news
2 Jul 2018
Project Loved: Week of July 1st
Project Loved: Week of July 1st
Project Loved returns once again with another set of beatmaps that could make it into the Loved category! Give them all a try, and vote for the ones you love most!
Welcome back to Project Loved! As I'm sure you already know, we've picked a handful of beatmaps for each game mode that have the chance to be moved to the Loved category. You now get to decide whether or not these maps will receive that honor by voting on each map's thread (which you can find by clicking on the images in this post)!
This week's osu! selection of nominees is a little special: Toy wrote his reasoning for making this round a "Meme Week" for osu!, meaning that all of the mapsets are basically just jokes that the community came to adore.
Because this is a more unorthodox week, I'll explain the reasoning for this week's selection. I personally am not the biggest fan of meme mapsets seeking Loved status; I find an unfortunate majority of them to be poorly mapped or intentionally low quality. However, they regardless receive immeasurable support in both favorites and submissions to the public spreadsheet. Because I don't feel like it's right of me to solo-veto these sets from contention, I've decided to group them together in special "Meme Map" weeks to let the community decide their fate.
Remember how we always had that segment in this post about not having videos? NOT TODAY! We've finally hooked up with another video provider, community favourite _verto_, to produce some Project Loved content for us. In fact, you might've already seen the video he made for this round of Loved voting posted to his channel on the day this announcement was meant to go live. Speaking of which...
Sorry for the delay! The unnamed writer of these posts (that's me, hah) got caught up in some other things over the weekend and unfortunately couldn't finish writing/compiling this together by Sunday. It won't happen again! :wink:
In addition to the map quantity changes mentioned in last round's news post, the captains of osu!catch have decided to decrease the map count to just two per round. This unfortunately won't let as many maps reached loved for osu!catch, but it will prevent the backlog from depleting too quickly. We're trying to keep the backlogs of future Loved nominees stocked so that we have at least some to put up for vote every round. Sooner or later, we may just tone down the frequency of Loved voting—we've been discussing the possibility of monthly rather than bi-weekly.
Lastly, as a reminder in case you don't read the end of this post, be sure to submit suggestions for beatmaps to be added to Loved using the Google form! All of the nominated beatmaps are chosen from submissions on this form, which you can view in the corresponding Google sheet.
Let's get started! To accompany the selections, we have verto's mentioned video, showcasing all of the picks from all of the game modes. Check it out!
Navigation
osu!
All osu! descriptions written by Toy
archdiggle - undertale temmie get money for colege by aaronzzz
To kick off meme week, we have a set by aaronzzz mashing Undertale's Tem Shop with Hail Mary Mallon's Whales track. The narrative is that temmie is trying to get money so he can go to college. The map itself follows the bumpin' syncopated rhythms with some fun jump patterns and features a couple easier diffs to even out the spread. With over 245 favorites, I'm surprised I only just heard of this.
Dudu Nobre - A Grande Familia (TV Size) by Tarrasky et al.
Ah, a beautiful Brazilian meme mapset by Brazilian mapper extraordinaire, Tarrasky, and his gang of BR mappers that now holds 190+ favorites. The 23 difficulty set for osu! and osu!taiko pays homage to the Brazilian sitcom A Grande Família whose samba tune has become the source of silly meme overtures.
Emmanuel Macron ft. Marine Le Pen (Khaled Freak Mix) - Poudre de Perlimpinpin by Usubiki et al.
This is a remix sparked by the 2017 French presidential election when Emmanuel Macron accused Marine Le Pen's proposals as throwing "Poudre de Perlimpinpin" or snake oil. Now, the French osu! community has banded together to create this mammoth mapset of the debate remix. With 187 favorites and 32 submissions to the spreadsheet, it now gets its time to shine in Loved voting.
/v/ - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY LMAO by pLolz et al.
At this point, if you've been on the internet long enough, you'd be acquainted with this little green alien in some way or another. An ayy lmao variation on the macarena mapped by well-established mappers paired with custom alien hitcircles makes for a surprisingly high quality set for a low quality song with 150+ favorites.
Miraie - Gucci Gucci Literature Club's Not Hot (ft. Monika) by stq, Elcheer and Minil
A fairly recent mapset that mixes all of yesterday's memes together. It's got Doki Doki Literature Club, Gucci Gang, Man's Not Hot, all mixed together by everyone's favorite youtuber, Miraie. Submitted in early 2018, the map has very quickly amassed lots of favorites, potentially for its viability as a multiplayer map choice with its 7* jump diff. Not much to say about this, as its diff name seems to be self aware.
osu!taiko
All osu!taiko descriptions written by Backfire
Few maps ever come around that are designed to challenge players like Chipstream does. This map features three difficulties, all of which build off of the one before it, progressively getting more and more difficult. They become exponentially harder as you progress through each, the easiest of which features tons of mono-colored triplets, moving onto the middle difficulty which starts to throw in lots of variations, until we get to the hardest difficulty, which should test even the fastest stream players. This is a great practice mapset and it's no surprise that we see it here for Loved this week!
