Introduction
Thank you for downloading BMZ Player. This page explains what BMS is and what you need to start playing.
If you have used LR2 or beatoraja before, you can get started faster with Moving from LR2 or beatoraja.
What is BMS?
BMS is a chart format for rhythm games. Charts are made and published by the community. With BMS, these three parts are distributed separately:
| Part | What it is | In BMZ Player |
|---|---|---|
| Player | The software that loads and plays charts | This is BMZ Player |
| Songs (BMS) | The audio and chart files for each song | Download them yourself and register the folder |
| Skins | The screen design | Several skins are bundled. You can add others you like |
Well-known players include LR2 (Lunatic Rave 2) and beatoraja. BMZ Player aims to succeed them. It can use beatoraja skins and import your LR2 and beatoraja scores.
Please follow these rules
- Do not play copyrighted content without permission, such as data extracted from commercial rhythm games.
- Songs and skins are published for free by their creators. Follow each creator's terms for redistribution and modification.
What you need
- BMZ Player: available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. See Setup for how to get it and start it.
- Songs (BMS): BMZ Player includes only one sample song for testing. Download the songs you want to play.
- A keyboard or controller: you can play with a keyboard alone. Dedicated controllers and gamepads are also supported.
Skins are bundled, so you do not need to prepare one right away.
Supported charts
| Type | Keys |
|---|---|
| BMS (.bms / .bme / .bml) | 5 keys, 7 keys, 10 keys (5-key double), 14 keys (7-key double) |
| PMS (.pms) | 9 buttons |
| BMSON (.bmson) | The same key counts as BMS |
| Other | 4-key, 6-key, and 8-key BMS are also supported |
Songs distributed as ZIP, RAR, or 7z archives can be loaded without extracting them.
How to read this manual
If you are new, we recommend reading in this order:
- Setup: set up songs, difficulty tables, key bindings, and timing step by step.
- Basic controls: controls for song select, gameplay, and the result screen.
- Play options: what gauges, arrangements, and hi-speed mean.
If something does not work, see Troubleshooting. For unfamiliar terms, see the Glossary.