StepManiaX
StepManiaX | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Step Revolution |
Publisher(s) | Step Revolution |
Designer(s) | Step Revolution |
Engine | StepMania |
Platform(s) | Arcade |
Release | June 10, 2017 |
Genre(s) | Music, exercise |
Mode(s) | Multiple one-player and two-player modes |
StepManiaX (abbreviated SMX and pronounced "Step Maniacs") is a rhythm game developed & published by Step Revolution, a studio formed by former developers of In the Groove and Pump It Up Pro. It is the spiritual successor to the In the Groove series. The name is not to be confused with the open-source simulator StepMania, although StepManiaX is derived from the same codebase, with modifications made to support the new game types, lights, touch support, and the Android operating system.
Gameplay
Similar to other stepping or dance-based games, StepManiaX uses a "stage" that the user stands on with certain areas being pressure-sensitive buttons, or "panels". StepManiaX uses five identically sized inputs, arranged similarly to a Directional Pad - Up, Down, Left, Right, and the inclusion of Center.
Players can select between 7 different types of modes (see below). When selecting a song, players use the touch screen to swipe left or swipe right to select the song. The song selection can be sorted by preferred categories such as by song or difficulty. Players can also customize modifiers adjust to their preferred style, such as changing the panel colors, BPM scrolling speeds, background brightness, etc.
The core gameplay involves the player stepping on the panel with their feet to correspond with the scrolling arrows (or "Notes") on-screen once they reach the end of beat lines (horizontal bars that move up the screen). During normal gameplay, arrows scroll upwards from the bottom of the screen towards the end of the play area, towards a set of receptor markers on the sides of the arrow lanes. When these scrolling arrows reach the end, the player must step on the corresponding arrows on the dance stage, and the player is given a judgement for their accuracy of the input. Each note judged has multiple "windows" that it can be categorized into. These, from most accurate to least, are: PERFECT!!, PERFECT, EARLY, LATE, and MISS. Any judgement that is not "PERFECT!!" will show an indicator if the input was registered early or late compared to the intended timing.
Stepping accurately will contribute to the player's life bar, visible on the edge of the screen. Missing notes will cause a player's lifebar to decrease. If a player's lifebar empties entirely, scoring will halt and the song will no longer be able to be "passed" for that player, although the game will still continue until a player manually ends the song or the song completes.
Additional note types are also included with StepManiaX's gameplay.
- Holds - Notes that have longer, extended trails following the initial directional indicator. Players must keep the corresponding direction depressed for the duration of the trail. Similar to Pump It Up, holds continuously generate combo for the player while being held down and also have the ability to be re-stepped on if the player was to accidently release the hold before being completed. If the player releases the hold at any time, the player will instead receive a yellow "!" judgement, regardless if it is being held at the end. Successfully completing a hold will generate a green checkmark judgement. Continuously failing to hold the indicated direction will decrease the player's health bar significantly, and will continue to deplete until the direction is pressed
- Rolls - Similar in appearance to a hold, but typically displayed visibly as spiky. Rolls display a number of times a panel must be hit before it ends - this is indicated by a number attached to the top of the roll. For example, if the number shows 3, you must hit that same panel 3 times before that Roll ends.
- Mines - Displayed as a circular shape with a red 'X' through it, these notes must be avoided. The button that the column corresponds to must not be touched (hit or held) at any point until the mine passes. Avoiding the mines generate a checkmark, while failing to avoid generate a "X" that punishes you. Avoiding mines will award the player a small point value.
- Pits - Combining both Holds and Mines, pits are "long mines" that will punish a player if they hold down the indicated direction while the pit is scrolling past the end of the playfield. Continuously holding down a direction while a pit is active will punish a player by severely decreasing their health bar the longer it is held. Completely avoiding a pit will award the player a small point value.
- Lifts - Typically placed at the end of ahold. Appropriately named, the player is expected to lift off the panel at the precise time the lift reaches the end of the playfield. Successfully lifting will reward a green checkmark judgement and a small point bonus, while failing to do so will reward a yellow "!" and no points.
