These guidelines are based on authentic Taiko no Tatsujin games and should be followed in order to produce a fun and enjoyable taiko specific map.


Note Colours and Sounds

Red (Don) = Normal hitsound
Blue (Ka/Kat) = Clap or Whistle
Big Note = Finish


Difficulty Settings and Song Setup

It is hard to comment on these as they require qualitative decision making, but for a standard difficulty similar to Taiko no Tatsujin settings, use this setup:


Custom combo colours do not really matter to taiko as they will be overridden in actual gameplay. The case is the same with combo numbering, but you may wish to use the numbering to mark out red/blue notes visually within edit mode (assuming no custom colours have been set):


Remember to set other settings accordingly:

(More details on some of these can be found in the sections below.)


Stack leniency doesn't apply to a taiko map, I just leave the setting as it is default or the same as the map I am working from in the case of a guest map. Set Taiko as the allowed mode.


Countdown

Don't use countdown on a taiko specific map. If the notes start too quickly, add a lead-in time.


Slider Velocity

1.4 is the standard slider velocity that is recommended to be used in taiko specific maps.
1.5 and 1.6 may be tolerable in some cases with a slower BPM.
The slider velocity figure affects the spacing of all the notes in taiko mode.


Finish Notes

These notes should not be used in 1/4 or 1/6 or 1/8 streams, even at the beginning or the end. This is because the player is supposed to hit this type of note with both keys corresponding to the note's colour. To be safe, leave at least a 1/2 beat between a finish note and any other note or object in the map.

Below - 1/2 beat spacing between a normal circle and a finish circle in a taiko specific map (1.4 slider velocity):


There is an exception to the finish note rule, see note streams below.*


Note Streams

For the majority of maps, only 1/2 or 1/4 beat note streams should be used.

For some maps, a sequence of 4 notes in a 1/6 stream may be used. Below is a visual example of this under 1.4 slider velocity:


For some of the hardest maps, 1/6 or 1/8 patterns weaved into 1/4 streams may be acceptable, especially at the beginning or end of the streams. This is not recommended unless you know what you are doing or have access to someone who is knowledgeable about authentic Taiko no Tatsujin maps. Below is an example of a 1/8 pattern weaved into a 1/4 stream (1.4 slider velocity):


Some songs may have sections where a 1/3 stream is more appropriate within certain sections of it (1.4 slider velocity):


*Here lies the exception to the finish note rule, where it may be used at the end of a 1/3 beat stream as long as that stream does not have any objects after it within a 1/2 beat space:



Kiai Time

Kiai (a concept based on Taiko no Tatsujin's "go go time") sections are only to be used for the chorus(es) of a song. Do not use short "flashes" of kiai like you might use in an osu! standard map. The maximum number of kiai sections to be used in a taiko specific map is 3.


Note Combo

The majority of authentic Taiko no Tatsujin maps are kept to 999 notes or below. This does not have to be enforced in osu!
Special note combos may be used to signify certain points of relevance. For example, in Taiko no Tatsujin 765 is a Namco reference.
Refer to someone with current knowledge of authentic games to find out more.


Sliders

Drumrolls in Taiko no Tatsujin. Use sparingly within a map and keep a 1/2 beat space between them and any other object. Try not to put sliders one after each other - 2 or 3 in a row may be acceptable in some cases.


Spinners

These should be used sparingly as they represent the bonus notes from Taiko no Tatsujin. Not completing a spinner does not effect whether you full combo or S a map. Do not put more than 2 spinners in a row.
Normal use: Leave at least a 1/2 beat between a note and a spinner, or 1/2 a beat between a slider and a spinner.
Exception use: You may put a spinner at the end of a note stream, 1/4, 1/6 or 1/8.


BPM Changes

Unnecessary BPM changes are not recommended unless the song has a relatively low BPM. In this case, 2 x BPM should only be used for kiai time.

When changing BPM it is advisable not to have notes visually overlapping during gameplay as this is unnecessarily confusing for the player. One method of remedying this is to use a series of slowing slider velocity sections:


Note in the example above that multiple slider velocities are used to show a visual slowdown of notes, without the 0.5 section being "overlapped" by the final note preceding it.


