New here but I got a question

[DDRnIA]

I'm a new DDR player. I know that seems hard to believe but you got to join sometime. My question is concerning a pad to use for home. Keep in mind I only get enough time to go to the arcade maybe once a month if that so how well it corresponds to the arcade is not a big concern for me.

I'm going to college in the fall so I'm not made of money so the Cobalt Flux is out pretty much. I also weigh 240 lbs. I don't like to mod a bunch of stuff because I don't want to fudge it up. However if I have to, I will. I also don't spend 10 hours on it daily, I may play it for an hour or two a day if that but it won't be every day since I got work and weight lifting and hanging with friends, etc.

So can anyone recommend the right pad for me with the given info above? I read the metal and soft pad discussion but I still can't really decide and since you guys probably know what would be the best pad for me, I'm asking for your help.

Thanks.

DDR in Iowa

[Plautus]

Make one. It's fun, less spendy than a CF, and you can tailor it to your needs. It also helps that once you've made it, it's user-servicable as well

I haven't made a "hard pad" yet like the arcade; my pads right now are sort of a soft pad design anchored on some thick plywood.

Also, many people around here are strong proponents of the buy-a-cheap-soft-pad-and-mod-it plan.

[DDRnIA]

Make one? I don't want to because I don't have the time. I got maybe 3-4 hours of free time at best and I don't want to spend all of it on making a pad. Maybe I should get a soft pad. Levelsix.com has Ignition v 3.1 now that has some foam pad replacements with. I may get those but would it withstand my weight?

[Anima]

[Mouse]

well, if you can be patient about getting a hard pad, you could save like a dollar or fifty cent every day towards getting one. just put it in a jar or any spare change that you don't need whatsoever, and once you have enough, buy a hard pad.

but if you can't wait that long, go for a red octane soft pad, or an ignition pad. good soft pads. and duct tape them to the floor so they don't slip.
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Roll Tide!

[DDRnIA]

[Anima]

[DDRnIA]

Well when I first read what was the metal pad thing, someone suggested to play DDR 10 hours in a row. I thought maybe that was something people did. Anyway, its just that I played DDR one Saturday night because the line of Sega NASCAR Racing was taken up and I was always curious about DDR. So I put in a credit and failed Butterfly on the easiest mode there. I then played Duran Duran's "The Remedy" and got a C rating on it. I'm not sure how hard of a song it was but hell, I passed. I noticed that the song isn't on any of the mixes here in the US which kind of pisses me off but there are other good songs there too I imagine.

Thanks for your help and I'll put in for an Ignition v 3.1 pad this Monday unless someone before that tells me to get a better one.

[sokochan]

Duran Duran is an easy one
Its on MAX2

It was cool I was playing it in the arcade (on the cool machine from Korea) and all the "older" people came and looked ... mainly because they remembered Duran Duran

They were all in awe that like someone "young" "knew" about Duran Duran ... Ah old people, gotta love 'em :-p

Oh yah ... But yah that's cool. Imma make my own hard pad ... It's gonna be tight. I'm gonna make it all light up and whistle and time travel. Its gonna work somewhat like the phonebooth from Bill and Ted's; Certain combinations represent different times ... the more historically important the time the more difficult the steps needed to go there ... to prevent the unskillful evil people from changing the past and/or future

[Plautus]

[DDRnIA]

Yeah, what sucks is that MAX 2 comes out in October. Well, I will probably get DDR US PSX, DDR Konami, and DDR MAX here in a couple weeks so I guess that will be a lot for a while.

Anyway, hell yeah Duran Duran. Well, they're ok but a few songs kick buttocks, my favorite probably being A View to a Kill. I called the song 'The Remedy' when its actually 'The Reflex'...oops.

[Anima]

[DDRnIA]

I thought DDR 7th Mix was MAX 2? Oh well, no big loss. For a while (as in 2 years ago) I used to want to play DDR. There were a few songs there that I wanted to play, mostly oldies like Brilliant 2 U, Paranoia Rebirth, Brilliant 4 U, and so on. So if I get the three available, there is enough for me to play. Yeah the arcade I played it at had a bunch of imported ones. I could tell when the sticker by the credit insert said "100 Yen"

I'm not going to mod my PS2 because some games later down will have mod checks like how it was with PSX and Dino Crisis 2. So I will go without.