Completing a song while a player still has energy remaining in their health bar will award a "pass" to the player. The player is taken to the Results Screen, which rates the player's performance with a star rating (between 1 and 6 stars, with a specialized design for players who achieve the maximum score of 100,000 points), the points earned (between 0 and 100,000, which can be interpreted as a percentage by dividing by 1000), and specific judgement statistics.
Modes
There are 7 modes to play:
MODE | Format | Panels | Levels |
---|---|---|---|
BEGINNER | Single | 3 | 1-6 |
EASY | Single | 5 | 6-13 |
HARD | Single | 5 | 13-20 |
WILD | Single | 5 | 19-27 |
DUAL | Double | 6 | 2-23 |
FULL | Double | 10 | 7-28 |
TEAM | Double | 10 | 9-28 |
For single-stage format, beginner mode exists to get newcomers to play and cater to freestylers, while using just 3 panels: left, center, and right. Easy adds the up and down panels, making all 5 panels available to play. Hard makes the different colored rhythm panels more common and may add a few advanced features like pits. Wild further increasing the difficulty while making additional features more common.
Unlike single-pad, double-stage formats have no difficulty restrictions. Dual Mode is a new mode introduced to dance games that uses 6 panels, with both ups and downs not present. Full Mode uses all 10 panels. Team Mode is like Full, but requires 2 players to play based on the color of the panels, with both players sharing the same lifebar and same score.
During development, "Beginner" mode was titled "Basic". This was later updated to ease new players into the game. The original difficulty scale was also adjusted from a 1-10 scale to allow for more range in Beginner and Easy charts.
Development
Development of StepManiaX started with stage development in early 2015. Several different designs were prototyped using various sensor technologies, including an aluminum slim-line stage. This design was officially shown to the public by project lead Kyle Ward in early 2016.[1] Later that year, the retail version of the stage was shown, sporting a thicker, more durable steel stage design. During this period, the StepManiaX software was being developed in tandem with hardware development. The goal of the software was to create a simple interface that was accessible for all ranges of players. The game then grew its design to appeal to a wide variety of locations: Home, Health & Fitness, Education, Competitive E-Sports, and Family Recreation.[2] The title "StepManiaX" was selected to focus on the aerobic stepping aspect of the game.
The game's first public showing was during MAGFest 2017.[3][4]
StepManiaX was released in June, 2017, but access to the game was very limited. Initially targeting fitness and recreational facilities, the game was installed at various family-oriented locations. During this time, the all-in-one cabinet design was exhibited at various trade fairs and gaming events like Gamescom 2017[5] as sales were limited due to stock shortages and gauging interest with distribution partners. Multiple waves of sales for consumer use eventually led to home users acquiring hardware, as sales were not limited to organizations or certain environments.[6] The following year, a coin-operated version of the game premiered at 8 on the Break as an initial location and hardware test.[7] This cabinet revision also premiered commercially at IAAPA 2018.[8] Since then, the game is available directly via the developer's web store[9] and through various distribution partners.[10] [11][12][13]
Music
The soundtrack style for StepManiaX is similar in approach to other dance games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Pump It Up, In The Groove, iDance. The soundtrack generally consists of higher tempo music with easy to follow beats and well-defined rhythms. The song selection consists of newer songs that have never appeared in other music games, as well as older licenses that have also appeared in other music games. Alongside these older licenses are newer songs made by the same artists who worked on other music games, such as Naoki Maeda, the original sound director for Dance Dance Revolution, Yahpp, one of the original members of Pump It Up's in-house production group BanYa, and Kyle Ward, the original sound director of In The Groove.
StepManiaX originally launched with a soundtrack of 80 songs,[14] with 31 of the 80 original songs requiring extra payment from the game owner to access.[15] Since the initial launch, no other additional content has required an additional purchase.
