Vocaloid Mapping Contest 3

The Vocaloid Mapping Contest (VMC) is a beatmapping contest hosted by the Vocaloid Appreciation Team (VAT). Its purpose is to promote VOCALOID, UTAU, and other vocal synth music, giving both popular and overlooked songs a chance to shine.

Participants compete to create the best beatmap possible, with their entries judged by some of the most talented and respected VOCALOID-focused mappers in the osu! community.

The third iteration of the contest introduces a multi-phase format featuring the PARALLEL, SWAP, and DUET rounds. This year also celebrates multiple Featured Artists whose songs were specifically chosen for the competition, along with continued support for every game mode.

Contest schedule

All deadlines end at 23:59 UTC.

The results livestreams will be broadcast live on the Vocaloid Appreciation Team Twitch channel, with commentary and live reactions. Recordings will later be available on the Vocaloid Appreciation Team YouTube channel.

Prizes

All participating mappers will receive feedback from experienced members of the community to help them improve their skills.

Reach out to -White or head over to the contest's main website if you are interested in sponsoring this event!

Links

• Main website
• Discord server
• Twitch channel
• YouTube channel
• Announcement news post
• Contest listings

  • PARALLEL & SWAP round (osu!)
  • PARALLEL & SWAP round (osu!taiko)
  • PARALLEL & SWAP round (osu!catch)
  • PARALLEL & SWAP round (osu!mania)

Ruleset

• Submissions must use songs from MARETU's Featured Artist listing and mimizu's Featured Artist listing. Cut versions are not allowed.
• Teams must submit a team roster anytime prior to submitting Round 1 entries. Only teams of two are allowed to participate. Mappers may not participate solo. Teams may not be changed after roster submissions.
• Submissions must be in .osz format.
• Beatmaps must follow the ranking criteria. Minor mistakes (like an off-screen object) can be forgiven, but intentional unrankable elements will result in disqualification.
• Maps must remain anonymous until after the results are announced. Metadata will be anonymized before judging.
• No storyboards or videos are to be included in submissions.
• No manual .osu file edits beyond what is possible in the editor.
• Each .osz submission must include all required difficulties and songs for that round. Be sure to follow the instructions on the submission page to avoid issues!
• Collaborative difficulties should feature approximately equal contribution between both mappers.
• All aspects of each submission must be created solely be a member of the team. As such, artificial intelligence (AI) is not permitted.

Registration

• To participate, a team of two (2) mappers must be formed. There is no restriction on who you can have on your team, with limited exceptions:

  • No mappers may be restricted or contest/tournament banned.
  • Mappers cannot participate on more than one team.
  • Mappers may not be a judge, screener, or other staff for the contest.
• One member of the team will need to be the captain. This should be decided prior to signing up.
• One member of each team, at minimum, is required to join the VAT Discord server in order to receive important contest updates.
• Register here.

Judging

The judging process is split between Phase 1 (PARALLEL & SWAP Rounds) and Phase 2 (DUET Round). Each phase includes its own unique primary category, while all other criteria apply equally to both.

In Phase 1, each map for Song A is scored individually in Relevance, Creativity, Expertise, and Overall Impression. The scores in each criteria are added. Then, these two maps are put side to side a 'Uniqueness' score is added. This is worth 25% of the raw score. This process repeats for Song B. Song B's averaged criteria scores are then averaged with Song A's, which are then standardized to determine the final placements.

Staff

Contest format

The VMC3 consists of three unique phases: PARALLEL, SWAP, and DUET, each with distinct objectives and rules.

PARALLEL round

• Teams of two mappers must be formed before submitting for this round.
• One mapper will select and map a song from MARETU, while the other will select and map a song from mimizu.
• Each team must submit two (2) separate maps by the round deadline — one for each chosen song.
• After submissions close, a short screening phase will occur.

  • Teams that are eliminated will be notified via osu! private message or Discord.

Tip: form your team and start planning early to avoid last-minute rushes. Plan ahead for future rounds when selecting your teammate.

SWAP round

• Surviving teams will now swap songs with their partners:

  • For example, if Mapper A mapped Song #1 in the PARALLEL Round, they will now map Song #2, which Mapper B originally mapped.
• Each team must again submit two (2) completely new maps, one for each swapped song.
• The twist: These new maps must reflect a different interpretation of the songs than in the PARALLEL Round.

  • Maps that are overly similar to their original versions will receive heavy penalties during judging.
• If you are confident your team will survive the screening phase, you may begin work on this round before results are announced.

DUET round

• The top 6 teams from the SWAP Round advance to this final phase.
• Both team members will collaborate directly to create a single cohesive mapset for a selected song.
• Every difficulty in the submission must be created collaboratively.

This three-phase structure challenges teams to demonstrate:

• Individual skill and creativity in the PARALLEL Round,
• Adaptability and innovation in the SWAP Round, and
• Collaborative harmony and teamwork in the DUET Round finale.