TXT file format

TXT file format

This is a list of all the tags the ultrastar file format supports, We have add a “√” on the tags usdb.eu supports on the moment of editting. Have you seen a error or do you have more information, contact us.

song information

√#TITLE (text)
Title of the song
√#ARTIST (text)
Name of the artist of the song
√#GENRE (text)
The genre of the song. As UltraStar has a ‘sort by genre’ option, it’s a useful tag to use. That, and the search option uses the word(s) in the #GENRE tag when you’re on the song selection screen, so you can automatically find all ‘rock’ songs, for example, if you use this tag.
#EDITION (text)
Typically refers to the SingStar edition, if applicable, that the .txt file is taken from. For organisational purposes, it’s good to leave this tag in.
√#LANGUAGE (text)
The language the song is in.
#ALBUM (text)
Sometimes used to specify the origin/version of the song.
#YEAR (number)
Year the song is released.
#COMPOSER (text)
.

Technical information

√#RELATIVE
This is an unusual tag that I will talk about later. It is simply set to YES or NO. If it is set to YES, then it specifies a particular format of .txt file that functions in a different way to a typical .txt file. If the tag is absent, or is set to NO, then the .txt file functions as the others do. It is essential for this tag to be applied on a relative .txt file (these are rare. If you find one on USDB then the tag will be readily applied anyway).
```
useb.eu will always convert relative songs to the typical version
```
√#CREATOR && #AUTHOR (text)
The maker of the TXT file
#VERSION
~~#ENCODING~~
Is used to specify the file encoding (mostly obsolete?)
#LENGTH
√#START (seconds)
The seconds ultrastar needs to skip (the intro or something).
#END (in beats)
#ID
√#USDB (number)
The id of the sonfile on usdb.eu.
#SOURCE (url)
Is used to provide a URL to a video.
#COMMENT (text)
Is used to provide any kind of comment (e.g. “Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Serbia” or “Top Gun Soundtrack” or whatever)
#ARTIST-ON-SORTING and #TITLE-ON-SORTING
where used to achieve a certain sorting behavior for specific songs (e.g. non-ascii letters in artist/title), not sure if this was only used in USDX CMD or also in other versions

Music file

√#MP3 (filename)
The name of the MP3 being used for this song. Must have a .mp3 extension included here
√#GAP (milliseconds)
The amount of time, in milliseconds, before the lyrics start. This allows for any instrumental (or other type of) introduction to the song. It is important to note the number of the first note below. If it is not 0 (which is rare) then the #GAP will be less straightforward. If the lyrics aren’t set to start until 8 beats into the song, but the singing starts straight away, then the #GAP may need to be set to a negative number, to force the lyrics to start early.
```
USDB.eu will always set the first note to 0
```
√#BPM (number)
Beats per minute. This signifies the rate at which the text should display. Put simply, fast songs have a higher BPM, slow songs have a lower BPM. To complicate it slightly, the BPM can be upped for slower songs as long as more beats are added in the main body of the song below. If the BPM of a song is high then it generally means a good, smooth .txt file with more attention to subtle changes in tone. But if that means nothing to you, then you don’t need to worry about this tag. If it is a good .txt file, then it won’t need changing.
#VOCALS (filename)
If you have a instrumental version put at #MP3 you can add the vocals audio file here.

Duet

#CALCMEDLEY (ON/OFF)
determined the behavior (of USDX CMD, I believe) if a medley section was to be calculated automatically or not (if no medley tags present)
#MEDLEYSTARTBEAT
Determines that start beat of the medley section.
#MEDLEYENDBEAT
Determines that end beat of the medley section.
√#P1,#P2 or #DUETSINGERP1,#DUETSINGERP2 (Text)
The name of the singers

Video file

√#VIDEO (filename)
The name of the video file used for this song. Must have the file extension included out of the many types of video file that UltraStar accepts.
#VIDEOGAP
√#PREVIEWSTART
States the time in seconds as to where the song preview should start playing (in song selection screen).
#RESOLUTION
#VIDEOASPECT (1,2,3,4)
The aspect ratio of the video file

Media

√#COVER
Typically the single/album art appropriate for the song, to be displayed on the song selection screen. This is not necessary but it does brighten up the look of the game (and makes certain songs identifiable when not selected). This must be in .jpg format and the .jpg extension must be displayed here.
√#BACKGROUND
If you don’t have a video file, then you may prefer to have a background image displayed instead of a plain background or visualization. This must be in .jpg format and should have the .jpg extension attached. If the song is set to have a #VIDEO file and is linked in properly, then this tag is disregarded. If the .txt is set to have a #VIDEO but the video is not linked in properly for whatever reason, then the game will automatically display the background image.