Starting on March 5, 2018, StepManiaX started receiving free content updates, with the update schedule moving to a monthly cadence in April 2020. These updates have increased the current songlist to 269 songs as of May 2021.[16]
StepManiaX Songlist | |
---|---|
Song Name | Artist |
Initial Songs | |
All It Takes | Zariis |
All Of Me ~Handz Up Radio Mix~ | Klubbmover |
Ba Be Loo Be La | Kristeen |
Bagpipe | A-Moe |
Be My Hero | Freezer |
Birdie | Doolittle |
Blow My Mind | Alphadelta |
BOUNCE ~Melbournce Bounce Project Remix~ | Crew 7 |
Burning Tonight | Krystal |
Can’t Get Enough | Miradey |
Can’t Let Go | Jenna Drey |
Change The World | Nathalie & Jim Lukas |
Cowbell Rock | Pyramyth |
Crazy Baby ~2008 Club Edit~ | Fantasy Project |
Dabbi Doo | Ni-Ni |
Dance Vibrations | Elpis |
Dancing Circus | Brisby & Jingles |
Day After Day ~De-Grees Rmx Edit~ | Rikah |
Don’t Stop My Music Tonight | David Dima |
Dream A Dream ~Cheeky Trax UK Remix~ | Captain Jack |
Dreaming | Rameses B feat. Holly Drummond |
Dynamo | Oscillator X |
Emotion | Smiley |
Endless Day | Verona |
Everything is Changing ~Verano Remix Edit~ | Rikah |
Firewalker | Xenon |
Flight of The Bumblebee | MonstDeath |
Frozen Fire | Kbit |
Funny Love (Filatov & Karas Remix) | Dan Balan |
Get Down | Kairo Kingdom |
Girlz Night Out ~Andy Harding Club Mix~ | Jenna Drey |
Got The Rhythm | Fracus & Darwin feat. Becca Hossany |
Hard Fast Disco | Darwin |
Hurry Up! | MonstDeath |
Hyper Hyper | Smiley |
I Love You Baby | Pandera |
In The Hall of The Mountain King | KaW |
Indignation | Auvic feat. Pipo Fernandez |
It Gets Better | Eskimo feat. Maria Merete |
Joanna | Crazy Loop |
Land of The Lost | Banzai |
Licky Licky | Crispy |
Lights Go Down | Less Affair |
Link Line | Asterisk |
Look Into My Eyes | Rabih |
Lucky star | Miradey |
Made In China | Vitas & Sergey Pudovkin |
Medicine 2013 ~Crew 7 Edit~ | Kim Leoni |
Mexi Mexi | Mozquito |
Million Feelings | Chriss Floren |
Monody | TheFatRat feat. Laura Brehm |
Moonstone | Virgill |
My Freedom | Rayman Rave & Nika Lenina |
Origin | Stallian |
Party All Night | KaW & Sam-I-Am |
Party People ~KaW Hands Up Edit~ | Oscillator X |
Party People (Turn it Up) | Andy Stroke |
Personal Reality | Auvic |
Ready To Fly | Aleky |
Remember December | Smiley |
Reminds Me of Home | Stallian |
Revenge | MonstDeath |
Rockslaves | Leo Pigot & Rinat Crane |
Run Away | Avejio |
Save My World | Stephy |
Secret 2K12 | Rene Ablaze feat. Jacinta |
Shoulda ~Tale & Dutch House Remix~ | SUNN |
Show Me Your Moves | Auvic |
Sinxorder | MonstDeath |
Start & Paws | Oscillator X |
Sun Goes Down | Landomania |
That Night ~D-R Remix~ | Eskimo and Icebird |
The 7th Element (Zariis 2015 Remake) | Vitas |
The Last Time | Zariis |
The Rainmaker ~Remix Edit~ | Doug Laurent |
Think Thousand Thoughts | Auvic |
Time is Ticking | Elpis feat. Black Elway |
Time To Fly | Cindy Cooper |
Twins | Martin Eriksson feat. Ellee |
Unity | TheFatRat |
We Are The Sun | Maui & Crizz feat. Gerald G. |
