osu!catch ranking criteria 2e1c41

Notice: This article is an extension of the general ranking criteria. 6l3333

This set of osu!catch ranking criteria lays out beatmap ranking procedure.

Overall 1w7254

Overall rules and guidelines apply to every kind of osu!catch difficulty. Rhythm-related rules and guidelines apply to approximately 180 BPM beatmaps with 4/4 time signatures. If your song is drastically faster or slower, some variables might be different, as detailed in Scaling BPM on the Ranking Criteria.

General 6t6a34

Rules 2fv15

• Your map must theoretically be possible to SS. This means it must be possible to catch absolutely all droplets.
• Each beatmap must use at least two different custom combo colours unless the default skin is forced. The combo colours must not blend with the beatmap's background/storyboard/video in any case. This is so hit objects are always visible to the player and custom skin's combo colours do not blend with the background accidentally.
• Do not use keysounds without hitnormal . If sounds blend perfectly with the song, for hitting notes is minimal.
• If the drain time of each difficulty is...

  • ...lower than 2:30, the lowest difficulty cannot be harder than a Salad, or provide a proper spread¹ containing at least 4 difficulties.
  • ...between 2:30 and 3:15, the lowest difficulty cannot be harder than a Platter, or provide a proper spread¹ containing at least 3 difficulties.
  • ...between 3:15 and 4:00, the lowest difficulty cannot be harder than a Rain, or provide a proper spread¹ containing at least 2 difficulties.
  • drain time to meet the above thresholds. For the highest difficulty, this is limited to at most 30 seconds of break time. This does not apply to difficulties with less than 30 seconds of drain time.

Guidelines 5im65

• All circles and slider heads should represent a sound existing in the music. This is usually a distinct sound, but can also represent a continuous sound with an indistinguishable start or end.
• Slider tails of extended sliders should be snapped according to the song's beat structure. If the song is using a straight beat, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 should be used. If the song is using a swing beat, 1/6 or 1/12 should be used. If the song has a sound in a different snap from what was recommended, snapping to an actual beat always takes priority.
• hyperdashes should not be used when the destination of the dash or hyperdash is located near the left or right border of the playfield. This creates an uncomfortable movement as the catcher is forcibly stopped upon reaching the border of the playfield (x:16 on the left and x:496 on the right).
• Ensure bananas also count as "fruits". New combos should be placed regularly to clear the plate and avoid this.
• Try to have at least one spinner in each difficulty to create variety in the map and fluctuation among scores. However, if a spinner just doesn't fit anywhere in the song, then there's no need to force one.
• spinner has. Overall Difficulty only affects the maximum score of a difficulty.

  • If a difficulty uses a lower Approach Rate than one or more difficulties in the difficulty level below it, then the Overall Difficulty should be equal to that of the highest Overall Difficulty value in the previous difficulty level.
• Slider tick rate should be set according to the song. For example if your song only uses 1/3 snapping, using tick rate 2 or 4 would not be fitting.
• Use the same slider tick rate on every difficulty as it is a property of the music rather than the mapping. However, lower difficulties may use lower tick rates to reduce accuracy requirements for newer players, providing they still follow the rhythm of the song. Using high tick rates purely to increase score/combo/difficulty is senseless.
• Avoid using fruits with low background dim.
• Avoid using combo colours with ~220 luminosity or higher if Kiai time is used. Light colours create bright pulses during Kiai time, which can be unpleasant to the eyes.

Skinning 3b464z

Rules 2fv15

• Custom catchers must be included in v2 skin format. This is to ensure correct display on all skins. The required filenames are fruit-catcher-idle.png, fruit-catcher-kiai.png and fruit-catcher-fail.png.
• Custom objects must include all necessary elements and be coloured in a scale of grey colours. This is to ensure that your images are clearly defined and of acceptable quality. The needed elements can be found at Skinning/osu!catch. Additionally, it is recommendable to use transparent elements for the overlays.
• Skinned elements must be the same size as their default skin counterparts. This is so they represent the hitbox properly and don't alter gameplay. The current dimensions used in the default skin are 128x128 pixels for the drops and 306x320 for the catcher.

Guidelines 5im65

• Custom catchers should additionally include the element lighting.png to complete the skin set. This element is however optional to add and has default dimensions of 184x184 pixels, though it may vary depending on the desired visibility of the element.

Difficulty-specific x6x3c

Difficulty-specific rules and guidelines do only apply to the difficulty level they are listed for and therefore do not apply to every osu!catch difficulty. Rhythm-related rules and guidelines apply to approximately 180 BPM beatmaps. If your song is drastically faster or slower, some variables might be different, as detailed in Scaling BPM on the Ranking Criteria.

Difficulty names 3f6g17

Main article: Difficulty naming

• Cup
• Salad
• Platter
• Rain
• Overdose

Snapping reference table 4w32v

Cup 543w1k

Rules 2fv15

• hyperdashes of any kind are disallowed. This is to ensure an easy starting experience to beginner players. In order to test that out, it must be possible to achieve an SS rank on the difficulty without making use of the dash key.
• At least 250 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the start and end of spinners. This is to ensure readability.

