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StepMania Online
StepMania Online is a multiplayer gaming service for the popular dance rhythm game simulator, StepMania, which recreates the Dance Dance Revolution experience on personal computers. The service enables players to connect over a network, compete in real time, and share gameplay data. The community-driven platform is primarily used for organizing multiplayer dance rhythm game sessions and tournaments..
StepMania Online operates as an unofficial networking layer built around the open-source StepMania software to facilitate real-time multiplayer sessions. The service allows synchronization of score data, song choices, and player statuses during gameplay. Communication typically occurs via custom protocols layered on standard networking sockets, designed to minimize latency and maintain responsive gameplay dynamics.
The choice of port 24842 is unofficial and primarily intended to avoid conflicts with registered or standardized port assignments. It functions by relaying game states, commands, and chat messages between connected clients and optionally dedicated servers. Since the port use is unofficial, client-server communication may depend heavily on community-developed features without formal documentation or support.
Support for networking protocols is heavily dependent on the game version and community server implementation, which generally rely on TCP or UDP sockets, though for StepMania Online in particular neither protocol is standardized or always active on this port. This can lead to discrepancies in firewall allowances or NAT traversal requirements, complicating configuration for some players.