DDR Simulator FAQ

Phrekwenci · Administrator Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Location: New York, NY

The DWI/SM/etc. help thread has been destickified.
The PSX->USB/Parallel adapter thread has also been destickified.
You may now post general DDR Simulator and Adapter questions as long as they are not answered in this FAQ.

Getting Started:
DWI can be found here:
http://www.ddrstyling.it/dwi/html/dance.htm

Stepmania can be found here:
http://www.stepmania.com

The CVS builds to Stepmania are here:
https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=37892 (Newest version on 6/11/03)

Updated version direct links:

Stepmania: CVS 5-31-03
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/stepmania/StepMania-CVS-20030630.exe?download

DWI: 2.49.00
http://dwi.ddruk.com/get.php?file=curfull

pyDDR: .6.5
http://icculus.org/pyddr/get.php

Cross Platform Dance:
http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/cpd

If you find a newer version of the preceeding, please PM me with the links.

Extreme skins:
DWI- http://www.ddrextreme.com/dwi/files/dwiextremev2.rar
SM- http://stepmania.smaaash.com/stepmania.html (at the bottom)

Songs:
To unzip the songs to use in a simulator you can use:
www.winace.com (winace)

Read the Simulators readme.txt to find out how to install the songs.

Themes:
Themes go into the Skins/Themes folder, as their own folder containing image files for the theme. You can selecte the Theme in the Appearance options.

Courses:
When you download a course (.crs file), it will generally include the .crs file and the banner for the course. You must previously own the songs for the course to work. Put the course (.crs and .png) into the Course folder (located in the root). If the course still doesn't work make sure the path matches correctly by opening the .crs file in note pad. Make it so the directory looks like this (generally):

#SONG:(subfolder where the songs are located)\(song title NOT DWI FOLDER NAME):(Difficulty):(modifiers);

Make sure everything matches, if it still doesn't show your DWI might not match the criteria of the .crs file. Make sure the DWI has the correct difficulty and so on.

System:
Frequent Crashing...
Usually this is the computer that the simulator is running on. I will suggest using DWI in .sdl mode (specifically called DWI-sdl.bat) which I haven't had a problem crashing unless the DWI was at fault (freeze arrows not ending, too many steps, etc)

Stepmania is generally very demanding, performance wise. You'll probably need 400mHz processor at least with 128ram and a good video card to back you up. The best thing otherwise is to get the latest version of DirectX at www.microsoft.com.

Making DWIs
Tutorials:
http://www.ohioddr.com/ddr/dwifiledeveloping.php

Xstep:
http://www.thomasscott.net/xstep/

Converting image file types:
www.irfanview.com

Make a step chart from a DWI:
www.ddronline.net
http://hawknest.stacken.kth.se:8080/dwi_stuff/stepcharts.html

And remember the "Stepmania2DWI" bug (which has been fixed in the newer versions): The creator of the stepfile made the file with Stepmania`s Step editor, and then he directly converted it to DWI. The catch is, that Stepmania has a stupid bug that makes it convert dwi freezes incorrectly, and they come instead as you see them. To solve this problem, open your dwi file of the faulty song, and put the same number that is AFTER a "!", before the "!". Example
"000!4000"= wrong code
"004!4000"= correct code

Other questions:
Q:How come is it that whenever I play DWI and it pauses for a moment while Autoplay is on, the combo meter stops and doesn't appear again? I mean, the computer's still getting all Perfects, but there is no combo going up!

A:Sometimes when the computer hiccups, it misses a step but since it is on Autoplay it doesn't understand why it missed the step. Basically, just a bug

Q: I bought a usb psx converter the other day so I could use my hard pad on DWI. Unfortunately, DWI won't read the directional buttons, thus the panels won't work with it. It worked fine with that trial PC version of DDR, so it's clearly not the pad and the face buttons work fine as well. Does anyone know how to fix the problem of DWI not being able to read the directional buttons?

A:Just use Step Mania. I had the exact same problem with my dance pad hooked up with a Radio Shack USB PSX converter. However eventually I downloaded the latest version of Step Mania and the dance pad works fine. However I can't do up/down combinations or left/right combinations. Those won't work with a Radio Shack converter. You'll need a more specific converter for that. (if there is anyone who can answer this for DWI, I will repost it)

Q:I've just updated my DWI and now when I try to startup, the autmoatic song list rebuild starts and then freezes right before it gets to the end. I've tried removing songs and even went so far as to only put one song in the Default folder and at that point it didnt even recognize it. This program has not worked really all that well with my computer from the start. Once I moved a few files, they were no lonmger recognized.

