Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here is a quick list of questions people have commonly asked about ChroMapper.

Will my MMA2 / BeatMapper maps transfer over to ChroMapper?

Yes. All of these editors share the same map format, so your maps will transfer just fine.

Will my ChroMapper maps transfer over to MMA2 / BeatMapper?

No. As of 0.9.646, beatmaps are not backwards compatible with those editors due to using official bpm events.

How about transferring maps over to the new Official Editor?

Transferring ChroMapper maps to Beat Saber’s Official Editor can work, however all modded data (including Chroma lights, Noodle Extensions data, etc.) will be wiped.

How can I make ChroMapper function more like MMA2?

If you are transitioning from MMA2, there are a few options you can change to get a similar mapping experience.

• Cursor precision scrolling is inverted.
  This can be changed by the Invert Precision Scroll option.

• Notes are round and glossy.
  This can be changed by the Simple Blocks option.

• There are fewer objects shown on the grid.
  This can be changed by the Chunks Loaded and Object Spawn Offset values.

• Alt + WASD does not edit note direction
  This can be changed by the Quick Note Editing option.

• The note colours don’t look right
  On first time setup, you can change the lighting preset to MMA2 which changes the following Appearance settings:

  • Note Colour Multiplier → 0.3

  • Arrow Color Multipler → 3

  • Arror Color Blind → 0.25

  • Obstacle Opacity → 0.1

  • Alternative Lighting → True

How do I use Chroma 2.0 Lighting?

The Chroma Menu is your one-stop shop for Chroma 2.0 lighting. Please give that page a read-through before beginning to light with Chroma.

Can I create Noodle Extensions maps using ChroMapper?

Ehhh… kinda. Noodle Extensions is a very complex mod, and ChroMapper will never be able to support all of its features. Most (if not all) popular Noodle Extensions mappers code their maps with custom-made scripts.

In this department, the most useful ChroMapper tool available to you is the Node Editor. The Node Editor exposes each object in raw JSON form, allowing you to directly edit the underlying data.

Can I use other programs alongside ChroMapper?

Our Using External Tools page covers this topic. The short answer: Yes, but you should always save and quit ChroMapper before working with any other map program.

Where is the Error Checker?

ChroMapper’s alternative to the Error Checker is currently a plugin, called “CM-JS”. You can find and download this plugin in the #plugins channel of the ChroMapper Discord.

CM-JS not only offers Error Checking capabilities, but also allows executing external JavaScript files. This is a widely used feature for additional error checking, as well as Quality of Life scripts meant to further speed up your mapping workflow.

Once the Error Checker is installed, from the Editor, press Tab and click the CM-JS button to show the Error Checker window.

I’ve seen some friends have Bongo Cat while mapping. How do I activate it?

Click on the furry. That’s all we’re legally obligated to say.

CM is not running well on my PC. How can I speed it up?

There are a few options you can change to increase performance:

• Environment Reflections is the heaviest setting in ChroMapper, turn this off first.

• VSync throttles CM to the refresh rate of your monitor, so it does not use excess CPU/GPU.

• Simple Blocks and Pyramid Event Models increase framerate by using lower-detailed models.

• Decreasing Chunks Loaded and Object Spawn/Despawn Offsets lowers the number of objects rendered by ChroMapper

• As a last ditch effort to make ChroMapper run fast, turn off: Visualize Chroma Gradients, High Quality Bloom, and Anti-Aliasing.

ChroMapper crashed! Is my map safe?

By default, ChroMapper automatically saves your map every 5 minutes, to a special autosaves subfolder in your map folder.

As of ChroMapper 0.10.779, there is no convenient menu to recover lost data, however you can manually copy/paste a autosave over the map files with your operating system’s file browser.

Can ChroMapper show Environment Enhancements in the editor?

This is a well-requested feature, but for the foreseeable future the answer will be “No.”

The short answer is that, for as long as ChroMapper uses recreations of the Beat Saber environments, the ChroMapper environments will never be truly accurate to the Beat Saber equivalents. With that fact, trying to implement Environment Enhancement support will be a pain for everyone involved.

