Southperry Stepmania meetups - gauging interest

So I've noticed that several people on IRC and some people in that Bemani thread play Stepmania. As you may be aware, Stepmania 3.95 and 4.0 have the ability to play online with other people. I'm considering hosting periodic (weekly?) events when Southperry SM'ers can get together and play Stepmania online. The smonline.us server has been wonky the last few weeks, and I've gotten the server software to work on my computer before, so I can set that up and give people my IP if smonline.us has issues.

So what I'd like to know is: how many people would be interested in participating? If you would come, post and say whether you're a pad player, keyboard player, or both.

Myself, I play both, but I'd have to rely on wireless internet in the basement if playing pad online.

I just downloaded it, but I can't figure out how to put songs on it.

Care to help?

I just downloaded it, but I can't figure out how to put songs on it.

Care to help?

http://www.bemanistyle.com/sims/search.php?m=original

Been a while, but I can play that game (keyboard).

Is there a version that Vista can run yet?

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Eh. I'd be willing to participate.

Exactly how does the online feature work? Do you have to have the same songs or what?

Oh. And I use keyboard.

Also, would speed mods be allowed? Such as C400? Or do we have to use default x1?[/COLOR]

I just downloaded it, but I can't figure out how to put songs on it.

Care to help?

Download songs or packs of songs from the Internet. Then cut and paste the folder for the song or pack into your Songs folder. For me, that's C:\Program Files\StepMania 4.0\Songs.

Now where do you get these songs? Looking on the FlashFlashRevolution forums is a good place to start. You can also find some on the Stepmania website, but quality of those may vary. If you want to play keyboard and you're just starting out, you may want to try playing FlashFlashRevolution or playing packs that are meant for the pad, because very few people make keyboard files for beginners.

Is there a version that Vista can run yet?

I'm not aware of Vista having any problems with it. You could try the latest alpha of 4.0. What kind of problems do you run into?

Exactly how does the online feature work? Do you have to have the same songs or what?

Oh. And I use keyboard.

Also, would speed mods be allowed? Such as C400? Or do we have to use default x1?

Basically, yes, to play a song, everyone in the room has to have it. It doesn't seem to care about which *pack* the song is in, so for very commonly stepped songs like A, you might get people playing different files. The room creator picks a song, the server will give a message if there's anyone that doesn't have it. If someone doesn't have it, you can pick a different song or kick the person. When the room creator selects the song again, play begins. The period between the selections gives people a chance to select difficulty and adjust speed mods and other settings.

Therefore, if we were to have meetups, there would be a list of packs that everyone is expected to have and download links for them.

Yes, speed mods will be allowed. For those who don't know, speed mods adjust the speed of the arrows to make them faster or slower. The space between the arrows is changed at the same time so that you still hit the arrows at the same time. Most people find that a faster speed mod makes the arrows easier to read. In single-player, you can change your speed mod by pressing Enter before a song starts. In online play, you can do so by pressing Up when in a room. You don't have to only use the speed mods available in that menu; you can add your own to the menu by modifying an .ini file. Follow this guide. I currently use C390, but I'm gradually turning it up.

To play online, you will need version 3.95 (an unofficial modification of 3.9) or 4.0. 3.9 and lower versions do not have online support.

I'd be interested. I do keyboard, though am getting a pad in about a month.

*was going to ask Southperry about this herself but Spaz stole her idea*

I wonder if we should be posting which packs we have too

Oooh. Once I get home and DL all the stuff onto my lappy, I'd totally be game.

I wonder if my fiance will let me borrow his metal pad...

No PIU meet-up? I do SM but PIU was always harder.

I've never played it, but I'm up for anything. Just don't expect me to do so well... XD

I'll be using keyboard, I guess. Consider me "bad", since I'm a newbie...

Also, have you ever thought of doing this for other games? I'd love to do something like this for Osu!

