Its about time we had one of these! As usual, there are an array of changes and new features throughout this new version, but a lot of them will be subtle. Read on for a list of the important things so you can look out for them in case you miss it! Hopefully this release won't disappoint. Leave feedback in this thread!
Keep in mind that a lot of changes were made behind the scenes to things like BSS, and general optimisations. There may be a few bugs remnant as testers have been quite AWOL lately
. This is also the first release to make osu! vista compatible, meaning it will run and not complain about having less-than administrator privileges (no more Run As Administrator.. or disabling UAC (although I still recommend doing this!)).
The memory handling changes are particularly interesting - please comment on whether you get MORE or LESS "lag". Explain your "lag" if you wish so.
STATUS: Available via Updater (1:02 GMT+8) and Installer (1:17 GMT +8)
3:24 GMT+8: Released b394a, with critical bug-fixes.
Concise list of changes:
(+) osu! can handle multiple monitors (experimental).
(+) Editor improvements (timing panel, seekbar, lock mode)
(+) Added Tags/Source metadata field to beatmaps. Can be searched but not viewed in-game yet.
(+) Taiko mode styling improvements.
(+) Multiplayer improvements (avatars, winner box, view users in room without joining, audio pause in setup, novideo actually works).
(+) Spinner upgrades (spin/clear sprites, rpm metre).
(+) Replay/spectator upgrades (taiko support, more accurate).
(+) Full Vista compatibility (works without Administrator)
(+) Added new skin: Xi-Style by Xiaounlimited.
(*) Updated skin: taiko by LuigiHann (higher quality hit samples, new sprites!).
(*) Skin options screen changes.
(*) Slider click detection code improved (much more lenient to multi-button swapping).
(*) Huge memory optimisations.
(*) Relax mod revamped to remove all scoring, fail and ranking. Its totally relaxing now!
(*) Lots and lots of bug fixes.
Full Changelog (since last version):
(+) Progressive accuracy is displayed in breaks.
(+) Added option to skin selection screen to choose whether to force Taiko skin during taiko mod play.
(+) osu! won't exit play mode when receiving a new song (from an Open With... command or drag).
(+) osu! support for approved maps. Displays message on map start to ensure the user is aware.
(+) osu! can handle multiple monitors. When dragging the window to another monitor, the game will force-restart for now. Last-used monitor is saved to configuration.
(+) Web: Modding Control Panel initial release. (Echo)
(+) Timing sections display on seekbar as red lines.
(+) Taiko sliders/rolls have hit counter.
(+) Taiko mode replays! Should be totally backwards compatible
(+) Taiko combo counter is authentically styled.
(+) Right mouse button can be used to click buttons.
(+) New timing panel options all work except for "update all difficulties".
(+) New features on timing setup panel, including difficulty propagation, recalc/snap options all available in the one place. The functionality is not complete yet, so I've just included the new layout so you can take a look.
(+) Keyboard shortcuts Alt-Left/Right in editor jump to previous/next timing point.
(+) Implemented beatmap submission cap.
(+) Hovering a game name in the multiplayer lobby will show players in that game.
(+) Breaks are visible on the seekbar.
(+) Bancho saves activity stats to database.
(+) Bancho remembers channels to recreate when restarted.
(+) Back button supports animation.
(+) Added winner panel to multiplayer ranking screen.
(+) Added video tutorial links to Song Setup panel.
(+) Added spinner "SPIN!" graphic (spinner-spin.png). Ask for template (will be added to template skin next release).
(+) Added spinner "CLEAR!" graphic (spinner-clear.png).
(+) Added position/timing lock mode in editor (hotkey: l). Icon on right-hand side of editor.
(+) Added pause audio button to multiplayer match setup screen.
(+) Added link to profile in BanchoBot !stats/!rank output.
(+) Added level sorting tab on extended chat.
(+) Added editor menu option 'File > Open Beatmap Folder (in Explorer)'.
(+) Added average spinner RPM.
(+) Added 'Tags' metadata field to beatmaps. Can be searched.
(+) Added 'Source' metadata field to beatmaps.
(+) Added 'Approved' beatmap status.
(+) Added "get more skins" button on skin selection panel, which opens osume in the extras tab.
(+) Added !rank to Bancho.
(*) thumbs.db files are automatically deleted from the songs folders.
(*) Taiko strictness (hit-window) tweaks.
(*) Taiko slider velocity multiplier increased to emulate taiko gameplay better with osu! settings.
(*) Some minor graphical changes.
(*) Slider click detection code improved further (if you aren't happy with it now, I will slice you).
(*) Show chat buttons don't display when skip button is displaying, or when playing offline.
(*) SPIN disappears after the player begins spinning.
(*) Removed taiko hitcircle explosion (reduced clutter, more accurate).
(*) Removed build number from titlebar of public builds (no longer necessary). Added on options screen.
(*) Ranking screen no longer exits when clicking anywhere (must click back button).
(*) Modified keyboard selection code when changing to a new sort method on song select.
