The Death of Beat Saber, and its Future Impact

[Alex]

Beat Saber was released on the day of May 1st, 2018. Since then it's been a hugely popular VR title, and is typically a must-have.

Or at least... it was, anyways.

The game used to be fun and very enjoyable. But the issue lies within the game's future, given current events. As of now, Beat Saber is just a cash cow for Facebook and Beat Games. They don't care about their fanbase, and keep updating the game to ruin it more for us.

To me, this is less about mod functionality (I mean if they don't officially support mods then they don't officially support mods, we're not exactly entitled to that), and more about the fact they keep giving us a bunch of ♥♥♥♥♥♥ paid songs. They're trying to profit off a game without caring about their player base. I don't like Billie Eilish. Only a couple do. Nobody asked for this stuff. Nobody wants their paid songs. Half the time the official songs are garbage. For example, I got some Monstercat songs, and they sucked compared to community-mapped versions. RIOT - Overkill is a good example. The community version is SO good and actually a fun challenge, than some shortened crappy official version.

For the most part, I really would rather they just add more functionality and proper Quality Of Life updates and gameplay mechanics. You know, things that make the game more engaging and replayable. We have more DLC songs than official songs and the DLC songs suck in comparison to the amazing efforts the community mapmakers do for their songs. And they do it for free because it's a passion that they enjoy doing, to keep the community alive. Whereas the developers and Facebook just do songs left and right to make a quick buck and don't actually give a ♥♥♥♥ about gameplay mechanics.

I'm not buying their Billie Eilish song pack. I'm not buying any of their song packs. I only had a Monstercat song pack and even then I felt super ripped off by it. So yeah. ♥♥♥♥ them. They're not getting my money. I paid enough for this game, so stop asking me for more money. You want more profit? Make the game more enjoyable and fun and add more QoL and functionality to draw in more purchasers.

But sadly, Beat Games and Facebook just won't listen. It astounds me how many companies just don't give a ♥♥♥♥ anymore. I'm honestly glad to see the community for this game is slowly dying. Perhaps when they see nobody wants to play or buy their game anymore, maybe, just maybe, they'll see that they've messed up big time. Fine. Keep cranking out stupid song packs. But don't go all wide-eyed when you see nobody's buying them. Keep breaking the game in more ways than one, but don't be surprised when you see everyone moaning about how the game is practically unplayable now.

EDIT: BTW, wanted to mention updates to the game are pointless as hell. You're forced to update the game all the time, only to have to overcome a paywall to even use any of the content in said update. So what's the point? Especially if you're someone in an area with limited data or internet.

[Captain Masterson]

This is the best way i've seen this worded on the forums. I am glad i am not the only one who feels this way.

[0Dd1]

I bought all the song packs, some of them twice. I love them, I think you are missing out when you don't get them. The quality is just superior to most custom songs.

The patches brought great value to the game, I don't understand why you think contrary to that. Alone the multiplayer update was great and surely a lot of work for the devs.

The issue with breaking mods seems to be the modders fault. Apparently when the version number changes the mods break. So maybe you should make them resilient against that. Maybe don't make your mods break just when a version number changes. lmao

Beat Saber's future seems bright, VR is growing exponentially.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Odd Aid:

I bought all the song packs, some of them twice. I love them, I think you are missing out when you don't get them. The quality is just superior to most custom songs.

The patches brought great value to the game, I don't understand why you think contrary to that. Alone the multiplayer update was great and surely a lot of work for the devs.

The issue with breaking mods seems to be the modders fault. Apparently when the version number changes the mods break. So maybe you should make them resilient against that. Maybe don't make your mods break just when a version number changes. lmao

Beat Saber's future seems bright, VR is growing exponentially.

This is with mods OUT OF THE PICTURE. Like let's say mods didn't exist, okay? Every update only just brings more song packs. If you don't want to spend any money on this game besides what you paid for to own it, all these game updates are literally useless. They don't add new gamemodes. They don't add new modifiers. They don't add any new content whatsoever. The only thing these updates accomplish is to ask you to shell out more money to them for more songs.