A:This happened with me too. Try having a few songs in at a time. Sometimes DWI can't take it all at once. Though the newer versions fixed this problem I am sure.

Q:I am using [insert sim]... and i have one MAJOR problem. The music/steps dont match... there about 1 second off.

A:If they are all off by the same amount, change the global gap setting in your simulator. If one song is off, change the gap in the DWI. Bigger number for a more delayed start.

Q:Does anyone know how to create seperate users in DWI or do you just have to use the sample user.

A:To create another profile in DWI, Create another folder inside the "Profiles" folder. Name it with the name of the person that will be using that profile.

Q:what judge difficulty is closest to the real arcade?

A:Depends on what arcade mix, everything but 3rd and 8th mix, the difficulty is around the 4. For 3rd and 8th, bump it up to 5 or 6 if you are feeling lucky

Q:I found all the songs I want and there all the full thing but the one i want the most.. SAKURA just wont work...it has all the files and its in the right folder but it just doesnt come up in my song selection....any ideas? im on DWI 2.40

A:Take a look in the DWI itself for sakura. You might need to make sure the code is correct. One reason why DWI's don't show up is because people code them to be SMANIAC and have no other steps. Then the program can't show them because it needs at least Basic, Trick, or Maniac steps. You can also add /showsm to the command line for the program, and songs with only S-Maniac steps will show up on the select wheel.

Q:When i go into stepmania and go into the screen where you pick the style (ie: single, double, veresus, couple, solo), the only styles that i can pick are single and solo!!!! how do i unlock the doubles versus and couple modes?

A: Press start on the 2p side just like the arcade (you'll need to find the button that is mapped to, go to keyboard config.)

Q:does anyone know where i can get the new stepmania that has the mods from the Trick oni course?

A:https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=37892 Download "StepMania-CVS-20030327a.exe" under "2003-03-27 Intermediate". The mod is called Expand in the Acceleration category when you go into the Options menu.

Q:ok who or what is or where do i find Phrekwenci?

A:Ok, that was just funny.
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Phrekwenci · Administrator Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Location: New York, NY

For those trying to use pyDDR for Macintosh, evn has created this FAQ.

This will require OS X 10.2.x ' I'm running 10.2.6, so I can't promise this will work with anything else. PyDDR is an linux application so it's not the normal process os x users are familiar with.

The first thing you're going to need is OS X X11. It's available here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/x11/download/
X11 is a server that will allow you to run *nix applications on OS X and best of all it's free. It?s about 41.8 MB. Extract the bin image and let mount the disk image if stuff-it doesn't do it for you.
Run the installer. You can unmout the disk and trash the image once x11 is installed

*** I think OS X X11 might not be required. If someone wants to try skipping the above step and let me know this works out I'd appreciate it: I've already got X11 on all my macs and couldn't check. I included that step because I'd rather people have it work the first time than having them try based on my guess ***

Next head over to the pyddr site and grab the OS X release
http://icculus.org/pyddr/get.php
Mount the disk image and then go into they pygame kitchen sink and run the installer
This will install a bunch of support code for pyddr to run including libsdl, pyopengl, pygame, libjpeg, libpng, etc.

Now go into the pyddr folder (in the disk image) and drag drop the pyddr application into your pyddr applications folder (or wherever) and the "pyDDR songs" folder into your music folder

Double click on the pyddr icon to play.
The arrow keys are "JKLI" and second player uses the arrow keys
You change difficulty by pressing left or right and select songs by pressing up or down.

Conversions

The dwi2step script is included with the pyddr application however it is buried deep inside the package. To use it
1) Start the terminal it's located at /applications/utilities/terminal.app
2) CTRL+Click (or right click) on the pyddr application package and choose "show package contents"

3) Browse to ./contents/Resources/utils
4) You will find the file "dwi2step.py" in this folder
5) Drag and drop the "dwi2step.py" onto the console window
3) in the console press the space bar
4) now drag and drop a dwi file into the console window
5) press enter

The script will convert the dwi file into a .step file
Place the new .step file, banner, and background into your pyddr songs folder

The last step is to convert the MP3 file to an OGG Vorbis encoded file. The easiest way to to simply re-rip the song from your disk directly to OGG using one of the numerous encoders out there. If you want to try convertering from mp3 the method that works best for me is

1) Convert the song from MP3 to AIFF using itunes
a. Under preferences / encoding / choose AIFF
b. Select the song in your library that you want to convert
c. Chose Advanced / convert selection to AIFF
2) Itunes will drop the new AIFF file into your music directory
3) Drag and drop the AIFF file onto OGG Drop (http://www.nouturn.com/oggdrop/download.html) and click convert
4) When ogg drop is done you will have a file in /users/yourname/music / place this file in your pyddr music directory
5)"Open the .step file with a text editor - make sure the line that starts with "File" has the ogg file name correctly labled"

