Hi from my modqueue![Insane]
While this is a pretty decent song choice for a beginner mapper, there are some fundamental issues with the map which need to be addressed:
- This map is very clustered around the centre of the screen. Use the whole available grid area - have stuff around the edges of the screen, and in corners.
- When making long slider shapes, it's best to use "circular" shapes, ie. perfectly smooth curves that turn sharply when needed. Symmetry is also useful, though not always necessary. A slider like 00:11:179 (2) - would look much better if it was two semicircles forming a "3" shape, rather than a vague wiggle.
- Since this is a very high BPM song, the placement of objects is very important, as the player has a very limited time to read. Make jumps in easily recognisable patterns, such as polygons, zigzags, tornados (polygon, but repeated several times with rotation in between), and curves. Even non-jumps need to be carefully placed, for comfortable playing and easy reading. Eg. 00:15:979 (8,1,2,3) - the player should be able to move in one smooth movement through all of these objects. However because 2 is improperly shaped (it's too sharply curved), it becomes very uncomfortable to play as the player needs to make small adjustments to their aim. Generally, smooth curves and sharp angles are the most comfortable. In-between angles and small direction changes are less comfortable.
- Generally, mapping to the vocals of a song is not a good idea. Vocals can have a long attack time (time between start and peak of a sound), so they are fairly inaccurately timed. The instruments tend to keep in the correct rhythm, so map to them instead. Eg. 00:17:704 (6) - the peak of the vocal is actually on the white tick, even though it starts on the blue tick. If you wanted to map the vocals here, it has an unusual 3/4 beat rhythm:
Mapping the instrumental would be much easier, as it is all 1/2 rhythm:
- Gaps between notes that are lengths other than 1/4, 1/2, 1/1 etc. can be tricky to read and play. It's usually easier when split up into regular rhythms using a mix of sliders and circles.
- Distance between objects at Insane+ should both the rhythm and intensity. Faster notes = smaller distance. Higher intensity = bigger distance.
Good stuff:
00:20:179 (4,5,6,7,8) - This jump sequence is easy to read and play due to sharp angles and a recognisable pattern.
00:32:929 (1,2,3) - Good SV increase to reflect the intensity of the song.
01:12:529 (1,2,3,4) - Recognisable triangle shape, and 2,3,4 forms quite a smooth curve.
[Normal]
- This map is also quite clustered around the centre of the screen. On Normal diffs, travelling around the edge of the screen is one of the best ways to ensure you are using the full screen area.
- Distance snap should always be used at Normal diff, eg. at the start 00:01:579 (1,2) - these should all be quite a distance away from each other as they are a whole beat apart.
- Sliders should be arranged in a pattern. 00:06:379 (1,2,3,4) - these can be turned into a square, or two pairs of matching curved sliders, or a "staircase", etc.
- Slider shapes (as stated in above diff).
- Long breaks shouldn't be used in short maps. 00:21:079 - here, there's 10 seconds of nothing, which makes the map less interesting.
- Don't use both 1/2 and 1/1 stacks, as new players can't tell the difference between them.
- Try to avoid overlaps as much, as they can be confusing for new players to read.
Good stuff:
00:14:779 (1,2,3,4,5,6) - Nice symmetrical pattern, mostly distance snapped, with no overlaps, and excellent flow.
00:19:429 (1,2,3,4) - 60 degree angle, which is tidy looking and can form triangles.
00:40:879 (3,1,2,3,4,5) - Comfortable flow between objects, especially approaching and exiting the reversing slider.
01:03:979 (1,2,3) - Nice rotationally symmetrical pattern.
01:07:579 (1,2,3,4,5) - Nearly a pentagon. Use the polygon circle generator (ctrl+shift+d) to make this into a perfect pentagon.
01:12:979 (1) - Clean slider shape with smooth curves and sharp angles.
Good luck with your mapping! Feel free to PM me or reply here if you have any questions. I'd love to see an updated version of this mapset!