Project Loved: Week of May 19th

Project Loved's back in the spotlight with yet another selection of awesome unranked maps! Come take a look, and cast your votes for whether or not these maps should enter the Loved category!

Welcome back to Project Loved! Every two weeks, we pick out a few beatmaps from each game mode that will get their shot at making it into the Loved category. From the maps we selected, you can now vote whether or not you want them to be Loved! Click on each map's header image in this post to be taken to its voting thread.

In case you don't read to 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. For osu!mania, please use this Google form and this Google sheet instead.

Navigation

• osu!
• osu!taiko
• osu!catch
• osu!mania

osu!

osu! Loved candidates were chosen by DigitalHypno, -Roxas, BeasttrollMC, Bubbleman, fartownik and waywern2012!

Glutamine - Remote Control by Lokovodo
165 BPM, 5:01 | 6.01★, 6.01★
description written by Bubbleman

Lokovodo is relatively infamous for his mechanics testing maps from back when 8 stars was but a glimmer in the top players' eyes, and Glutamine's cover of Remote Control received a treatment similar to that of Garven's Ranked set. Filled with large jumps from the 2013 era of mapping, the map has a structure you won't find in any recent offerings. There is both an AR10 version and an extra AR9 difficulty for those insane enough to slap DT on the map. Sounds enjoyable to me, what about you?

Feryquitous - Dille by Linada
191 BPM, 2:34 | 6.41★
description written by Bubbleman

Feryquitous songs are always such bangers, and Dille is no exception. A medium-length trip through some tricky stream patterns, Linada's map does a great job of representing the song through its use of rhythms and changing velocities in jumps and streams. As a brilliant yet still accessible map for most, if you've never played this map then you're missing out. Give it a go!

Guriri - -ERROR by Kalindraz et al.
200 BPM, 3:50 | 2.05★ – 7.51★
description written by fartownik

Sets with lots of difficulties tend to include maps not up to par with the current mapping standards, often going the way of "hooking up" mediocre maps to the main difficulty that the set was known for in the first place. This is totally not the case with Kalindraz's -ERROR set though, containing 13 maps and only 3 of them not being considered an "Extra" level of difficulty. I can't think of a single map from this set that I'd consider subpar in any way. Each Extra difficulty offers a different challenge for the player, ranging from a simple yet effective new-gen mapping from Kalindraz himself, a symmetry-based and slider-heavy entry from Marianna, a CS2 technical difficulty from Net0, an AR6.5 reading training from Kalindraz again and on top of all of that a TAG4 map too. Accompanied by an amazing, emotional song, this set makes for one of the hottest Loved prospects available right now.

Rib - Seisou Bakuretsu Boy by Midge
310 BPM, 3:21 | 6.04★
description written by fartownik

Midge is a mapper that "specializes" in mapping for the Graveyard section, currently sitting at 38 Graveyarded maps and an astonishing zero Ranked overall. Seisou Bakuretsu Boy is one of these Graveyard maps, a hidden gem among many others proving you don't need to have any Ranked maps to map well. The mapset consists of a single difficulty, mapped in an old-school, technical style (2016), using accelerating streams as the main force to accentuate the vivacious atmosphere of the song. Midge manages to masterfully combine emphasizing both the lyrics and the beat with his mapping, switching the focus dynamically. This map is a great example of a mapper "going wild" and letting their imagination do all the work. Emotional mapping!

Toby Fox - THE WORLD REVOLVING by Ancelysia and Vulkin
190 BPM, 1:42 | 6.67★
description written by BeasttrollMC

With the success of Toby Fox's latest game, Deltarune, an onslaught of beatmaps for its amazing soundtrack shortly followed. Starting off as an osu!taiko mapset by Vulkin, THE WORLD REVOLVING quickly gained popularity thanks to its osu!standard guest difficulty from Ancelysia. This mapset was actually one of the first to rise after the song's debut, and many players quickly became accustomed to its large jumps and spaced streams. This is a really fun map, especially for Deltarune fans who are looking for a bit of chaos!

