Diamonds in the Rough

The Beat Saber Mapping Server Presents: Diamonds in the Rough

The goal of this event is to match interested Verified mappers up with Novice mappers in a "coaching" relationship to create one high-quality, curateable map with at least three difficulties. At the end of the event, the novice-made maps will be released as a pack on BeatSaver and featured on BeastSaber, showcasing up-and-coming "undiscovered" mapping talent!

DITR 7 is currently in progress!

Check out playlists from past events: DITR1, DITR2, DITR3, DITR4, DITR5, DITR6.

Check out who's participated previously!
*Click on each category to learn more

How does the event work?

• Interested Novice Mappers get paired up with interested Verified mappers (capped to 20 pairs).

• There are also event channels available for the whole group - one for coaches only and one for all participants. Each pair can optionally request a private channel in the Beat Saber Mapping discord for event-related communication.

• The Novice creates ONE (1) high-quality map with at least 3 difficulties (Easy to Hard, Normal to Expert, Hard to E+, etc). This is not a collaboration… the Novice is doing all the work! Choose any appropriate* song you like - there's no single theme for this pack.
  *Keep it clean-ish. Swears are OK but stay away from NSFW stuff.

• There will be FOUR checkpoints throughout the event to help Novices pace themselves:

  • 2 Weeks In: Song must be selected and map should be timed out and structure planned

  • 4 Weeks In: First diff should be complete

  • 6 Weeks In: Show & Tell! Post your map zip in a thread for everyone to look at

  • 8 Weeks In: Final polish pre-release

The Verified mapper works with their Novice in a one-on-one coaching capacity over two months to get the map in a curateable state. This could mean planning, answering questions, giving advice on song choice or timing, playtesting, etc. It does not mean doing the map for them!

Maps will all be released by the Novices at the designated date/time with their "Coach" acknowledged in both the map description and the "Contributors" tab. The description will also include a short copy/pasted blurb about the pack (see FAQs).

What are the requirements?

Participants must have a basic Mapper or Verified Mapper role on the Beat Saber Mapping discord by application deadline.

Novice mappers must:

• Have the Mapper role on the Beat Saber Mapping discord.

• Be coachable, which means you're responsive to constructive feedback and willing to use the resources available to you (wiki, tutorials, chat) to improve your map. You will be doing most of the work here!

• Mappers with five (5) or fewer maps released to BeatSaver will receive priority. This is a guideline - not a hard rule.

Coaches must:

• Have the Verified Mapper role on the Beat Saber Mapping discord.

• Have a minimum of three (3) maps curated on BeatSaver or ranked on ScoreSaber.

• Have a good understanding of down-mapping practices. If you actively dislike down-mapping, give this event a pass.

• Be capable of providing constructive feedback, have lots of patience, and an understanding of what makes a curation-quality map without micromanaging the Novice and turning it into "your" map.

• Be able to commit to the process for ONE map in the listed time frame. That's it. Obviously life stuff happens, but each map is a team effort. If you know that your time is going to be consumed by school/work during the event period, we ask that you not apply for the event. It's a real gut punch to have your coach or novice drop out part way through...

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What if there are certain people I don't want to be matched with for reasons?

  Note that to Admins/Staff in the last question of the sign-up form. Sometimes there are just personality mixes that you know are like oil and water. Keep in mind that this is for ONE map… you're not getting married… yet.

• Can a coach/novice join as a pair?

  Short answer, no. While we have allowed this in some past DITR events, we are following our pairing approach of last year's event which made joining as a pair unnecessary.

• Will I have to voice chat or screen share with my coach/mentee?

  That's between the two of you to work out. If that's not something you're comfortable with you may also want to let us know on the form but no one will force you to do anything you're not comfortable with! There are event specific VC channels if you need a quiet place to work together

• Do the novice mappers also have to light?

  Yes, though an auto-lighter is permitted. Even just simple manual lights are highly encouraged. If you are dead set on using an auto-lighter, consider at least tweaking what it spits out to be a bit more cohesive. At the end of the day this is a mapping event and not a lighting event.

  Excuse us while we avoid the dagger-stares of every die-hard custom lighter…

• Can I do a modchart?

  The goal is to focus on mapping, and with the time given, it is not advised to set such monumental goals.

• There are 3 difficulties required, do they have to be in a straight progression or can it be something like Easy, Hard, Ex+?

  To qualify for curation it is highly recommended that you have consecutive difficulties but an E>N>H or a N>H>E is just as viable as a H>X>P.

• I'm a coach - can I put my own difficulties on the map?

  One of the goals of the three-difficulty requirement is to encourage new mappers to learn appropriate down-mapping from their own work. As long as the Novice creates three complete difficulties, the coach can provide two of their own, and/or additional characteristics as long as they are appropriately noted using difficulty labels and mentioned in the map description on release.

  NOTE: If a coach includes a difficulty and it is not curatable the map as a whole will not be curatable, impacting your novice. Consider putting your diffs in an alternate characteristic such as Lawless.

• Can I change the song I'm mapping after the event starts?

  Yes. As long as your new song meets the requirements (three novice-mapped diffs) and is completed on time you're good to go.

• Is it possible that my map won't get curated?

  Yes. Coaches are required to have had maps curated in the past and should have a good sense for what is curation-worthy. Curation standards have been on the rise and if your map is not refined enough to make the cut it will not be curated. It will still, however, be included in the map pack. For reference, here are the standards that curators follow when curating maps.

• Can I do a full spread if I want to?

  Yes, but remember to pace yourself, especially if you've never mapped a full spread. We recommend getting the event-required three diffs nailed down and then diving into "extra credit" if you have time.

• I have more than five maps released but I'm still super interested in this event. What's the chance I make it in?

  Based on the interest in this event in previous years, your chances of getting in if you are on the more experienced side are slim. We're looking at running an experienced version of this event with some twists, codename: Emeralds in the Smooth at some point, so stay tuned!

• What do I need to include in my map when I release it?

  The BeatSaver title for your map should start with [DITR7] and your description should include the following blurb along with anything else you want to say (a shout out to your coach is highly encouraged)

Diamonds in the Rough is an event for new mappers which matches them up with experienced coaches to create a multi-difficulty, curation-worthy map. Keep your eyes on these rookies in the future as their talent develops!