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On the matter of slider speeds [Added] [Confirmed] [Denied] [Resolved]

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This is a feature request. Feature requests can be voted up by supporters.
Current Priority: +0
Topic Starter
mm201
In the Ouendan series of rhythm games, and in rhythm games in general, it's common design practice that every action the player is supposed to do is communicated to them some time in advance. This keeps the game fair and less frustrating. This is why there are approach circles, circle numbers, spacing, and in some other games, sliding note markers that line up with stationary markers. To the best player, it should be possible to read a beatmap and play it right the very first time. No guesswork should be involved. (Mind, that this is supposed to be extremely difficult, at least on the harder stages, because the cues might be very subtle or too numerous, overwhelming most players, but that's okay and makes the game more challenging as long as these cues exist in some capacity.)

osu! suffers from one problem in this regard, and that problem is the current way 2× sliders are handled: A 2× (or ½×) slider is presented exactly the same way onscreen as a regular one. Effectively, the rhythmic slider tick rate is doubled/halved, correspondingly. The player has no way, aside from failure and memorization, to predict that one of these is coming.

Given the way that these are implemented in osu!, by halving/doubling the BPM, this behaviour is obvious and correct, but it's this very implementation which is the problem. BPM describes the beats per minute of the music, and should reflect that. Doubling/halving it is an abuse of this concept, and it shows when playing Taiko and the approach rate (correctly) increases dramatically and confusingly in these circumstances.

This virtual doubling/halving of the tick rate can also have an adverse effect on the map's scoring. Often on maps with half-speed sliders, the ticks are so far apart that the player doesn't even need to keep their cursor on the slider to maintain their combo. Likewise, the double sliders both boost the combo faster than the mapper may wish, and are much more strict in terms of mouse movement tolerance than might be desired by the mapper.

osu!'s model for slider speed alterations is also severely restricted. The BPM alteration model only allows for slider speeds to become double or half their usual value, or otherwise be multiplied by powers of two. (Any attempt to use a less conventional multiplier both violates ranking guidelines and makes the slider ticks sound strange and arhythmic.) Naturally, the double/half rate is often too excessive and a mapper will want to use much more subtle speed alterations such as 1.5×, 0.75×, etc., but this is impossible under the current system. (To be completely honest, the desire to use these smaller speed variations in my maps is the primary motivation for this request.)

I propose a very simple, straigtforward solution to both of these problems: Allow the Slider Velocity Multiplier to be specified separately for each Timing Section. To accommodate some of the Super Zoom Sliders which have become popular, the maximum value for the Slider Velocity Multiplier should be raised to at least 5.2×.

The ranking guidelines would then be adjusted such that 2×/½× sliders would not be permitted to be made the old way for the reasons described in the second paragraph, but must now be done this new way.

(tl;dr: bold text)
awp
It also might not hurt to make a prompt when entering a speedup/slowdown section of sliders.

I've been advocating the use of storyboarding to achieve this, but not everyone is willing to do more than a half-assed job of their beatmaps, so enabling it to be done automatically could be nice too (with this proposition of a variable rate, perhaps a simple Speed up! / Slow down! would suffice).
Zerostarry
Support.
anonymous_old
I've wanted this but never understood why it doesn't exist, or why I didn't ask.

+1 Internets.
peppy
I wanted an osu! with no slider velocity changes which is why this doesn't exist. Unfortunately people won over my vote.
I have offered to add a warning in the past if someone gives me a sprite/idea.
Topic Starter
mm201

peppy wrote:

I wanted an osu! with no slider velocity changes which is why this doesn't exist. Unfortunately people won over my vote.
I have offered to add a warning in the past if someone gives me a sprite/idea.
Care to explain why this is? Because I think it would be a great addition and add lots of new mapping possibilities.

There have been several instances in my recent WIPs where I wanted to use 3/4x speed sliders in certain spots because they just fit better with the music or make better shapes.

It couldn't be that difficult to implement.

(Alternatively, the ability to change the tick rate in timing sections, for the purpose of compensating for BPM changes, would serve most purposes (including 3/4x), but this wouldn't fix the changing scroll rate in Taiko.)
YoshiKart

MetalMario201 wrote:

(Alternatively, the ability to change the tick rate in timing sections, for the purpose of compensating for BPM changes, would serve most purposes (including 3/4x), but this wouldn't fix the changing scroll rate in Taiko.)
I really need that.
But I recall peppy kinda implying it wasn't possible in a thread (James's probably).
peppy
Okay I didn't really read the first post because it was wall-of-text etc.

Because there is no way to visually show the change of slider speed, I believe they should not be allowed to change to just any old velocity. 0.5x and 2x are common multipliers, and in testing these feel more natural than random changes. Yes, it may be hindering possible "creativity", but I like to set some standards to keep things in-line with ranking requirements.

As always this is my personal opinion and if enough mods agree that this will not hinder the standard and playability of maps, then we'll see when that time comes. I personally find velocity changes unnecessary and disconcerting.

