Old 05-5-2006, 02:35 PM   #1
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Default Simfile making for dummies

Aperson's guide is pretty good, but I'm going to touch a bunch of other things that he does not. I made this because it felt like some of these things needed to be touched.

Only specific rule number one: Follow the ****ing music! If your file does not do this, then your simfile will be crappy. If you can't follow the music because it's too fast, then slow it down.
Another thing is don't use the "record in selection" command unless you know EXACTLY what you are going to do.

Suggestions:

Song choice:
Don't always pick the most popular emo song out there. If you want a good stepfile to come from a song with enough difficulty to be a keyboard file, then pick one with enough sounds to follow.
Choosing a song that sounds like crap is also not a very good thing to do. Most of the time that is. People aren't going to enjoy playing a crap song unless the steps are really fun to play (See: Reality).
If really good steps have already been made for a song, then don't make another set unless it's a completely different approach. Making another set of steps is okay, just don't do it too much. Nobody wants to play the same song too much. Even if it's a really good song. I would say two or three good stepcharts is enough for a song when they are near the same difficulty. Even then, try and find an original song.

Stepping Style:
This massively differs depending on the person, but there are some general things that you should know.
A good stepping style is one that follows the flow of a song. Halving the BPM at slow tempo parts is not necessary and really annoying when you have to use 32nds, but it is sometimes a good idea in order to follow the song.
Some people may not know how to make a song index friendly or not so I'm going to touch it a bit.
Making Index friendly steps makes it more enjoyable for index players, and it also makes it a lot easier to read.
Take the left and right arrows of a generic 16th stream. One side will have only 16th arrows (yellow) and the other side will not have any 16th arrows. Otherwise you cause a crossover. An exception though is if you touch the other side for just one arrow, but I have trouble doing that on index.
Make the arrows fun to play! How you can tell this is by playing it yourself. If you can play the steps over and over and not get bored, then you have a good file. Try comparing it to other files you like to play. If you still like your own file then it's a keeper.
For people who step songs for index players, know that doing 4242 (left two arrows) or 8686 (right two arrows) trills kill people who play spread because they must do them with one hand. Doing them is okay, just don't make the trill go on for very long.

Jacks:
Put jacks only where there are specific jack sounds. A jack is pounding the same arrow really fast. A jack sound, as you would imagine, is the same sound repeated really quickly.
Having a jack just before a double in a stream is okay to do because it makes it easier for indexers to do, but I personally don't like it when they are there because it makes it harder for every other style.

Doubles:
A double is either:
A sound louder than most other sounds, or two sounds at the same time if you are following both of them. Doubles can massively increase the difficulty of a song. Doubles are much harder to do for index players than anyone else, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use them. It depends on you how you want to use them.

Hands:
Mostly used by spread players. Use only if the song has a much louder sound, if you are following a double and another sound, or if you are following three sounds at once.
There's also the quad which you should only do if it's a really significant sound in the song.

Freezes:
If a sound holds, then make the arrow hold for as long as the sound holds. Doing other arrows while there is a hold is okay, but keep the arrows simple because it isn't very fun trying to move your fingers really fast while holding a button.
Freezes can also be used to signify something else such as a loud sound. A freeze that is too small to hold can actually be good if it flows with the music.

Putting the actual arrows in:
New people have trouble putting in arrows on beat and actually doing them properly.
People need to understand that making simfiles TAKES TIME! Tackle the song half a measure at a time or however much you can handle.
If you're following multiple sounds, a good simple way to do it is to initially follow only one sound and mark them with doubles/triples/quads/freezes, then go back and step the other sounds in. Make sure that all the arrows correspond to the sounds in the music. Use assist tick on 0.3 music rate if you need to.

Syncing:
Syncing is very very VERY important when making a stepfile. I would touch on this, but there are already other good guides for this.
One thing before you start: Analyze the songs that you enjoy playing a lot. Try and notice why playing the song is fun. You should start making sims if you can hear all the sounds that are being stepped, and if you can visualize steps in your head when you listen to a song.


Anything that you think should be added/changed/taken out, please say so.
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Old 05-5-2006, 02:41 PM   #2
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

tanks al ot
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Old 05-5-2006, 02:42 PM   #3
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

ur not a dummy blurk. u dont ned this. ur simfiles r rly rly gud
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Old 05-5-2006, 02:47 PM   #4
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

ooo you mean those dummies

i first thought you meant those punching bags that the mobs aggro for no reason
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:01 PM   #5
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

If you took the 424242 and 868686 trills out of a lot of files, then all the difficulty is gone.
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:09 PM   #6
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

uh no
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:17 PM   #7
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

see: Skor's Karma

The only reason I can't AA it is because of that trill (yes i know i'm slow)
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:24 PM   #8
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

He probably meant that long 4242 and 8686 trills shouldn't be just randomly thrown into a stream without it following something, and I agree to that.
And this guide was pretty good, what is a pity though is that I think not many newbies will go here and find it, even if stickied =(.
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:49 PM   #9
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

I stopped reading it when he said popular emo song. I figured it probably wasn't going to be good, but perhaps I was wrong. I'm still not going to read it though.

too long dont care 8)
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Old 05-5-2006, 03:56 PM   #10
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

Quote:
Originally Posted by dballin4
i continue to post here again and again even though i remind everyone constantly that i dont care about sm
8l
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Old 05-5-2006, 04:00 PM   #11
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

dballin you are like moogy except self-aware
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Old 05-5-2006, 05:44 PM   #12
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

rofl I try

I played stepmania today. brb playing stepmania

logic behind previous post: I figured if he was emo bashing it was most likely going to be stupid and not worth my time. I don't have classes or work today so I don't know what I had better to do though. stfu nigz I'm going to play stepmania
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Old 05-5-2006, 05:49 PM   #13
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

Triples can easily be done by index. It's cake to throw your middle finger down and hit one. Quads are another issue, but it's absurd to think that index players magically can't do triples.
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Old 05-5-2006, 07:42 PM   #14
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

True, but not very many keyboards can recognize hands since most people use the arrow keys.
I do have a keyboard that has quad recognizable keys, but even then I really don't like triples. Should I change the word "only" to "mostly"?
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Old 05-7-2006, 08:43 PM   #15
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

I thought this guide was rather helpful. I knew most of this stuff already through some kind of common sense and simfile making experience, but it was helpful actually being told about it.
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Old 05-8-2006, 01:47 AM   #16
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

The arrow keys on my kb can't hit 3 arrows at once, but hands are still piss easy. All you have to do is slide

SLIDE DAMNIT
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Old 05-8-2006, 02:00 AM   #17
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

It's really hard to slide in the middle of a stream. The hands in reach's Gaussian blur aren't that difficult to do, but try doing the hands in reach's moonlight sonata. Ouch.
Changed the wording on hands a bit.
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Old 10-20-2007, 02:02 PM   #18
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Exclamation Re: Simfile making for dummies

Do u recomend the traditional method or the x-step, caue i dont know how to use either and want to make steps for songs on stepmania. Also, where can i find an mp3 or zip file of abtrusity, ive searched everywhere...
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Old 10-20-2007, 06:06 PM   #19
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Default Re: Simfile making for dummies

Quote:
Originally Posted by XxHaseoDragonxX View Post
Do u recomend the traditional method or the x-step, caue i dont know how to use either and want to make steps for songs on stepmania. Also, where can i find an mp3 or zip file of abtrusity, ive searched everywhere...
lol bump
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