Hello everyone! The Ranking Charts for November 2015 have just been released and can be found here!
This month Endaris, Raiden, JBHyperion and pporse picked the maps for the Monthly Ranking Charts. I would also like to mention that next month will be a special christmas themed chart for the December Ranking Charts. Until then, I wish all of you a merry christmas and a happy new year!
The charts have previously been created by letting four dedicated community members select the most noteworthy maps of this month. We also reward the top beatmap in each category by providing 1 month of supporter status to the mapper.
For osu!, we decided to let Endaris pick their favourite maps.
Out of the 129 mapsets eligible to take the top of my charts this one made it and for a good reason. Tarrasky has a beautiful grasp of the basic difficulties of the set, carving out the essence of the song very well with top hitsound usage. Together with Alarido he also does a good job along with Nhawak to make this very interesting song accessible for newer players - something that tends to be not as easy with non-pop-songs.
The Extra-difficulty by Irreversible and Asphyxia along with the iconic Gangsta-difficulty by Blue Dragon top off this great mapset with fun difficulties for everyone who likes to go crazy. Now add a specific mapskin that follows the songs' theme and is actually nice to play with on its own and you got one of this month's top mapsets.
Wow. I can hardly remember when I have last seen a mapset that boasts such an awesome consistency. P A N manages it to find nice patterns in every situation and gives each difficulty a great readability by reusing patterns and only having slight variations in the actual patterning while keeping the map interesting through varying hitsounds between the parts of the song giving accents on the important spots. Another selling point is the storyboard that manages to fit in without any disturbance along with the Apink-Skin as a part of the Apink Beatmap Project.
pishifat doesn't seem to waste time on thinking about gimmicks for his map, he just does it. That being said while I knew of his reputation I was pleasantly surprised to see a very well designed spread that also shows off his ability to map very good Easy- and Normal-difficulties, something which I found a bit lacking on other mapsets I checked for the charts. The guest difficulties by Gero and Kyshiro round this set off nicely by bringing a bit variation into the style.
While I find it hard to point at something within this mapset that I find particularly awesome there wasn't a single thing within 8 difficulties that made me stumble. Well done.
I have to admit that I have a faible for low bpm and this charming and calm song kind of got me. That being said, the mere two difficulties of the set nail the song completely and any additional difficulty could be considered a crime. Low bpm plays out very well at low star difficulty which is why I strongly recommend this set to every new osu!player.
The two last choices for this chart were really difficult for me but I decided that this would make it in. Featuring the german QAT-crew along with some guest mappers one would naturally expect a high quality from this mapset and yes, that's what you get here. While I had some qualms about singular spots within a few difficulties none was massive and the big spread of easier difficulties softens any upcoming confusion for new players. Especially the difficulties by Mao and Hollow Wings really impressed me with their design choices and very solid execution.
Another thing I really want to highlight is the brilliant choice of background and combo colors here. While this is usually considered a minor point when designing a beatmap Irreversible achieves a great effect here making this beatmap very pleasant to look at in spite of lacking a storyboard.
I couldn't help myself but to put this in. Normal and Hard of this set are a perfect showcase of how simplicity and consistency can ensure maximum playability without taking anything from the song's charm away. The additional Insane is a challenging addition that stays true to the song as well. I really enjoyed playing this mapset.
For Taiko, we asked Raiden about their favourite maps in November 2015.
Simply the most amazing map on November. Amazing song choice, amazing mapping skills and amazing patience, too! Even
for a high BPM song like this, low difficulties are made in a way that patterns are simple and readable enough,
while still being fun to play. And plenty to say about the Inner Oni: outstanding rhythm choice, very nice patterns
with a lot of variety, and a not-so-expected 1/6 in the end. Be careful with it if you haven't played yet!
As a newly fresh mapper, Runa surely grasped the concept of rhythm! For that, and for his/her incredible patience
and hard work on improving the quality of the map, he/she earns the silver medal. Interesting rhythm choice, pretty neat
usage of Finishers, and also some hard streams and cool 1/3 patterns which makes the map a challenge for all players!