And also, a lot of music pack songs I've played aren't very good in comparison to stuff that the community does. The official songs are typically shortened and use very basic note patterns. A song pack isn't worth 12-15 bucks each. Like I said the packs I've gotten, I felt ripped off.

What astounds me is the fact that I've spent 45 bucks on this game and you're siding with them and explaining to me why I should spend more. Why do games have to be so expensive? And on top of that, why do they make you spend so much just to own it by itself, and then make you spend 12-15 bucks more AT A MINIMUM because despite you spending a lot to own the game, they still have the audacity to lock over 75% of the game behind a big paywall?

I even did the math. If I bought every song pack right now, that totals to $806.33. I CAN BUY 26 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ COPIES OF BEAT SABER WITH THAT MONEY! HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY THIS?! WHY WOULD ANYONE SPEND THAT MUCH SOLELY ON SONGS?

[Bunny Mountain]

i guess someone didnt play rockband or guitar hero :P

[Alex]

Originally posted by Bunny Mountain:

i guess someone didnt play rockband or guitar hero :P

Rockband and Guitar Hero if I remember correctly had plenty of content as standard, and the DLC they did have wasn't worth the same price as buying the game 24 times.

[0Dd1]

Originally posted by Jack Foxtrot:

And also, a lot of music pack songs I've played aren't very good in comparison to stuff that the community does. The official songs are typically shortened and use very basic note patterns. A song pack isn't worth 12-15 bucks each. Like I said the packs I've gotten, I felt ripped off.

What astounds me is the fact that I've spent 45 bucks on this game and you're siding with them and explaining to me why I should spend more. Why do games have to be so expensive? And on top of that, why do they make you spend so much just to own it by itself, and then make you spend 12-15 bucks more AT A MINIMUM because despite you spending a lot to own the game, they still have the audacity to lock over 75% of the game behind a big paywall?

I even did the math. If I bought every song pack right now, that totals to $806.33. I CAN BUY 26 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ COPIES OF BEAT SABER WITH THAT MONEY! HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY THIS?! WHY WOULD ANYONE SPEND THAT MUCH SOLELY ON SONGS?

That's just very subjective to everyone. It depends on how much fun you get out of the song packs, how much you like the game in general, how much money you can/want spend etc.

So contrary to many who are angry about the song packs and their pricing and updates, there are also some like me who really appreciate them and get a lot of fun of Beat Saber in general. I'm playing since it came out. Still having lots of fun, without any mods or custom songs.

[Steel]

This game will literally never die. Even if it gets deleted from the store people will remake it.
Just ignore DLC if you don't want it, it's not for you.

[drew42]

We have two inter-related problems: Facebook and people.

Facebook doesn't care about anything but making Zuck more money. Facebook don't care that the song mappings suck. Facebook a sociopathic entity charged with making more money, regardless of how. Making a better game at this point can't make them any more money according to the Facebook spreadsheets.

The second part of the problem is that people get pissed off by this, and bored by the declining game and migrate away. VR stopped growing a while ago because its a huge pain in the ass, due to things like Facebook stagnating the pond. So now we have disinterested people up against a Facebook only interested in their money.

And this is how you get Billie Eyelash in a Facebook song publishing deal on Beat Saber: Facebook is giving you the one thing they think you'll buy that the money will allow them to do. A paid API would be huge and give them a SaaS model, but the money would never let them risk it. An indie song creator and licensing portal would be huge and give them a licensing model, but the money would never let them try it. I'm sure some Facebook exec has said, "why put more songs in this game, they won't even buy the Billie Eilish stuff!?."

I can see three paths forward to a better Beat Saber: start a kickstarer to replace beat saber with something open-source, class action sue facebook in Cali under your right to repair the game, or lobby congress to unf-ck modern music law (Duckduckgo "mechanical music license" and wonder why we can't apply that here).

