hellllllllllo
The Nomination Assessment Team (NAT) is notoriously viewed as a disconnected group of mappers/modders who control the Beatmap Nominators (BN) from the shadows. To change this perception, I'll be having quick talks with members of the NAT once a week or two about:
Here's summaries of our first conversations:
osu!
-Mo- been one of the leaders for the NAT for months now, however he's taken a step back recently due to new job obligations outside of osu!. To get back into the swing of NAT-things, he'll be put back into the rotation for evaluating Beatmap Nominators and BN applicants.
He's generally interested in why people do their BN/NAT jobs in osu!, since some people tend to do it because they want to help the community, while others do it because they're seemingly following instructions. He's also working on a fancy mapping event, though he'd rather keep that underground until it's more publicly presentable in the coming months.
Chaoslitz's current goal within the NAT is to continue keeping up with evaluation tasks.
He mostly associates with closed/foreign [mainly Chinese] mapping circles. He says that members of these groups are often discouraged from closer involvement in mapping due to inexperience and a language barrier. He's willing to translate mods for any applicants who aren't confident with their English for the rest of the NAT
Kibbleru's current goal within the NAT is also to continue handling evaluations, though he is open to helping with other things when asked!
He believes that the application evaluation process is flawed because modders are submitting mods that don't show realistic modding scenarios, which is apparently encouraged by the requirements of joining the BN. He proposed a few things, though the most interesting (and potentially controversial) is to make entry into the BN much more lenient, and instead use the month-long Probation period for an applicant's real "evaluation". This would involve checking the maps that the user nominated for issues and analyzing their mods to ensure that they hadn't missed any important issues within the maps. (pishifat's comment: experimenting sounds like a good idea given how many people share the same sentiment!)
Lasse's current goal within the NAT is to continue keeping up with evaluation tasks.
He dislikes how the standards for BN evaluation vary between members of the NAT and BN. Creating a method for evaluators to view expectations of a BN is a good idea (and has been implemented to the BN application evaluation page, which evaluating members of the BN will hopefully find useful!). He also suggested allowing BNs to see applications once they've received enough votes for a consensus to be made, giving them an idea of how other BN/NAT members evaluate applicants.
Naxess's main goal within the NAT is to provide tools for members of the BN and NAT to use (Aiess and Mapset Verifier at the moment). He has plans for improving these tools and will be addressing them after his exam period. He's also been handling NAT meeting organization for the past few weeks.
He isn't especially connected to the mapping/modding scene anymore outside of his development tasks, so he doesn't have much to comment on in that regard.
Noffy's main goals within the mapping scene are finishing up remaining mods for the Christmas Modding Queue, updating the Staff log, handling evaluations, and keeping up with other mapping interests (e.g. Mappers' Guild storyboards).
Noffy thinks communciation is important and that ongoing applications slightly reduced that. Previous evaluations being in batches resulted in everyone working together in a short crunch time, whereas work is more spread out now and not everyone talks to each other as much. This may just be due to timezones though.
Adding a Ranking Criteria subforum feed (updates in https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/87) to the BN Discord server is a suggestion Noffy gave on how to improve the mapping scene. These would encourage more communication between mappers/modders on topics relevant to them.
pishifat loves birds. Within the NAT, he handles administration tools (see https://bn.mappersguild.com), annoyingly micromanages people, and maintains the Ranking Criteria subforum. Outside of the NAT, he handles upcoming Featured Artists, maintains the Mappers' Guild, runs the monthly beatmapping contest (coming very soon!), and does various other small things.
While the NAT isn't his highest priority, he tries to ensure it doesn't collapse!
Seto is interested in spreading mapping information, so alongside his current evaluation tasks, he's working on ways to do that via the wiki and video construction. (pishifat will teach him how to contribute to the wiki!)
He believes communication in the mapping/modding scene is necessary for the future of mapping. Of the potential NAT candidates, he supports those who have highly social personalities and capable evaluation skills.
osu!taiko
Alongside evaluations, Faputa's current goal within the NAT is to be more involved with members of the BN and improve morale within the game mode, and plans on doing this by doing "tag nominations" with BNs.
He believes the morale of the osu!taiko BN has been low recently due to the removal of a few highly active members. Ex-BNs were given more leniency when applying to the Beatmap Nominators as of a couple weeks ago, which has increased taiko's BN population and appears to be boosting morale.
Nepuri's main goals within the mapping scene are to keep up with BN evaluations and encourage a friendly environment, mostly through the osu!taiko mapping/modding Discord server.
He believes that watching over the incoming BNs is essential because a few are known for causing issues in the past. He also believes that the more lenient requirements for joining the BN as an ex-BN is an improvement to the game mode and that other game modes should try a similar thing if needed (pishifat looks towards osu!mania).
