PowerBeatsVR News

A new Steam BETA channel is now open for all PowerBeatsVR players!

Dear players!

Our largest update ever is in the making and PowerBeatsVR is on its way to come out of Early Access! While we are grinding away at the game’s full release version, we opened up a beta branch where you can test some of the new features and content that is coming with that update. We would love to get your feedback and your help in finding bugs before releasing the content officially.

One of the main new features of the current beta build is the option to create playlists!

Here is the full list of new features and changes already implemented in the beta build. Further content, such as a full song pack and a brand-new environment, will be added to the beta for being tested soon.

Playlists (work in progress):

• Create playlists of official and local songs
  
• Choose between regular playlist mode with statistics after each song, endurance mode without any breaks, and an endless mode
  

Further Features:

• Option to adjust playspace rotation and center
  
• Squat counter and overall fitness level as additional statistics
  
• “Small balls” modifier
  
• „Play again“ option after a single song
  

Editor Improvements:

• Added a visual representation (waveform) of the audio track
  
• Added a grid on the floor representing the beats
  
• Added a slider for moving fast between different positions within the song
  
• Added the possibility to set flags to certain beats and show them on the slider
  
• Added a distinct play/pause button to the palette in addition to the existing hotkey
  
• Fixed some minor bugs
  

Minor Changes:

• Added "No Punch "sound variant
  
• Fixed SFX and music volume not going below 1
  
• Added volume up and down arrows in the menu
  
• Increased the speed of the powerfist orb by a factor of 2
  
• Removed the possibility to destroy balls with the head collider
  
• Fixed the issue with the second controller not vibrating on some double hits
  

Various Performance Enhancements

Visual Improvements:

• Rearranged the scoring screen to make it clearer
  
• Added more environmental details like birds and butterflies
  
• Added flare to light sources
  
• Moved the avatar camera slightly back
  
• Changed the sky in Medieval
  
• Added water to Medieval on certain quality levels
  
• Increased brightness and contrast in Space
  

And here is how you can join the beta:
1) Find PowerBeatsVR in your Steam library and right-click on it.
2) Click “Properties”.
3) Open the “Beta” tab.
4) Under “Select the beta you would like to opt into:” select “publicbeta” from the drop-down.
5) Close the properties window and the beta will begin installing.

To switch back, just choose “NONE – opt out of all beta programs” in the “Beta” tab instead.

Feel free to share your feedback in our Discord beta channel or here in the Steam community, and help us in making an awesome game. We highly appreciate your feedback, ideas, and thoughts!

A special thanks to all of you who have reported the bugs that are now fixed in the beta or requested some of the new features: TJPet2, MurphChops, SalvoTonic, cynix, TrollmanGamZ, Neo, Doctor Dank, dohorio, clcatga, omakita, BackyVeritas, SoZornig, nyquistjack, to.salzmann, asterisk, ExclusiveXOR, K2029, max_strike, CosmoKram3r, qaplus, markwoeh, Mike1304, yo, Brashen, FalconXY

And now have fun and thanks for your support,
Team PowerBeatsVR

Dear players!

We’ve just released our "Flatten the Curve" update for PowerBeatsVR, which makes your home workouts even more convenient:

You can now use ANT+ heart rate monitors as well to track your heart rate in-game. We removed the two distinct playspace sizes and player sizes and implemented automatic playspace scaling based on your chaperone/boundary setting and fine-adjustable player height. And we finally added FLAC support besides OGG, WAV, and MP3 to the automatic beatmap generator.

Here is a full list of changes:

New Features:

• ANT+ support for heart rate monitors
  
• Automatic playspace scaling based on chaperone/boundary settings
  
• Fine adjustable player height
  
• FLAC music support for the automatic beatmap generator
  
• Manual controller alignment option
  
• Dedicated support for Valve Knuckles & Vive Cosmos controllers
  

Bugfixes:

• Knuckle & Index controller orientation and vibration fixed
  
• Limit of custom song directories fixed
  
• Occurring crashes when connecting to Bluetooth HRMs fixed
  

Menu:

• “Stop Music” button and “Play Music on Return to Menu” toggle added
  

Graphics:

• New PowerBall visuals
  
• Overall graphics improvements
  

Performance:

• Overall performance improvements
  

Now it’s time for the next step: Adding playlists for a stamina mode!

