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* WHAT IS DWI: DANCE WITH INTENSITY? *
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(Someone had to write it :D)
By Shuey on
Updated on
Contact me at my primary email address jncshu@myexcel.com or my secondary email address johnnyshu@hotmail.com
My AIM screen name is Shuey187 and I am always on IRC channels and website forums as Shuey or Shuey187
This FAQ can always be found at one of 3 sites:
Shuey's- http://users.myexcel.com/jncshu
DDRUK- http://www.ddruk.com
DWIOnline- http://www.ddronline.net/dwi/home.php
This FAQ is the sole property of Shuey. Do not change it or alter it in any way.
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If you're new to DWI, aka "Dance With Intensity", then welcome! You've just stumbled across one of the greatest pieces of software you'll ever use (as long as you love DDR and/or original dance steps and songs). Dance With Intensity is, in my opinion, the best DDR simulator available to date. It's constantly evolving but the premise remains - to emulate, as closely as possible, the dancing game DDR, as well as to enable one to play any original song/stepfile available. The simulator can be downloaded at http://dwi.ddrei.com.
DWI
features several play modes including Single, Versus (including Couple and
DWI can be played with the keyboard or a dance pad. You can use either a PC dance pad or a PSX pad with a converter that plugs into your parallel port on your PC. You'll need to download and install the Direct Pad Pro software to help your pad work though.
The two main files that DWI uses are:
1. DWI file (filename.dwi)
2. MP3 file (filename.mp3)
Twelve other files that are nice to have are (see the dwi readme.html file for more info):
1. A background image file (filename-bg.png - preferably sized to 320 x 240 or 640 x 480)
2. A banner image file (filename-bn.png - preferably sized to 256 x 80)
3. A readme.txt file giving extra info on the song and steps
4. A step pattern image file (filename.png - this file can be created using the DWI Previewer at http://www.ddronline.net/world/dwishow.php but this script is not always completely accurate. So use it with caution, use something else, or just wait until it's in complete working order..if that ever happens :D
5. A lyric file (filename.lrc) which will display lyrics to the song (as in DDR 3rd mix)
6. A movie file (filename.avi, filename.mpg, filename.mpeg) which runs a movie on the screen while you play (as in DDR 6th & 7th mix)
7. Animation files (filename.png) which run various background images that are "cycled" and either fixed one at a time or in motion one at a time (as in the older DDR mixes)
8. A nonstop or course file (filename.crs) for running a set number of songs with preset difficulties and modifiers (as in DDR 3rd mix)
9. Custom skins which add different looks to your simulator program, such as a MAX2 skin that makes your DWI look and run similar to DDR 7th mix
10. Custom Sounds which add new announcers and background music to your simulator program, such as an announcer pack that has the announcer from DDR 3rd mix or a sound pack that changes the normal menu musics to something new and unique. For instance, the sound pack created by DDRUK's Lawrence (aka Bantu) which can be downloaded from http://www.ddruk.com
11. Folder and genre specific banners (a .png file that will display an image of the particular mix or genre, such as "DDR 4th Mix Plus" or "Konami Originals"
12. Sonique visualizations (.vis files that act the same as a movie file in DWI)
Files 1-4 as indicated above can be located in one directory that is named after the song that corresponds with it. If you're including step patterns with your songs, it's nice to keep them in a separate sub-folder called "Step Pattern Images" or "Step Patterns".
Each time you add songs to your collection, you must "re-build the songlist" in order to have them available for play. The newer versions of DWI automatically do this for you each time you run DWI.
Well, I'd say that about covers it in a nut shell. Hope that helps! ;)
-Shuey-