Thursday's lunch session did not include succeeding at "Midnight", but *did* include warming up with what was my first "real" tech map: "Sound Chimera" by Laur: bsaber.com/songs/f988/.

I can still only beat this song on its lowest two difficulties, and the song feels very chaotic and stitched together, so it's not always what what my brain is in the mood for. Here's a rando playing it on the hardest difficulty, which I've never even attempted: youtube.com/watch?v=XuxMmhPLso…

#beatsaber

[Ranked] Laur – Sound Chimera

Mapper: complexfrequency | Description: Rank yes ha

^BeastSaber

Friday and Saturday's sessions bubbled up a fun song with some real "elbows up" energy. A fun category of map, but hard ones can be brutal on my shoulders.

I found "Naked" by Jonas Blue & MAX (bsaber.com/songs/c4d3/) just lying around (naked) in my custom songs. It's tricky and intricate enough to be engaging, but not so hard I had to practice it, and the mapper made some clever decisions on what to highlight from the song and how.

A solid play: youtube.com/watch?v=nM4JEw6Tbd…

#beatsaber

Naked – Jonas Blue, MAX

Mapper: shappy | Description: I mapped naked......

^BeastSaber

On Hard, I just clack my controllers together and cry. 🙅🏾‍♀️ I can slow it way down to 60% and beat it because I can read it, but I just can't hold the pattern in my head with the right kind of looseness to be able to really play it. So I put it aside until I get more expertise with fast fluttery patterns.

I'm about there with "Midnight" E+, too. It's a big leap in my skill with separation of left and right hand, and I might need to close that gap more gradually than just this one song. 😥

At whatever difficulty I am striving for on "Sound Chimera", it is always the segment starting right about 1:00 in that is the showstopper until I get faster or go learn some new technique or skill.

On Easy, I could learn it simply through repetition, but I was super new to E+ patterns at that time, so my mind was a sponge. For Normal--which is now easy enough to be a warm-up--I had to go just get faster and better muscle memory on basic E+ stuff to be able to relax in that segment.

I played "Sunset Jesus" by Avicii (bsaber.com/songs/7dd2/) today in my warmup, and even tho I often only play the first 2 min, it's a real good map. I'm weirdly tickled at a clever little bounce they do with a diagonal block on the left hand in the gif and at the 1:14 mark in this: youtube.com/watch?v=aAi_NQLJPG…

That little check isn't mimicked on the right hand, even when it later could be. Coming up with a lot of asymmetical variation in a map on a repetitive song has got to be tough.

Second map of the day is "Walls Down" by MEMBA (bsaber.com/songs/5332/), which does a super good job at fitting the bouncy vocal style and heavy bass hits. No really intricate patterns, but it has lots of diagonals and every swing feels very intentional.

(You can also see here how easily I'm defeated by said diagonals and some walls. 😅)

I have an essay percolating in the back of my head about the fun of failure in BS, but I need to do more background reading to finish shaping it...

Somehow, in 5 months of playing Beat Saber, I'd never run into a poodle map. WTF is this wild business?!

I played "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons (bsaber.com/songs/1f459/). If you play it, just put on "no fail" first. Don't even bother trying for real unless you already know the gimmick.

So fucking cool. youtube.com/watch?v=eJacbH8iuE…

I'm definitely going to give it a whirl without "no fail" tomorrow.

#beatsaber

Enemy – Imagine Dragons (Feat. J.I.D.) Arcane [Poodles]

Mapper: rategyro | Description: Another Poodle map with some shorter poodles. If you were looking for a normal map go try the Joetastic map of enemy dogeKeK Love Arcane and wanted to map some of the ost. Hope you enjoy it.

^BeastSaber

Today's map of the day is the *other* Bad Computer "2U" map: bsaber.com/songs/19049/. It's very good, and notably easier than the bombfest of the previous one I tried (no shade!), but has super good patterns. I love an intricate pattern, even if (especially if?) I have to practice it.

