Quick background, been a DDR player since Extreme was new to the arcades and own just about every home release I could get my hands on, JP/US, PSX, PS2, XB, 360, Wii, even the PS3 atrocity. Even built a variety of converters so I could use my custom-modded foam pads on every system. Always loved the games, but fell out of it for a while. I'm trying to get back in to keep myself a little more active, and I believe the reason I got bored was that I could only get so much song variety in one mix, particularly when staying in a difficulty range. Obviously, Stepmania could be the end to any concerns of variety that one might have, but I'm hoping to see if I can make it work the way I want to work, and hope someone will be kind enough to guide me in what is and isn't reasonably possible.
Ideally, I'd like to be able to a nonstop (or with a break every 5 stages) set of songs, letting me just play until I'm tired. No real calorie goal, time goal, just play and keep playing new songs until I say stop. For this to work, though, the songs need to be within a reasonable difficulty range. This can be tricky because through the history of the game, difficulties have changed, and when you get custom step charts from you wonderful people, their idea of difficulty might not match mine or other creators'. So, two questions here, can you set up such a play course (unlimited songs in a given difficulty range) and for bonus points, can it be based on a calculated difficulty based on things like steps per second, jumps, or other song stats?
The remainder of my questioning relates to making it feel like a fun experience. I know that the general refrain is "If you want to play DDR, then play DDR," but there's plenty about the experience that I know has had some level of support in the past. I know serious players find them distracting, but I've always had a fondness for announcers, background videos/stages, and yes, even the dancing characters. None of these are deal-breakers, but if they're well supported, I'd love to get a pointer to some documents on getting them properly configured. I've played with Stepmania on and off for probably over 10 years, and we've had a, shall we say, rocky relationship when it comes to putting together a stable, working environment with the various bits and pieces I've found over the years.
I apologize to anyone who feels compelled to tell me to just use the search button; I know that all of these topics have likely been covered before, and will likely be covered again, and I honestly don't mind being redirected to the appropriate resources. But if any kind souls want to help me in that journey, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time!
Ideally, I'd like to be able to a nonstop (or with a break every 5 stages) set of songs, letting me just play until I'm tired. No real calorie goal, time goal, just play and keep playing new songs until I say stop. For this to work, though, the songs need to be within a reasonable difficulty range. This can be tricky because through the history of the game, difficulties have changed, and when you get custom step charts from you wonderful people, their idea of difficulty might not match mine or other creators'. So, two questions here, can you set up such a play course (unlimited songs in a given difficulty range) and for bonus points, can it be based on a calculated difficulty based on things like steps per second, jumps, or other song stats?
The remainder of my questioning relates to making it feel like a fun experience. I know that the general refrain is "If you want to play DDR, then play DDR," but there's plenty about the experience that I know has had some level of support in the past. I know serious players find them distracting, but I've always had a fondness for announcers, background videos/stages, and yes, even the dancing characters. None of these are deal-breakers, but if they're well supported, I'd love to get a pointer to some documents on getting them properly configured. I've played with Stepmania on and off for probably over 10 years, and we've had a, shall we say, rocky relationship when it comes to putting together a stable, working environment with the various bits and pieces I've found over the years.
I apologize to anyone who feels compelled to tell me to just use the search button; I know that all of these topics have likely been covered before, and will likely be covered again, and I honestly don't mind being redirected to the appropriate resources. But if any kind souls want to help me in that journey, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time!