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maimai DX BUDDiES

Please make sure you downloaded your data from an appropriate source.
This guide is unable to troubleshoot any problems related to bad or poorly managed data.

If you're coming from a previous version of maimai DX

Create a new folder for the game and start from scratch. maimai DX DOES NOT like being extracted over old data!

Preparing data

There are currently issues with running game data in the E:\ or Y:\ drive.
Please extract the data into other drives.

After downloading and extracting your data, we need to make sure your files are not set to Read-only.

  • Right click the folder containing your data, then click on Properties.
  • In the General tab go down to Attributes, untick Read-only and click Apply.
  • A popup will appear, select Apply changes to this folder, subfolder and filesand press OK.
  • Finally, click OK again to exit out of properties.

You should end up with a file structure as follows.

Create two new empty folders named appdata and amfs (and the folder option if not present) next to them as shown below:

The App folder should have a file structure as follows.

If your data doesn't look like this

If your data looks like the third image:

  • Create an App folder and move all files and folders from the image inside of it.
  • Create empty folders named amfs, Option and AppData next to the App folder.

If extra files are present next to your folders, such as executables, scripts, etc.. remove them. This also means your data was tampered with and we strongly recommend getting new data from somewhere else.

Installing ICFs

Install Configuration Files (ICFs) tell the game what version it is. Without this your game cannot go online!

If your amfs folder already has filesICF1 and ICF2, skip this step.

Otherwise, obtain copies of ICF1 for your game version and place it in the amfs folder. If it is named something else, rename it to exactly ICF1 without any file extensions. ICF2 is a copy of ICF1.

Showing File Extensions

By default, file extensions on Windows are hidden. Enable them by navigating to the View tab in File Explorer and select File name extensions.

Installing Unprotected Executables

maimai DX executables are protected and will not run on a regular computer.

Obtained unprotected (also called "unpacked" or "decrypted" by the community) copies of the following files and the associated configuration file:

  • amdaemon.exe
  • Sinmai.exe
  • Sinmai_Data/Plugins/amdaemon_api.dll
  • Sinmai_Data/Plugins/Cake.dll
  • Sinmai_Data/Managed/AMDaemon.NET.dll
  • Sinmai_Data/Managed/Assembly-CSharp.dll
  • mai2.ini or maimaiDX.ini

Copy the files and folders into the App/Package folder of your game data. Agree to overwrite when asked.

Assembly-CSharp Notes

Assembly-CSharp.dll must match your game version. All others can be reused from other game versions. If these were not provided with your data, join the Discord for assistance.

Assembly-CSharp.dll must also contain mai2.ini or maimaiDX.ini. These configuration files are specific to the unprotected Assembly-CSharp.dll. If your package does not contain a configuration file, please create one with the following to bypass hardware checks on game startup:

[AM]
Target=0
IgnoreError=1
DummyTouchPanel=1
DummyLED=1
DummyCodeCamera=1
DummyPhotoCamera=1

[Sound]
Sound8Ch=0

[Patches]
EnablePatchLog=1

If the assembly supports it, App/Package/dpPatchLog.log lists supported patches after the first run. Otherwise see Custom Mods

Installing Segatools

  • Head over to segatools releases and download the latest segatools.zip. Do not download the source code.
  • Extracting the archive should give you a few more zip files. Find mai2.zip and extract it to the App/Package folder in your game data.

You should now have a few more files inside the App/Package folder, as highlighted:

Configuring Segatools

Since there is no graphical configuration tool for segatools, you will have to edit the configuration file by hand. It is found in App/Package/segatools.ini.

It is recommended that you follow along using a text editor with syntax highlighting such as Notepad++.

Each following sub-section will correspond to a section in segatools.ini. If any section is not mentioned, you can skip them.

Warning

If a key already exists in the section, delete everything after = and replace it with your setting. Do not add another key. Example:

[system]
dipsw2=1
dipsw2=1 ; WRONG!

