Beat Saber Mapping - Patterns to avoid as a new Mapper

[@mugincoffe]

People that make camelia song maps: I’ve found perfect formula to make my map even harder.

[@robertweekes5783]

So is Camellia an electronic artist who welcomes anyone to map their songs to beat saber, no permission needed?

[@glitchii02]

@@robertweekes5783 I believe camellia actually ENCOURAGES mapping his songs, even. There's no instance of camellia having any issue with a posted map of one of his songs as far as I'm aware

[@catalyst-yt8532]

@@glitchii02 i mean beat games got in touch with him and in no time the maps where in sooo.....

[@The_oli4]

@@robertweekes5783 it's even a popular artist for other rythm games like osu!

[@glitchii02]

@Riley Gray-Mikesell As someone who regularly kills his arms playing camellia maps, I approve this message

[@ANG3Lx_109]

Sadly I played a song the other day that had a random hand clap in the middle of the song.. committed to the movement slammed my hands together, hurt a lot and broke a controller FeelsBadMan lol

[@robertweekes5783]

Sounds like a land mine !! Actually more like a grenade lol 😆

[@vengeful_pluto5586]

Maybe the clap could be avoided if a bomb is placed in-between. I'll try that next time >;)

[@liam___.]

just move your wrists instead of your arms..

[@ItsCat]

Same thing happen to me... replacement coming tomorrow

[@saunshilu]

this video should 100% be seen by every mapper especially when it comes to vision blocks, i hate that so much

[@somekidnamedtapu]

I was making a map then it told me about checking vision blocks and it said 97% of my map was vision blocks 😭

[@MkaApps]

@@somekidnamedtapu Almost made your map a real suffering 😭

[@streq9199]

even in my first few hours of play it felt kinda weird/cheap when official maps had double directionals and vision blocks, glad to know they are universally disliked lol

[@Nlck_Name]

Change your viewpoint to be above them

[@nimblewombat9112]

OST 1 is really bad because the devs made the maps themselves- OST 2 and on they hired people so the maps are much more enjoyable (Although I despise Angel Voices)

[@mason3615]

@@nimblewombat9112 I feel the exact same way lol

[@Khosumi]

@@nimblewombat9112 meh. imo all the OSTs are mapped poorly. It really makes a difference once you start playing ranked.

[@nimblewombat9112]

@@Khosumi Fair point, but you gotta admit OST 4 is golden

[@pccapso]

Great concise guide. One thing I would mention as a new mapper is that dots are pretty useful when prototyping. Throw down dots to test rhythm and what feels good with the song pacing and progression and then come back later to upgrade them to thoughtful patterns. For me at least, it saves time vs throwing down patterns first pass then having to come back and rework chunks of them after they don't play as intended.

[@GabriTell]

True! Dot Notes also serve to divert attention when one saber needs more than the other. They've got so many good uses, but if you you misuse them it may become a nightmare (as I've seen in a lot of Custom Maps). For example, placing a lot of them straight is a huge error: you can't suppose anyone to cut it in the prompt direction for the following Arrow Note if you don't make them know, that's why there has to be an Arrow Note first (if it's not a logical move).

[@hellvein]

The other Option is to MAKE a lower difficulty with patterns and THEN upgrade it to higher one with blocks on the missing beat/note .

[@ex0stasis72]

4:43 This is why, when I was a new player, I skipped easy and normal altogether and just started on hard because hard is easier than normal due to the flow that every good map has.

[@FivetyYT]

I don’t agree really, more flow doesn’t mean easier and hard has a lot of dd’s aswell

[@pizzarolls1250]

glad its not just me being slow/inexperienced and a lot of “hard” parts i seem to encounter are just bad mapping haha

[@ex0stasis72]

Ya, the best maps are the ones that look difficult to a spectator, but feel easy to play in the moment.

[@Blippy]

“I like ya cut g” *smashes controller into face*

[@kronusaerospace8872]

I swear troll maps use this as a guide of what not not to do.

[@nitronik_exe]

why is youtube recommending me this I have mapped for almost 2 years

[@alexanderhurst1998]

But have you mapped well for almost two years?

[@stephens1393]

hint :-D

[@Jakkaroo]

Ye gods.. This was so *cathartic*. You listed every single thing I'd been flailing angrily about and cursing mappers for since I first started playing custom tracks (.. and perhaps a few vanilla tracks too)... I feel dreadfully validated, and even more obligated to start mapping myself. I'll call out my absolute favourite map for a sense of flow (though it does commit a few crimes against the wrist when you're not used to it) - Caravan Palace - Miracle, mapped by TheRealZeroz. *Most* of the track.. It's like bathing your wrists in liquid joy. Nothing feels quite as good as this track. I end every session with it and it leaves me smiling. I hope I can take your lessons onboard, Cyrix, and perhaps map Ball of Satan from Master and Margerita. Should be fun.

