Hi everyone!

I’m having a bit of a rough time with my mapping. I’ve played this game since 2014, with big breaks over the course of years of course, and have been in mapping since 5 years ago.
Of course, like anyone who first started mapping my beginner maps were a total crap and I definitively improved over 5 years in some ways.
The biggest problem I’ve had with my maps since I started mapping is getting the right flow.
Heck, after playing this game for 6 years and seeing so many different kind of maps and styles, one would think I’d manage to understand this and get it right for my maps.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case and it’s bothering me deeply. I would very much love to create maps for people to play and enjoy, but the flow I make is not enjoyable nor smooth and I can’t figure out how to make it right.
I’ve tried all different methods on how I can improve my mapping by watching a bunch of tutorials and vids on youtube, I’ve modded and copied my favorite mappers (although I dislike this because I want to develop my own style) and asked so many experienced mappers on tips but I see no improvement whatsoever.
I’m coming to a dead end where I feel like I’m just not capable of mapping and it sucks because I enjoy it, and want to make cool stuff.
I’m not sure what I expect from yous with this thread, but maybe some word of advice which I haven’t heard yet or anything that could help me with this problem would be very appreciated!
At last, maybe I really am not capable of making maps and won’t improve ever so I should just stop trying?
Thanks for your time!

greetings. i can definitely empathize with you on the point of loving and believing in something deeply yet not seeing any profound improvement for an extended period of time. kudos to you for being honest to yourself about it and choosing to reach out. i will offer you the best piece of advice that has helped my particular situation on that immensely.

some context first. for the longest time, my business was insurmountably stagnant. no matter how hard i seemed to work at trying to build it, i saw no lasting growth whatsoever. i felt like i was just spinning my wheels without actually going anywhere. i tried all kinds of things, like how you tried in copying other people's results, or watching/reading videos or books about general tips and such. alas, nothing brought concrete results. depressing slump of a situation indeed, but now we get to the good part. there was a turning point in my business where everything immediately started growing and improving exponentially. and that point was when i decided to seriously seek out people with fruit on their trees, and most importantly, be coachable. the moment i found someone who agreed to invest their time to sow into me as a mentor, was the moment my mindset changed from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

one of the most crucial things i was taught was the importance of daily habits. if you focus on trying to leap your way straight to your goal in one night, you're never going to get anything done and possibly hinder yourself further. instead, focus on improving any given skillset 1% a day. because getting better at something just 1% a day will add up to 365% net improvement in a year. the human brain is a muscle, and you need to consistently work it each day in order to build longterm results.

regarding your last sentence...

i once met a very wise man who told me this: "it's not talent based, it's character based. just because you see no growth does not necessarily mean that the seed is bad. in fact, it's much more likely to be the environment itself that is impeding progress. just simply replant into a more-appropriate environment. and don't hold any contingencies of time to it whatsoever. you see, patience is the common denominator for success."

now i'm well aware that osu is vastly different in a plethora of ways than business 101; however, i do strongly believe that these principles hold up in all avenues of life and that there is value to be taken away and applied in a multitude of situations.

whether its business networks or osu communities, people will come and go, take and give, speak and listen. and with all those constantly changing variables, brings times of prosperity and times of suffering. but one thing remains true for each of us. the winners are the ones who never quit through all that. and the quitters are the ones who never ended up winning.

if you have a dream, make it the center of your focus. don't let anyone steal it from you, not even your very own doubts.

wish you the best my dude. cheers

fossphile wrote:

greetings. i can definitely empathize with you on the point of loving and believing in something deeply yet not seeing any profound improvement for an extended period of time. kudos to you for being honest to yourself about it and choosing to reach out. i will offer you the best piece of advice that has helped my particular situation on that immensely.

some context first. for the longest time, my business was insurmountably stagnant. no matter how hard i seemed to work at trying to build it, i saw no lasting growth whatsoever. i felt like i was just spinning my wheels without actually going anywhere. i tried all kinds of things, like how you tried in copying other people's results, or watching/reading videos or books about general tips and such. alas, nothing brought concrete results. depressing slump of a situation indeed, but now we get to the good part. there was a turning point in my business where everything immediately started growing and improving exponentially. and that point was when i decided to seriously seek out people with fruit on their trees, and most importantly, be coachable. the moment i found someone who agreed to invest their time to sow into me as a mentor, was the moment my mindset changed from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

one of the most crucial things i was taught was the importance of daily habits. if you focus on trying to leap your way straight to your goal in one night, you're never going to get anything done and possibly hinder yourself further. instead, focus on improving any given skillset 1% a day. because getting better at something just 1% a day will add up to 365% net improvement in a year. the human brain is a muscle, and you need to consistently work it each day in order to build longterm results.

regarding your last sentence...

i once met a very wise man who told me this: "it's not talent based, it's character based. just because you see no growth does not necessarily mean that the seed is bad. in fact, it's much more likely to be the environment itself that is impeding progress. just simply replant into a more-appropriate environment. and don't hold any contingencies of time to it whatsoever. you see, patience is the common denominator for success."

now i'm well aware that osu is vastly different in a plethora of ways than business 101; however, i do strongly believe that these principles hold up in all avenues of life and that there is value to be taken away and applied in a multitude of situations.

whether its business networks or osu communities, people will come and go, take and give, speak and listen. and with all those constantly changing variables, brings times of prosperity and times of suffering. but one thing remains true for each of us. the winners are the ones who never quit through all that. and the quitters are the ones who never ended up winning.

if you have a dream, make it the center of your focus. don't let anyone steal it from you, not even your very own doubts.

wish you the best my dude. cheers

hey! thank you so much for such nice words. i very much appreciate this and won’t give up on mapping but will work highly on improving myself and will take my time - as much as it’s needed. i’ve been concerned about my flow, but i guess such things come naturally, and me having taken long breaks from osu!, it’s no wonder that I can’t figure things out, being away for months and then coming back trying to make the best map ever.
I will do my best and be consistent on my mapping and give more than that 1% a day! hopefully one day i become a good mapper ;-)
good luck to you and have a nice day!

In a more specific context, try to look at other maps, especially maps that you adore. I take longer time looking at other maps on editor than actually mapping lol

Also, don't exhaust yourself in mapping that you feel like mapping is not fun anymore. Take some breaks if you will and you'll come back being more excited about it

Shiyzo wrote:

Hi everyone!

I’m having a bit of a rough time with my mapping. I’ve played this game since 2014, with big breaks over the course of years of course, and have been in mapping since 5 years ago.
Of course, like anyone who first started mapping my beginner maps were a total crap and I definitively improved over 5 years in some ways.
The biggest problem I’ve had with my maps since I started mapping is getting the right flow.
Heck, after playing this game for 6 years and seeing so many different kind of maps and styles, one would think I’d manage to understand this and get it right for my maps.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case and it’s bothering me deeply. I would very much love to create maps for people to play and enjoy, but the flow I make is not enjoyable nor smooth and I can’t figure out how to make it right.
I’ve tried all different methods on how I can improve my mapping by watching a bunch of tutorials and vids on youtube, I’ve modded and copied my favorite mappers (although I dislike this because I want to develop my own style) and asked so many experienced mappers on tips but I see no improvement whatsoever.
I’m coming to a dead end where I feel like I’m just not capable of mapping and it sucks because I enjoy it, and want to make cool stuff.
I’m not sure what I expect from yous with this thread, but maybe some word of advice which I haven’t heard yet or anything that could help me with this problem would be very appreciated!
At last, maybe I really am not capable of making maps and won’t improve ever so I should just stop trying?
Thanks for your time!

a good tip is to play maps. then when you make your own maps, playtest that map.