#mapping-criteria

#mapping-criteria

Here's list of criteria that should be followed in order of priority, highest-to-lowest, when reviewing a map.
These criteria should be used to judge a quality of a map (and, independent of the song being mapped, its likelihood of being accepted).

Any review that does not directly refer to these points should not be taken seriously, and should not be considered direct "actionable" feedback.
All requirements mentioned in #mapping-information still apply.

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Fundamentals
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These are the most important fundamentals in mapping, and your map will not be accepted if there are issues with any of the criteria in this section.

[1] ----- The notes in your map must be "synced" to the music. -----

There should be no noticeable delay (early or late) between your map and the music.
To test this: try playing your song back at 50% or 75% speed (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/1_playbackspeed.png), setting your sample volume to max (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/1_samplevolume.png) and testing your map.

[2] ----- The timing of your map (BPM, timing points and time signature) must correctly reflect the song. -----

Your timing should be set up such that the measures align with those in the music, and that the majority of your notes logically fall on the 1/4th (white line) or 1/8th (red line). This will be the case for the large majority of songs that you would want to map.
A visual description of measures and beats in the osumania editor: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/2_bardesc.png)

If you are finding yourself placing many notes outside of the 1/4th or 1/8th, you likely have an incorrect bpm, need to use a timing point or have an incorrect time signature. 
Example: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/2_incorrect.png) - This is INCORRECT, and will NOT be accepted. Notes are not generally aligned to the 1/4th or 1/8th (this was placed on another beat snap divisor), indicating incorrect bpm. This kind of map usually won't pass the "ear test" mentioned in [1].

Timing points can be used to temporarily change the bpm, apply offset or change time signature of your map.
They should be used when the music changes as mentioned above. Using one will save you a lot of work.
Many songs that aren't "electronic" will often need timing points to compensate certain freely-timed sections.
Visual guide: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/2_timingpoint.png)

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Matching The Music
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The way to achieve a "fun" map is to make your map match the music.
Think about it: When you play a rhythm game, you're not just randomly pressing the buttons.
You want to feel like you are "creating" the music, and that every note you hit corresponds with something going on in the song.

So, all the buzzwords commonly thrown around (patterns, jacks, trills, etc) are all secondary to the goal of "matching the music".

[3] ----- Every note in your map should correspond with an important and distinct sound in the music. ----- 

I see a lot of map submissions that look like this: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/3_matchmusic.png). Is this good or bad? 

The answer entirely depends on what is going on in music at this moment.
If there are a large amount of closely spaced notes, you should make sure every one of those notes corresponds with something going on in the song. So, the music here better be loud, rapidly-alternating and fast-paced or else this is "bad".

The goal of your note placement is to match the rhythms in the music.
Do not put notes where there is nothing in the music.

[4] ----- Emphasized sounds in the music should be reflected with emphasized notes in your map. ----- 

I see a lot of map submissions that also look like this: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/4_emphasis.png)(modifié)
What is going on in the music?

There is an emphasis on almost every 1/4th beat. Any subtlety of rhythm or melody is lost, and the only thing I could imagine this accurately representing is the loudest part of some intense death metal song. 

Use double, triple and quadruple notes sparingly. Use them to emphasize important things that happen in the music. Using them too often will make them less impactful. If there's a loud, unexpected event in the music - we'd better know it when playing your map.

Do not add double/triple notes to your map to make something harder. Only use double/triple notes to emphasize things that happen in the music.

Also: use hold notes to emphasize held notes in the music.
I see a lot of maps that don't do so. They're a tool that should be used for the goal of matching the music. They should be used.

[5] ----- Differences of intensity in the song should be reflected in your map. -----

Finally, I see a lot of submissions that look like this: (http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/5_intensity.png)

Specifically, I'm looking at the bar on the left - it represents map intensity.
There are no breaks in intensity, everything is set to 100% the entire way through.
Unless this is some sort of non-stop screaming death metal, this is "bad".

The intensity of your map should reflect the intensity of the music, and reflect contrasting sections in the music.

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Style Consistency
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Once your map matches the music, any further changes are (generally speaking) differences in opinion.
Here are some commonly agreed-upon "good things" to do when mapping.

[6] ----- Your map should be consistent in which patterns it uses to match which sounds in the music. -----

It's memorable to have parts of the song that reoccur multiple times mapped to one specific pattern.
If you do this (which you should), you should be consistent about it: every time that part in the song happens, you should use the same pattern or some sort of recognizable variation.

Be consistent. Similar sounding sections should be recognizable in your map.

[7] ----- When relevant, the placement of notes within sections of your map should have a visible "direction". This should match the changes of "pitch" in the music for that section. -----

(http://spotcos.com/robeats/mapping_criteria/7_direction.png)
Take a look at these two mappings: they're the same amount of notes with the exact same timings.

The one on the left is more memorable - it conveys more information about what is going on in the music.
If the song has "up and down" changes in pitch, it is the "better" map.

When applicable, use "directional" patterns to have your map reflect the rising and falling of pitch of the song.
This will lead to better maps - Your map will contain more information about the song.