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29 Mar 2018
Project Loved: Week of March 25th
Project Loved: Week of March 25th
We're back with another installment of the Project Loved voting, featuring maps for all four game modes! With tons of quality maps up for vote, there's something for everyone, so come check it out!
Welcome to the second Project Loved showcase of March 2018! Continuing in the spirit of the last round of voting, this week we've featured a variety of maps, from wacky to weird to straight-up awesome. There are even some beginner-friendly candidates, which should be a welcome change for those of you who asked!
For those unfamiliar with Project Loved, we hold bi-weekly votings for maps that are nominated to enter to the Loved category. Until the 1st of April, you'll be able to vote for or against adding each of the following maps to the Loved category. If the map receives at least 75% approval, leaderboards will added to it by early next week! To visit a map's poll, click on the map's image.
Below, you'll find headers to help you navigate through the news post. There are also videos showing off each modes' maps, provided by the to the beat! YouTube channel.
This week has some awesome picks, so let's jump right in!
Navigation
osu!
Note: ProfessionalBox's mapset of CANDYYYLAND was going to be included this week, but he asked us to remove it from the voting, since he has no intentions of getting the map Loved. Unfortunately, this happened too late into the week for us to be able to include a replacement—that's why there are only nine osu! maps listed, instead of the usual ten. Sorry about that!
written by Toy
It seems like at this point there's a small group of mappers who continuously pump out some high quality Polish content. XVoIR and his crew of Krfawy, CptSqBany, Venex and LukerMaster have provided us with a fantastic set along with an osu!catch diff by Kyptoric. The top set began as a not entirely serious top diff that exploded in fame because of its big jump sections during each small kiai. Now with currently over 400 favorites, it's clear the map has reached a wider audience than originally anticipated, and deserves its spot in this week's Loved vote.
written by Toy
Arguably elchxyrlia's (better known as lahnphnya) most popular map that hasn't already been Loved, Katayoku no tori stands above the rest with a towering 360 favorites and a monstrous 8.56* rating that culminates at the last chorus matching the intensity of the opera-like vocals. There's not much to say of this jump map very typical of lahphnya's style aside from its mass popularity, though its status among the community alone earns it a spot in this week's vote.
written by Kaifin
Embraced by the Flame by EchoingFury is an infamous stream map known by plenty of top players for both its intensity and high quality. Just clicking the preview point and listening to the drums should be enough to let you know what kind of map this is going to be! With over 180 favourites, this killer track by Undead Corporation aims to disintegrate you with its brutal 215 BPM spaced streams.
written by Kaifin
City Lights is a collaboration between two notoriously edgy mappers, handsome and byfar, and it REALLY shows. This map is incredibly expressive, utilizing extreme slider velocities and wild patterns to really milk as much excitement as possible out of this bumpin Pa's Lam System remix. Watch closely for the burai sliders throughout the map that really exemplify the sounds they're used for perfectly!
written by Toy
Standing at 400+ favorites, PantyDev's Say Goodbye shocked me as I had never heard of the map prior to the submission sheet. Playing through shows exactly why though. It's a relatively popular song from a Western artist and a well balanced set that makes for fun progression for newer players and has the solid mapping to back it up. For those lower ranked players who are pining for some easier stuff to hit the Loved category, this is your opportunity!
written by Toy
At this point in time, it's likely safe to say that everyone who has played osu! has heard of the original ranked FREEDOM DiVE map. Maybe lesser known is Pikastar's rendition of the timeless classic from 2014. A full 8-diff set ranging from 1.12* to 7.77*, anyone who loves the song but can't quite play the original will have something for them here. 170+ favorites and counting, this map has made its home in the songs folders for top players and new players alike.
written by Kaifin
The King of Lions by Zaiten is likely the most unknown map on the list this week, but it definitely deserves its place in the Loved vote. The map features incredibly tricky 1/4 patterns at a staggering 210 bpm, challenging the player's finger control and reading ability as well as their speed! Despite the high difficulty of the patterns used, the map remains well crafted and is incredibly fun to play. Just watch out for those doubles...
written by Kaifin
After a number of requests for more 09kami maps in Loved, we are finally delivering with Platinum, a large set featuring guest difficulties from several notable mappers! The set features big names such as rrtyui and yf_bmp as well as a perfect top diff by 09kami himself. If you're looking for a perfectly crafted technical mapset with several different difficulties with different interpretations of the song, this one's for you!
written by Kaifin
Imperishable Challengers by -Tochi is one of the most enjoyable and comfortable maps I have ever played. This map is incredibly popular and has been pervasive throughout multiplayer lobbies ever since its creation in 2015. With the addition of a storyboard and a great Taiko difficulty, Imperishable Challengers is finally ready for its shot at a leaderboard in the Loved vote!
osu!taiko
osu!taiko map descriptions written by Backfire
A sticky, poppy track rife with beautiful arpeggios and thunderous drums, likely not something you'd expect to hear as our most extreme map of the batch, is a monsterous 9* difficulty that tests the best players with its blistering 300 BPM pace as well as streams that just don't let up. Going back to the arpeggios, they are really well represented in this map's streams, and I can't stress enough how cool it is to see this kind of thing mapped well. ETERNAL DRAIN passes on all fronts for me: Fun, Challenging, and Very Well-Designed!
