The Gamer's Quarter

dhex · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:42 pm Post subject: dee dee arrrrrrrrrrrr

so last night we discovered, amidst the tequilla and general abandon, that my wife really enjoys playing ps2 ddr with the floormat.

what's the easiest/best route to go forward with this as a mithras gift? anything i should look out for? cheaper is better than not since we're already durn close to an imagination christmas as it is.
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squidlarkin · . Joined: 10 Dec 2005 Posts: 100

The real obsessive DDR diehards will tell you that the cheapo $20 dance pads aren't anything like the real thing and aren't worth it. Which is wrong, you can play with one just fine unless for some reason you need to feel where the buttons are with your feet instead of just learning how far apart they are. Also, depending on your enthusiasm and/or type of flooring, they might slide around a bit.

They'll also tell you that the cheapo dance pads will mysteriously stop working properly after a couple months, and this is absolutely true! Decide for yourself whether that's a good value.

(Oh, and if you actually want a *good* pad without spending ridiculous sums, last I heard is the RedOctane Ignition pads were the way to go. I've never tried one, though.)

Lockeownzj00 · . Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 214

If you start playing DDR at any level beyond facile (I don't even mean "xcorebemanilluvva" level, either), then you're going to need to invest in a half-way decent pad. They have plastic pads out there, but the real clincher is the metal pad. Plays just like the real thing, really--catch is it's 100 and up I think. There are certain sketchy ones though; I can ask a friend for the legit brand if you want. Srsly thou, soft-pads = slidey slide. Which is fun with tequila, but I think gets old.

Though, my friends and I, for about a year, did the following: metal pad + stepmania + download every song from every ddr w/ steps already programmed + user-made ones + ps2-pc cable = free arcade.

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

If spending on Christmas is a big deal, you could (and should!) buy a really nice one, but smash the shit of it before you give it to her and then tell her you got it on the cheap.
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dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

Ebay's the way to go, here. It's glutted with dance pads.
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GSL · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:57 pm Post subject:

PROTIP: When you buy a $110 RedOctane pad, you're paying approximately $30 for the pad and $80 for the RedOctane name. Just get a pair of Chinese knockoff pads (use "ddr ignition pad" as your search term on eBay) for ~$40 shipped--they're just as good. Make sure to get the ones with the thick foam insert inside, as the thin flimsy ones are total crap. The pads with the removable 3/4 inch or so of foam work very well.

I have no clue about commercial hard pads, but I know if you're handy with tools there are plenty of instructions on the web on how to build your own arcade-style platform. Years ago when I was a dorm dweller, a buddy of mine spent a summer making one, and it was pretty damn awesome. Apparently it was fairly easy to assemble too, and cost him about $70 all told.

Nana Komatsu · weak sauce Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 1293

Hello hello!

First, seek out a copy of DDR Konamix, a PSone game that has some of the best DDR songs.

Next you want an Ignition-like pad. Ebay is okay, but you have the chance of getting a dud. Although I spent my first year playing DDR on a plastic mat pad taped to the floor, so that might be enough for you.

I wouldn't say you need a metal pad yet, not until your wife gets to the maniac/difficult/expert level. If you do, the only thing I can recommend is the Cobalt Flux pads which are ludicrously expensive ($300 + $50 shipping). There are other metal pads, but I have heard reports of them all falling apart a year or less after purchase. I know Red Octane makes a metal pad, but again they do fall apart.

Honestly, I can't play on soft pads any more, and I don't like the Ignition pads, so I just go to an arcade when I want to play.
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GSL · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:31 am Post subject:

Konamix is... okay, I suppose. Its one of those games in a series that make a good starting point but you'll never want to go back to once you've tried later installments. To me, playing Konamix after the smoother framerates of the PS2 installments (and speed mods!) is complete torture.

DDR Max on the PS2 is a good intro to the series; unfortunately, I have no idea how the later US PS2 installments play as I simply imported DDR Max 2 and DDR Extreme. If a person happens to have a J-PS2 or the capacity to import, I can't recommend the latter enough.

Nana Komatsu · weak sauce Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 1293

I really didn't like the song lists in DDR MAX and MAX2 in the US. I haven't tried the newer versions since I don't play at home any more, but I did really like the songs in Konamix which is why I recommend it.

Insert bullshit statement about DDR roots and history being more important here.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

If you have hardwood floors it should be necessary that you get "heavy foam" pads. These, as previously stated, can be had for about $40 shipped. Occasionally they come with one of the DDRMax games in these ebay auctions. If you have carpeting you will probably need one of those plastic chair mats for rolling around on carpet, or about 1/3 of your footsteps won't register (well, with hard foam they mostly register, it just kills the foam in the pad fairly quick).

Anyways, yes, avoid the cheap soft pads that don't have foam, they suck and hurt. Don't get metal ones or hard plastic because they're not worth it. Also, your wife probably won't mind which ever version of DDR you get.

