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Stepmania (Rhythm Game)

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Total Posts
40
Poltergeist_old
8 posts
Joined February 2010
Topic Starter
Poltergeist_old
Stepmania is a simulator of what you may know as DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) or ITG (In The Groove). However, stepmania these days supports and is mostly played on a keyboard, which means that you don't need to buy a dance pad. The game also supports online play.


Gameplay
Arrows will scroll up in four different columns. When an arrow reach a certain bar you are supposed to hit the right key corresponding to the right column. Depending on how well you time the arrow you will receive a greater amount of points. If you miss or time the arrows badly your life bar will decrease. When it runs out you will lose, just like Osu!

Simfiles (beatmaps)
Just like Osu! you can create your own custom beatmaps, which are refered to as ”simfiles” in stepmania. There are serveral websites where you can share your works or download others':

Otaku's Dream (runs anime & other japan-related simfile pack projects. Recently released their 6th anime mix which is available to get here. You can find their YouTube channel here)

Bemanistyle (simfile database)

Flash Flash Revolution (flash version of stepmania, doesn't support custom simfiles. Also has a big sub-forum for stepmania which runs simfile pack projects from time to time)

Keybeat Online (another flash version of stepmania without custom simfile support. Runs simfile pack projects without any specified genre).

Zenius-I-Vanisher (stores the DDR packs and other pad simfiles)

There are big and popular websites which are more pad-oriented as well but I don't keep track of those.



You can download the game from: http://www.stepmania.com
If you want to play the game online then follow the instructions given here: http://www.stepmaniaonline.eu
Last edited by Poltergeist_old , edited 2 times in total.
Claudia_old
571 posts
Joined July 2010
Claudia_old
lulz, stepmania was cool 5 years ago

not even joking
Mara
4,906 posts
Joined November 2009
Mara

E-Hooker wrote:

lulz, stepmania was cool 5 years ago

not even joking
This.
Crimmi
1,947 posts
Joined June 2009
Crimmi
You forgot about Zenius -I- Vanisher they have official DDR Simfiles there too look under "DDR & DS"
Poltergeist_old
8 posts
Joined February 2010
Topic Starter
Poltergeist_old
@E-Hooker & LunaticMara: I take that as you haven't played stemania for a few years? I bet it was more active and popular back then but a lot of neat stuff has been added and updated as well.

@CrimmiSkye: Thanks! Yeah I barely know of any pad-oriented communities. I'll add that to the list.
Xgor
Elite Mapper
2,534 posts
Joined April 2009
Xgor
The thing is that I doubt many that in here care that much about stepmania (at least not any more) as they find this game to be more interesting.

I find it fun to play stepmania/DDR/ITG fun with a dance pad but without it it's just loses all apeal and becomes just a rhythm game where you just mash buttons (And I found most custom non-StepMix stepcharts to be pretty bleh and just focusing on difficulty.)
arien666
6,290 posts
Joined May 2009
arien666
Played before but bored ;_;

And FFR had been able to share simfiles but now no ;_;
Crimmi
1,947 posts
Joined June 2009
Crimmi
oh i forgot there is one moe site i've found and there are mostly Pump It Up, o2Jam & ITG Simfiles Here:

Pump Haven
Rantai
1,000 posts
Joined July 2010
Rantai
Stepmania <3

I love osu! and Stepmania equally, though these days I only play OD packs or files by QED.

I wonder if they smoothed out the bugs of online multiplayer, it was always more fun with another person.
RemmyX25
osu! Alumni
3,087 posts
Here since the beginning
RemmyX25
I played Stepmania for maybe a month but thats because it got boring with my fingers. I'm still looking for a very cheap dance mat alternative to plug into my computer.
dfuzz1987
11 posts
Joined January 2011
dfuzz1987
I think stepmania was fun i still have it but i didnt know it supported online...
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64
haha, there is one here!

If anyone needs info on Stepmania, I can help! I administrate it (currently not sure about that status), but I write most of the guides on simple gameplay and etiquette/lingo. I'm definitely here to try some osu! though, but I'll probably answer most questions here if I know the answer.

