StepManiaX
StepManiaX is a rhythm game developed and published by Step Revolution, a studio formed by former developers of In the Groove, ReRave, and Pump It Up Pro. It is considered a spiritual successor to the In the Groove series. The name is a nod to the legacy of the open-source simulator StepMania, as many of the original StepMania developers are involved with the project. StepManiaX is derived from the same codebase, with modifications made to support the new game types, lights, touch support, connectivity, and the custom Android operating system and hardware that dedicated units run on.
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 seven different difficulty levels that affect how many inputs are active and the difficulty of patterns displayed. Players can also customize modifiers adjust to their preferred style, such as changing the visual appearance of patterns, how fast patterns appear, background brightness, etc.
The core gameplay involves players stepping on the panel with their feet to correspond with the scrolling arrows on-screen once they reach the end of beat lines. 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
- 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 accidentally 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, the player 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 at any point until the mine passes. Avoiding the mines generate a checkmark, while failing to avoid generate a "X" that punishes the player. 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 - Always placed at the end of a hold. 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.
Difficulties and Modes
There are eleven different difficulty tiers within gameplay:Difficulty names help pool difficulty numbers within easier named ranges. While it's intended to give new players a quick way to recognize where they land skill-wise, the numbered difficulty allows players to more granularity advance. Difficulty numbers are not locked to existing within a certain named pool.
The first four of these are intended to be played by a single player on a single stage. For single-stage format, beginner mode exists to get newcomers to play and cater to freestylers, while using just three panels: left, center, and right. Easy adds the up and down panels, making all five 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.
The next two difficulties, Dual and Full, are intended to be played by a single player utilizing both stages. Dual Mode is a new mode introduced to dance games that uses six horizontal panels, with both ups and downs not present. Full Mode uses all ten panels. These difficulties are not available if two players are playing.
The last difficulty, Team, is intended to be played by two players simultaneously using both stages. In this mode, both players share the same lifebar and same score and are instructed to follow their unique color of notes to work cooperatively to clear the song. If one of the two players confirms the choice of Team, the other player can only choose Team. If one of the two players confirms the choice of any difficulty other than Team, the choice of Team on the other player will not be available.
Announced at IAAPA 2022, + charts, aside from their corresponding non-plus charts, will be added to songs. This is intended to fill the void on difficulty gaps. Newer content, by default, includes these difficulties. Existing content is slowly updated over time to add in the additional slots via online updates.
On May 22, 2023, the StepManiaX mobile app began allowing users to create their own Edit charts for songs and share them with other users. These edits are able to use any of the existing formats.
Development
Development of StepManiaX started with stage development in early 2015. Several different designs were prototyped using various sensor technologies, including load-cells, piezoelectric sensors, force-sensing resistors, and optical sensors housed in an aluminum slim-line stage. This design was officially shown to the public by project lead Kyle Ward in early 2016. 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. The title StepManiaX was selected to focus on the aerobic stepping aspect of the game, rather than face the common criticism of "dance" games not featuring "dance" movement.The game's first public showing was during MAGFest 2017.
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 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. The following year, a coin-operated version of the game premiered at 8 on the Break as an initial location and hardware test. This cabinet revision also premiered commercially at IAAPA 2019. Since then, the game is available directly via the developer's web store and through various distribution partners.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an integrated touch monitor/game combination was introduced for home users wanting to experience the game at home during lockdown. This led to the future creation of the home-purpose cabinet types.
Step Revolution unveiled a new, larger, cabinet model IAAPA 2022 known as the "Deluxe" model. It features a 65" touchscreen display, dynamic lighting show, and an improved sound system over the Dedicated model.
At IAAPA 2024, Step Revolution announced the availability of a new "Standard" model. This model replaces the existing Dedicated cabinet and features a 55" touchscreen and enhanced lighting and aesthetics that bring it closer to the existing Deluxe model.