Aspire Stage Three: osu!catch Begins

With the osu! and osu!taiko communities flexing their creative muscles in the past two Aspire contests, the time is ripe for the fruit-catchers to take the spotlight, to the sound our very own Featured Artist, OISHII!

Casting down the Ranking Criteria and boldly venturing forth into a world where (almost) anything goes, Aspire is the premier "no-rules" official beatmapping contest.

On two occasions already this year, we have seen some of the community's best and brightest mappers step up to this challenge. Between the somber tones of Helblinde's The Solace of Oblivion in osu! and the intensity of Function Phantom's Algebra in osu!taiko, Aspire has showcased some truly mind-blowing performances that have completely changed the landscape of modern mapping.

Now it is time for the osu!catch community to join the fray, and as countless fruits rain down from above, the sky is no longer the limit! In an effort to give our extrodinairily talented Featured Artists the exposure they deserve, the osu!catch community will begin their contest with a track and artist that has excited many mappers since their unveiling:

Courtesy of OISHII, take a trip down the Onigiri Freeway!

A fast and furious sugar-rush of synthesizers and sweetness, Onigiri Freeway presents a cheerful yet high-octane challenge for the osu!catch community to tackle.

Could you be the one to rise to the occasion and blaze a trail for the future of osu!catch in Aspire?

The rules are as follows:

• This contest is for the osu!catch mode only.
• The osu!catch and General Ranking Criteria DO NOT APPLY to this contest in any capacity whatsoever.
• You may submit ONE difficulty to the contest OF YOUR OWN CREATION, be it collaborative or otherwise.
• The map you submit may be of any difficulty tier you wish, though Aspire contest entries are typically geared towards Expert (5.25+ star) tier and above.
• The map itself must be able to be passed (note: NOT fc'd) by a human player without using difficulty reducing mods of any kind.
• The drain time of your entry must be at least 70% of the song's total length.
• If your entry has no additional assets (hitsounds, backgrounds, etc.), it MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A .osu file.
• If your entry HAS additional assets such as storyboard assets, hitsounds, etc., it MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A .osz with a size NO LARGER THAN 20MB. Accounting for the size of the track, you have roughly 16mb of asset space available for use. Extensions may be granted upon request via forum PM to Ephemeral.

Similar to the previous two Aspire Stages, this contest will be judged by a combination of double-blind community voting and the opinions of an expert judging panel weighted equally against each other. Make sure you appeal to our judges and give the community something to take notice of if you want to claim the prize! Remember that this is not an ordinary beatmapping contest, so get creative and use everything and anything at your disposal to stand out!

After shortlisting the best and most innovative entries, we will aim to provide a livestream showcase alongside expert commentary from renowned and established osu!catch community members as well.

After both community voting and feedback from our expert judging panel, the top three placing maps shall receive:

• 1st place: 6 months of osu!supporter, a unique Aspire 2017: Stage Three profile badge, an osu!news showcase featuring their winning entry and an Elite Mapper: Aspirant forum title (or special incrementation if they already possess one). The map shall also be forever enshrined as an Aspire class Approval map with fast-track help from our wonderful Beatmap Nominators if required.
• 2nd place and 3rd place: 3/2 months of osu!supporter respectively, a unique Aspire 2017: Stage Three Honorable Mentions profile badge and their mapset gifted the Loved status.

Entries will remain open for 30 days from the date of this post. Enjoy stacking those fruits however you please, and be sure to check the contest listing for more details, as well as view a dedicated countdown if you are uncertain.

You can download the pre-timed contest .osz file to get started, and head on over to the contest listing to submit your entries!

—JBHyperion