The fun pattern starts around the 48 seconds into youtube.com/watch?v=850GK_ks49… and there's an easier matching segment at the end.

#beatsaber

Bad Computer – 2U

Mapper: officialMECH | Description: Craig Ferrier, more commonly known in the electronic community as Bad Computer, unveiled the sequel to his first-ever self-released track, fostering not only his intricate sense of creativity and exper…

^BeastSaber

My Beat Saber schedule has been thrown off due to an unusual and tiring schedule the past week, but I had a nice little lunch session today! The highlight today was a fav from day one of its release: "Playground" by Bea Miller, mapped by Joetastic: bsaber.com/songs/1e3d7/. youtube.com/watch?v=2w1AkJlmh2… is a nice playthrough.

It's got some things that seem like classic Joetastic techniques... although maybe I haven't played enough of their literally 1000 maps to be able to say that. 😵

Playground (from the series Arcane League of Legends) – Bea Miller

Mapper: Joetastic | Description: Thanks to Ghostt#8940 for the special request! Keep up to date on my maps: https://twitter.com/Joetastic_ My mapper's profile: https://bsaber.

^BeastSaber

I've missed more Beat Saber workouts this last week or so than I've managed. Since the issue has been scheduling, it's not even like I was swapping in dancing sessions. I'm hankering for some interactive music time!

I did get in short sessions Tue and Wed. In practicing a pattern in officialMech's "2U", I noticed that I'd been focusing too much on one hand—and thus not catching what's happening on the other—reminding me that I wanted to keep working on ambidexterity. Whoo.

I had not played BS since Tuuuuesssday. 😭 This week was so busy, even beyond the construction project in my house. I put in a very nice 90 minutes today.

Song of the session was definitely "Atlas (modus. Remix)" by Punker & Intrex, mapped by Jamman360: beatsaver.com/maps/1256a I think I have a decent vid of me playing it, but while I'm pondering whether to clip and post, here's a full combo video that's better than mine in every way except their color choices: youtube.com/watch?v=QTpGVSoc8T…

Atlas - Punker & Intrex (modus. Remix) - Beat Saber

^YouTube

Morning workouts are generally unpleasant for me: my shoulders are tight from sleep and my brain is sluggish. I had a tight window while dinner rolls were proofing, tho, so I got in a 30 min session that was *also* plagued with technical problems. 😅 Good gravy.

Anyway, the highlight was a song I've mentioned before: Itro's "Light and Blue", mapped by CyanSnow (bsaber.com/songs/5cc6/). I was in such a mood for it that I played it three times around other songs. 😍

Itro – Light and Blue (Polygon Remix)

Mapper: CyanSnow | Description: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, Expert+ Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1semlP3tksg

^BeastSaber

Hey, you know what feels weird? Posting about fun shit in the midst of a heavily publicized war. I've gnashed my teeth over that for a few weeks, so... here we are.

Like the rest of the player base, I've been having a go at OST 5. First impression was: love the mappings, don't care for the songs.

I've warmed up on them a bit since then, although I still can't fuck with Camellia songs other than "What the Cat!?" Just entirely not my jam, musically.

Once I can get an A, I bump the speed 5%. If it's just a matter of having been able to read the segment properly, I'll bump 10%+, or just play at full speed.

So here's a bit of an early 75% speed practice of "Angel Voices". A couple more tries had me ready for 80%, but this is rough. 😅

So I fired up "Angel Voices" from the base game. Y'all. This song. When I first tried it on E+, I thought beating the long-ass song would just be a matter of stamina. Uh, no. It's *hard*. Luckily, it's hard in exactly the way I want to learn.

My approach is simple: I practice a segment at slower speeds until I can get an A on just that segment (S if it's super hard, which is rare). That gives me wiggle room in case I come into the segment with less health or if the area after is hard.

I've just been rolling with an "exercise is hard!" mentality re: my out of breathness for the last 6 months of playing BS near-daily.