Madsonik & Kill The Noise - Divebomb (feat. Tom Morello) by Ksardas
170 BPM, 2:54 | 8.31★, 8.31★
description written by BeasttrollMC

It's hard to resist this absolute BANGER of a song, but then again, it's also hard to survive the barrage of 250 BPM jumps that are featured in this map. It started as just a song that was shared around by top players, but quickly gained traction after FunOrange uploaded a liveplay of himself passing the map with HardRock. Since then, the map has garnered over 65 favorites and is a classic when looking for some good tunes.

MAN WITH A MISSION - When My Devil Rises by NyaKame and My Angel United
214 BPM, 4:13 | 6.69★, 6.75★, 6.83★
description written by DigitalHypno

214 BPM madness incoming! This mapset features three difficulties in the upper-6-star range, all of which capture the fiery intensity of the song. Mixed with long jump patterns, frequent triples, and occasional streams, this mapset is the perfect platform for taking your skills to the next level. Hopefully the 170+ favourites can help convince you that this mapset is one worth checking out!

kors k feat. RIRE - Nirvana (Camellia's "BinaryHeaven" Remix) by taku
174 BPM, 5:05 | 6.15★
description written by DigitalHypno

Serving as a great compliment to the Ranked mapsets of this song, taku's beatmap of "Nirvana" gives a jumpier feel to the song while still having its fair share of finger control and cut streams to keep you clicking to the beat! Complete with polished patterns and custom hitsounds, this map is a great five minutes of fun for those of you who enjoy all-in-one marathons. Check it out and drop your vote!

Kurokotei - Scattered Faith by MinG3012
80 BPM, 7:12 | 11.03★
description written by -Roxas

You may know the artist Kurokotei from the Loved map Galaxy Collapse; if you enjoyed that, then you'll be glad to know another monster of a Kurokotei map has appeared in voting this week! Ming3012's "Scattered Faith" is by no means easy, with the map being 11 stars! The map consists of fast 320 BPM patterns and lots of BPM changes and build-ups in between the kiai times that will for sure keep you alert at all times. In addition to these extreme patterns, the map also chucks in burst buzz-slider streams, and if you played any of Ming's maps, you'll know that his maps always contain a gimmick to them... that part is for you to find out. Good luck and have a blast with this map!

Camellia - NUCLEAR-STAR by ProfessionalBox et al.
199 BPM, 4:13 | 0.43★ – 7.67★
description written by -Roxas

Now this is a collab with many well known mappers in it, and the set creator is the one and only ProfessionalBox. "Camellia - NUCLEAR-STAR" has a variety of difficulties that each vary in their own respective mapper's way. The map ranges from 0.44 stars to 7.67 stars, so there's a bit of everything in this set: from slider-tech-heavy patterns to more simple standard ones, there's a difficulty that suits anyone who gives this map a go!

osu!taiko

osu!taiko Loved candidates were chosen by -Kazu-, iceOC, jyake and nyanmi-1828!

Cranky - Feline, the White... by -[ ix Ishida xi ]-
170 BPM, 3:15 | 7.13★, 7.13★
description written by -Kazu-

Ishida is known for being a bold mapper; if she feels like it suits to add 1/8 or 1/12 notes, she will do it without any remorse, and this often times result in quite interesting maps that feel overmapped at first, but as you play it, something clicks on your head and it makes sense all of a sudden. This time, her map for Feline, the White... is a perfect example of her mapping style, with plenty of difficult snappings that somehow don't even feel uncomfortable and SV thrown into the mix just as a little spice rather than the main flavor. This results on a really tough map, so good luck trying to clear it!

katagiri - kuu by Backfire
260 BPM, 4:21 | 6.38★
description written by jyake

kuu is simply a very high-quality map. The patterns and SV perfectly capture the tension of the song. SV is more chaotic in less dense sections of the map, while the difficult parts purely rely on the patterns and density to be challenging. I definitely think people will love this map.

