Well, the title is basically what I'm asking, but that is a general statement. I'm very curious as to see what goes through a mapper's head when they decide to make a map. Key points I'm thinking of include...

1. Song Choice
   
   
   1. What makes you choose to map certain songs?
      
      
   2. Do you only map songs of a certain style? If so, what kind and why?
      
      
   3. What do you look for in songs of a certain style?
      
2. Mapping Order
   
   
   1. In what order do you map songs you've chosen to map? Why?
      
      
   2. In what order do you map difficulties? Why?
      
      
   3. How do you go about mapping specific song parts? Why?
      
3. Mapping the beats, themselves
   
   
   1. How do you decide what beats to place and where? Why?
      
      
   2. On maps with multiple difficulties, how do you decide to go about mapping them?
      
      
      1. On easier difficulties, do you simply trim down the number of beats? Do you map them completely differently when compared to the other difficulties? Do you simplify rhythms on 'strange' offbeats? Any other methods? Why?
         
         
      2. On harder difficulties, what do you map to? Do you sometimes make up patterns that aren't actually in the song, simply because they sound nice? Do you stick exactly to the song? What do you commonly do in a harder difficulty? Why do you do such things?
         
         
      3. What could be considered going 'overboard' with a hard/insane difficulty in your eyes? Why?
   3. How do you map patterns on the grid? Do you manually space or use distance snap? How often do you use jumps? Are your grid patterns based on the background/video/storyboard, or are you doing them completely with those out of mind? Keep in mind that you should explain why you do these things.
      
      
   4. How about sliders? What makes you decide on a slider type to use? Do you overuse sliders? What makes you decide on slider shapes? Why do work with sliders the way you do? Anything else to add? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
      
      
   5. Spinners. Oh, spinners. When do you commonly use spinners? How do you decide if a spinner is acceptable? Anything else to add? Thoroughly explain your reasoning.
4. Cosmetic aspects of the map
   
   
   1. What do you do when deciding on a background? Do you make it yourself? Do you take the background from the source of whatever you're mapping? Do you use a video? Do you storyboard? Under what circumstances do you feel that it would be best to use a video? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
      
      
   2. How do you decide on combo numbers? Do you phrase properly or just randomly place New Combo marks? Any other methods? Explain your method.
      
      
   3. What makes you decide on hitsounds? Do you have any hitsound biases? Does this bias carry over into your maps? Any other methods? Explain your reasoning.
      
      
   4. Anything else cosmetic that you would like to bring up? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
5. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. How do you go about requesting to collaborate on a map or asking someone to collaborate? Explain your reasoning.
      
      
   2. Is your mapping style any different when you are working on a collab map? If so, how and why? If not, why not? Back up your reasoning thoroughly.
      
      
   3. How patient are you when it comes to a collab map? Explain your patience or lack thereof.
      
      
   4. Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
6. Map submission
   
   
   1. When do you submit a map? Where do you usually submit it? Why?
      
      
   2. How many difficulties do you think a map should have before it enters Pending? Why?
      
      
   3. Do you feel like your maps aren't being looked at enough after you submit? Explain your plight/lack thereof.
      
      
   4. What is your stance on uploading collab maps? How do you think it should go about? Explain your thoughts.
      
      
   5. Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
7. Anything else that you think should be brought up? Explain your reasoning thoroughly.

I encourage you all reading this heavily to please, please, PLEASE take this seriously and write with thorough explanations. This might give some insight into common techniques or the different preferences of others that mappers can reference while working on their latest creation.

I try to map consistently paced songs. I don't mean tempo changes, I'm fine with those, I just really do not like mapping songs with drastic changes in this area. Example: This map. However, I'm always going to try and map different genres of music, whether I'm contributing difficulties, or doing it all myself.

If I'm mapping a song I'm very familiar with, it's usually Hard, Insane, Normal, Easy. Otherwise, it's Normal, Insane, Hard, Easy. The reason should be clear.

Beats are decided on my general feelings about the song at the time. I do make some changes after I've initially finished, but it's pretty safe to say that they aren't moving far. As for difficulties, Easy should follow key syllables on vocals in a slow, steady way that also gives the player a feeling of beat. Replace vocals with the main instrument if the song doesn't have any. It stays on 1/1 and 1/2 notes. Normal should start to stray from the beat and go for the feel of it, but not focusing on any specific musical implement. It stays on 1/1 and 1/2. Hard is all about the vocals. Failing that, screw hard, let's make insane! Hard uses 1/1, 1/2 notes and very rarely 1/4. Insane is everything combined, really. It should utilize a lot of 1/2 notes and may use some 1/4 notes. 'Overboard' in my eyes is any map that ignores the original music.

I use 1.0 distance snap within combos. On hard difficulties, I make a habit of going to 1.5 between combos. Jumps, again, are for hard and insane only. I use them quite frequently on certain songs, but I am restrictive on how long they are. They should be passable at first try. Note placement patterns are almost never based on the background, video, or storyboard, unless I am trying to make a novelty 'comedy' effect.

My standard sliders are usually bezier, circular shaped, I really can't get used to the others, especially catmul-rom. I try to make my sliders extend a note in the song, instead of simply connecting a place where two circles would be. I find the other method of mapping a cheap and lazy way of trying to make an easier difficulty. I use them less to connect points in easier difficulties, as there is almost always a lower circle to slider ratio, and I don't need the help of tipping it more.

I use spinners to lead up to, or end an important section. Spinners are supposed to be the crazy aspect, so I don't use them in other situations. I try and make them around 4 or 5 beats long, this can differ greatly between songs. Small spinners are frustrating, even within the ranking boundaries and long spinners boring.

Songs feel like they are split up into lines, right? I take those lines and either double them, half them, or leave them be, depending on difficulty and feel of the song. That's pretty much combo numbering to me. Hitsounds are punctuating key beats, with whistle or finish, or following the beat, with clap or clap-whistle. Elite Beat Divas are going to be used for FABULOUS maps.

Map specific skins are pretty. Make more.

I start collab mapping with IRC. Since the osu! community has trouble responding unless I directly talk to someone, I'll start by suggesting it to, say, him. Yeah, him. I'll then discuss possible ways of mapping, timing and getting more people involved. If more people are needed, it's posted in Beatmap Projects. If I'm contributing a difficulty to a lacking map, I will see if the person who mapped it is online as and ask them. Otherwise, I'll just create it regardless. I try and map in a unique way for a collab difficulties. What's the point of trying to help someone when your dull, lifeless difficulty is exactly the same as theirs? I'm patient. Yes, I am. Oh, around 4 months patient.

I submit a map when It's finished, I want opinions from a particular person I have messaged beforehand, or when I've given up on timing a certain section and need help. Maps should have at least 2 difficulties. 3 or 4 is preferred, more than 4 is getting to the point of pointless. Ha. Are my maps not being looked at enough? No, they're fine, for now. I really wish the BAT team would stick strictly to the priority system and leave the rest to us, the general community. Collab maps should be uploaded by the person who chose to organize it, which in turn should be the person with the most free time and dedication to make changes and reupload.

I wrote too much...

Song Choice

1. What makes you choose to map certain songs?
   
   -- When I started mapping, I went with the first song I could figure out how to time. Now I just map whatever sounds good and I think would be fun to play.
   
   
2. Do you only map songs of a certain style? If so, what kind and why?
   
   -- I map all kinds of things, mostly Japanese music though, simply because I like the music.
   
   

Mapping Order

1. In what order do you map difficulties? Why?
   
   -- I start with Normal, then I go make Hard/Insane and I end with Easy. Normal is the easiest for me to map, and Easy is just boring to make.
   
   

Mapping the beats, themselves

1. How do you decide what beats to place and where? Why?
   
   -- I simply listen to the song and try to find a nice rhytm and I place the beats accordingly. I almost always use 1,0x Distance, except for Hard/Insane where I sometimes use 1.5-2.0x when making some jumps.
   
   
2. On maps with multiple difficulties, how do you decide to go about mapping them?
   
   -- I simply experiment, I don't think I have a pattern.
   
   
   1. On easier difficulties, do you simply trim down the number of beats? Do you map them completely differently when compared to the other difficulties? Do you simplify rhythms on 'strange' offbeats? Any other methods? Why?
      
      -- I guess I map Easy completely different. I keep the Easy shorter so the player won't get bored because of how simple everything is. :p
      
      
   2. On harder difficulties, what do you map to? Do you sometimes make up patterns that aren't actually in the song, simply because they sound nice? Do you stick exactly to the song? What do you commonly do in a harder difficulty? Why do you do such things?
      