ClariS - Connect (Nightcore Trance Remix) by Naryuga
A classic set of difficulties, dating all the way back to 2012, this mapset is very well remembered for a number of reasons. A classic, fan-favorite song? Check. An appearance in the first community osu!taiko tournament, Last Man Standing? Check. A spread of difficulties that all levels of players can enjoy? Check once again! A long-since abandoned set, it's a shame that it was never ranked, but hopefully we can be happy that it's finally getting some Love! This set also features a standard set that the captains have assured me is also another favorite of lots of players!
CHARAN-PO-RANTAN - Anoko no Jinta(TAROLIN Remix) by rezi888, KitajimaYN and yyyyyyyyyyypetu
The first time I played this mapset around a month ago, I think I actually shed tears at how much I loved it. Between the stunning first listen of this song that was absolutely made for something like osu!taiko, and the varied and engaging mapping from all three of the contributors, I knew that this map would have to make it into the Loved section somehow. Each difficulty contributes different things to the map, like for instance rezi's difficulty using lots of 1/6, and Kitajima's using lots of SV changes, showing once again that Japan's dominance in playing does not harm their utter creativity when it comes to their mapping. This is one to check out for sure!
Camellia feat. nanahira - Kizuitara Shunkashuutou by shinchikuhome
In all of osu!taiko's lifespan, we have never once had a player who held the #1 rank spot for an extended period of time who could not make beautiful maps. From long ago we had kanopu, who has contributed awesome osu!taiko maps to the Loved section like Deconstruction Star, to the modern player that everyone knew as #1, in _yu68 and his bevy of maps that have made it into the Ranked and Loved sections alike.
I say all this to say, now, we have one other to add! This map is our current #1's, shinchikuhome, very first map to be put to vote into the Loved section, and certainly will not be his last either. A high energy Camellia song that lots of you may be familiar with, this map is a challenge, and you can certainly tell that only a skilled player could make something this incredibly fun and detailed. The attention to everything, down to the patterning, the SVs, the volume, shinchiku has delivered something awesome to the community, and with over 20 favorites, we simply couldn't ignore this one any longer!
Yuuyu - Howdy! and... Good-Die! by namaniku
Now closing into three years after Undertale's release, it's clear how much of an effect this game had on some parts of Japan's music community, it continuing to be a popular choice for japanese releases like Underveil, this is part of that culture that has built up over a small period of time. This particular map by namaniku carefully combines the frantic pace of the song with super dense and packed patterns, filled with lots of 1/6 and 1/8. The sparseness of the track is very well followed by the mapping itself, so you really feel like a breakbeat drummer throughout the map! It's very tastefully difficult, a perfect map for those looking for a technical map without wanting to break their keyboard!
osu!catch
All osu!catch descriptions written by SartNYAN OwO XD
Kamome Sano - Choux a la creme by Vincs
Choux a la creme is one of those typical made-for-fun maps by Vincs that you have come to expect. The map is a fairly big test to your stamina and platter control, mainly because of its abundance of doubles integrated within jumping patterns, streams, etc. The map itself is lots of fun to play and probably suited for all people at decently high rank. There is tons of replay potential due to the fact that it Choux is a pretty hard map to full combo. Check it out!
yak_won - Sewing Machine by ExGon
It has been a while since we saw an over-the-top level map being put in the loved section for osu!catch, so here we go again with ExGon's Sewing Machine! Paramount to anything this map has unconventional patterns all across its endurity. There are plenty of left-rights, jumping and tap-dashing sections, all of those being ridiculously hard to catch. I dare to bet my left kidney on the fact that there won't be any full combos to be had from this map, perhaps a pass or two from the very best players we have around, meaning this might not make for a great map for everyone. I would however suggest you try it anyway (with NoFail turned on) and see for yourself, the difficulty doesn't per se take away the fun of the map. There are definitely some satisfying patterns present in this map for everyone!
osu!mania
Rings of Saturn - Eviscerate by Xay
written by TheToaphster
Opening up for the mania spotlights is very well-known osu!mania and osu!taiko player and charter Xay with his chart for Eviscerate. Utilizing a combination of single-streaming, extremely dense jumpstream bursts, and everything in between, it makes a good time for any jumpstream enthusiasts, especially those who value the tight-knit structure offered throughout.
It stands out in the charting circles for its incredible structure and accuracy, as well as in the competitive circles for its straightforwardness and enjoyability. This combination had not gone unnoticed either, having been used in the semifinals of the osu!mania 4K World Cup 2016, and gaining significant interest by said communities. For those players who value a fun challenge in combination with extremely high-quality this is a must-see for the Loved Section.
D_VOR - dEKA by Tidek
written by _underjoy
D_VOR - dEKA by Tidek is one of these maps you could call ""evil"". It started as a gimmicky DDR chart, which was then adopted to osu!mania as a qualifier for Polish tournament, MP4K. This map was one of Tidek's first SV works, as well as the one that made him famous in the area. It was recently updated with SitekX's 7K rendition of the chart.