[@Estrallio]

you just summerised everithing that annoyed me as a player, which means that this is a great guide!

[@p3t3r_waffles]

the amount of times ive slapped myself in the headset during "vibe checks" is insane

[@Kaiser-gh9lp]

Great video, well structured and usefull information - hope other newcomers see this! I know it must have been a lot of work and you dont get the attention you deserve but I would love to see more of this... Anyway, keep creating!

[@Vohcaz]

Thanks for the kind words. I do plan to eventually do a followup to this video as well :)

[@miker6074]

You are quite the proper young man! Excellent, concise, very informative and absolutely well spoken. Cheers Lad! Just brilliant!

[@TheGoose2012]

Actually building my first map right now and figured I'd pop in for some ideas. Had the mistake of some hand clap motions to match part of the actual dance for the song, but wasn't thrilled with the feel during early testing. The idea of the slight offset was a big help. Same with the Hitbox Abuse section, as I have a combo that is used multiple times in the song and found I often missed hits because of the setup. A simple fix already makes it feel much smoother. Still got plenty more to design, but it's starting to come together with these quick changes.

[@slavcabbage2619]

man I never knew modders went into this detail of modding for beat saber maps. Man the Beat Saber community is cool

[@SuperHalo222]

I played every single vanilla beat saber map on every difficulty untill I was sick , then I tried to make my own map and ended up breaking all the rules you mentioned before aptly fixing them as I went because most of these things stand out when playing your own map (especially the notes all being in the middle and you cc ant see shit. except the 90° rule, I had no clue so thx for that one ❤️

[@yami_the_witch]

I feel like the double directionals should be put under an asteriks. They are disruptive within a common pattern. But damn are they a blast to play if it's the entire point of the pattern. Stuff like rockefeller street feels super fun to play.

[@SUPRIzEi]

fr I wanted to use them in a map cause I thought they matched the vibe of the song

[@kildozer2012]

I cannot express the disappointment I feel when I see a song that I like mapped in most of these ways. I have so much anticipation for it then find out that it's just a bunch of horrible mapping, I rarely see hand claps but the most common offenders are dot spam and double directionals, I can understand if it's like their first or tenth map but when I see that their whole map collection consists of this it just makes me want to pull out my hair considering they do most of the songs that I like in certain genres, leaving me to just ignore them and look for something techno or camellia. Granted there are a few good rock mappers and rap as well it's just infuriating that there are only a few. I really can't complain to much here since I can't map to save my life. Thanks for making this video for new mappers, hopefully they will see this and understand what to avoid ♥

[@proredfly9410]

yooooo im actually so proud of myself right now. im making my first map and im like halfway done, i just found this video and i didnt do any of these

[@zaratahanagi4924]

Is it done? Would love to play it :)

[@proredfly9410]

@@zaratahanagi4924 i gave up it was dogshit lol

[@zaratahanagi4924]

@@proredfly9410 awe :(

[@chrisfouser3952]

@@proredfly9410 nooo dont give up im doing my first one to just keep trying and working at it until it feels right to you

[@fellower]

most of these seem like common sense, somehow? Like "oh yeah, that does feel terrible, doesn't it?"

[@FMMProductions]

I really enjoyed watching this and it was very informative. I'd love to see a series where you create a new map from scratch and get your thought process from making a song from Easy to E+ difficulties

[@Vohcaz]

I would like to do this too, but it has a few major hindrances to overcome, so I'll have to find a way to circumvent that first. Since a map with all difficulties like that can take 12+ hours sometimes, i'd need to heavily cut it down, and itll be a LOT of work. I might do a video of me just fixing one of my older maps though.

[@FMMProductions]

@@Vohcaz Yeah, i totally get it will be a lot of work. I've had a play around with one myself but i'm currently using Bootcamp'd Windows and its not ideal as my wireless mouse doesn't wanna work with it. Plus my gaming PC is in storage otherwise i'd use that instead and crack on but either way i'd still be interesting in seeing your thought process' and methods for map making.

[@burntbacn]

After recently getting VR and trying out custom beat saber maps, god there is so many bad ones. It seems people just throw blocks in randomly that don't flow together at all with no rhyme or reason. It's really frustrating how often people mistake annoying bullshit for challenging game design.