      -- I sometimes make up patterns. It's fun, and if it's well placed, it will sound good and be fun for the player too. In Harder difficulties I like to make long streams, but I try not to complicate them TOO much, unless I'm feeling sadistic of course.
      
      
   3. What could be considered going 'overboard' with a hard/insane difficulty in your eyes? Why?
      
      -- Making it too challenging without being fun. That is lame impossible jumps, sick streams that only non-human players can survive. Now This is fine, but keep it down! Have a few spots with this stuff in it, but not through the whole song. That's just my personal opinion.
3. How do you map patterns on the grid? Do you manually space or use distance snap? How often do you use jumps? Are your grid patterns based on the background/video/storyboard, or are you doing them completely with those out of mind? Keep in mind that you should explain why you do these things.
   
   -- I always use grid level 3, and I almost always use Distance Snap, it always work. I never think about the background or video when I make my patterns. I simply don't think about it. I use jumps occasionally on Hard and Insane, but I try not to overuse them.
   
   
4. How about sliders? What makes you decide on a slider type to use? Do you overuse sliders? What makes you decide on slider shapes? Why do work with sliders the way you do? Anything else to add? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
   
   -- I use smooth sliders most of the time, simply because they look the best. I use the perfect amount of sliders if I may say so myself. My slider shapes usually come out random. If it looks bad I just re-do it. I try not to think so much.
   
   
5. Spinners. Oh, spinners. When do you commonly use spinners? How do you decide if a spinner is acceptable? Anything else to add? Thoroughly explain your reasoning.
   
   -- I usually use spinners during the end of a phase on the beatmap, assuming it will sound good to have it there. Sometimes I use them in other players to make the map for fun and for the player to move his hand more.
   
   

Cosmetic aspects of the map

1. What do you do when deciding on a background? Do you make it yourself? Do you take the background from the source of whatever you're mapping? Do you use a video? Do you storyboard? Under what circumstances do you feel that it would be best to use a video? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
   
   -- I simply choose a fitting background, that I steal from the internets. :p For my "Sucks to Be you" beatmap, I modified someone else's picture and the image was unrelated to the artist, but that was the only one. I haven't used a video yet. I really don't know why, I just haven't. My latest uploaded map has a simple storyboard with pictures changing every now and then. I don't plan on doing many maps with storyboards though, because I find it a bit complicated.
   
   
2. How do you decide on combo numbers? Do you phrase properly or just randomly place New Combo marks? Any other methods? Explain your method.
   
   -- When a phrase or a phase of the beatmap comes to an end, so does the combo numbering.
   
   
3. What makes you decide on hitsounds? Do you have any hitsound biases? Does this bias carry over into your maps? Any other methods? Explain your reasoning.
   
   -- I try to not overuse hitsounds, but I try to have quite a few there to make it sound good. I'm not THAT picky with hitsounds, really.
   
   
4. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. How do you go about requesting to collaborate on a map or asking someone to collaborate? Explain your reasoning.
      
      -- Never done it.
5. Map submission
   
   
   1. When do you submit a map? Where do you usually submit it? Why?
      
      -- When it's complete, and I then upload it to pending. I test it many times before to make sure it really is complete.
      
      
   2. How many difficulties do you think a map should have before it enters Pending? Why?
      
      -- Two is fair, but three is actually better. More difficulties = different kinds of players can play the map = good = more plays = more popular map = better osu! players = more active players!
      
      
   3. Do you feel like your maps aren't being looked at enough after you submit? Explain your plight/lack thereof.
      
      -- So far, no BAT has looked at my beatmap without me asking in IRC first, however, non-BAT's have. I understand they have a lot of things to do so I don't complain.

Why did I pick this song.

This song has a great beat but I feel I can map this beat better

Damnit I'm not good enough.

Damnit I don't want to make this easy/normal mode.



All reasons why I haven't been submitting many maps.

But honestly I second guess myself a LOT.

Song Choice:

What it comes down to for me, is mainly how catchy the song is. No, seriously, that's the main thing I consider, how catchy the song is. If I listen to it only a couple times, go to the bathroom and am constantly humming the tune in my head the entire time, then end up just dancing around for the heck of it while still having the tune stuck in my head, then bam.

'Course, it usually isn't that catchy. That only happened... twice, neither of which is uploaded, but one that is currently mapping and one that I plan on mapping...eventually. I do go for a catchy tune though, and a constant BPM. As for choosing which one to map first, I just choose whatever I feel like.

Mapping Order:

Hardest, then I work my way down, depending if I want two or three difficulties.

Mapping the Beats Themselves:

When I decide to place the beats on the time line, it depends on the difficulty nowadays. On Hard, I map to the lyrics, then if there's an instrumental gap between lyrics, I either add notes to the instruments (more common than before) or add a spinner there if it's a big enough gap (used to do that a lot). EDIT: I forgot to mention I use 25% sometimes, and place the beats after one or two listen throughs for the next few white ticks, when mapping to the lyrics.

On easier difficulties, I map somewhat to the beat, somewhat to the lyrics. That's what I do now anyways. I map each difficulty completely fresh.

What's overboard on a Hard/Insane for me would be overmapping that makes *NO* sense. Seen quite a bit of that lately. As far as 'overmapping' that makes sense and plays well though, Nharox's Insane on FIRE!! is a perfect example of what I find acceptable. I also hate spinner abuse, and people who do really gay things over and over that completely ruin the map. Like, say, when there are notes that would play better and make the map more enjoyable by just stacking them but refuse to because it'd make the map easier. -.-;

I use distance snap because it works. Whether I do jumps or not mainly depends on what I feel like. Though I don't do jumps that much for various reasons. Like recently I have the slider velocity up at an, erm, nice level, so I can't really do noticeable jumps without making them a pain to do. I used to place beats somewhat randomly, but now I make some patterns when it makes sense to do so, and focus on making sure it at least is easy to read and clean, if anything.

When it comes to sliders, I generally use sliders if the lyric draws out for at least one whole beat, or makes sense to do so. As far as slider shapes go, I now just often keep them simple. Looks neater to me, and easier to read and play. I used to do random sliders sometimes, until people told me it was ugly. That was also when I started paying attention to the neatness of the map.

As far as spinners go? I use them at the end, or if it's a really long drawn out syllable that would make sense to spin on, *and* I can make it both easy to pass with 250 SPM spinning speed, and have at least a beat to recover and hit any notes after it.

Cosmetic aspects:

I just rip off a wallpaper that fits the song off of the internet, never focus on it, but I do make the colors match it.

Combo numbers? I do my best to phrase properly, to an extent. It depends on a lot of things, like whether it makes sense to start a new combo there.

Hit sounds? I suck at them, I just have certain patterns I do now, like putting a clap, whistle on white ticks, a clap every so many beats, and other things.

Collab:

If they ask, I let them, and use it if the map doesn't suck. If I want to collab, I just ask. All there is to it, really.

Mapping style is the same, and I'm quite patient, because, well, I have all kinds of things I can do.

Submission:

I submit when I have enough room, and I know I'm gonna get it done.

I always submit to Help first. This is because I want people to look at it, and for me to finish, before it gets moved to Pending.

I think they get looked at enough. I do have to ask people to mod it though, since it wasn't until recently that some people started looking at them on their own, which is strange in and of itself.

2 difficulties or more if it's going to Pending and is planning to be Ranked, 1 if it's going to be Approved.

As far as collab goes, whoever makes more difficulties, or, if it's tied, whoever came up with the idea, *OR* who has the space, as long as proper credit is given in the difficulty titles. Just whatever it's felt like.

What else to bring up? People, read the freaking guidelines before submitting a piece of shit, please. I don't like looking through that.

That is all. Wow, that didn't take long at all.

1. Song Choice
   
   
   1. What makes you choose to map certain songs?
      ~ Usually when I find a nice song, when I think some song is so awesome it's a crime for it to not be mapped already, or... when I like a song. I usually quit if I can't find the exact BPM, though.
      
      
   2. Do you only map songs of a certain style? If so, what kind and why?
      ~ No, I don't. As long as I find it interesting (and mappable), I'll think of mapping it, no matter how's it.
      
2. Mapping Order
   
   
   1. In what order do you map songs you've chosen to map? Why?
      ~ If I can find its BPM easily, it's very likely for that song to go to the top of the list. After that, it's a matter of which song I want to work on more.
      
