mimicking video is also quite awesome.

-PONPONPON by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is now in the game. A cute song with a crazy video, it definitely is entertaining for spectators at least. Charts are harder than you'd expect for this song, with a level 11 for the Expert.

-GOLD DUST by DJ Fresh is now in the game! This popular track was stepped by Ben Speirs of Speirmix  fame, who you may also remember has stepped Discord (The Living Tombstone's Mix) and Hush Now Quiet Now (TranceBlossom Remix) for the series. For Speirmix, he has stepped multiple DJ Fresh songs, including Hot Right Now and The Feeling, and his execution of those gave me the idea to offer the job for this one to him. The charts are not exceptionally difficult, but this song still blazes at 177 BPM, so you can still have a hard (and fun) time!

-Green Green Dance by Mutsuhiko Izumi is now in the game! A transplant from jubeat knit, it has some mighty difficult steps to accompany it!

-Baby Bleep March is now in the game! This transplant from jubeat saucer is very hyper!

-Flip Flap by kors k is now in the game!

-Ultimate Sweetie Belle tops off this update! See you soon for 1.80!

-Pinkie's Homebrew's Basic chart has been rerated from 5 to 7. This particularly egregious issue arose when I gave the chart to an amateur, only to realize it was far out of her level. 8th notes are not easy for casuals, future steppers!

-yellow head joe now has a Double counterpart to its Single Challenge!

-Diamond Dogs (Euro-Dirt Mix) now has its sync fixed.

-Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) now has an SM file, for those of you who still stick to 3.9 or OITG.

1.80

Release Date: June 23, 2013

-D.A.N.C.E. is now in the game! Featuring the PMV sequel to Justice's B.E.A.T., the track is very entertaining and returns more difficult than its former appearances in Universe 2 and Hottest Party 2.

-Death on Two Legs is now in! Queen has a good history with this game, so we decided to finish with one of their classic tracks. The chart is rather easy most of the time, but some chaotically difficult segments ensure that this is an 11. This song features its recent PMV.

 -Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger is now in! Remember how the Sweetie Belle Trio lost its third song and replaced it with the bonus song last patch? This is to make amends for that. (It isn't the song that was lost, though; guesses are still open) As for this song, Daft Punk is tied rather well with the BEMANI series, having one of the few licenses from the original REFLEC BEAT (One More Time) to remain in the game all the way to Colette's summer season. The steps' gimmick (for all difficulties but Foal) is that the patterns for the main vocal samples remain the same throughout the song. When they come together midway, it's rather cool!

-Paradise is now in! Coldplay was one of the first popular artists in this game with Yellow, so we decided to bring them back with one of their newer tracks. Shoutout to hellrazor from long ago aiding yours truly with the sync on this one.

 -405nm (Ryu Mix) is now in! In an odd twist, this one was stepped entirely by crew member Dreamland200s, a rarity for these patches. This crossover from Beatmania IIDX 20 Tricoro has some vicious steps, particularly on Challenge.

 -Little Star is now in! All-around tough and speedy, this song has a level 17 to test your stamina on!

-LUV CAN SAVE U is now in! For the first three difficulties, this is about standard; for the Stallion, you go all out with a 17! Think of it as a parting gift for the game.

 -Daddy Discord is now in! dBPony has quite the story, an upstart indie artist who took the brony music scene by storm with his Crusader trio along with his rock songs. This is his latest single, which actually had production started to make for this game one week after its release. This is a speedy metal track, and as such gets a very hard set of charts culminating with the last level 17! Have fun!

 -FRIENDSHIP is now in! A crossover from jubeat copious, this track just emanates awesomeness and charm at the same time thanks to its clever instrumentation. While it is a blazing fast track, it actually has manageable charts for everybody, perfect for introducing friends to the game!

-Lay Down is now in! Knocking out another Guitar Hero 3 exclusive (last one being Radio Song), this track is triplet-heavy and is very difficult. Watch out for the guitar solo and the drum rolls!

-GOLD DUST's Foal level has been rerated from a 5 to a 4.

Patches 1.10-1.50

Might as well take the time to talk about patches. While (since the game is no longer a single package) there is no single patch file, we have updated stuff still. Here's info on the current patches.

1.10

Release Date: November 7th, 2012

- Race Against Time / Jeff Steinman was added. From DDR Ultramix 4, the song has new graphics and a new level 16 Challenge!

-Ponyville / Hirosashii has a reworked Level 11 Expert, along with a brand new Level 13 Challenge, a coalition between me (RIME) and Dreamland200.

-Sweetheart / Foozogz has new doubles charts from AkihiroIIDX.

-Various fixes due to outdated files uploaded on initial release.

1.20

Release Date: November 18th, 2012

-Cowboy Casanova / Carrie Underwood has been added. A new track courtesy of me, it will be a nice way to strut your stuff to the swing of triplets!
-Dubstep Dishwasher / The Living Tombstone has had its doubles set added.

-One set of solo charts added, for Flouride Soundscapes (Brushie Brushie Mix).

-A couple of Pump It Up charts will be added, including MLP Theme (Single 05), Yellow (Double 11). (Hey, I'm not the one who invented the term "couple"!)

1.30

Release Date: November 29th, 2012

-Brain Stew / Green Day is added. This one will actually have a PMV courtesy of me, for which you can see a preview here:

 -Want It Need It (Hold Me) / Delta Heavy is added. It's extremely tough on Challenge, and if it weren't for the new brony/pony-only policy for TM2, it would be Twilight's boss there.

-New solo chart sets will be added, a complete set for Scoot's Race.
-Pinkie Pie's Theme had a graphic error that flew by us: the Youtube loading overlay (Yeah, um whoops...one guess how we got that one). All graphics for the song have been fixed.
-yellow head joe had a severe rhythm error in the Double Expert and Double Difficult charts. The Double Basic chart also had triple notes in it. All issues have been fixed and the sync has also been touched up.

1.40

Release Date: December 28th, 2012

-Livin' la Vida Loca / Ricky Martin has been added. About time for some latin partying!

-Pain / 3 Days Grace has been added. This dark track has a nice thumping bass and great guitar hook.
-Uploading error of MP3 of I'm Going Slightly Mad causing it to not appear in-game has been fixed.
-Uploading error causing Doctor Who's jacket to also be the banner has been fixed.
-Uploading error causing Art of the Dress (Always Stressed Mix) to omit the Beginner and Challenge along with completely break the chart's BPM on non-SM5 setups has been fixed.

This post will be updated as stuff gets worked on and released!

1.50

Release Date: February 2nd, 2013

-Finally, a new show tune has come! Find a Pet has multiple rhythm changes, which make for an entertaining chart!

-For people yearning for more Queen, Don't Stop Me Now is available! Overall, it's a great high-energy track!

-From the world of BEMANI, we bring Unicorn tail. All glory to the amen break!

-HERE COMES A NEW CMC!!! Babs Seed (The Living Tombstone's Mix) is the representation for Babs as a boss track

-Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know) now has a Single 08 PIU chart!
-Dubstep Dishwasher has a fix for the issue of the Single charts no longer having the opening stop.

-I Love Everything has a display BPM fix. Formerly, it showed up as 0 BPM. It also has a new level 13 challenge chart. There are a lot of 32nds!..at 64 BPM.
-Love Bloom has received tweaks to its Expert and Challenge. There is also an edit up for download that is on the boss level.
-Pinkie's Homebrew now has a level 14 Challenge.
-Spin That Record Vinyl Scratch now has its charts fixed, due to a glitch removing the stop midway.