In late 2018/early 2019, I got very interested in a VR rhythm game, Beat Saber. Extending on that, I started mapping custom charts that can be played in-game. An important part of a good chart is the lightshow that plays in the background.
These lightshows are driven by a series of manually timed events that will turn lights on/off or trigger other effects in the scene. One of the limits of Beat Saber's lighting system is that you can only set the lights to one of two colors, typically red or blue. To combat this, someone developed a mod called "Chroma". This mod added the ability to specify the color of each lighting event.
Unfortunately, as time passed, the game received updates, the mod broke, and the original developer no longer maintained the mod. I decided to take it upon myself to update this mod. At the time, I had no experience with either C# or Unity. I self-taught myself C# by seeing the code left by the previous maintainer, studying the open-source repositories of other mods, and viewing the decompiled code of Beat Saber.
GitHub Repo(I have since combined the repo with a few other mods.)
All use Chroma to freely switch between any color
Example of a scene created using Chroma
Since then, I have gained great proficiency in C# and Unity, and created and maintained multiple repositories for different mods, all of which have become well-known in the modding community.
Chroma itself has had its feature list greatly increased from just setting the colors of its lights. Its features now include being able to set the color for notes, lights, sabers, and walls. However, its greatest feature is providing a system to mappers that allows constructing entire scenes from scratch rather than using only the ones provided by the base game.
Showcasing
Below are maps from some of the most skilled mappers in the community, utilizing Chroma to create and animate breathtaking scenes. These are only short clips, I would recommend checking out the full map.
Technicolor (yes without the u)
Originally starting as a feature in Chroma, Technicolor allows users to randomize the colors on their notes, sabers, walls, and lights. It includes many options such as for styles, grouping, frequency, and palettes.
Over time, Technicolor did not fit the scope of Chroma anymore. Chroma was designed for giving mappers and giving them more tools to enhance the visuals in their maps. Technicolor, however, was designed for the user, to customize their own experience. It was also just bloat for most users as only a small subset were interested in using it.
In response, I split Technicolor into it's own mod that interacts with the coloring API that Chroma provides. It now acts as an add-on that users can install if they are interested in rainbow coloring. 🌈
Technicolor Github Repo
Technicolor is where it's at!