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25 Jul 2022
Project Loved: July 2022
Project Loved: July 2022
Check out the latest picks from the captains at Project Loved!
For those unfamiliar, Project Loved hosts monthly votings to decide which nominated maps get added to the Loved category. You can click on each map's banner in this post to go to its poll on the forums, or visit the forum for a list of all of the polls. Polls will be open for 10 days, so make sure to cast your votes in time! More info can be found on the wiki page and website!
Detailed results for the previous round can be found on the poll results page of the website or in the following forum posts:
Before getting into this month's picks, we want to give thanks to Pachiru for his effort in coordinating Project Loved throughout 2021 and 2022 — there were many rounds where this whole shebang would have ground to a halt if he hadn't been there to maintain the project, contact mappers, keep everything on schedule, and make these announcements. He recently stopped working on Loved, but in all likelihood he'll still be a familiar face around mapping, modding, and moderation.
In other news, the osu! captains of Project Loved have some important updates to share:
First, they've published an application form to join the osu! captains, available via Google Forms. Becoming a captain never was supposed to be a closed-off process, but it may have felt this way with the lack of explicit outreach. We hope to see some more friends inspired to help out with picking osu!'s Loved candidates!
Second, and also related to making Project Loved feel more accessible, a Discord server was opened as another place to give feedback or just hang out and chat about all things osu! Loved. As a reminder, Project Loved has presence in many other Discord servers that you can find linked on the website.
That's all for the updates, now onto July's picks!
Navigation
osu!
The osu! Loved candidates were chosen by DigitalHypno, Doomsday and Wixonater!
Eve - Gekka*Midare Botan by Nameless Player
200 BPM, 4:54 | 7.71★
description written by Wixonater
From a new name to the Loved category, but quite well known as a player, Nameless Player's Gekka*Midare Botan hits the sweet spot of a classic aim map.
At 7.71 stars, 200 BPM and with a 5-minute runtime, the map doesn't pull any punches, yet gives a consistent challenge of cross-screen aim and spaced streams. The map hits all of the basics, and does it quite flawlessly; despite the high difficulty, it remains comfortable to play and visually clean throughout.
I hope you enjoy, and make sure to vote on the link above if you wish to see this map enter Loved!
FRASER EDWARDS - Stop Saying We Sound Like Dragonforce by GLORYHAMMER
200 BPM, 4:39 | 4.96★, 5.93★, 7.00★, 7.78★
description written by Doomsday
If you're looking for streams, you're going to be well stocked with this one. Stop Saying We Sound Like Dragonforce sure sounds like that famous Power Metal band to me, and the map is exactly what you would expect!
You want 200 BPM streams? You got it. This is a polished mapset that is almost nothing but streams — very spaced, winding, curvy worms for you to mash away at. There are four difficulties, ranging from 5 to almost 7.8 stars, so stream aficionados are well catered for here!
This is the sort of set where you don't have to worry about many big jumps or weird patterns, so you can just focus on those streams. It's easy to see why this has become so popular among players of many skill ranges. Why not have a crack at this intense map yourself? Then, once you've given your hands a good break, give us your vote by clicking the link above!
Susumu Hirasawa - SWITCHED-ON LOTUS by MouseEasy
230 BPM, 4:19 | 6.69★
description written by Doomsday
For any player who plays a lot of maps from the early osu! days, Susumu Hirasawa is one of the artists that stand out the most, often accompanied by a crazy map by Starrodkirby86. In 2015, the popular top player MouseEasy created this jumpy challenge map for one of the most iconic Susumu songs in osu!, SWITCHED-ON LOTUS, and the inspiration from the classic KIRBY Mixes is clear to see.
With lots of symmetrical jumps placed in varied and tricky patterns, all set at 230 BPM, this isn't just a test of your aim abilities, but your control abilities too. From acute angle aim, to wide linear lines, this map has it all. The rhythm is very freeform, much like the rhythms you would find in the original Kirby map, except you'll have to manage 6.7 stars of spacing on top of that!
A classic jump map in every sense of the term. Does this tribute deserve a spot in Project Loved?
lapix - SYNERGY by Akali
165 BPM, 4:06 | 7.13★
description written by DigitalHypno
One of the OG "flow aim tech" maps, this map has stood the test of time like no other. At 165 BPM, this map will have you flying through cut streams, slider streams, triangle streams, square streams— wait, what?