What Happened To Love | Denine |
Who | KaW |
Y Don’t U | Deeper Territory |
Zodiac | Banzai |
March 2018 | |
Big Blue Bouncy Ball | Mr. Blue |
Ignition Starts | Kaw |
One Step Further | Jenna Drey |
Surf | Hyper Potions |
August 2018 | |
Agent Blatant | Ernest + Julio |
Bloodrush | TeknoDred |
Da Roots | Mind Reflection |
Determinator | Dust Devil |
Disconnected Disco | Kid Whatever |
Drifting Away | Filo Bedo |
Fleadh Uncut | Ian Parker |
Flying High | Filo Bedo |
Gallecode | Novus |
Go 60 Go | Takoyaki |
Hispanic Panic | Chucho Merchan |
Holy Guacamole | Chucho Merchan |
I Think I Like That Sound | Kid Whatever |
Ize Pie | Headtwist & Pump |
Land of the Rising Sun | Spacekatz |
My Life is Crazy | Initial P |
Psalm Pilot | Jason Creasey |
Reactor | Jason Creasey |
ROM-eo and Juli8 | Nina |
Soapy Bubble | Fragmentz |
Spin Chicken | Freebie & The Bean |
Temple of Boom | Yannis Kamarinos |
This is Rock and Roll | DJ Zombie |
While tha Rekkid Spins | DJ Zombie |
Chica Bomb | Dan Balan |
Crazy Loop (Mm Ma Ma) | Crazy Loop |
I Feel Sun | Gyrlie |
Paradise | Smiley |
Pop 4 (Darwin Remix) | Vibes & Wishdokta |
Ra | Banzai |
Bad 4 My Health | Bassmonkeys & Soulsilver feat. J.D. ROX |
Get Busy | Bassmonkeys & Bianca Lindgren |
I'll Show You Loving | Bassmonkeys feat. Natasha Anderson |
June 2019 | |
Click Bait | S3RL Feat. Gl!TCH |
Dies Irae | Jason Creasey |
Ladybug | Coconut |
Paranormal | Inspector K |
Sunshine | Triple J |
Sweet World | Omega Men |
January 2020 | |
Darkness | Sanxion7 |
Eternus | Sanxion7 |
Feel The Melody | S3RL feat. Sara |
Gargoyle | Sanxion7 |
Mellow | Rikki & Daz |
Pink Fuzzy Bunnies | Wonderboy |
Rainspark | Sanxion7 |
Zenith | Sanxion7 |
February 2020 | |
Be Alive (Raaban Inc. Remix) | Stian K |
Boom Boom Dollars (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 |
Default | |
Ari Oh | Jenny Kee |
Beautiful Man | Radiorama |
Become Astral | Ash Astral |
Bumble Bee | Bambee |
Coming Out | Playmaker feat. Robina |
Dizzy | Balduin & Wolfgang Lohr feat. Alanna |
Never Gonna Make | Morgana |
Waka Laka | Jenny Rom VS. The Zippers |
May 2020 | |
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 You Edit) | Leo Pigot |
Whoopsy Daisy | Wolfgang Lohr & Balduin feat. Sebastian Daws |
Young Forever | Rebecca |
June 2020 | |
A Sign (Factory Eurobeat Team 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 |
July 2020 | |
Anubis | Banzai |
Bandito | Remorse Code |
Bye Bye Baby Balloon | Joga |
Dam Dariram | Joga |
Electric | The DNC feat. Miss Amani |
Exotica | Banzai |
Music & Police | CJ Crew & KaW feat. Christian D. |
No Princess | Lynn |
So Deep (Perfect Sphere Remix) | Silvertear |
Stay | Tess |
Summer Night In Seattle | Jenna Drey |
We're Getting Faster | Darwin feat. Fraz |
Your Own Destiny | Entity & Darwin |
August 2020 | |
Come On Now | Miss Amani |
Devil Inside | CRMNL |
Dam Dadi Doo | Fantasy Project |
Dolphin Talk | Pyramyth |
Fantasy | Melissa |
Get Lifted | HOT KICKS |
In My Dreams | Rebecca |
