The Ultimate Simfile FAQ

[trumaestro]

Originally Posted by 4_teddybears

I have a few questions. Maybe someone can help.

Questions:
1-Is there a way to increase the speed of your song, or is that only done by BPM?
I would not like to have the arrows going so slowly. Sure I can increase the speed before playing in Stepmania, to 2x, 3x, 4, 8x...etc, but once the song is uploaded, it will be ridiculously slow and crammed together.
If not I will have to multiply the real bpm by 4 and space the arrows out myself. Is that the wrong thing to do?

2-Is there a program that will give a breakdown of the BPM in each part of the song?
The program mix meister tells me that the song has 101.5 BMP, but it is obviously an average.

1: BPM only by multiplying it by powers of 2. (1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16...)
1 Part 2: Or.. Press: Home key, spacebar, end key, spacebar, homekey, enter, down to tempo, choose Expand 2x however many times you want. Only works with constant BPM and will leave a time change at the end of your simfile.

2: No; have you tried that BPM yet to see if it would line up? Mix Meister does tend to halve higher BPMs. Either that or there are time changes to be found.

3: Don't double post.

[Ramengan]

Originally Posted by 4_teddybears

I have a few questions. Maybe someone can help.

Questions:
1-Is there a way to increase the speed of your song, or is that only done by BPM?
I would not like to have the arrows going so slowly. Sure I can increase the speed before playing in Stepmania, to 2x, 3x, 4, 8x...etc, but once the song is uploaded, it will be ridiculously slow and crammed together.
If not I will have to multiply the real bpm by 4 and space the arrows out myself. Is that the wrong thing to do?

2-Is there a program that will give a breakdown of the BPM in each part of the song?
The program mix meister tells me that the song has 101.5 BMP, but it is obviously an average.

1) F7/F8 will allow you to change the BPM manually at a certain point. The BPM in the step editor controls how fast the arrows scroll. Of course, it should match the song's real BPM, unless you want to space it out. In that case, highlight the section you want to space out and Expand 2x like trumaestro said. It will create a BPM change at the end of your selection, so if you don't want it there, delete it (F7/F8 it until it's equal to the doubled BPM).

2) MixMeister is best with constant BPM songs, but don't just take a decimal value as an "average". Decimal BPM values are common, so try plugging it in first, and if it doesn't work, tinker with it (F7/F8). Even at half BPM, the arrows should still sync to the music well, and you can expand it (see #1) if you want.

If you're sure that the song has dynamic BPM, then MixMeister MAY give you the predominant BPM in the song if there is one. Chances are it won't work, so try cutting the song up into sections with an audio editor (meaning, make a bunch of small song sample files) along where you hear changes in tempo (if you can) and plug those individually into MixMeister. It will hopefully give you a close estimate of the BPM in that section. Some songs will have so many BPM changes that this is impossible to reasonably do, and you'll have to recognize and place BPM changes in purely by ear, which is very difficult to do.

[4_teddybears]

Thanks for the advice guys, I had already done most of what you both suggested. I was planning to sync the song at normal BPM, then increase the values to 4 times by editing the .sm file. I think that will be quicker than using the Expand option, as it only changes the first BPM value. (of course I will still use the expand to space them out.)
Mixmeister was the first thing I used to find the BPM, It gave me 101.5, which was much too fast for the beginning. I found that it was arround 82.30. Thought of cutting the file into sections using wavepad, and I did that but it's hardly worth the time. I have now gone back to to the primitive method of using a long line of red fourths to fine tune the BPM value. I have also discovered a usefull method for keeping the gap in the right place while changing the BPM, which I have not read in any guide.

Thanks for your help.

[Ramengan]

Originally Posted by 4_teddybears

Thanks for the advice guys, I had already done most of what you both suggested. I was planning to sync the song at normal BPM, then increase the values to 4 times by editing the .sm file. I think that will be quicker than using the Expand option, as it only changes the first BPM value. (of course I will still use the expand to space them out.)
Mixmeister was the first thing I used to find the BPM, It gave me 101.5, which was much too fast for the beginning. I found that it was arround 82.30. Thought of cutting the file into sections using wavepad, and I did that but it's hardly worth the time. I have now gone back to to the primitive method of using a long line of red fourths to fine tune the BPM value. I have also discovered a usefull method for keeping the gap in the right place while changing the BPM, which I have not read in any guide.

Thanks for your help.

Hmm... I would personally expand first, then do the BPM syncing. You can't expand without changing the first (and last) bpm values, so I'd space out the arrows to what I want, then sync them according to the new BPM. If you just change the values to 4x in the .sm file, your arrows will still be scrunched together, and expanding the whole thing will change the bpms around and it'll get a little hectic. I see what you're doing though, but I find it's easy to mess up doing it that way.
Yeah, with varying BPM, sometimes the line of quarter notes is the best option. Listen VERY carefully, though. Make sure your quarter notes fall on the actual beats, and don't get shifted to 8ths or something.
Also, gap should already stay the same no matter the BPM, since it's a value in seconds, and is independent of the tempo completely.

[4_teddybears]

Originally Posted by Ramengan

.....Also, gap should already stay the same no matter the BPM, since it's a value in seconds, and is independent of the tempo completely.

Not true.
If You change the BPM on a snap that is before your first note, then the current second of your first note will also change.
If you change the BPM before your first note, You must also adjust the offset until your current second for first note is back to its' original value.

Changing the BPM at any point in the song will have an effect on the sync of any subsequent notes you may have placed. The further on from the point, the more out of sync the notes will become.

