The combing is deliberate. Outside of specific circumstances, I combo on each new musical phrase, which is on every 2 measures from what I've heard when listening to the song. Feel free to reopen and list all the timestamps if you think I'm wrong on that front.
These specific timestamps aren't even inconsistent, so it doesn't make much sense. If inconsistency for harder memorization is the goal, then 00:00:133 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) should logically differ from 00:03:311 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) for example.
Before remapping, I'd like to know if 00:07:586 (5,6,7,1) would be too variable in spacing if I were to only change the position of (7) (I would stack it with 1) considering the quick and massive change in SV.
According to the ranking criteria, spacing emphasis is rankable in a [Hard] as long as rhythm gaps are still clearly identifiable, which I personally consider to be the case in my map.
Not picking up percussions during the verses is a way I thought about to leave some room for a fair and noticeable difficulty increase during the kiais where I did map them. Of course, I have the right to be wrong.
Precise SV changes should allow you to snap sliders to the next red timing points. Don't forget the editor the .osu file remembers more than 2 decimals when entering SV multipliers.
It all comes down to the syllables in the vocal. The "moa" on 01:18:301 (2) can be considered as one syllable, which is why I opted for a 1/3 beat slider.
It's not really different from 1/2 beat stacks. They're pretty common on [Normal] diffs as long as there aren't stacks for other rhythm gaps. Also, 1/3 beat gaps at 68 BPM is the same as 1/1 beat gaps at 204 BPM.
Considering I didn't want to map based on the pitches in the melody, I think this would feel out of place and just disrupt the patterns that are meant to highlight the emphasis on every three quavers.
Having this big gap here creates a pause that is both a relief after the diff spike that is 01:40:801 (1,2,3,4,5,1) and a complete stop that contains a lot of tension that is released on the major downbeat that follows it.
Considering the overall spacing increases significantly in the buildup, I want to introduce the kind of spacing that's used in the chorus. Also, in the whole map, spacing doesn't correlate with the pitch in the melody/vocals.
Here's how I'd improve it. 1: make a perfectly vertical guidance slider. 2: create half of the heart starting from the tip and making sure the slider tail in the concave part of the heart doesn't align with the vertical slider. 3: copy-paste, flip horizontally and align the two slider heads. 4: Ctrl + G the first slider in the timeline. 5: merge both sliders together with Slider merger in Olibomby's Mapping Tools program. 6: delete the vertical slider. Edit: this is how it should look like before merging sliders: https://osu.ppy.sh/ss/15195640/59f6
Another way it could be improved is by changing the order of rotation. The counter-clockwise stream feels out of place after the clockwise movements from the jumps that come before it, especially with that entry angle. This is why I'd suggest something like this (https://osu.ppy.sh/ss/15195554/d088) instead.
Remapped the intro. To have the same slight intensity increase as in the [Insane], I replaced the 1/1 slider of the pattern with 2 circles starting at 00:07:271 (1,2,3,4).
Remapped the intro. To have the same slight intensity increase as in the [Insane], I replaced the 1/1 slider of the pattern with 2 circles starting at 00:07:271 (1,2,3,4).