Download: Hatsune Miku - Sayonara Goodbye (banvi) [KS's Taiko].osu
0_o
For x1.5 sections I just make a x1.5 non-inherent section with 1/3 (or 1/6) divisor snap. It's tough to map, but it works ^_^
peppy

0_o wrote:

For x1.5 sections I just make a x1.5 non-inherent section with 1/3 (or 1/6) divisor snap. It's tough to map, but it works ^_^
FYI this is currently highly unrankable.
0_o

peppy wrote:

0_o wrote:

For x1.5 sections I just make a x1.5 non-inherent section with 1/3 (or 1/6) divisor snap. It's tough to map, but it works ^_^
FYI this is currently highly unrankable.
Is it ok to have these sections just for an individual slider? I have a WIP now that has a few sections like this only containing a single slider in each, and I think they are fairly intuitive...
K2J
I like the tick guide idea.

The user knows that a tick must happen every nth note, so if the ticks space out for faster sliders, surely an experienced user will know that the slider must be faster? Subtle and only for higher difficulties, but I think it works. The only problem would be this means that slider ticks can't be adjustable, and I don't want to rule that out either.
Topic Starter
mm201

peppy wrote:

Okay I didn't really read the first post because it was wall-of-text etc.

Because there is no way to visually show the change of slider speed, I believe they should not be allowed to change to just any old velocity.
Ahh, but there is: the ticks! (Ticks closer together: slow slider. Ticks further apart: fast slider.)

peppy wrote:

0.5x and 2x are common multipliers, and in testing these feel more natural than random changes. Yes, it may be hindering possible "creativity", but I like to set some standards to keep things in-line with ranking requirements.
Strange. I find 0.5x and 2x to be unnaturally extreme. I find more subtle values play much better.

Having used the unrankable method described by 0_o in one of my WIP maps, frankly, I can't see it any other way. Especially when the musical texture gets thinner, you might want the sliders to slow down, but find 0.5x to be much too extreme a difference.

I know authenticity isn't a strong motivator for you, but these sorts of slider speed alterations are used occasionally in Elite Beat Agents, and it's never been counter-intuitive to play these spots.

Of course, with any feature, there is room for abuse, but this is why we have ranking guidelines. (The possibility of a mapper leaving it on for the whole map didn't discourage you from adding Kiai Time.) This feature will certainly do more good than bad, and the bad can easily be filtered out by our excellent Beatmap Approval Team and fellow modders.
An64fan
Sometimes, there's just that...shift of energy in the music, and you just have to pick up the pace somehow. I agree with MM201 in that very often x0.5 or x2 are just too extreme...or even not extreme enough in some cases...and to add to that, the technique described isn't possible with some maps due to issues with the bpm being very hard to divide in any way.
Jarby
This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.
mattyu007
I can see how this could be easily abused for osu!standard, but I think this would be good for taiko mappers, since some songs have BPMs that go extremely fast, which makes them pretty much unreadable. (I think fly had this problem with one of his maps, so he had to ditch)
FurukawaPan
This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.
peppy
My current thought is to allow multiple velocities but limit to 3 total per map.
Topic Starter
mm201

peppy wrote:

My current thought is to allow multiple velocities but limit to 3 total per map.
That sounds perfect, peppy. I couldn't see myself using more than two; three at the very most.
Jarby

peppy wrote:

My current thought is to allow multiple velocities but limit to 3 total per map.
That's pretty limited for certain types of maps. It's definitely possible to creatively and efficiently use more than those 3 speeds, so why limit it? Just make a clear signal when and if a mapper uses 3 or more to limit them to that.
Topic Starter
mm201
Bump for priority.

JarJarJacob wrote:

peppy wrote:

My current thought is to allow multiple velocities but limit to 3 total per map.
That's pretty limited for certain types of maps. It's definitely possible to creatively and efficiently use more than those 3 speeds, so why limit it? Just make a clear signal when and if a mapper uses 3 or more to limit them to that.
There could be some possible exceptions in things like marathon maps, but I'd expect these to be few and far between.

You might even be surprised by how much flexibility three speeds can give you. (And we still have the BPM alteration method if you really feel pressed.) We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
vytalibus

JarJarJacob wrote:

peppy wrote:

My current thought is to allow multiple velocities but limit to 3 total per map.
That's pretty limited for certain types of maps. It's definitely possible to creatively and efficiently use more than those 3 speeds, so why limit it? Just make a clear signal when and if a mapper uses 3 or more to limit them to that.
imo three different velocities is enough; otherwise, it's asking for people "memorizing" the sliders instead of playing the map casually.

Just look at Ultimate 4. That shit was almost too confusing.
CheeseWarlock
I'd love to see more options with slider speeds. But I'm going to have to vote a strong no on any sort of forced warning for speed changes. If it's needed, they can SB it themselves, and I'm fine with it being an option.

I love the ticks idea, myself, though it may be hard to implement without messing up older maps. Some sort of system for optionally linking tick rate to BPM for inherited sections...

And I'm neutral on the 3 velocities. I don't really see much reason for the restriction, but I couldn't see myself needing more than that.
Topic Starter
mm201

CheeseWarlock wrote:

I love the ticks idea, myself, though it may be hard to implement without messing up older maps.
Older maps are using BPM changes to achieve slider speed changes, so they will be unaffected. (Doing anything extra will break older maps, so nothing else should be changed.)

