Kingkevin30 wrote:

When choosing a Skin you should always keep in mind how "readable" your objects are. It should be a simple shape that let's you define its Position very quickly, Thats why most people stick to shapes like Squares or Circles

What you also should consider is that it needs to be easy on your eyes, an too overly bright color on fast speeds may feel overbearing/straining to focus on.

A good compromise between clear reading and distinguishability is to give your Fruits a colored border to make the hitbox more clearly visible

He Ang Erika wrote:

sometimes it's actually better to read the bottom half when doing odd patterns/AR for HD. You can't see the exact visual representation of the fruit, but your brain is smart enough to make up the trajectory of the fruit without seeing the object itself. That means the closer you look to your catcher, the lesser percentage error your brain makes for projecting/predicting the position/timing of the fruit. So indeed in many situations looking at the line where the fruits disappears is much helpful than looking at the very top of your screen.

1. Always remember to compare objects using the same Y value. Keep in mind that the slider's end have their own Y but you can't see it in the editor, so make sure to align on the same approximative Y the objects you want to compare (a slider start/circle with the slider end).
2. Each beatsnap divisor doesn't trigger the hyperdash at the same H-spacing. In my example using 2.5x h-spacing between two objects separated in the timeline by a 1/4 rythm will NOT trigger the hyperdash (It'll be 3x for this case). Please keep that in mind when mapping streams and long 1/1 jumps.
3. Changing the slider velocity will change the h-spacing used to trigger an hyperdash.

1. Find the h-spacing where the hypers are going to trigger (In my example this is 2.5x with 1/2s).
2. Then, do some other tests and try to find a good average jump for your difficulty (In my example, for an insane, let's say that we'll take 2x).
3. Do this two steps for 1/1 and 1/4 (also 1/3 and 1/6 if you think you're going to use them a lot).

1. Cup: Easy
2. Salad: Normal
3. Platter: Hard
4. Rain: Insane
5. Overdose: Expert

1. Fruit: A large object represented by a hitcircle, slider head, tail or repeat.
2. Drop: A medium-sized object represented by a slider tick.
3. Droplet: A small object representing a slider body. Missing these will reduce your accuracy, but unlike the above, will not result in a combo break.
4. Banana: An object found during spinners. These award bonus points, but do not contribute to accuracy and are not required to obtain max combo.
5. Jump: A spacing between two objects that requires the use of dash to catch both.
6. Hyperjump: A more exaggerated spacing which cannot be caught by normal dashing. During play, hyperdash will be triggered between the two objects, characterised by a coloured outline on the first object.
7. Edge Dash: A very large spacing between two objects where the required Trigger Distance is not reached, and as such, a hyperjump is not generated. The first object must be caught with the edge of the plate in order to catch the second object at all.
8. Trigger distance: The minimum spacing between two objects at which a hyperdash is generated between them.

1. Your map must theoretically be possible to SS. This means it must be possible to catch absolutely all fruits, including droplets.
2. Edge dashes must not be used in direct conjunction with hyperjumps. This is because such patterns require especially precise movement and force an unreasonable restriction on accuracy required to catch them.
3. Each map must use at least two different combo colors which must not blend in with the map's background/storyboard/video. This is so hit objects are always visible to the player.

1. Ensure combos do not reach unreasonable lengths. Caught fruits will stack up on the plate and can potentially obstruct the player's view. Bear in mind that slider tails, repeats and spinner bananas also count as "fruits". New Combos should be placed regularly to clear the plate and avoid this.
2. Try to have at least one spinner in each difficulty to create variety in the map and fluctuation among scores. However, if a spinner just doesn't fit anywhere in the song, then there's no need to force one.
3. Overall Difficulty should have the same value as the Approach Rate. This is just a standardized value, as Overall Difficulty does not affect gameplay nor the amount of fruits a spinner has, just the maximum score of a difficulty. For cases where the two values are not equal, the Overall Difficulty must be greater than or equal to the Overall Difficulty of the next hardest difficulty.
4. Hyperdashes may only be used on droplets and/or slider repetitions when the slider path is simple and easy-to-follow. This is to prevent chaotic or unreasonably difficult slider movement, as transitioning into and out of complex slider shapes with hyperdash is usually uncomfortable to play and a major penalty to accuracy for little benefit. Hyperdash on slider repetitions must not be used for more than two repeats, and such slider must not be used consecutively.
5. Use the same slider tick rate on every difficulty as it is a property of the music rather than the mapping. However, lower difficulties may use lower tick rates to reduce accuracy requirements for newer players, providing they still follow the rhythm of the song. Using high tick rates purely to increase score/combo/difficulty is senseless.
6. Hyperdashes should not be used when the destination of the hyperjump is located near the left or right border of the play field. This creates an uncomfortable movement as the catcher is forcibly stopped upon reaching the border of the playfield. Try to leave at least 16 osupixels of space between the end point of the hyperjump and the border of the play field, respectively at x:16 or x:496 at most.

1. Custom catchers must be included in v2 skin format. This is to ensure correct display on all skins. The required filenames are "fruit-catcher-idle.png", "fruit-catcher-kiai.png" and "fruit-catcher-fail.png".
2. Custom fruits must include all necessary elements and be colored in a scale of grey colors. This is to ensure that your images are clearly defined and of acceptable quality. The needed elements can be found in the osu! wiki https://osu.ppy.sh/wiki/Skinning_Catch_the_Beat#Fruits. Additionally, it is recommendable to use transparent elements for the overlays.
3. Skinned elements must be the same size as their default skin counterparts. This is so they represent the hitbox properly and don't alter gameplay. The current dimensions used in the default skin are 128x128 pixels for the fruits, 82x103 for the drops and 306x320 for the catcher.