Anyway, one message to my trusty doctor later, and I have nice little albuterol inhaler. I only got to play for 30 minutes today, so I didn't have the opportunity to put my lungs through their full paces, but I was definitely breathing less hard than normal. A weight off my chest I didn't know was there, I guess.

The first song, Schwank's "$1.78", was a hell of an intro to the OST. It's been a minute since I had to play a [non-Camellia] song on Hard on my initial play. 😅 I'm still chipping away at E+. Currently sitting at 90% speed, first attempt from Tuesday here: irrsinn.video/w/pTHzgoP3gq3J41…

I noticed in listening to the original voice track in that video that I had some strong wheezing going on! I've got mild asthma, but haven't had or used an inhaler for years. I've felt "fine".

Beat Saber - Schwank "$1.78" - Expert+ 90% speed (light "commentary") CW: swearing

Well, I'm back with a voice on this one, although I can't say I'm doing any insightful analysis. 😁 This is the first track off the new Beat Saber OST, and Expert+ is kicking my ass. I'm currently a little hot-and-cold on the OST.

^{Good Vibeos}

I've still been chipping away at OST V in #beatsaber, and it's grown on me a lot over the last month. I finally beat "$1.78" on E+ a couple sessions ago, although I failed it on my next try. 😁

I wrote previously that I could play all but the final bit of "Firestarter"—that was a whopper of a typo. That was "Curtains", which has a tangly part at the end. It's been a very long time since I've lived in Texas, but is it weird that "Curtains" reminds me of Tejano music? Anyway, it's fun.

Today I managed two shorter, more normal sessions, including a dab of multiplayer! The Beat Together mod is available for testing, so Gregory and I kicked the tires on it.

With the hard things happening recently, #beatsaber is in a bit of easy mode for me: songs I can't beat, I just enjoy playing in Practice mode slower and/or NF. I'm playing favs instead of pulling down new songs, and practicing tricky segments just a few times before moving on.

BS as comfort food, I guess. 🤷🏾‍♀️

My couplefew weeks of work shenanigans were followed by two weeks of a cat health crisis. I finally knocked the dust off a bit Saturday on Gregory's older... Vive? Index? Whichever.

Y'all, those controllers are *so heavy* compared to the Quest 2's! I've prolly only played an hour total with them, but there ain't no quick flick of the wrists with those. Failed so many songs that are in my regular rotation. 😅

Felt very good to play again, though.

My troubles on E+ levels with corner diagonals have led me to try switching it up again. Swatting down at blocks with the claw grip feels like much less effort than the underhand grip did.

With only about 90 min of practice at it, my accuracy is still even worse than normal, but corners are easier, and so-called "streams" or "piano streams" feel like I'm just patting at the level lightly. I like it. The wrist angles feel unfamiliar, though.

Oh, and I might try making a map soon?

So last Wed I decided to try changing my controller grip to a claw grip, played a short session, and then had to take a full week off. Played a little yesterday and made it all the way through my warmup before I remembered I'm supposed to be trying a new grip. 😅

Using bsmg.wiki/grips-and-tricks.htm… as a reference, I moved from a standard grip to an underhanded reverse claw (basically just choking up on the controller) right after moving to Expert levels, and have used it until last week.

Today's session was fun! Courtesy of the new OST, I'm spending more time in base game songs than usual. I'm not sure if I managed any useful OST 5 footage today, and I'm too tired to riffle through my recording tonight. I can beat all but the final 5 seconds of Tanger's "Firestarter", tho! 🤩

I had this fun little moment with a mapping of Weird Machine's "DROELOE" (bsaber.com/songs/5d2b/) where I went, "Why is this in my favorites? I don't think I like this song." And then this:

Next is Camelia's "Final Boss Chan", which hasn't grown on me a bit.

Now Tanger's "Firestarter" is an absolute fav, even though I can't beat it on E+ yet. I love the early tempo/pitch play, especially. I can beat every part of the map except for the two diagonal flurries of notes around the 0:35 mark and somewhere in the back half. A redditor suggests moving ones' hands in circles instead of trying to flick the wrists, so I'll give that technique a go soon (reddit.com/r/beatsaber/comment…).

