No matter how difficulty calculation is done, it will never function well on a ranking system where different key modes share the same ranking. Each key mode is a completely different game which requires different skills, and players are not exclusively better or worse than each other in a global "mania" way.peppy wrote:
The number of unique key jumps in patterns should definitely be considered. The "stress" of a pattern is affected by how often new keys are introduced. "Note density" should already account for this, and if I know tom, it already does.
i.e. If I play with a similar level 4K player (being a 7K player myself), he will consistently beat me on all 4K maps we play, but if we play 7K I will consistently beat him on all maps we play. Neither of us is better or worse at "mania"; (note that I'm only mentioning 4K and 7K as those are the two most popular modes in o!m) he is better at physical precision with fast notes as well as vertical reading which are the main skills in lower key mode whereas I'm better at reading density and wide notes which are prevalent only in a higher key mode. A ranking system that tells us that one of us is either better or worse will be completely random based on arbitrary parameters and won't really reflect anything.
No matter how it's done, each key mode is a different game that requires different skills. From a programmers point of view all of those mania key modes might seem very similar and you might assume there's only a small difference between them, but from a player's point of view the difference can be as big as being twice better in one key mode than another person but twice worse than him in another. The ranking will never be able to reflect this with a shared board for all.
Again it's important to stress, this is not a minor difference, this is as big as me being unable to pass a 4K map and barely getting 70% with nofail on it while a 4K player gets 95% S rank on it, whereas me being able to get 95% on a 7K map that the same 4K player can't pass at all and barely gets a D on. A ranking system that tells us that one of us is worse than the other at "mania" is a slap in the face considering the completely different skills involved.
If it's not possible to give a separate ranking per key mode, giving at least a separate 4K and All-K board will solve A LOT of problems as the vast majority (over 99%) of players either play exclusively 4K or all key modes available. This would solve a ton of ranking issues instantly that are otherwise not solvable at all and can only be subjectively addressed in a way that will either be unfair for 4K players or for higher-key players.