Apartments - will the folk below me freak out?

daviddbj · Basic Member Joined: 28 Jul 2003

I was thinking of getting a home DDR machine, but I live on the 4th floor of a '70s apartment building.

Will doing DDR really PO the people underneath me?

I dont want to spend a bunch of money on a PS2 and pad only to have the super kick me out...

Anyone have any experience?

dave

Tomo-kun AKA s1 · Trick Member Joined: 18 Aug 2002 Location: In a ditch

if you where going to, i would buy the RO ignation 2.0, a metal pad

, The konami DX pad or buy what KOJ calls, the Manner pad
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i havnt logged in for a while, stupid sims online, ill post more now.
s1400mhz

Britney4Lyfe · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:43 am Post subject:

u probably shouldnt because ddr is going to get really loud and it will be pretty annoying to the people below u, unless u know when they are not home, then u can play when theyre not there, but you are probably going to annoy them a lot when they are there, so u should either just play ddr at arcades or move to the 1st floor, im going to be living on the 1st floor next year so i can probably bring my ddr stuff with me. ok bye

rmz · Trick Member Joined: 28 Jun 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ

You _will_ annoy the people living below you; believe me. Either move to a first-floor room or don't play DDR at home. No pad can "muffle" the noise and vibrations enough to make it unnoticeable. The people below you _will_ complain, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it.

Sorry, but that's the way it is

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TehSuq · Basic Member Joined: 23 Jul 2003

yep, you're screwed.
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Cynical since 1979

Milza · Trick Member Joined: 05 Oct 2002

It all depends. When I lived in a second floor apartment the guy below me made my life a living hell thanks to DDR. But he was crazy. He'd tell us to walk more softly and that our laundry machine was too loud. When we put the apartment up for rent, a Mexican family with four kids came to see it and loved it. He heard the kids running around, came upstairs, and explained that children were not welcome here and then made racial slurs. However, we have 2 different apartments in a different building (one 11th floor, one 12th floor) and noone cares at all if I play DDR.

What is on the floor of the apartment? If it's carpet, it may help if you buy a 3x3 or 4x4 piece of corkboard to put under the pad; it'll both slightly muffle the sound and make the pad work better.

Angriff · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2003 1:27 pm Post subject:

The biggest factors in my opinion are how you play and the building's sound/vibration carrying properties.

I'm used to playing softly on the balls of my feet, only really fast segments with repeated 8th jumps make any noise at all despite using cheapo pads directly on wood floors. I'm in a semi-basement apartment but normal noise carries enough that people around and above sometimes complain about loud music. I never got complaints when playing DDR even though I sometimes play at 3 AM or whatever.

I did get a complaint once, when I had a newbie friend over and he was playing on 3-4 feet songs. He just used so much heel I thought he'd destroy my floor while doing even the most mellow songs, which is typical of new players.

I'm planning on getting something like Ignition 2.0 pads but its for comfort as opposed to noise (might just customize cheapos with high impact L2 foam, still have to decide).

I'm sure even with all that if you're not lucky and the people around your apartment are a$$holes, you're screwed.

Tomo-kun AKA s1 · Trick Member Joined: 18 Aug 2002 Location: In a ditch

Milza · Trick Member Joined: 05 Oct 2002

Angriff · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2003 4:24 pm Post subject:

I don't stay completely raised on them, the real key is to just step softly in general (as opposed to stomping or doing it Grimlock style). Aside from being quieter, its less jarring and you look a great deal less retarded. On top of that for arcades I don't have a choice since I wear size 16 shoes and the sensors are way too tiny.

As long as you take care of yourself you're not going to mess up your body all that easily. Staying on the balls is common in a whole slew of martial arts and in some its (theoretically) permanent, like in kendo (except when a strike is applied but that's a just a tiny amount of time.

I didn't go and check medical journals or anything but it just seems a bit dubious, where did you get that info from?

Milza · Trick Member Joined: 05 Oct 2002

My dance teacher. For a lot of things it wouldn't matter that much, but it's important to land all the way in between sautes (multiple jumps in rapid succession). Sound similar to DDR?

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

I think if you put your pad on a hard surface (on top of the floor) it would spread the impact across the whole surface area. Putting something soft below it would further muffle any noise.
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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!

daviddbj · Basic Member Joined: 28 Jul 2003

Well, I talked to the landlord this morning.

I explained the situation to him (he had seen DDR at the local arcade). Unfortunately, he said that it would "definately drive the people below me crazy".

He said they only allow kids on the ground level floor for exactly that reason (running/jump anoying people below). He said to use our [very very crappy] exercise room.

I dont think its the actual striking the floor that causes the problems (that can be lowered with padding) - its the whole-room vibration that comes after it.

So, "no DDR for j00". I'm sad.