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How to Create a SIM on StepMania

"StepMania" is a free downloadable music game in which players can "play" certain songs by matching keyboard strokes to the rhythm of the song that is being played. The game consists of a series of directional arrows that travel from the top of the screen to a bar at the bottom. Each arrow corresponds to a beat in the song, and the player is expected to press the appropriate direction key as each arrow passes the bottom bar. SIM's, or "simfiles" as they are more commonly known, are user-generated levels in which players can take their favorite songs and create series of arrows that match the beats of the songs.

Things You'll Need

"StepMania" game
MP3 file
DDReam Studio program

Instructions

- 1
  Import an MP3 file of your favorite song into the Stepmania game. This can usually be done by going into your StepMania program folder and opening the sub-folder marked "Songs." Inside the "Songs" folder, create a new folder titled "My Creations" if there isn't already one there. Open the "My Creations" folder and create another folder with the same title as your song. This will be your song directory. Copy your MP3 file into this directory.
- 2
  Download a blank .SM file for your song. These files are typically titled "blank.sm" and can be downloaded from the StepMania site.
- 3
  Create an arrow series for your new StepMania song. Open the StepMania game and choose "Edit/Sync Songs." In the group row, highlight "My Creations" and select it. Find the song that you just created and select it. Scroll down to "Create with Blank" and hit the Enter key. Press Enter again to begin editing your steps.
- 4
  Sync your song by setting the offset and BPM. To do this, open the song in the editor and fill the first 20 beats with quarter note arrows. Then play the song starting at the first beat. If the note at the beginning of the song is not synced to the first beat of the song, adjust your offset with the F11 and F12 keys. Once your offset is matched correctly, check how well the rhythm of the other arrows match the beat of the song. If they are not in sync, use the F7 and F8 keys to adjust the BPM until all the arrows are in sync with the beat.
- 5
  Put in additional steps for your new StepMania song. Now that the offset and the BPM have been correctly synchronized for your new song, you can finally start putting in your arrow series. You can do this by pressing number keys 1 through 4. Each key corresponds to a different direction arrow.

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