      
   2. In what order do you map difficulties? Why?
      ~ In my two maps, I went from Hard -> Normal -> Easy. The second one was really hard though, so I had to make up something for Easy... and I failed horribly. I'm thinking of trying to do Easy first on the next maps I possibly try to make.
      
      
   3. How do you go about mapping specific song parts? Why?
      ~ Constant repeating and seeing how it's played in auto mode. I suck so much I usually can't play anything past Hard, so I can't really test them... just watching how does osu! play it and if everything's timed and spaced correctly is enough for me, I think. Although that may be why I failed on both my maps. Other than that, I try to find the sections in which I can change the BPM in order to modify sliders just as I start working on it.
      
3. Mapping the beats, themselves
   
   
   1. How do you decide what beats to place and where? Why?
      ~ I listen to a certain part multiple times and put beat where I think it sounds good. Then I listen to it, fix what needs to be fixed, add what needs to be added... until I'm happy with the result.
      
      
   2. On maps with multiple difficulties, how do you decide to go about mapping them?
      ~ Easy = constant spacing, slow action. However, I think that Easy maps made this way are VERY boring, so I'm trying to find a way to make a beginner to play an Easy map and have fun while doing so.
      ~ Normal = a few jumps and a "normal"-paced action. Normal maps are the ones I like the most, so I like to try hard while making them. They should be fun and awesome.
      ~ Hard = pacing identical to the song's one, jumps when they fit. I also like Hard maps, since they're still a challenge for me - after all, they're HARD. I try to make a map similar to its song here.
      ~ Insane = fastest pacing, jumps as I see fit, challenging. I have never beaten an Insane map (aside from Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru, I think)... actually, I don't even try to play them. I find them scary. What goes on my mind when trying to develop an Insane map is basically what I said before. However, I often think I'm making it way too hard, and tone it down a bit...
      
      
      1. On easier difficulties, do you simply trim down the number of beats? Do you map them completely differently when compared to the other difficulties? Do you simplify rhythms on 'strange' offbeats? Any other methods? Why?
         ~ My plan is to make them this way: Normal should be... normal, and Easy should be a Normal light. Hard should be loyal to the song's beats, and Insane should be Hard with extra beats (when they sound good) and a harsher pacing. I'm still trying to find a way to properly map Easy maps (maybe I should watch some EBA or OTO replays) but I think they should have a lot of sliders and hits only on "important" beats, far enough from each other on the time line (and making them stacked or very close to each other if they are close), and long spinners, usually at the end. Normal ones should be loyal to the song, but not with hits everywhere. They should also be pleasant to play. Hard, as I've already said, should have hits everywhere and be perfectly loyal to the song. Insane should have even more notes, hits placed on all kinds of sounds, be fast and... well, insane.
         
         
      2. On harder difficulties, what do you map to? Do you sometimes make up patterns that aren't actually in the song, simply because they sound nice? Do you stick exactly to the song? What do you commonly do in a harder difficulty? Why do you do such things?
         ~ As I said, I try to make them perfectly loyal to the song, meaning I don't add unnecessary hits everywhere (at least on Hard). It's fine, as long as it sounds like I found everything in the song. Unless the song is really annoying... On Insane, I think I'd try to put extra hits, but while still sounding nice when you listen to them. An example of what I'd try to do is Hito's Kimi ni Mune Kyun.
         
         
      3. What could be considered going 'overboard' with a hard/insane difficulty in your eyes? Why?
      ~ Putting hits where they shouldn't be, or using so many hits that oh god I don't know where I should be looking at and oh wow there's a spinner already and OH NO ETNA SLIDERS EVERYWHERE. Although I haven't really seen examples like what I mentioned... most of the Insane replays I watch currently are pretty awesome. As long as it's humanly possible (and by human I mean that people other than Cyclone could possibly SS it), it's fine. One of the only exceptions is Wizards in Winter. Watching Impossible is so fun.
      
      
   3. How do you map patterns on the grid? Do you manually space or use distance snap? How often do you use jumps? Are your grid patterns based on the background/video/storyboard, or are you doing them completely with those out of mind? Keep in mind that you should explain why you do these things.
      ~ I find distance snap important, but... I don't think I should use it at all times when I map the higher difficulties. Sadly, I have no idea of what to do, then. If I manage to use a properly timed video, I'll try to sync at least some parts of the map to it. When I was trying to map Crasher's Go Through The Night (look for it on YouTube or NicoNico), my inspiration to do it was its video and how awesome some of the parts would be. However... let's say my poor little computer doesn't like to play videos on osu!, and it didn't work so well.
      
      
   4. How about sliders? What makes you decide on a slider type to use? Do you overuse sliders? What makes you decide on slider shapes? Why do work with sliders the way you do? Anything else to add? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
      ~ I prefer to use ones similar to the sliders we see on the DS games. I simply hate weird-shaped sliders and I try to make maps based on those games, so... although I sometimes use weird sliders myself. Or don't I? Well, I forgot. In Mad Racer I tried to not use curves at all because I thought that'd fit the song.
      ~ By the way, I prefer to use them more in easier maps, or when their sounds match the song (strong - soft - soft - soft - strong or whiiiiiiiiistle).
      
      
   5. Spinners. Oh, spinners. When do you commonly use spinners? How do you decide if a spinner is acceptable? Anything else to add? Thoroughly explain your reasoning.
   ~ On important parts! Usually at the end or during those ones that go "ooooooooooooooh". Or on parts of the song that make you want to spin. I don't know how to explain it. On harder difficulties, well, whenever I can fit one of them (usually on elongated parts of the song - is that the right word?). I just hope I never reach the level of Wizards in Winter (although I love watching that part).
   
   
4. Cosmetic aspects of the map
   
   
   1. What do you do when deciding on a background? Do you make it yourself? Do you take the background from the source of whatever you're mapping? Do you use a video? Do you storyboard? Under what circumstances do you feel that it would be best to use a video? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
      ~ I try to find a fitting image. If the song is based on a boss of a game, I'll try to get an image of him/her or of the stage you fight on. If it's a song from an album, maybe... the album's cover? I've yet to try this one. Maybe I'll try Google Images if I run out of creativity... videos are out, at least for now, because my computer hates them. Storyboards... maybe if I'm feeling creative enough. Videos would fit well on anything that has a videoclip (as long as the videoclip doesn't have any additional thing, like most of them do...) or is an anime opening (obviously, only if it's TV Size).
      
      
   2. How do you decide on combo numbers? Do you phrase properly or just randomly place New Combo marks? Any other methods? Explain your method.
      ~ Depends on the song. Usually, I'll try to start new combos when a part has something different from another one... uh, I don't know how to explain.
      
      
   3. What makes you decide on hitsounds? Do you have any hitsound biases? Does this bias carry over into your maps? Any other methods? Explain your reasoning.
      ~ Adding proper hitsounds is kinda hard... I usually try to think them beforehand, when I'm still planning on how am I going to map that song. Then I repeat the song over and over again until I'm happy with the hitsounds. Then I think I didn't work enough and try doing it again. I think.
      
      
   4. Anything else cosmetic that you would like to bring up? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
   ~ If the song is based on a game or anime, or has a certain theme (like Pepsi!), why not try skinning its elements? I would suck at it, but I'd at least try to do so. Some recent maps had really awesome skins, and I hope people keep making them in the future. And maybe even release them outside of the songs.
   
5. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. How do you go about requesting to collaborate on a map or asking someone to collaborate? Explain your reasoning.
      ~ I have never asked it before... maybe some day, when I don't feel lazy and I find a nice song, album, or whatever it is.
      
      
   2. Is your mapping style any different when you are working on a collab map? If so, how and why? If not, why not? Back up your reasoning thoroughly.
      ~ I'll try to not change much. I don't think I have my own style yet, but I wouldn't change much from it... I hope.
      
      
   3. How patient are you when it comes to a collab map? Explain your patience or lack thereof.
      ~ I'm pretty impatient, but I'm lazy, so I think other have the right to be lazy too. People should take their times in order to make a good map, instead of rushing it and making only an average map.
      
      
   4. Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
      ~ Nothing, I think.
6. Map submission
   
   
   1. When do you submit a map? Where do you usually submit it? Why?
      ~ When it's done (although on both my maps I didn't wait until they were complete...) and I'm happy with it. If I'm having problems with creativity, timing or something along these I'll send it to Beatmap Help; if I think it's almost complete (or only lacking difficulties), there it goes to Pending.
      