[vfs]

If you've been matching the file structure as described in the Preparing data section, you can fill in this section with the values below:

[vfs]
amfs=../../amfs
option=../../option
appdata=../../appdata

[dns]

Game will not pass checks unless you modify the dns:

[dns]
default=YOUR_IPv4_ADDRESS
Finding Your IPv4 Address

Open a command promt. Type ipconfig and look for the IPv4 Address. Place those digits here otherwise you will get stuck on the DNS(LAN) check.

Pre-launch requirements

These steps are required, otherwise your game won't run.

VCRedist & DirectX

Audio

  • Right-click on the volume setting in your taskbar and select Sounds.
  • Navigate to the Playback tab, right click on your default audio device, and click on Properties.
  • Go to the Advanced tab.
  • Check both boxes under Exclusive Mode.
  • Open the Default Format dropdown.
  • Pick either 16 bit, 48000Hz (DVD Quality) or 24 bit, 48000Hz (Studio Quality), click Apply, then OK.

Fixing OpenSSL on Intel 10th Gen and newer CPUs

If you have an Intel 10th Gen CPU or newer, right click App/Package/start.bat, select Edit, and add the highlighted line to the top of the file.

@echo off
set OPENSSL_ia32cap=:~0x20000000

pushd %~dp0
...

Test Launch

If you have any issues running the game, refer to the Troubleshooting page.

Please Disconnect any Hardware including Controllers or Card Readers at this time.

Tip

Without an English patch, the service menu will be in Japanese. If you don't know Japanese, Google Lens is a handy tool for navigating this menu.

Game Settings

If you've followed all instructions correctly, you are ready to launch the game!

Start the game by running App/Package/start.bat. You should see a terminal pop-up with the following:

Another window titled Sinmai is the actual game. It should pause on Search for Distribution Servers:

Use the following keyboard controls F1 = Test/Enter and c = down to do the following:

  • Press F1 to enter the service menu
  • Press c a few times to navigate to Game Settings or ゲーム設定 as shown below:

  • Press F1 to enter the menu. Press c to navigate to the top option and toggle to OFF using F1. You should see the following:

  • Press ESC to exit. Close all associated windows including CMD, AMDaemon, and Sinmai. Relaunch with start.bat and the game should boot into guest mode.

Connecting to a Network

Please choose one of the two solutions, not both!

Remote (Online Network)

Head to the [dns] section inside segatools.ini. Set default to the address provided by your network. Do not add http:// or https:// to the address!

[dns]
default=network.example

Then, head to the [keychip] section and add & set id to the keychip ID provided by your network:

[keychip]
subnet=192.168.172.0
id=A69E-XXXXXXXXXXX

Finally, you need a card number. Create a file named aime.txt inside App/Package/DEVICE and type in your 20-digit access code if you already have one, or make one up if you don't. If you're making one up, the access code MUST NOT start with a 3.

Local (ARTEMiS/AquaDX)

Both of these options require non-trivial setup. Refer to the official guides for ARTEMiS and AquaDX to set up a local server.

Further Configuration

Updating the Base Game

Extract your patch's files to your existing data in a way that matches its file structure. Agree to overwrite files if necessary.

Only update if an unencrypted Assembly-CSharp.dll is available

Installing Option Data

maimai DX content updates are distributed through option folders instead of patching the base game. They are named with a letter followed by three numbers. Each release increments the letter (ie. BUDDiES is H??? and BUDDiES+ is I???).

Extract any options you've downloaded into the option folder. You should end up with a file structure as follows. Do not be worried if you have fewer or more option folders.

Do not mix option data between versions

Custom Mods

Please use BepInEx to load all mods including MelonLoader and MonoMods

Mods have historically been hardcoded into the unprotected Assembly-CSharp.dll which the user can enable/disable with the mai2.ini or maimaiDX.ini configuration. The modern approach is to use BepInEx to load custom mods without hardmodding the Assembly-CSharp file.

To enable BepInEx, download the BepInEx stable release, extract the BepInEx folder to the App/Package folder, and modify segatools.ini with the following:

[unity]
enable=1
targetAssembly=BepInEx\core\BepInEx.Preloader.dll

Some maimai DX mods are only compatible with BepInEx 5.4.22

Controllers and Troubleshooting

Input methods and controllers are covered in the Controllers page.

Have any other issues?

Check out the Troubleshooting and Error Codes pages.