Having mapped this song myself I know the great rhythmic choices that this song provides very well, but to me most of the diffs don't seem to pay that much attention to those rhythms at all and are rather just what feels kinda. After looking at the contest results in terms of point-distribution and after having quite the discussion with Desperate-kun, it appears to me that just nobody really seems to notice the often great inconsistencies of rhythms that are mapped in some of the diffs. I do notice them, and they bug me a lot. Now I don't really know whether nobody gives a damn about staying true to the song or if they just don't notice it, so I'm gonna go ahead and point out some of the stuff that I notice. I understand that there are certain patterns that provide a decent explanation as to why certain rhythms have been ignored or overmapped, so I won't point out everything.
Here's just one example that doesn't apply to all diffs, but explains very well what I mean in most of the stuff I pointed out: At 00:34:864 there is no stroke of the strings. Now if you map that note because there is still an audible beat of one of the background-percussion-instruments, I understand that - but if you do that, you have to put a note on 00:35:619 too, because that's the exact same sound in the exact same context. Not doing that creates a bit of 'chaos', because of the following: You are not mapping every background-beat. That's okay! I guess you want to put more focus on the more important intsruments and beats and give them more emphasis, very good! But if you map 00:34:864 - the more important beats, in this case the strings, lose all their of their emphasis, because they are mapped in the exact same way as the less important ones (e.g. the background percussion). Doing this creates unstructured rhythmic chaos which feels weird to play because you don't know what to expect and have to read every single note extremely carefully. That's not what a map should force you to, at least in my opinion this makes a map far less enjoyable.
Those are obviously all just my opinion but I hope I can provide enough explanation to clarify why I feel a certain way about things.
Here's just one example that doesn't apply to all diffs, but explains very well what I mean in most of the stuff I pointed out: At 00:34:864 there is no stroke of the strings. Now if you map that note because there is still an audible beat of one of the background-percussion-instruments, I understand that - but if you do that, you have to put a note on 00:35:619 too, because that's the exact same sound in the exact same context. Not doing that creates a bit of 'chaos', because of the following: You are not mapping every background-beat. That's okay! I guess you want to put more focus on the more important intsruments and beats and give them more emphasis, very good! But if you map 00:34:864 - the more important beats, in this case the strings, lose all their of their emphasis, because they are mapped in the exact same way as the less important ones (e.g. the background percussion). Doing this creates unstructured rhythmic chaos which feels weird to play because you don't know what to expect and have to read every single note extremely carefully. That's not what a map should force you to, at least in my opinion this makes a map far less enjoyable.
Those are obviously all just my opinion but I hope I can provide enough explanation to clarify why I feel a certain way about things.
Konei's Insane
- 00:01:180 (1) and 00:04:198 (1) - since you did it with 00:07:217 (1) and 00:10:236 (1) too I'd make these two to sliders too, as they are mapped on the exact same sound of the music. This makes it seem less random, gives it more consistency
- 00:05:708 (1) - how is this piano-hit different to all the others that aren't sliders? what's the reason for this overmap?
- 00:13:261 (1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,1,2) - mapping everything that happens in these ten seconds in exactly the same way seems really lazy. It would suggest that there's something in the background that constantly plays 1/4-notes, but there just isn't. It's multiple instruments, multiple rhythm lines. This seems like you think mapping any of those rhythms is too hard for this difficulty, but it's definitely not. Zetera could do it too y'know ^^
- 00:23:827 (1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12) - there is nothing at 00:24:204 (1) that didn't start before. Everything is starting at 00:23:827 (1) , so why do you map nothing there at all and start mapping everything from 00:24:204 (1) on? Makes no sense and feels very forced to play
- Now in the section starting at 00:26:845 you constantly swap between mapping the strings and completely ignoring them. At 00:27:506 you don't map them, but you map them at 00:28:638 (3) - 00:29:015 (5) and all the tails of 00:29:110 (1,2,3) - then you overmap at the tail of 00:29:676 (4) - you ignore them at 00:30:053 but map them at 00:30:525 (3) and in the next combo, overmap again at 00:33:166 (3) ..and so on. Some combos are basically just playing the static 1/2 in the background like nothing else is happening and then the next combos are extreme dense and even overmapped - try to find a balance between that.