      
   2. How many difficulties do you think a map should have before it enters Pending? Why?
      ~ Two, I think? If they are going to be the only difficulties, I think they should be at least Normal and Hard. Otherwise, send them to Pending and see how well you're doing as you add more difficulties.
      
      
   3. Do you feel like your maps aren't being looked at enough after you submit? Explain your plight/lack thereof.
      ~ I'm so unpopular that no BAT looked at my maps I'm thankful to that guy who used a Weedle as his avatar for taking a look at my Satori one, though, even though I still think it's horrible. I can't blame the big guys though, after submitting them I noticed how quickly they went to the second (and third...) page due to the amount of maps being submitted. Now that we got the Kudosu and Star system, some good maps won't be ignored, but having so many maps with lots of stars for pages and pages AND PAGES is kind of frightening. I feel that I won't survive for much time if I don't spam stars on my ones, unless someone decides it's good and stars it. Unpopular people are more screwed than ever with this system Or maybe it's just me who's being way too negative.
      
      
   4. What is your stance on uploading collab maps? How do you think it should go about? Explain your thoughts.
      ~ I like them, and I love how you can see how different they are from each other in the collab. In some cases, at least. I don't know how they work, so I also don't know what I could say here.
      
      
      
   5. Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
   ~ Maps should only be submitted when their owners are happy with what they see (unless you can't find out something, in which case they should go to Beatmap Help). Even though that does not mean much... when I first made Satori Maiden, I though it was the greatest map ever and oh god everyone is going to love this. Today, when I play it I just think "what the hell did I do".
   
   
7. Anything else that you think should be brought up? Explain your reasoning thoroughly.
   ~ MAP WITH YOUR HEARTS, PEOPLE. BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES AND KEEP CLICKING.

Uh, did I just spend two hours typing this?

Well, I'm no professional mapper, but I felt like answering these for some reason. I hope I didn't make any mistake...

Ah, the Weedle guy is Soaprman. Thanks for paying attention to my map Then Zatoichi came in and didn't like my (failed) decision to try making another difficulty and left an awesome map there. Then BlazeReap appeared out of nowhere and HE SAID HE LIKED MY MAP WHAT

# Song Choice

* What makes you choose to map certain songs?
Generally I don't map a song unless I've listened to it a fairly large number of times (read: over 200) and/or have consistantly mentally mapped parts of it. However, I will map on request if I don't find the song boring or annoying.

* Do you only map songs of a certain style? If so, what kind and why?
No. In fact, I try very hard to do the opposite.

* What do you look for in songs of a certain style?
Same thing I look for in all songs.


# Mapping Order

* In what order do you map songs you've chosen to map? Why?
No particular order. Basically the order in which I find/import the mp3s.

* In what order do you map difficulties? Why?
I tend to map Normal/Hard first because that is the range to which I naturally map (that is, if I made a difficulty without specifying which one, and without trying to cater towards one level of difficulty or another, I would map that difficulty). Once I have the natural difficulty, I can move up or down by copying and modifying if I wish, or just simply have ideas as to what to map for the other difficulty(ies).

* How do you go about mapping specific song parts? Why?
If I have a part that I mentally mapped, I map it the same way for all difficulties. I also generally lay out breaks the same for all difficulties because that's how they fit the song.


# Mapping the beats, themselves

* How do you decide what beats to place and where? Why?
On the most basic level, I listen to the song and if the notes slur together, I use sliders, if they're distinct, I use hitcircles, and if they're going crazy or doing a long drawn out syllable I use spinners (although sometimes a long drawn out syllable becomes slider art). On a practical basis, I try to mix up how I map the same part the second or third time it occurs, repeating sections sometimes at my discretion. Definitely if it happens twice in close succession I need at least two different ways of mapping the section.

* On maps with multiple difficulties, how do you decide to go about mapping them?
Depends on the map. Sometimes I reuse my natural difficulty and sometimes I completely remap.

o On easier difficulties, do you simply trim down the number of beats? Do you map them completely differently when compared to the other difficulties? Do you simplify rhythms on 'strange' offbeats? Any other methods? Why?
Trim them down, yes, the simplifying rhythms happens when I delete the notes on 'strange' offbeats, I also tend to lower drain/difficulty and sometimes replace circles with sliders or two sliders with a longer slider. This all assumes I'm reusing my natural difficulty though. Otherwise I just make sure that any notes that stood out to me are mapped and remap it all.

o On harder difficulties, what do you map to? Do you sometimes make up patterns that aren't actually in the song, simply because they sound nice? Do you stick exactly to the song? What do you commonly do in a harder difficulty? Why do you do such things?
On harder difficulties I tend to map to anything that sticks out. Most of the time that would be the lyrics, but on instrumentals I may very well be mapping the little beep that happens in the background just because I notice it. However, since mapping the same part for however long the instrumental is tends to get repetitive, I also switch lines of music after the phrase ends to mix things up.
The other thing I tend to do is, if a slider feels like its too short for the music/map I'll double the bpm for a bit~

o What could be considered going 'overboard' with a hard/insane difficulty in your eyes? Why?
Really I've been desensitized by DJPop, darri, and Reikin on what constitutes 'overboard' on a map. The only things I get annoyed by are things that I don't think should be rankable or are overly repetitive, otherwise if it's too hard for Cyclone, oh well~

* How do you map patterns on the grid? Do you manually space or use distance snap? How often do you use jumps? Are your grid patterns based on the background/video/storyboard, or are you doing them completely with those out of mind? Keep in mind that you should explain why you do these things.
Actually its only recently that I started using grid snap at all. I've flirted with several different styles using different snaps. On most maps I can safely say that I use distance snap 90% of the time, with the exceptions being jumps and notes that come after either long silence or spinners. More recently I've started using grid snap to create symmetry whether it makes the map jump or not and I'll always disregard spacing temporarily if it means I can stack things that are very close to each other but not quite perfect.
I have two times I use jumps (well three really, but the third is if a mod tells me to, so that doesn't really count): if I have a small combo (1-4 notes) outstanding from the theme I have been mapping and then go back to the theme, I'll jump, and if I'm repeating a pattern and no way of flipping it puts it the correct distance from the previous note, and I can't move it because it's touching all edges of the screen, I just leave it a jump away.

* How about sliders? What makes you decide on a slider type to use? Do you overuse sliders? What makes you decide on slider shapes? Why do work with sliders the way you do? Anything else to add? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
I never use catmull sliders that I can think of. I only rarely switch to linear and only to break up the visuals of the sliders. Most of the time I use belzier because I like gently curving slider, but also because they're the best type to use for slider art.
Slider art is generally something I love to do and am fairly good at, give or take overlap (for some reason even if you can tell where the slider is going, which you always can, peppy doesn't seem to like sliders that overlap themselves a lot). I try to make the art pertain directly to the song, for instance making a lily slider in Lilium, a snowflake slider in Eternal Snow, etc. The thing is, you have to know exactly where you want to have sharp points in your slider and how far you're curving it in between these points before you even start to map it. So long as you have four or five beats to complete it, I don't worry about the size until after my slider is in a fairly final form because it's fairly elementary to shrink or enlarge it. Once I know what I'm going to do, I figure out where I'm going to start the slider and place the skeleton roughly as follows:
1 point for every 30-45 degrees the slider may or may not curve between sharp points or endpoints
2 additional points for every slider tick along the point, one on each side
2 points side-by-side within their own width of each other for every sharp point
1 additional point beside the end to manipulate the endpoint if need be
Once I have all my points plotted out, the first thing I do is combine the points side-by-side. Before I do that, the slider generally looks highly deformed; afterwards I can already see what it is that I am making. The second thing I do is take the points between these now red points and make minor curves to make the red points into small loops - generally having small curves embellishing the slider looks about 10x better than going completely straight. Afterward I have this completed, I fix the length of the slider so it ends in the correct place by moving the red points, and then aim for symmetry using the grid snap (which doesn't work quite as well if the slider is tilted but oh well). After I fix the length I might need to move some of the small curve points to equalize the curve, and after that its just a matter of tweaking the endpoint to make it look nice.

* Spinners. Oh, spinners. When do you commonly use spinners? How do you decide if a spinner is acceptable? Anything else to add? Thoroughly explain your reasoning.
I use spinners when I have either long syllables or when the music is going too crazy to map it any other way. If the long syllables get too long, I break it up along pitch changes and sometimes put sliders or hits intervening between the spinners. Also, its always best to end a map with a spinner.