And the 3 speed limit is something of a compromise, but I can't see myself (or any sane mapper) exceeding it, so I'm fine with it.
Daru

peppy wrote:

I wanted an osu! with no slider velocity changes which is why this doesn't exist. Unfortunately people won over my vote.
I have offered to add a warning in the past if someone gives me a sprite/idea.
Is it possible to alter the number of lines in a slider to indicate speed?
These will be constant regardless of bpm, and only depend on slider "rate".

\

Not just limited to these, of course.
Topic Starter
mm201
Those are the little circles that make up the slider. With too few of them, the slider starts to get bulgey and "centipede-like". (At least if sliders are being drawn the way I think they are.)

This is really just the same idea I had with the ticks, only yours is much more subtle and easier to miss.
Derekku
@Daru

The only thing wrong with your idea is that for harder/faster songs, you probably wouldn't even notice the sliders looking different. You would be cruising through a song and only see that it's a "slider" :/
ToRMeNToR_84
I support this idea, And I really think there should be a little warning message somewhere. I get so frustrated when slider speeds drastically change outta nowhere and there's no message. But I have seen maps with slider speed changes that were so perfect with the song. Like most people said, if theres abuse, it'll never get ranked. No limit needed.
anonymous_old

ToRMeNToR_84 wrote:

And I really think there should be a little warning message somewhere. I get so frustrated when slider speeds drastically change outta nowhere and there's no message. But I have seen maps with slider speed changes that were so perfect with the song.
This is what mods are for, as you say:

ToRMeNToR_84 wrote:

Like most people said, if theres abuse, it'll never get ranked. No limit needed.
I support having multiple slider speeds.
Torran
MUST SUPPORT!
Believe [Easy] is impossible to map authentically without it :cry:
The last slider has a velocity of 1.76 compared to the rest of 1.56
mattyu007
*cough*

Yes it is
Torran
Eww, you made the slider skinny :P
mattyu007
Hush hush you~ That was a while ago >> I just got lazy :P

Back on topic, this feature could be used for taiko mapping where beats speed up without the actual BPM speeding up.
Zekira
This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.
Azure_Kite
This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.
Zekira

mattyu007 wrote:

Hush hush you~ That was a while ago >> I just got lazy :P

Back on topic, this feature could be used for taiko mapping where beats speed up without the actual BPM speeding up.
I just had to ask if there are some songs on Taiko that change the slider velo but doesn't change the BPM? I notice that on some songs, but I'm not sure.
Topic Starter
mm201
I think what he means is that on songs which change the BPM to change the slider speeds (hack), it adversely causes the Taiko approach rate to be doubled.

This is correct behaviour for Taiko. The real problem is the lack of true support for variable slider speeds.
mattyu007

Zekira wrote:

I just had to ask if there are some songs on Taiko that change the slider velo but doesn't change the BPM? I notice that on some songs, but I'm not sure.
Ekiben has them on Oni (Marked in red with "HS___")

lukewarmholiday
This map has been deleted on the request of its creator. It is no longer available.
Topic Starter
mm201

lukewarmholiday wrote:

If slider speed changes are so extreme that they cause a substantial hindrance they shouldn't exist at all.
...which is why they shouldn't be so extreme as 2x and 1/2x.

Especially without any visual cues.
m980
Bump?
Zekira
Okay now I support this more. This is because of the realization that some Taiko maps NEED this :\ *hi Kita Saitama*
Zerostarry
Taiko needs this. MORE SUPPORT
Topic Starter
mm201
Need I remind that Taiko also indirectly needs this, in that random, short double BPM sections lead to major WTF moments. :)

EDIT:Discussed some stuff in IRC. Sorry for my tone, I just really needed to get this attention seeing my request moved to complete.

(To summarize, slider ticks, beat snap divisors, and Taiko bar lines need to ignore this new custom inheritance BPM thingo.)
mattyu007

MetalMario201 wrote:

Need I remind that Taiko also indirectly needs this
You mean directly? I'm trying to map Angel Dream Inner Oni which uses 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x, 3x and 4x multipliers... I guess I could map with the 1x BPM and then add in the inherited sections, but that would probably screw up the barlines...
Topic Starter
mm201

mattyu007 wrote:

MetalMario201 wrote:

Need I remind that Taiko also indirectly needs this
You mean directly? I'm trying to map Angel Dream Inner Oni which uses 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x, 3x and 4x multipliers... I guess I could map with the 1x BPM and then add in the inherited sections, but that would probably screw up the barlines...
I discussed with peppy on IRC. A fix should be coming soon.
Zekira
...w...wait a minute...

[Added]? Seriously?

/me delays his 36 minute map to wait for the diff. speed features
Topic Starter
mm201

Zekira wrote:

...w...wait a minute...

[Added]? Seriously?

/me delays his 36 minute map to wait for the diff. speed features
Please hold off on the champagne until the implementation is fixed. =/

(What's written right now is glorified red timing points.)
Topic Starter
mm201
Don't tell me this is on the backburner again. -.-
m980
What happened with this request? :(
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