I had a brief thought that I should mess around with my controller settings (x/y/z position and rotation), and made my way to a highly respected guide: youtube.com/watch?v=N4V0rMTblR…

Are you kidding me? That is *so much work*. 😹 Hours of time that you're *in* the game, but not *playing* the game. 🤯

...Now that the idea's been planted, tho, I give myself ~3 months before I start the process. 😅

TTI EP3: Ultimate Controller Settings Guide, Swing Balance and Curve

A brand new up to date controller settings guide! Enjoy watching and if you have any questions, you can join my discord and ask me your questions here. Have ...

^YouTube

So the above technique seems to be a winner—I was able to beat the segment at 85%, which is a big jump up.

Today was really a day for Camellia's "What the Cat?!" on E+, tho, which I've been nibbling on for months. It has one of the funnest endcaps on a difficult segment in any of the base songs, and I finally nailed that section at 95% speed with an "A" today. 🏆🥳💃🏾

I only had about 35 min yesterday, so I mostly splashed around rather than practicing anything hardcore. I discovered that one of my favorite maps, "Walls Down" by MEMBA/mapped by Izzake (bsaber.com/songs/5332/), has a single-handed mode!

I don't normally fuck with single saber stuff, since my shoulders are already imbalanced, but I wanted to see if I could do it. (I could.)

...then I wanted to see if I could do it with my left hand. (I could.)

Walls down – MEMBA

Mapper: izzake | Description: Mapped by Izzake Single saber version mapped by Skyler Wallace Watch preview here: https://youtu.be/rLOsoD6xb_U Watch single saber preview here: https://youtu.

^BeastSaber

Monday's session heavily featured the aforementioned "a.i.ngel (Become God)" by Virtual Self (bsaber.com/songs/5d71/), which I did beat on E+, and "Weight of the World (JVNA Remix)" (bsaber.com/songs/5d1f/), which is incredibly fun.

Both of those maps also hold up at their easier difficulties, although the Expert "a.i.ngel" map was maybe too hard for that label? That's okay, Hard was still good. "Weight of the World" has a great one-saber mapping with some good fast bits on E+, too.

[Anniversary Boss Battle] a.i.ngel (Become God) – Virtual Self [Skyler Wallace]

Mapper: anniversaryteam | Description: Final Boss of the Anniversary Campaign For the full experience, you must acquire the Virtual Self Boss Custom Platform from the Custom Campaigns mod.

^BeastSaber

I only did a few songs, and enjoyed both the brain issue of everything being flipped, plus the switch in difficulty. For instance, on "Balearic Pumping" (E+), it was a little easier when my right hand was doing some of the complex asymmetrical shit, but the slowness of my left arm made the cross-body swings real tough.

I guess I'll keep playing around and see where this goes. 🤷🏾‍♀️

When I started BS in Sept last year, I was doing another round of in-patient PT on my shoulders, and I couldn't complete the easiest single saber levels in the campaign tree without being in pain for hours. I had surgery on my left shoulder years ago, and if the handy too-many-stats mod is correct, it swings a full 20 km/h slower than my right arm.

Once I was in left-handed mode yesterday, though, I figured why not keep doing it? I've read about folks switching sides to get better. 😁

On a semi-related note, sometimes it's really nice to see a playthrough of a song by someone that isn't perfect.

youtube.com/watch?v=4J-t7UCVbE… is a play of "a.i.ngel (Become God)" by someone who does great (they get an "A") and who fucks up in exactly the ways I do. 😂 I have to move my body a lot more to land some of those hits, but it's interesting to find out which segments are also difficult for other people. My essay on failure in BS will need to touch on that feeling of isolation... 🤔

[Anniversary Boss Battle] a.i.ngel (Become God) – Virtual Self - Beat Saber Mixed Reality - Expert+

"Final Boss of the Anniversary Campaign"This is a map done by the Anniversary Team, of which I believe Skyler Wallace is a member. I don't know who else is ...