# Cosmetic aspects of the map

* What do you do when deciding on a background? Do you make it yourself? Do you take the background from the source of whatever you're mapping? Do you use a video? Do you storyboard? Under what circumstances do you feel that it would be best to use a video? Explain your reasoning for all of these points.
Uh, I look for an attractive and related background. If I don't know of one, I ask someone else who is familiar with the song what they think I should use. I have never yet storyboarded, although I do plan to on one of my fledgeling maps. I never use a video because I'm too technologically inept to.

* How do you decide on combo numbers? Do you phrase properly or just randomly place New Combo marks? Any other methods? Explain your method.
I start off by phrasing properly, but if I see my combo is going over 13 or 14 I tend to look for someplace in the middle of the combo that has a pause, a change of tone, or a restart of the same phrase that I just mapped over to see if I can break it up.

* What makes you decide on hitsounds? Do you have any hitsound biases? Does this bias carry over into your maps? Any other methods? Explain your reasoning.
I do have a strong bias towards soft whistle. I used to have one towards clap, but not so much anymore. Generally, though, I try to order the hitsounds by how well they fit into the music. If they have a counterpart in the music, such as a snap/clap/drum or such, I emphasize it with the corresponding sound. Otherwise, I use the ones that fit into the music well to emphasize the louder, sweeter syllables, and move to greater contrast with the song for outstanding notes or highly emphasized ones. Finishes go at the end unless the end is near-silent. Finishes can also be used to introduce breaks when I have no good place to put a break and I need one. If the song is loud and the finish fades into the song enough to be barely noticable, a clap/whistle is necessary to create the ending contrast.

* Anything else cosmetic that you would like to bring up? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
Yes. Notes that should be centered between two other notes judging by their spacing on the timeline should be PERFECTLY centered regardless of whatever distance/grid snap says to the contrary. Notes that overlap each other more than made necessary by distance snap should be either completely seperate or completely stacked. And when I say completely stacked I mean there should not even be an echo of a difference between them, the outline between the stacked notes should be solid, rather than fuzzy, and I should in no way be able to differentiate the placement of the two or more notes. This often cannot be done using either snap and must be done by hand (distance snap x0 still leaves the outlines fuzzy most of the time x_x). Notes should not be claustrophobically close together. Symmetry is highly attractive, although sometimes the symmetry centers around the combo rather than the origin (so if your combo is off-center on the grid, dont use the center of the grid as your line of symmetry). Combo colors make your map more interesting because they are different from normal. Notes should line up with each other, so if you have a note directly after a slider there are three attractive places for it to be: on the same vertical as the endpoint, on the same horizontal as the endpoint, and on the ending vector of the slider, although with chains of sliders that have intervening hitcircles, a triangle pattern works as well.

# Collaborative mapping

* How do you go about requesting to collaborate on a map or asking someone to collaborate? Explain your reasoning.
If someone expresses interest in my song/map, I offer to let them map a difficulty. If someone asks me to map a difficulty for a song or offers to let me, and I don't despise the song, I'll map it.

* Is your mapping style any different when you are working on a collab map? If so, how and why? If not, why not? Back up your reasoning thoroughly.
My mapping style changes constantly according to how my maps are modded. The only difference is that if I'm collabing, I map it the OCD everything-must-be-perfect way the first time rather than taking multiple passes at it.

* How patient are you when it comes to a collab map? Explain your patience or lack thereof.
The only difference is that if I'm collabing, I map it the OCD everything-must-be-perfect way the first time rather than taking multiple passes at it. Aka, I will not let the map rest once I start it until I cannot think of its being improved farther. I'll let you decide if that is patience or impatience.

* Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
If I'm mapping a song I don't know very well, I don't really take the time to learn the song. I just listen to a part of it about three times and then map 75-100% of that part from memory, so it tends to be very strongly rhythmically-oriented rather than on the lyrics. This changes if I feel my map is getting repetitive, but not otherwise.

# Map submission

* When do you submit a map? Where do you usually submit it? Why?
I usually submit it to Help first because my timing sucks ass and often I submit it before I finish making the map because someone I've mentioned it to wants to see it.

* How many difficulties do you think a map should have before it enters Pending? Why?
Two. It shouldn't be in Pending until its rankable and it shouldn't be kept out of Pending if it is rankable. Actually I guess what I mean is, the number of difficulties the mapper intends to make. Generally I look at Pending as rankability boot camp and Help as Pending prep school.

* Do you feel like your maps aren't being looked at enough after you submit? Explain your plight/lack thereof.
I feel like my untimed maps never get looked at unless I nag someone to time them. After that I tend to get attention by dint of spamming priority onto them and waiting, which attracts BATs sooner or later. I do occasionally request non-BAT mods to help me spam priority once I'm fairly sure the map is good enough for them to star it (but I never ask for a star, just for a mod...asking for priority is cheating imo). I do admit to getting a little jealous sometimes when I see people shove their maps all the way through from unsubmitted to ranked in less than two weeks, since even the most immaculate of my own maps don't make it to being ranked for at least a month after first submission.
A good remedy for this is to do collab maps. As far as I can tell, if a map has multiple mappers it gets attention much faster AND I'm not the one responsible for nagging people to mod my maps. And since my mapper ranking is pretty much fsckd anyways I would say I actually prefer to map collab. I get a pretimed map that gets modded without my twisting arms and gets ranked at two to three times the speed.

* What is your stance on uploading collab maps? How do you think it should go about? Explain your thoughts.
Er, I think I just mostly answered that. I've never sponsored a collab map(except maybe Duvet *wince* which was my first map and therefore beyond awful), so inno much about that. Really the only thing I have to add is that people shouldnt be assholes and let the collab maps die.

* Anything else to bring up? Explain why you think these things.
If your map is so bad you'd need to completely remap the whole thing before it got decent, and you're a good enough mapper to be able to tell how bad your map is, its probably better just to move on rather than force people to mod a map that bad. And for heaven's sake read the mapping instructions before you map your first map, and at least have the decency to play it or run it through auto before you submit it to make sure that it is, indeed, playable.

Song Choice:
I like to pick somewhat upbeat songs (but not too much) because I tend to turn slow songs into long, boring sliders. If a song is too fast and "machine gun-ish," I'd be at a loss for interesting rhythms, so I stay away from those, too. Usually, if I see the circles in my head and start tapping my desk to them, thinking, "man, this is a good map," I'll go with that song.

Mapping Order:
I just map and name the difficulty later. It usually comes out as something like Hard, but maybe easier. If it comes out somewhere in between, I may end up basing both Normal and Hard off pieces of it. I'll then go ahead and map an Easy. Normal is usually unique as well, but I'll try to keep it "spiritually" in line with the other difficulties, and it may share some core shapes like important sliders and such. Insane usually looks a lot like Hard, but with fancier streams, jumps, and more confusing (but equally fitting) patterns.

Mapping "synching" Beats:
I try to think of fun in choosing which lines I map to. They'll almost always track the lyrics at least vaguely, but be substantially varied--often according to another instrument, but sometimes just because it "fits" or plays well. Easy tends to focus on the core rhythms of the music. I like to keep to 1/1s and very predictable 1/2s. Slider ends may go anywhere, including offbeats, for variety, since they don't affect difficulty. Normal should totally look like the music, but not use any patterns which are too hard or fast. Both Easy and Normal tend to be spaced religiously, breaking only by small amounts to allow for more interesting shapes/symmetry. I find sheer 1/4 deathstreams to be kinda lame. I prefer Insanes that look more like Girlfriend than Running in the 90s. Sliders go where they fit. They work best where there's some kind of slide to the music, itself, or when there's just a short hole with nothing to map, so yo join the two beats with a slider. For spacing, I pick a "key" interval, usually a 1/2, and decide in advance how far apart I'd like them to be. I set the distance snap interval and stick to it. I don't change the distance snap for jumps; I just stick them where I want them. I also like to map with an iNiS style, with few to no overlapping hitcircles, a focus on symmetry and form, and some degree of repetition in shape. Spinners should pop at points of climax. I've always found the spinner itself to represent the buildup to this climax, and its ending is the actual beat the climax is centred on.