- 00:47:977 (1,1,1,1) - should these emphasize the 'finish'-sound in the song? Because you're missing out on one at 00:49:110 , and 00:50:242 is not the same as the other, there is no initial beat on the head but it appears slowsly, getting louder in the duration of this slider. Mapping them all the same would suggest that everything that is happening here is the same, which it is not.
- 00:54:015 (1) - you map every single hit of the piano in the rest of the section, why do you leave it out? This suddenly puts the focus on only the right hand of the piano, which hasn't been there for the previous notes, although nothing has changed.
- 00:57:034 (1) - you mapped all the other piano-streams, just not this one, don't see why. Also, these are the only notes that you hitsounded with drums, why not the rest of the section too? My suggestion (=what I did in my diff): Keep the sampleset on Auto, but set the additions to drums and apply the following hitsounds to these notes: 00:57:034 - 00:57:600 - 00:58:166 and 00:59:054 finish, 00:57:789 and 00:59:298 clap - and continue this
- 01:06:091 (1,1,2,3) - make the first slider as all the other. This seems like those 1/3 only start at 01:06:468 which they don't, and the sound at 01:06:091 can be emphasized enough by the hitsound
- 01:14:487 - this needs a note. The strokes of the strings that you follow in 01:14:581 (1,2,3,4,5,6) already start at 01:14:393 (5) , so leaving a gap there makes no sense. Exactly the same at 01:26:279 (3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,6,1)
- 01:18:355 (2,3,4,5) - the triplet and the slider are mapped on exactly the same sounds, why map 01:18:449 (3) but not 01:18:827?
- 01:19:110 (1,2,1,2,3) - the second (2) is overmapped and takes away the emphasis from the first three circles where one of the main instruments of this sections plays.
- 01:21:374 (2,3,4,1,2,3,1) - the first three notes are mapped to the strings, the last five notes are mapped to that other main instrument, in the exact same way - distinguish between them by mapping one of them with 1/4-sliders. Kinda the same at 01:29:487 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) - where you could distinguish the claps at (5) and (7) from the rest of this long stream by turning them into 1/4-sliders
- 01:22:317 (3) - you mapped that main instrument in the stream before, why here suddenly not? (including 01:22:600 , which deserves a circle anyways)
- 01:32:411 - again that instrument that deserves a note here
- 01:32:506 (1,1,1) - whatever you try to focus on with these sliders, I'm pretty sure it didn't start here O.o
- 01:37:223 (1,2,3,4,5,6) - you started mapping the rhythm of the strings and percussion with 01:36:279 (1,2,3) but then you leave out 01:37:128 and then suddenly overmap it all with this stream, and then start mapping the actualy rhythm again. very chaotic
- 01:41:562 (7) - not really any of the sounds that you follow is here..
- 01:41:657 - ..ah, found it :^)
- 01:42:411 (1) - what's exactly the reason for this spinner? There is nothing that kinda increases or decreases or something of the sort, actually there is nothing different in this part than to the part before this. Those most basic of the basic that you seem to follow with the spinner and 01:46:845 (1) has been there all the time and continue to be there. Why did you suddenly stop mapping everything else? The next point is the same again:
- Starting at 01:48:355, you suddenly only map the basic beats - those beats have been there all the time, in like 80% of the song! And all the other stuff that you mapped in the entire previous diff - it's still here! It didn't suddenly vanish!?
- If you really want to follow those beats from the previous points, you gotta delete 01:53:921 (2,4) and make 01:54:204 (1) a circle
- 01:54:393 - now you even ignore those basic beats again
- 01:57:411 - and now you suddenly map them again
- w
- t
- f
sry for that - 02:00:430 (1) - as Desperate already said, there really isn't anything at all here.