1. Custom catchers can additionally include the element "lighting.png" to complete the skin set. This element is however optional to add and has default dimensions of 184x184 pixels, though it may vary depending on the desired visibility of the element.

1. Dashes and hyperdashes of any kind are disallowed. This is to ensure an easy starting experience to beginner players. In order to test that out, it must be possible to achieve an SS rank on the difficulty without making use of the dash key.
2. Adequate time must be left between objects and the start and end of spinners to ensure readability. Depending on the BPM of the song, this time must conform to the following:
   
   1. BPM < 120 - 1/2 bar
   2. BPM < 240 - 1 bar
   3. BPM ≥ 240 - 2 bars

1. Combos should not exceed 8 objects including slider tails and repeats. Spinners are an exception.
2. Note density should follow a mostly 1/1 pattern - 1/2 and/or 1/3 patterns can be used sparingly
3. Approach Rate / Overall Difficulty should be between 4-6
4. HP drain should be 4 or less
5. Circle Size should be between 2-3

1. Hyperdashes of any kind are disallowed. This is to ensure a manageable step in difficulty for novice players. Difficulties may make use of basic (1/1, 1/2) regular dashing, although no type of dash can be used more than twice consecutively.
2. Edge dashes must not be used as they require extremely precise timing which cannot be expected of less-experienced players.
3. Adequate time must be left between objects and the start and end of spinners to ensure readability. Depending on the BPM of the song, this time must conform to the following:
   
   1. BPM < 120 - 1/2 bar
   2. BPM < 240 - 1 bar
   3. BPM ≥ 240 - 2 bars

1. Combos should not exceed 10 objects including slider tails and repeats. Spinners are an exception.
2. Note density should follow a mostly 1/1 and 1/2 pattern - 1/3 and/or 1/4 patterns can be used sparingly. Individual 1/3 and/or 1/4 patterns must not persist for more than one bar (4 and 5 objects respectively).
3. 1/2 dashes may be used in pairs, 1/3 and 1/4 dashes singularly (not in conjunction with other dashes) if the BPM is less than 120.
4. Approach Rate / Overall Difficulty should be between 6-7
5. HP drain should be between 4-5
6. Circle Size should be between 2.5-3.5

1. Basic hyperdashes (1/1, 1/2) may begin to appear, but must not be used in conjunction with each other. Platters should serve as an introduction to hyperdashing, meaning strong hypers and hypers (e.g. 1.5x above the trigger distance) and hypers combined with antiflow patterns must not be used. 1/3 and 1/4 hyperdashes may be used singularly (not in conjunction with other dashes or hyperdashes) if the BPM is less than 120.
2. Edge dashes must not be used as they require extremely precise timing which cannot be expected of less-experienced players.
3. Adequate time must be left between objects and the start of spinners to ensure readability. Depending on the BPM of the song, this time must conform to the following:
   
   1. BPM < 120 - 1/4 bar
   2. BPM < 240 - 1/2 bar
   3. BPM ≥ 240 - 1 bar
   The spacing between the end of a spinner and the next object must be at least 1/2 a bar regardless of BPM.

1. Combos should not exceed 12 objects including slider tails and repeats. Spinners are an exception.
2. Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 and/or 1/3 pattern - 1/4 and/or 1/6 patterns can be used sparingly.
3. Approach Rate / Overall Difficulty should be between 7-8.5
4. HP drain should be between 5-6
5. Circle Size should be between 3-4

1. More complex hyperdashes (1/3, 1/4) may begin to appear, but no type of hyperdash can be used between more than four consecutive objects. Additionally, hyperdashes of different beat snap (1/2, 1/4, etc.) must not be used between consecutive objects.
2. Adequate time must be left between objects and the start of spinners to ensure readability. Depending on the BPM of the song, this time must conform to the following:
   
   1. BPM < 120 - 1/4 bar
   2. BPM < 240 - 1/2 bar
   3. BPM ≥ 240 - 1 bar
   The spacing between the end of a spinner and the next object must be at least 1/2 a bar regardless of BPM.

1. Combos should not exceed 16 objects including slider tails and repeats. Spinners are an exception.
2. Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 + 1/4 and/or 1/3 + 1/6 pattern - 1/8 patterns and higher can be used sparingly.
3. 1/6 and 1/8 hyperdashes may be used singularly (not in conjunction with other dashes or hyperdashes) if the BPM is less than 120.
4. Edge dashes may only be used singularly (not in conjunction with other dashes or hyperdashes).
5. Approach Rate/Overall Difficulty should be between 7-9
6. HP drain should be between 6-7
7. Circle Size should be between 3-5

1. Adequate time must be left between objects and the start of spinners to ensure readability. Depending on the BPM of the song, this time must conform to the following:
   
   1. BPM < 240 - 1/4 bar
   2. BPM ≥ 240 - 1/2 bar
   The spacing between the end of a spinner and the next object must be at least 1/2 a bar regardless of BPM.

1. Combos should not exceed 16 objects including slider tails and repeats. Spinners are an exception.
2. Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 + 1/4 and/or 1/3 + 1/6 pattern - 1/8 patterns and higher can be used sparingly.
3. 1/8 and higher hyperdashes should not be used between consecutive object pairs.
4. Edge dashes may be used with caution for a maximum of three consecutive objects, and should not be used in conjunction with hyperdashes.
5. Approach Rate/Overall Difficulty should be between 8-10
6. HP drain should be between 6-8
7. Circle Size should be between 3-6