Cosmetics:

1. Background: I usually just Google image search, or maybe follow a couple leads. I don't place very much importance on them.
2. Combo Numbering: I aim to make each musical phrase its own combo. For fast/long or just more varied phrases, I might double them up, and for phrases that just seem to "continue on," I might extend them. Pickup beats to a phrase belong to the same combo as the rest of the phrase. This is also the way iNiS does it. Little "asides" that aren't really a main part of the song, like short riffs or whatnot, might also be made into their own combos. (If osu! supported it, I would break the 4-colour cycle for these.)
3. Hitsounds: I find osu!'s hitsound paradigm very limiting. I'd really like to use hitsounds in the EBA/Ouendan2 fashion, with subdued "tap" hits, plain, unornamented emphasis noises, and lots of quiet "atmosphere" sounds you hardly notice, but I also want to respect the player's skin choice. I usually try to compromise using volume/sampleset changes, but they don't work as well as I'd like them to. Maybe I should just go the m980 way and force an authentic skin on my maps and use custom authentic samplesets everywhere.

Collaborative Mapping:
I just drop collaborative difficulties in the map threads without warning, and leave the mapper with the choice of completely ignoring them. If I'm collabing on an aspect of a map (like m980's hitnoises), I'll ask before going anywhere. I don't really request for anyone else to collab on my maps, but I almost always accept them gratefully.

Foreword: My mind has really evolved and continues to evolve in such a way of beatmapping; it's been a pretty wild and rapid experience to me. Gosh, I am so unorganized (I am not usually like this) when I am beatmapping. I wish I would just focus on ONE beatmap, make perfection of it, and then move on to the next, but no. I just stop mapping suddenly, hoping the mess will all go away. That's probably why you don't see very many recent beatmaps from me. Focus on the beatmaps already uploaded at the moment; move slowly and effectively, one at a time, and then I can finally move on to some of the other WIPs I have. The real fun begins after that.

1. Song Choice
   
   
   1. I like to map songs that I really enjoy, nothing inappropriate or anything that may potentially offend any players.
      
      
   2. Any song that is <1:30 is out of the question, unless it is something that I dream about.
      
      
   3. Most every song I select to map is a remix from a video game (I LOVE OCReMix !! <3 ).
      
      
   4. Often, I like to close my eyes to the song and envision the beatmap I will soon uncover when I select a song to map. When I do that, I look for the usual stuff: rhythm, sounds, cool combos/patterns, etc.
2. Mapping Order
   
   
   1. First, I go with a "Neutral" difficulty, basically what I feel for the song. Usually, this turns out to be Hard, sometimes even Normal. My preference to the difficulty level is usually a circle size of: 3-4/10, a HPDrain of 7-8/10 (sometimes even 6/10) and an overall difficulty of 7-8/10 (sometimes even 6/10).
      
      
   2. What are talking about, I don't map other difficulties. Naw, I usually just take a deep breath and relax to admire my piece of artwork. Laziness takes hold of me, so I really can't make other difficulties. I don't know really why, but I just don't.
3. Mapping the beats, themselves
   
   
   1. I place beats wherever I feel they belong, trying my very best to go over by my vision. I don't stand to figure out the whole rhythm of the whole song before deciding placement, but I just go on ahead and map away to my heart's content. When I decide the rhythm before placement, it just feels more like I'm limiting myself where I don't want to limit myself to a level of awesome.
      
      
   2. On maps with multiple difficulties:
      
      
      1. Easier difficulties: I usually simplify what I already have, and I try making up still some new combos/patterns to make things feel a bit more fresh.
         
         
      2. Harder difficulties: as I have stated before, my "Neutral" usually becomes my Hard: basically what I feel for the song. It shouldn't be too easy and especially not too overboard.
         
         
      3. Overboard: any Hito or deepsea maps that make the song not very fun to plays as it could otherwise, in my opinion, are to be considered as "overmapped".
   3. Usually, I go by grid, but pretty recently, I've actually been swaying away a little from it (for the more preciseness and such). I am VERY keen on my spacing. Yes, I do go by distance snap, but I must check it, eating up another 30 minutes, so it's just right (and read: perfectly) as I want it (<--- this is important).
      
      
   4. I use jumps whenever I feel it necessary to fit the song, really. It should not be such a big surprise to the player, unless I am feeling mean then; they should see it coming, given hints of its arrival forwardly.
      
      
   5. I also like to map to backgrounds and videos. It gives me a starting place or a head to the right direction of a combo/pattern.
      
      
   6. Sliders are used like any other hitcircle. They're used whenever I feel necessary to, usually when lyrics (or rather, a rhythm) slurs or when they create or help to form a cool combo/pattern. Basically, they're used often when I can't capture the fullest effect of a portion of the song.
      
      
   7. Spinners are used similarly to circles or sliders. Usually, they're used often to create conclusion to a portion, or section, of the song. Usually, it's followed of by a break. Also, sometimes they're used to express a long syllable or phrase (example maps: Brandy - Cross Time !! , Family Force 5 - Fever) I cannot figure how to map, where I'm stuck in the mud. Spinners can be tricky, though, as they must be placed at just the right timing so it can be used to its fullest'.
4. Cosmetic aspects of the map
   
   
   1. Usually, when deciding for a background, I just look up on googleimages or deviantart the song title and look for a relatively nice bg that fits the song and that's something I can work with like fanart -or- if I already have a nice bg in mind like official artwork, I'll just use that instead.
      
      
   2. Video is something the I don't really like to use very often. I really use them when there is like a music video or something I can work with and play along to.
      
      
   3. Storyboarding is what I really would like to start incorporating into my beatmaps, but, unfortunate to me, I really have no clue how. I am willing to learn my way around the editor, though. happy30 SBs have really inspired me.
      
      
   4. hmm... combo numbers? I've never really put so much thought into those before. I guess I start a new combo whenever a new pattern or phrase goes "into" and "off" the screen. Transitions coming in-between patterns and phrases also get their own combo. On easier difficulties, I like to keep my combos to a maximum of 9, usually coming around 6-7. On harder difficulties, my combos tend to fall somewhere between 9 and 17. Depending on the song, though, I can start to fall to the extremes.
      
      
   5. Eh... hitsounds are just something that come to me I guess. Again, it's just how I feel about the song, still trying to go by my vision. These are incorporated right as I map the song, too; it's just something that comes to me when mapping. I must admit, I am not very keen on doing the hitsounds after I map as you may have noticed.
      
      
   6. Also, when going over and modding my map, I must make sure everything is just perfectly as I want it - the spacing is exact to the decimal and the rhythm, the patterns and the sounds something to remember the song for.
5. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. Actually, I don't recall ever really requesting that someone callaborate with my map, but I have had collaboration with others's maps. Usually, I'll just mod the map I'll collaborate with, and then post asking if I can make my own difficulty. Other times, like if it's a friend or someone I know, I'll just go ahead and ask via IRC.
      
      
   2. Really, I don't see my style of beatmapping any different when mapping my own map than when my own difficulty for another's map. However, if it's something like a marathon or whatever, I'll have to adjust to fit the original mapper's requirements and the difficulty settings.
      
      
   3. I am very patient when it comes to collab maps because I am very with my own maps after all (laziness and such).
      
      
   4. Map submission
      
      
      1. Usually, I submit a beatmap only when I am looking for opinions or when it's complete a ready, in my opinion, for approval. They are submitted to their designated places. Pending is for beatmaps that are ready for approval and Help/Work In Progress is for beatmaps in need for opinions.
         
         
      2. I think that a map should have 2+ difficulties before it's ready for submission to Pending. At least 3 difficulties is advised, though. One difficulty should have a difficulty star rating of <3 and another of >3.5. Pending maps should belong only if the mapper really believes his map is rank/approve-worthy. That means that the timing is spot on and rhythmically correct, there are no errors involving spacing and originality, etc. For more information, please refer here.
         
         
      3. I don't think maps aren't being looked at enough. I mean, I procrastinate on them so much, even I don't think their almost worth the wait for fixes and finishing up.
         
         
      4. Callab maps should be uploaded by the original mapper for obvious reasons. I think they should really give credit to those involved, though.
   5. Anything else that you think should be brought up? Explain your reasoning thoroughly.
      
      
      1. Yes, stop posting garbage in the Pending forum and READ THE 5. EDITING FAQ !! It makes me so furious, and it even demotes to continue modding beatmaps, which is probably why you don't see too much activity from me. I hate a lot of these junk maps that get ranked with such high ratings and praise. Maybe it's due to my bad taste, but I don't like it.

This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.

1. Song Choice
   
   
   1. I want to map songs that I like and feel like they deserve a good beatmap. It's how I started mapping (<3 Lia - Toki wo Kizamu Uta )
      
      
      
   2. I map songs in a way as I see fit just because I like them. But mostly I either map slow paced sliders for easy maps. But I love to go crazy with jumps for hard maps now.
      
