DDReamStudio - Official Guide

[MarioNintendo]

On FlashFlashRevolution.com, many people asked me recently which technique I used to step the Animus Intorqueo series which has just gotten released over there. If you have never heard of them, they are songs which have a lot of dynamic BPMs and variations. You can find an example video here.

I remembered stumbling upon some guides on the original DDReamStudio website (http://ddreamstudio.com) before it went down. Sadly, because they can't be accessed anymore and no one on the Internet seems to have them, it was hard for me to refer those who wondered about how to use DDReam in-depth. We already had many guides for this (for example Patashu's miniguide on controlling DDReamstudio which is already stickied), but none that talked about everything DDReam can do. I luckily managed to contact the guides' author and to re-format them so they can be viewed in regular bb-coded forums. Even though I posted it already on FlashFlashRevolution under the same username here (go there if links are broken), I believed posting it here was a must as well so that as many people as possible can have access to this precious knowledge.

Now, this guide is nothing more than the official guide written by DDReam's programmers. All of it belongs to them, not to me. This thread is only intended as an archive for those like me who were looking for this long-lost holy grail of DDReamStudio. As you will notice, this is the most detailed guide you will find about this particular stepping tool on the net.

Before we begin,

HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD DDREAMSTUDIO (latest version): http://www.mediafire.com/?82al94e5ot6sfy2

HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE ORIGINAL GUIDES TO VIEW THEM IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM (simply unzip and open the HTML files): http://www.mediafire.com/?9eh11u3auh951wy

By the way, here's the author's written permission to re-post this guide:




DDREAMSTUDIO POCKET GUIDE

Topics:

Orientation

Welcome/System Requirements.
A quick summary on how to use DDReam.
The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.
How to read the DDReam Status Bar.
How to open songs and simfiles.
How to save.
Level Manager.


Syncing

Intro to BPM and Offset using the waveform
Intro to BPM changes using the waveform
Autofill #1 - Offset and Constant BPM for the entire song.
Using an automatic BPM calculator to quickly estimate/check the BPM.
Using an automatic BPM calculator - Mixmeister
Autofill #2 - Autofilling beats between other beats
How to put in beats "on-the-fly"
How to put in a beat manually
Help, I dont know where the beats are!
How to put in BPM Stops
How to make Boosts/Brakes/speedups/slowdowns?
How to use the Assist Tick
How to resync a song
Autofill Trick - How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.


Editing/Stepping

How to put in arrows
How to speed edit
How to edit Song Name, Author, "foot rating", etc.
How to speed up/ slow down the song playback?
How to change the judge difficulty
How to use the Grid Lines
How to change the arrow size
How to change the arrow noteskin

Welcome/System Requirements

Welcome. If you are reading this, you've probably already downloaded DDReam studio from the main website, but have no idea how to get started.
Before continuing, you might want to go back to the main website, under "Support" and watch Apathy000's video tutorial (10 minutes).

DDReam is an advanced simfile making tool. Being an advanced tool, there's a lot to explain. Let's start with the system requirements:
1 Ghz Processor: Anything less and DDReam may be too slow.
256 MB RAM: Anything less and DDReam may be too slow.
64 MB DirectX 9.0+ Video Card: Anything less and DDReam might display graphics incorrectly.
High-Performance, Low Latency Sound Card: e.g., Audigy 2
DirectX 9.0 Software Installed: Anything less and DDReam may not run.
Windows 2000/XP/Vista: Anything else and DDReam may not run.

Finally, the most important requirement is you. You've probably had previous experience making simfiles and/or have a good sense of rhythm and music.
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A quick summary on how to use DDReam to create a simfile from scratch.

1. Load the music.


2. Put in the beats (you can customize all beats anytime).


3. Put in the steps (steps auto-align to the beats)


4. Test the song.


5. Copy the music, wallpapers, etc., to StepMania's SONGS folder and ENJOY
If you've already created your song within the SM song folder, skip this step.
(no pic)
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The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.

