How to Make a Simfile

This tutorial will cover the basic steps to creating a simfile. A simfile is a song with dance steps that can be played in Stepmania.

Setting Up Your Simfile

1. Choose the song you want. It helps a lot if the song is easier to follow the beat to. Make sure the song is either in MP3 or OGG format. If it is another format, find a free music converter to change it.
2. Go to "Program Files" and under the Stepmania folder, select Stepmania Tools. This will bring up a window with a few buttons on it.
3. At the bottom of the window, click "Create Song." Locate where you saved the song you wanted to create and select it. After it has been selected, a simfile will have been made at the following location: "C:\Program Files\StepMania\Songs\My Creations" Under "My Creations, there will be a folder with the name of your song with some files in it. Everything in this folder is what you need for a simfile to work. You are now ready to start adding dance steps to your simfile!

Editing Your Simfile

1. Open Stepmania.
2. Go to "Edit/Sync Songs."
3. Find the folder "My Creations" by scrolling left or right under the "Group" category.
4. Now find your song by scrolling left or right under "Songs" below.
5. Next, scroll left and right under "Steps" to select the difficulty you want. Press enter. This will create the difficulty. Then press enter again over "Edit Existing."
6. Now you should be at the screen for editing steps. Pressing left or right changes what kind of notes you will be inserting. (Ex. 1/4 notes, 1/8 notes, etc.) Pressing up and down changes what beat measure you will be on. Numbers 1 to 4 add or take away arrows. Holding shift and pressing the numbers between 1 to 4 will add bombs.
7. To change the difficulty meter, press Esc and select "Edit Step Statistics." Change the meter to the number you want.
8. Press Esc and navigate to "Save" to save your song.
9. Pressing F1 will give you keyboard shortcuts.

Adding a Banner or Background

1. For a banner, make an image that is 256x80 or 418x164. Name it "Song Name-banner.png".
2. For a background, make an image that is 640x480. Name it "Song Name-bg.png".
3. Place these pictures in the song's folder that you want them to go with.
4. Go play your simfile!

Gimp and Inkscape are great free tools for making banners and backgrounds.