(*) Modifications to SPIN/CLEAR sprites and animations.
(*) Increased timing strictness on Taiko mode (felt way too loose before).
(*) Improved accuracy of replays when spinners are missed by a fraction of a section (ave. of 7.5 deviation from 60fps, very unlikely).
(*) Backups of score/beatmap database are made in the case that osu! has to recreate them from scratch. They will be in your osu! folder.
(*) Added check for hitobjects existing before the start of the mp3.
(*) Removed all scoring elements from Relax mod.
(*) Fixed player status text not displaying properly.
(*) Huge bancho bug fixes.
(*) Fixed user panel disappearing after song ranking?
(*) Fixed spinner RPM appearing in edit mode.
(*) Fixed spectator mode not working.
(*) Fixed spacing on audio options screen.
(*) Fixed songs appearing too many times in song selection.
(*) Fixed some miscellanious crashes when receiving beatmap data (not visible to users).
(*) Fixed recovery sound playing when sudden death mod is active.
(*) Fixed multiple items display on song select (with a slight disadvantage to searching mode, but should be unnoticeable).
(*) Fixed multiplayer ranking bug where charts show '>1' when it should show 2.
(*) Fixed middle mouse button affecting replay performance.
(*) Fixed in-game web links to point to correct locations at new site.
(*) Fixed in-game chat log scrolling down faster than up.
(*) Fixed editor to avoid a full crash when background image/video files are corrupt or otherwise unreadable.
(*) Fixed editor button alignment (no longer overlaps chat ticker).
(*) Fixed denden countdown on double/half time.
(*) Fixed bug where inserting background images would occasionally hard crash osu!.
(*) Fixed beatmap mode option not being stored in local database.
(*) Fixed bancho replying to public messages not prefixed with '!'.
(*) Fixed back button animation not getting correct framerate (thus not playing).
(*) Fixed NoVideo mod not taking affect in multiplayer games.
(*) Fixed "email notification" option in BSS not saving correctly.
(*) F12 works on all dialogs (used to be disabled on extended chat, ranking etc.)
(*) Database performance fixes.
(*) Counting of search results on song select screen is more sane (counts individual difficulties, rather than sets).
(*) Changed slider slide behaviour - you must hold the button you *began* the slide with. To swap buttons, you must let go of both buttons then choose your new button. Lets see how this goes.
(*) Bancho stability fixes.
(*) Bancho fixes.
(*) Bancho code rewrite.
(*) BSS submissions now allow title and artist changes without breaking the uploaded beatmap.
(*) Audio tab on timing panel affects multiple timing section selections (volume, sample type etc.)
(*) Added a few new tips of the day.
Keep in mind that a lot of changes were made behind the scenes to things like BSS, and general optimisations. There may be a few bugs remnant as testers have been quite AWOL lately
. This is also the first release to make osu! vista compatible, meaning it will run and not complain about having less-than administrator privileges (no more Run As Administrator.. or disabling UAC (although I still recommend doing this!)).The memory handling changes are particularly interesting - please comment on whether you get MORE or LESS "lag". Explain your "lag" if you wish so.
STATUS: Available via Updater (1:02 GMT+8) and Installer (1:17 GMT +8)
3:24 GMT+8: Released b394a, with critical bug-fixes.
Concise list of changes:
(+) osu! can handle multiple monitors (experimental).
(+) Editor improvements (timing panel, seekbar, lock mode)
(+) Added Tags/Source metadata field to beatmaps. Can be searched but not viewed in-game yet.
(+) Taiko mode styling improvements.
(+) Multiplayer improvements (avatars, winner box, view users in room without joining, audio pause in setup, novideo actually works).
(+) Spinner upgrades (spin/clear sprites, rpm metre).
(+) Replay/spectator upgrades (taiko support, more accurate).
(+) Full Vista compatibility (works without Administrator)
(+) Added new skin: Xi-Style by Xiaounlimited.
(*) Updated skin: taiko by LuigiHann (higher quality hit samples, new sprites!).
(*) Skin options screen changes.
(*) Slider click detection code improved (much more lenient to multi-button swapping).
(*) Huge memory optimisations.
(*) Relax mod revamped to remove all scoring, fail and ranking. Its totally relaxing now!
(*) Lots and lots of bug fixes.
Full Changelog (since last version):
(+) Progressive accuracy is displayed in breaks.
(+) Added option to skin selection screen to choose whether to force Taiko skin during taiko mod play.
(+) osu! won't exit play mode when receiving a new song (from an Open With... command or drag).
(+) osu! support for approved maps. Displays message on map start to ensure the user is aware.
(+) osu! can handle multiple monitors. When dragging the window to another monitor, the game will force-restart for now. Last-used monitor is saved to configuration.
(+) Web: Modding Control Panel initial release. (Echo)
(+) Timing sections display on seekbar as red lines.
(+) Taiko sliders/rolls have hit counter.
(+) Taiko mode replays! Should be totally backwards compatible
(+) Taiko combo counter is authentically styled.
(+) Right mouse button can be used to click buttons.
