Are you ready for ANOTHER party?

Not just any party...

A New Year's Eve party?

TM3 Update - How well did you do?

Although it looks similar to how it did before (aside from that fancy new border around the banner, and the animations on the judgement names), the changes made to the evaluation screen today are under the hood, and fix some bugs in how the theme handles non-16:9 resolutions too.

Let's have a party.

Well, not just any party, of course. We're talking about a...

We made a Pinkie Promise last night to release something today, and nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise!

So what is it, you ask? It's your first real preview of TM III with six great songs, including some EDM-influenced progressive house, a stroll through Manehattan, a certain one-hit wonder in the hip-hop world, and to cap it off, another great Foozogz track. There's no theme or special StepMania distribution yet

So get your glow sticks cracked, and your RedOctanes on the floor (disclosure: the TrotMania dev team does not endorse any particular dance pad brand) , it's time to get back to dancing!

Download link after the jump...

Happy Nightmare Night!

Good news: it is now Halloween across roughly half of North America's time zones! It's time to dress like you're going to a comic con, walk up to other people's doors demanding free confectionery products ("Enough chit-chat! Time is candy!"), and, of course, party!

Unfortunately, when there's good news, there's always bad news. A series of complications, including us waiting for SM5 Beta 4 to come out (it did, but it also managed to break Swarm mode in the theme due to some strange bug me and Kyzentun helped uncover), and general busyness, has caused development of TM3 to lag a bit. I did, at some point, aim for a full-on release on October 31 (an appropriate date given the thematic of this version), but it has become clear that we're not going to reach that goal.

However, you are in luck; watch this space for a special Nightmare Night treat later tonight! What could it be? You'll have to wait and see. Also, one of the lead steppers for TrotMania has been working on another pony-related rhythm gaming project that you might like (it's also, however, another reason for the reduced level of work on TM3, but it's still good nonetheless), with an inital release set for November 1; we'll keep you posted on that too.

Or in simpler terms: you just want something to burn off the calories from that Nightmare Night candy, don't you? Just hold on a sec.

And we are also accepting new members of our stepping team too; if you think you have what it takes, inquire in the chat room. A staff member or two is usually lurking in it from time to time.

We're not dead

Oh, and I'm also fixing things up for SM5 Beta 4 too.

TM3 Preview: I meant to do this a LONG time ago.

Well that's an odd way of presenting scores.

TM3 Preview: Into the Night(ly)

Would you like to peek into the future? Well, there are Princess Luna-approved "nightly" builds (i.e. built from the source code's current state every day) of StepMania 5, and I have begun testing the TrotMania III theme with it to ensure the highest quality ponified dance game experience.

While it may look the same at first glance, there have been quite a few changes of interest under the hood for developers and theme creators. In particular, thanks to its more stringent error reporting, I now have a better idea of where things are going wrong, and exactly how much duct tape I need to use to fix it. There are also some new APIs here and there too.

However, there is one big user-facing change that you might like:

Check out those speed mods: no more having to select from presets! Now you can specify custom speed modifiers in the Options menu in increments of 1 or .25 - technology is incredible!

And also, for the second year in a row, you can play a TrotMania rig at GalaCon this weekend. I do not specifically know if BronyCAN or BronyCon have anything similar (someone on Twitter told me they did have some type of dance game at the latter; might have TM songs maybe), but I do know for a fact that maybe, just maybe, you may be able to give TrotMania III's new look a spin for yourself at GalaCon.

Sorry about the lack of updates lately

Yes, we are still working on things, but I, in particular, have been a bit busy lately too.

So, I would just like to say that the art contest is still on, and has been extended into August.

But seriously, I did mention that the prize is that you get your art featured in TM3, and you could possibly get to pick songs to be featured in it, right?

We have arrived.

There is just one more stop on the road to Las Pegasus, and one of the most highly anticipated music festivals in the entire country. The one festival that simply everypony wants to attend at least once (well, that is if they're even a fan of electronic music; although the Appleloosa Country Corral is pretty good too). It has gotten so big, that it has even received spin-offs held in different parts of Equestria. While its organizers consider them to be the appetizers, the fans eat it up just as much as the main course. Besides, what's the harm in holding a spin-off of a festival celebrating the summer solstice in the middle of spring?

The harm is that, if this event didn't exist, you wouldn't be going to Baltimare right now for the... 

ALICORN PARTY!

You just knew we were teasing something, right? Well, it's finally here. Chrystalize Append is an expansion to Chrystalize, created almost entirely by Dreamland200 (well, Dreamland200 did all the steps, but Lirodon did some of the art and courses too). This expansion has a theme; specifically, songs that were performed at the Bronypalooza concerts at BronyCon.

There are 25 songs in all, all of which feature single and doubles charts. Although it is considered an "expansion" to Chrystalize, it is essentially a standalone pack with its own folder, and even some of its own courses too (you can call it TrotMania 2.5, essentially). This will be the last TrotMania release until we begin to let a certain cat known as TMIII out of the bag...