An easy Taiko set for beginners wraps up the bronze medal! A calm song, with a singer who has an amazing voice makes
up for a relaxing map with very simple (but fitting!) patterns, perfect for newer players! Also, it's an alright
challenge to DT it if you're a more skilled player!
An amazing collaboration approval difficulty by Senritsu and Hinsvar! This time, for a calm song. The map follows the
music quite accurately in both mappers' parts, while still having different structure. That is certainly not easy to
achieve! Higher skilled players may find it a challenge with the DT mod, too!
A short map for fifth place. Very well structured map with good rhythm choice and interesting patterns, as well
as offering nice variety even for the short duration of the map!
Another fast-paced song for my last pick. Amazing song choice by the mapper, as well as some interesting rhythm choices.
The lower difficulties are made in a great way so new players are able to play them efficiently, while the higher
difficulties offer simple but hard to read patterns due to the natural fast pace of the song.
For Catch the Beat, JBHyperion was the chosen one to declare the winners of the November 2015 beatmaps.
Whilst it may not appear an obvious choice, this was an automatic selection for me. I fell in love with the intense and constantly evolving rhythms when I first played the original set by inverness, and seeing it revived in it's current guise by Irreversible is great to see. At earlier levels players can expect interesting use of creative slider patterns that work well even after being converted to CtB, whereas on harder diffs, prepare yourself for frequent mini streams and snappy transitions to give a feeling of escalating chaos. The mapset culminates with the incredible apoplexy_ collab diff, where players will have to contend with a wide variety of patterns, rapid direction changes and slingshot-like hyperjumps - a real test of timing and precision for experienced players.
Whilst this is a reasonably long song, the constant changing of musical rhythms and BPM create a huge deal of variety throughout not only each difficulty, but across the spread as a whole. There are so many unique sides to this continually-changing song, and the mapset manages to capture all of them fantastically. From relaxing and flowing slider patterns to intense piano stream bursts and jumpy drumroll sections, this mapset has it all and really demonstrates great pattern variety to keep things fun and interesting to play. The set features something players of all abilities can enjoy, as well as a really smooth difficulty curve that'll leaving you eager to improve your skills and try the next straight away!
Whilst offering relatively simple rhythms for the most part, the creativity in pattern usage really shines here in keeping the player interested throughout, and each diff does a great job of subtly building tension until the very end when the most challenging patterns kick in. There's a great spread of difficulties available for newer players and those looking for a little more challenge, with regular breaks to help divide up the song. Experienced players looking to test their skills can choose from a number of challenging offerings, including a signature "Gangsta" diff by Blue Dragon, as well as an Overdose by Spectator. Regardless of the choice, expect a battle of endurance against an array of difficult but fun and well-executed jump patterns.
Most players will know Fast as a highly skilled player and occasional CtB mapper, but they are also an accomplished Standard mapper and this set really demonstrates that, with a wide range of difficulties on offer that lean more towards a smoother flow than some of the previous choices. That said, the set is still great fun to play, notably the final "Chocolate Heaven" diff, where the combination of punchy drum and vocal patterns and low hyperjump spawn compared to other maps provides an interesting and tricky challenge in its own right, different from that seen in a lot of current maps. There are also numerous guest difficulties offering a wide range of varying styles, each offering their own unique challenge for players to try out.
Featuring 8 difficulties from 7 different mappers, this is a set that contains something for everyone. The song is one huge burst of feel-good positive energy from start to finish, and this is captured brilliantly by each difficulty in its own way, whether it be through the smoothly flowing sliders and short streams in the easier difficulties, or the intense kick-and-repeat slider and jumpstream patterns in the harder difficulties. If you're looking for a fast-paced and great flowing map, or if you're simply a lover of stream patterns in general, this is definitely the map for you.
Surprisingly the only pure CtB mapset in my selection, I chose this mapset for those more accustomed to specific difficulties rather than converts, and also because I'm so happy to see it get ranked after more than two years of work. Each of the difficulties will pose a decent challenge to their intended audience, with fast-paced and varied rhythms providing numerous jumps and streams even on the lower difficulties. The outstanding difficulty of this set is definitely the Platter, which makes use of some really awesome wiggling and jump patterns, as well as beautifully flowing sliders and stream sections that make it worth checking out regardless of your ability level.