Trust me, it's even better than it sounds. You've never seen a 7-star tech map quite like this one.
RYUWAVE - ROLLING PANDEMONIUM (Ata Remix) by Ciyus Miapah
210 BPM, 6:14 | 6.39★ – 8.69★
description written by DigitalHypno
Ciyus Miapah is back again with a final boss map that will push all of your skills to their absolute limit. The objects in this map represent the obstacles that you must destroy as you travel through time to stop the king from Euphoria from being captured. With 210 BPM deathstreams and tech patterns in your way, can you save the world from chaos?
Shiritsu Morimori Gakuen Seishun Danshis - TOUCH YOU by Rabbitt, defreeyay, hamano, myoISHEREowo, Piramisu and yeastiest
135 BPM, 1:29 | 1.38★ – 6.20★
description written by DigitalHypno
Alright, really.
Really?
I mean like, really though?
Well, don't judge a book by its cover. This map is actually pretty cool. It also has a bunch of diffs — 9 to be exact.
One of the most exciting TV size maps you'll ever play.
Alfakyun. - Teo by netnesanya, rollpan and wajinshu
185 BPM, 3:25 | 2.29★ – 6.68★
description written by DigitalHypno
While there are many maps of the song Teo out there, this full-spread mapset hits the spot for over 680 players. Featuring six difficulties between 2 and 6.7 stars, each difficulty is filled with comfortable yet satisfying 185 BPM jumps. While that may sound like any other map out there, I recommend giving this map a go to see what the hype is all about.
Ling Yuan yousa - Shen De Sui Bo Zhu Liu by SkyFlame
270 BPM, 4:10 | 7.53★
description written by DigitalHypno
Fast-aim nomod players rejoice!! This map contains non-stop 270 BPM jumps with some of the most satisfying angles and hitsounds you'll see. Mind the star rating, though — 7.5 stars is nothing to scoff at.
You got this, though.
If you can make it to the end, there's a special treat waiting for you in the form of sliders that are so much fun they'll have you wondering, "why didn't I find this map sooner!?"
osu!taiko
The osu!taiko Loved candidates were chosen by -Kazu-, Boaz, Horiiizon, KuroKuroKuro and POCARI SWEAT!
fox capture plan - Asian Dancer by Cookie_Tree
135 BPM, 4:05 | 4.75★
The [SV Dancer (no gimmick)] difficulty is not being nominated for Loved.
description written by Boaz
I hope you're all ready for this month's gimmick map, because this is one hell of a ride. Don't let the calm melody and aesthetically pleasing barlines fool you, this map is extremely challenging if you're not a barline expert.
Asian Dancer starts off by introducing the gimmick with some easy and visually stunning barlines in the background while you're playing the longer patterns, but it won't take long until the notes start to get mixed in with them! Later on, this map features lots of longer patterns with only barlines, an amazing 0 BPM section, and overall great artwork which you should really check out yourself.
Now let's dance our way into the next pick, shall we? :)
momone - why did i enter the art course by My Angel Koishi, miyagishima, Myckoll, syaron105 and uranosu1030
219 BPM, 2:32 | 5.85★, 6.18★, 6.33★, 6.85★, 7.42★
description written by -Kazu-
Every time we feature a hyperpop song, it means only one thing: slider velocity changes. This time, it's with momone - why did i enter the art course, a beatmapset with 5 difficulties done by different people:
The "mind" difficulty done by uranosu1030 is mainly an Oni/Inner Oni diff with very easy-to-hit patterns focusing solely on following the main layer of the song, making up for a very welcoming experience for players on that skill range. Beware though, since layxa's SV toned up the difficulty a bit, but most of the gimmicks are introduced slowly and intuitively.
On the other hand, "montage" by miyagishima is focused on difficulty through pattern density, spiced up with a few 1/6 patterns. SV takes more of a back seat and is used only for a slight flair, so this is a perfect map for people who enjoy more plain, "fair" kinds of maps without the excessive SV you see nowadays.
"mistake", done by My Angel Koishi themselves, is a slight step up from the previous two diffs, as it contains both the patterning focus while also introducing more SV changes and a few sections with very high SV.