One of the more interesting Touhou arrangements, part Free-form Avant Garde Jazz, part Noise, part Nightmare, it's still recognizable as Mokou's theme music. tasuke912's mapping is bold and representative of the largely unnatural timing signatures, and creates a fun, bouncy map that most players new and experienced can enjoy. However, due to the map's unusualness, it can be quite tricky to FC, despite its low star rating! Good luck with this bizarre song!
Zombie Sunset hails from the olden days of 2013, a time where creativity was more simple than wacky gimmicks and slick storyboards, Xay's impressively made taiko difficulty challenges players in unique ways not seen often today. An unrelenting barrage of simple patterns, mono-streams and un-meta streams like dkdkdkdkd, Zombie Sunset is a breath of fresh air that ironically isn't all that fresh. I guess this map has truly rose from the grave! Eh? Eh? Anyone...?
An awesome map from the highly regarded Japanese mapper, maziari1105, this classic Miku track has a near endless flow to it, and maziari does not pull punches away from the music, as this is one of the most intense taiko stream maps we've introduced to Loved. Hundreds upon hundreds of notes in a row, all with a purpose, and all following the music. A fun map for those speed-demons looking to increase their stamina as well!
Semi-gimmicky mapset featuring a variety of difficulties, all set to a goofy rendition of U.N. Owen? Sign me up. yyyyyyyyyyypetu's unique style of mapping comes through on all three difficulties he contributed (with one coming way of KitajimaYN, another great japanese mapper), giving all different types of players a challenge. The real beauty here is the top diff's amazing usage of 1/8 and 1/6 that don't come off as extremely forced, but instead provide an incredible amount of depth to the map's uniqueness. We're very glad to introduce petu to the Loved family!
Thank You for Calling! is a superstar effort, featuring some of the communities most unique mappers like agu, Firce777 and -Kazu-. An entire set of difficulties, ranging from quite easy to "oh my god there are 400 bpm streams". Not only is the set impressive with all of its star power, the song is a glitchy speedcore anthem that is by all means worth downloading just to get to listen. I particularly love how most all of the mappers represent the main melody differently in each map, it just shows the layers of the music as well as the uniqueness of the set!
Last but certainly not least, Nexta is a map by un-plugged that came in second in the Argentina Taiko Mapping Contest, however, if you ask me, this is #1 in my eyes. un-plugged employs katacheh-esque gimmicks and even goes sometimes beyond what kata normally has done in the past. Personally, this is one of the most impressive maps I have EVER seen in taiko, and the gimmicks are all awesome and not in any way distracting in the way of the map. This is a rare one folks, so let's not let it pass us by.
osu!catch
written by Tenshichan
Sonic Blaster is a very hard map by Dakkychan with a lot of unique patterns which are specially designed to make it a nightmare. A lot of fast direction changes and streamjumps as well as changes between dash and no-dash hyperchains test your reading and stamina. Let alone a pass is already a big accomplishment which only the best of best are likely to achieve. Nevertheless it remains a stamina, speed and reading challenge.
written by SartNYAN OwO xD
You have fans, people who really like something. You have big fans, people who adore and obsess over something. And then there is Hareimu, who took the time and effort to map the Re:Zero styled remix of DJ Okawari's Flower Dance. A very jumpy and fun map, which at the same time is soothing music-wise (that is if Rem's whispering doesn't drive you nuts). The map can prove fairly challenging to FC, even for high-end players, definitely something you can spend multiple attempts on. A good choice for loved picking for most people and a no-brainer for Re:Zero fans.
written by SartNYAN OwO xD
Oh boy, osu!'s favorite rapper MC MENTAL makes his appearance in the loved selection of osu!catch beatmaps. MC MENTAL @ HIS BEST by Kyuare is not only one of the most hilarious maps ever created, it is actually mapped properly and playable, and makes for quite the challenge for pro players. If left-righting and stamina are your fortes, you will definitely be a fan of this map. Before making your decision on voting yes or no though, beware that this is definitely not your typical Kyuare map. I highly suggest you try it out for yourself if you haven't yet, you will have a good time. Once you are done with that, you should go and widididididididivote!
