As we all know, currently AR is implemented as the rate of shrinking of the approach circle, while the initial size of the approach circle does not change(given that CS is constant). This has been a problem for many players, since there is a constant complaint about the approaching speed being too fast or too slow, making some maps harder than they should be. Thus I want to suggest that the restriction AR poses could also be interpreted as the maximum reaction time of a map, which leads to another way of implementing it: changing the initial size of the approach circle.
What I propose is that players can be given the right to choose between having a constant approaching speed or a constant initial circle size while keeping the maximum reaction time still under the specification of mappers. It is pretty analogous to the falling speed of note and the height of the playfield in BeatmaniaIIDX.
Here is an example from BeatmaniaIIDX. The green numbers on both pictures indicate the relative reaction time. Although on both pictures we have the same amount of time, but on the first one it is achieved by setting the falling speed to 2.00x of the original speed(analogous to increased approaching speed), while on the second one it is achieved by covering up half of the stage, reducing the falling distance(analogous to decreased initial circle size). They are equivalent in reaction time restriction, but the actual feeling of gameplay is really different.
However, I do want to emphasize that I did not mean players being able to change ARs according to their own wish. The AR metric is still set by the mapper, which restricts the reaction time, but how the restriction is applied is up to the player. I hope my new concept can be accepted.
What I propose is that players can be given the right to choose between having a constant approaching speed or a constant initial circle size while keeping the maximum reaction time still under the specification of mappers. It is pretty analogous to the falling speed of note and the height of the playfield in BeatmaniaIIDX.
Here is an example from BeatmaniaIIDX. The green numbers on both pictures indicate the relative reaction time. Although on both pictures we have the same amount of time, but on the first one it is achieved by setting the falling speed to 2.00x of the original speed(analogous to increased approaching speed), while on the second one it is achieved by covering up half of the stage, reducing the falling distance(analogous to decreased initial circle size). They are equivalent in reaction time restriction, but the actual feeling of gameplay is really different.
However, I do want to emphasize that I did not mean players being able to change ARs according to their own wish. The AR metric is still set by the mapper, which restricts the reaction time, but how the restriction is applied is up to the player. I hope my new concept can be accepted.