"meish" by syaron105 is what you would call an "unnecessarily high-SV diff", with various sections that go quite high on SV while not giving up on difficult patterns or even streams, requiring some high-SV reading skill to properly play.
Finally, we have "memory" by Myckoll, which is like all the previous diffs mixed together together and elevated to their maximum potential: REALLY high SV usage, very difficult ninja note gimmicks, slowjam sections with serious density, and very unforgiving patterning that will require you to practice this for hours in order to achieve a full combo.
Enjoy!
BlackY - Euryale by glalucard
185 BPM, 1:55 | 5.72★
description written by POCARI SWEAT
Here's a classic one this time. BlackY - Euryale by glalucard is a really old beatmap that came out in 2012 ─ the era of ppv1. It could be strange to see how this map made its way into the Loved voting, but every player who tried this map has praised its structure and enjoyability. It has been 10 years since the map was out and yet it gives a remarkable experience to its players. It's also an excellent example of how to map complex streams while staying true to the song.
We wish you'll find enjoyment and inspiration from this respectable creation of old times.
7_7 - Waga Na ha Gorori by 7_7, hoku, KKN and KTYN
286 BPM, 1:10 | 6.43★, 7.14★, 7.46★, 7.47★, 7.73★
description written by KuroKuroKuro
Waga Na ha Gorori is a product of many famous mappers, and it's popular with a wide range of players. Thanks to its span of difficulties, this makes for good high-BPM practice. I'm sure you have all played this map at one point or another, so we hope you're happy to see this in Loved voting!
Silentroom - Nhelv by 1RoHa_
174.6 BPM, 2:36 | 6.89★
description written by -Kazu-
As one of Silentroom's most popular songs, we decided to feature Nhelv by 1RoHa_, a unique take on the song with a very fun-to-play, entry-level tech map that perfectly captures the vibe of the neurofunk sections.
With patterns that vary wildly from snap to snap, this might be one of the trickiest maps to full combo for people trying to get into tech maps. Not only are the patterns very difficult to hit, they also go quite high on SV, contrary to a lot of other tech maps which often are on the lower end of scrolling, making this very refreshing to play.
Hope you enjoy this one!
403 - Northern Lights -RYUWAVE'S SPLITTERCORE BOOTLEG- by _yu68
240 BPM, 2:10 | 8.64★, 9.21★
description written by Boaz
_yu68 returns to the Loved battlefield with yet another map for the real speed demons to enjoy. For those who don't know, "splittercore" is subgenre of speedcore that makes use of extremely high tempos, and this song is not any different. The Challenger difficulty features lots of 360 and 480 BPM bursts within 240 BPM streams, so the name isn't joking about this being a real challenge, even for the speediest among us.
To the people who still wanted to play this without HT, it's your lucky day, since this mapset features a nerfed difficulty as well! Don't let it fool you though, it still includes the long 240 BPM streams with some 360 BPM bursts now and then.
This concludes this month's osu!taiko Loved picks, we hope you all enjoyed them and make sure you don't get any injuries playing this map in particular!
osu!catch
The osu!catch Loved candidates were chosen by Kasumi-sama, Sartan, Tenshichan and Wesley!
Jerma - Rat's Birthday Mixtape by Kyptoric
117 BPM, 1:47 | 7.79★
description written by Wesley
Are you looking for a map that has plenty of jumps? Well, look no further, Jerma - Rat's Birthday Mixtape by Kyptoric will provide you with all the jumps you'll ever need. After only playing it once or twice you'll be ratJAMMING throughout the whole song, so give it a go and jam away!
ARM feat. Amane (COOL&CREATE) & FOXMANN - Yamanba Techno de Chanabekko by dazzulay
140 BPM, 5:04 | 5.76★
description written by Tenshichan
After almost exactly four years, dazzulay returns to Loved with another really cool map. Overall it is clean and plays nice, with a few unrankable patterns here and there which do not greatly impact the way it plays. It is probably not very difficult for experienced players, so trying it with mods may be encouraged. Have fun!
Kohmi Hirose - promise by Vincs
248 BPM, 2:00 | 6.38★
description written by Kasumi-sama
This is one of the biggest past osu!catch multiplayer classics, Vincs' CS0 promise.
With its relentless jumps, paired with one of the most outlandish CS values here, you're sure to be in for a fun ride. This is truly a map fitting for the Loved section, and its addition here has been way overdue, as I'm sure many of you will agree.