Guidelines 5im65

• Spinners are an exception.
• Note density should follow a mostly 1/1 pattern. 1/2 and/or 1/3 patterns should be used sparingly.

Difficulty setting guidelines 2q4z19

• Overall Difficulty should be between 4 and 6.
• HP Drain Rate should be between 2 and 3.
• Circle Size should be between 2 and 3.

Salad x1d4u

Rules 2fv15

• Hyperdashes of any kind are disallowed. This is to ensure a manageable step in difficulty for novice players.
• Dashes must have at least a 125 ms gap between their two objects.
• fruits.
• walk.
• Edge dashes must not be used. They require extremely precise timing which cannot be expected of less-experienced players.
• At least 250 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the start and end of spinners. This is to ensure readability.

Guidelines 5im65

• All distances should be clear on whether they require the player to dash. This is to ensure that players can easily recognise patterns that require dashing.
• basic-snapped should not be used consecutively when different beat snaps are used. For example, a 1/1 dash followed by a 1/2 dash.
• antiflow patterns.
• Spinner traps should not be used.
• Spinners are an exception.
• Note density should follow a mostly 1/1 and 1/2 pattern. 1/3 and/or 1/4 patterns should be used sparingly.

Difficulty setting guidelines 2q4z19

• Overall Difficulty should be between 6 and 7.
• HP Drain Rate should be between 3 and 4.
• Circle Size should be between 2.5 and 3.5.

Platter 2md42

Rules 2fv15

• Hyperdashes must have at least a 125 ms gap between their two objects.
• drops and/or slider repetitions. The accuracy and control required is unreasonable at this level and can create a situation where the player potentially fails to read the slider path.
• fruits. For example, a 1/2 hyperdash followed by a 1/4 hyperdash.
• fruits.
• dashes or hyperdashes.
• Dashes must have at least a 62 ms gap between their two objects.
• fruits.
• fruits, provided there isn't a direction change between them.
• Edge dashes must not be used. They require extremely precise timing which cannot be expected of less-experienced players.
• At least 125 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the start of spinners. This is to ensure readability.
• At least 250 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the end of spinners. This is to ensure readability.

Guidelines 5im65

• Strong higher-snapped hyperdashes, a limit of 1.3 times the trigger distance is recommended instead.
• dash.
• trigger distance.
• Spinner traps should not be used.
• Spinners are an exception.
• Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 and/or 1/3 pattern. 1/4 and/or 1/6 patterns should be used sparingly.

Difficulty setting guidelines 2q4z19

• Overall Difficulty should be between 7 and 8.2.
• HP Drain Rate should be between 4 and 5.
• Circle Size should be between 3 and 4.

Rain 25t1h

Rules 2fv15

• dashes must have at least a 62 ms gap between their two objects.
• fruits.
• basic-snapped must not be used more than two times within a slider. The slider path must be simple and easy-to-follow.
• higher-snapped must not be used in conjunction with any other hyperdashes.
• higher-snapped must not be used within a slider.
• At least 125 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the start and end of spinners. This is to ensure readability.

Guidelines 5im65

• drops and/or slider repetitions.
• basic-snapped should not be used consecutively when different beat snaps are used. For example, a 1/1 hyperdash followed by a 1/2 hyperdash.
• antiflow and the dash must be used before the hyperdash.
• dashes with a gap lower than 250ms.
• hyperdashes).
• Spinner traps should not be used.
• Spinners are an exception.
• Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 + 1/4 and/or 1/3 + 1/6 pattern. 1/8 patterns and higher should be used sparingly.

Difficulty setting guidelines 2q4z19

• Overall Difficulty should be between 7 and 9.
• HP Drain Rate should be between 5 and 6.
• Circle Size should be between 3.5 and 4.5.

Overdose 1m5oy

Rules 2fv15

• At least 62 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the start of spinners. This is to ensure readability.
• At least 125 ms must be left between circles/sliders and the end of spinners. This is to ensure readability.

Guidelines 5im65

• drops and/or slider repetitions when the slider path is simple and easy-to-follow. This is to prevent chaotic or unreasonably difficult slider movement, as transitioning into and out of complex slider shapes with hyperdash is usually uncomfortable to play, and a major penalty to accuracy for little benefit.
• 1/8 and higher hyperdashes should not be used between consecutive object pairs.
• hyperdashes.
• Spinners are an exception.
• Note density should follow a mostly 1/2 + 1/4 and/or 1/3 + 1/6 pattern. 1/8 patterns and higher should be used sparingly.

Difficulty setting guidelines 2q4z19

• Overall Difficulty should be between 8 and 10.
• HP Drain Rate should be between 5 and 7.
• Circle Size should be between 3 and 6.

Notes 22z5