      
   3. Parts where the song gets exciting. Like the keypoints you use kiai time
      
2. Mapping Order
   
   
   1. I map songs in the order I want to map them. This is also why I mostly only do 1 map at a time.
      
      
   2. Mostly first easy/normal because I got experience in them. Other diffs come later because I am still starting to get mapping hard difficulties
      
      
   3. I like to map slow paced parts of a song slowy and fast paced faster just because it gives you a feeling you are one with the song.
      
3. Mapping the beats, themselves
   
   
   1. I just start out with the center or left side of the map and then just start to put things there that sound appropiate. Then I decide what slider style I will be mostly using and use them over and over
      
      
   2. Just like I do with each difficulty.
      
      
      1. I completely map them different. (For an example look at my pending beatmap: Elisa - Euphoric Fieldhttp://osu.ppy.sh/s/5817
         
         
      2. I add extra beats for places that don't exactly have a lyric and stuff. But I just want to make them sound good
         
         
      3. Mapping to many things that just DONT sound good in songs.
   3. I use distance snap more as a guide for my distances. I do use the grid but grid size lvl 3.
      
      
   4. I sometimes overuse them. But I determ the main style of the sliders before I even start mapping. Like in slow songs I use nice smooth sliders, in fast paced songs I use straight sliders or even etna sliders.
      
      
   5. Spinners are good for stuff like choruses, or really inmappable parts. It all depends on the song.
4. Cosmetic aspects of the map
   
   
   1. I mostly first decide to use a video because I mostly map TV Size songs and there is almost always a video available, I take the video straight from a raw episode. I decide on the background later. But mostly I use google for them. However I had to make my own yesterday because there wasn't any good one.
      
      
   2. Each new line of text sung is a new combo for me.
      
      
   3. I use hitsounds where appropiate but I either overuse them or almost don't use them at all. I need to work on this point I guess.
      
      
   4. I like mapping extra beats in a lyricalmap on places where they use some special places. It adds to the beautifullness of the map.
5. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. I don't really request it because most people don't want to collab with me because I only have 2 ranked maps. But I just got in a small collab with Zerostarry to map Moskau
      
      
   2. My style is always different. But I generally use jumps and a few stacks on most of my songs.
      
      
   3. I am never patient when it comes to mapping so that's why I'm happy I map first for the collab I'm part of
      
      
   4. Not really.
6. Map submission
   
   
   1. As soon as I need help on the timing and opinions on my stuff.
      
      
   2. At least 2 but that's logical of course. And they need to be finished.
      
      
   3. I did have this problem for a while but #mod solved this. I just ask them and they check out my map
      
      
   4. What is your stance on uploading collab maps? How do you think it should go about? Explain your thoughts.
      
      
   5. Nope.list]
      
   6. Nope.

Have fun reading all this stuff, presuming you didn't read this yet.

It's about time that I share my own views on all of these, seeing how I made the thread and how I feel like people just don't understand how my style works. This took me awhile only because I had like 5-10 minutes to type this up every school day.

1. Song Choice
   
   
   1. What makes me choose a song to map is whether or not I feel like I could map it/if I could imagine a map in my head for it. If I feel like I could do it and do it well, I choose to map it.
      
      
   2. I do not just map songs of one certain style. However, I do notice that I map more slow songs; songs that feel like they flow like trickling water down a stream (Mogsy using similes? GASP). I seem to think of maps for the slower songs since they tend to give me more artistic and rhythmic freedom. That means less restriction in what I can do.
      
      
   3. When it comes to songs of certain styles, I have differentiating expectations. For instance, in a quicker, harsher song, I expected more clicked beats and difficult patterns. In a slower song, I’d expect difficult patterns, sure, depending on the song, but I’d expect a much larger number of sliders, a bit more creativity expressed with slider choice, a flow matching that of the song (like in any map, but it’s especially important in these types of maps), etc. Basically, quicker songs are supposed to have more clicked beats, terse songs are supposed to have more clicked beats, slower songs should use more sliders, more legato songs should use more sliders, and no matter what, the map should be interesting and try to do something different.
      
2. Mapping Order
   
   
   1. This is, quite frankly, my worst skill: keeping a decent mapping order. I tend to start on projects and then abandon them if I find something else (in this case, abandon = temporarily suspend, apparently). I’m working on going with songs that I feel like mapping at the moment, and I’m trying to control my urges to continue mapping my other WIPs before the other ones are done. So, I’m going to be going from most complete to least complete when working on temporarily suspended projects, but afterwards, once all of that is done, I’ll just map one song at a time.
      
      
   2. When it comes to difficulties, I map based on whichever difficulty I have a clear picture of first, and during that time, I think of the other difficulties. Usually, this means I map Insane/Hard first. In some instances, however, I will map Normal or Easy first, since I have a clearer picture of those. So, it fully depends on the song and my creative intuition.
      
      
   3. I usually map from start to finish, just because it’s usually the easiest way to go about things. All too often, however, I find myself skipping around the map to map exactly what I have in mind for a certain part of the song. In the end, it all comes together, whether I jump around or just map in a straight line.
      
3. Mapping the beats themselves
   
   
   1. Beat placement for me is more often than not (re: 99% of the time) based off of pitch relevancy. I would make even the slightest adjustment in how a beat is placed if the pitch is even the slightest bit different. This may seem like it creates some awkward ‘alignment issues’ (re: The Olde HeadBoard), but in the end, it flows exactly how I want it to flow and matches the pitches and flow of the song.
      
      
   2. When it comes to maps with multiple difficulties, I treat each difficulty as if it were an individual map, sure, but I keep recurring aspects from other difficulties (compare it to a multiple movement piece of music; seriously, do it).
      
      
      1. When it comes to easier difficulties, I simply make a map that’s semi-independent of the other difficulties, keeping some recurring aspects (hitsound type, phrase length, slider types, etc.), simply making a song that’s fun to play and accessible for the skill level I’m mapping for. I don’t just ‘simplify rhythms’; I try to offer an experience that makes the map fun yet still different from the other difficulties, so the different difficulties have a chance to identify themselves as opposed to being forced filler.
         
         
      2. The harder difficulties I map tend to get more and more accurate to the original song, and depending on the difficulty, some things are sacrificed (little to none being sacrificed on the highest difficulty) to fit the skill level I’m going for. In this quest for accuracy, I also tend to be more creative when trying to reach this state of accuracy (if this sounds a bit contradictory, well, just hear me out). While I try to maintain accuracy, I try my very best to make a map look as it does in my mind while having it play like it should in my mind. More creative risks are taken, more accurate rhythms and less open spaces are prevalent, and things people would generally consider ‘weird’ are commonplace. Even then, while trying to map exactly to my creative vision, I do limit myself so I still make the map fun and playable.
         
      3. When it comes to going overboard on a Hard/Insane/Intense/Whatever-you-decide-to-name-it difficulty, overuse of gimmicks is public enemy number one. By gimmicks, I mean jumps, 2x/0.5x-BPM-sliders, silent hitsounds, and so on. Overusing those may be in someone’s ‘creative vision’, but you sometimes do need to sacrifice creative vision for playability.
   3. When I map, generally, I use distance snap and no grid snap (despite using grid level 3). Why? Because my eyes are terrible at times, and sometimes I can’t tell if something’s lining up the way I want it to line up, even after highlighting the beat. There have been times where I have manually spaced beats, but that took far longer than it should have, since I don’t trust my sense of distance most of the time.
      
      When it comes to jumps, I rarely use them. The only time I use them is when I feel like the song is at a pivotal point where jumps would actually be appropriate. I personally believe that overusing jumps creates a fragile structure to the map, one that is easily collapsed if one thing goes wrong. Pulled off correctly, a mostly-jump map would be interesting, but still stupid to play unless done FLAWLESSLY.
      
      When it comes to mapping based on the storyboard/background/video, I never do that unless the BG/storyboard/video/whatever really matches the flow I’m going for. I see the background stuff as an ornament on the map, something to consider when tidying up the map and making it pretty and appealing, but they don’t contribute much to mapping beats on the grid for my style.
      
      
   4. Sliders are my best friends~<3 Hah, really, though, I tend to use a LOT of sliders when I map, if you haven’t noticed. Why I use a lot of sliders boils down to me seeing more creative freedom; being able to shape sliders to fit pitch changes going on all around the place, instead of in just one melodic line, causes me to use them more often than most people.
      
