For many years now, I personally have been trying to find a way to play OSU! with friends and family; I have found it to be almost an impossibility with Taiko and an annoyance with Mania. This request goes strictly for Mania and Taiko. Forget about it working on Standard and Catch, the only way these modes were ever intended to be played is solo or, alternatively, online multi (or LAN).
I've been thinking on ways on how something like this could be implemented and I found that taking inspiration from other rhythm games is the way to go. The "co-op" mod already in Mania is almost so close to what it needs to be, yet it falls short on all the ways in which a "Mania Multiplayer Mode" should work; the co-op mod is just 8k keys divided into 2, actually the only thing that the co-op mod is, is "divide the keys mod" no matter what key amount it is that you play and that's a huge deal breaker. There are so many things wrong with the co-op mod that make it such a hassal to play with others.
---The issues!---
1. Splitting and dividing the keys, and in turn, splitting and dividing the Beatmap.
As stated in the last paragraph, this is a huge issue. Not only do the keys get divided but the beatmap itself also gets divided; the main point to consider here is the dividing of the beatmap, which in turn breakers the flow of the map making for a really awkward experience in co-op.
2. Beatmaps specifically tied to #key Co-op.
Believe it or not, hunting down beatmaps that were intended to work with the "Mania co-op mod" is such an annoyance. If you and your bud play in 4k you have to look for 8k maps that have "co-op" in thier difficulty tittle and 9 times out of 10 it's JUST an 8k map that gets divided. therefore breaking the beatmaps flow.
3. Just a Co-op mode/mod is fundamentally flawed.
Having only 1 mode where everything is shared with your partner is SO flawed. with the "Mania Coop mod" EVERYTHING gets shared, from your combos to your scores, from your mistakes down to your health. it's such a flawed system to only have that mod as the only means to play with others; there should be variety in these mods and modes and not just a single one mode.
---Requests!---
OSU! was built on the inspiration given to it by other games like "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan" and "Elite Beat Agents" so it would be great that that level of inspiration could also translate to a proper "Split Screen mode" and not just a single mod on the mod select screen. So I propose, Just like clicking on:
Play>
----Solo> Having your fingers broken
----Multi
----Back <
OR
Play>
----Solo
----Multi> Having your fingers broken with friends and strangers online
----Back <
You could also have
Play>
----Solo
----Multi
----Local> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next to you on a couch
----Back <
It could be even done like this and make it so Multi has it's own screen
Play> Multi>
-----------Online> Having your fingers broken with friends and strangers online
-----------Local> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next to you on a couch
-----------LAN> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next via your router lol
----Back <
Of course as stated before, this would apply to Mania and Taiko ONLY and I'm sure lots of people will have a great issue with that. But Mania and Taiko deserve that sort of love and attention, there's so much potential there to make it so fun for friends and family to gather and play together in one place.
1.Don't divide the keys and beatmaps!
Have it so that you're able to use songs that are already there! Have it so all the players play the same map without the fear of breaking that rhythm flow! Instead of splitting the keys and maps make it so that it's possible to have 2-4 playable stages with the same map.(Think Guitar Hero 3 "pro face off" and think about how they managed their local multiplayer in general) Doing just this one change, Even if it is JUST for the "Co-op mod" in the mod select menu will greatly enhance the playability and experience when it comes to playing with people locally. It allows you to play all the beatmaps that you have accumulated over the years with others without having to resort to something like hunting down maps that are compatible with the "Co-op Mod". Just this one change solves 2 of the stated issues,
Splitting and dividing the keys, and in turn, splitting and dividing the Beatmap. and Beatmaps specifically tied to #key Co-op.
2.Have more then JUST Co-op! Have VS. Mode!
Sure, doing co-op is so fun, it's fun to work together with a partner, but it's also fun to kick your firnds and families butts and them yours when they play with you! Having a versus mode where we DON'T have to share a life bar would be great! Where we each have our individual scores and combos, completely doing away that fear of "what if I mess up the combo" when playing with the "Co-op mod". None of the scores would be uploaded or anything, all of it would be unranked, it would all just be for the satisfaction of the players to have that data shown individually at the end on the score screen.
3. Adding LAN support for those dark times with no internet!
Implementing LAN play functionality will give users 1 more options to choose from when it comes to players wanting to play with each other. This one feature is one I thought would never be wanted in a game like OSU! but I was mistaken. OSU! needs LAN support for those who can't really play online and want to play with friends that come over. Having this small feature would be so greatly appreciated by so many people with many family members that want to play together!
4. Have these features apply to taiko aswell!
All this would be done to Taiko as well! 2-4 players all going at it in a face off of drumming gods would be amazing!
And I'm not asking to be able to have 2 or more profiles logged in at once, just for it all to be done in one profile or as a guest. It would all be unranked obviously.
These changes, if atleast one of them were to be implemented, would greatly make user experience so much better at the time of playing locally with others. I greatly miss the times when one would sit down next to friends and family to play together; I did this recently with my younger brother, I remembered that there was a real rudimentary co-op mode in OSU!, I plugged in my keyboard and he plugged his and we had a blast! The thing that wasn't a blast was looking for maps ONLY compatible with that one mod, and even worse yet, that the flow of the maps would constantly break since they were just 8k maps split among keys because we were playing 4k and that's what you have to do, sadly.