^YouTube

Oh, I've missed posting #beatsaber recommendations... 😻 Today's rec is a fun dance-y map for K/DA's "More": bsaber.com/songs/142e8/ I have no idea how that map ended up in my game, but I love it. 😁 The E+ patterns are simple but mobile enough that it makes a great warm-up if you're comfortable at that level.

youtu.be/C86ebbseC34 The segment running from about 33s to 45s is especially fun.

K/DA – MORE (ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Lexie Liu, Jaira Burns, Seraphine)

Mapper: sotarks | Description: From the unofficial music pack (K/DA ALL OUT) on BSaber.com Pack: https://bsaber.com/kda-all-out/ Trailer: https://youtu.be/e1ry_H86zqg Preview (Expert+): https://youtu.

^BeastSaber

The song of this week is definitely Unlike Pluto's "Everything Black", mapped by nolan121405: bsaber.com/songs/2596b/ (h/t to some Beat Saber Discord I'm in for this being their level of the week/month)

The patterns are simple—I almost got an SS on E+ (my first ever!?) on my first play of the song—but the song is a real banger and the map is dancy. I played it three times in my session today. 😅

#beatsaber

Unlike Pluto – Everything Black [Chroma 2.5]

Mapper: nolan121405 | Description:

^BeastSaber

Today's #beatsaber rec is one of the first difficult songs I ever beat, but also one of my favs: #chali2na's "Black Vapor", mapped by AltusClura: bsaber.com/songs/8a7c/

It's labeled Expert, but in retrospect I'd call it E+ for the difficulty of hitting those snug and bouncy patterns with low-ish readability. It was one of the songs that helped me bridge the huge gap b/t Expert and E+, although at the time, I just felt incompetent at not being able to beat a song labeled Expert. 😅

Chali 2na – Black Vapor

Mapper: altusclura | Description: I made this map while I was dying, and I finished it a few days before I went to the hospital. turned out pretty fun, hope you all enjoy!

^BeastSaber

Today's #beatsaber rec is a real ab workout. 😍 "Illusion" by BassNectar and PEEKABOO (ft. Born I) in the Anniversary Pack (bsaber.com/songs/4b2e/) is so damn hard on E+. Lots of fast cross-body swings, which are easiest (lol) for me to do if I keep my core very tight. I played/failed this song a handful of times last night, and I am indeed sore today. 😅

Here's a very respectable play of it: youtu.be/xMKtZlQEwRo

[Anniversary] Illusion (ft. Born I) – BassNectar and PEEKABOO [Skyler Wallace]

Mapper: anniversaryteam | Description: Part of the Anniversary Song Pack Edit: fixed mismap on Expert

^BeastSaber

I played an *outstanding* map tonight. It's "Feel That Way" by Ellis, mapped by officialMECH, who also did a map of "2U" that I love. It's very dancey, and holds up well on Expert. bsaber.com/songs/28c9c/

I'm a sucker for the crossover fluttery stuff this song is full of. Those are some of my favorite aspects of the Billie Eilish music pack (esp. "Oxytocin"), too.

Here's the mapper playing it on E+: youtu.be/3eNgjPhqymM

#beatsaber

Ellis – Feel That Way

Mapper: officialMECH | Description:

^BeastSaber

Sometimes I just wanna play #beatsaber levels I can't beat. Today it was Camellia's "Ghost", a level that seems to be a mark for "I'm a good player now, ma!" on reddit.

I've beaten it on Expert maybe twice. E+ is *far* beyond my skill level, but slow that puppy down to 80% and put on no-fail? It has some patterns that feel so clever and satisfying to land. 🤩

An amazing E+ run: youtube.com/watch?v=jskhmfC-wh… Even slowed down, I fail at the fast left hand beats at the 3-min mark. 😅

Beat Saber | Camellia - Ghost | 91.6% Expert Plus

OrangeW | Pro Beat Saber Player | Team Gravity VR• Camellia - Ghost• Expert Plus• 91.6%• Live Gameplay on my Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/orangew2• ...