(+) New timing panel options all work except for "update all difficulties".
(+) New features on timing setup panel, including difficulty propagation, recalc/snap options all available in the one place. The functionality is not complete yet, so I've just included the new layout so you can take a look.
(+) Keyboard shortcuts Alt-Left/Right in editor jump to previous/next timing point.
(+) Implemented beatmap submission cap.
(+) Hovering a game name in the multiplayer lobby will show players in that game.
(+) Breaks are visible on the seekbar.
(+) Bancho saves activity stats to database.
(+) Bancho remembers channels to recreate when restarted.
(+) Back button supports animation.
(+) Added winner panel to multiplayer ranking screen.
(+) Added video tutorial links to Song Setup panel.
(+) Added spinner "SPIN!" graphic (spinner-spin.png). Ask for template (will be added to template skin next release).
(+) Added spinner "CLEAR!" graphic (spinner-clear.png).
(+) Added position/timing lock mode in editor (hotkey: l). Icon on right-hand side of editor.
(+) Added pause audio button to multiplayer match setup screen.
(+) Added link to profile in BanchoBot !stats/!rank output.
(+) Added level sorting tab on extended chat.
(+) Added editor menu option 'File > Open Beatmap Folder (in Explorer)'.
(+) Added average spinner RPM.
(+) Added 'Tags' metadata field to beatmaps. Can be searched.
(+) Added 'Source' metadata field to beatmaps.
(+) Added 'Approved' beatmap status.
(+) Added "get more skins" button on skin selection panel, which opens osume in the extras tab.
(+) Added !rank to Bancho.
(*) thumbs.db files are automatically deleted from the songs folders.
(*) Taiko strictness (hit-window) tweaks.
(*) Taiko slider velocity multiplier increased to emulate taiko gameplay better with osu! settings.
(*) Some minor graphical changes.
(*) Slider click detection code improved further (if you aren't happy with it now, I will slice you).
(*) Show chat buttons don't display when skip button is displaying, or when playing offline.
(*) SPIN disappears after the player begins spinning.
(*) Removed taiko hitcircle explosion (reduced clutter, more accurate).
(*) Removed build number from titlebar of public builds (no longer necessary). Added on options screen.
(*) Ranking screen no longer exits when clicking anywhere (must click back button).
(*) Modified keyboard selection code when changing to a new sort method on song select.
(*) Modifications to SPIN/CLEAR sprites and animations.
(*) Increased timing strictness on Taiko mode (felt way too loose before).
(*) Improved accuracy of replays when spinners are missed by a fraction of a section (ave. of 7.5 deviation from 60fps, very unlikely).
(*) Backups of score/beatmap database are made in the case that osu! has to recreate them from scratch. They will be in your osu! folder.
(*) Added check for hitobjects existing before the start of the mp3.
(*) Removed all scoring elements from Relax mod.
(*) Fixed player status text not displaying properly.
(*) Huge bancho bug fixes.
(*) Fixed user panel disappearing after song ranking?
(*) Fixed spinner RPM appearing in edit mode.
(*) Fixed spectator mode not working.
(*) Fixed spacing on audio options screen.
(*) Fixed songs appearing too many times in song selection.
(*) Fixed some miscellanious crashes when receiving beatmap data (not visible to users).
(*) Fixed recovery sound playing when sudden death mod is active.
(*) Fixed multiple items display on song select (with a slight disadvantage to searching mode, but should be unnoticeable).
(*) Fixed multiplayer ranking bug where charts show '>1' when it should show 2.
(*) Fixed middle mouse button affecting replay performance.
(*) Fixed in-game web links to point to correct locations at new site.
(*) Fixed in-game chat log scrolling down faster than up.
(*) Fixed editor to avoid a full crash when background image/video files are corrupt or otherwise unreadable.
(*) Fixed editor button alignment (no longer overlaps chat ticker).
(*) Fixed denden countdown on double/half time.
(*) Fixed bug where inserting background images would occasionally hard crash osu!.
(*) Fixed beatmap mode option not being stored in local database.
(*) Fixed bancho replying to public messages not prefixed with '!'.
(*) Fixed back button animation not getting correct framerate (thus not playing).
(*) Fixed NoVideo mod not taking affect in multiplayer games.
(*) Fixed "email notification" option in BSS not saving correctly.
(*) F12 works on all dialogs (used to be disabled on extended chat, ranking etc.)
(*) Database performance fixes.
(*) Counting of search results on song select screen is more sane (counts individual difficulties, rather than sets).
(*) Changed slider slide behaviour - you must hold the button you *began* the slide with. To swap buttons, you must let go of both buttons then choose your new button. Lets see how this goes.
(*) Bancho stability fixes.
(*) Bancho fixes.
(*) Bancho code rewrite.
(*) BSS submissions now allow title and artist changes without breaking the uploaded beatmap.
(*) Audio tab on timing panel affects multiple timing section selections (volume, sample type etc.)
(*) Added a few new tips of the day.
. 
whats happening?