He also wants more transparency around the NAT, and approves of the push towards NAT candidates with notable communication skills. He has his eye on a potential candidate for the osu!taiko NAT.
osu!catch
Ascendance has been acting as a temporary leader for the NAT by handling some micromanagement tasks alongside BN evaluations. Due to an upcoming change in availability (school), he's considering who would be beneficial in the NAT if he is unable to continue his tasks. He has a couple users in mind and believes that assertiveness is an important trait for members of the NAT (which osu!catch has compared to other game modes (pishifat continues to look towards osu!mania).
He likes the idea of rebuilding a lot of the BN/NAT, but recognizes the unfeasibility of it. He feels like he doesn't do enough as a member of the NAT as he should. He's been looking into alternative methods of finding a user to lead the NAT as well.
Deif is the longest lasting member of the NAT and keeps up with his evaluation responsibilties while hoping to engage more with modding.
He's aware of the potential need for a new NAT member soon and is watching the osu!catch community closely, with a couple users in mind.
He believes (like many others) that communication is important for the future of the NAT. He wishes he were more available to participate in this kind of communication, but is limited by other obligations in and out of osu!. He's doing a good job regardless of his limits though!
osu!mania
Feerum's goals as a member of the NAT are handling evaluations, as well as stepping in on Ranking Criteria proposal threads for input, and releasing a modding guide for osu!mania on the wiki within the next month.
He believes the recent Ranking Criteria proposal for allowing no addition hitsounds on osu!mania beatmaps (see https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/topics/996091) is a potential way to better the mapping scene within the game mode, given certain conditions are met.
He's been keeping an eye on a few users who've put good work into the Ranking Criteria subforum and believes that they are a good type of person for mania's future.
Leniane's main goal within the NAT is focusing on evaluations.
He is against the proposal allowing no addition hitsounds on osu!mania beatmaps, though he may be willing to compromise to increase mapping/modding activity within the mode. He believes that the game mode lacks modders and that something needs to be done to remedy this. He manages a Discord server for osu!mania mapping to encourage more mania mapping.
Hopefully you're more aware of who's in the NAT and what they're doing!
While this isn't much information, I'll be consistently talking to these guys about the BN/NAT, so you'll hear more about what they have to say in a week or two!
If you have any questions for the NAT or want to talk about mapping/modding systems in general, please visit the #modding channel in the osu! dev Discord server.
The Nomination Assessment Team (NAT) is notoriously viewed as a disconnected group of mappers/modders who control the Beatmap Nominators (BN) from the shadows. To change this perception, I'll be having quick talks with members of the NAT once a week or two about:
- their current workload within the NAT
- how they view the mapping/modding scene (usually within their gamemode)
- what they think should be done to improve mapping systems
Here's summaries of our first conversations:
osu!
-Mo-
-Mo- been one of the leaders for the NAT for months now, however he's taken a step back recently due to new job obligations outside of osu!. To get back into the swing of NAT-things, he'll be put back into the rotation for evaluating Beatmap Nominators and BN applicants.
He's generally interested in why people do their BN/NAT jobs in osu!, since some people tend to do it because they want to help the community, while others do it because they're seemingly following instructions. He's also working on a fancy mapping event, though he'd rather keep that underground until it's more publicly presentable in the coming months.
Chaoslitz
Chaoslitz's current goal within the NAT is to continue keeping up with evaluation tasks.
He mostly associates with closed/foreign [mainly Chinese] mapping circles. He says that members of these groups are often discouraged from closer involvement in mapping due to inexperience and a language barrier. He's willing to translate mods for any applicants who aren't confident with their English for the rest of the NAT
Kibbleru
Kibbleru's current goal within the NAT is also to continue handling evaluations, though he is open to helping with other things when asked!
He believes that the application evaluation process is flawed because modders are submitting mods that don't show realistic modding scenarios, which is apparently encouraged by the requirements of joining the BN. He proposed a few things, though the most interesting (and potentially controversial) is to make entry into the BN much more lenient, and instead use the month-long Probation period for an applicant's real "evaluation". This would involve checking the maps that the user nominated for issues and analyzing their mods to ensure that they hadn't missed any important issues within the maps. (pishifat's comment: experimenting sounds like a good idea given how many people share the same sentiment!)
Lasse
Lasse's current goal within the NAT is to continue keeping up with evaluation tasks.
He dislikes how the standards for BN evaluation vary between members of the NAT and BN. Creating a method for evaluators to view expectations of a BN is a good idea (and has been implemented to the BN application evaluation page, which evaluating members of the BN will hopefully find useful!). He also suggested allowing BNs to see applications once they've received enough votes for a consensus to be made, giving them an idea of how other BN/NAT members evaluate applicants.
Naxess
Naxess's main goal within the NAT is to provide tools for members of the BN and NAT to use (Aiess and Mapset Verifier at the moment). He has plans for improving these tools and will be addressing them after his exam period. He's also been handling NAT meeting organization for the past few weeks.