NOTES: pyddr really sucks when it comes to changing tempos over time. Sakura is nearly impossible to play. Songs where the temp change is instant (saints go marching in) work much better.
Freeze arrows work but you will get a "miss" if you step off early - even slightly

It?s not pretty but if you absolutely have to play a ddr sim on your mac, it works.
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Phrekwenci · Administrator Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Location: New York, NY

--------------------Adapter business--------------------

Before you read further, read this:
http://junta.cromas.net/adapters.html

Adapters types are here:
http://www.stepmania.com/stepmania/adapter.php

The following are posts that were made in the PSX->USB/Parallel adapter thread.

Adaptors that do work.

*Old no vibration level6 adaptor. Unfortunately, people say that the new replacement version of them does not work.

*Grey connector adaptor with detachabel USB cable. These are the lik-sang ones that are reccomended by the Stepmania team.

*Paralel port adaptor, with DirectPad Pro, or NTPad, with controller type set to "PSX LEFT ANALOG".

*Smart Joypad II (good luck finding this thing!)

*the BNS parallel converters work GREAT. http://www.aldostools.com/index2.html is where you can find drivers. NTpad for XP. Direct Pad pro for 98/me. To get the controller to work on DWI, u have to change the pad type to PSX LEFT (RIGHT) ANALOG. Doing this will make the axis' buttons.

*For parallel port drivers, use psxpad ( http://www.psxpad.com ). It has a button mode.

*The PS Joy adaptor (the dark gray one with detacheable cable, sold at lik-sang and RedOctane) does work with Windows XP. I believe it should also work with Windows 2000, as the driver I've installed (that comes with the adaptor) is for Windows 2000.

I played DWI with it, and it works flawlessly. Haven't got a chance to play DDR/PC (the CD is at work); will keep you updated on that.

*Radio Shack converters DO work, but only if you use JoyToKey. I bought 2 today and just got them working.

I suspect that almost any converter will work in conjunction with JoyToKey, because I think the underlying problem is the converter converting the D-pad into axis movements instead. If the conversion goes to axis movements instead of buttons, it's like trying to tell stepmania to set the mouse moving left for the stepmania left command.

Here's the JoyToKey link: http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA016823/joytokey/english.html

Adapters that don't work.

*Lik-Sang sells at least 3 different models of PSX->USB adapters (two of which are made by Boom):

http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/product_info.php?category=0&products_id=93
http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/product_info.php?category=0&products_id=605
http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/product_info.php?category=0&products_id=255 (Edit: this one supposedly works, as per Radio)

They apparently do not work on Windows XP nor on Windows 2000. Or maybe I'm missing something.

I've hooked them up with a Konami original pad and a DualShock 2 controller. Both Windows XP and Windows 2000 recognized the controller as a 4-axis 16-button generic HID-compliant controller. But none of the buttons are recognized and the analog sticks on DualShock 2 also don't seem to emit any axis data. (I've used the diagnostic tool of Control Panel -> Game Options to test them.)

Getting the adapter to work

*A BNS parallel adapter for using it with DWI and WIN XP. Downloaded the NTPad driver (if you are running XP then NTPAD must be the driver to use).The setup was easy as hell. When I finished the NTpad drivers installation, I went to controller options on control panel and clicked configure on my recently installed pad, YOU MUST TURN ON THE OPTION THAT ENABLES AXES ACT AS BUTTONS, in fact the option has in parenthesis "for games like Dance Dance Revolution". Then I opened DWI and went to the options for configurating my controller. I mapped each corresponding button.

*I've been grabbing information from this thread in my quest to jury-rig my dance pad to my PC and get it working under the DWI program. Anyhow, I finally got it to work, double button presses and all, and thought that I'd post the instructions on how I got it to work in the event that someone else finds themselves in the same situation.