For osu!mania, pporse was able to select their personal most noteworthy beatmap from last month.
It's usually very difficult to find a song that changes its snapping consequently.
The reason is that it may be troublesome to find the right timing.
Also, a snap that is not continuous gives a confusion to the players, which makes it difficult to create patterns that outstandingly connects to the song.
This song is one of them. It changes from 16-beat to 32-beat, and suddenly the song progresses to 24-beat.
All mappers that tried to map this specific song would know that it is a really challenging thing to do.
But M A S did it. He managed to get the right timings himself considering them in BMS, and he turned it into a splendid pattern.
Even if the snap changes continuously, a suitable pattern makes the player have fun.
Particularly the SV changes that are his trademark makes a good relationship with the song flow, meaning that it is clearly made without any disruption while playing.
This map deserves to be in 1st place.
Congratulations for his first ranked map!
There are many ranked maps using long notes, but the ones that only use short note styles(BMS like) are only a few.
Here lies that style of map!
Before going through this, we need to know that making a map with only short notes requires a lot more experience and skills than making maps with long notes.
The reason for it is that making a map with only short notes is very hard to make patterns that can connect the song and the structure of the notes while playing.
So, if it is not an outstanding mapper, it is very challenging to make these kinds of maps.
This map assures a high quality note structure, which its flow and pattern connection was very impressive.
Because of the instruments elaboration, it is easy to recognize all the drum and synthesizer sounds while playing,
the structure of the notes are adequate for each one of the difficulties making the players fall into it.
I played with lots of fun, and I'm certain that other players will have fun too.
p.s - Oh, I found something really surprising too: As the difficulty goes up, the total amount of long notes decreases one by one!
You can always notice that ExPew's maps always have a high quality. This is due to his clever mapping.
He understands perfectly what kind of note structure best fits in a specific part, when to put the notes strong, and when to put them weak.
Also, he always changes the patterns so the player doesn't get bored.
In addition, the keysounds make the quality of this map one step higher.
A clear structure, the variety of patterns, an outstanding keysound use. There is no reason to not choose this.
If you pass the 32-beat ~ 48-beat stream pattern at the beginning, welcome to the jack world!
Practising maps that contain patterns that are a weakness for you to get better, will give you a good result in this map.
I proudly recommend this map for players that are weak on jack.
An 8-beat jack with 220 bpm is considered a light jack. The jack of this map is a good practice for people that have that as a weakness.
Also, the 16 beat streams that appear in some parts inside a jack part always makes your finger nervous.
Considering that all patterns in each part surprisingly matches with the song, anyone can play this with fun.
A good map is when you hear the name of the map and 'Oh! that map!' comes to the mind. I wonder if there are patterns that will make people think that.
This map is made up with trill parts, many short 32nd beat streams showing up, and complex long note structures that are difficult to find in a 4 key map.
Having every part of the song with it's own clear concept gave me a nice impression.
Especially the high quality long note part will help 4 key users improve their skills.
When mapping a song that repeats a part, it is challenging to perform new patterns continuously so that it doesn't get boring when playing.
This song has that case. However, this map gives an alteration to the patterns helping the player not get bored while playing.
Especially when it needs to be strong it certainly highers up the note density, when it needs to be weak it reduces the note density resulting to a very nicely balanced texture.
You can feel this a lot in the drum patterns, showing different patterns even if the drum beats are the same, you can realize how much the mapper experimented the patterns.
Also, there are few maps that you can practice the Variable Scratch, the scratch 4-jack that shows up in the 8 key mapset will help you practice the Variable Scratch.
*Variable Scratch = A method used to hit the scratch note with two different keys using an alternate special key
The November 2015 ranking charts will end on the 15th January 2016. For the next month, we will elect new community members to pick their favourite beatmaps, so stay tuned!
Congratulations to the winners of the October 2015 Ranking Charts. They receive a month of supporter status for their efforts!
Good luck with the new charts! We'd love to hear any and all feedback you have about the new format and selection process for the charts - feel free to leave a comment below!
—OnosakiHito
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