Hi there. I am doing this mod to fulfill my obligation to you.
Note that whatever I say is my own opinion so you do not have to follow everything I say. Note that as I am not used to AR9+ some parts will be quite very subjective due to my lack of speed.
1)
00:15:736 - I notice that around here you can hear the sound of the waves, and they are getting louder and quieter. I was thinking of manipulating the spinner volume with timing points to reflect the volume of the waves going up or down. I think it makes the beatmap more interesting but if you think it is tacky and not worthwhile, ignore it.
2) 00:28:523 (5) - I did trip up here, because I was expecting this:
https://osu.ppy.sh/ss/4387355. That was on my sightread though so you do not have to change it at all. I just wanted to mention that to you.
3) 00:32:785 From here to the spinner, the music increases in volume. Wouldn't it be better to increase the hitsound volume to reflect the build up in music? More timing points = smoother increase in music.
4) 00:34:752 (6,7,8,9) - I do not know whether you were trying to make a perfect square. If not ignore this. Otherwise I would use ctrl+shift+d as a guide.
5) 00:45:244 (3,4,5) - I do know you are following the back rhythm, but since the vocals are prominent, why not use a 1/2 slider? Note that when I do mods or make maps, I put more emphasis on vocals, so this part is very subjective.
6) 00:57:703 As the rhythm increases in volume, I would again reflect that with timing points; successive timing points have an increase in volume.
7) 01:02:867 I think you should silence the slider end: maybe put it at 10-15% volume to make it less prominent.
8)
01:14:752 Onwards. You know the trumpet at the back? I was thinking of using hitwhistles to emphasize the trumpet, or if you wanted to go further, maybe keysound the trumpet?
9) 01:29:342 (2,3) - Considering point 2, they are not on the same line. I was thinking of shifting 3 so it looks like this:
https://osu.ppy.sh/ss/4387395. This is me being very anal.
10) 01:58:687 (4) - Shift to (240,112) so it is aligned with the previous slider. I am curious as to why you turn to linear mapping? I do like that actually and the simplicity just makes it better.
11) 01:59:342 (1,2,3) - Thanks to the way stacking works, 1 and 3 are aligned properly but 2 and 3 are not aligned properly in the x direction. I recommend making 2 a partial stack so then you can have 1, 2 and 3 on the same x-coordinate.
12) 02:06:555 (1) - Shorten this to a 3/2 slider and add a note at 02:07:211 (2). I know you are following something but I cannot name it. The reason I suggest the change is that at 02:07:211 (2) There is a vocal bit, which also happens to be on the big tick. This indicates that it is a strong beat so it would make sense to have this as a clickable bit.
- Applies to 02:17:047 (1) -
13) 02:28:195 I was thinking this bit could be a kiai area.
14) 03:09:506 (1,2) - Silence the slider ends if you are following vocals.
15) 03:33:113 (3,4,5,6) - For symmetrical reasons, copy one side and reflect it via the y-axis so it looks like this:
https://osu.ppy.sh/ss/4387424. I like symmetry at times.
16) 04:44:868: Storyboard inspired by J.J Abrams (what is with the lens flare)?
Final thoughtsI really like this beatmap. I think in terms of rhythm, solid. Jumps: good and thanks to the smaller circle size, it looks less clustered and messy. I was very anal with some things but they may make a huge difference.
Good luck, and PM me via osu website if you want the other map I mentioned early on in the post checked.