21 Aug 2014
Restructuring of the BAT
by Ephemeral

Restructuring of the BAT

by Ephemeral

New changes to the ranking process are inbound! Read on to discover how the team is changing, and how this affects everyday mappers.

In the spirit of preparing the community for a brand new modding system (known internally as "moddingv2"), we have decided to alter the team's structure to one which simulates how the ranking process will function after the new system is introduced.

The changes are as follows:

  • The current BAT has been split into two groups: the Beatmap Appreciation Team and the Quality Assurance Team.
  • The Beatmap Appreciation Team (BAT) are responsible for doing what is traditionally associated with the BAT as the system currently stands; ranking maps, modding and generally helping mappers reach their full potential with their creations.
  • The Quality Assurance Team (QAT) are the aptly-named judicators of quality control who will check recently qualified maps for quality and playability, retracting their qualified status where appropriate. They form the bulwark of standard control and enforce the basic expectation of quality for all maps that enter the ranking process.

BAT members will be given a set number of qualification credits each month, which they can use to qualify maps. The current rule of 8 qualified maps per day remains (for the time being, it may change as we see how things go). First come, first serve.

QAT members will be held to strict activity standards as their role requires them to be regularly involved in assessing map quality. Members of this team will be promoted from BAT, should they accept the new role.

The private channel once available to the team will be revoked. All BAT members are encouraged to chat in the public #modhelp channel, with the aim of more transparency and increasing interaction with mappers.

This new system aims to engage the community in the process like never before. We expect to see massive improvements in the speed at which maps are qualified/ranked, and in the number of people who will be available to assist mappers with their work at any given point.

Feel free to ask any questions in the Disqus comment section below.

—Ephemeral

Comments271

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great

xD

Wowww..... o.O

Uh... Isnt this JUST like the MATs but without the bubble? And how about getting MORE people involved and make them XATs? The reason why everything is so slow is because we have to much maps, and way too less BATs. Yeah, the system was shit back then, but this still wont improve with a new system if we still have far to less XATs.... welp, just my piece of mind, as I am very angry that it is so dramatically hard to get started as a mapper. If you dont already have a big mapping-name then you're kinda screwed.

This just means nothing will change.. I was expecting changes to the BAT team.

So... nothing will change.

Good.

So many red names :O

https://osu.ppy.sh/forum/p/...

QAT is a terrible idea xDDD

Nice idea. The quality of ranking process is going to improve a lot. Also as becoming a staff member now is a two step process, it will be easier for ones who want to help the community by being a BAT/QAT.
Really cool that BATs are now separated from the staff that rules the game.

The comments people leave on these news posts are so... weird. xD And hardly anything constructive, either! I hope it ends up letting the average joe (like me) get a few maps ranked. I've tried before, but it's super tough to get noticed, especially as a new mapper. Good luck with the changes!

Rip My Friend -_-

I blame Hanzer

yay! more BATs soon :D

Why not re-introduce MAT (-:

Ok...Seems fine to me
Tho didn't understand much xD

Will ANY type of Beatmap be ranked? I think the more famous ones have the higher chance of being ranked in which I think is unfair. And also I see that the known mappers are the ones who always get their maps ranked. I wish I had the chance of getting most of my maps ranked in which the others are now deleted or graveyarded, I personally declare that I have a great potential in mapping. I am looking forward for the restructuring of the bat.

1. Create MAT and BAT
2. Stick all those member together into BAT
3. Split them up again

Wafu LunaticP

Yeah, you missed whole point. Before MATs were infact BATs without permission to rank beatmaps, just bubble. So they just removed MAT team and put everyone to BAT. Now they made QAT, so people in it check the qualified maps, their objective is not to rank or bubble maps, but to check if the maps which are now qualified were really worth getting qualified. That's the whole point, MAT was totally different from this one.

Marcin LunaticP

you missed whole point

like really

if you don't understand at least don't attempt to troll about it O.o

Liiraye LunaticP

4. in order to bring in more BAT members and keep quality control high.

i hope the new system will be cool ^^b

I don't see this improving anything. The real problem are the bubbled maps or those that are already good during uploading and don't get a lot of modding. They don't get noticed and end up burried.

Who cares if a map is in qualified for 3,7 or 14 days? Quality? The quality of new maps is already good enough as is, and forcing anything more by standards of a selected group will only have negative effects because of subjectiveness.

Two changes are good: more BAT members and no BAT exclusice chat. But that doesn't require a restructuring that people were hyped for and then ended up being this.

