Preface
I would like to address the lack of high star ranked maps and the implications it has on the ranking of ctb. Including my own suggestion.
As a disclaimer I would like to clarify that I'm not a mapper and that these are mostly my own opinion and could be skewed by my own self-bias so I look forward to corrections in my assumptions.
The problem
The ranking process is a great way to highlight quality maps (although many hipsters would disagree, go submit suggestions to the ranking criteria not constantly complain about mappers). However ctb has a small amount of maps ranked that are over 6 stars. For higher ranked players there is a strong tendency or inclination to either play converts or to play unranked specifics because you can essentially play most high star ctb maps in a single sitting.
This also affects ranking. It is very difficult to be unique or diverse in your top ranks. An infamous example would be image material, if someone could FC image material but didn't want to for personal reasons it would be more difficult to reach for instance top 100 than it would be if he played it against his will.
I also feel that because you can run out of unplayed high star maps quickly it is kind of expected to play the same maps over and over in order to climb ranking.
My ridiculous suggestion
I expect a lot of controversy with my suggestion but would still like to genuinely discuss its prospects and hope to receive constructive criticism on it.
I suggest for beatmap nominators to have the ability to skip modding and be able to immediately submit a mapset to qualified.
Before you burn me on the stake for heresy let me explain myself.
I recognize that modding is required for the feedback loop that aids to getting a map ranked. I recognize that the hype system exists in order to allow for players to show interest/priority in pending maps. And I recognize that this would make it more likely for "problems" to pass through the system and rank a map that "should've" been changed.
I also realize that this doesn't specifically target high star maps and there is no guarantee that it'll solve this variety problem. There are probably better alternatives that would address this problem better but I believe this suggestion to still be relevant in ctb ranking process and a step forward.
I believe that experienced mappers that understand the ranking criteria should have the ability to qualify maps at their discretion. I would expect this to increase the speed at which maps get ranked but also exacerbate the "monopoly" certain mappers have in the ability to rank maps.
By making this a perk for BNs I belief this could motivate more people to apply for a BN position. Which would benefit CTB mapping community in general.
Conclusion
Based on my own observation the current ranking system seems to work great for standard. Due to standard's large population it has more leeway to be thorough and can afford more processes without suffering the same lack of variety of high star maps that ctb suffers under.
Besides the question of whether the suggestion is a step forwards or backwards it is unlikely for ctb to receive unique treatment in the ranking process.
I would also like to encourage people to come with suggestions to improve this.
I would like to address the lack of high star ranked maps and the implications it has on the ranking of ctb. Including my own suggestion.
As a disclaimer I would like to clarify that I'm not a mapper and that these are mostly my own opinion and could be skewed by my own self-bias so I look forward to corrections in my assumptions.
The problem
The ranking process is a great way to highlight quality maps (although many hipsters would disagree, go submit suggestions to the ranking criteria not constantly complain about mappers). However ctb has a small amount of maps ranked that are over 6 stars. For higher ranked players there is a strong tendency or inclination to either play converts or to play unranked specifics because you can essentially play most high star ctb maps in a single sitting.
This also affects ranking. It is very difficult to be unique or diverse in your top ranks. An infamous example would be image material, if someone could FC image material but didn't want to for personal reasons it would be more difficult to reach for instance top 100 than it would be if he played it against his will.
I also feel that because you can run out of unplayed high star maps quickly it is kind of expected to play the same maps over and over in order to climb ranking.
My ridiculous suggestion
I expect a lot of controversy with my suggestion but would still like to genuinely discuss its prospects and hope to receive constructive criticism on it.
I suggest for beatmap nominators to have the ability to skip modding and be able to immediately submit a mapset to qualified.
Before you burn me on the stake for heresy let me explain myself.
I recognize that modding is required for the feedback loop that aids to getting a map ranked. I recognize that the hype system exists in order to allow for players to show interest/priority in pending maps. And I recognize that this would make it more likely for "problems" to pass through the system and rank a map that "should've" been changed.
I also realize that this doesn't specifically target high star maps and there is no guarantee that it'll solve this variety problem. There are probably better alternatives that would address this problem better but I believe this suggestion to still be relevant in ctb ranking process and a step forward.
I believe that experienced mappers that understand the ranking criteria should have the ability to qualify maps at their discretion. I would expect this to increase the speed at which maps get ranked but also exacerbate the "monopoly" certain mappers have in the ability to rank maps.
By making this a perk for BNs I belief this could motivate more people to apply for a BN position. Which would benefit CTB mapping community in general.
Conclusion
Based on my own observation the current ranking system seems to work great for standard. Due to standard's large population it has more leeway to be thorough and can afford more processes without suffering the same lack of variety of high star maps that ctb suffers under.
Besides the question of whether the suggestion is a step forwards or backwards it is unlikely for ctb to receive unique treatment in the ranking process.
I would also like to encourage people to come with suggestions to improve this.