Starting out: Buy PC or PS2 stuff?

ThatAdamGuy

Hey there,

I'm totally new to DDR. I had heard about it years ago, but just tried it myself at a party last weekend and had a lot of fun (though I sucked pretty bad, even though I'm a swing dancer and musician!)

Now I'm trying to decide how to best get into the DDR world.

I have a new and pretty screamin' PC (2.53ghz) with a 19 inch monitor, and my roomie has a PS2 hooked up to our 19 inch TV in the living room (albeit above neighbors in the flat below... uh oh!)

So now I'm a bit torn as to how to best make my initial investment. At the moment, I'm pretty broke, so budget is definitely a consideration here.

Some questions:

1) Since I have neither the time nor money to mod my roomie's PS2, my understanding is that I can only play a small handful of DDR (USA) versions on it, right? DDRmax, original DDR, DDR Konamix, and DDR Disney. Am I missing anything? And am I right that Disney'd be the best one for beginners?

2) I initially thought I could only use Konami's $19.95 old DDR version on my PC, but from browsing on the forums here, there seems to be another program called Stepmania (which is free?! Cool!). So if I understand correctly, with Stepmania, I can end up playing lots of different songs and have much expandability in the future. But am I giving up a lot of features? And will the responsiveness be as good as when playing on a PS2? I'm worried even about the whole connecting-mats-via-USB thing after having my eyes glaze over on the 23-page thread on this topic (and in the end, I STILL didn't know what the right option is!)

Thanks much in advance for giving me some initial guidance here

Regards,
Adam
http://smilezone.com/

P.S. -- If you're bored and you wanna see some funky white boy swing dancers (not me!) trying DDR, you can find the streaming videos here: http://smilezone.com/lindyhop/videos.htm (link DDR)

-Mystik- · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Location: NorCal

BTTB · Trick Member Joined: 10 Dec 2002 Location: Deep in you.

Hi! So I see you've entered the world of DDR. You are going to have no life from now on. None. You will dance to arrows that flash before your eyes, only to realize that they aren't there.

In other words, you're gonna have a great time!!!

Well, chipping your Ps2 is risky if you aren't experienced. But for 90 dollars, you can get it chipped with the finest technology. That is an option IF you save up for a month or two (that's what I am doing). Buy Max 2 when it comes out, or if you want to play now buy Max 1. It has a good selection of songs, nice fps (frames per second, it isn't choppy because it is 60 fps) and NICE NICE backgrounds. It has Candy star and Max300. I highly suggest you buy this. In fact, I implore you to. You will thank me, unless you loathe me before you can.

Max2- This is coming out soon, I sure as hell am getting this, who isn't???
From what I hear, so far, everything is good. Some songs that are a might that are on it are Kakumei, MAxX Unlimited, Burning heat, Break Down, and other great songs.

Konamix- Lot's of good classics, cool newish 5th mix songs (ok, not that new compared to extreme, but, hey what do you want? It's old!) Nonstop mode, make a nonstop mode, and edit mode, not forgetting solo mode.

USA- The original. CRAZY OLD OLD OLD SONGS!!! You will cry if you are a veteran because it brings back good memories, or you will just laugh at the sheer poopy of the interface and grading system. I got about 20 misses on paranoia and got a nice, shiny, curvy A!!!. You can get odd grades after a few hours of playing, got a AA when I got 60 or so misses on something (Afronova I believe) but it's good for classics. Real good. Afronova(3rd), Dyna Rave(3rd), Make it better (2nd), and even Paranoia from 1st! Well, that's not anything to brag about, but it gets a 4 out of 10 from me.

As far as the imports, ask around, I have none as of now.

I hope I was helpful, and have a good time!!!

ThatAdamGuy · Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 5:05 pm Post subject:

Hey there,

I appreciate the tips. But do know that -- alas -- nostalgia doesn't really play a role in my decisions 'cause, well, I'm a total newbie. I don't have fond memories of the older songs 'cause I don't KNOW the older songs

But from what I'm gathering, DDRmax is the way to go for now, because it has a better gameplay and a decent selection of songs and so on.

I notice that neither of you above have recommended that I go with my PC for DDR. Why is that?
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BTTB · Trick Member Joined: 10 Dec 2002 Location: Deep in you.

Stepmania is legal, but you must own the songs legally, or we will poke you with yardsticks.
DDR comp is good but it isn't the same as Ps2 or Xbox. I think you should go with the Ps2 games, unless you are really, really strapped for cash.
Go with the ps2 games, unless you hae a NICE computer. Like, fast, no space used up, because, it will eventually lag.

ThatAdamGuy · Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 5:18 pm Post subject:

Well, I do have quite a CD collection, so owning songs with Stepmania wouldn't be that much of a prob.

I actually DO have a very NICE computer, as you put it... 2.53ghz, 640 megs RAM, many many gigs of free space (I got quite a deal from Dell

. And I am quite strapped for cash.

