diff --git a/R/view-step-manual.R b/R/view-step-manual.R
index 0391b72..c7b95e7 100644
--- a/R/view-step-manual.R
+++ b/R/view-step-manual.R
@@ -44,10 +44,9 @@ ViewStepManual <- ggproto('ViewStepManual', ViewStep,
     step_length <- rep(params$step_length, length.out = nsteps)
     pause_length <- rep(params$pause_length, length.out = nsteps)
     if (!params$pause_first) {
-      pause_length <- c(0, pause_length)
-      step_length <- c(step_length, 0)
-      if (!params$wrap) pause_length[length(pause_length)] <- 0
-    } else if (!params$wrap) {
+      pause_length <- c(0, head(pause_length, -1))
+    }
+    if (!params$wrap) {
       step_length[length(step_length)] <- 0
     }
     params$step_length <- step_length
@@ -55,9 +54,7 @@ ViewStepManual <- ggproto('ViewStepManual', ViewStep,
     params
   },
   train = function(self, data, params) {
-    nframes <- params$nframes
-    if (params$wrap) nframes <- nframes + 1
-    frames <- distribute_frames(params$pause_length, params$step_length, nframes)
+    frames <- distribute_frames(params$pause_length, params$step_length, params$nframes)
     params$windows <- vec_rbind0(
       params$windows,
       params$windows[rep(1, length(frames$static_length) - nrow(params$windows) + 1), , drop = FALSE]
@@ -73,7 +70,7 @@ ViewStepManual <- ggproto('ViewStepManual', ViewStep,
       }
     }
     frame_ranges <- frame_ranges[seq_len(params$nframes), , drop = FALSE]
-    frame_ranges$.frame <- (seq_len(nrow(frame_ranges)) + round(params$delay * frames$mod)) %% params$nframes
+    frame_ranges$.frame <- ((seq_len(nrow(frame_ranges)) -1L) + round(params$delay * frames$mod)) %% params$nframes
     frame_ranges <- frame_ranges[order(frame_ranges$.frame), ]
     params$frame_ranges <- frame_ranges
     params
diff --git a/R/view-step.R b/R/view-step.R
index 6551198..9bce405 100644
--- a/R/view-step.R
+++ b/R/view-step.R
@@ -94,10 +94,10 @@ ViewStep <- ggproto('ViewStep', View,
     pause_length <- rep(params$pause_length, length.out = nsteps)
     look_ahead <- rep(params$look_ahead, length.out = nsteps)
     if (!params$pause_first) {
-      pause_length <- c(0, pause_length)
-      step_length <- c(step_length, 0)
-      look_ahead <- c(look_ahead, look_ahead[1])
-      if (!params$wrap) pause_length[length(pause_length)] <- 0
+      pause_length <- c(0, pause_length[-length(pause_length)])
+      if (!params$wrap) {
+        step_length[length(step_length)] <- 0
+      }
     } else if (!params$wrap) {
       step_length[length(step_length)] <- 0
     }
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ ViewStep <- ggproto('ViewStep', View,
       }
     }
     frame_ranges <- frame_ranges[frame_ranges$.frame <= params$nframes, ]
-    frame_ranges$.frame <- (frame_ranges$.frame + round(params$delay * frames$mod)) %% params$nframes
+    frame_ranges$.frame <- ((frame_ranges$.frame - 1L) + round(params$delay * frames$mod)) %% params$nframes
     frame_ranges <- frame_ranges[order(frame_ranges$.frame), ]
     params$frame_ranges <- frame_ranges
     params
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-view-step-manual.R b/tests/testthat/test-view-step-manual.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e712a31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-view-step-manual.R
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Helper: create a 2-window ViewStepManual object and run setup_params
+step_manual_params <- function(wrap, pause_first) {
+  vsm <- view_step_manual(
+    wrap = wrap, pause_first = pause_first,
+    xmin = c(1, 4), xmax = c(7, 7), ymin = 0, ymax = 2.5
+  )
+  vsm$setup_params(NULL, vsm$params)
+}
+
+# --- Phase structure (setup_params) ---
+# Each phase is a (pause, step) pair. pause_length and step_length should
+# reflect the minimum number of phases needed for the given wrap/pause_first.
+
+test_that("wrap=FALSE pause_first=FALSE produces 2 phases: transition then pause", {
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = FALSE, pause_first = FALSE)
+  expect_equal(p$pause_length, c(0, 1))
+  expect_equal(p$step_length,  c(1, 0))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=FALSE pause_first=TRUE produces 2 phases: pause-transition then pause", {
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = FALSE, pause_first = TRUE)
+  expect_equal(p$pause_length, c(1, 1))
+  expect_equal(p$step_length,  c(1, 0))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=TRUE pause_first=FALSE produces 2 phases: transition then pause+transition", {
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = TRUE, pause_first = FALSE)
+  expect_equal(p$pause_length, c(0, 1))
+  expect_equal(p$step_length,  c(1, 1))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=TRUE pause_first=TRUE produces 2 phases: both with transitions for wrap", {
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = TRUE, pause_first = TRUE)
+  expect_equal(p$pause_length, c(1, 1))
+  expect_equal(p$step_length,  c(1, 1))
+})
+
+# --- Frame allocation (distribute_frames) ---
+# nframes chosen to divide cleanly across phases (no rounding artefacts).
+
+test_that("wrap=FALSE pause_first=FALSE: frames split equally between transition and pause", {
+  # total weight = 2, nframes = 100 -> 50 frames each
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = FALSE, pause_first = FALSE)
+  frames <- gganimate:::distribute_frames(p$pause_length, p$step_length, 100)
+  expect_equal(frames$static_length,     c(0,  50))
+  expect_equal(frames$transition_length, c(50,  0))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=FALSE pause_first=TRUE: frames split equally across pause, transition, pause", {
+  # total weight = 3, nframes = 99 -> 33 frames each
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = FALSE, pause_first = TRUE)
+  frames <- gganimate:::distribute_frames(p$pause_length, p$step_length, 99)
+  expect_equal(frames$static_length,     c(33, 33))
+  expect_equal(frames$transition_length, c(33,  0))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=TRUE pause_first=FALSE: frames split equally across transition, pause, transition", {
+  # total weight = 3, nframes = 99 -> 33 frames each; no trailing w1 pause
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = TRUE, pause_first = FALSE)
+  frames <- gganimate:::distribute_frames(p$pause_length, p$step_length, 99)
+  expect_equal(frames$static_length,     c( 0, 33))
+  expect_equal(frames$transition_length, c(33, 33))
+})
+
+test_that("wrap=TRUE pause_first=TRUE: frames split equally across pause, transition, pause, transition", {
+  # total weight = 4, nframes = 100 -> 25 frames each
+  p <- step_manual_params(wrap = TRUE, pause_first = TRUE)
+  frames <- gganimate:::distribute_frames(p$pause_length, p$step_length, 100)
+  expect_equal(frames$static_length,     c(25, 25))
+  expect_equal(frames$transition_length, c(25, 25))
+})