SM editor:

- Beat and Measure lines are already drawn for you. Place steps on top of the Beat/Measure lines.
- Change the BPM of the current beat(s) by manually specifying the BPM value beside the beat.
- Test your sync by placing a long line of quarter note arrows and using the Arrow Assist Tick (F4). Not shown. Switch back and forth between playback mode and editing mode until you get it right. Lots of painful work for dynamic BPM songs.
- If you want to sync by ear, you only have your ears.
- Only keyboard shortcuts for step editing.
- Little to no Undo/Redo

DDReamStudio:

- You must make your own Beat and Measure lines first. Then, you can place steps on top of the Beat/Measure lines.
- Change the BPM of the current beat(s) by graphically dragging, nudging, and growing the spacing between the beats.
- Test your sync by using the Beat Assist Tick (F3). Editing mode is combined with playback mode--no need to switch back and forth or make the quarter note arrows. Dynamic BPM songs are easy to sync.
- If you want to sync by ear, you can do it faster. And you can also match your beats to the waveform at the same time (sync by eyes).
- Mouse support and keyboard shortcuts for step editing.
- Unlimited Undo/Redo
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How to read the DDReam Status Bar.

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How to open songs and simfiles.


File->Open
DDReam 1.50+ can read "dance-single" charts from SM 3.9 and 4.0 files. This probably means it works with 3.95 files too.

Supported Audio Formats:
Frequency: 8 KHz - 192 KHz
Bits: 8, 16, 24, 32
Channels: Mono, Stereo
File Type: MP3, OGG, WAV
Any other format, use an audio editor to get into the proper format.
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How to save.


File->Save As and select "DDReam Studio Files *.ds"
To save to SM 3.9/4.0, select "StepMania File *.sm"
It is better to work & save in *.ds file format and save to *.sm only when you are ready to finalize. This is because the .ds file format supports many things that SM does not.
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Level Manager.


Press L to activate
Simply click Launch on the one you want.
Sync Mode (500) lets you edit with arrows disabled so you can tweak beats.
If you are editing arrows (100, 200, 300, 400), beat tweaking is disabled by default,
because DDReam does not want to confuse or overwhelm you.
Notice the Step Statistics.
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Intro to BPM and Offset using the waveform


This is a short clip from a song.
The waveform is an image of the 'sound waves' of the music.
Time flows from the top to the bottom.
The actual start of the song is at (100), at the top edge of the screen.
The first beat comes a little later, at (200).
The Offset (aka 'Gap') is the amount of time between 100 and 200.
Other beats happen at 300A, 300B, 300C...
All the beats are spaced equally (note 200 and 300A-C, etc).
This means the song has a "Constant BPM."
Don't worry about math. DDReam autocalculates everything based on your editing.
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[MarioNintendo]

Intro to BPM changes using the waveform


The BPM is HIGHER where the beats are CLOSER TOGETHER.
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Autofill #1 - Automatically creating Beats with an Offset and a Constant BPM for the entire song.


GREAT FOR TECHNO/DANCE SONGS!

Open the music file (see above slide)
Press A to activate Autofill
Fill in the BPM and Offset
Press OK.
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Using an automatic BPM calculator to quickly estimate/check the BPM.

AutoBPM is a good interactive BPM calculator.
1. Open both DDReam and Auto BPM. AutoBPM runs in the background and listens to any music that may be playing through the sound card.



2. Open the song in DDReam and place the first beat. DDReam auto-calculates the offset.



3. Play the song (Spacebar). As the song plays, autoBPM will continue running in the background, and you will begin to see the beat visualization, and after some time (10-30 seconds) the BPM reading will stabilize (115.1).



4. Auto-fill that BPM using ddream.



5. DDReam then fills the beats. For most pop songs, the given BPM will be close. Many times the BPM will be correct and require no further adjustment. To check the given BPM, Use DDReam to listen (F3), look at the wave, and zoom/edit/grow/nudge as necessary. SAMPLE IMAGES BELOW ONLY FOR ILLUSTRATION.



In this example, a quick inspection shows that the beats are initially on-beat, but slowly "drift" offsync such that the beat markers are "faster" than (i.e., they come before) the beat. One way to fix this is to hit 'A' (see step 4) and re-autofill a different BPM value lower than 115.1 (maybe 115.0).