There is a possibility for ChroMapper to directly import Beat Saber environments while loading into the editor (similar to how Custom Platforms importing), which will guarantee accuracy and make Environment Enhancements much more feasible. Currently, we have not explored that route.

Why does my editor glow blue?

By default, ChroMapper runs DirectX 12 on Windows. If you have an older dedicated graphics card, or are using integrated graphics, you may have partial support for DirectX 12, or no support at all.

First, you should try updating your graphics drivers. If that does not fix the issue, create a shortcut to the ChroMapper Launcher (This article should show you how to do it) and add the -force-d3d11 argument. This will force ChroMapper to run in DirectX 11 mode, which is compatible with a much larger range of hardware.

If you want to launch with other Graphics APIs, you can instead use the -force-vulkan argument to launch ChroMapper with Vulkan, or -force-glcore to run with the latest compatible version of OpenGL.

Why am I missing MSVCP140.dll and/or VCRUNTIME140.dll?

You need Visual C++ Redistributable in order to run ChroMapper.

Why does the Launcher not load ChroMapper?

See the very next question; these are caused by the same underlying issue, and the solution fixes both problems.

I’ve installed some Plugins correctly, but ChroMapper doesn’t load them. What gives?

More than likely, you have ChroMapper installed in a location with restricted privileges (Such as the Windows Downloads folder). Uninstall ChroMapper by deleting the chromapper folder (if it exists), and move the Launcher executable to a location with full read/write permissions. A great location would be a mass storage drive, but something like your Desktop should also work. Re-install ChroMapper by opening the Launcher. ChroMapper should now launch and load any plugins you install.

How do I use new v3 features?

Default keybinds:

• Change map version
  Shift + Alt + . (there is also a button to change map verison in the pause menu)

• Chains
  Select notes and press C to generate chain connecting them
  Alt + Scroll on chain to adjust number of links
  Shift + Scroll on chain to adjust squish

• Arcs
  Select notes and press V to generate arcs connecting them
  Alt + Scroll on indicator to adjust head multiplier
  Shift + Scroll on indicator to adjust tail multiplier

• Notes
  Alt + Scroll to adjust angle direction
  Alt + Shift + Scroll to adjust angle offset (precision angle)
  Pressing dot note keybind (F) will toggle between cardinal and diagonal dot notes

• Obstacles
  Shift + Scroll to adjust wall height
  Alt + Shift + Scroll to adjust wall y

• Lighting
  Alt + Scroll to adjust event brightness. (Previous value behaviour is now on Alt + Shift + Scroll)
  C to switch to transition events (these fade from the previous event to its value)

• Other
  Swing Arc Visualiser has been moved to I

Why is my map corrupted on Quest?

On Beat Saber version 1.28, due to a bug with Quest mods, ChroMapper’s Save Without Default Values setting can break maps. This issue has been fixed on later versions.

To workaround this for 1.28, disable Save Without Default Values and then re-save every difficulty of your map.

Why does ChroMapper crash on start up on M1 mac?

On versions below v0.9.690, an internal library causes ChroMapper to crash. Updating ChroMapper can resolve this issue.

Why am I stuck on the first screen on M1 mac?

There are still some issues regarding M1 compatibility on stable. Opting into dev release may resolve this issue. (Version0.10.697 or greater contains a fix.)

Look for a file ChroMapperSettings.json in ~/Library/Application Support/com.BinaryElement.ChroMapper. If this file exists, change the value for ReleaseChannel, and restart CML to update to dev release:

If this file or folder does not exist, create it with the following contents and restart CML to update:

Why does ChroMapper freeze/crash when opening the editor?

Try the following steps:

1. Remove any incompatible plugins.
   If you aren’t sure which ones are incompatible, remove them all and try again.

2. If CM still has issues, this is probably a vram issue.
   Lower the Sample Quality in settings to 1 and try again.

3. If CM still has issues, try again with a different graphics api.
   Create a shortcut to the ChroMapper Launcher (This article should show you how to do it) and add the
   -force-d3d11 argument. This will force ChroMapper to run in DirectX 11 mode, which is compatible with a much larger range of hardware.