It's not too hard of a map, but you can easily get caught off guard by it. Just be careful!
Zedd - Clarity feat. Foxes (IOSYS uno DENPA Remix) by Cera- and Dika312
200 BPM, 3:33 | 5.25★, 5.92★, 6.37★
description written by Sartan
Hey you, you know the drill: there is a new mapper in the Loved selection, so give a warm welcome to Cera- for their first entry! Throughout the last 4 years, Clarity got quite a number of plays and became a popular map among the people who like to scour the unranked section. So, here it is, due to popular request!
Clarity has a total of 3 difficulties, all of which are meant for players who are at least at intermediate level. Though the map is not ridiculously hard either, the song's upbeat and high tempo and will definitely get your heartbeat going.
So, just to be clear, you're going to vote, right?!
osu!mania
The osu!mania Loved candidates were chosen by _underjoy, -NoName-, kadoen, Paturages, RandomeLoL and stupud man!
Various Artists - osu!mania memories by PokeSky, _Stan, Aruel, Crumpey, Drum-Hitnormal, FAMoss and Syadow-
155 BPM, 8:41 | 6.56★
The [Titled.Hitsounds] difficulty is not being nominated for Loved.
description written by Paturages
So.
This is the official way we've found to put Galaxy Collapse in the Loved section somehow. Please bear with us.
Jokes aside, osu!mania memories is an absolute nostalgia trip, and nostalgia trips are something that the Loved team is particularly fond of. This is a direct follow-up to the general concept of "osu!memories": see the osu! mode's Ranked and Loved interpretations, as well as the previously Loved osu!mania collaboration on it.
Featuring iconic songs from sets from 2012 right up to, of course, the infamous aforementioned boss song, the map was built by an array of equally iconic contributors to the Ranked section. However, it does seem like a long compilation of songs and maps that culminate to over 6 stars in difficulty is especially difficult to rank, especially when the collaboration aspect comes into play. With collaboration between the osu!mania Beatmap Nomination team and the Project Loved team, we have determined that osu!mania memories was best suited for the Loved section rather than the Ranked section.
Feel free to discuss the development of this mapset in the voting thread with your own reasoning, and also contribute to the votes; we feel it would be particularly fruitful for not only the development of the Loved section itself, but also the Ranked section, that the community utilizes its voice and tells us what they want.
lapix - Nothing but Theory by Player0
160 BPM, 2:02 | 3.67★
description written by Paturages
Player0 has been a recurring name in the mania storyboarding scene, with other quite intriguing Loved entries Lagtrain and polygon. They make a banger of a return this month with lapix's Nothing but Theory!
For "conventional" SV players, this is going to be a little bit of a departure from the usual monthly treat, but Nothing but Theory lends itself to be fairly playable and actually fun to learn for a storyboarded map. Plus, you might already know the song from H1Pur's interpretation for SVSE qualifiers.
For us Loved captains, it is only from theory that we submit this set for voting: it is up to you all to make it a reality by casting your vote!
Seishun Buta Yarou Cast - Fukashigi no Karte (K@keru Bootleg Remix) by My Angel Koishi
200 – 290 BPM, 4:29 | 5.33★ – 7.31★
description written by -NoName-
After over three years, My Angel Koishi (also known as Sar7) is finally back in the Loved voting with his chart of Fukashigi no Karte (K@keru Bootleg Remix)!
This is a simple jumpstream and handstream chart with many rates available for players of different calibers. When combined with the chart's overall representation of the music, it is very satisfying to play. Plus, there are no gimmicks or curveballs thrown at you with this one.
We hope you enjoy this map enough to cast your vote for it!
3L - Tiny Little Adiantum (deadman's "Omae Wa Mou" remix) by Antori
93 – 130.2 BPM, 1:33 | 4.42★, 4.78★, 5.14★, 5.50★, 5.86★
description written by kadoen
Tiny Litte Adiantum, better known as the "Already Dead" instrumental, is a straightforward jack chart. The high density and low BPM combine to give an approachable experience that has contributed to its massive popularity, as clearly seen by the many thousands of plays it has accumulated.
Now we want to give the chance to those that have enjoyed the map to battle it out on some leaderboards, from the base rate (at 93 BPM) up to 1.4x (at a very respectable 130 BPM).