Living In America | Rose & John |
Speed Over Beethoven | Rose |
September 2020 | |
Classic Madness | Fracus & Darwin |
Dopamine (Tale & Dutch Remix) | You In Mind |
Equinox | Mage |
Give Into | Nutronic |
I Want Your Balalaika | The Royal Eurobeat Orchestra of Bazookistan |
India's Glitch | Kirill Gramada |
July Redux | Entity |
Life Ride | Pyramyth |
Mozart Is Back | Rose |
My Baby Mama | Anquette |
Nothing Gonna Stop | Micky |
Silence | Fracus & Darwin |
October 2020 | |
Black Magic | Matduke |
Crime Time | CJ Crew & KaW feat. Sedge |
Magic Mystery Tour | KaW feat. Paula Terry |
Night of Fright (Spooky Edit) | Justin Corza & 420 |
Nightmare (Mage Remix) | FSJ feat. Tara Louise |
Pretty Ugly (Jump Smokers Remix) | Yenn |
Riddimino | Philstep |
Sky High | Lucyfer |
Warrior | Kirill Gramada |
MAX428 | Omega (Naoki) |
November 2020 | |
Arcade Run | Perfect Sphere |
Bring Your Lovin Back | Fracus |
Confusion | Tess |
Doh! | Tale & Dutch |
Hypnosis (BanYa Buzz Edit) | Colin Kiddy |
I'm Crazy For Your Love | Black Eva |
Into My Dream (Kaveh Azizi Remix) | Lagoona |
No Nobody's Love | Joga |
December 2020 | |
Bazookistan | The Royal Eurobeat Orchestra of Bazookistan |
Electro Asia | Re-Venge PHOENIX (Naoki) |
MEGALOVANIA (Chime Remix) | Toby Fox |
My Generation (Fat Beat Mix) | Captain Jack |
Nori Nori Nori | Judy Crystal |
Russian Roulette | Darwin |
Spaceman | Bambee & Lynn |
What Love Feels Like | Leonail |
January 2021 | |
Csiko's Post (2021 Yahpp Remix) | BanYa |
Delirium (T2Kazuya Remix) | Smiley |
Ma Huggies | FIG & Nico Sleator |
On My Own | Anamanaguchi feat. HANA |
Show U Love | Entity |
Take Me Away | Fracus & Darwin |
Twelve -True Fix- | Riyu Kosaka |
February 2021 | |
Beethoven Virus (2021 Yahpp Remix) | BanYa |
BU-44 | Naoki |
Charlene | Missing Heart |
Do It All Night (2003) | E-Rotic |
Fall Silently | Christoph Maitland & Toby Emerson feat. Veela |
Hip Hop Jam | Indiggo |
Kagami (T2Kazuya Remix) | KaW |
SubZero | Donk Terrorist vs. 204 |
March 2021 | |
Baby Love Me | Judy Crystal |
Critical Hit | MDK |
Forever | Schustin |
Summer (Speedy Mix) | Smiley |
Temple Of Love | E-Rotic |
The Judgement Day | Naoki feat. Riyu Kosaka |
Winter (2021 Yahpp Remix) | BanYa |
April 2021 | |
Cryosleep | Machinae Supremacy |
Destiny | Smiley |
Dr. M (2021 Yahpp Remix) | BanYa |
Glowing In The Night (90's Radio Edit) | Schustin |
In The Heat Of The Night | E-Rotic |
Katana Fighter | Electron |
Sky High | DJ Miko |
May 2021 | |
Brutalisphere | Machinae Supremacy |
Butterfly | Swingrowers |
Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix) | Barbie Young |
Melancholy Vision | DE-SIRE (Naoki) |
Operator | Miss Papaya |
Show U | M-Project |
Step Up Amadeus (2021 Yahpp Remix) | BanYa |
Test My Best | E-Rotic |
Hardware Variations and Application Support
While StepManiaX is intended to act as a full all-in-one product that includes both the game and the hardware needed to play it, individual parts can be bought and used on their own with other products.
