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(Timing) Advice for a Beginner?

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Topic Starter
TheBoxDweller
Hello everyone! I'm by no means new to the rhythm game community, but I am new to Osu. However, I do notice something that makes Osu very different from other games, which is that there is no way to figure out the timing of a note you've seen for the first time. For instance, in the DDR/StepMania world, down beats are colored red, 8th notes blue, and 16ths yellow. This allows you to figure out a new song without playing it 3 or 4 times. When I play Osu, I feel as though I'm failing a lot of easy songs simply because the songs are unfamiliar, and the "approach circles" don't give me a good idea for when I'm supposed to hit a note. Is there any fix for this? How do you get used to "guessing" at a new song? It just seems annoying that I have to watch the computer play a song and memorize it instead of just jumping into a song and actually "reading" the circles.

Thank you in advance for your answers! ^^
Sandy Hoey
You only have 2 hours played. You just need to get used to it. As you know, the beats follow the song, whether that be the vocals or the melody. Just make sure you listen to the music and everything will work out. Your brain will eventually catch up with your eyes.

And in the immortal words of every single person on the forums: play more...
7ambda
You get desensitized to it easily.
Topic Starter
TheBoxDweller
@Sandy Hoey: Although I do have a lot of playtime in other rhythm games, so I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of beats following the song. I notice that many beatmaps switch between following vocals and drums, as in other games, but since the approach circles don't give me any clue when the beats will happen, I often find myself guessing whether the next circle is on the down beat, up beat, or maybe even a sixteenth. And guessing incorrectly means the next few clicks are thrown off, usually failing the song. This is ESPECIALLY a problem in songs that I'm totally unfamiliar with, as I find myself wasting about 10 minutes just replaying a song and memorizing the beatmap.

@F1r3tar: I hope this is the case. Because as of right now, I find myself trying to watch the approach circle for each individual note, and therefore lose that "flow" into the next one, and sometimes forgetting the song is there.
Barusamikosu
The approach circles actually do tell you how the note lines up to the music. If you're used to Stepmania you probably look for note colors to tell you how a note lines up with the music (1/4, 1/16 etc). You don't get that kind of visual cue in osu but you'll see as you keep playing how approach circles are useful in their own way (along with good anticipation based on the song).
StephOsu
What I did when I first started out was to start out really slow on normal songs and focus on approach circles while ignoring everything else (basically make this a whack-a-mole game) until I get used to the approach circles (which didn't take long for me), only to focus on other stuffs like rhythm after that
But then, this game is the first rhythm game which I actually commit myself into so I don't really know anything about rhythm taps/click in a rhythm game xd
Topic Starter
TheBoxDweller
Thanks, guys. I think that's probably the best idea. If I just watch the approach circles really closely, maybe it will become second-nature and I can stop fixating on it so much. I appreciate your advice. : )
Sandy Hoey

TheBoxDweller wrote:

Thanks, guys. I think that's probably the best idea. If I just watch the approach circles really closely, maybe it will become second-nature and I can stop fixating on it so much. I appreciate your advice. : )
I actually had that same problem as you when I first started playing. What actually fixed it for me was playing with the hidden mod on. It made it so I couldn't focus to much of my attention on the hit circle and instead could listen to the music. You could give it a try if you want? Although hidden may make it hard for you to remember where the notes are
Topic Starter
TheBoxDweller
I could try it, but I think it might have the opposite effect on me. Then I'd REALLY have to guess if it's a down-beat or off-beat, since I wouldn't even have the indicator. My problem basically boils down to the fact that I can't "figure out" a new song without playing it a whole bunch of times. Like, as a musician, you read the sheet music, and you know the rhythm exactly. This is also the case in DDR/StepMania, and even others like Cytus. But with Osu, I find myself constantly tripping up when I think a note comes a little sooner or later than it actually does. "Follow the music" is generally good advice, but many charts don't just stick to one pattern, and will even switch between following vocals and drums. Even within the drum section, they might choose to use or ignore hi-hats. It's just hard to predict. Once I've played the song 7-8 times, sure, that's no longer a problem. But I don't feel I should have to spend that long just to get a respectable score.

Sorry for ranting a bit. I'll definitely give it a try.
N0thingSpecial
With how osu works, easy and normal difficulty maps usuanly use note spacing that varies proportionally with time, like 1/1, 1/2, 1/4 usually have different spacing, closer the timing, closer the note. Be aware that after a while you'll need to get used to
reading approach circle and listen to the song carefully as harder maps use more variable spacing, just play more and you'll get used to it
StephOsu

N0thingSpecial wrote:

With how osu works, easy and normal difficulty maps usuanly use note spacing that varies proportionally with time, like 1/1, 1/2, 1/4 usually have different spacing, closer the timing, closer the note. Be aware that after a while you'll need to get used to
reading approach circle and listen to the song carefully as harder maps use more variable spacing, just play more and you'll get used to it
To add on to this, usually 1/3, 1/6 and 1/8 beat only happens after you reach 3+stars on difficulty
that's when triples and burst comes in
Fxjlk
I played guitar hero a lot before I played Osu and I also had trouble reading approach circles at first.

It gets far easier the more you play and eventually you will be able to read maps on the first try.

Also when you play hidden you don't guess the rhythm, the notes appear at a certain time before they are meant to be hit so you can read them from that information. Its usually harder for new players so I don't recommend it
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