[@stephens1393]

1000x like. This should be required watching for mappers! So many custom songs: - hidden block placement-- oh, so you think that's the way to make your song E+? - song I've never heard throwing full-speed notes at me within 0.5s of starting... :-P - jarring non-flow directions-- again, I'm probably not even going to play your map all the way through. - bleh, too much ducking. OK, Fit Beat is playable, but your map better be good. - 32 dot blocks in a row... really? not interesting. - ugh, hand clap. I'm just deleting this right now.

[@qm230]

I don't need to watch this as a PSVR player, but it's good to see people having similar issues with the OST maps, and avoiding recreating them

[@teasp00ns]

Great video! I’ve found certain maps (both in the base game and community maps) frustratingly difficult but not in a fun way, and now I know why. IME the best maps have good flow to the point that it feels like dancing, don’t try to trick you with vision-blocking, and don’t make your wrists hurt by the end. Thanks for sharing!

[@kan807]

i never knew people didnt like 90 degree angle hits, personally, i love hitting them, it feels nice to rotate the wrist that way

[@Vohcaz]

I only caution against them at high speed. They're perfectly fine when there's a good window to rotate in, but very fast 90+ deg angle change can often leave peoples wrists pretty uncomfortable.

[@slatBANG]

Great video man, thanks!

[@ex0stasis72]

An exception I like to see for the no double directional rule is if there is a row of bombs on the button row, between two downward blocks. That encourages the player to keep swing their arms around back and over their head to be ready for the next downward block.

[@toprem4037]

Saw this video when looking up something else, just wanna say I love your maps and I wish more people made metal maps.

[@DreadKyller]

The perfect troll map, a fast series of hand-claps in the center two blocks while doing an extended crouch. Breaks the hand-clap rule, the double-directional rule, the vision blocking rule and the extended crouch rule. Add in Hot Start for even more pain.

[@DreadKyller]

Actually if it's a constant crouch you may want to make them a block lower instead of the center

[@andrewevenson2657]

I feel like this tutorial is more useful for people who are newer at playing as well as mapping. As a somewhat experienced player who has never mapped, I basically heard “don’t do any of the things that you hate it other maps.” But, thanks for the advice anyways!

[@Vohcaz]

That's how it can go when covering the basics :P - hopefully the linked resources will be more useful to people more experienced with the game who are starting out. Its a big topic, so there'll always be things left out when just going over the initial concepts.

[@omegey3373]

This video is so helpful and very underrated thank you my guy!

[@DenizenV1]

The politest KZbinr. Thank you for the tips, superb elocution and enunciation.

[@cyphfrix1620]

bomb resets actaully are really fun and they feel good to play tbh

[@Vohcaz]

I didn't intend to say they weren't in this video. If a part of it can be interpreted that way, let me know and I'll add it to the list of things that need updating - this video is getting quite old now.

[@cyphfrix1620]

@@Vohcaz oh i was just saying, everything in the video was pretty accurate but i was saying that nomb resets are fun, not arguing with ur double blocks, it depends on how there used

[@catphotos9836]

Also something that pisses me off immensly as a player: random out of the blue direction changes

[@GabriTell]

A VERY very important tip is that you test you're map every few minutes, especially if you're doing a complex pattern that you don't know a lot about. Trust me, what on your keyboard may seem a masterpiece, you'll realise that it's a bullsh1t when you test it, and you will get frustrated. It's better to assume that you've got something to fix (even if you think that looks great) and catch immediately what's wrong than realising after an hour that what you've done is just not funny.

[@tatsugoori]

Hello, I am looking in getting into map making, my first map has an intense guitar in it (such as one rapidly strumming between 2 notes) what should I put there? A arrow spam or dot spam?

[@GabriTell]

@@tatsugoori If you put it, try to make the notes follow the melody of the guitar. If it's a drop, you can put an arrow spam only if it's not so long (like no more than two seconds). You can get some inspiration in levels like Final-Boss-Chan, which has a guitar part. Good luck!

[@tatsugoori]

@@GabriTell OK, thanks for the tip!

[@rad5591]

This was a great guide! I hope you keep making beat saber content like this. Im starting to get into modding and stuff so i would so like to see a lot of that.

[@Vashetrockner]

I am glad to see that the things, that annoyed me about many custom maps, are canon mapping sins within the mapping community. The first time i played the the handclap nodes. I thought "Has the mapper actually played the map?" Sure, you CAN play around it, but it ruins the scoring for the blocks. Most of what you mentioned, i also would have focused on, but the last point was an eye opener for me: That overlapping hitboxes of the diagonal adjacent blocks. I will definetly watch out for those! Thanks a lot for this guide!