The StepManiaX Stage features 5 pressable panels by default: Up, down, left, right, center. An additional kit can be purchased to make the diagonals pressable as well. An additional pad can be purchased to play doubles mode.
The stage is fully compatible with various simulators such as StepMania, osu!, MAME, or any application capable of using HID Joystick input.
Due to its breakout wiring, StepManiaX stages can be modified to completely bypass the USB output and natively work with other I/O solutions. This allows stages to be used with older home consoles, or even as replacements for stages on official Pump It Up cabinets.[17]
Reception and Sales
StepManiaX has been met with generally positive reviews.
Wilcox Arcade stated that StepManiaX welcoming to the American arcade industry.[18][19]
Gemu Baka praised the machine during his time at BASHCon as the best alternative to Dance Dance Revolution that still remains exclusive to Round 1 and Dave & Buster's.[20]
Players have stated that these are the best types of pads that are nearly arcade perfect in terms of durability, sensitivity, longevity, maintenance, customization, and quality of service. For the dedicated game itself, the biggest praise comes from the large song library and everything available from the start, with internet connection only needed for content updates and score.[21][22]
The biggest criticisms of StepManiaX is the expensive price and the lack of availability. One stage alone costs $1,510. Just to play the dedicated game alone requires over $3,110-$4,610. Despite the expensive price, the demand for StepManiaX remains so high that the items are sold out. Even during restocking times, the items will quickly sell out in seconds. The high demand for these items increased during the COVID-19 pandemic because players wanted to play at home during a time where arcades are either limited or closed.[23]
See also
References
- ^ "Returning to Dance Games! | www.kyleaward.com". www.kyleaward.com. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ "TAP #26: StepManiaX (ft. Kyle Ward)". DDR Community. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ "StepManiaX Preview at MAGFest". DDR Community. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ Hartling, Paul (January 7, 2017). "StepManiaX Full Song List and Debut Information from MAGfest 2017". Otaquest. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ^ "StepManiaX at Gamescom | www.kyleaward.com". www.kyleaward.com.
- ^ "StepManiaX - setting up machine and first songs". YouTube. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "StepmaniaX Dedicated Arcade Version Prepping For A Q2 2018 Release". Arcade Heroes. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ Hartling, Paul (August 17, 2018). "StepManiaX Location Test 2018 Details and Preview". Otaquest. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ "Step Revolution Shop". Step Revolution LLC - Shop.
- ^ "StepManiaX - Arcade Dance Game". Betson Enterprises.
- ^ "Player One Amusement Group". Player One Amusement Group.
- ^ "Step ManiaX". PrimeTime Amusements.
- ^ "StepManiaX". Exergame Fitness | Powered by Motion Fitness.
- ^ "StepManiaX Preview @ MAGFest 2017". DDRCommunity. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
{{cite web}}
:|first1=
missing|last1=
(help) - ^ "StepManiaX Songlist". Google Sheets. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ "StepManiaX Songlist". Google Sheets. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ Ward, Kyle. "People have asked so here it is: #StepManiaX 4th Generation Stages #PIU Style". Twitter. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ Wilcox, Dustin (April 11, 2018). "StepManiaX and Ninja Soldier (M2) Thoughts". Wilcox Arcade. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Wilcox, Dustin (August 13, 2018). "My Thoughts on the Recent Release of Deadpool Pinball; the Impending Release of StepManiaX". Wilcox Arcade. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ^ "StepManiaX Preview at MAGFest". Gemu Baka. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ "NEACE: Buying insane dance pads, worth it? (StepmaniaX Stage Review)". YouTube. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "StepManiaX Gen 4 Stages! First Impression & Review". YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ "Dom's 4-Panel Dance Pad Roundup 2020". YouTube. Retrieved September 26, 2020.