That's it! You can continue leaving AutoBPM open if you have more songs to sync. The program will audetect new songs and BPMs. NOTE: This method works best for songs with a single BPM. For other songs that have subtle (or drastic) BPM changes, this method may not be as reliable.
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Using Automatic BPM calculators - Example #2

Answer: As you might expect, there are many auto-BPM calculators available on the Internet.
The good news is that you can use those calculators to help you in DDReam. In this example, MixMeister BPM analyzer will be used. Many people have reported good BPM estimates from MixMeister.
1. Run the calculator, and let it tell you the BPM.
Tip from soulscream: I would also like to recommend using WinBPM.... I think MixMeister is useless for getting accurate BPMs for more advanced songs....



2. Place the first beat in ddream to get the Offset.



3. Auto-fill that BPM using ddream.



4. Follow Step 5 above.
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[MarioNintendo]

Autofill #2 - Auto-Creating beats between other beats







GREAT FOR MOST POP AND ROCK SONGS!

You need to be in Sync Mode (see "Level Manager" slide above).
Play the song, sing along, put the beats every 4 or 8 counts of the music.
Press A to activate the Autofill, and choose the second option.
If you've done every 4 counts, then type in "3".
If you've done every 8 counts, then type in "7".
This is because DDReam asks you how many beats
are supposed to be between the markers.
You can also select the beats first, then then autofill only between those beats you selected.
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How to put in beats "on-the-fly" by tapping along to the song.

GREAT FOR CLASSICAL SONGS! or to PSEUDO-SYNC A SONG QUICKLY

1. Go to SYNC MODE (see above).
2. Rewind the song to the beginning (W).
3. Play the song (spacebar).
4. Tap B to the beat of the song. Try to be accurate. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Enabling beat assist may be useful to hear the beat (F3). Slowing down the song may be useful too (Ctrl+alt+Left).
5. If you want to go back and edit each beat, you can (and I recommend it). Otherwise, you already have a respectably accurate synced song.
DDReam records ALL OF YOUR TAPS and auto-calculates ALL THE BPM CHANGES.
This system is better than other tapping utilities, which only give you the average BPM of the taps. If you want the average BPM in DDReam, you can do that too, just press "A", then "Enter."
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How to put in a beat manually



GREAT FOR PRECISION TWEAKING!

You need to be in Sync Mode (see "Level Manager" slide above).
Just click on the waveform, and press B or Middle Mouse Click.
Click and drag the beat to get it just where you want it.
Accurate syncing depends on how precise you are on the beat,
so remember to Zoom (Plus/Minus) to magnify the song.
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Help, I don't know where the beats are!

1. Finding beats for techno-style songs is easiest because the beats are usually pretty obvious on the waveform.
2. Finding beats for pop/hip hop/rap may be more difficult because the beats may be syncopated. For these kinds of songs, it is best to count only on the downbeats, and autofill between the downbeats. See "Autofill #2 tutorial above."
3. Finding beats for rock/heavy metal is easiest after you run the Filter (see Advanced Guide). From there, apply your syncing skills for #1 and #2 above.
4. Finding beats for classical is the most difficult, but ddream allows you do get it done pretty fast using the techniques in this tutorial.

Remember to 1) listen to the beat assist (F3), 2) zoom in/out (plus/minus), 3) slow down the song (ctrl+alt+left/right). If the beat tick does not sound right, it probably is not right, and that means you will need to edit it somehow.

Be sure you are in Sync Mode to edit beats. Press L and click the bottom Launch button under "sync mode." If you see any arrows, you are not in sync mode.
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How to put in BPM Stops







1) Set a snap value.
2) Set Region Begin Marker (Ctrl+Space)
3) Set Region End Marker (Ctrl+Space again)
4) Edit->Special->Make Pause

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT BPM STOPS IN DDREAM (as of this writing):
If you are editing a DS file, stops work perfectly.
Keep the DS File. You can save from a DS to an SM, and the SM file should work perfectly in StepMania with the stops.
BUT DO NOT RE-EDIT THE SM (WITH STOPS) IN DDREAM!
DDREAM MAY HAVE TROUBLE FITTING THE STOPS AND ARROWS BACK TO THE WAY THEY
WERE AND MAY SHIFT BEATS AND ARROWS, CAUSING GENERAL CONFUSION.
I have been trying to fix this for months and the coding is
mind-bogglingly dificult. Until I figure it out, for your protection, DDReam pops up a warning message
if you reopen an SM with stops.
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How to make Boosts/Brakes/speedups/slowdowns?