      Slider types used depends fully on the style of the song at the point at which I’m mapping sliders. More electronic, terse parts that require sliders? I use Linear. More ebb and flow to the part, flowing smoothly like a hand over silk? I use Bezier. When it comes to making a shape that fits the song and goes with the flow, I use Catmull.
      
      Do I overuse sliders? Why, yes, I most certainly do. Sliders, as I explained before, are my favourite things to use. I tend to have more creative freedom and more pitch accuracy available when using sliders.
      
      Slider shapes are determined by what goes on in the music when mapping said sliders. The main path of the slider is determined by the pitch change of the part I’m mapping rhythmically. The curve the slider takes is determined by the pitch changes of all the parts around it or is based on the style in which the current part is being performed. Endomorph is a fine example, for the weird sliders are all based on how the vocals are being performed, as well as the pitch changes.
      
      I work with sliders in this fashion because of my need for being as close to perfection as possible, and sliders allow me to express my creative ideas for a map in a way hitcircles just cannot.
      
      
   5. Spinners. Oh, spinners. Spinners, spinners, spinners. I commonly use spinners only at points where I see them to be acceptable, and the definition of acceptable changes depending on the song. For instance, one map might have only one appropriate place for a spinner, the end of a song, but another map might have a long, dragged out part better filled by a spinner, or another map could have a bunch of space better filled up by multiple spinners. Honestly, I rarely use spinners unless the map should call for it (a map I have not uploaded yet as of typing this up could fall under the definition of ‘spinner spam’, but it works very well for my style).
4. Cosmetic aspects of the map
   
   
   1. Oh joy, backgrounds. Backgrounds, backgrounds, backgrounds uttered thrice…this is just an aspect I think I’m weak in.
      
      When it comes to deciding on a background, I keep in mind what the structure of the map currently is, and try to go with something that fits the song and does not distract the eyes too much from the beats. This can lead to either just using an album cover (if the song is a standout track from that album) or even going so far as to make my own backgrounds if I cannot find anything else appropriate. The latter is done very rarely, for I am no graphic artist. I tend to just go for something to match whatever I’ve mapped, as well as the song. I have gotten lazy when it comes to this (The Olde HeadBoard, anybody?), so it’s something I need to work on.
      
      I rarely use video due to the fact that it increases the filesize as well as the fact that they are often distracting and do not fit in my map cosmetically. In my mind, if the video contributes to the overall experience (like, makes the map more entertaining to play), then it fits. If it does nothing for the map or even makes it worse, definitely do not add it.
      
      As of typing this, I do not storyboard. I shall take the time sometime soon to learn the ropes, however, so I am not completely in the dark about it, especially for when someone asks about it.
      
      
      
   2. Oh joy, combo number time. This is an issue people have had with me time and time again when I mod their maps. My combo numbering generally follows the common musical practices of phrase lengths (An explanation is on this page for those who do not understand it). Being a composer, it’s simply a natural instinct. There are rare instances where this will not happen (Like, jumps in the same phrase with different spacing before hand or marking a pivotal point using only New Combo marks), but this type of numbering is simply something I think every map should follow. Some have proved me wrong (Aurora, for instance), but it’s something I consider a universal standard, musically-speaking.
      
      Colour-wise, combo numbers are based on whatever I think the song I think would look like if it were a painting, but this is only for something without a previously established context. Songs with a previously established context basically have combo colours stolen from the context, I’m such a thief (P3FES), and stuff like ska typically is two-tone, so I use two-tone (black and white) combo colours.
      
      
   3. Hitsounds are decided on based on the song, how it flows, and what parts I really wish to accent. To bring up The Olde HeadBoard again, for example, when it gets to where I use soft hitsounds, I use the Soft Whistles to bring out the accented part even more. Typically, these accents fall at the end of a phrase, but my standards for hitsounds are definitely flexible when it comes to me mapping hitsounds; I have no biases, I just go with what fits for the song.
      
      *As for those who have experienced my hitsound modding, I think this requires a separate explanation; I mod hitsounds based off of previously established patterns set by the mapper, I just clean them up so they’re not overbearing/too little*
      
      
      
   4. Skinning is something I’d like to bring up; I have attempted skinning in the past, and it has not worked well. I will do some maps with skinning only once I’m more comfortable with it.
5. Collaborative mapping
   
   
   1. I tend to ask in private before I collab on something. A map is a beatmap author’s creation, and I don’t want to bastardize their work unless they say that I can.
      
      
   2. My mapping style is not different on a collab. This is simply because I feel like a difficulty from another user shows another way it could have been mapped, or how it should be mapped in another person’s eyes.
      
      
   3. I am very patient with collab maps and projects. We all have lives, and some of us just cannot work on a map 24/7 until it’s done (I’ve been in and am in the exact same boat as them), so I just want it done ASAP (as long as they don’t push it; 8 months = too long, for instance).
      
      
   4. Feel free to ask me in private if you want to collab on any map of mine; I will definitely consider it as long as you have a ranked map.
6. Map submission
   
   
   1. Submitting maps: the one thing I don’t do typically. Why? Because I believe that I should upload a map only when it either needs drastic help (like something I can’t fix for some reason), which I would upload in Help, or when it’s absolutely complete, which is when I’d move the map/upload it to Pending. There have been exceptions (The Olde HeadBoard, for instance, was uploaded after forgetting to check that the changes I made were saved and without a non-crappy BG), but I intend to never make exceptions to my standards again. I also need to just work on perfecting my maps once they’re done, so I can actually get more things out there.
      
      
   2. The number of difficulties a map should have upon entering Pending depends entirely on the map. Maps going for Approval are allowed to have one, but if a map is intended for Ranking, then the map should be posted in Help if it only has one difficulty done so it can still be modded while you finish the other difficulties, so you will have less to worry about upon the move of it to Pending, which means less of a hassle for the map to be ranked/approved.
      
      
   3. Actually, I have differentiating views on the issue of map neglect. My views differ based on the section people upload in.
      
      Pending maps, while I feel like I have to pressure people into looking at my maps sometimes (like, pestering them to look at it, since I’m still in shock, myself, that I uploaded something, but the thing is, I hate being the little bug going “mod mod mod mod mod”, since I know how it feels to be under that type of request barrage), I feel like they’re not necessarily neglected. People tend to mod maps in Pending, so chances are, a typical player will mod it and star it to bump its priority rating, which in time will get it noticed by a BAT.
      
      Maps in Help, however, are most certainly neglected unless you absolutely pester someone to mod it. I don’t know what peoples’ issues with Help are, but really, sure, us BATs have a lot of Pending maps to go through, but we still go into Help occasionally. We should go into Help more often, yes, but then again, we have to deal with the constant influx of Pending maps. More of the non-BAT modders should look at Help, since ironically, the maps uploaded to Help, the section dedicated to requiring assistance, is severely neglected. Why did I say that a lot of non-BAT modders need to go to Help? Because, quite frankly, maps in Help are generally still in the development stage; they’re in a stage where major overhauls are acceptable, a stage where the map can definitely be molded by suggestions from the ones who will be playing it once it’s in Pending or when it’s Ranked. Not only that, but maps in Help generally need more help than the maps people play in Pending that people just star without any/much criticism and just move on. Working in Help will actually aid the people who spent the time to create something, but are stuck somewhere. BATs are there to help, definitely, but we need more of the players that look at things in Pending to help out in Help; helping out the people in Help will encourage them to improve their mapping ability, encourage them to continue to map, encourage them to actually create more instead of giving up after nobody looks at their map.
      
      *phew* Sorry about the long-winded explanation, there.
      
      
      
   4. Uploading collab maps is definitely the duty of the one who came up with the idea. There is a Core Beatmap Author for most collabs, with only one or two difficulties contributed by others. If the idea was a group effort, it’s up to those people to decide who exactly will upload the map, who exactly is responsible enough to update everyone’s difficulties correctly and without conflict.
      
      
   5. One last thing to bring up about map submission: Please do not upload a map to Pending if it has one difficulty unless it’s going for Approved status. Not sure if a map is going to be Approved? Check the guidelines. Thank you.
7. Well, I hope this gave you all helpful insight into the methods behind my madness. My mapping style is fairly weird, and my views on some things are quite awkward, as well, but I feel like if you understand my mapping style a bit better (providing that you, reader, have taken the time out of your day to actually read all of this, and for that I must both apologize and give you a round of applause), then you will notice the things that I do on purpose when I map, notice the quirks that make Mogsy’s mapping mind tick.