Hello, this is quite a controversial topic, but I believe it is necessary to clear up this grey zone of the rankability of a map.
Some people seem to argue that visuals do not matter as long as the intent or concept is well executed, but I would make the point that a good concept is way better conveyed with an effective design, and clean visuals make a map easier to read.
Moreover, they show that the mapper cares about their creation (not that they don't, note the use of the verb "show"), and when your map becomes an official part of the game (=ranked), it should look the part.
Of course everybody can't be literal Michael Angelos but aesthetics are still something that can be learned to some extent, just like flow, rhythm, consistency, and anything else that makes up a good map. There is no excusing obvious defects like unintentional overlaps, bad blankets, or clash in styles.
I'm also aware that this is quite subjective as well, so I don't want to get into total aesthetics nazism (although I wouldn't mind it tbh), but since there are literally zero (0) rules or guidelines about this subject, I think we should at least clear this up in the guidelines for Standard:
Hopefully, having this kind of guideline should make any poor design choice unrankable unless the mapper can justify it.
I really believe this is an important aspect of mapping, so I hope we can have a productive discussion about it, thanks!
tl;dr: visuals are as important as any other aspect of a map for a lot of reasons explained above and should be heavily considered for rank
Some people seem to argue that visuals do not matter as long as the intent or concept is well executed, but I would make the point that a good concept is way better conveyed with an effective design, and clean visuals make a map easier to read.
Moreover, they show that the mapper cares about their creation (not that they don't, note the use of the verb "show"), and when your map becomes an official part of the game (=ranked), it should look the part.
Of course everybody can't be literal Michael Angelos but aesthetics are still something that can be learned to some extent, just like flow, rhythm, consistency, and anything else that makes up a good map. There is no excusing obvious defects like unintentional overlaps, bad blankets, or clash in styles.
I'm also aware that this is quite subjective as well, so I don't want to get into total aesthetics nazism (although I wouldn't mind it tbh), but since there are literally zero (0) rules or guidelines about this subject, I think we should at least clear this up in the guidelines for Standard:
Appropriate, consistent and clean visuals should be used throughout the map.
Unless the song suggests it, avoid clashing slider shapes and patterns (e.g. "industrial", straight shapes when the others are "natural" and curved). Be also mindful of close objects unintentionally overlapping each other, non-centered blankets, and inconsistencies in angles or spacing in similar parts of the song.
Hopefully, having this kind of guideline should make any poor design choice unrankable unless the mapper can justify it.
I really believe this is an important aspect of mapping, so I hope we can have a productive discussion about it, thanks!
tl;dr: visuals are as important as any other aspect of a map for a lot of reasons explained above and should be heavily considered for rank