Edit: As for the previous post, it's supported online since 2006 I think. This site is actually the second main site, the main one shut down in Feb. 2010. Their domain (stepmaniaonline.com) just directs to us now. We were the only people willing to keep it alive.
Pokebis
2,047 posts
Joined April 2008
Pokebis
I still use it on occasion with a real pad.
It's also open source so some nice spin-offs come out of it.
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

Pokebis wrote:

I still use it on occasion with a real pad.
It's also open source so some nice spin-offs come out of it.
Yup. Before I left I was trying to incorporate a GH/RB mode, and it was going pretty well. But the community is kinda sour over there, drove me away. And yea, it' a great open source game, tends to be a gateway for people learning to program and whatnot. But the server is closed source I think, at least the updated one. It's definitely good for pad play...

..speaking of which, does anyone recommend a certain brand of metal pads? I'd like bar too, I'm thinking about buying one this summer. Never done it before, so if anyone wants to provide suggestions I;d definitely appreciate them.
Rantai
1,000 posts
Joined July 2010
Rantai
You know while we've got some expertise here, I've been thinking about an eight fingered play style (all finger bar the thumb) and was wondering if this has ever been successfully used?

I can imagine it being extremely hard to manage from the sheer number of fingers on top of alternating or knowing when to alternate each finger for each arrow.

Secondly, say it isn't too viable except for the most flexible etc people, what's a good way to deal with.. Jacks, was it? Whatever the term is for notes on one direction coming in quick succession. They tend to be the bane of any song I play :(
s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n
i havent played this game in yrs n__n lol since i got into osu
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

Rantai wrote:

You know while we've got some expertise here, I've been thinking about an eight fingered play style (all finger bar the thumb) and was wondering if this has ever been successfully used?
One of the most known players in terms of skill (he's retired since October of 2010 I think) had come up with the 8 arrowed play. A double pad setup for stepmania. As for the style I'm sure he uses his pinky, a thumb would be technically better used on the spacebar, which is really good for 7 Key, or IIDX play. Though I myself prefer using an actual beatmania controller haha. Pinkies make the most sense, even using two external keyboards for better space is fine, though you still need different keys.



This is a very rare style and really not used. Though a subtle style that many pros tend to get into is Solo, a style originating from the old DDR games, such as DDR Konamix for PSone. It died out quickly as a pad style, but was somewhat revived as a stepmania style. It's played like spread (AS KL being an example), but uses the middle fingers as well to cover 6 arrows. It's centered in the middle using a common option, it's impossible to see it in standard view (one half of the screen). Another thing to note is to test the input, most keyboards can't register all 6 keys with certain setups, so make sure you can press all 6. If not, try a different setup. I used ASD KL; at one point to try this.



I know too much about stepmania for my own good, so ask away if you need any info.
s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n
lol 2 yrs ago when i failed :)
oddysea682
211 posts
Joined February 2010
oddysea682
Recently ive been playing it too much! and i have occupied over 3GB of space on my computer because of it!

3.9a and stepmania 4 icons come and go sometimes. dunno why.
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

-StarK wrote:

SPOILER
lol 2 yrs ago when i failed :)
Oh jeez, is that the OpenITG client or were you actually playing that on pad? I have issues with that client, it was always causing the online server trouble. But yea, I used to play that song all the time while practicing index/three finger style. ITG Rebirth was my favorite out of all of them. Though the ITG Rebirth + pack had a lot of cool files too, Machinaeguns being one of them. What style do you use?

oddysea682 wrote:

Recently ive been playing it too much! and i have occupied over 3GB of space on my computer because of it!

3.9a and stepmania 4 icons come and go sometimes. dunno why.
Haha I see, I got a new computer in the past month and I need to download about 50 GB more (probably even a lot more than that), I plan to collect most major songpacks, but I'm at 47 GB on songs alone. I use SM 4 CVS BBOY's MOD v1.1, which is a user's mod of SM 4 CVS. A lot of people didn't like the noteskin and some of the altered visuals, so this mod takes the good parts of 3.95 and fuses them with the good parts of SM 4 CVS. It also adds things like a small combo counter and things that I enjoy overall.

