I am relatively new to mapping, and I've just been wondering what the "right" or "best" way to map a song is, since I once told someone that I map by placing the hitobjects first and then spacing and arranging them (and changing them accordingly), and then they said that it ruins the map.I'd like to know so that I may improve on my mapping if there is a better method out there.
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Best mapping method?
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Topic Starter
Way or technique? What you just talked about was a way: putting the beats first so you have the timing prepared for you. Technique is the actual mapping like stars and squares.
You can PM me whenever if you wanna talk about mapping.
You can PM me whenever if you wanna talk about mapping.
Topic Starter
lmao you didn't understandThe_Epic_Backstabber wrote:
Way or technique? What you just talked about was a way: putting the beats first so you have the timing prepared for you. Technique is the actual mapping like stars and squares.
You can PM me whenever if you wanna talk about mapping.
I am basically asking about portion by portion mapping vs. placing hitobjects( Note, not beats, I bet you were talking about timing or something) down first and then arranging it into a playable pattern
Isn't that what you said...?
Hi!
Well the thing you're asking... Everyone does it differently. What I suggest you to do is try to map in different ways and see which one you like the most.
Some people like to place all the hitobjects before making the patterns, others (like me) map one at a time, because I like to create patterns on the process. It really depends on you, so find your own way
Well the thing you're asking... Everyone does it differently. What I suggest you to do is try to map in different ways and see which one you like the most.
Some people like to place all the hitobjects before making the patterns, others (like me) map one at a time, because I like to create patterns on the process. It really depends on you, so find your own way
Topic Starter
Thanks! I just wanted to know if what I was doing was a bad method or not, even though it's what I'm comfortable with ; w ; I will try to find my own way!narakucrimson wrote:
Hi!
Well the thing you're asking... Everyone does it differently. What I suggest you to do is try to map in different ways and see which one you like the most.
Some people like to place all the hitobjects before making the patterns, others (like me) map one at a time, because I like to create patterns on the process. It really depends on you, so find your own way
ermm read what narakucrimson said, he understood what I meant o u o;;The_Epic_Backstabber wrote:
Isn't that what you said...?
No Best Way exist in such a Subjective-approachable thing.
The best mapping method is not mapping shit.
kinda bet to disagree
mapping a shitty map quickly and then selfmodding it to fix all the problems is a fast and enjoyable way to make a good map without wasting too much time in frustration on the process of making it
mapping a shitty map quickly and then selfmodding it to fix all the problems is a fast and enjoyable way to make a good map without wasting too much time in frustration on the process of making it
it's pretty hard to pick out your own mistakes, though
I find that mapping a rough layout usually makes it harder to pick out specific parts to be improved. On top of that, if something's changed in a way which interferes with sections around it, then it means that larger portions need to be remapped anyway.
I think that the most efficient method for new mappers is to put more effort into standout sections, such as choruses. The hardest part of creating anything is settling on a general direction and style, so honing one section of a map would make it possible to take ideas from it and apply them elsewhere. You can make extremely fast progress by copying portions and then altering them to add variance. Lots of people hate copypaste, but it's appropriate for choruses and other repeated sections.
Selfmodding should be a given, but doing it after completion can be far too easy to become lost in a map, focus too much on specific areas or worse, getting used to bad sections and convincing oneself that they're fine. That, or not wanting to change what's there because of the amount of work that was put into the map already. My preference is to do everything that I can to make a single section work, so that I know I can base other sections around it.
I think that the most efficient method for new mappers is to put more effort into standout sections, such as choruses. The hardest part of creating anything is settling on a general direction and style, so honing one section of a map would make it possible to take ideas from it and apply them elsewhere. You can make extremely fast progress by copying portions and then altering them to add variance. Lots of people hate copypaste, but it's appropriate for choruses and other repeated sections.
Selfmodding should be a given, but doing it after completion can be far too easy to become lost in a map, focus too much on specific areas or worse, getting used to bad sections and convincing oneself that they're fine. That, or not wanting to change what's there because of the amount of work that was put into the map already. My preference is to do everything that I can to make a single section work, so that I know I can base other sections around it.
The best mapping method is one which you are comfortable with and gives the best final results. I am being cpt. obvious here, however that's how it is.
Now, to find that, you require experience and knowledge. What people usually tend to ignore are combos, they are actually very important, because if comboing is done right, you can automatically see "sections" and how they should probably look like. This makes fitting patterns much easier to make and greatly reduces the amount of spacing errors you may create (usually if you know how to analyze the song properly, you most likely won't make a single spacing error).
Another big thing is the beat logic, and that is you might want to create rhythms that are in the music and are kinda obvious. If you just place random beats thinking it sounds great, but doesn't go along with the song, that's pretty bad and unintuitive and results in a bad map usually (by some people's standards).
