Bemuse server: Images, BGA, music preview

This post is for people who runs Bemuse servers.

Bemuse does not support normal BMS image tags. But it supports:

• Eyecatch image (1280x720 PNG)
• Background image (1280x720 PNG)
• Preview music (MP3)
• BGA (720p WebM/MP4)

Why not support normal BMS tags?

The formats usually used in BMS is not suitable for web consumption.

• Eyecatch images #STAGEFILE and background images #BACKBMP are usually BMP files.
• BGA are usually WMV, MPG, and AVI files. These file types are proprietary and not widely supported on web browsers.

Bemuse’s limitations

• These images, movies and previews are per-song. All BMS files will use the same image.

Let’s customize Bemuse server!

For this example, I am going to use LeaF’s song about flower.

At first, the server looks like this:

Add an eyecatch image

Add a file named eyecatch_image.png.

Bemuse will now display an eyecatch image while loading song.

Add a background image

Add a file named back_image.png.

Bemuse will now display an background image when playing.

Add a BGA

Add a BGA file:

Create a text file called README.md.

And put in:

---
video_file: BGA.mp4
video_offset: 1.268
---

• video_file is the name of your video file.
• video_offset is when to start playing the video.

Save the file and run bemuse-tools index again.

Refresh the game (you may have to clear the cache). BGA should work now!

Note: I recommend using the WebM format with size 1280x720 and bitrate of 2000kbps.

Add a preview music

1. Convert the BMS into a WAV file (don’t forget to normalize to prevent clipping).

2. Use Audacity with ReplayGain Plugin.

3. Open the WAV file in Audacity.

4. Effect → ReplayGain → Normalize with adjusted output of 4 dB.

   

5. Cut the track to 30 seconds.

6. Apply Fade in at to the first 0.5 seconds.

7. Apply Fade out at the last 3 seconds.

   

8. Export the file to _bemuse_preview.mp3 with bitrate of 128kbps.

   

Now, you should hear the music preview!