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Old 11-12-05, 03:06 PM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
keilan00's guide to modding your flat softpad

Originally posted by keilan00:

Quote:
I have a soft plastic pad but I modified it to make it sturdy like a metal pad. Mine basically looks like this and doesn't budge when I'm playing:
http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=105345

I altered the directions though. I cut interlocking foam mats and placed it between the dancepad and wood to provide extra cushion. I also cut telephone cord wire and placed it on stragetic spots underneath the plastic hardwood flooring so my feet could subtlely feel where to step without looking at the pad. I used a combination of double sided carpet tape, duct tape, and staple gun to put it together.

Materials:
soft dance pad
4'x4' piece of wood cut down size of pad (Home Depot will do this for free)
interlocking foam mat
hardwood plastic floorcover (Home Depot)
exacto knife
double sided carpet tape
duct tape
staple gun
telephone cord

This sounds troublesome but it took me 45 minutes to build and was worth the extra effort.
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Old 01-27-06, 01:10 AM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
Thumbs up Red Octane $20 dance pads - Thumbs up!

Red Octane In The Groove PS2 dance pads are on sale for $20 ($10 off the regular price) so I bought a pair so I could play doubles with my PS2. Someone was asking if they're any good, so here's a mini review. I already have two Konami soft pads for the Xbox.

These new pads are every bit as good as the Konami, maybe even better. They are very responsive and don't move at all on my hard tile floor. I played doubles for about 2 hours and passed some 6-footers for the first time! They did have a few misses when I tried playing some single 7-footers, so they probably aren't suitable for the really hard songs. My other minor complaint is that the cords are a good 2 feet shorter than the Konami's. I have to set my console on the floor, otherwise it's in danger of being pulled down by the short cords.

Of course the real test is how long they can hold up over time, but overall I'd say these are superb pads for DDR beginners/intermediates at a good price. If you've been playing DDr for awhile, give doubles a try - it's like a whole new game!
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Old 03-11-06, 05:53 AM  
Willow
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Vancouver, BC
Other DDR-type games out there:

- In the Groove, available at the Red Octane site. This is my favourite DDR game by far.

- Stepmania, as mentioned above, is available for the PC via free download. There is also an XBOX version that requires a modded XBOX. The nice thing about Stepmania is that users make their own stepfiles, and there are thousands of songs out there to download.

- For major freaks (like me), there are European and Japanese versions out there. If you live in North America, you will need a modded Playstation/XBOX to play these since they are a different region.
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Old 04-21-06, 04:53 PM  
Shoe Lover
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Northern Virginia
Wow, such great detailed information- was thinking of getting this for my sis who was really into dance as a teen. She does jazzercize now- she got all the coordination talent in the family- I certainly got none.
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Old 05-07-06, 07:33 PM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
The great debate: Playstation 2 vs. Xbox

PS2 games are not compatible with Xbox and vice versa, so if you don't have a console, you'll first have to decide which to buy (unless you can afford both, which would be ideal!) I have both a PS2 and an Xbox, and I like them both for DDR/exergaming, so here's a hopefully unbiased list of advantages each console has so you can figure out which one may be better for your needs.

(As of now, the PS2 has the price advantage since they just lowered the retail price to $130, vs. $150 for the Xbox. But I would expect the Xbox to follow suit soon.)

Advantages of PS2:
Lower price
Very slim and light; the Xbox is a heavy brick
Can be used for DVD playing w/o any additional accessories; a separately-purchased remote is required for Xbox to play DVDs. Both consoles play music CDs.
Many more games available than Xbox, including music games like In The Groove, Guitar Hero and Taiko Drum Master
More DDR games available (4 vs. 3)
More aftermarket pads available, including the high-end Cobalt Flux (you need a separately-purchased adapter to plug the CF into the Xbox)
Eye Toy camera lets you play games and workouts such as Eye Toy Kinetic

Advantages of Xbox:
Built-in hard drive lets you store workout and game data (high scores, unlocked songs, total calories burned, etc.); a separate memory card must be bought for storing data on the PS2. Xbox can use memory cards also.
Four player capability vs. only two players on PS2 (worth considering if you have 3 or more kids!)
Parental controls; you can program it to play only E-rated games or G/PG rated movies, for instance
Xbox Live online service is a big selling point, though I've never tried it. You can play DDR and other games against other subscribers, and download song packs for an extra fee. Xbox DDR games come with a free trial card for Xbox Live (requires high-speed internet, which is why I've never tried it).
DDR Ultramix 2 and 3 have random-endless workout mode which plays songs continuously for a long cardio workout

In addition, each DDR game has a different songlist, and while some songs can be found on both systems (eg. Crazy in Love which is on both Extreme 2 and Ultramix 3), some songs are unique to a game (you'll find Devo's Whip It only on Ultramix 3). So if you think music might make or break your decision, check GameFAQs or DDRFreak for game songlists.
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Old 06-25-06, 07:39 PM  
chartreuse
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
I'm thinking of getting a Cobalt Flux after using Ignitions for some time. Do you find that the impact/noise is much greater with shoes + CF than with bare feet + ignition? I live in an apartment building with good insulation, and have not had any problems with my ignition pads, but would hate to spend all that money on a CF and find that it is too loud to be used in my building.
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Old 06-26-06, 06:54 AM  
Janet O'Neil
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Vernon, New Jersey
We have the Cobalt Flux Dance Pads and they are noisy - they are substantial though and the best made of all the pads we've had so far including Red Octane. MY son usually does it with sneakers on - I am not sure what it would be like in an apartment - maybe you can put it on a carpet and that will deflect some of the noise. They are like the pads in the arcades.
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Old 06-26-06, 07:33 PM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
Quote:
Originally Posted by chartreuse
I'm thinking of getting a Cobalt Flux after using Ignitions for some time. Do you find that the impact/noise is much greater with shoes + CF than with bare feet + ignition? I live in an apartment building with good insulation, and have not had any problems with my ignition pads, but would hate to spend all that money on a CF and find that it is too loud to be used in my building.
I agree with Janet that the CFs are noisy. Because they have sheet metal contacts, they make a loud clacking sound when you jump or step hard, in addition to the sound of the hard lexan plastic against your shoes.
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Old 07-20-06, 02:39 PM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
New plug-and-play DDRs are coming

Konami has announced that this fall, there will be two DDR games aimed at children, one with a Strawberry Shortcake theme and one with a Disney theme. They will both be self-contained mats that plug into your TV, no game console required.
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Old 12-26-06, 07:39 PM  
sheepla
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: OK
well, I purchased a playstation 2 and a DDR bundle and now I need help! I've never used video games before and am going to have to have my nephew over to help me figure this out. My controller works great to set myself as a user, pick a song etc., but the dance pad is not reading me stepping on it. I have the controller plugged into the first slot and the dance pad plugged into the second slot. I THINK (this is just a guess) the problem is that with both plugged in, the game is reading two players, but I'm not sure. When I first plugged the dance pad in, it worked a minute, but obviously I messed some setting up and now nothing. For whatever reason the pad arrived with absolutely no instructons!

Can anyone help? Not sure if this is the best place to post this.
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