And the biggest thing of them all if you ask me is the song analysis. You listen to the song and it's composition and you can distinguish specific rhythms in it. This is very important because it allows planning and when you are able to plan something there is almost no chance that you will create something "wrong" (as in errors, really unintuitive beats or overmapping based on the person's feelings which may clash with another person's feelings). This also tells you how dynamic the song actually is and you can reflect that through your map be it via hitsounds or slider velocity (spacing). It also tells you which are more fitting objects for your map as well, instead of just having a random amount of sliders and circles bunched up together, the planning allows you know exactly when you want a slider or a circle (a holding vocal usually feels much better as a slider for example, while sudden beats feel much better as circles).
Those 3 are most important if you ask me. If you're inexperienced you might find it hard to incorporate all this, however everything is hard at first and be prepared to fail on your first attempts, a lot.
Now, to find that, you require experience and knowledge. What people usually tend to ignore are combos, they are actually very important, because if comboing is done right, you can automatically see "sections" and how they should probably look like. This makes fitting patterns much easier to make and greatly reduces the amount of spacing errors you may create (usually if you know how to analyze the song properly, you most likely won't make a single spacing error).
Another big thing is the beat logic, and that is you might want to create rhythms that are in the music and are kinda obvious. If you just place random beats thinking it sounds great, but doesn't go along with the song, that's pretty bad and unintuitive and results in a bad map usually (by some people's standards).
And the biggest thing of them all if you ask me is the song analysis. You listen to the song and it's composition and you can distinguish specific rhythms in it. This is very important because it allows planning and when you are able to plan something there is almost no chance that you will create something "wrong" (as in errors, really unintuitive beats or overmapping based on the person's feelings which may clash with another person's feelings). This also tells you how dynamic the song actually is and you can reflect that through your map be it via hitsounds or slider velocity (spacing). It also tells you which are more fitting objects for your map as well, instead of just having a random amount of sliders and circles bunched up together, the planning allows you know exactly when you want a slider or a circle (a holding vocal usually feels much better as a slider for example, while sudden beats feel much better as circles).
Those 3 are most important if you ask me. If you're inexperienced you might find it hard to incorporate all this, however everything is hard at first and be prepared to fail on your first attempts, a lot.
Lesjuh method is best method tho~
One word
Geometry
Geometry
Fire up editor, place a note/slider depending on the first sound, place next note/slider wherever it feels natural to move next. Rinse and repeat.
Well I map like that, and I just make sure that the next note/slider I place fits in some kind of pattern while still keeping that natural movement (flow) thing. Eeeexcept it doesn't always work and I change whole sections after playtesting them :p
If you're like me and can't finish anything, try mapping in non-chronological order; makes me finish my maps, which then results in waiting 38457 months before I hitsound.
So yeah, I started out mapping everything in simple symmetry, and all my maps sucked because stuff weren't timed to anything and was only there just because of the symmetry. Whiiiich is pretty bad, so I'd say just map with flow in mind, as well and make sure your notes/sliders/spinners are actually timed to something in the song, and you'll have a decent map.
Well I map like that, and I just make sure that the next note/slider I place fits in some kind of pattern while still keeping that natural movement (flow) thing. Eeeexcept it doesn't always work and I change whole sections after playtesting them :p
If you're like me and can't finish anything, try mapping in non-chronological order; makes me finish my maps, which then results in waiting 38457 months before I hitsound.
So yeah, I started out mapping everything in simple symmetry, and all my maps sucked because stuff weren't timed to anything and was only there just because of the symmetry. Whiiiich is pretty bad, so I'd say just map with flow in mind, as well and make sure your notes/sliders/spinners are actually timed to something in the song, and you'll have a decent map.
You mean, "structure." Considering how to align patterns in similar ways is a very effective way of making the entire product feel cohesive. It also does a lot for presentation if subsequent patterns are aligned with each other when they're visible. By itself, that's enough to create good structure instantly. This applies to "flow" mapping, because you're still going to want things to look decent.theowest wrote:
One word
Geometry
Somehow when I tried...TRIED to map, I can't just get the whole "smooth-flowing" kind of map I want in my mind... 
When I started, my ideas ended up falling to pieces because I couldn't visualise the right screen space and/or spacing of patterns. Even more things fell to pieces when I found out that certain patterns wouldn't fit around others. It's why it's a very good idea to think in terms of structure, because it's very useful to know how to tuck things out of the way or transition between patterns, without anything looking cramped, poorly-aligned or out of place.emonite wrote:
Somehow when I tried...TRIED to map, I can't just get the whole "smooth-flowing" kind of map I want in my mind...
Take a lot of time to try different patterns in a short section, until the map starts to work as a cohesive whole. It can also help to leave some space between combos, as in, not stringing everything together in a monotonous, continuous mess.
I do the rhythm first just with circles,them I create sliders and position the hits