written by JBHyperion
Taking pride of place as the Grand Finals tiebreaker for the recent AxS Third Edition tournament, GHOST is a map that should be fresh in the mind of many players. A collaborative effort between mappers old and new, GHOST meshes a variety of styles into a true rollercoaster experience. Showcasing both conventional and more experimental patterning and flow throughout, this is a beatmap that should prove an intriguing challenge to experienced players looking to soak up that tournament hype!
written by SartNYAN OwO xD
Did you not feel like your aspire tingles were satisfied yet after the 2017 osu!catch aspire contest? Then we might have good news for you with Fear of the Heavens! You will notice that this map is very stylistic after hitting the first one or two notes, with funky sliders and spinners all throughout this calm song. The main challenge of this map is definitely to keep high accuracy, while also trying to optimize spins which limit your movement due to the fact that there are notes within those spinners as well. Mostly though, this is just a real fun map to play, something you can relax on as a break for your grind towards osu!catch glory.
osu!mania
written by Pope Gadget
Commonly used as a meme warmup in the MWC and other 4K tournaments, as well as a popular occurrence in multiplayer lobbies, Loctav's theme tune is absolutely as fun to play as it is as fun to listen to. It's a fashionable chart with lenient 1/6 dump sections mixed with plenty of minijacks to really drill the beat into the ears of the player, making this a pretty unforgettable experience in and of itself. No doubt the people's addiction to this sort of stuff is why more charts of this 'putting the fun in funk' nature could be up for future votes, to entertain the masses.
Sidenote: Although this specific beatmap ID has only two favourites, it is a reupload by the faithful creator of the map that had been uploaded via proxy by the user isokasapupuja. The proxy beatmap has 28 favourites at the time of writing.
written by Shoegazer
Arguably the pack that has shifted the StepMania charting meta and, in turn, shifted the osu!mania charting meta, we are nominating Various - Yolomania Vol. 3A -- (arguably) the most popular osu!mania mappack today. Yolomania Vol. 3 is a massive community-based pack that was mostly made by players, for players. Yolomania Vol. 3A is part of a "best-of" pack from Yolomania Vol. 3 for osu!mania players to enjoy. This pack is also one of the most eclectic mappacks: it has charts for players who have been playing for a few months (e.g. Chemical Star and Ark Ouroboros), players who have been playing for a while (300, Electrick U-Phoria, Burst Linker), to top-level players (The 8th Era). There are also charts that test a wide array of skills; ranging from breakneck streaming (300), extended runs of jumpstream (Angel of Darkness), technical patterning (Bullets Over Brainwaves, The Alchemist), heavy chordjacking (Graces of Heaven, Eimin Douwa), and a couple of things in-between (Aranjuez, Black Cloak Skeleton). Chances are, due to how varied the mappack is, you will find at least one or two charts that you will like. It certainly helps that most of the charts here are fairly well-done as well. The amount of decent charts in the mappack makes this mappack overqualified for the Loved section already, but considering that Yolomania Vol. 3A is practically a staple for most osu!mania players at the moment, it would only make sense for this mappack to be a nominee for the Loved section.
written by Shoegazer
Inspired by Phil's Telos chart, charting veteran XeoStyle embarked on his most ambitious charting project: The Parallax II: Future Sequence. The Parallax II: Future Sequence is a full-length album, and this chart accompanies the full-length album. Charting a single progressive metal song is a large accomplishment in itself, but charting a full progressive metal album is arguably one of the most ambitious charting projects ever completed. The charts themselves are of a fairly low difficulty and have an approach that is very much reminiscent of Xeo's own charting approach. His approach is fairly linear and straight-forward, which is typically all you need for most progressive metal songs. Despite his linear approach, it shines through quite well in most of the songs present in the album, and its simplicity is something that, I would imagine, would make this chart extremely approachable despite its daunting length. While the chart does not deviate too much from straight-forward charting, XeoStyle's solid execution of his approach and the chart's immense novelty greatly stands out among most charts. Due to the solid execution of the project, unique novelty (in terms of song choice and length), and general approachability, nominating this chart for the Loved section is a no-brainer for us. If you wish to try the songs individually, XeoStyle has them uploaded individually in his userpage. Feel free to check them out; I recommend Silent Flight Parliament and Bloom.
written by Pope Gadget
Master mixer DJ UNDERJOY back at it again with a super hot boss rush-esque compilation of the most popular maps of 2016 and earlier, which still holds up value to this day - whether it be a journey down memory lane or some sick kind of nostalgia trip full of self-loathing, this chart has you covered. Perhaps it's better not to mention much of what's included in the chart, for that would spoil the surprise! But I suppose we could suggest, please don't play this on nightcore.
