Dancetown - Cobalt Flux Inc

Yes. Upgrades to the Dancetown client (the part that runs on your computer) are available at no charge to registered users for 12 months after purchase. After 12 months, you can purchase a maintenance agreement that will enable you to continue receiving upgrades.

Upgrades to the Dancetown server (the parts that are accessible via the Web, such as MyDancetown) are always provided at no charge, regardless of whether you are under a maintenance agreement or not.

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Installation and setup

Client Software (on your computer)

What are the computer requirements for running Dancetown?

Hardware Requirements:
- 500 Mb of memory
- 400 Mb of free disk space
- 2 free USB ports
- Broadband internet connection for uploading/downloading data (not needed for dancing)

Software Requirements:
- Windows XP or Vista

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What's do the six different difficulty levels mean?

Every Dancetown song has six different difficulty levels. Here are the general rules that we follow when designing stepfiles for each of these levels:

Level 1 ("Beginner"):
- typical user: first-time users over age 60
- steps: right and left steps only
- intensity: 30 to 40 steps per minute
- style: mostly repetitive motions, side to side (RLRLR)

Level 2 ("Easy"):
- typical user: experienced users over age 60, and first-time younger users
- steps: right, left and occasional front steps only
- intensity: 40 to 60 steps per minute
- style: mostly repetitive motions (RLRLR and RFRFR)

Level 3 "Moderate"):
- typical user: experienced and dance-savvy users over age 60
- steps: right, left and front, with occasional back steps
- intensity: 50 to 70 steps per minute
- style: ok to mix it up, with challenging sequences that are fast or require tricky stepping

Level 4 ("Hard"):
- typical user: experienced and dance-savvy users
- steps: all 4 arrows, ok to use a jump or two
- intensity: 70 to 100 steps per minute
- style: mix it up, with challenging sequences

Level 5 ("Expert"):
- typical user: healthy youth or very healthy middle-aged user
- steps: all 4 arrows, some 2-at-a-time steps
- intensity: 90 to 140 steps per minute
- style: mix it up, with challenging sequences including series of jumps

Level 6 ("Pro"):
- typical user: healthy youth with substantial experience
- steps: all 4 arrows, lots of jumps and fast moves
- intensity: 120+ steps per minute
- style: let 'er rip!

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Server Software (website)

Hardware

Can I provide my own dance pad?

We recommend that you use one of the dance pads available on our website, because we have tested them with Dancetown and are confident that they work. If you use another dance pad and run into problems, we cannot provide any customer support to you.

If you do decide to use a dance pad that you purchased elsewhere, make sure it is compatible with Windows computers, and connects to a computer via a USB cable.

If you use a dance pad that we don't support, you will most likely need to set up Dancetown to recognize the dance pad. To do this: run Dancetown, go to Options, then Config Key/Joy Mappings, and "teach" Dancetown how to recognize the various commands given by your dancepad.

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What kind of display device should I use: a computer, a regular TV, or a HDTV?

Any of these will work fine.

Generally you want to use a large display device such as a widescreen TV when using Dancetown in a public place, or when two people are dancing at the same time. A computer is fine for home use.

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How should I connect my TV to the computer?

When you purchase a complete Dancetown system from us, we give you two different cabling options: VGA and composite video.

VGA is the better option. It gives you the best quality picture and will work on most modern televisions including all HDTVs. To use VGA, you need to have a "D"-shaped VGA connector on your television. We provide the VGA cable when you buy a complete Dancetown system, but if you purchase our software only version, you will need to get a VGA cable from a web retailer or your local electronics store.

Composite video is used for older televisions that do not have a VGA connector. Composite video creates a picture which is not as crisp as VGA, but is generally satisfactory for smaller (under 23") televisions. We provide a computer-to-composite video adapter kit when you buy a complete Dancetown system, but if you purchase our software only version, you will need to get a "PC to Video" product from a web retailer or your local electronics store.

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How many USB ports do I need on my computer, and what if I don't have enough?

You need one USB port on your computer to connect each of your dance pads, plus a USB port to connect the Dancetown flash drive to your computer. So in total, you will need 2 USB ports for a single-dancer system, or 3 USB ports for a two-dancer system.

If you don't have enough USB ports on your computer, you will need a USB Hub which will convert a single USB port into 4 ports. USB Hubs are inexpensive and are available in the Dancetown Store.

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Store

Songs

What are Song Packs?

Song Packs are collections of additional music that will be available in an upcoming release of Dancetown.

You will be able to purchase Song Packs from our Dancetown Store website. When you purchase a Song Pack, it will automatically download and install into Dancetown, adding the new songs to your song library (and possibly adding a new music category if needed).

Planned Song Packs include Latin Salsa, Polkas, Motown, Big Band and Dixieland Jazz.

If you have a suggestion for a Song Pack, send email to info@dancetown.us and let us know what you'd like to dance to!

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Can I order a custom Song Pack?

Yes! We can create custom Song Packs for you. A Song Pack consists of up to 25 minutes of total music, typically this means about 12 songs averaging 2 minutes each. Each song has all six different difficulty levels, so a Song Pack has a total of 72 different step sequences.

If you want a custom Song Pack, contact us at info@dancetown.us. Let us know what you would like and we will give you a price quote.

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Can I provide my own music?

Not right now. A song in Dancetown consists of a music file in .mp3 format, plus a stepfile in .sm format which defines the step sequence that dancers follow when dancing.

Dancetown's .sm files are similar to Stepmania .sm files, but have been modified in several ways, so they are not compatible with .sm files created with Stepmania's built-in authoring tools or other related tools such as DDReamstudio and DancingGorilla.

Future versions of Dancetown will provide a fully featured stepfile editor for you to use!

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Setting Up a Dancetown Program In Your Community