With this sitting in the bubble pile for over a week and bliss' last post sitting unanswered and scary (I assume you've read it, if you haven't, even more reason to pop the bubble), let's look at this map and start anew. (for the future, even polite disagreement would be better than silence, since otherwise we really don't know if you've seen it or not. Plus, you shouldn't look at a bubble pop as a bad thing, even though it might be a slight hassle to get a MAT again; it's all for a better map in the end)
Please look over bliss' comments if you haven't already. I have not though, so my apologies if I repeat anything. I was also intentionally very picky with this mod, so that we don't have to get multiple pops on this map after mine.
[General]
I feel this is a tick-rate 2 map, and I definitely recommend it on Normal and above, because you start using red ticks for slider heads, which results in awkwardly-placed ticks, or red ticks for slider ends, which results in asymmetrical slider ticks.
The green approach circle kinda blends into the background image character's clothes at times.
[Easy]
00:29:868 (1) - Not really sure why the volume drops down to just-above-inaudible levels here.
00:43:119 (4) - The music jumps out so much here that I recommend a new combo on this note.
00:53:794 (3) - I'd break this into a note and a 1/1 slider, because there's another word on where the tick is.
00:54:898 (4) - Another new combo here? Same reason as before.
00:59:315 (4) - New combo for consistency.
I felt a bit uncomfortable with the combo scheme here, as well as when you choose to change from one pattern to another, which really is the same issue. I'm going to walk through this map in sections to explain what I mean, looking specifically at your combos/patterns. This'll look really long, but it's just me being quite picky.
From the opening to the first break is okay. You have new combos on every measure, and in a musical section like this, it's fine. My one comment is that the pattern started by 00:08:518 (1) starts in an awkward place; the new combo is expected on the tail of the slider, not the head. I would recommend shifting this entire combo 2/1 back (it's just a 2/1 pattern anyways, so it'll fit the music regardless), and adding a single circle where the slider head used to be. Then 00:12:199 (1) can be removed and just swapped for a few more repeats on the 3 before it. This also has the advantage of "grouping" the two stubby sliders before the break into their own combo.
00:21:033 (1) - Starting here, your combos begin to follow the vocals. Good idea.
00:33:180 (4) - With a new combo here, you would start with a new combo with the new lyrical line, and break up this 7-note combo, which is longer than all combos before it. As well, it isolates the three notes before it, which is fine because they're a bit separate musically anyways (which you recognized and put a finish on the 3, so you could "finish" the combo there, heh).
00:43:119 (4) - Like I said before, this really jumps out, so it could use a new combo. If you want to stick strictly to the vocals though, no new combo is also okay.
00:49:745 (1,2,3) - This is the first "conflict", in my opinion. For consistency, the 1 should have been with the previous combo, since you did that for 00:44:591 (1,2,3,4). But since you chose to start a new pattern here, you were forced to put a new combo here. Not too bad, but removing the 2 and putting the combo on the 3 would solve this problem, and continue your pattern of new combos on the large white ticks in this section.
00:54:898 (4) - As before.
00:59:315 (4) - New combo for new lyric, as before.
01:02:996 (2) - I might put a new combo on this note, because this section is similar to 00:37:966 (1,2,3,1,2,3), except with more emphasis. Since it's one pattern though, no new combo works too.
01:08:150 (3) - I would have put the new combo on this note instead, because you choose to deviate from the vocals here (because the vocal part starts on the red tick), so that you have your combos following your patterns, rather than your combos following vocals but your patterns following the beat.
01:18:456 (1) - Up to here is good. This is another conflict, I guess. The previous combos had a note in this same position with no new combo, but because you put a slider here, you can't put the new combo mid-slider, so you were forced to put it before where it felt natural. If you're following vocals here, it feels a bit sudden. Not too bad though. None of these are THAT bad, but they could be better, is what I'm saying.
01:29:499 (2) - Same as 01:02:996 (2), maybe new combo here, maybe not. The rest is good.
...and that was probably enough text to read for an entire map, about something that didn't actually matter too much. Sorry about that.
[Normal]
00:23:242 (3,5) - Slightly asymmetrical, move one of these by a grid.
00:24:346 (1) - A new combo was used for this, but not for 00:36:125 (4).
00:26:186 (2) - No new combo was used for this, but a new combo was used for 00:37:966 (1).
00:54:898 (4) - New combo here, because you have one 00:43:119 (1).
01:16:984 (3) - End this 1/2 earlier? I know you follow the vocals, but since the vocals fade out on the red tick, putting an extra sound there is a bit weird, and it would play more intuitively if there was a hitsound on the white tick.
01:22:873 (3) - End this 1/2 earlier, for the same reason as above?
[Hard]
I felt the soft hitsounds were a bit soft in the opening; I'd raise them to 70-80%. I play with speakers, so it's harder to hear. The opening also wasn't too interesting, since it was pretty much a constant 1/1 stream.
00:03:364 (1) - Could look nicer by a lot.
00:23:242 (6,7,8) - This is not good. Even number of repeats + notes right after a fast repeating slider are both confusing to play, and you have both at the same place. Remove a repeat?
00:44:591 (1,2) - Do the opposite here; remove the note, add a repeat.
00:47:536 (1,2) - As above.
00:50:481 (1) - Feels a bit weird because of the even number. Maybe try a pattern like this?
http://puu.sh/4G9k00:54:898 (6) - New combo?
00:56:370 (1,2) - Remove a repeat here?
00:59:315 (1,2) - ^
01:01:524 (1,2,3) - I recommend introducing a 1/3 or 1/6 section with sliders, since it's hard to read the difference between 1/3 and 1/2 quickly.
01:02:812 (4,5,6,7) - If you ignore the previous suggestion, it would be visually better to have this look the same as 1,2,3, since it's essentially the same pattern. Thus, stack 4 and 5, and space out 5,6,7 like 1,2,3 is.
01:11:831 - This gap is a bit weird, but whatever.
01:18:272 (3) - This could look better too.
01:29:499 (4) - New combo? You do it later at 01:35:205 (1), and I think it makes sense.
[Insane]
This opens with a constant 1/2 stream with a few gaps, but it's cool because 1/2 is fast enough to be exciting.
Personal preference; I like my insanes with curvy note placements instead of angular ones. Doesn't matter though. Others'll disagree with me.
00:04:837 (6) - New combo here? You split up the later guitar riff into 2 combos, so you could do the same for this one.
00:06:125 (2) - This slider body is covered by the hitburst of the previous 8, looks ehh and easy to trip on.
00:23:242 (2) - I'd start this combo a note later, here, where the vocals end.
00:32:076 (3) - Same as before, I'd start this combo here. Plus it would isolate your squished pentagon into a combo, which is good.
00:35:021 (9) - New combo here? Earlier you split these long combos into two, the vocals part and the no-vocals part. Here you don't.
00:40:542 (2) - Move the new combo here instead? Same reasons as before, plus these 4 notes make up a symmetrical combo.
00:44:591 (1) - Dunno if it's intentional, but you start using long combos here at the epic part, and then immediately stop at 00:50:113 (1). Probably shouldn't start at all.
00:55:818 (1) - Then you start using long combos again here.
01:10:358 (1) - And when the reaaally epic part comes (kiai), you stop again.
01:11:094 (1) - No new combo here? You don't put a new combo at the start of kiai on any other diff, nor do you do it later in this difficulty's kiai.
Good luck!