Au - U.Nknown Goose by Chocopikel et al.
200 BPM, 1:37 | 5.02★, 5.29★, 5.71★, 5.89★
description written by iceOC

Get your own experience of mapping history with U.Nknown Goose, an eight-year-old set. This classic GD mapset by Chocopikel dates back to 2011, with osu!taiko difficulties mapped by four competent mappers—each with their own interpretations of the song. See for yourself what maps looked like back in the day!

toby fox - Ruins (sasakure.UK Remix) by eae
110 BPM, 2:47 | 5.97★
description written by nyanmi-1828

It's TWC season! eae managed to map this very relaxing song with dense patterns using some very clever mapping. Thanks to how challenging it is to read, this map was featured in this year's TWC quarterfinals as a NoMod pick. Practice your low-SV reading with this challenging map!

今年もTWCの季節がやってきた！eaeによるこの譜面は、落ち着いた曲調のこの曲を、巧みなマッピングスキルでに高密度に仕上げることが出来ています。Readingの難しさから、osu!taiko World Cup 2019のmappoolとしても選ばれています。低いスクロールスピードの譜面が苦手なあなたも、ぜひこの譜面で練習してみてください！

osu!catch

osu!catch Loved candidates were chosen by Sartan, Tenshichan, Wesley and Yumeno Himiko!

Memme - Goat Fantasia by Spectator
125 BPM, 2:27 | 4.82★, 4.82★
description written by Yumeno Himiko

Spectator is an absolute veteran of osu!catch mapping; there are hardly any players who don't know at least a couple of maps by him. He is joining the Loved section again, but this time with one of his more unusual maps, Goat Fantasia. People who had the pleasure of playing it during the osu!catch World Cup 2018 (it was used for the Hidden bracket of the finals mappool) might experience some flashbacks when thinking about this map. The map itself is actually not that difficult, but there obviously was a good reason why it was in the HD bracket of the pool rather than in the NoMod bracket; it is Hell with Hidden and a challenge for even the best of the best among the Hidden players. So, if you are looking for a true challenge, this is it. Of course, you can also enjoy the map with any other mod of your choice, as it is a fun map overall which deserves the nomination.

Sound Horizon - Yoiyami no Uta by Vincs
182 BPM, 10:11 | 6.15★
description written by Tenshichan

Vincs is certainly not an unknown entity when it comes to the Loved section, as he already has three of his maps in it. However, this time it is not another CS0 map. Instead, it is a 10-minute-long map of exceptional quality with a drain time of over 8 minutes, and that on a single song. Yoiyami no Uta is one of those maps which just doesn't deserve to be forgotten in the Graveyard. The map definitely reflects the insane amount of work that went into it; nothing feels out of place, and even though the map is long, it isn't repetitive or boring to play, rather the opposite. The mapping style is very clean and was kept at a level where it is not over-the-top but on the other hand also not too easy. You just have to give this map a shot if you want to know how fantastic it really is; it is truly a great experience!

osu!mania

osu!mania Loved candidates were chosen by Shoegazer, Lenfried-, Pope Gadget and Toaph Daddy!

PSYQUI - Hype feat. Such (lapix Remix) by Chrubble
175 BPM, 4:37 | [4K] 4.97★

Starting off osu!mania Loved is a chart whose description is summed up very nicely within its own title. Yes, this map very much lives up to the word "hype" through its great variety of technical elements, the consistency and satisfaction of these choices, and also the difficulty of it that more than matches up with the expectations of the song. A player who wishes to experience the hype around this map will find themselves immersed in a plethora of fast and tricky bursts, difficult minijack patterns, and disjointed LNs and releases sure to keep the attention of said player. Even with its near-5-minute play time, the chart continues to develop its patterns, eventually culminating in an intense showcase of LNs that neatly captures the ultimate intensity that the song was preparing and keeping the player on their toes for. All-in-all, a satisfying experience with the quickly-grown following gives this chart more than enough hype to earn it a nomination spot.

