DDReam Studio Pocket Guide

Pocket Guide to DDReam Studio 1.05+

Topics:

The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.
DDReam Anatomy.
How to open songs and simfiles.
How to save.
Level Manager.
Syncing, if you already know the BPM of the song.
What is BPM and Offset, anyway?
What is a BPM change?
How to put in a beat
How to put in many beats at once (or, shortcuts to putting in beats)
Help, I dont know where the beats are!
How to tap along with the song to insert beats "on-the-fly"!
How to put in BPM Stops
How to make Boosts/Brakes/speedups/slowdowns?
How to use the Assist Tick
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 resync a song
How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.

Go to Advanced Guide
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The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.

SM Editor

DDReam Studio

Beat and Measure lines are already drawn for you. Place steps on top of the Beat/Measure lines.

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 manually specifying the BPM value beside the beat.

Change the BPM of the current beat(s) by graphically dragging, nudging, and growing the spacing between the beats.

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.

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 only have your ears.

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).

Keyboard shortcuts for step editing.

Mouse support and keyboard shortcuts for step editing.

DDReam Anatomy.

100 = Menu Bar
101 = Mouse Selection
102 = Scrollbar
103 = Snap Indicator
104 = BPM Stop ("Pause")
105 = Beat Marker
106 = Waveform View
107 = Region Selection
108 = Status Bar
109 = Arrows/Mines
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How to open songs and simfiles.

File->Open
Note: Use SM 3.9 simfiles or DDReam Studio simfiles only.
For SM 4.0 simfiles, edit with notepad and change the groove radar data into 5 numbers.

How to open a new song.
File->Open and select "MP3 Audio"
Note: 44.1Khz Stereo only.
MP3, OGG, or WAV supported.
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, 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.
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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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Syncing, if you already know the BPM of the song.

Open the music file (see above slide)
Press A to activate Autofill
Fill in the BPM and Offset
Press OK.
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What is BPM and Offset, anyway?

This is a short clip from a song.
The waveform is the digitized music.
Time flows from the top to the bottom, like reading a book.
The actual start of the song is at (100).
The first beat comes a little later, at (200).
The Offset (Gap) is the distance between 100 and 200.
Other beats happen at 300A, 300B, 300C...
All the beats are spaced equally.
This means the song is a Constant BPM.
Don't worry about math. DDReam autocalculates based on your editing.
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What is a BPM change?

The distance between (200) and (300) is 2x wider than
between (400) and (500).
This means there is a BPM change at (400).
At (400), the BPM gets faster because the distance
between markers is smaller.
How much faster? Answer: 2x faster!
This song is not a constant BPM because
the beats are not all spaced equally.
Don't worry about math. DDReam autocalculates based on your editing.
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How to put in a beat

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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How to put in many beats at once (or, shortcuts to putting in beats)

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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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 "How to insert many beats at once."
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.

Remember to use your acquired ddream skills of 1) listening to the beat assist (F3), zooming in/out (plus/minus), slowing 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 insert beats "on-the-fly" by tapping along to the song.

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 semi-decently 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 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 v. 1.10):
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. Back To Top

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.
If you are into physics, you may call a boost, "acceleration" and a brake, "deceleration."
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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.
(F4) The arrow assist tick, which is a clap track.
Don't leave home without them.

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. Back To Top

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.
These controls are the same as the SM editor.
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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 re-sync a song.

Simply File->Open
Note: Use SM 3.9 simfiles or DDReam Studio simfiles only.
For SM 4.0 simfiles, edit with notepad and change the groove radar data into 5 numbers.
From the Level Manager, choose Sync Mode.
Turn on beat assist tick (F3) and tweak any bad beats with your mouse.
Read the section on Speed Editing above.
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How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.

Look at the above slides, "What is a BPM change" and
"how to insert many beats at once" to understand the theory.
To double the BPM, mouse select all beats for BPM doubling,
go to Autofill second option, and type "1" in the box, press OK.
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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