rc wrote:
Chords within 1/4 streams should be used sparingly. The density of these patterns is often too difficult
for players of this skill level.
whilst the intent behind this is to prevent from having high density stream patterns in hard diffs, this
guideline is rarely enforced due to it not applying to a large number of situations.
difficulty of 1/4 stream patterns is dependant on multiple factors other than frequency of chords such as length and column placements. due to this, light jumpstream and even some denser jumpstreams can be considered acceptable in hard diffs despite having a frequent use of chords. once you factor in higher keymodes this guideline becomes even less relevant as there is more room to use chords without negatively impacting gameplay.
another issue is the use of the word 'sparingly'. this adds a layer of ambiguity as there isn't a clear idea as to what frequency of chords would be considered acceptable.
proposed solution:
remove the guideline. this resolves all of the problems stated above and mostly leaves things up to
mappers/modders to judge stream patterns.
another option is to reword the guideline with a more specific chord frequency that would scale according to bpm. i personally wouldn't recommend this as this only resolves the issues of clarity and doesn't do much regarding the other issues mentioned.