This picture shows a brake. The arrow will slow down in actual game play,
and it is a nice effect, but don't overuse it.
Just make your beats gradually get more & more apart.
For boosts, flip the picture upside down.
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How to use the Assist Tick



DDReam comes with not one, but TWO assist ticks.
(F3) The beat assist tick, which is a click track/metronome. When the beat assist tick is ON, there will be a star (*) next to the BPM on the status bar.
(F4) The arrow assist tick, which is a clap track. When the arrow assist tick is ON, there will be a star (*) next to the current time on the status bar.

Helpful tip from DuoKaizane:
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use f3 when placing beats.
When placing notes, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have f4 on. It will make such a HUGE difference.
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[MarioNintendo]

How to re-sync a song.



Simply File->Open
Note: Use SM 3.9/4.0 simfiles or DDReam Studio simfiles only.
From the Level Manager, choose Sync Mode.
Turn on beat assist tick (F3) and tweak any bad beats with your mouse.
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Autofill Trick - How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.







To double the BPM, mouse select all beats for BPM doubling,
go to Autofill second option, and type "1" in the box, press OK. DDReam auto-inserts beats to double the BPM (see" auto" in screenshot)
To triple the BPM, do the same thing except type "2" instead.
To quadruple (4x) the BPM, well, you get the idea.
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How to put in arrows

You will need to sync your song first by putting in beats.
Then, go back to the Level Manager and choose a level to edit.
Press 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in arrows.
Press Shift + 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in mines.
Press Up/down + 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in freezes.
Or, Mousescroll + 1, 2, 3, 4 is very handy.
Press Left/Right to change the snap.

To make a roll, first make a freeze, then select the arrow, and press [~] (usually next to the "1" key)
To make a lift, first make a mine, then select and press [~].
You can group select multiple arrows and then press [~] to change all notes simultaneously.
NOTE: Rolls and lifts only work with SM4.0 or equivalent. SM3.9/ITG PC may ignore either rolls and/or lifts.
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How to speed edit



DDReam was made for speed editing.
The left hand controls:
play/pause (Spacebar),
rewind (W),
go to last played location (S),
Autofill (A), and put in arrows (1, 2, 3, 4).
The right hand controls the mouse:
Seek (scroll wheel),
drawing windows (clicking and dragging),
editing beats (clicking and dragging),
zooming (Right click, Shift+right click).
You should seldom need to take your hands off this position.
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How to edit Song Name, Author, "foot rating", etc.



Go to File->Properties.
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How to speed up/ slow down the song playback?



Go to Tools->Playback Speed->Slower or Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right.
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How to change the judge difficulty (time window for marvellous, perfect, great, etc., not to be mistaken with the batch judges)

Go to Tools->Options.
On the right hand side, you will see "Practice Mode" and under that, a "Scale" value.
Change the number. Less than 1.500 = Stricter Judge, Greater than 1.500 = Lenient Judge.
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How to use the Grid Lines

Press Shift + Tab or Tools->Grid Lines (toggles on/off).
You can disable the waveform (Shift+F1) and the beats (Shift+F2) if you want to reduce the clutter (see below).

There will be many numbers on the sides.
The numbers on the left are the BPM values, and the numbers on the right are the time values of the beats.
The time values will be in the current time format (seconds, beats, or samples).
The left and right numbers auto-update if anything changes/or is edited.
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How to change the arrow size

Press Ctrl + Left (smaller) or Ctrl+ Right (larger).
You may see the letter [A] or [M] on the status bar as you change the arrows.
If it says [A], the arrow size will automatically resize if you have zoomed in/out a certain amount.
If it says [M], the arrow size will stay the same size unless you change it to [A].
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How to change the arrow noteskin
Tools->Options, on the left, uncheck "Enhanced Noteskin." This will change the noteskin to the standard arrow youre used to. If you want to make your own custom noteskins, open the "\graphics" folder and CAREFULLY replace the graphics with your own, using the EXACT SAME NOTE POSITION LAYOUT and FILENAMES.
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[MarioNintendo]