Totally up for it,
but I'd need a list of songs to get.
All my songs are the retro arcade packs. ;D

I'm not aware of Vista having any problems with it. You could try the latest alpha of 4.0. What kind of problems do you run into?

3.9 and 4.0 do the same thing: Crash when a song starts.

(Vista 32bit Home edition)

3.9 and 4.0 do the same thing: Crash when a song starts.

(Vista 32bit Home edition)

Is the song you're trying to play a song with a video background? Look in the song's folder. If there's an .avi file there along with the .mp3/.ogg, .dwi/.sm, and other files, it's a video. My stepmania crashes when starting songs with video backgrounds. It's a graphics card issue.

If it is the case that it only crashes for songs with videos, you can remove the .avi files or rename them to .avix or something and the song will play without the video.

If not, upload or paste the crashinfo.txt and info.txt and I may be able to work out where it's going wrong. But here's two things you can try:

1) Open the SM folder in the Start menu and choose Stepmania [version here] tools. Click the Change Preferences button. For Graphics API, try both OpenGL and Direct3D and see if one of them fixes it.

2) Update your graphics drivers.

I've never played it, but I'm up for anything. Just don't expect me to do so well... XD

I'll be using keyboard, I guess. Consider me "bad", since I'm a newbie...

Also, have you ever thought of doing this for other games? I'd love to do something like this for Osu!

Don't worry, I started playing because people I knew played. I couldn't even do the easy songs at first, but it just takes a little getting used to and a little practice

And I'm still not as good as a lot of people, though I've gotten a bit better than what I started at

Is the song you're trying to play a song with a video background? Look in the song's folder. If there's an .avi file there along with the .mp3/.ogg, .dwi/.sm, and other files, it's a video. My stepmania crashes when starting songs with video backgrounds. It's a graphics card issue.

If it is the case that it only crashes for songs with videos, you can remove the .avi files or rename them to .avix or something and the song will play without the video.

If not, upload or paste the crashinfo.txt and info.txt and I may be able to work out where it's going wrong. But here's two things you can try:

1) Open the SM folder in the Start menu and choose Stepmania [version here] tools. Click the Change Preferences button. For Graphics API, try both OpenGL and Direct3D and see if one of them fixes it.

2) Update your graphics drivers.

Problem is it does it with EVERY song. <_<
I'll re-install it on my laptop and try that. But if it doesn't work I still have my desktop (XP home) that runs both versions fine.

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Hmm. For Stepmania 4.0, is there a way to make it refer to the songs folder that i have for Stepmania 3.9? I don't want to have to copy the songs and waste more HD space.

Before that, Stepmania 4 just crashes on startup every single time, so gotta figure out why that's happening.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Hmm. For Stepmania 4.0, is there a way to make it refer to the songs folder that i have for Stepmania 3.9? I don't want to have to copy the songs and waste more HD space.

Before that, Stepmania 4 just crashes on startup every single time, so gotta figure out why that's happening.[/COLOR]

Open up Preferences.ini, find the line that says "AdditionalSongFolders=" (should be right near the top) and put the path to the 3.9 song directory after the =. Example:

AdditionalSongFolders=C:\Program Files\StepMania 4.0\Songs

If you're using Stepmania 4 Alpha 4, Preferences.ini is in %appdata%\StepMania 4\Save\. If you're using Stepmania 4.0 CVS, it's in My Documents\StepMania CVS\Save\. If you have a lot of songs, be prepared for a long wait, since it'll have to rebuild the cache.

If you're on Vista or Linux, I think you could also do it by symbolically linking the 4.0 Songs folder to the 3.9.

Oh, and about the crashing on startup: You didn't try to use a 3.9 theme with 4.0, did you? 3.9 themes are incompatible with 4.0.

Nope, I never even had Stepmania 4.0 on this computer. It was a fresh install.

Wow Spaz. I just saw this today. Lol since Our KoM SM meetups consist of 3 people, maybe we should just combine. I wouldn't even call it combining as both me you and Heidi visit SP frequently anyways. Lol. We'll talk later.