I thought about this before when I was trying to work things out, and I wrote myself a few tips in a notepad. One of which was:
"In stepmania the current second shown is dependent on the values of the BPM up until that point. If you were to increase the BPM, then the same snap would be an earlier second."

But don't take my word for it, I'm a noob and havn't even completed my first song. =)

EDIT:I could be confused with the definition of "gap" though. I assumed it was the same as offset. Ahh.. I see gap is offset. I was thinking of gap as the differnce between the start of the music and the first arrow. Whereas it is actually the difference between beat0 and the start of the music.

[Ramengan]

Originally Posted by 4_teddybears

I was thinking of gap as the differnce between the start of the music and the first arrow. Whereas it is actually the difference between beat0 and the start of the music.

I was using this definition of gap/offset when I said it was tempo independent. I've always heard gap as the difference between music start and the first beat. So unless you defined a tempo before the first beat (not sure how or why you'd do that), your gap should stay the same no matter what.

[4_teddybears]

Yeah, Insted of puting the offset to make my first arrow on beat0, I let the track start at beat0 and had my first arrow on measure 3. That was the nearest 4th snap to the second where I wanted My first arrow. I then adjusted the offset until the current second was perfect. So the BPM starting at beat 0 meant that I had to change the offset every time I adjusted the BPM, and vise-versa.

I guess That I should put my arrow on beat0 insted of measure 3, and have an offset of about -5 seconds.
The reason I did not do this is because I thought That If the music (introduction) was before beat0, It would not be part of the file.

[W3ET?72!#@]

I have a problem with uploading on ffr when ever i upload my simfiles the banner and music wont apear on the download page. and you cant test it in ffr, but when i download it all the files are in the right formate and in thier properly.

[Professor Raine]

wrong spot to post btw

[zackman080]

anyone want to walk me through how to work these sim files like a complete walkthrough?

[trumaestro]

This thread should either be modernized or de-stickied.

[keitii]

I want to introduce a new "method" of making simfiles...

... and it's using the Stepmania editor. I don't know if people use this method, but I just wanted to know if people do.

Instead of manually putting in the arrows in a trial-and-error style (slap an arrow somewhere, press F4 and test it, if it doesn't work you try to move it where you think it should be, then do this over and OVER again), you should...

Select an area you want to put your arrows in using the spacebar, then press Ctrl R and play the song as if there were steps. It will make the steps for you. Then you can go back and use the trial-and-error method to perfect the timing. If this method has already been widely practiced, delete this post :P

[trumaestro]

Originally Posted by keitii

Select an area you want to put your arrows in using the spacebar, then press Ctrl R and play the song as if there were steps. It will make the steps for you. Then you can go back and use the trial-and-error method to perfect the timing. If this method has already been widely practiced, delete this post :P

This method is the worst possible way to make a stepfile.

[keitii]

Originally Posted by trumaestro

This method is the worst possible way to make a stepfile.

Really? O.o Please tell me how : D

[trumaestro]

Why record and then use trial and error when you can use just trial and error and have it infinite more times accurate? Recording is horribly inaccurate. As well, if you record, you're not likely to use techniques such as pitch relevancy or layering as well as if you made it using trial and error to sync.

[keitii]

Originally Posted by trumaestro

Why record and then use trial and error when you can use just trial and error and have it infinite more times accurate? Recording is horribly inaccurate. As well, if you record, you're not likely to use techniques such as pitch relevancy or layering as well as if you made it using trial and error to sync.

Hmmm... I suppose you're right :/ I'll just keep it up there for lazy people who want to make quick simfiles :P

[Kypi]

that BPM software had adware in it >_<'''
any other software that detects BPM quite accurately?

[Kiyofoxx]

Originally Posted by keitii

I want to introduce a new "method" of making simfiles...

... and it's using the Stepmania editor. I don't know if people use this method, but I just wanted to know if people do.

Instead of manually putting in the arrows in a trial-and-error style (slap an arrow somewhere, press F4 and test it, if it doesn't work you try to move it where you think it should be, then do this over and OVER again), you should...

Select an area you want to put your arrows in using the spacebar, then press Ctrl R and play the song as if there were steps. It will make the steps for you. Then you can go back and use the trial-and-error method to perfect the timing. If this method has already been widely practiced, delete this post :P

I was ready to give up until I saw this comment.

[buizel8888]

ctrl R is the worst way to make stepfiles ever, unless you have absolutely perfect timing, and you have the song so freaking memorized you can make the patterns good and pitch relevant at will

[4_teddybears]

Originally Posted by buizel8888

ctrl R is the worst way to make stepfiles ever, unless you have absolutely perfect timing, and you have the song so freaking memorized you can make the patterns good and pitch relevant at will

(1)It doesnt matter how accurate your timing is, The recording will only be accurate to the nearest 64th note - assuming you've set it to 64ths for accuracy. The Time by which the note is off sync will also vary depending on the BPM. If you have a faster BPM, then the recording will be in better sync because there are more 64ths per second.

I actually tried this technique just to get the seconds of some 4ths. I increased the bpm so that there would be 1000 64ths in each second.

Here's the maths: You want 1000 64ths in each second so that you can be accurate to 1/1000th of a second. So 1000/64 = 15.625 BPSecond
Multiply by 60 to get BPM = 937.5.
At 937.5 BPM there are 1000 64ths in each second.

Then I used the record method for a section. After recording, I moved the snap to each recorded arrow and noted its current second. I did this 3 times for each arrow and took an average; although it was hardly necessary because each value was no more than two 100ths of a second out, and some were all the same each time.

(2)Surely noone is stupid enough to record notes and not go back and think about their placement and patern afterwards.


Go here to download my first simfile. Its not perfect but I'm half pleased with it.
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...p?songid=31030