DDREAMSTUDIO ADVANCED GUIDE

Topics:

Comprehending the 3 different time formats
Beat Nudging vs. Beat Growing
How to use "Grow Region" to set multiple regions, each with a different constant BPM
How to use "Grow Region" to "smooth out" beats that you tapped using the B key
How to sync music with noisy waveforms (e.g., heavy metal)
How to use the wave filter
How to work with sub-beats
How to make the beat color solid/white/turquoise?
Why does the BPM alternate between two values/why is the BPM 'off' by a few thousanths?
How to FORCE the BPM to ONE (average) VALUE
Manual vs. Autofill syncing tradeoffs
List of Commands
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Comprehending the 3 different time formats

Press "T" to cycle through the 3 time formats. This will change the format of the time display on the status bar, and on the grid lines if you enabled them.
SECONDS - default format. It is written with a decimal point "." e.g. 1.234 seconds.
BEATS - Press T once. It is written with a colon ":" e.g., 8:24 means beat 8, tick 24. There are 48 "ticks" per beat to enable quantization of all the notes up to 192nd, except for 128th notes. NOTE: DDReam starts at beat 1 in the editor, but that corresponds to beat ZERO in the SM file itself. Be Careful when editing the text files!
AUDIO SAMPLES - Press T twice. This is written as a plain number. e.g., 1004033 means sample 1004033 of the file. You can think of samples as the "pixels" of a sound file. DDReam allows you to edit at sample resolution if you zoom all the way in.

Note: Why are there no measure lines/time signatures, etc? You can emulate measure lines by changing the color of the beats, and you can emulate time signature changes the same way.
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Beat Nudging vs. Beat Growing

The Nudge and Grow tools allow you to edit several beats at the same time, so you don't have to edit each beat individually.

Beat Nudging
Before:


Before: The markers are more or less correctly spaced but are globally shifted offsync by the same amount. This is more commonly known as an “offset, “gap,” or a phase problem.

After:



How to do it:

1. Enable Sync Mode (Level Manager, click “Sync Mode” button)
2. Click on the song before the first “bad” marker, then Shift + MWHEEL to nudge all beats from the “bad” marker to the end of the song up/down a few pixels at a time.

More advanced options

*Zoom in to achieve a more precise nudge.
*Select any one beat marker to start nudging from that point onwards.

Beat Growing
Before:



Before: The markers are initially on-sync, but slowly drift offsync. This is more commonly known as a BPM problem.

After:



How to do it:

1. Enable Sync Mode (Level Manager, click “Sync Mode” button).
2. Click on the song before the first “bad” marker, then Ctrl + MWHEEL to grow a few tenths of a BPM at a time (one click of the wheel may barely make any difference).

More advanced options:

*Select any beat marker to grow all beats from that marker to the end of the song.
* Select multiple beat markers to grow all beats between the selected markers
* Press G to specify an exact average Grow BPM.

You can mix/match nudge and grow as you see fit until you fix your problem.
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How to use "Grow Region" to set multiple regions, each with a different constant BPM



In this example, we'll assume your song has two BPM's -- the first BPM (first half of song) is 144.8, and the second BPM (second half of song) is 130.0.

1. Autofill the first BPM (144.8 ) using the basic Autofill tool from the Pocket guide.
2. Move to the place where the BPM changes to the other value.
3. Use the "Grow Region" tool seen above (hit "G") and type the new value (130.000) and press Enter.
4. Voila! - now you have a new BPM of (130) starting at that location.
5. Repeat 2-4 as necessary.
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How to use "Grow Region" to "smooth out" beats that you tapped using the B key

1. Select the beats that you want smoothed.



2. Press G to open the "Grow Region" tool. (average BPM of grow region is provided by default)



3. Press OK.



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[MarioNintendo]

How to sync music with noisy waveforms (e.g., heavy metal)