He isn't especially connected to the mapping/modding scene anymore outside of his development tasks, so he doesn't have much to comment on in that regard.
Noffy
Noffy's main goals within the mapping scene are finishing up remaining mods for the Christmas Modding Queue, updating the Staff log, handling evaluations, and keeping up with other mapping interests (e.g. Mappers' Guild storyboards).
Noffy thinks communciation is important and that ongoing applications slightly reduced that. Previous evaluations being in batches resulted in everyone working together in a short crunch time, whereas work is more spread out now and not everyone talks to each other as much. This may just be due to timezones though.
Adding a Ranking Criteria subforum feed (updates in https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/87) to the BN Discord server is a suggestion Noffy gave on how to improve the mapping scene. These would encourage more communication between mappers/modders on topics relevant to them.
pishifat
pishifat loves birds. Within the NAT, he handles administration tools (see https://bn.mappersguild.com), annoyingly micromanages people, and maintains the Ranking Criteria subforum. Outside of the NAT, he handles upcoming Featured Artists, maintains the Mappers' Guild, runs the monthly beatmapping contest (coming very soon!), and does various other small things.
While the NAT isn't his highest priority, he tries to ensure it doesn't collapse!
Seto Kousuke
Seto is interested in spreading mapping information, so alongside his current evaluation tasks, he's working on ways to do that via the wiki and video construction. (pishifat will teach him how to contribute to the wiki!)
He believes communication in the mapping/modding scene is necessary for the future of mapping. Of the potential NAT candidates, he supports those who have highly social personalities and capable evaluation skills.
osu!taiko
Faputa
Alongside evaluations, Faputa's current goal within the NAT is to be more involved with members of the BN and improve morale within the game mode, and plans on doing this by doing "tag nominations" with BNs.
He believes the morale of the osu!taiko BN has been low recently due to the removal of a few highly active members. Ex-BNs were given more leniency when applying to the Beatmap Nominators as of a couple weeks ago, which has increased taiko's BN population and appears to be boosting morale.
Nepuri
Nepuri's main goals within the mapping scene are to keep up with BN evaluations and encourage a friendly environment, mostly through the osu!taiko mapping/modding Discord server.
He believes that watching over the incoming BNs is essential because a few are known for causing issues in the past. He also believes that the more lenient requirements for joining the BN as an ex-BN is an improvement to the game mode and that other game modes should try a similar thing if needed (pishifat looks towards osu!mania).
He also wants more transparency around the NAT, and approves of the push towards NAT candidates with notable communication skills. He has his eye on a potential candidate for the osu!taiko NAT.
osu!catch
Ascendance
Ascendance has been acting as a temporary leader for the NAT by handling some micromanagement tasks alongside BN evaluations. Due to an upcoming change in availability (school), he's considering who would be beneficial in the NAT if he is unable to continue his tasks. He has a couple users in mind and believes that assertiveness is an important trait for members of the NAT (which osu!catch has compared to other game modes (pishifat continues to look towards osu!mania).
He likes the idea of rebuilding a lot of the BN/NAT, but recognizes the unfeasibility of it. He feels like he doesn't do enough as a member of the NAT as he should. He's been looking into alternative methods of finding a user to lead the NAT as well.
Deif
Deif is the longest lasting member of the NAT and keeps up with his evaluation responsibilties while hoping to engage more with modding.
He's aware of the potential need for a new NAT member soon and is watching the osu!catch community closely, with a couple users in mind.
He believes (like many others) that communication is important for the future of the NAT. He wishes he were more available to participate in this kind of communication, but is limited by other obligations in and out of osu!. He's doing a good job regardless of his limits though!
osu!mania
Feerum
Feerum's goals as a member of the NAT are handling evaluations, as well as stepping in on Ranking Criteria proposal threads for input, and releasing a modding guide for osu!mania on the wiki within the next month.
He believes the recent Ranking Criteria proposal for allowing no addition hitsounds on osu!mania beatmaps (see https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/topics/996091) is a potential way to better the mapping scene within the game mode, given certain conditions are met.
He's been keeping an eye on a few users who've put good work into the Ranking Criteria subforum and believes that they are a good type of person for mania's future.
Leniane
Leniane's main goal within the NAT is focusing on evaluations.
He is against the proposal allowing no addition hitsounds on osu!mania beatmaps, though he may be willing to compromise to increase mapping/modding activity within the mode. He believes that the game mode lacks modders and that something needs to be done to remedy this. He manages a Discord server for osu!mania mapping to encourage more mania mapping.
Hopefully you're more aware of who's in the NAT and what they're doing!
While this isn't much information, I'll be consistently talking to these guys about the BN/NAT, so you'll hear more about what they have to say in a week or two!
If you have any questions for the NAT or want to talk about mapping/modding systems in general, please visit the #modding channel in the osu! dev Discord server.