So relax to the chill bossa nova beat, hit some chords, and vote!
Akiyama Uni - Odoru Mizushibuki by Shoegazer
138 – 193.2 BPM, 1:24 | 4.65★, 5.03★, 5.42★, 5.80★, 6.21★
description written by RandomeLoL
This one goes out to all those Greek alphabet fans out there. On a more serious note, many people (including us) would say that this chart was long overdue. Let us give yet another welcome to Shoegazer in the Loved polls with another staple chart of theirs: Odoru Mizushibuki!
For those unaware of the map, you should expect a fun and challenging technical chart focused on periodic bursts and an emphasis on small anchors here and there. While it might seem deceptively easy on the lower rates, those seeking something more difficult are assured to find it by just trying something slightly faster. Difficulty won't scale linearly, but the fun sure will!
In any case, we really hope everyone gives it a try. I'd also encourage those who have only played on the uprated version to give a try on its original speed. Might help you mald a little less just because you couldn't get an arbitrary 96%~.
Camille - Le Festin by notBrandon
133.5 BPM, 2:45 | 3.18★
description written by RandomeLoL
Hot take, but Ratatouille is the main reason why Gen Z people suffer from Paris syndrome. Despite those concerns though, such a film has inspired notBrandon to chart Camille's Le Festin in quite an interesting and engaging way!
When getting into this map, do expect having to deal with a long note release fiesta. It's really fun if you can nail it, but if you lack the coordination, you're going to be in for a bad time. Maybe it's the faster bursts that might throw you off. Maybe it's the walls you'll have to face. In any case, the song and chart slaps, and just for once I'm thankful to the French for that reason.
Also, contextless spoiler.
Kana Nishino - GO FOR IT !! (Cut Ver.) by Kawawa
147 – 205.8 BPM, 2:30 | 5.67★, 6.16★, 6.64★, 7.12★, 7.60★
description written by kadoen
As one of the best-known mappers in 7K, Kawawa doesn't need any introduction. Back in 2020 the first entry of their "Bracket Challenge" series, Ichinen Nikagetsu Hatsuka was nominated and Loved — now we're bringing to you the second entry in the series, GO FOR IT !!.
You know the drill: the map consists of consistent chordstreams throughout with very heavy bracket usage, set to an upbeat J-pop song. It clocks in at 147 BPM, and the set includes rates up to 1.4x, a staggering 206 BPM!
All in all this is a great set to practice the tricky patterns that are brackets, adapted for multiple skill levels. Now, stretch your fingers and vote!
Memme - Chinese Restaurant by Dety
175 BPM, 1:48 | 8.68★
description written by _underjoy
Destiny19 is one of the more controversial 7K mappers due to his absolutely unique and ruthless style. However, it seems the community enjoys it very much, and Chinese Restaurant has gathered a sizeable amount of plays and recognition.
Being a classic O2Jam map, it's packed with high-level LN streams and shields that require high amounts of noodle prowess. The spicy and fast patterning is rather difficult to combo, especially in the chorus sections. On the other hand, Destiny's experience in charting challenging LN maps makes these patterns work well with each other and rewards everyone who's able to hit them correctly.
This map is quite a challenge, so it makes us excited about the potential top scores set on it. If you want to give Chinese Restaurant a leaderboard and slurp some noodles, be sure to participate in the voting!
M2U & NICODE - Loadstar by Wilben_Chan
90 BPM, 2:26 | 3.89★
description written by -NoName-
After over a year (or almost three if you do not count guest difficulties), Wilben_Chan returns to the Loved category with his chart of M2U's Loadstar!
This is a good practice chart for LN players of lower levels. There's a simple charm in playing it, at just 90 BPM, but it's surprisingly easy to get tripped up by the coordination required for a chart like this. Even still, it is still a much more relaxed LN chart than most others currently in osu!mania's Loved category.
Vote today if you want to see Loadstar in the Loved section!
From everyone working on Project Loved, we hope you enjoyed this month's selection, and are looking forward to the next! The favoured beatmaps will hit the Loved beatmap listing shortly after the polls end.
More info about Project Loved can be found on its wiki page and website. Stop by the #osu-loved channel of the osu!dev Discord server if you have any questions, concerns, or are interesting in helping out.
See you next month!
—clayton, bonkmi, and dyndenial
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