The deadline has passed, and entries are now being judged! Look for results to be announced by April 10th. Thanks to all who entered!
Whether you entered or not, I ask that you please do not submit any maps of these three songs until the winning maps have been announced and ranked. Thanks.
--- Original Post below: ---
You asked for it, and now it's here! A new beatmapping contest has begun, just choose one of these songs and map away! Read on for more information about the rules and the songs.
Official Beatmapping Contest #2
The Rules:
The Songs:
And that's it! Good luck to all mappers, and let me know if you have any questions!
Whether you entered or not, I ask that you please do not submit any maps of these three songs until the winning maps have been announced and ranked. Thanks.
--- Original Post below: ---
You asked for it, and now it's here! A new beatmapping contest has begun, just choose one of these songs and map away! Read on for more information about the rules and the songs.
Official Beatmapping Contest #2
The Rules:
- There are three songs to choose from. You can map more than one, or all three, if you want.
- Whichever song you choose, you must submit a set of three difficulties for the song. You can make your difficulties however you like, but the difficulty spread will be judged, so try to make them all balanced and fun.
- Timing is provided for each song, but you are welcome to adjust it if you feel the need. If you change the timing, please make a note of it in the comments when submitting. You must, however, use the given mp3.
- The maps must adhere, more or less, to normal ranking standards. But don't be afraid to be inventive.
- You may choose a preferred skin, but only from skins available in the updater. Skin choice will not be judged, though.
- No storyboarding in this contest. We'll save that for a separate contest. SB events in the osu will be deleted.
- Standard-mode maps only, no taiko-only or CtB-only difficulties for this contest. Feel free to label "Taikosu" maps (playable in standard but designed with taiko in mind) if that's part of your design, though.
- Do not post your map or publicly share it before the contest ends. You can send it privately to your personal friends if you'd like, I can't do anything about that, but do not ask any BAT or GMT members to look at it.
The Songs:
- Showing Heart "Dance of the Cornered Rat"
Download pre-timed .osz here
Artist: Masashi Hamauzu
Source: Sigma Harmonics
Genre: Video Game (Instrumental)
YouTube Preview - The Impression That I Get
Download pre-timed .osz here
Artist: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Source: None
Genre: Rock (English)
YouTube Preview - The Real Folk Blues
Download pre-timed .osz here
Artist: Yoko Kanno
Source: Cowboy Bebop
Genre: Anime (Japanese)
YouTube Preview
Once you have finished mapping, you can submit your entry at the contest page.Do not upload it through osu!- Make sure you are logged into your account on the website as you enter. Your submission is anonymous to the judges, but tied to your username by the website. Please do not write your name in the comments (Your username will be automatically removed from the "Creator" field, so don't worry about that one).
- The submission form allows you to submit exactly 3 .osu files. If you don't have 3 of them, your entry will not be accepted.
- You may not submit any other files (sorry, no custom graphics or sounds for this contest)
- You may update your submissions at any time until the deadline. Simply resubmit an entry to the same song category, and it will automatically override your previous entry.
- While you are welcome to discuss the mapping process in chat or forum, do not publicly say anything that indicates when you are submitting your entry, either before, during, or after submission.
- The contest will end on Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 11:59 PM (UTC time)
- That is roughly 31 days from the time of this posting. A countdown clock can be viewed here.
- After March 21 is over, the submission form will be disabled and no further entries will be accepted.
- There will be three winners chosen, one for each of the three songs.
- Each winner can choose either an osu! notebook*, or a 6-month supporter tag.
- Each winner will also get a custom forum title, and a shiny profile badge.
- *The osu! notebook can be substituted for any one osu! goodies item of lesser or much lesser value
- Cyclone
- StarrodKirby86
- Ephemeral
- osuplayer111
- CheeseWarlock
- Kharl
- Tapdancingmetroid
SPOILER
Cyclone wrote:
I guess if I *had* to list my judging criteria, it would basically include things I normally look for/notice when I mod/play. First off, it would obviously have to be 100% rankable in every way. If you use jumps, spinners, or any pattern at all, make sure it flows well with the music. Good hitsound usage is a must. Aesthetics help. Shouldn't be too repetitive/copy-pasted. I look for more, but Luigi's making us keep it short. Good luck mappers!
Starrodkirby86 wrote:
My No.1 priority would be having a map that poses itself as fun. Being able to play the vast majority of maps on osu! well gives me a player's perspective on what I deem as fun or just plain horrible. I welcome new or interesting techniques, as long as they're used nicely and appropriately.
Ephemeral wrote:
As a player, I am heavy on a map's aesthetics and gameplay - I work on the assumption that what looks good, generally plays good. As a mid-ranker in terms of player skill, I sit within a skill void where most Hard difficulties are too easy and most Insane are too hard. Maps with even difficulty spread are rare gems indeed - and something I greatly cherish.
osuplayer111 wrote:
Personally, If I have to judge a map, I wanna see some cool things on it. Like some slider-art, some cool spacing and new types of patterns. I wanna see a modern map! It's the type of maps I like more, and if the song follows with the jumps and streams used on the map too, it really makes sense.
CheeseWarlock wrote:
I love music, and in maps I look for what I call "musical flow". I don't want to just play a series of hit objects along to the BPM; I want to completely follow the music, to "conduct" the song in the mapping. Pay attention to how hit objects feel; I think slider ends and repeats play "lighter" compared to slider starts and hitcircles. If a section of a song repeats, I like to see some kind of repetition- don't be afraid to copy and paste sometimes!
Kharl wrote:
I look for beatmaps that not only flow well with the song, but also manage to capture the "feel" of the song and express it properly. It must exhibit appropriate uses of sliders, spinners, hit sounds, and mapping techniques. Creativity is welcomed, but not at a cost of playability and beat placement readability. Good spread of difficulty is also my main focus and I expect quality in all three difficulties. Your map should be fun to play by anyone, novices and veterans alike.
Tapdancingmetroid wrote:
The main thing I'll probably be looking for is creativity. While you could just follow the rhythm of the lyrics or something for the entire song, I'll likely rate it higher if you use interesting and different rhythms. Also, don't abuse various things such as Kiai, spinners, and clap hitsounds. If an element doesn't work well in a song, don't use it. Finally, try to make each difficulty fun to play.
And that's it! Good luck to all mappers, and let me know if you have any questions!
