[AC] StepManiaX produced by Kyle Ward

I added a few locations in Europe that have StepManiaX machines, two in Germany and one in Glasgow.

Unfortunately I don't know a lot about that location in Glasgow. All I know is the name of the place and that they own six(!) StepManiaX All-In-One machines. I heard rumors that the area with the machines can only be accessed by kids. Anyone here with more details?

The location in Stuttgart, Germany has the dedicated cabinet, the location in Remscheid, Germany, the All-In-One version.

Michael

The new wave of hardware is nearing completion, and this batch of stages (and by association, the new Dedicated/"Arcade" machines) have a huge selection of new features.

• Improved lighting both in panel and underlighting
• Updated panel design to showcase the new LED Array
• Newer animation and customization support
• New sensor type support
• Optional adjustable bar (with 5 height settings)
• Optional rectangular inserts, allowing arcade-accurate Pump It Up panels to be swapped in and out of the stage at will.
• Newer locking wheel design
• A few things I probably missed

Not only this, but the game has had some great adjustments and theme tweaks done too - I'll go into that more when we're about to roll it out.

Here are some images from our current production, and so far we are on track for our March date for this batch. News will be posted closer to launch about dates to order, and we have been trying to see about possible pre-order, where we can judge demand and also scale up production for a faster, next wave when needed, but nothing has been confirmed yet.















Thanks all <3




5-14-2019

A new software update is now rolling out for all StepManiaX systems! New features, polish, and optimizations await! All connected and online systems will download the update automatically!

Changes include renaming 'Basic' to 'Beginner', overhauling all difficulty colors and adding unique icons for each, adding a quick difficulty selector to the music select screen accessable by tapping the difficulty number on that player's side, adding a new noteskin, 'Beat' (thanks again to Jason Trost for being so eager to work with us!), and a whole slew of other changes, optimizations, and fixes!

Big 'ol bump for a new content update!

New songs include:
Be Alive (Raaban Inc Remix) / Stian K
Boom Boom Dollars (The Factory EuroTrance Remix) / King Kong & D'Jungle Girls
Do U Love Me / DJ Doo
Feels Just Like That Night / Eskimo & Icebird Feat. Maria Merete
Hanky Panky (E-MC2 Mix) / Jenny Rom
July (Euromix) / Smiley
The Beginning / DJ Doo
Utopia / Smiley
Xuxa / Smiley

Additionally, -every- existing song now has Dual and Full charts, with a ton new Team charts being added.

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April 2, 2020 Update!



8 new songs coming your way.

New songs include:
Ari Oh (Factory Team Eurobeat Mix) / Jenny Kee
Beautiful Man (The Eurobeat Remix) / Radiorama
Become Astral / Ash Astral
Bumble Bee / Bambee
Coming Out / Playmaker Feat. Robina
Dizzy / Wolfgang Lohr & Balduin Feat. Alanna
Never Gonna Make (Factory Dance Team Mix) / Morgana
Waka Laka (E=MC2 Mix) / Jenny Rom VS The Zippers

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May 7, 2020 Update!



The latest batch of 11(!!) new songs was released last night.

New songs include:
Bang Bang Bang (Handsup Style Mix) / DCX
Dance Boom Boom (The Factory Eurobeat Mix) / Tipsy & Tipsy
Flash In The Night / Flashman
Hero / Miss Papaya
Monolith / Affinity
Nightmoves / Playmaker
Senorita (Speedy Mix) / Jenny Rom
Typical Tropical / Bambee
Who R You (Beat U Edit) / Leo Pigot
Whoopsy Daisy / Wolfgang Lohr & Balduin Feat. Sebastian Daws
Young Forever / Rebecca

Now these are some good songs!

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June 17, 2020 Update!



8 new tracks to keep you dancing were released last night.

New songs include:
A Sign (The Factory Eurobeat Mix) / Tipsy & Tipsy
Esperanza / KaW
Ghosts (Vincent de Moor Mix) / Tenth Planet
Justify My Love / Tess
Move It Groove It / KaW Feat. Sam-I-Am
Movin' On / Ellen Gee
Pink Dinosaur / Miss Papaya
The Saint Goes Marching (Helix Remix 2020 Edit) / The Saint

Why does every hard chart in this game look identical to each other?