[@ReddiGamer]

I checked this video after getting a testplay of my first map, and funny enough, you I think were the one that tesplayed mine lol

[@crittr]

thx for the help. It greatly improved my second map from my first one!

[@FlareTTV]

I agree with all of these. A couple of things I didn't even consider. Very good video!

[@DarkKnightofIT]

Dude your voice is so smooth.

[@ethanpenn5]

Thanks for the guide! I'm finding it very useful even for creating Force maps in Synth Riders.

[@inconnn]

something else i'd recommend to try to use sparingly is ones that might make you hit your legs. if you're going fast (i use valve controllers) you might hit the pause button on your legs and it's super unsatisfying to be in the middle of the song and accidentally pause it

[@CanaDan]

yeah. there is alot of good stuff in here. as someone who has been mapping for over to years i can safely say, nice video. i map alot of very hard maps, with flavors of tech, so i do enjoy breaking these rules occasionally.

[@supercoolmunkee]

*Cyrix:* Please don't do hand claps *OhShape Cha Cha Slide map:* Try me!

[@nuggy9597]

I like the way he talks...I’m subscribing

[@roamspida4951]

I personally always do handclaps in various songs (I should specify: I don't do beatmaps) If there is a case of two dot blocks in the air above my head, I do handclaps there, assuming the rest of the map flows better due to it.

[@Thepotatoz.]

Well for vision blocks there is one way to know before hand, the lights that happen when blocks spawn

[@krmillustrations512]

This is super useful to have as a reference, love it!

[@DUBSkyLinEx3]

Very good informational video for starters!

[@theprimal2781]

Your level demeanour made the occasional goofy images even funnier

[@gowonsfortniteduo]

this is such an awesome video! i am a beginning mapper and this helped me a whole lot! btw, you should make ASMR videos, i was oddly relaxed throughout the entire video haha

[@scribblecloud]

ikr haha

[@nikelsad]

TY very much for the video, it's informative and easy to listen! The only thing I want to point out is I've had to turn headphones' volume all the way up. So consider making your voice louder :)

[@Adamski-]

I've spent the last few hours trying to make a map after hearing a song last week on spotify and i felt that "TODAY IS THE DAY!!.." So i spent around and hour watching tutorials and finding the bpm of the song.. I then start making the map, starting with the part i was mostly excited for and it felt and sounded great to play... Then it came to the first 30-40 seconds of the song and every note i placed, no matter how correctly placed it was in the built in editor, it was off beat and it pissed me off. If i placed it one block back, it was more out of beat, a block forth and it was too early.. So i turned it off and maybe i'll do it some other day :')

[@JesusGarcia-yr9wg]

Great video, very educational and really funny and entertaining, thanks for the help!

[@Huaie]

Nice video mate! I'm going to try and make my first map and this is very helpful.

[@brayton963]

If I see double directionals I usually end the map right then and there.

[@hypenosho4689]

One song that breaks almost all of these rules is call “Scattered Faith”

[@CommandTCFYT]

4:17 No one: DragonForce: skips this part

[@yourlocalwaifu8601]

I thought being annoyed at the DDs was just me. (Yes I'm newer to the beat saber community)

[@LWms517]

Thank you! Great advice!

[@jetison333]

Thanks! I'll be sure to put all of these in my map!

[@Jevk]

I have a ranked map already, I don't know why I'm watching this.

[@zskull162]

Double directionals can work in certain cases in expert+ difficulties, And “90 degree hits” are called Triangles, and are fun to hit. I wouldn’t say avoid Triangles edit: Well, a down, right, up (for example) is a triangle, not just down, right. Regular 90 degree hits are still fun if used correctly though.

[@Vohcaz]

I was actually not talking about triangles when I mentioned the 90 degree hits being a potential issue at speed. I was simply cautioning fast rotations. I don't cover triangles and parity here. As I said though, most of these are more guidelines for new mappers, and experienced mappers can break them when they know why and how they can cause issues.

[@HamSandvich]

really interesting that most of these are things ive noticed while playing community maps, but not knowing anything about it before starting playing. glad to know it wasnt just me lol

[@GarrionOne]

you deserve more subs, great video!