Also, I doubt anyone will ask or anyone plays, but I'm still stepping songs for SM casually. If anyone here wants their song stepped for SM, let me know. I can always give it a shot, I tend to step for the average player in terms of difficulty. Literally the middleground. I still have a lot of soings to finish, but here's my channel to which I've been uploading some of my files too. If you look at it, let me know what you think! I haven't been stepping for long, criticism is appreciated and strongly encouraged.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ddrXero64
Nekoroll
513 posts
Joined May 2010
Nekoroll
I started playing Stepmania back in middle school back after I was first introduced to DWI and soon realized that DWI was pretty bad. I've pretty much stopped playing Stepmania nowadays (3-4 years after high school) but sometimes I'll hop back on. I can play 11s and some 12s although the number levels are pretty much set by the author and how they feel the song would be rated so I feel that there is a little bit of discrepancy.

I also used to play a little FFR but that was back when it only had like 25 songs and barely any multiplayer. lol I found it to be pretty bland compared to SM.

I still have my 1st gen multiplatform RedOctane pad in my closet that still works that I'll sometimes bring to anime conventions when the gameroom needs a quick DDR setup. I use it personally sometimes too but my parents always complain that I make too much noise. :U
s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n

ddrXero64 wrote:

-StarK wrote:

SPOILER
lol 2 yrs ago when i failed :)
Oh jeez, is that the OpenITG client or were you actually playing that on pad? I have issues with that client, it was always causing the online server trouble. But yea, I used to play that song all the time while practicing index/three finger style. ITG Rebirth was my favorite out of all of them. Though the ITG Rebirth + pack had a lot of cool files too, Machinaeguns being one of them. What style do you use?
was one of the OpenITG3 clients~ and i played the same style as u index/3 fingers lol but this is when i had a metal pad for my PC
Ikillforpies
379 posts
Joined November 2010
Ikillforpies
its like ddr on keybroads lol.
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

-StarK wrote:

was one of the OpenITG3 clients~ and i played the same style as u index/3 fingers lol but this is when i had a metal pad for my PC
Oh jeez, is that the OpenITG client or were you actually playing that on pad? I have issues with that client, it was always causing the online server trouble. But yea, I used to play that song all the time while practicing index/three finger style. ITG Rebirth was my favorite out of all of them. Though the ITG Rebirth + pack had a lot of cool files too, Machinaeguns being one of them. What style do you use?
[/quote]
was one of the OpenITG3 clients~ and i played the same style as u index/3 fingers lol but this is when i had a metal pad for my PC[/quote]

Ah, I see. Good job, I need to buy a metal mat soon too haha.

Ikillforpies wrote:

its like ddr on keybroads lol.
Here's the fastest I've seen someone (with their feet on camera). Probably the best ITG player, though some argue calimist is just as good.

SPOILER

As for keyboard fastest, here's a video by a friend of mine who is one of two people I consider the fastest player. I couldn't even pass this song normal speed (some parts were fast, and I don't play spread too well). Yet he seems to have done it 1.5 rate. It's not the fastest video, but it's pretty fast and 17+ minutes long (the song was 26+ minutes long). Also, 12:30 in the video is probably the hardest part he had to pass.

SPOILER
Ephemeral
Inland Empire
3,945 posts
Joined April 2009
Ephemeral
i remember the days of trying to finish solitude sun to no avail whatsoever

failure had never been so sweet
Xyrenus
52 posts
Joined October 2010
Xyrenus
will be only fun if there still there are dance pads selling~
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

Xyrenus wrote:

will be only fun if there still there are dance pads selling~
In that case just buy an ITG machine and mod it or something. It is preference, but stepmania is a fun game for keyboard. And yea, they sell plenty of mats or alternatively PS2 to USB converters. Though if you buy those get the expensive ones, there are cheaper ones sold that don't come with certain drivers. Buying the 10-15 dollar converters ensures that all you need to do is plug it in and use it, no installation of extra drivers needed. Some of them won't register parallel jumps, another reason to get the more expensive ones.