Download links are after the jump, and will be added to the main download page later.

TrotMania Chrystalize Append Trailer

Just a little longer, guys! While we humans hype our concert tours with fake movie trailers, the ponies appear to be building up anticipation for their rave with a more conventional teaser. Check it out!

Rave-Off contest extended

Did you know that we are having an OC art contest for TrotMania III? Well, if you haven't, now's your chance! The prize? You'll be able to pick a few songs that will be featured in TM III!

You will also be pleased to note that it has been extended; the new due date is 11:59 p.m. EST on May 27, 2014! This will give you just a bit more time, especially if you have only just learned about said event.

And now for something completely different

Over the past few months, does it feel like we've been hyping something? If the answer to this particular question is "yes". then congratulations! You're on to us! And now, it's time for your reward...

There are just a few more stops on the road to Las Pegasus, and one of the most highly anticipated music festivals in the entire country. The one festival that simply everypony wants to attend at least once (well, that is if they're even a fan of electronic music; although the Appleloosa Country Corral is pretty good too). It has gotten so big, that it has even received spin-offs held in different parts of Equestria. While its organizers consider them to be the appetizers, the fans eat it up just as much as the main course. Besides, what's the harm in holding a spin-off of a festival celebrating the summer solstice in the middle of spring?

The harm is that, if this event didn't exist, you wouldn't be going to Baltimare right now for the...

Chrystalize: Extra Lv. 8 (FINAL UPDATE)

Credit: KyssS90

The time has come. All games strive for it, but only once every few months does a game reach...full ascension.

TrotMania Chrystalize has now officially completed its run along with sister project TrotMania Crusaders. Over 200 songs were introduced in the two games, and now finales for both projects are available to play!

TM3 Preview: Setting the Scene

So, here's what I've been working on lately, theme-wise. Okay, actually, what you see here only scratches the surface of what I've been working on lately. The real meat and potatoes are the stuff you are not seeing here, including Tesselode's awesome music (it sets the scene perfectly), some fit and finish tweaks to existing areas of the theme, and tailoring its appearance for certain states, such as extra stage mode and, dun dun daaaaah~

...course mode.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

We had to put some advertising on the site to pay some bills. Don't worry, we've ensured that our ad provider keeps things non-intrusive. Just, try not to click on them, okay?

edit: Okay, I saw your complaints, and re-arranged the offending ad placements. Is this better?

Also I'm going to try and get in contact with FlamSoft; for some reason it thinks TrotMania is spyware.

edit 2: That's it. Never using FlimMarketing ever again.

Also, notice what day it is.

Chrystalize: Extra Lv. 7

~We've come such a long, long way / and we've got lots of the simfiles to play~

Finally, we have released the penultimate patch for TrotMania Chrystalize, and it's one of the biggest yet! 20 popular licenses for Crusaders, including several that made the year-end Billboard charts, 8 BEMANI songs including the first 3 full contributions by new step artist John Peck, and 3 brand new songs for Chrystalize along with the Extra Stage songs from last patch available in full! We also have arranged oodles of new courses, finished up 1st, 2nd, and 5th MIX's current rosters, and have even added several songs from the legendary DanceDanceRevolution MAX! Full details past the break, and remember to get the patch in the Downloads page up in the menu bar!

TrotMania III "Rave-Off" Art Contest (RE-OPENED)

Edit: Due to an overall lack of publicity/entries many of us being sidetracked by other things, and the like, I forgot to actually adknowledge whether the contest is open or not. This contest is still open, and has been extended to the end of August.

TrotMania III is going to be quite special. Among other things, it's the third version (duh)! But actually, the real reason, is that we're going to give you all a chance to be a part of it in a unique way. And for that, we've decided to have an art contest. But it's not just any art contest, it's a pure RAVE OFF!

Aeternum Obscurum Preview: The Theme

So it's about time that I begin to show you what I have been working on, design-wise, for TrotMania III: Aeternum Obscurum. The design of TM III comes with influence from several concepts and themes that have, surprisingly, fit well together. Primarily, I'm trying to make this one be partly Luna/Nightmare Moon-themed; hence, it's at night, blues are the prevalent color scheme, and certain elements are designed to have a sort of "mythological" look to them. EDM and rave culture will also serve as an influence for TM III as a whole; hence there is quite a bit of neon, lasers, and sparkly stuff too. I'm also using more animated elements to make the design feel more "alive" too.

You may have also noticed the "black vines" from the most recent season premiere are part of the look here and there. It's an, ahem, unique combination, but I'm trying to make it work, because there's a reason for their presence (aside from the addition of teal to counter the blues). Plus, the vines aren't the only thing from S4/E1 and 2 that will be prominent here, just you wait!

Now, obviously, this is still a WIP,. Everything is subject to change. Check out the teaser images here, and if you have any comments, suggestions, ideas, etc., please let me know! Oh, and also, we will also be holding an art contest soon that will give you (yes you) a chance to have your characters featured in TM III (either on the menu screens, result screens, etc.). Stay tuned for more information

-Lirodon