How much would you pay for an IDENTICAL arcade pad?

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

I can't wait to see it, either. I'm pretty confident that I was able to accurately communicate my ideas to my engineer, especially when I sent him to see an actual DDR machine in his area.

Still, I should be reminding people not to get over excited until I can actually try the thing out for myself.

-SB
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bb · Trick Member Joined: 27 Jul 2003

i'm not sure if this has ben awnsered before but do you know when the protoype will be ready for you to test?

monkeykins · Trick Member Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Location: East Lansing

There are no firm dates, as I believe he has said before. I would drop $250 on this pad without a second thought, $275 with hesitation.
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Can it still be considered a video game if you sweat profusely while playing, and wildly waving your arms isn't unusual or out of place?

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

Yeah, nothing is YET set in stone, but the CAD program which my local engineer will use to work the pad designs into a layout usable by a machine shop arrived this weekend and will be on his desk tomorrow.

Keep in mind that $250 would be the base price: there would be shipping costs, though I'm not yet sure what those will be.

-SB
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monkeykins · Trick Member Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Location: East Lansing

Yeah, I figured shipping would be on top of that $250- that way I figure it would be shipped for about $50, assuming you are shipping them from New Hampshire.
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Can it still be considered a video game if you sweat profusely while playing, and wildly waving your arms isn't unusual or out of place?

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

Yeah, it was about $40 to have my octane shipped, so $50 for a 50 lb. pad should be right on the money.

-SB
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"Dance to the music in your soul!" - Toad

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still here.

We're in the middle of finalizing the contract between our company and the designer/engineer (basically everything which states that he can't be sued if someone slips and falls on the pad, despite the fact that every DDR game warns you beforehand).

We're also trying to think up a name, but I don't want anything which sounds even remotely close to "Beat Gear", given that I've heard the horror stories (ie. the name "Groove Ware" is out of the question

).

-SB
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"Dance to the music in your soul!" - Toad

Dr. Landluver · Trick Member Joined: 03 Sep 2003 Location: omaha, nebraska

Does this mean that the pad is made, and tested, etc.?

QuestionMark · Trick Member Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Location: Burke,VA

1 pad i would pay around 100-200 and for double 200-300

and if they are separate then i would expect them to be 150-250

StarDeath88 · Basic Member Joined: 18 Jul 2003 Location: Long Island

Dr. Landluver · Trick Member Joined: 03 Sep 2003 Location: omaha, nebraska

diabloslayer469 · Trick Member Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Location: Neo-Geo Land

So these will be exactly the same as the arcade pads? Like with lights and the bar?
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spoonsman · Trick Member Joined: 01 Dec 2002

Jeez, read the post two posts up...

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

My bad: I just meant that the contract was being finalized, not that the pad itself it (there will be pictures by that point). Naming the company is just a step toward starting the design on the road to an actual prototype.

The bar will probably come later, but for now we're just trying to build a pad that will feel identical to that of the arcade.

I don't mind answering questions one iota: when else can I call surfing DDRFreak "work"?

-SB
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"Dance to the music in your soul!" - Toad

Lineage · Basic Member Joined: 13 Sep 2003

You may want to consider adding the bar as a side accessory that you can purchase seperately and just snap on -- it would solve the problem of having to make different versions of the pad.

Also, do you plan on using the arcade-style shock absorbers? or are you going to go with the solid metal box design?

And one final question - Will you be selling these pads seperately or will the doubles pad be the only option? I highly suggest some sort of snap on accessory that can simply snap two seperate pads together instead of forcing the financially burdened to pay for 2 pads.

Just some thoughts

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

I just had a long discussion about it with my boss (the I.T. market is pretty slow so the phones aren't ringing) and we have two choices here regarding the bar, but none of them make for a situation which we can simply attach the thing.

1. Sell the bar with the full arcade platform, complete with the arcade suspension system and everything.

We weren't going to include the whole platform design on the initial release, but rather as a separate add-on which can be attached to the pad later on. We have to do this because A) Not everyone wants a platform with bar, and B) it would add tremendously to the shipping and manufacturing costs.

