Custom Music Guide

As of the end of Steptember 2022 update, BPM: Bullets Per Minute now officially supports replacing the in-game soundtrack with custom music tracks. This guide will use the official video guide from the Awe Interactive YouTube channel and replicate it into a Steam Guide.

Intro - Preparation

This is going to be a transcribed and re-organized Steam Guide version of the official video guide on the BPM YouTube channel. Last update as of September 27th, 2022. Keep in mind that at this time, there are some known quirks with the import process, and they may be resolved in the future after installing newer patches.

BPM: Bullets Per Minute supports variable tempos, although it is recommended to keep the range of tempo somewhere between the similar range of the original soundtrack's, which is 70-90 Beats Per Minute. Theoretically, the custom music mode can support between 60 and 120 Beats Per Minute.

In addition, the music should be truncated to naturally fit with the metronome, especially when the song recycles, and it should be preserved as lossless as possible. Use the music format .wav instead of .mp3 whenever possible.

Step 1 - Audacity

Audacity will be used to edit and export desired custom music tracks as necessary.

Drag the music file into Audacity. Make sure Audacity can read and preview the track.

Step 2 - Track Tempo

Find the Beats Per Minute, or tempo, of the custom music track.

Use Audacity to generate a metronome, or click track.

Right-click in the background around the imported track, and add Mono Track.

On the top menu, go to Generate, then Rhythm Track.

Change the Tempo (bpm) in the dialog box.

If you don't know the Beats Per Minute of a song, search for it in a database like this one: TuneBat[tunebat.com].

If you cannot find the Beats Per Minute in a database, use this helpful tool: BPM Counters[www.bpmcounters.com] to calculate the Beats Per Minute. Simply press a key as the song plays, the value becomes more accurate the longer it's used.

Adjust the Number of bars to make the click track long enough to capture the entire song.

BPM: Bullets Per Minute starts the beat as soon as the music plays. Most custom music will not be in time at the start.

Use the move tool to move the music track to line up with the beat on the metronome track. Zoom in to ensure it's lined up as close as possible.

When the music track is lined up, it can be locked from further movement, and the metronome track can be deleted. Audacity can then export the track for BPM: Bullets Per Minute.

Potential Issues

Wrong Tempo

If the wrong tempo is used to generate the click track, the custom track may be in time at the start, but will drift out of sync as it continues to play.

Not Recorded To Metronome

If the music was never originally recorded to a metronome, or if it has a variable tempo, the track as-is is not compatible with BPM: Bullets Per Minute. Try a specific segment of the music track that has a consistent tempo.

Step 3 - Export Track

In the File menu of Audacity, go to Export, then Export as WAV.

The file name must end with the tempo, i.e., "My Music 80bpm".

Step 4 - Add Track/s To BPM Directory

Open the directory where BPM: Bullets Per Minute is installed. It is usually placed in "${STEAMLIBRARY}/steamapps/common/BPM: Bullets Per Minute", but you can check by Right-Clicking on the title in your Steam Library, then Manage, then Open Local Files.

Go to the folder "WindowsNoEditor/BPM/CustomSoundtrack".

Place the music track desired for a specific level in its respective level folder.

The Default folder is one global folder for all music. As a stage begins, BPM: Bullets Per Minute chooses a song in the Default folder at random and loops the track until you progress to the next level.

Step 5 - Enable Custom Music

To enable Custom Music for the first time, in the game's main menu, go to:

Settings > Audio > Custom Music

and toggle this option to On.

Complete!

That's it!

[D󠀡󠇩ank⁧󠀡lord]

what does it mean if the game is frozen while loading a Default song? but the game hasn't crashed, it just hangs