-MysticEyes

formerly known as

wizardapproved

1. Don't be an awful person. It's the only way to get blacklisted.
2. Please use this google form for your requests so you can keep track of them in this trello!
3. No SV maps (or maps with slowjams/fastjams or maps with SV sections). I respect them but they're not my thing. Maps with a couple of sightreadable SVs are fine though. Or maps like this (aka memorization based SV maps with simple patterns that are learnable for people who play with lane covers like me).

This is the one rule that isn't actually a *hard* rule, but it's very unlikely that I'll accept SV maps, especially since I'm not the best at checking them. Chances go up if you're really experienced (inside or outside ranked) at making SVs
4. Please check this page to make sure that your map's artist hasn't banned their songs from osu. If you're mapping something by frums, please check this spreadsheet that they made since they don't want people to use some of their songs.

I will also auto-reject your map if I'm aware that the artist is a horrible person.
5. Do not give me requests if your BG artist has said that they don't want their content used elsewhere unless you have their permission and proof of it.
6. Feel free to request more than one map, but don't request the same map twice.
7. 4k only. I don't really enjoy checking other keymodes since I don't play them, and other BNs are way better at checking them than me.

You should proooobably read my preferences if you're sending me high SR LN maps. I'm not against LN maps, I like them quite a bit but it'll save you some time and effort to read my preferences because I'm not into the current high SR 4k LN meta. Btw difficulty doesn't equal SR, so I don't mind difficult LN maps, its just high SR LN maps that I'm more likely to reject

Not a rule but just fyi I almost never do anything BN-related on weekends unless I really feel like it

Also if you made it this far, if you want to become a BN and would like feedback on your modding style, feel free to ask. You might want to look over my mods before asking so you'll have an idea on how I view modding since I have my own biases, but I've given feedback to a few people before and I don't mind helping people out a little bit.

Before I begin, I just want to mention that I'm going to be a lot pickier than I was the last time I was a BN so I can avoid burnout. I also prioritize map quality far, far more than song genre. Also if I reject your map, please remember that I'm not judging you as a person! I think it's important to separate out the content people create from who they actually are. This list will be updated over time btw, I just want to get a rough draft out there.

1. If you're a mapper/charter on my favorites list, you will probably have a higher chance. Not 100%, but a pretty high chance!
2. I ADORE tech maps of many styles. I will still be picky here, but that's only due to the fact that I love them so much. I think my favorites list confirms that!
3. I like LN maps quite a bit...but I strongly prefer LN mapping styles that aren't commonly seen in ranked. I'm also not really into ultra-high SR inverse heavy stuff. Those kinds of maps are getting a ton of attention and I think more unorthodox (from the perspective of ranked) LN mapping styles deserve more love.
4. Unless they're like really unique (mapping style-wise, not song-wise) I probably won't accept any TV size maps. Sorry. This is an example of a TV size map I love: beatmapsets/832413#mania/1743908
5. For 5k+ maps: I strongly prefer that you get a first BN before coming to me since I am a 4k main. I also will not nominate anything that could potentially be controversial so please don't ask.
6. For 4k maps: If you want to nominate something potentially controversial and out of my league as a player I will probably ask higher level players (who are also mappers) for feedback before ranking it, assuming I actually like it. My judgement as a mapper/modder/BN can only take me so far.
7. In general, I prefer to nominate low-level extra or lower level difficulty maps. My favorites tend to be around high hard to high insane level stuff though. But I believe that the denser you get with patterning, the less interesting patterns you can use unless you REALLY know what you're doing.
8. It's unlikely that I'll accept any SV maps. I respect them but they're just not enjoyable to me. I
9. It's unlikely that I'll pick quad heavy chordjack maps, and extremely unlikely that I'll pick lower BPM quad heavy chordjack maps (for example most hardstyle maps that are quad-heavy). There are exceptions however (though I almost never enjoy low BPM quad heavy chordjack maps). Tbh, I think the recent hate towards cj maps is a bit unjustified.....but a *lot* of it is because some mappers are pushing chordjack maps that follow a *very* specific style that, to me at least, is very uninteresting.

Remember that it's more important to make content you're proud of than anything else (it's waaaaaay more important than having your maps ranked imo). Make sure that you have some experience making stuff for fun, and never prioritize making something "rankable" over something you legitimately enjoy playing. Also remember that you don't have to accept all of our (BN) suggestions when we check your maps. We're usually pretty chill about our suggestions getting rejected and I think it's important to defend your map's intent especially if we're just wrong about stuff.

I'm mentioning this because 1. I feel like a lot of new mappers try too hard to get stuff ranked instead of focusing on what makes mapping fun for them + 2. they accept BN mods too easily.

As for getting your maps accepted by BNs? I can't speak for every BN but here's some practical advice:

1. be nice (which should be obvious but uh...yea)
2. understanding the RC as much as you can helps a lot (though it can be kind of difficult)
3. read the BN's rules. Some BNs like me are actually pretty chill with people not knowing things but some BNs are really strict about that
4. self-checking/modding. This doesn't just help with ranking stuff, it helps you improve as a mapper too
5. I'd recommend trying not to rank content you can't play. Some people can make it work, but most people (like me) can't (and oftentimes maps like these contain playability issues you can't detect).
6. (this is partially a rant, sorry about that) Just...please don't fall into the trap of caring too much about the number of followers or favorites you have. Mapping to me at least is a hobby/creative outlet not a popularity contest.

I could go into more detail and make more points/give more personal opinions, but I'd prefer to keep this short and simple since I'm kind of notorious for text walls and I want people to actually read this lol