faq_dtxc_basic_e - DTXMania Wiki - DTXMania

DTXCreator's basic operations

Outline

1. 1. 1. DTXCreator's basic operations
      2. Setting for song title, author, level, tempo(BPM) and preview sound
      3. How to register the sounds - before start arranging scores
      4. Making score (arranging chips)
      5. Modifying score (moving, deleting and copying chips)
      6. Putting open-hihat, ride-cymbal and left crash cymbal
      7. Changing BPM using BPM lane (to change the song speed)
      8. Synchronizing chips and BGM (how to calculate BPM? etc)
      9. Putting guitar chips (OPEN chip etc)
      10. Test playing

DTXCreator's basic operations

DTXCreator (DTXC), developed by FROM, is a software to make DTX data. Here is a way how to make DTX data with DTXC.

(Many people mistake DTXC for "I just input song WAV file, then DTXC output DTX files automatically". DTXC doesn't have such a super convenient feature. You need to arrange sound chips by yourself.)

Here I explain the minimum way to use DTX for making DTX data.

Setting for song title, author, level, tempo(BPM) and preview sound

You can set the song name (song title) and so on in the Main tab.

DTXC Main Tab

Title means the song title. (No need to explain, I hope)

Author means "composer" rather than "DTX data manipulator. Someone write here like "Composer:XXXX DTX:YYYY"

Comment is displayed under the song name on the SELECT MUSIC screen of DTXMania.

BPM (Beats per minute) means the song tempo. The value is larger, the song is faster. For example, if the song's BPM is 140, set the value 140 to the left area of BPM. You can also specify fraction value here.

DrumLv., GuitarLv. and BassLv. are the score's difficulty(LEVEL) of each part. You can change them by dragging the sliders.
Note that the data which has LEVEL=0 are not handled by DTXMania. (In another word, if you set DrumLv.=0, its drum score is not appears in SELECT MUSIC screen.)

Panel msg. is a "running telop text" right-bottom of the playing screen of DTXMania. In case you don't specify it, the song title runs as the telop.

Preview is a preview music playing at the SELECT MUSIC screen. Click the button to specify the preview song file.

Preimage is a "Preview image" displaying on the SELECT MUSIC screen. You can use bmp, png and jpg image files, and its width&height is 204 x 269. Check "How to make clip image for SELECT MUSIC screen?" in detail. Moreover, you can use "Preview movie" by using #PREMOVIE <movie filename> at the Free tab.

LoadingImage is a "Now loading image" before playing the score. (stage file) You can use bmp, png and jpg image files, and its width&height is 640 x 480.

Background means the background image at the playing screen. Note that it doesn't mean the "skin". It specifies the background image which can see-through the skin. If you don't specify any images, the background becomes black. So you seem no images are drawn. (However, the wallpaper you specified here becomes black in case you play DARK mode. So I recommend you to specify BGA image? in place of it.)

ResultImage is to change stage-clear image. If you don't specify it, PreImage (or #PREMOVIE in Free tab) is used as the stage-clear image. Additionally, you can change several stage-clear-images by the clear rank like #RESULTIMAGE_A <over A rank cleared-image> etc in the Free tab. (Note that there is underbar(_) .. #RESULTIMAGE_A) Moreover, #RESULTMOVIE <clear movie filename> or #RESULTMOVIE_A <over A rank cleared-movie> etc are also available.

How to register the sounds - before start arranging scores

From now on, I explain how to make DTX score in DTXC in practical. But before I teach you, I want you to know the basic concept of DTXC.

For example.... in case you are about to make hi-hat sequences, what you have to do is, not only to arrange "the timing" of hi-hat. Hi-hat sounds are very various one (chi, chieee, cha etc etc...).

All sound chips have sound file, and "YOU" have to assign them. That's to say, you have to set sequence information .. both "timing" and "sound".

(By the way, you have to prepare "the sound" file. If you don't have drums sound file at all, you can download at another Q&A. )

So you may think "I have to assign the sounds to each all chips? I'm get tired!!". But it's not so troublesome.... almost "I put this sound file to ... here, here and there".

In this chapter, I told you about "the sound" part. In next chapter contains "here, here and there" part.

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Well, long introduction is over. Here I describe "how to select the sound file"

1. In the WAV tab, double click any slot. In the right figure, I double-click slot 01.(From now on, you (and DTXC) distinguish the chips(sound files) by that number.)

2. After double-clicking, you'll see the "Sound property" dialog. Then click "Ref" button to open browse dialog. Select the sound file you want to use, and click "Open" to select the file (with closing dialog), and click "OK" to fix. As the result, selected sound file is registered at the slot 01.

3. You have to register not only the drums sound, but also BGM sound. For the BGM file, please check "Use this sound as BGM" to ON in "Sound property" dialog.
BTW, in the "Sound property" dialog, you can not only register sound file, but also add the label and color (to distinguish the slot easier). Make the best use of it.