Zetera's Insane
- 00:04:953 (2,3) - can't really see a reason for those being sliders, there's absolutely no sound on the tails and you mapped circles all the other times, so why not here
- 00:07:217 (1) - shortening this slider to 1/1 would avoid the tail-overmapping and ignoring the piano at 00:07:595
- 00:22:977 - putting a note here would soften the harsh transition from focusing on the strings before and suddenly completely ignoring them in 00:22:317 (1,2,3,4)
- 00:29:581 (9) - pretty much what I wrote as a general example: The only sound here is the most background-ish sound, and mapping it gives it the same emphasis as the strings right before and that drummy-thing right after it, which it doesn't deserve imo
- 00:38:921 (1,2) - on the tail of the first slider there isn't even anything audible on 25%, on the second just barely. Overmapping these makes them the same as for example 00:41:185 (5,6) , where really strong strokes and beats are mapped, but it's just surrounded by so many overmapped sliders - like 00:40:430 (1) - 00:42:694 (4,5) - 00:44:959 (1,2) - that it loses it's distinctiveness.
- 00:54:015 (1,) - the previous two sliders were 2/1, but now this is suddenly 3/2 and the tail overmapped - why not make it 2/2 too and just put a circle where the tail of the next slider is?
- 01:09:675 (2,3,4,5) - that's just so much overmap D: I really don't see a reason for the two circles, there aren't any sounds there that haven't been there since the beat at (1), and for the sliders at least slience their tails as there are no sounds there either
- 01:35:902 (8,1,2,3) - maybe space (2,3) a bit more, rn it's almost the same as (8,1), might be difficult to read since this is just the very start of this rhythmically more complex part of the song
- 01:38:732 (7,8) - the tail of (7) is on a really major beat which imo deserves to be clickable, whereas the sound at the head of (8) is barely audible, so I'd put a slider from (7)-tail to (8)-tail
- 01:44:864 (8,9) - no stroke on (9) so I'd suggest making that a slider so doesn't get the same emphasis as the other notes that have strokes on them
- 01:46:845 (1,2) - not really anything at (2) again, I'd remove it, but at least make it a slider, as in the point before
- 01:47:411 (6,7) - the tails of these two sliders deserve far more emphasis than the heads - the tail of (6) has a stroke which the head doesn't, and the tail of (7) actually has a beat, which the head does not ^^
- 01:49:015 (4,5) - not a big fan of mixing up multiple rhythm-lines to create your own rhythm through hitsounding as you didn't really do that anywhere else in the map, but at least you're consistent with it
Pho's Insane
Your diff is my favourite out of all of them, you did a really good job with the rhythms, especially in the two sections that are the most tricky ones. The things I listed are really everything that bothers me, really great job on the rest of it! 
- 00:07:972 (1) - I'd put the NC on the next note, dunno ^^
- 00:38:638 (2,3,4) - The 1/4-beats here are imo definitely not as important as those before, I'd completely remove these, but at least space them less than the previous ones
- 00:57:034 (1) - There's not really a piano hit at 00:57:128 - feels like you're not mapping the piano anymore. At 01:04:676 you didn't map it though - why map it in the first place?
- 01:10:996 (4,5) - Those being two seperate sliders seems like the heads are more important than the tails, which I don't understand. Why not put another reverse-slider there, maybe with a bit higher velocity since the vibrating is a bit louder here?
- 01:28:732 (1,2,3) - Add a note at 01:29:393 - still emphasises the sliders. Right now it feels inconsistent since you mapped 01:29:015 (2) but didn't map 01:29:204 and 01:29:393
- 01:31:185 (6) - ignoring the main melody-ish instrument here feels really weird, you didn't ignore it anywhere else
- 01:40:147 (5) and 01:46:185 (5) - you did an amazing job on the rest of this part, but those two feel empty - the beat on the tail is pretty important so I'd want to click it, and there beat that gets covered is really loud too : \
Irre's Insane
- 00:17:789 (1,2,3) - I'd already let the slider end at 00:18:638 - that's where these sounds start
- 00:24:959 (1) - I don't really hear anything 1/6 (or 1/8), whereas it would make much sense to do 1/4 until 00:25:242 as that's where that instrument stops playing, and place the following circle somewhere near it?
