Cascade
Cascade and ArrowVortex compared
ArrowVortex is a free Windows editor for StepMania simfiles, and the tool many StepMania and Etterna charters already know. Cascade is a free editor built around osu!mania that runs in the browser and as a desktop app, and it also opens and saves StepMania files. They overlap, but they are built for different games, so the better choice depends on what you chart for.
What each one is built for
| Cascade | ArrowVortex | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | osu!mania | StepMania simfiles |
| Runs on | Any modern browser, or the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux | Windows |
| Opens | .osz, .osu, .sm, .ssc, .qua, .mc, .mcz | StepMania simfiles |
| Saves | .osu, .osz, .sm, .qua, .mcz | StepMania simfiles |
When ArrowVortex is the better tool
If you chart for StepMania itself, stay with ArrowVortex. StepMania has
note types osu!mania doesn't, such as mines, rolls, lifts and fakes,
and Cascade can't place them. Opening a simfile in Cascade turns rolls
into ordinary holds and leaves mines, lifts and fakes out, and Cascade
saves .sm but not .ssc.
When Cascade may suit you better
- You map for osu!mania first: scroll velocity, hitsounds, osu! export and the AiMod-style checks are built in.
- You're on macOS, Linux or a Chromebook: there are desktop builds for macOS and Linux, and the editor also runs in the browser with nothing to install.
- You want one chart in several games: the same map saves as
.osu,.sm, Quaver.quaand Malody.mcz(see converting to StepMania, Quaver and Malody). - You chart for Etterna: Cascade shows each difficulty's MSD skillset ratings while you map.
- You map with others: live sessions let several people edit one map at once, and you can playtest it in the browser.
Moving a chart from StepMania to Cascade
- Drop the
.smor.ssc(with its song) onto Cascade. - Taps and holds come across as they are. BPM changes become red lines, and stops are kept by shifting the notes after them. Rolls become holds; mines, lifts and fakes are left out.
- Check the timing with the BPM and offset tools if the simfile's offset looks off.
Saving back to StepMania
Cascade writes .sm for 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 keys. Notes are
placed on StepMania's grid of 192 steps per beat, so a note can move by
a millisecond or two. Scroll velocity and hitsounds have no place in a
.sm and are left out, and the check before export tells you
about any difficulty with a key count StepMania can't hold.