For anyone who would ever plan on getting an ITG machine, check this out. Best theme I've ever seen, available for ITG machines :P

Gon
455 posts
Joined November 2010
Gon
stepmania in a nutshell
s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n

Gonzzz wrote:

stepmania in a nutshell
lolol :lol:
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

Gonzzz wrote:

stepmania in a nutshell
I should've figured that video/gif would've been posted haha. It's like me posting a video of someone raging at osu! who was immature enough to break their monitor over it. It's kind of narrow minded of you, but even I admit it's funny. Nothing like seeing an idiot act cocky and get posted as an emo kid who's depressed, like "The Greatest Freakout Ever" video.

Sadly, kind of why I left the community, that's basically most of the "SM community" in a nutshell. The game was enjoyable though...
Gundam-Dude
76 posts
Joined July 2009
Gundam-Dude

Gonzzz wrote:

stepmania in a nutshell
Get back into playing nerd :evil:

P.S. Hi, I hope none of you besides Gonzz and ddrXero know me.
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64
Hey GD, funny seeing you 'round here. :P
Love
osu! Alumni
1,267 posts
Joined August 2010
Love
Yay, I think I'll post my latest SM video.



I've been playing on and off for a little more than 3 years. Favorite simfile artist is Alice_. His maps are so awesome. I play a little StepMania Online but that's only if one of my friends would play.
Last edited by Kharl , edited 1 time in total.
ddrXero64
96 posts
Joined May 2011
ddrXero64

ProudOtaku wrote:

Yay, I think I'll post my latest SM video.

**Youtube Link**
You only need to post the 11 character code after the "=" to embed it. This is because if you use a link from another country ( a .jp domain, or a .nl for example) it won't embed. Most forums just use the universal code.

Nice score, which version is that (which pack is it from, or where'd you et it?)? Your cbs are really good (AKA ability to keep a long combo), but I think you're MA could use a little bit more accuracy. I wouldn't even bother though, it makes sense, you play on and off, inconsistency always lowers accuracy. I can't play for a while (not even osu!) due to my Tourette's. I'm starting to cringe my figures extremely hard when playing rhythm games with keyboard ( I can't use just mouse clicks either) and my fingers are getting extremely sore. But I hope to post some videos of me soon, I do have some lying around though...

Here are some, they were first try though, just to show my latest simfiles.

SPOILER



s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n
heres another game identical to stepmania its called Beatupmania<-- click to dl basically a mode off of Audition (another dancing/rhythm game) here are some vids :D p.s if u ever plan on getting this game keys are 741 for left side and 963 for right and the yellow bar in middle is space~

one of my custom charts:


oHAI MARISSA after mario >.>:
Gundam-Dude
76 posts
Joined July 2009
Gundam-Dude
vids of playing and simfile CHaRToGRaPHY: http://www.youtube.com/user/GundamDude2323

notable stuff





zolaric
0 posts
Joined June 2011
zolaric
dat MA

lol first post on SM thread
s 8 n
129 posts
Joined December 2009
s 8 n
some of my ITG vids (2 yrs ago noob)


(may have to turn volume up)



Jozie_old
5 posts
Joined February 2010
Jozie_old
Aaah stepmania <3 My first rhythm game ever.

I started playing DDR/stepmania back in 2003 after trying it out in the arcade machine in Helsinki. Month later I ordered my first dance mat from Japan.

Currently I own 4 "Rave Station" dance mats (tbh the best dance mat ever! I haven't broken a single one of them during these ~8 years of intensive use!), 2 lesser quality dance mats which I don't really like, and one metallic dance pad. :)

I used to arrange DDR compos on lan parties... that's why I have some spare mats. :D

Even though I also play Osu! now, I still love Stepmania/DDR over anything. Though you can't really compare osu and ddr. :)
LadyLambdadelta_old
8 posts
Joined June 2011
LadyLambdadelta_old
Stepmania~
I'm better off playing it with arrow keys. :P
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