- 00:27:506 - why no note here?
- 00:29:581 (6) - neither strings nor the percussion from (3,4,5) is here, so this doesn't really make sense and takes away emphasis from the beats that actually exist. Same with 00:41:656 (11) -
- 00:33:921 (6) - like I described in the beginning of this post, putting a note here takes away emphasis from (5) and (7), the only sound that exists here repeats itself almost everywhere every measure, for example right after it at 00:34:298 . Same with 00:39:958 (7) , 00:36:939 (8) ..
- 00:34:393 (1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4) - sorry but I just really don't like mapping one primitive continuous rhythm over so many different things, especially 00:34:959 (4,1,2,3) -(excluding the last tail) really deserves more emphasis than the rest imo
- 00:51:751 (1) - you mapped all the major piano hits in thies part, except 00:52:128 and 00:52:317 . Either map these two or don't map 00:53:638 (1,2)
- 01:07:600 (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3) - watching Auto I feel like after the first three notes the rest is really difficult to read as everything overlaps so much, I'm unable to play but I think I would expect to continue the circular motion, 01:07:852 (3,1) seems unexpectedly harsh. Also for 01:08:355 (1,2,3,1,2,3) you can just put the cursor in the center, playing very different to the six notes before, altough nothing in the song changed : \
- 01:09:110 (1,2,3) - make the tails more quiet, otherwise this overmap is really brutal imo
- 01:18:449 - I really miss a note here since you put one at 01:18:827 (3) too. Same deal with 01:30:525 and 01:30:902 (3)
- 01:38:166 - maybe put a 1/4-slider here? That stroke is really important imo. 01:44:204 same
- 01:40:996 (2,3,4,5,6,1,2,3,4,5,6,7) - zhere is so much going on under this chain of 1/4s, I'd really recommend mapping some of the rhythms rather than all/none.
- 01:49:110 (1,2,1,2) - why put these sliders only here but not at 01:50:619 (1,2,1,2) ? Actually, there are more of these parts following, so I'd just remove them from the first one, it's inconsistent without reason.
- 01:57:411 (1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4) - You know, everything's fine with those, but since there were sooo many 1/2-jumps in the part before this, especially 01:55:902 (1,2,1,2,3,1,2,3) , that these jumps lose all their emphasis, they don't stand out at all, which I think they should. Soo I'd strongly recommen mapping different rhythms before this.
- 02:00:996 (2,3,4) - Wow, this comes out of nowhere lol. Really just my opinion, but I feel like those last notes should feel alleviating, like a finishing touch on a painting or whatever. What I'm saying is, I really don't think that this should be one of the most difficult parts in the map : \
oko's Insane
- 00:05:708 (3) - Why is this suddenly a slider? What's the difference to 00:01:054 (1) - 00:02:689 (3) and 00:04:198 (3) ? I don't really here a holding sound that would call for a slider
- 00:04:953 (1) - Why is this a drum-hitsound but nothing else? Again, what's the difference to all the other notes that would call for a different hitsound?
- 00:07:972 (3) - Again I don't see the reason for this to be a slider, maybe turn one of 00:07:217 (1,2) into a slider instead? That would make more sense
Also, the slidertail is overmapped, soo yeah. - 00:26:846 (1) and 00:28:355 (1) - Why are those two 3/4 but beginning with 00:29:865 (1) you mapped all the others 1/2 (which makes more sense imo since on 1/2 there is actually a beat on the tails, but that's not the point. I gotta say, you did a pretty good job on sticking to your own rhythms - they're not really in the song, but you stay consistent and the hitsounding kinda supports it, good job)
- 00:52:506 (1) - This is the only slider here that isn't 3/2, kinda breaks the rhythmic flow and I don't really understand why
- 01:07:601 (1,2,3) - The rhythm here is no different to 01:08:355 (4,5,6) - Having nothing to click on 01:07:977 and 01:08:229 doesn't follow the music, breaks the rhythm and makes no sense, stick to reverse-sliders or slider-circle-slider-circle
- 02:00:431 (1) - There is no sound here. Really. ^^
Krimek's Insane
For the first part after the Intro I'd really suggest that you choose certain instruments oder rhythms that you follow, right now it's pretty much chaos - starting at 00:14:110 there's only 1/4s with the exception of one 1/2-slider until 00:17:506 - starting at 00:17:506 there's suddenly a lot if gaps until 00:20:147 - where it's just a single 1/2-slider until the end of that part - But the intensity of the rhythms doesn't change at all! Either put more thought into what you are mapping and what not, or be a man and map it all 1/4 from beginning to end, but compromise is not a solution, it just feels extremely chaotic and unstructured.