[DDRnIA]

I thought DDR 7th Mix was MAX 2? Oh well, no big loss. For a while (as in 2 years ago) I used to want to play DDR. There were a few songs there that I wanted to play, mostly oldies like Brilliant 2 U, Paranoia Rebirth, Brilliant 4 U, and so on. So if I get the three available, there is enough for me to play. Yeah the arcade I played it at had a bunch of imported ones. I could tell when the sticker by the credit insert said "100 Yen"

I'm not going to mod my PS2 because some games later down will have mod checks like how it was with PSX and Dino Crisis 2. So I will go without.

[Anima]

Lemme Explain....MAX2 at the arcade is "DDRMAX2: DDR7th Mix"; the United States will never see 7th mix or any of the other numbered mixes...those are all japanese versions. We have just DDR, DDR: Konamix, MAX, and soon MAX2 & UltraMix. There's no #'s or aracde releases of them excluding DDR which has one and another miscellaneous arcade "DDR USA". So, the game you play in the arcade might have a similar interface but the songlist will be totally different and that's what is most important. IMHO
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Energy. Reality. Fear. Revolt. Trust Yourself, and you'll know the way.

[DDRnIA]

I need to bump this up

There is this pad at L6

http://www.levelsix.com/products/playstation2/deluxeDDR_v31.shtml

I was wondering if that was a good pad or not. I asked about this in the soft pad thread but was ignored so I'll ask here. Thanks.

[.simgar]

the pad you linked to I would assume is alright..but if you don't want to spend too much money (the reason to not get a metal pad) don't even bother with this expensive soft pad..its nearly $50. it really doesn't matter how much padding the pad has..the contacts that are made for the soft pads will wear out eventually, and whether you have one an inch think or half an inch think doesn't play in too much. right now i have two cheap soft pads taped to some plywood, and they've lasted pretty good. i'm also starting to build my own metal one (riptide) and I'll be done within the next week or so..materials have costed me about $160
but anyways, I recommend to just get a cheap soft pad (20-30 bucks maybe? check ebay for a set of two buy it now for like 30 im sure its there..make sure it has the "Stay Cool!" thing in the middle like the one you have linked..I've seen those to be almost always reliable).
since it's just a cheap (but still works great!) wood mod involving tape, you don't have to worry about screwing up your pad.

whatever you do, good luck on starting DDR
you won't regret it
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--.simgar

"Today fades away, but now is forever..choose the left or the right, the up or the down..just don't be afraid to make the step."

too much ddr? nah..feet aren't broken yet..
*snap* aww crap...too much ddr...

[DDRnIA]

Ok, thanks. So maybe this pad for $11.95 then?

http://www.levelsix.com/products/playstation/ddr.shtml

Its got the Stay Cool thing on and it basically says a good mod to use is just put on hard floor covering over it and then taping it together. So would that be the better option? I want this pad to last at least 3 months and at least 50 hours of gameplay here.

[.simgar]

yeah that works fine..thats the pad I have
of course, as soon as I made my post I browsed around the site to see how much another pad would cost, and...bah I felt like an idiot
one thing though, I highly recommend taping it down as soon as you get it..my friend and I got the same two pads..I taped mine down on like the 3rd day, and he still hasn't..after about a month or so his pads are getting a bit unresponsive (although he does fold them up and cart them everywhere at least once a week)..mine still work brand new too bad for him eh?
just make sure you use alot of tape..the pad shouldn't move at all on the wood \ floor \ whatever..if it does the sensors can move around and they tear alot faster
sorry for another long post! good luck!
_________________

--.simgar

"Today fades away, but now is forever..choose the left or the right, the up or the down..just don't be afraid to make the step."

too much ddr? nah..feet aren't broken yet..
*snap* aww crap...too much ddr...

[DDRnIA]

I ordered the $11.95 pad. I got UPS 2 day shipping which came out to be more than the cost of the pad itself . No matter though. Tomorrow I'm going to either the Ho Depot or some other place, get some plyboard, the plastic covering, and 3M Black Duct tape. Yeah, I'm pretty much doing the Tommy Gun mod. Which comes out to about $40 but the extended use will make it worth it. I was thinking of getting a second pad because my sister is interested in it but I doubt she would really play it too much so one pad is enough. I'm not skilled enough yet to play Doubles so maybe when I get better, I'll get another pad.

Thanks for the help.