I have to disagree somewhat with Sotarks sentiment on merely catering to what the player base. It doesn't really consider why that's what they want and why it's that way. The popularity around pp maps largely comprises their ease of replayability to grind out for easy ranking up. Which, isn't how a rhythm game should work. Rhythm games package a variety of songs to focus on some core rhythm skills, and expect the player to overcome it. I saw a flood of generic anime maps that basically killed the variety and thus enjoyment of the game for me. I saw someone call the modern maps 'lazy' when these farms maps were obviously lazy and like factory made and didn't represent well the variety of skills I wanted to see.
If that is how people are learning to play then they are learning wrong. People obviously find it discouraging to be told that which may decrease motivation to play, but is that per se the game/maps fault? I don't think so.
I don't think its a map issue but an issue with the ranking system, where it gives this misleading sense of improvement and this is how I should play, without any correction mechanism of what else is important since those aren't weighted. I don't think mapping efforts alone will be satisfactory for most as it makes it disjoint the actual ranking system.
Coming from someone that hasn't really cared for the ranking system and thinks in terms of maps, from a sample of modern ones I took (I was selective though so I may be biased and much may be boring), it felt a lot more professional and interesting from what I remember (I was playing oldschool 2011-2016 maps at this time) so much so that it renewed my faith in modern mapping. Like something you'd see packaged as a song in a rhythm game. I saw a wide range of stuff, and definitely saw jump focuses that had the reasonable stream section. Which, I don't think is unreasonable of a 5 star map 155 BPM map (should be this one:
beatmapsets/1893664#osu/4394098)
That said, I *do* think specific short 'skill focus' maps are important. Think DeltaMAX (Rustbell), Do It! (Matrix), Disconnected Hardcore (Shiirn). Songs like these that focus hard on short but difficult 'far screen' playing are important. Most maps I've seen mapped are very long. Focused jump practice *is* important, I think.
Much of this doesn't apply to more advanced players where the bigger issue is catering to a population of players getting ever better while mapping convincing songs to those skills without feeling completely overblown overmapping.
Also, I'd genuinely appreciate specific examples of conceptual slider maps people have issue with. IOException, Ryuusei Aika, and wafer come to mind but I'd appreciate knowing more names.