2. Add the bar with a sheet of steel which slides beneath the pad itself.

The problem with including the bar is that the bar isn't just a support bar, it's a TRICK bar. If you slam your weight against the bar connected to a DDR pad in the arcade, you hurt yourself and that's about it. However, were you to slam your weight against a bar connected to a 50 lb. pad, the entire thing is going to tip over with you on it (at the very least, the pad will rear up in the air slightly). Thus, we can't just attach the bar to the pad without the appropriate counter-weight. Stuff like Matrix-walking would be impossible without the appropriate weight to hold the pad down.

I think we want to get the solid metal box design out there first, then we'll try to have the option of the platform with bar included, but I can't yet be sure that the addition of the platform with spring suspension system (if you've ever looked under one of those arcade platforms, you'll see what I mean) won't jump the cost by far more than anyone is willing to pay. Plus, the platform isn't something which can be simply leaned up against a wall, either. A platform is going to take up exactly the amount of space an arcade pad will take up and will likewise be harder than hell to move around.

In answer to your other question, we'll certainly sell these separately, but we will include a means to attach two pads together. I'm not sure if this will be brackets connecting the two or whatnot, but it should hopefully be something which can be removed easily enough (something which doesn't involve 12 screws, like the arcade).

-SB
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"Dance to the music in your soul!" - Toad

Lineage · Basic Member Joined: 13 Sep 2003

Some more thoughts for you to mull over -

Perhaps you could add an adjustible height option for the pad with extendable leg contraptions of some sort

And, also, for the shock absorbers I was thinking that maybe you could have some sort of gelatin solution contained within a rubber membrane inside the pad somewhere. Like, uh, there would be the outer casing for the pad around the outside, and then there would be a rubber membrane running along the outside about halfway down the side containing the gelatin inside. Then under that is another metal box or something like that.
But uh, don't take my word on whether this'll work or not. I'm just posting it here cuz I think I had a dream about something like that last night O.O Also, do you think you could give us a rough projection of when you're gonna have a prototype built?

monkeykins · Trick Member Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Location: East Lansing

I don't think the pad should be anything except a pad. Don't worry about the shock absorbers or the back bar. Those would not only cost extra money but that extra price and weight would probably drive away potential buyers. I mean, I want a tough pad but I still want to be able to move it around. The extra weight from those things would basically make the pad immobile, which would be unnacceptable for me. Not to mention the added shipping cost. For those that want them make them later and as potential add-ons. I know I personally don't want that stuff (the shock absorbers would be nice so I would essentially never have to buy another DDR pad, but the added weight and cost would turn me off to the idea)
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Can it still be considered a video game if you sweat profusely while playing, and wildly waving your arms isn't unusual or out of place?

Lineage · Basic Member Joined: 13 Sep 2003

You mentioned earlier that you had seen the specs for the Konami arcade pad design. Could you please point out the website that you found blueprints/pics of the pad with electrical specs and all?

Smash_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Jul 2003

We're going to try it with the standard issue metal box design first. If that doesn't work, or needs more support, we'll switch to another design. As soon as the contract is finished, the designer will send us his design (I've not even seen it myself yet).

I think the real problem with the notion of the platform is that very few people have the room to keep a DDR platform set up in their home (I know I don't).

You can find Konami's basic design at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO.gov), but that's all we had to go on. Electrical specs and the like aren't listed there and we have no way to know short of disassembling an actual arcade platform itself and applying a voltage tester to the internal workings of the system.

We're not using Konami's design because it would be vastly too expensive, requiring too many components and thus drastically raising cost. Besides, Konami's design utilizes more power than the standard Playstation puts out. Also, keep in mind that the Konami design is 7 years old. I'm sure we can use a more efficient design to achieve the same feel.

-SB
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"Dance to the music in your soul!" - Toad