Also, the point system is a huge drawback, as it will:
- only limit the amount of maps that can get ranked
- make people only give their points to songs, artists, mappers they like, not to maps that are flawless and would deserve it or unique and good

Kibbleru Legxis

apparently they will hope to get most experienced modders into the BAT now that their powers have been reduced

Legxis Kibbleru

I think you need to read my post again

was excited about the QAT until I read that they're going to be existing BAT members. Basically nothing will change because of that.

neonat shirou05

Furthermore they have to focus more on Qualified maps, they have to spend more time on those. This means they have less time looking at maps that deserve to be Bubbled. This is the issue that seems to be more pressing; Good maps are not being noticed/have not enough mods

Marcin neonat

QATs are not supposed to focus on ranking / bubbling. It's simply not their task.

interesting...

I just wish that QATs are treated as mini-rankers.

If a BAT can rank a map on his own, Then the QATs can also rank a map.
Like Having 3 QATs give the map a "Green Light" which then makes the said map ranked

still hard to rank

Lol quite scary that you guys know what to point out and what you're dissatisfied with lol

What are the conditions for accession to the BAT ?

I wanna be a QAT XD

rip mira's map

I'm glad they will have credits and a point system, so those who abuse their ranking powers to qual friends' maps will get kicked out.

Legxis Yuzeyun

The maps that get ranked fast like that usually don't have big quality issues, they're mostly just non-unique. Those maps will still get promoted and ranked like this. Just that the BATs will burn their points doing that now. Which means other maps (unknown mappers or unpopular songs) have even less of a chance to get ranked.

I don't see how a system with restricted points like that could work.

Yuzeyun Legxis

And for those who would want to help unknown mappers/song artists get promoted won't even have the chance, due to 8 map limit per day.

Marcin Yuzeyun

If there is nothing wrong with these beatmaps, then that doesn't matter anyway, but that is different topic :P

Yuzeyun Marcin

Yep I know about that thing, there would be no problem with it. But what if the map has a unrankillion issues, this is the case I was thinking about

GG now year beatmap
qualified and unrank by QAT
let the rage begin!!!

So, uhh, is this something like reintoducing of MATs?

Marcin senaya

Similar to MATs, yes, but MATs are now BATs, while QATs are something different.

My point of view, this is just straining the resources of the already depleted BAT team now that QAT is needed

Marcin neonat

You're missing the point here.

neonat Marcin

This is just what I feel right now. Of course, I won't know how exactly this will go about until it settles down and the assigning of tasking can be clearly seen.

bye bye #bat,
i'll see some transparency <3

if the BAT has a bat symbol on the right below corner. then a CAT has cat symbol at there? :O

Marcin dionzz99

Current BATs won't have that symbol, rather QATs will.

Aka Marcin

hooo, marcin-sama seems to answer most of questions. so that profile title will still be there for bats and just the colour will go away? owo if i got it right

123

looks like a tester

So just having a few questions...

1) Is there a specific-modes QAT? Or still planning about those and will they have "osu!mania QAT" (example) as a tag, right? I'm just unsure about those.
2) Can QAT quality a map as "Approved"?

Off-Topic Questions
1) Is there any chance of having a approved "osu!mania" beatmap and other modes?

Marcin Sirade

1) Yes, we still have mode-specific QATs, since they are proficient in that gamemode and have valuable input when it comes to checking their mode-specification.
2) approved is for marathons.

offtopic:
1) approved is for marathons.

xxdeathx Marcin

All the Taiko/CTB/Mania BAT's are labeled as regular ones now :O

They have the power to bubble/rank standard maps now??

I read a lot of "buu huuu" and "wähh wähh" and "qq" but you haven't gave any chances to the QAT by now. Just wait some months and come back keeping crying if they aren't that what they promise and purposed to do.

I mean "All BAT members are encouraged to chat in the public #modhelp channel, with the aim of more transparency and increasing interaction with mappers" this is like a HUGE step forward to increase the quality of beatmaps today since there are enough non-BAT mappers which can help here.

So what will happen to heavily stylized maps/Chinese Creativity? Maps such as HanzeR's or 0108s are playable IMO, but maps such as Chloe's or HollowWings's are horri-terri-bad. What are the QATs gonna do about this? Also, since QATs are still old BAT members, there will still be quite a lot of circlejerking going on.

i can't understand QAT :(

as alumni, i haven't exactly been involved with the discussions regarding this change. but just reading the above, it sounds fairly similar to the old MAT / BAT system.

qualifying maps? having those maps checked by a separate team?

the only difference i see is, rather than ranking the bubbled maps or popping, they're leaving the maps or unqualifying.

not that i'm against change, but minus the removal of private channel, etc. i'm curious how it's going to be different to the past.

Scorpiour YGOkid∞

pubble->bubble->rank
bubble->qualified->rank

just a new name~

We are the fun police!

Yuzeyun MMzz

NO FUN ALLOWED?

Athrun Yuzeyun

I KRI

BAT≈MAT
QAT≈BAT

grumd Koiyuki

wrong

So is this the first team that isn't a lousy pun?

I think it doesn't apply to me. I don't map :/
I just play.

/

I think it doesn't apply to me. I don't map :/
I just play.