Thank you for listening to me and sorry for the long post <3
I've been thinking on ways on how something like this could be implemented and I found that taking inspiration from other rhythm games is the way to go. The "co-op" mod already in Mania is almost so close to what it needs to be, yet it falls short on all the ways in which a "Mania Multiplayer Mode" should work; the co-op mod is just 8k keys divided into 2, actually the only thing that the co-op mod is, is "divide the keys mod" no matter what key amount it is that you play and that's a huge deal breaker. There are so many things wrong with the co-op mod that make it such a hassal to play with others.
---The issues!---
1. Splitting and dividing the keys, and in turn, splitting and dividing the Beatmap.
As stated in the last paragraph, this is a huge issue. Not only do the keys get divided but the beatmap itself also gets divided; the main point to consider here is the dividing of the beatmap, which in turn breakers the flow of the map making for a really awkward experience in co-op.
2. Beatmaps specifically tied to #key Co-op.
Believe it or not, hunting down beatmaps that were intended to work with the "Mania co-op mod" is such an annoyance. If you and your bud play in 4k you have to look for 8k maps that have "co-op" in thier difficulty tittle and 9 times out of 10 it's JUST an 8k map that gets divided. therefore breaking the beatmaps flow.
3. Just a Co-op mode/mod is fundamentally flawed.
Having only 1 mode where everything is shared with your partner is SO flawed. with the "Mania Coop mod" EVERYTHING gets shared, from your combos to your scores, from your mistakes down to your health. it's such a flawed system to only have that mod as the only means to play with others; there should be variety in these mods and modes and not just a single one mode.
---Requests!---
OSU! was built on the inspiration given to it by other games like "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan" and "Elite Beat Agents" so it would be great that that level of inspiration could also translate to a proper "Split Screen mode" and not just a single mod on the mod select screen. So I propose, Just like clicking on:
Play>
----Solo> Having your fingers broken
----Multi
----Back <
OR
Play>
----Solo
----Multi> Having your fingers broken with friends and strangers online
----Back <
You could also have
Play>
----Solo
----Multi
----Local> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next to you on a couch
----Back <
It could be even done like this and make it so Multi has it's own screen
Play> Multi>
-----------Online> Having your fingers broken with friends and strangers online
-----------Local> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next to you on a couch
-----------LAN> Having your fingers broken with friends and family next via your router lol
----Back <
Of course as stated before, this would apply to Mania and Taiko ONLY and I'm sure lots of people will have a great issue with that. But Mania and Taiko deserve that sort of love and attention, there's so much potential there to make it so fun for friends and family to gather and play together in one place.
1.Don't divide the keys and beatmaps!
Have it so that you're able to use songs that are already there! Have it so all the players play the same map without the fear of breaking that rhythm flow! Instead of splitting the keys and maps make it so that it's possible to have 2-4 playable stages with the same map.(Think Guitar Hero 3 "pro face off" and think about how they managed their local multiplayer in general) Doing just this one change, Even if it is JUST for the "Co-op mod" in the mod select menu will greatly enhance the playability and experience when it comes to playing with people locally. It allows you to play all the beatmaps that you have accumulated over the years with others without having to resort to something like hunting down maps that are compatible with the "Co-op Mod". Just this one change solves 2 of the stated issues,
Splitting and dividing the keys, and in turn, splitting and dividing the Beatmap. and Beatmaps specifically tied to #key Co-op.
2.Have more then JUST Co-op! Have VS. Mode!
Sure, doing co-op is so fun, it's fun to work together with a partner, but it's also fun to kick your firnds and families butts and them yours when they play with you! Having a versus mode where we DON'T have to share a life bar would be great! Where we each have our individual scores and combos, completely doing away that fear of "what if I mess up the combo" when playing with the "Co-op mod". None of the scores would be uploaded or anything, all of it would be unranked, it would all just be for the satisfaction of the players to have that data shown individually at the end on the score screen.
3. Adding LAN support for those dark times with no internet!
Implementing LAN play functionality will give users 1 more options to choose from when it comes to players wanting to play with each other. This one feature is one I thought would never be wanted in a game like OSU! but I was mistaken. OSU! needs LAN support for those who can't really play online and want to play with friends that come over. Having this small feature would be so greatly appreciated by so many people with many family members that want to play together!
4. Have these features apply to taiko aswell!
All this would be done to Taiko as well! 2-4 players all going at it in a face off of drumming gods would be amazing!
And I'm not asking to be able to have 2 or more profiles logged in at once, just for it all to be done in one profile or as a guest. It would all be unranked obviously.
These changes, if atleast one of them were to be implemented, would greatly make user experience so much better at the time of playing locally with others. I greatly miss the times when one would sit down next to friends and family to play together; I did this recently with my younger brother, I remembered that there was a real rudimentary co-op mode in OSU!, I plugged in my keyboard and he plugged his and we had a blast! The thing that wasn't a blast was looking for maps ONLY compatible with that one mod, and even worse yet, that the flow of the maps would constantly break since they were just 8k maps split among keys because we were playing 4k and that's what you have to do, sadly.
Thank you for listening to me and sorry for the long post <3