JAKAZiD - See It Coming by Akali

respect

sooooooo damned true, who remembers playing graveyarded tech maps in multis

the latest iteration of the "mapper vs players" drama has me thinking back to 2016, before i had really started mapping and when i was still addicted to the game as a player. the abysmal quality of ranked maps at the time had me fleeing to the graveyard section, where all the interesting tech and reading maps were to be found, and which from then on was where i sank 95% of my playtime into. at the time, "tech" was where all the freedom of expression was. compared to the tsunami of sauceless jump-and-stream maps in the ranked section, graveyard tech maps offered a much richer playing experience and a diversity of music expression, which even back then as a player i had begun to take interest in.

at the time, akali was one of my favorite mappers. the pure volume of fidgety alt maps and "you are not hanzer" streams made him my preferred brand of slop, and whatever the quality of his of mapping, he was never in short supply of interesting ideas.

See It Coming is the one map of his i have since remained a wholehearted fan of, both as a player and as a mapper (it really should be played though.) instead of the sloppy maximalism of his later maps, we see a rather dated (in a charming way) adherence to consistent spacing and blanketing. the spacing and the rotational movement during the kiais are what constitute the map's greatest strength: its smoothness. it glides around with the music so wonderfully you'd think he mapped this with distance snap on—saving distance increases only for the most crucial moments: 02:32:971 (6,7,8) - 02:38:441 (5,6,7,8,9,10) - 02:44:088 (7,8,9,10,11,12) -

also love the use of repeated placements, you can never have too much of those. a very common technique, but they can feel either meaningless or meaningful, depending on the way they're used. the rotational gameplay here makes them extra effective:
02:28:559 (6,1) -
02:31:206 (4,5,6,7,8,9,10,1,2,3) -
02:34:029 (4,1) -
02:42:500 (4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5) -

the aesthetics in this map, especially some of the blanketing in the earlier sections, are redolent of a still-budding mapper from 2014 (this was uploaded a year after his earliest map), but it's a charming style that manages to win you over.
00:46:912 (1,1) -
01:17:618 (3,1,1) - cool
01:20:088 (1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4) - nice sequence

and two random details i like a lot
02:26:706 (1,1,2,1,2,1,2) - such a perfect intro to this great section and melody
01:47:618 (1,1,1,1,1) - love the last two sliders