BN Applications: Autumn Cycle 2018

"You always wanted to be a Beatmap Nominator? Now is your time to shine!" You probably have not read that sentence for a while, though after a small hiatus we are proud to announce the reopening of the BN Applications! Keep reading for all the details and how to apply!

Changes to the application process

In the previous applications cycle, we already announced that the old forum discussions system (also known as Modding V1) will no longer be considered towards the activity count. The modding activity with such system was low enough (around 5% of the total mods) to be deprecated in future applications.

As you might know from previous BN Applications, the QAT evaluates each applicant that has surpassed the Required Minimum Score within various important aspects that a Beatmap Nominator should have: attitude towards other members of the osu! community, modding abilities in their respective game mode, and knowledge of the Ranking Criteria that applies to their mods.

However, without context, it is sometimes difficult to say from the provided sample mods how proficient a modder actually is. Therefore applicants that passed the score threshold in the activity check will now need to take part in a proficiency test to see if they are familiar with the Ranking Criteria, the Code of Conduct, and also the Beatmap Nominator Rules, as potential future members of the Beatmap Nominators.

New Mod Score formula

With the migration of nearly all beatmaps to the new modding discussions system made in mid-June, there was a need to adapt to such changes. The previous Required Minimum Score was based on the sum of the total Kudosu Score and the total Mod Score within the last three months.

However, with the new modding discussions system, the amount of Kudosu achieved per mod has increased significantly, leading to an inflation of the Kudosu Score and hence to the Required Minimum Score.

Based on data from previous BN Applications and trying to remove Kudosu from the equation, the Mod Score per month will be calculated with the following formula:

Mod Score Formula

• m = Minimum expected number of individual beatmaps modded in a month
• M = Total achieved number of individual beatmaps modded in a month

The formula has been generalised to adapt to the necessities of each game mode, in a similar way as the previous formula set a score threshold of 1100 for osu! and 1050 for the other game modes. So what is the new Minimum Score, you may ask?

Required Minimum Score

In order to achieve the new Required Minimum Score, the sum of the total Mod Score within the last three months must be greater or equal to zero, regardless of the game mode you wish to apply for. For this BN Applications cycle, we will set the following values to the formula, depending on the game mode:

• osu! - m = 4 and a total of 200 Kudosu or more
• osu!taiko, osu!catch and osu!mania - m = 3 and a total of 150 Kudosu or more

The fixated Kudosu value is additionally set in order to avoid cases where the applicant achieves the Required Minimum Score, but they are still relatively inexperienced with the modding system.

How do I apply?

You will have until October 3rd (23:59 UTC) to submit your application. Processing through applications may take up to three weeks. The basic criteria which apply to all applicants are as follows:

• You should have been modding actively for at least 3 months prior to the announcement
• Experienced modders from all game modes may apply
• Each modder can only apply for one specific game mode per cycle
• You must be familiar with the current modding environment and abide by the current Code of Conduct
• You are familiar with the Ranking Criteria and apply it where needed in your mods

We wish good luck to all applicants, and hope to see enough reinforcements for all game modes to ensure the number of Ranked beatmaps keeps growing!

—Deif