written by Shoegazer
If there were an adjective that can fully describe how I feel about Depravity CLiMAXXX, it would describe a mixture of an extended adrenaline jab, a young charter's essence, and a visceral feeling of satisfaction from playing it. Valedict today is among one of osu!mania's best and most underappreciated charters. However, as a charter who was just starting out, he made Depravity CLiMAXXX -- a chart that stands out for its rawness and vigour. Similar to many j-core chordjack-heavy charts, Depravity CLiMAXXX has that visceral edge when you approach its patterning, almost a gratifying feeling. What deviates Depravity's chart structure from other charts like Kumo no Kireme, however, is that despite the chart's gritty approach, it has a very distinct chart structure. The track is fairly progressive, and the chart follows suit well. The chart transitions from chordjacks and fast 1/3 jumpjacks, to dense jumpstream and chordjacking, to even denser jumpstream, before jumping back into chordjacking once again. Along with its varied chart structure, each section is constructed notably well; perhaps it might not be the most technically sound at points, but the sections capture the ethos of the track all the same. The chart might not be the most technically sound, nor the most rhythmically dynamic compared to most super-technical charts today, but the chart possesses something that I feel is lacking in most charts today: that allure that lulls players in to get the absolute best score they can.
written by aitor98
Our good ol' friend Blocko opens up this description with a REALLY KNOWN song named Brain Power by noma. This map is actually a collab between him and Jinjin and it has a lot of support behind it. Even though the patterns are mostly based in Normal Notes, the ending is extremely Long Note heavy and will likely cause a lot of combo breaks. It has a light and slow beginning if we compare it with the kiai section, as well as a few sightreadable Slider Velocities. Pretty sure there is a lot of people that would like to see this in the Loved Category, so keep the votes going!
written by Kamikaze
Next up we have an 8-bit gem by Polish 9K charter Modren, the entire soundtrack of the 1992 action game KickMaster, 24 songs split into 20 difficulties and a marathon combining all of them into a 16 minute journey through the classic 90's vibes! The map itself has quite a lot of variety mapped mostly in a style that's mixing long notes with rice patterns that sometimes are tricky bursts, sometimes are graces, sometimes even nasty jacks! It also has a lot of cool patterning gimmicks that you will find out throughout the chart and mastering it will take an awful lot of finger independence, it's going to be a tall order to FC, but you can also just play a specific track (or in two cases, three combined tracks) on its own difficulty and work your way towards the marathon with time. This mapset is a very specific and unique craft with a lot of effort put into it so please enjoy it!
written by aitor98
We've already seen Nivrad00 in previous rounds, and here comes again with another special map that goes by the name of The Italian Crack Job by Breakmaster Cylinder. This three-year-old map stands out for how brutal the Scroll Velocities are, containing both slowjams and teleports, mixed with technical rhythms that derive in minijacks, one hand trills and more. This might sound like an unfriendly map, but if you are a fan of Scroll Velocities, it may be something you would like to try out.
written by aitor98
This time, we greet Rain- who brings us a beatmap pack called DJ Sharpnel - bbu2's DJ Sharpnel 7K. This set offers us a unique BMS experience that is rarely seen in the Loved Section, adding that stamina draining point, which will make players suffer when they reach the 3rd or 4th minute into any of the maps. The patterns are basically made of nonstop chordstreams (the density depends of the song you are playing), followed by fast burst in every intersection throughout the map. Definitely a map that could easily fit in the Loved Section.
written by Kamikaze
Our last map in the list is a map by already classic mapper CircusGalop who's making a name for himself by promoting and charting a lot of 10K charts, and here is one of his most popular ones: Crypt of the Necrodancer's Zone 1-3 theme. This set has five difficulties in a spread for both aspiring and more experienced players with very neatly organized patterning in classic 10K style of separating layering diffrent instruments and patterns between hands evenly making it a joy to play. It's pretty demanding while at the same time not too spiky, it's mostly focused on broken rhythm streams, occasional fast bursts and some jacks mixed inbetween with sparse usage of long notes for the background samples. There is a twist however, because the 10K EX difficulty clocking at 7.3* is actually charted to a remix of the theme which is a minute longer and the chart itself is way more brutal with more abrasive jack usage in the later parts of it. It's a great chart to both pick up and train 10K on!
From everyone on the Project Loved team, we hope you enjoy this week's selection, and look forward to the next! The winning maps will hit the beatmap listing sometime next week and will be announced via the osugame twitter.
If you have any suggestions for maps to be added to the Loved category, please submit them using the Google form!
—clayton
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