BUT! You have a PC, and you have it connected to your TV right? I should probably recommend that you get Stepmania (free), one of those foam pads and an approved DDR PS2->USB converter. You can have every version of DDR, plus hundreds of original stuff and you can keep expanding it because people are always making new songs. (I could even send you discs with all the song packs and stuff that you need). Or just go with the PS2 route.
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dhex · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:02 am Post subject:

yeah uh if i can't do this for about 40 bucks it ain't happening. i mean, it's just for her to kill time between freaking out about her disertation. i will probably murder myself from the track selections alone.

in an alternate universe, i'd train her to be so good that i could take her to the arcade by the movie theatre up in journal square in jersey city and have her destroy all the little kids there. and then we'd high five in the air, freeze framed forever. but this is not that universe.

actually, speaking of journal square, the funniest ddr related thing i ever saw was this big teenage girl who faceplanted on the dividing bar handrail thingy (why she wasn't holding on i have no idea) and went down for the count; one of her friends yelled "not again!"
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

OtakupunkX · . Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730

I agree with Shaper.

Stepmania, PS2-to-USB converter (make sure it's dancepad compatible), and an Ignition pad (one of those really nice foam pads made by Red Octane). For a little more than one of the console DDRs and a standard pad you can have all the songs you want and then some. A lot of the user-made songs are actually quite good too.

dhex · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:08 pm Post subject:

i'm a little worried about bouncing around too close to my flatscreen, which is resting on a series of quik-lok pedastals.

i just emailed my friend and asked what her setup was. she basically went to best buy and dropped about 40 bucks, which is probably the route i'm going to take. thanks for the input.

besides, if she got good enough where she needed a real top shelf pad, we'd probably have to consider spending some time apart anyway.
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Nana Komatsu · weak sauce Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 1293

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

No offense to people who struggled with DDR, but I could complete 7 foot Heavy (bottom of the hard level of difficulty) songs after about two weeks without a problem. If the game clicks with you then you will get up there in difficulty fairly quick.

The main thing about the "top shelf pad" is that the ones that come with the game at Best Buy in the box (sandwich bag style as I have heard them called) are that they are barely funcional. The "foam pads" on ebay are what should be the lowest acceptable quality for the game, seriously.

All that aside, the biggest issue with getting it for the PS2 is that there is hardly an appropriate amount of songs/selection on just one mix. Esp. if you can't deal with bad music. Stepmania solves that pretty well.

Also, my wife recommends the DDR Extream version for a home mix if you're going to go that route. The one in the green box.
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-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

JasonMoses · . Joined: 15 Oct 2004 Posts: 407

Stepmania is free and if the game sucks it's your own fault as opposed to Konami's. Konamix was the best US game to get back in the day, sure, but now the only reason to even mention it is because of this slightly embarrassing review.

dhex · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:02 pm Post subject:

ddr extreme it is. looks like ithe bundle is 50 something at best buy.

if she decides this is her thing we'll dance across that bridge when we get to it. we're still looking into finding her a women's only mma/self defense course in the neighborhood that's not drinking the empowerment kool aid (this is far harder than you'd think) so we'll see what her schedule actually ends up being.
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dessgeega · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:15 pm Post subject:

you don't want your wife to be empowered?
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dhex · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:05 pm Post subject:

my short survey seems to reveal that, quite unfortunately, in many cases it seems that actual skills take a backseat to self-esteem drills. not a bad thing on its own, but not very helpful. you also get a lot of the red rubber suit type stuff (which if nothing else is good for teaching people that it's ok to hit someone as hard as you can, though it completely eliminates the problem of the target fighting back). it's great to feel in control but i think in the context of self-defense it's far more important to focus on skills. i accept that i may be missing the point with a lot of this stuff (and ultimately, legalizing concealed carry would make a lot of these issues moot, but that's nyc for ya) but i've met a few women now from these kinds of empowerment focused courses and i worry quite a bit that they were sold something that is not entirely true. at least in the context of self-defense - in the context of self-esteem building it seemed to have worked a little too well.

thankfully there's a few more options in the area, being near park slope and all, which she can go check out. she's not comfortable taking a mixed-gender class so our choices seem to be this place in the slope and a judo/mma program for women up on columbia street near atlantic ave. a few other programs in the area were either mixed gender or the sort of "grab, twist and pull" nonsense they seem to teach in a lot of high school and college programs. nut shots are not really a great idea, etc etc and so forth.

i kinda hope she picks the judo one because at least some comfort with groundfighting makes more sense for women and because that's something i really can't teach her. not only because i suck at it, of course. and that school seems to have quite a few former us women's judo team members teaching there, which can only be a good thing.
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Nana Komatsu · weak sauce Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 1293

Pijaibros · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject:

I've always wanted to see people play DDR Heavy that are above drinking age.

I feel like an old relic when I get in that rare mood to hop on a machine and see if I can clear 9 footers. I can still B some of them. Still nothing makes me feel more like a dork than when somebody trips over the pad I have at home or a friend lets out that I "know" DDR to any person that brings it up.