^YouTube

My shoulders were too fried today to go very hard, so I decided to play #beatsaber in left-handed mode, which I haven't done in months.

Playing LH'd forces me to read patterns on the fly that had become rote and helps me focus on my left dexterity and speed, which is often what holds me up on maps with lots of L/R independence like "Angel Voices" on E+.

I also enjoy the "oh shit" moments in a fast pattern where I cross over the wrong way and have to (fail to) untangle. 😹

I do have some #beatsaber song recs, tho! First is Lil Nas X's MONTERO, mapped by GreensweaterVEVO (install the cinema mod to get the video in the lvl): bsaber.com/songs/1656c/

2nd is Dua Lipa's "New Rules", m/b bennydabeast: bsaber.com/songs/bd3/ The blocks are *excruciatingly* slow, but the pattern makes up for it (on E+, at least).

3rd is Imagine Dragon's "Enemy" m/b Joetastic: bsaber.com/songs/1d742/ JID's segment in that song is done beautifully.

(CINEMA) Lil Nas X – MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)

Mapper: greensweatervevo | Description: i'm just now realizing how bad of an idea this is...

^BeastSaber

I managed to crash #BeatSaber 3 times on account of playing songs that need mods, but at least I realized I accidentally split this rec thread a few months ago. xoops.

Anyway, today's rec is (*deep breath*) "More/How You Like That/The Baddest/Ddu-du Ddu-du/Kill This Love MASHUP", mapped by Joetastic: bsaber.com/songs/1922c/ Play (not me): youtube.com/watch?v=E0-IWVXta_…

As with several songs by K/DA, I tend to think the song is over before it actually is and get caught relaxing too soon. 😅

More /How You Like That /The Baddest /Ddu-du Ddu-du /Kill This Love MASHUP – K/DA x BLACKPINK

Mapper: Joetastic | Description: Boy that's one long title.... the title is pretty self explanatory, it is a K/DA x BLACKPINK mashup of all their famous songs by Miggy Smallz Thanks to Youtube.

^BeastSaber

One of my partners got a Quest recently. I've been pulling #BeatSaber recs for them, so I should put them here, too!

I've been playing a lot of OST 6 (E+ "Cathedral" and "Lift Off" are my fav kinds of maps), but a map that's very fun at X/E+ is "Grant Green" by Mr Jukes: beatsaver.com/maps/94e0 It does a great job of being mapped pretty tightly to the drums, but not making the mistake some rock maps do of having too many downstroke-only segments in an attempt to mimic playing drums.

I decided to resume deliberately improving my #BeatSaber skill, and picked the Camellia remix of 100$ Bills (7.87 NPS) because I like it on Expert.

...Prolly not going to be what I stick with. 😅 It's a little outside my zone of proximal development, as Dr. Lucy would say, and oof, all the jangliness in the song gets to me after a while.

Anyway, I finished both Dr. Stone and Hunter x Hunter recently, so my rec is Joetastic's map of the Dr. Stone opening song "Paradise": beatsaver.com/maps/1d510

I got my first #BeatSaber injury in March! I strained my left pec playing a fast and unfamiliar song, and goddamn that shit hurt. I'm not entirely pain-free yet, but I dutifully spent five weeks unable to do *any* of my normal workouts. 😭 Today was my first day being able to play some light BS.

My new favorite warmup is "Bubble Tea" by dark cat (mapped by roeek: beatsaver.com/maps/13e9). The blocks aren't fast, but the patterns aren't trivial, either, and the song is cute. I tossed my full playthrough up, because fuck it, it's Friday: irrsinn.video/w/kEB9KDbaweRSWN… I think I missed more cross-body swings than I hit there, but better that than reinjuring my chest. 😅