[@keyesey0796]

i have a chart that breaks 3 of the 'rules'. Cha Cha slide: has walls in the middle two lanes has double directionals has hand claps not to mention that a section has clapping double directionals 32 times in a row i havent broken a controller (yet) but i have injured my hand before

[@cool124ification]

You can break some of the rules if you place them carefully and keep in mind how the player might respond to them A good alternative to the dd hand claps are to replace the arrows with dots then the player can clap if they choose, or just slice through them

[@keyesey0796]

i see. if i charted it, i would definetly keep that in mind

[@helencarnate7671]

@@cool124ification You can also just put one of the blocks on the bottom row so they're offset... same handclapping "feel" but no physical equipment-destroying clap :-)

[@101m4n]

TL;DW: We have all been spoiled by bennydabeast

[@PixelSubstream]

Thank you for explaining why Hammer hits undermine the scoring system

[@ali_m_]

this guy needs more subs

[@jaytrisha1196]

the thing is with the clap one, you can just move ur wrist to hit the blocks

[@prox276]

Great video! This helped me to get into mapping.

[@CriminalCannoli]

wow! I know how to map now thanks! Maybe i'll start my first one soon...

[@Water317]

!!!

[@smartfridge369]

Glad im not the only one who doesn't like official maps

[@Sgtcrazyeyes235]

Coming off Guitar Hero into Beatsaber i was well aware that a lot of this stuff was bad charting but it is good to know that it’s commonly hated

[@PlayerZeroStart]

Oh thank god, I thought I was just bad at the game. Glad to know these things are widely considered bad as well.

[@mickjames4736]

I think I another one that should be on here are those mappers who like to put notes of the same hand on opposite sides of the screen, either top to bottom, or far left to far right. A lot of the time it makes an easy pattern just hard to hit cause I can't move my arm/wrist fast enough, especially when they like to put a lot of them back to back.

[@PJSproductions97]

One thing that's very common that I think sucks is what I'll call "drum rolls", where it's a whole bunch of opposing notes right in a row with no way to see past them. They're always just a test of seeing if you can happen to flail your wrist and the right speed that's way too fast and if you happen to be off it just immediately fails your run. Don't do those!

[@jademonass2954]

it hurts seeing some official E+ maps with some of these issues

[@reric88]

Man, this explains why I randomly fail so many maps, and when watching the replays I'm wondering just how tf I hit that red note with blue when I didn't hit that red note with blue! And those double note really grind my gears

[@Pablud3S]

A lot of rock songs I played so far have insane amounts of dds. I call them "drum" saber maps, because it feels like you're banging drums.

[@Jalugi1395]

I've actually played a couple maps that did this, and I've found when used sparingly the hits are actually very satisfying. But that's only when it's two or three "drum" hits in a row, and the tempo isn't too fast so you have time to react properly to it.

[@suflo3063]

You have a splendid voice :3

[@ImStian]

The *"VIBE CHECK"*

[@emcustard]

DDs are a lot easier to deal with as a player if you use circular arm movements. That way it's one smooth circle rather than two jerky motions.

[@naiwo8180]

God your voice is calming

[@SHEP_Music1]

I feel like when placed at the right time, some of these work

[@helencarnate7671]

You are correct for some of them.... but it's really hard to find that line when you're a brand new mapper. We recommend that newbies avoid these while they find their footing and *then* start to branch out/experiment

[@devinlucaschu9123]

Illegal map maker : breaking every single rule in the videos.

[@catt0s47]

Vibe checks will also kill certain headset tracking, don't make us put our hands directly in front of our headset as in-out tracking is a thing.

[@ofek5365]

Excellent video

[@SolidMartian]

Hey, I see you’re a small channel. I just want to let you know that you were in my home feed!

[@ciretos]

I played so many bad maps that made every mistake this video mentioned.

[@AFlyingTrout]

All you need is to play a few bad maps that break all of these rules and it will be ingrained into your head that "you know what sucks? Maps that do this. So mine *won't*." I'd like to add to this, excessive obstacle spam. I want to play beat saber to hit blocks, not dodge walls! It only works in Footloose to have a part where you bob your head left and right repeatedly

[@official-sh6nm]

Ost 4 released, one of the songs has a hot start...I think they've done a pretty good job so far (DBD meme)

[@ChirpyMisha]

I always hit handclap notes like ↘↖ or ↗↙ And on faster maps I often hit 90 degree patterns like 　↗ ↙ instead of 　→ ↓

[@alexross4062]

5:00 thank god someone else sees it. I usually call them "drummer notes" and I despise them above all else.

[@TheMilitantHorse]

Oof one of my favorite maps breaks like... 3 of these? And it's pretty well rated too.

[@itsgarytime2768]

Me on psvr feeling sad I can't use any of this knowledge

[@gabrielh0319]

dds: exist hexagonial with access to burnt rice remixes: *i can milk you*