Seemingly innocent, this map quickly makes the player think twice about what they see. Starting relatively slowly, it quickly develops into a chart full of SV traps, teleports and slowjams which are notoriously hard to achieve good accuracy on thanks to very high OD setting. The most notable section of the song is an ominous slowjam in the middle, which has caused some serious casualties amongst the player base. Luckily, Tidek has made his patterning lenient and comfortable to counterweight very aggressive speed changes he has put in the map. The teleport section, which is especially hard to read, aids players with intuitive, carefully planned patterning, which can be easily memorized. If the Loved category needs a devilish map which deprives players of their sleep, it's this one.
EasyPop - Happy Synthesizer by c36098651
written by _underjoy
Another oldschool osu!mania mapset, EasyPop - Happy Synthesizer by c36098651 is a classic example of a map that hasn't lost any of its charm over the course of time.
Although the O2Jam-style of 7K difficulties is rather standard, the 4K version is one of the first quality long note maps. As a part of osu!mania 4K World Cup 2014 mappools, it was ahead of its era in the sea of Stepmania-esque, monothematic picks. Although the mapping style has changed a lot since then, Happy Synthesizer is still a very pleasant mapset, great both for long note training or just for chill, fun playing time. Therefore, its appearance in the Loved voting should not be a surprise for anyone.
Jinjin - ET Mania Mix by Jinjin
written by TheToaphster
Next up is our ET Jinjin bringing us a medley rather fitting to his title. ET Mania Mix is exactly as the name describes it, being a medley of songs that have become famous (or infamous) for the difficulty of the charts that accompany them, taking inspiration from 4K charts such as AiAe and Blastix Riotz to 7K charts like End Time and Maniera as well as even some lesser-played keymodes like LeaF Style Super Shredder, all of which have been remapped by Jinjin to 4K with the difficulty certainly keeping the pace expected by the songs' ranked counterparts.
As one would expect from the title of the chart, it proves to be a mark of skill to play this chart with competence. This then begs the question: do you have what it takes to be a true certified ET? Find out by testing your skills on this rollercoaster of a chart!
ESTi - Ghostly Band ~ Phantom Ensemble by ArcherLove et al.
written by aitor98
We have already talked about ArcherLove and his map xi - over the top, but this time, we bring him back to the Loved Section, followed by a new set that goes by Ghostly Band ~ Phantom Ensemble by ESTi. This map features a good usage of Long Note patterns, such as irregular Long Note releases, shields, light Long Note chordstreams and more. If we compare this to his previous Loved Map this is fairly easy difficulty-wise, but don't get fooled this easy. Going at 156 BPM, the map itself becomes a true nightmare to get good accuracy on, as well as being able to misread with ease due to the complex patterning and the length of some Long Notes.
It also has a really good difficulty span going from 1.4 stars up to 5.5 which makes it accessible for more players. Definitely a map worth enough for Loved!
Frums - memoryfactory.lzh by Nivrad00
written by Kamikaze
Have you ever been tired of playing the same ranked maps over and over again? Have you ever been frustrated with lack of progress and wanted to take a break? Have you ever wanted to try something new, while still playing your favourite key-smashing game? Do you like typing to the rhythm? Now there's a chart just for you!
Here's the newfound masterpiece of the amazingly creative Nivrad00's notefactory: a map, which redefines the vertical scrolling rhythm game, and turns it into a typing to the rhythm game! We're of course talking about memoryfactory.lzh, the map that utilizes a special set of rules described in the map's description. Nivrad created this masterpiece using 18K template, a ruleset of specific keybinds, a special do-not-show-playfield-and-notes skin as well as beautifully crafted storyboard to complete it. Challenge yourself and your typing skills with three difficulties, each being harder than the other, containing more complex sentences and requiring better reflexes to read those. It is truly a one-of-a-kind piece, and as such, I think it really deserves its spot in the Loved category!
xi - Valhalla by Remillion Cross, ExUsagi and LordRaika
written by aitor98
And for our last pick, we have a map that should be familiar to the older players, a map which stood out at the time, being qualified at one point but never reaching its desired place: we present to you, xi - Vallhala by Remillion Cross. With two guest difficultes made by LordRaika and Arzenvald, this map features one of the most unconventional pattern styles that you'll see in a while. He was one of the first mappers that introduced the meaning "underrated" in the Ranked section and it was definitely deserved. It has a good mix between Long Notes and bursts, nasty jacks, shields, extremely rough transitions and more.
If you have already played any of his maps (Fiat Lux or INFINITY OVERDRIVE), you really know what you're getting into. Good luck!
From everyone on the Project Loved team, we hope you enjoy this week's selection, and look forward to the next! The winning beatmaps will hit the Loved beatmap listing sometime next week and will be announced via @osugame on Twitter.
If you have any suggestions for beatmaps to be added to the Loved category, please submit them using the Google form! You can view the current submissions on the corresponding Google sheet.
—clayton
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