Tips:
1. Open the song, and go to the Filter (press I, then OK). Most of the time the filter will give you pretty good looking beats (see above - pink wave). Work with those, in addition to the original yellow waveform.
2. When you place beats, always use the beat assist. Zoom, slow down to 30% or so, and playback your song carefully until the music lines up with the assist tick and/or the waveform.
3. Learn the Speed Edit controls from the Pocket Guide so you can get more done in less time.
4. Most rock and heavy metal music have a traditional drumline, follow that with your ears and the Filtered waveform and put in beats accordingly.
5. Most rock/heavy metal is also pretty steady. For the steady parts, you may want to use the "Autofill beats between other beats" tutorial from the Pocket Guide.
6. Sync the song in sections, and skip the parts you can't get, come back to it later. This is the power of ddream.
7. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! (Ctrl+S)
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How to use the wave filter.



Press "I" to open the Filter options.
"Enable Wave Filter" = Enable or disable. Self Explanatory.
"Filter Type - high-pass" = Display treble sounds (high hats, cymbals, some snares, other high pitched sounds)
"Filter Type - low pass" = Display bass sounds (bass drums, maybe some snares)
"Impulse Response - Infinite" = Gives you better peaks, usually
"Impulse Response - Finite" = Use it if the Infinite option fails (rarely).
"Filter Strength" = self explanatory. Adjust so you can see the peaks more clearly.
"Show filtered/original together" = Self explanatory. Disable this if your FPS is too low with both waves enabled.
"Rescale" = Maximize wave peaks after processing (if you disable, you may get a teeny filtered wave you can't see).
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How to work with sub-beats



You are already used to the normal beats in DDReam. They are synced to quarter notes (red 4th notes), if you haven't noticed already.
A subbeat is a sync point on a note other than a quarter note.

How to do it:
1. Insert a subbeat (Shift+B or Shift+Middle Mouse Button)
2. Highlight the subbeat.
3. Press "F" to open the subbeat fraction dialog.
4. Type a number from 1-47 to specify the fraction (this is out of 48).
So if you want to sync that subbeat to an 8th note, you'd type '24' ,because 24 is halfway to 48 (8th notes are halfway between quarter notes)
Similarly, 12th notes are '16' and '32'.
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How to make the beat color solid/white/turquoise?

This feature is useful if you want to distinguish your beats from one another.
Just an example, you might want a white beat at every measure,
and a solid beat to remind you of where you left off.
Choose the color scheme that works for you.

You need to be in Sync Mode. To change the beat(s), highlight it (them) with your mouse, and
press Ctrl+1 for white, Ctrl+2 for turquoise, and Ctrl+3 for solid.
For solid white, press Ctrl+1, then Ctrl+3.
The solid color will also lock the beat and prevent accidental editing.
Beat colors are not saved if you save to SM 3.9 format,
because the SM file has no tag for beat color.
That's why you should work in DS format until you are ready to finalize.
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Why does the BPM alternate between two values/why is the BPM 'off' by a few thousanths?

The program operates with audio samples (i.e., the individual bytes of the song), like an audio editor, and "back-converts" to BPM
for display and SM file compatibility.

So, due to the conversion, it sometimes displays/alternates the BPM back and forth a few thousandths and writes additional BPM changes to the SM file,
BUT in return you gain pixel-level editing and on the fly controls.

This should NOT affect the sync while you are playing the game.

If you are still bothered by the (converted) BPM doing that, see the tutorial below on forcing to a single value.
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How to FORCE the BPM to ONE (average) VALUE

Some people do not want "excessive" BPM changes in the SM file itself,
so here's how to FORCE the BPM to ONE (average) VALUE:

1. From a completed file in DDream, go to File->save As.
2. Choose the file type: "SM File Single BPM (*.sm)".
3. Save.

DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! Remember to RELOAD and TEST your WHOLE SONG *IN SM* carefully to make sure that your song actually works with a single BPM.
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Manual vs. Autofill syncing tradeoffs

Do I really have to manually sync/beat marker every little thing? Or can I use Autofill/Grow? Or Both? It's really up to you.
Syncing every little thing will take a lot longer, and
the sync may be better, but probably not THAT much better than
syncing using Autofill/Grow and your good judgment.
However, in the rare event that the song speeds/up slows down noticeably,
you may want to sync every beat in that area of the song.
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List of every command in DDReamStudio




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