Hell, lets dream about a game industry that loves money and likes players. Imagine a future where you can upload any Beat Saber song you want, copy protection software detects the song, and pays the publisher with a few cents. Random hits would make some publishers rich. The market makers would get rich. Players would have a richer experience. You could make that world once you get rid of Zuck and Facebook.

[hotcrawsbuns]

Huh? How can you say Beatsaber is a cash cow for facebook in one sentence, and then complain that only 2 people will buy Billie Eilish in another? Which is it? There is nothing wrong with song packs and obviously ppl are buying them. I've had a ton of fun playing Skrillex and PatD and they were well worth the price. They are more than welcome to pump out more song packs and I'll buy them if they're good. I hate that their updates break mods and mostly refuse to play unless modded. The true death of mods is the death of the game. Paid songpacks can continue.

[Arestris]

I don't get your problem. With mods, rightfully, out of the picture, what's so bad on it? That the game has to update from time to time? That really isn't killing it, most updates are more on the small side. And the additional song packs, yes, of course they bring them, so they can make money with the game, that's a) totally understandable and b) there is no need to buy them, if you don't want them, no one forces you, but c) a good way for people, that see a value in them or simply want to support the devs.
I think we could be happy, they a) didn't just abondan the game by now, you say it, this game is out for more than three years and b) they don't prevent mods (yes, let me take that shortly into the picture here) at all, that they can't support them is pretty obvious, when we consider, what those mods do.

[Alex]

Originally posted by Arestris:

I don't get your problem. With mods, rightfully, out of the picture, what's so bad on it? That the game has to update from time to time? That really isn't killing it, most updates are more on the small side. And the additional song packs, yes, of course they bring them, so they can make money with the game, that's a) totally understandable and b) there is no need to buy them, if you don't want them, no one forces you, but c) a good way for people, that see a value in them or simply want to support the devs.
I think we could be happy, they a) didn't just abondan the game by now, you say it, this game is out for more than three years and b) they don't prevent mods (yes, let me take that shortly into the picture here) at all, that they can't support them is pretty obvious, when we consider, what those mods do.

Because like I said, I'd rather them do more QoL and gameplay changes to the game to make it replayable. Apart from song packs, updates don't exactly do much else. Like how about new game modes or modifiers or things like that?

Like remember the Multiplayer update? That was a neat update. Yeah it broke a LOT of things and people didn't like the new UI and stuff, but eventually things got fixed. But the multiplayer aspect in itself seemed like a new way to replayability.

Just... things like that. There's more ways to keep the game more enjoyable and replayable besides song packs.

[I'm Back Bois]

It's been over a year since players have reported tracking issues with the sabers. Despite the devs claiming that they're "working on it", still today players are having issues like that(I'm one of them). That literally makes the game unplayable and proves that the devs don't give 2 ♥♥♥♥♥ about the community. RIP Beat Saber

[kyoyo]

Originally posted by Ice_Wallow_Come:

It's been over a year since players have reported tracking issues with the sabers. Despite the devs claiming that they're "working on it", still today players are having issues like that(I'm one of them). That literally makes the game unplayable and proves that the devs don't give 2 ♥♥♥♥♥ about the community. RIP Beat Saber

While it’s obvious the devs don’t care about the community, wouldn’t tracking be an issue with the headset rather than the game? Genuine question.

[2CATS]

agreed, not even worth paying for me anymore. wont shell out more money for song packs and mods are such a hassle to use with the constant updates breaking them. almost makes me want to just create a clone thats enough different to undermine them

[Alex]

Originally posted by FANCYTRASH:

agreed, not even worth paying for me anymore. wont shell out more money for song packs and mods are such a hassle to use with the constant updates breaking them. almost makes me want to just create a clone thats enough different to undermine them

Besides song packs, the updates do nothing at all for regular players. It's been like this for a long time. I feel they need to put focus on players who don't want to spend more money. Game modes. Modifiers. Settings. Things like that.