But like Snaggletooth writes, there are songs that are over 1:00 but may not have 1:00 of drain time due to breaks and/or intro's. I don't think this should be a hard rule. A guideline? Definitely, but an absolute rule? No.Loctav wrote:
The minimum draining (play) time for a map must be 30 seconds. If the full version of a song is longer than 1 minute, the minimum draining (play) time for the map must be 1 minute. This is so each map gives a sufficiently long gameplay experience. It also prevents people to cut songs too short for no reason, thus stopping people from enjoying the song in a proper way.
Rule: The minimum draining (play) time for a map must be 30 seconds.
Guideline: If the potential drain time for a song is longer than 1 minute, the minimum draining (play) time for the map must be 1 minute.
I know that sounds weird when you read it the first time, but what I mean is, If there is potential for the song's drain time to be over 1 minute, then it must have a drain time of over 1 minute. Of course, this still leaves some subjectivity in the air. Some people may choose not to map a section of the song, calling it a break, while others may think the break is can be mapped. For situations like this, I think the proposed rule for cut versions of a song should be more of a guideline that at the BN's/QAT's discretion, can be a potential cause for disqualification.
Regarding time-investment angle Garven brought up, I haven't heard of anyone who takes as much time modding a 30 second mapset as a 3 minute mapset. Time spent modding depends a lot more on the map's quality and mappers' decisions than it does their drain time. Sure, maybe shorter maps carry less impact because there isn't as much drain time to actually express the song, but what's wrong with that? Also, just like how for some people, time is seemingly an infinite source, for others who do not have that luxury, mapping short songs is just more practical if they still want to contribute to the mapping community.