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Take songs from 4th mix. Check
5th Mix? Check.
Max? Check.
Max2? Check.

Like im glad the songs are on here, dont get me wrong but it just feels OFF that they are here..

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Also this. (Especially since a lot of those songs already had good charts, like was anyone ASKING for Ghosts to be re-stepped? That's one of the best charts Konami ever made.)

I don't know, I just wish Kyle Ward's post-ITG work didn't always feel like constant re-treads of the same tracks and genres. Re-rave and Pump Infinity were a little better about this, but this game feels like a regression to me, especially since nothing outside of Wild looks like it has a fun chart.

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TIL that he's the sole step artist on the game

I didn't say that, did I? I'm just saying with any large simfile project the authors' style carries through. Also he's producing it, so it's kinda obvious that he has influence there too. I'm sure the charts you contributed are fine.

Your wording highly suggested it. Stepartists are given very little direction when it comes to charting style.

Real question though - Have you gotten the chance to try the game out? This question isn't meant to get a certain type of answer, or create issue. Constructive criticism is key here.

Why would I pay to play a glorified simfile pack when I have StepMania at home, for free.

I think you'd be shocked at how much player feedback has been used to shape the game and song list.

If you ever get the chance to try the game out and have feedback and or suggestions, I'd be happy to listen.

Then StepManiaX's playerbase needs to get their own taste. So basically since I've never played it and probably never will, I'm not allowed to criticize it. Or rather, you won't listen to my criticisms? LMAO, ok.

I never said you weren't allowed to criticize it. Go off, please, feel free. Actually having played it and being able to provide criticism that's useful and constructive after actually giving it a chance give backs up what you're saying a lot more. Saying, "This chart sucks" does nothing. Why does it suck? How can it be improved on? I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that feedback if a suggestion isn't given for a fix.

It's like a company showing a game off that's in beta and everyone taking a dump on it because it looks bad, despite nobody ever playing it. We're clearly never going to see eye to eye on this so there's no point in trying to explain it anymore.

First of all, you're taking my half-joke post way too seriously.

Do you really think that just because Kyle Ward produced this game, I automatically think it's garbage and want to do nothing but "take a dump on it"? No. That's not the reason for how I feel, not even close. Also, I never even said that 'StepManiaX sucks" outright. I don't think I'm asking for too much for someone to read my posts and be able to extrapolate or infer what my main criticisms is, but since I'm feeling nice I'll state it explicitly.

In my, a single person of billions (?) on the internet's, opinion, using old DDR licenses reeks of using nostalgia as a crutch to attract people to the game. I just think it's very cheap and not good. I'd rather see more original (not from ITG or anything else) content to make StepManiaX stand out. That's why I feel as if it's a glorified simfile pack.

Sure, I agree, we're most likely never going to see eye to eye on this, but it doesn't mean my opinions aren't valid. The fact that someone affiliated with StepManiaX can't even handle a simple post shows a lot about the people making it. I don't think I need to say anything else, and I'm not going to, but yeah. Wow.

I did this with the DDR web browser game and I'm still right about it

Joking aside, I don't mind there being a lot of licensed songs from DDR or Dancemania or whatever. Go in any DDR thread from a couple years ago and you'll see how many "we should get more Dancemania" comments there are. It's not like just because it's a nostalgia trip means it's not good.

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The hard charts in the game, from what I've seen of the previews and werwedus' YouTube videos, are largely just simple 1/8 note patterns with few crossovers, and no real introduction to any of the gimmicks that you see on Wild. There appears to be a huge gap in difficulty between level 16-17 and level 18-19 charts as a result (I might have my numbers a little off here so you get the idea). Modern ITG packs that chart all difficulties incorporate mines, rolls, crossovers, and more complex rhythms at earlier levels to prepare people for harder charts. I think ITG Rebirth in particular does this perfectly, much better than ITG 1/2 ever did. The DDR customs community also handles this well from the charts I've seen/played. What you have, then, are charts on lower difficulties that are mostly boring and don't actually prepare people to play the charts you actively put effort into.

I'm also fine with Eurobeat and Dancemania revivals, but I think there's space to put more modern-sounding music on there, FWIW. DDR's music has been much more Japanese in the past few mixes so there's a market for it.

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I do agree there should be some more variety in the songlist, and also more original music.

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