In the DTX file, you can use 01-ZZ...1295 kinds of number. In other words, you can use 1295 kinds of different sounds in the single DTX file.

Making score (arranging chips)

After registered sound files, you can arrange them to the score. (It corresponds to "here, here and there" in the last chapter)

Generally, the arranged(put) sounds are called as "chip". The chips are distinguished by number. For example, you remember that the last example registered 01=snare, 02=hihat etc. In that case, you will assign "01 chip" to the snare lane.

1. First of all, click the pencil icon to go edit mode (from Select mode).

2. In th WAV array list, click the sound slot what you want to assign. In this example, 03 (hh_close.wav) is clicked. (That is, hihat sound is selected.)
Then it becomes a state as if "you have 03 chip in hand".
After that, you are ready to put "03" chip by clicking on the score. If you want to put another sound chip, you can "re-take the chip" by clicking another sound slot.

3. Click on the score where you want to put the chip. In this example, it clicks 4 places on the HiHat lane. Then the chip (what you have in hand now...03) is assigned where you clicked.
In the same way, you select the snare chip sound and put it to the snare lane, and bassdrum chip to the bassdrum lane,... you continue these steps.
If you mistake the place to put the chip, place a mouse to the mistaken chip and right-click to delete the chip.

4. BGM chip should be assigned to the BGM lane. (many people use "FF as the BGM chip conventionally...)

Arranging chips

Here is a lane descriptions.

Lane descriptions

Modifying score (moving, deleting and copying chips)

Please check the figures below. At first I explain how to move chips already assigned. After that, I explain how to delete/copy chips.

The key point is "how to select" the target chips to move /delete/copy.

Well, basically, before you move/delete/copy chips, you have to change the mode to "Select mode" by clicking frame icon. Edit mode (pencil icon) doesn't handle them well.

Before moving chips: Select mode must be selected.

To move single chip: once click the chip to select it ... then drag it.

In case you want to move several chips: first of all you have to select these chips. You can do it by dragging from no-chip area.

(Continued from the last figure) As the result the chips in the dragged area are selected. You drag one of them ... to move all of them.

"CTRL"-click to add chip to the selected ones. (In the figure two HH chips are already selected. Now one BD chip is "CTRL"-clicked. As the result three chips are selected.)

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To delete single chip click the target chip (the chip is selected) ... then push "Delete". To delete several chips at once ... you select several chips (described at last part) and push "Delete". BTW if you are in "Edit mode (pencil icon clicked)" simply right-click the target chip to delete it.

To copy the chip(s) ... select the chip(s) you want to copy ... then right-click on the selected chip and select "Copy selected chip(s)" (or "CTRL-C"). After that right-click and "Paste chip(s)" (or "CTRL-V") to paste them. In the figure there are three chips in the bottom of the score ... and I copied them and paste to the upper.

Putting open-hihat, ride-cymbal and left crash cymbal

"CTRL"-Click to put open-hihat / ride-cymbal chips. (The chips are smaller than other ones on DTXC, and distinguished on the DTXMania. See the figure below.) For the left-crash cymbal, put the chip on "LC" lane.

Check the Q&A "How to put open hihat, ride cymbal or left crash cymbal?" for detail.

In case you put chips on the HH or CY lane with "CTRL"-Click, the chips become small (on DTXC). These chips become open-hihat or ride-cymbal (on DTXMania). Please use "LC" lane for Left-Cymbal.

Changing BPM using BPM lane (to change the song speed)

To change the BPM, click in the BPM lane where you want to change BPM. The BPM dialog appears and you can specify the BPM value. As the result, (changing) BPM chip is put on the BPM lane.

BPM dialog

You can use both integer and fraction value for BPM.

Synchronizing chips and BGM (how to calculate BPM? etc)

Please check "BPM investigations, how-to sync music and sound chips".

Putting guitar chips (OPEN chip etc)

DTXC's guitar lanes.

You can edit guitar lane on DTXC. But the editing way is different than drums' lanes.

You have to put the sound chip on the voice lane (GtV), and put RGB patterns on the pattern lanes (GtR, GtB, GtG).

To put OPEN chip, you can either put chip on the voice lane (GtV) only, or "CTRL" + click on the pattern lane.

There is wailing lane (GtW) by the right of pattern lanes. put "01" chip on the lane to specify wailing.

Test playing

Click play icons on the menu bar. ( "F5", "F6" and "F7" are assigned, also.) They corresponds to "Play", "Play from Here" and "Stop".

You can also use pull-down menu to change playspeed. The playspeed is slower, easier to sync chips to BGM. Make the best use of it.

"Play" / "Play from Here" / "Stop".icons