The Requirements:

(aka: my setup, these directions may apply to others as well, but no guarantees)

- Dance pad using a parallel interface.
- Windows XP

What You Need:

- A copy of the DWI program (found at http://www.ddrmaniax.net/dwi/downloads.html)
- NTPad driver software (found at http://www.ntpad.com.ar/)

Making It Work:

- Install DWI (or have already done this)
- Have your pad connected to the parallel port.
- Uncompress the NTPad software, and run 'install.exe' to have the new drivers be recognized by Windows.
- In the NTPad installation, make sure to use 'PlayStation (Original)' as the type.
- Open up the control panel, then go to 'Game Controllers'.
- If there isn't an entry which reads 'NTPAD XP con ForceFeedback 2.0' (or similar) then go to 'Add Hardware' (in the control panel) and let the system scan for new hardware. It *should* find the pad and install it for you.
- If the pad is there, check the 'status' column. If it doesn't say 'OK' you may have to take out the parallel cable, then put it back in. If that doesn't work, you may have to connect the parallel cable and restart the computer.
- Once the status reads 'OK' then highlight it, and select 'properties', then go to 'config' and check the box that reads 'Disable axes mapping (for games like Dance Dance Revolution)' (this solves the problem that some people have of the computer mapping the directions to the two axis positions). Go to 'buttons mapping' and make sure that all but buttons work, and that you can press two at once. If they don't work, you may have to manually calibrate and define the buttons on the pad. If everything works, you are ready to play!
-Open up DWI, and go into the button configuration, and redefine all the buttons. (ie: the part where you press a button for 'up', 'down' etc.)
-Open up a song and hope for the best!

One afterthought is that I wasn't using any sort of converter to hook into the computer; the pad I have is actually a parallel pad which has a converter to go from that to PSX (opposite of the usual).

*Anyway for those who plan on using EMS usb adapater go to the levelsix website and then to their downloads section and get joytokey. Open the joytokey program and map buttons 13 = up 14 = right 15 = down and 16 = left (for the full button map go to control panel game controllers properties) on the Others tab (in joytokey) leave emulation to default and move the sensitivity to around 50 (play with this for preference iv found that 50 seems pretty good it knocks out the lag) note. there is no need to adjust anything else.

*I have been using the parallel port single player adapter from BNS that came with my BNS pad (pad died fairly quickly I might add). Ordered the Kiki-Joy along with DDR PC but as everyone knows it doesn't work.

Anyways I went to the local EB and picked up a generic 4 player adapter
and both pads work fine. (all four ports register)

DDR PC, DWI, Stepmania 1.64, Stepmania MAX all work great this
way, doubles and freeze arrows. As far as drivers I use the ones from
Y.Kimura -PSXPAD ver. 0.8.2002.0606 http://www.psxpad.com/index_e.php

*http://www.buynshop.com/productinfophp3/VG-PS-USB2X

THIS DOES WORK!!!

Ok first off let me start off by saying Joy2key is a wonderful program and it doesn work with usb controllers.

This is the DWI setup:

1) you'll need Joy2key (http://www.levelsix.com/download/USB_Driver.zip) Download it there.

2)Unzip Joy2key, run it go to create Create and name file DDR ect...

3) delete the old setup they have by clicking on it and pressing delete.

4) Now if you already have a usb controller, your psx pad will be controller 2, Click on the others tab and have the number of joysticks to configure set to 2 or 3 (3 if you have 2 pads connected to the adapter).

5) go back to joysticks, joystick number 2 and set up this order:

Use the number pad over towards the right of your keyboard or use the arrows towards the right bottom of your keyboard to do this setup.

2x= double click, #= number pad, O=press ok

1) 2x left and 4 on #, O

2) 2x right and 6 on #, O

3) 2x up and 8 on #, O

4) 2x down and 2 on #, O

5) now you scroll all the way down to button 9 and 2x and press 9 on the # and press ok.

ok now after that's done, DO NOT CLOSE JOY2KEY! just minimize it!

Now open DWI and go to game options, keyboard config and press enter and get ready to input these settings.

This whole setup here will use the number pad, only the number pad!

1)for up you will press 4 on the #

2) For down you will press 2 on #

3) For left you will press 4 on #

4) For right you will press 6 on #

ok and for the rest of the buttons, press whatever on the keyboard until you come to START, on start you will press 9 on the #. Ok after that's done go to return menu, and that's it!

This is the STEPMANIA setup:

If you already have done the DWI setup from the previous post, all you need to do is this:

1) Run STEPMANIA and go to config key/joy

Once again you will need to use the numberpad towards the right end of your computer only!

2) Put these settings in:

1: left= numberpad button 4

2: right= numberpad button 6

3: up= numberpad button 8

4: down= numberpad button 2

Then scroll down till you see start

5: start= numberpad button 9

6: back (which will be the select button on your pad)= numberpad button 0.

After your done with your setup, press esc then minimize STEPMANIA and maximize Joy2key.

Once in Joy2key, go to joystick 2 and scroll down until you see button 10, double click on it and press 0 from your numberpad and press ok.

Then minimize Joy2key again and maximize STEPMANIA and begin to play, you might have to restart STEPMANIA so the new config can take effect.

***If there are any broken links, please notify me via PM.***
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