I guess what appealed to me about the PC side of DDR is:
- I can play it in my room and not disturb the downstairs neighbors.
- I can more easily expand it with new songs or my own song/step creations (right?)
- Possibility of head-to-head competitions over the Internet maybe?

But at the same time, from what I understand (correct me if I'm wrong)
- The PS2 versions offer more features:
- I can take the game to other friends who have PS2's pretty easily
- Lots of songs built in
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ADHD Goten · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Location: Where am I?!

If I were you, I'd try to find a DDR carrying arcade near by. I think that the arcade is better for many reasons.

1. More people. Some people might be jerks but you'd be amazed how many nice people you meet.

2. Tips. You can see how people play and ask them for tips.

3. You'd be used to the arcade pad and timing of arrows WITH shoes on. If you ever want to be in a competition, I suggest getting used to the feeling of the arcade.
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ThatAdamGuy · Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 5:32 pm Post subject:

I appreciate the suggestion. However:
- There isn't one REALLY close by.
- The nearest one is EXPENSIVE!
- I'm not lookin' to get very good, to be honest, just to let loose and have some fun, maybe invite friends over to be silly and laugh at each other, etc.

I realize that many folks -- especially on this board -- are very serious about the game, and I think that's awesome. For me personally, though, I'm already pretty invested in swing dancing, piano playing, and, uh, finding a full-time job after gettin' laid off. I don't plan on becoming a DDR expert, or even close.

So... I mean no disrespect at all in my clarifications. I'm just tryin' to say that I'm pretty sure I plan to be a rather casual pull-DDR-out-once-in-a-while kinda guy.

Hope that helps put stuff in context here

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Mysterio · Trick Member Joined: 20 Nov 2002 Location: Aiken, SC

If you only want to play casually, that is fine. If you have songs you would like to see in an DDR simulator, than by all means download it.

However, the simulators such as Stepmania are not as tight as the official games. I have a 2Ghz P4, and the damn thing still lags on me from time to time.

When I want to play the newer songs that have yet to be released, I play Stepmania. When I want to play for real, I bust out Max USA.

Max should be at most $40, you can swing that, right? It is tighter and more responsive than any simulator and has an ample amount of songs (71) on it. Max 2 should have even more than that.

Max will do you fine.
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[quote:ed89271168="Frozen CaffMaj 4 Extreme"]just because i play ddr, does that mean i'm going to go randomly stomp someone to death?[/quote]

...but Rhythm and Police is no longer crazy!

ThatAdamGuy · Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 6:16 pm Post subject:

Hey Mysterio, thanks for the info

I think what I'll plan on doing, then, is getting a couple o' pads and DDRmax with the understanding that I can always get a connector later on. I've seen some (seemingly) good deals on 2 pads + max on ebay (crossing fingers).

Still confused about which PC connector works with what, but I guess I can tackle that issue on another day.

Now I just gotta figure out what stuff my roomie already has (in terms of memory cards, whatnot).

Can you tell I'm not a gamer? Heh heh, I've never even touched a PS1, much less a PS2

<---grew up on TRS-80 and Apple II+... eegads, now I'm dating myself

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Delphy · Trick Member Joined: 05 Mar 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV

ThatAdamGuy · Posted: Sun May 25, 2003 1:49 am Post subject:

Well, I bit the bullet and bought Max and two "thick" pads (hmm, that didn't sound right) this evening via a fellow who had a good rep on ebay, for $56 including (expensive) shipping and handling. Crossin' my fingers...

One thing I was amazed at was the resale value of DDR stuff. Many of the games were selling for near-retail price on ebay, and in fact auctions with ddrmax alone were MORE expensive on ebay than (new) via amazon.com!

And those dang sellers on ebay charge an arm and a leg for shipping. Bah humbug

. Oh well... soon I will have ddr stuff

Oh, and in the meantime, a question: I downloaded and played with StepMania (for PC) this evening for a bit, and loaded in about a dozen songs just to try it out. I was dismayed to notice that some of the step files didn't seem to be that wonderfully in sync... either a bit ahead or behind the beat, or sometimes even a bit erratic. And no, it's not my system. It's consistent by song. And it was annoying :-(

It's sort of silly worrying about this now post-purchase, but is this also a prob with the ddrmax for PS2? I'm a musician, and a picky one at that

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Sk1p · Posted: Sun May 25, 2003 3:16 am Post subject:

asdfqweruiop · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jan 2003

BTTB · Trick Member Joined: 10 Dec 2002 Location: Deep in you.

Mysterio · Trick Member Joined: 20 Nov 2002 Location: Aiken, SC

asdfqweruiop · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jan 2003

hmm thats weird my computer blows buttocks and i have 523 songs and.. no lag.. playing it on fullscreen made my songs load faster lol maybe that will help...?