Break Sections

Taiko specific maps should not contain any break sections whatsoever.


Custom Hitbursts

These can be overridden by a taiko skin at the player's discretion. It is therefore advised not to assign custom hitbursts to a taiko map.


Custom Hitsounds

Don't use them in taiko specific maps. Keep volume at a consistent level (e.g. 70%) in keeping with the song throughout all timing sections, with the beat still somewhat audible. A softer song calls for a softer drumbeat, but not an inaudible one.

My thinkings about this guidelines.


I STRONGLY RECOMMEND to use SV 1.4, and actually, I hate other slider velocity.


Also, big notes in 1/4, 1/6, 1/8 are too hard for reading patterns.


Maximum number of Kiai isn't that important as I think, but usually they don't need to be used over 3 times because of composition of the songs.


My case I don't care others making maps over 999 combos if the song is too long, but I tend to keep this rule.


Sometimes 2 x BPM is used in whole song, though it's rare.


I don't care about this when I map full ver. (like over 3:30 min) of the song, but I tend to avoid to put breaks. It can be replaced by relatively simple patterns...


Yeah, some hitbursts are really annoying when playing taiko.


If 'forcing taiko skin' option is turned on, custom hitsound don't work, though it seems other custom sound effects work.
I tend to use relatively loud hitsound, but it can be varied if the volume of the song is too low.

Maybe we need to discuss about the guidelines, and make it more 'solid'? As more and more taiko specific maps are made, we need some kind of standard.

Only gonna right on the ones I have a discussion about.


This is one of the strongest things that needs to be enforced into making a tako map. Even if the song has a slow BPM I find it annoying that people but Slider Velocity up past 1.40.



This is the biggest thing that needs to be in play.
Although I don't see much of it when I go and Mod maps.



This is somthing I wanna argue about. I don't really think it's a "RULE" but more of another one of those weird things Namco does. But this should only be depending on the time of the song.



A nice "solid" mapping criteria would be nice, but I wouldn't want to take it so far that the mapper's creativity gets taken away just because it's not "Authentic"

Maybe we should make and distinguish some rules and recommendations...

EDIT: And I think we should mention about measures and barlines.

And the proper use and placement of 1/3 - 1/6 - 1/8.

About the whole "no combos over 999" thing..it's actually because the current
system for AC!Taiko cannot support over 999 notes.I bet that 765 will go over 1000
notes if they can get around this technical limitation.

So I suppose this shouldn't be an actual rule,
especially when songs used in osu! can be pretty long.

2xBPM for the whole song..?*stares at Ryougen*Only the beginning's on its original BPM..

Actually I think that 999 combo rule is some kind of tradition.

^



Also, Is that rule effective for TaikOsu???

Like I said.
But I can see the point where Crystal-Don is comming from.

I think no.
As I remember, Peppy already said that it was NOT a taiko no tatsujin simulator, even the score rules are different

for TaikOsu? Well you should consider them, but TaikOsu is basically Standard map so I think it's not manditory.
And Oviously Osu Taiko mode is somewhat different from TnT simulator. Well actually some of mechanisms is somewhat different.
But we can implement some aspects from TnT though.

Yes, like the fact TnT's accuracy is 10x Stricter.

Family Dondon actually runs on 244 BPM with HS0.5, while the lower difficulties run on 122 BPM, as can be noted by the speed of the characters; this may prove that the Taiko no Tatsujin engine couldn't support 1/8 or something

Also, I don't think the 999 thingy is a rule. As crystal said, the only thing that's preventing 765 from going over 999 is more of technical than a tradition actually: I'm pretty sure 765 wanted to keep ddddkdddddddkdddddddkdddddddkdddkkkkddddkkkkddddkkddkkddkkddkkddd in Bachio-sensei Ura, but couldn't

Also, Hataraku :3
Umm???

Then, does TnT support 1/6 notes??? [Tenjiku is not HS2]

TnT Supports 1/6 notes.