I especially want to point out that there's an important beat at 00:25:242 - don't ignore it pls
So yeah, the thing concerning choosing certain instruments to map continues for most of the next parts.
I especially want to point out that there's an important beat at 00:25:242 - don't ignore it pls
So yeah, the thing concerning choosing certain instruments to map continues for most of the next parts.
- 00:27:034 (2,3,4) - generally it seems like you focus on the string. On (2) and (4) there are strings, but not at (3), there isn't even any distinctive beat at all there. Neither are there beats and definitely no strokes at 00:28:827 (5) and at the tails of 00:30:619 (2) and 00:30:808 (3)
- 00:32:600 - ..whereas here there is.
- 00:33:638 (1,2) - nothing at the tail of those two again, this happens a lot, I won't point out those from now on
- 00:34:864 (5) - This is exactly the point which I described in my second paragraph above
- 00:38:166 (5) - this is one point very a 1/4-slider would actually fit good because there's another stroke at 00:38:261
- 00:43:827 - there's a stroke and a beat here, don't leave those out
- 00:55:713 and 00:55:902 - you previously mapped all of the piano's hits, adding them here too wouldn't hurt
- 01:00:053 (1,2,3,4) - I understand turning the first of those notes into a slider because of the whistle-sound, but that sound doesn't exist on the others and I don't see any other reason for those sliders. Same with 01:01:562 (1,2,3,4).
- 01:04:581 (1) - Make this a 1/4-slider like the previous ones?
- 01:06:091 (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1) - imo the spacing of this 1/3-stream is a bit too low, might be a bit hard to sightread that - at least use the same distance multiplicator as for the 1/4-streams, x0,8 to make it a bit easier
- 01:31:279 - add a note here, at 01:31:657 (6) there's one too
Snaggle's Insane
I'm really not making myself popular in this community, am I..- 00:14:015 (4) - there isn't any beat here, whereas at 00:13:921 and 00:14:110 there is - maybe put another slider there?
- 00:19:864 (3,4) - since you seem to follow the strings with the next few sliders too I'd like to point out that head and tail of (3) are both distinct strokes while there is no stroke at the head of (4), so I'd suggest turning those into a circle and a 1/2-slider
- 00:32:128 (1,2,3,4,5,6) - seems like you want to emphasize the strong strings here too, they play at 00:32:600 too until (6), so I'd extend this spaced stream with the added note and the (6)
- 00:34:864 (5) - no stroke here though
- 01:00:713 (5) - this one kinda breaks out of the focus on the piano
- 01:03:072 (1) - maybe turn this into a 1/4-slider since the piano has a beat at 01:03:166 too?
- 01:17:883 - add a note here? Looking at the song, the strings are not the main instrument here anymore, but the instrument that has a beat there actually is
- 01:23:355 (2) - I'd remove this since all the previous notes gave heavy emphasis on the main instrument, but this circle takes it all away as that instrument has no beat here
- If you decide to follow my previous points, the same applies to these: 01:29:959 - add note; 01:33:166 (6) - remove note; 01:34:487 - add.
- 01:41:185 - missing a major stroke here and almost as important on 01:41:279 - feels weird to leave them out
- 01:43:732 - add note here?
- 01:44:770 (5) - The strings have again a very major stroke at 01:44:864 - I'd change this combo so that there's a clickable note too
- 01:47:034 (2,3) - first, this is missing a major stroke at 01:47:223 again, second, the low spacing looks like there's no 1/4-gap there - either move them further apart or add a note in-between