Helblinde - A Reyvateil's Curse by Skochan
200 BPM, 4:25 | [4K] 7.69★, [7K] 6.92★

Joining in on the trend of insanely difficult and popular LN maps to be nominated comes A Reyvateil's Curse, a rather varied LN chart as far as these maps come. Skochan makes sure to bombard the player with as many difficult patterns as he can while remaining faithful to the song, stretching from LN jacks, speed and bursts to full on inverse in some sections. This variety has made it very appealing to LN enthusiasts, as well as anyone looking to get practice with the upper end of the skillset, and has led it to gain a significant following, landing it in a perfect position to be nominated for the Loved section.

fallen shepherd feat. RabbiTon Strings - ENDYMION by Halogen- and Kamikaze
220 BPM, 1:59 | [4K] 1.35★, [4K] 3.56★, [4K] 4.09★, [4K] 5.44★

DanceDanceRevolution A's ENDYMION is notorious for having the hardest official singles chart in all of DDR, and, in the realm of osu!mania, having a difficult chart that has accumulated both notoriety and admiration over the years.

The highest difficulty of ENDYMION (Resurrection) is compact—it packs dense jumpstreams (that are more one-hand trilly than most dense jumpstreams), fast minijacks, fast split jumptrills, LNs (both in abundance and with hard releases), and slowjams all into a chart that clocks in at a brief 1:59. There are close to no charts that test that that many skills in a short period of time, which partially explains the chart's popularity. The chart's multifold personality hasn't been overlooked by mappool selectors either; it has been selected in SOFT3—part of a series of osu!mania's biggest tournaments.

Resurrection is also executed very well: pitch relevance is used well whenever possible (pay attention to the violin or guitar!), most chords have a heavy sound that justifies its density, the LN layering choices are extremely intuitive, and, despite the chart's high difficulty and rigid pattern choices, the chart doesn't feel gratuitous. Like most of Halogen-'s charts that have been nominated previously, Halogen-, with his tact, manages to infuse a multi-coloured palette with high difficulty to create a chart that is both complementary and unique.

For lower-level players, there are three lower difficulties to check out, including a guest difficulty from Kamikaze. I believe that Insane, while isn't as unique as Resurrection, is a very good chart from a structural standpoint and gratifying to play through. Beginner is also quite good.

Ujico*/Snail's House - Snailchan Adventure by Wonki
174 BPM, 3:22 | [7K] 6.58★

Finally coming into the Project Loved scene, we have Wonki's Snailchan Adventure! This map clocks in at 174 BPM and delivers a striking balance between rigid and comfy chordstream patterns. You name it, this has it! Brackets, anchors, chordtrills, and and a copious amount of comfy chordstreams. With its own share of pattern repetition to highlight similar sounding sections, a lot of sectional changes to the overall feel to the chart are present as well. Ranging from jacking, to burst patterns, and even an LN section later on into the song, this chart has something that everyone should look forward to playing.

Kajiura Yuki - Credens justitiam by Flexo123
136 BPM, 3:39 | [7K] 5.88★

In classic O2Jam fashion, we have our LN pick with Flexo123's Credens justitiam. Primarily a release-intensive chart, the map starts with with simple light chordstreaming at 136 BPM, which gradually transitions into a nearly full-LN chart by the first main section. While note yet release heavy, the section slowly picks up with the LN density and introduces some instances of LN release tech which peaks towards the end of the section. These introduced patterns only get more and more difficult as the map progresses.

After the break, the player faces LN densities in their full form. Going borderline inverse with tons of varying LN lengths, this section seriously tests the releasing capabilities of the player. Going with an OD of 5 as opposed to 0, racking 300s and Rainbows should pose an extra challenge here. Good luck!

From everyone on the Project Loved team, we hope you enjoyed this week's selection, and are looking forward to the next! The winning beatmaps will hit the Loved beatmap listing sometime next week and will be announced via @osugame on Twitter.

In addition to all of the Loved captains that choose the maps and write the descriptions, make sure to thank Toy, Noffy, ThatsNotAName, huu and Ephemeral for their miscellaneous help in managing Project Loved.

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. For osu!mania, please use this Google form and this Google sheet instead.

—clayton