EKS-D ParaMania

WHAT IS PARAMANIA?

EKS-D ParaMania is a music and rhythm, dance game inspired by the ParaParaParadise arcade and PlayStation 2 games released in 2000. ParaMania is built on top Project OutFox and offers unique features not available in the original ParaParaParadise games. For the full experience, the official Konami PlayStation 2 controller for ParaParaParadise is supported.


SCREENSHOTS


GAME CONTENT

After downloading, installing, and starting up EKS-D ParaMania, you may be wondering, “Where are all the songs and dances?!” Much like the DLC in many mainstream video games, songs must be downloaded and added to the program. These song packs, simfiles, or stepcharts (as they may be called) can come from a number of sources online, or can be created by individual players.

Some of the best places to find new game content are in the online parapara, eurobeat, StepMania, Project OutFox, ParaStar, or ParaMania communities. Ask around, or share your creations and you’ll have a collection of songs before you know it!

If you are interested in creating your own simfiles, we encourage you to check out our Best Practices Guide for simfile creation.


SOCIAL

Hopefully you are enjoying ParaMania, or perhaps you want to find out more. Want to to learn about making your own song packs or share your favorites? Or would you like to meet some fellow parapara enthusiasts. Join our community on one of the following platforms:

or check out our sister project


DOWNLOAD PARAMANIA

Required Downloads:

Targeted Vers.: 5.3 Alpha 4.9.10 (2021/08/27)

 KNOWN ISSUES: 
  • Unintended behavior when using Rates other than default (1.0x)
  • (If these features are critical to you, you may choose to use Project OutFox version 5.3 Alpha 4.9.0 at the cost of overall game stability)
    • Preview video on the song selection screen does not play back at the same rate at the preview audio
    • [OutFox Issue #422] Lyrics do not scroll at the correct speed during game play
  • [OutFox Issue #640] Songs end early when using Project OutFox versions Alpha 0.4.14 and above.

  • ParaMania experiences multiple known crashes and bugs in Project OutFox Alpha V builds. We do not yet recommend using ParaMania with these builds.

Latest Vers.: Alpha 3.5 (2021/07/17)

 ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** 

Please keep in mind that both Project OutFox and EKS-D ParaMania are still in active development. If you encounter unusual behavior or game crashes, please check the TeamRizu / OutFox Issue Tracker before reporting issues to Team EKS-D.

Suggested Add-Ons:

  EKS-D  
[a unique, EKS-D ParaMania noteskin] v1

1stMix
[inspired by ParaParaParadise PS2/1st Mix Arcade] v2

2ndMix
[inspired by ParaParaParadise 2nd Mix Arcade] v2

Extra Goodies:


INSTALLATION

 ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** 

If you are updating the EKS-D ParaMania Theme or Project OutFox to a new version, be sure to uninstall it and delete the Appearance/Themes folder in the installation directory before installing the next build, or install it in a separate directory. In-place upgrades between versions may create conflicts that lead to issues running the game. Before uninstalling, be sure to back up your Songs folder to prevent any accidental loss of content.

Download and run the installer for Project OutFox. We suggest installing Project OutFox in portable mode. To ensure everything functions at its best, please make sure to install the targeted version of Project OutFox that is listed with the download link above.

Before starting the program, unzip the EKS-D ParaMania Theme to the following folder:

  • <OUTFOX_PROGRAM_FOLDER>
    • Appearance
      • Themes
        • eks-d
          [extracted from the downloaded .7z file]

Add any downloaded noteskins to your setup. Place noteskin folders in the following location:

  • <OUTFOX_PROGRAM_FOLDER>
    • Appearance
      • NoteSkins
        • para
          • <noteskin_1>
          • <noteskin_2>
          • <…>

SETUP & CONFIGURATION

Upon loading Project OutFox for the first time, there are a few settings you will need to adjust to enjoy EKS-D ParaMania. On the initial launch, Project OutFox will prompt you to select a game type. Select para from the available options and press ENTER.

Load the program and enter the Options menu. Navigate to the User Experience > Appearance Options menu and select EKS-D ParaMania from the available options under the Theme heading, then scroll to the bottom of the list and select Exit. The program interface will restart and load into EKS-D ParaMania.

Next enter the Options menu and select Quick Options. This is where you will find most of the key options you may wish to adjust for ParaMania. The ideal target display settings for ParaMania are Aspect Ratio: 16:9 widescreen, Display Resolution: 1280×720 or higher. We also highly recommend turning Off the Harsh Max Life Penalty option. Once you have adjusted the settings to your liking, select Exit from the bottom of the menu to apply your changes.

 ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** 

Players who wish to use the official Konami PlayStation 2 controller for ParaParaParadise will need to make sure the HIDAPI option is selected under the Old Joystick Mapping heading. This is required for the game to properly recognize the inputs from ParaParaParadise controller and some older PC controllers. Modern controllers (such as Xbox controllers) may need this option set to XInput instead. Try toggling this option if the program does not recognize your controller inputs properly.
AFTER CHANGING THIS OPTION, THE PROGRAM MUST BE FULLY RESTARTED FOR THE CHANGE TO TAKE EFFECT!

Lastly, navigate to the Input menu option. Here you will be able to assign the keys you wish to use for game play in the Config Key/Joy Mappings (General) and Map Controller (XInput) menus.

If you will be using a Konami ParaParaParadise controller with ParaMania, please refer to our ParaParaParadise Controller Setup & Calibration Video Tutorial for a detailed guide.

PPP Controller Setup & Calibration