We hope you enjoy the update. As always thank you for all your support! And if you aren’t already in our Discord community channel we would love to see you there! Comments and reviews on Steam are also much appreciated
Cheers,
Team PowerBeatsVR

Dear players!

We’re thrilled to announce another major update for PowerBeatsVR with a special new feature: You can now play with your own music library and let the game auto-generate suitable workouts on all three difficulty levels! And if you want to change the workouts to stress specific parts and adapt them to your needs, you have the options for that.

But that’s not all. Based on our players’ feedback, we’ve made the level editor much easier to use and implemented further features, such as an additional strength and activity bonus, an indicator for the direction to punch multiple targets in a row, the option to choose between curved and straight flight paths for incoming objects, and several game modifiers, amongst them a “Super Speed” modifier.

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Here are all the changes in detail:

Auto-Generator For Local Music:

• Automatic beatmap generation for all your local music files
  
• Beginner, Advanced, and Expert mode
  
• Customization options
  

Improved Level Editor

• Easy handling: Just choose your local song via the in-game file browser and start editing
  
• Automatic song analysis (including bpm and offset – no manual work necessary)
  
• New feature: Saving and loading of custom patterns
  

General

• New modifiers:
  • „All balls are normal“
  • „No vertical walls“
  • „No horizontal walls“
  • „Super speed“
  
• Additional strength bonus
  
• Additional activity bonus
  
• New indicator for the direction to punch multiple targets in a row
  
• New option for turning in-game voice on/off
  
• New option for switching between curved and straight flight paths for incoming objects
  
• Visual tweaks and improvements
  
• Performance improvements
  

Special thanks to our beta testers and everyone who gave us feedback! If you also want to help us in making an awesome game, feel free to join our Discord community channel and tell us your ideas and wishes.

Comments and reviews on Steam are also much appreciated!
Cheers,
Team PowerBeatsVR

New Steam BETA channel is now open for all PowerBeatsVR players!

Anyone who wants to try out the latest features, including an early version of the automatic beatmap generator for Beginner and Advanced level (Expert is coming soon) and an easy-to-use editor, is invited to switch to the public beta channel on Steam. You can now play with whatever music you want.

And here is how you do it:

1. Find PowerBeatsVR in your Steam library and right-click on it.
   
2. Click “Properties”.
   
3. Open the “Beta” tab.
   
4. Under “Select the beta you would like to opt into:” select “publicbeta” from the drop-down.
   
5. Close the properties window and the beta will begin installing.
   
6. Click in-game on the “Local” challenges tab and navigate to your music folder.
   

To switch back, just choose “NONE – opt out of all beta programs” in the “Beta” tab instead.

Please note that existing community challenges are currently not compatible with the beta build. They will be converted with the next official update.
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And for everyone interested, here are the features which are implemented in the beta build and are ready for being tested:

Automatic Beatmap Generator (work in progress)

• Automatic beatmap generation for local music files
  
• Beginner and Advanced mode implemented (Expert coming soon)
  

Improved Level Editor

• Easy handling: Just choose your local song via the in-game file browser and start editing
  
• Automatic song analysis (including bpm and offset – no manual work necessary)
  
• New features:
  - Saving and loading of custom patterns
  - Automatic generation of beatmaps for the chosen difficulty
  

General

• New modifiers:
  - „All balls are normal“
  - „No vertical walls“
  - „No horizontal walls“
  
• New option to turn in-game voice on/off
  
• Additional strength bonus after each challenge
  
• Visual tweaks
  
• Performance improvements
  

Feel free to share your feedback in our Discord public beta channel or here in the Steam community, and help us in making an amazing game.

Have fun and thanks for your support,
Team PowerBeatsVR

Dear players!

Some of you asked us what we are currently working on. The short and simple answer is: Content, content, and even more content ;-)

Specifically, we are developing the following three main features for the next major updates:
• Automatic beatmap generation for your own music library
• Stamina mode with custom playlists
• More official challenges (songs & handmade beatmaps)

You can also check out our development roadmap on Trello if you want to see the entire feature list. We will keep this list updated.

And if you haven't already joined the PowerBeatsVR community on our Discord server make sure to give it a visit, report bugs, share feedback, discuss ideas with us, and just help us in making an amazing game. We would love to see you there.

Cheers,
Team PowerBeatsVR