Dancing Tofu Gaming - GIGANAUT Dance Pad Beta (upd. 8/9)

jpoppyz · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject:

hmm....looks tasty.

but one thing that baffles me is how ridiculousely powerful the PCs your looking at using are. seriousely, my moms Mac G4 with a 450 dual mhz processer, ATI radeon 9000, 756 MB RAM, and 80 GB harddrive runs stepmania PERFECTLY!! i think it'd be far more cost effective if you made PCs that ran off of linux(for it being free). Plus, all PCs now a days come with vista, which proves to suck with stepmania.
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devout · Trick Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: the atl

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

devout · Trick Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: the atl

Thats exactly how you're supposed to use the foot

I was just suggesting if you still get shaky cuts with that, you could clamp a piece of wood on BOTH sides, so that you're absolutely guaranteed it'll come out straight.

Sometimes when you only clamp it on one side the blade bends outward because you're pushing the saw to one side, and you end up with a cut that isnt perfectly vertical.

By using a template to help you place the straightedge piece you can save yourself from having to measure where to put it each time you make a cut.

Trexxen · Trick Member Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Location: Knoxville, TN

Heh, I hope you're kidding about the diamond plated steel - for someone who's not in it for the profits, you'll sure need a lot to build that cabinet XD

Anyways, you could scan the back of that paper too you know - you're not fooling anyone, I see the DT610 written on there...=P

As for your saw problems, I honestly don't know except take your time and perhaps get something to guide it through...
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EGI wrote:

Huh, I didnt know Oasis had freezes.

jpoppyz · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:03 am Post subject:

actually, the mac mini with a 60 GB harddrive, 1.66 ghz intel core duo processer, and 512 MB RAM costs about $600, and im pretty sure that would work fine, as well as give people the stability OS X offers[/mac fanboyism]. Plus the mac mini is small and well-built(like all macs), unlike most lower end PCs out there(like emachines and acer).

i still overall reccomend building a PC and running linux, because its the cheapest. but if you lack PC knowledge, the mac mini is basically the only way to go now.
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ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

devout · Trick Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Location: the atl

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

AZtenfooter · Trick Member Joined: 21 Jan 2007

would you perhaps have another pic of the prototype coming along?
im really anxious.
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Sup.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

daikenkai =[ · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:12 pm Post subject:

Hey, DT, can u get on MSN?
BTW, I just beat "the Last" On stellar Master mode, and i have a diamond ex showdown for poopcorn

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

Tenchi50 · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:29 pm Post subject:

you could look for a closeout on old pc's somewhere, like ones that the store cant upgrade to vista, probably could find one pretty cheap

AZtenfooter · Trick Member Joined: 21 Jan 2007

are you meeding a PC or something
i think i have like 2 extras
ill look if youd like.
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Sup.

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

Actually, I can get a Mac Mini + 500GB hard drive for just under $800. I might just do that, because I've been wanting a mac for years, and it means I'll have more room for the other hardware for the machine.

btw, the 500 gig hard drive I'm looking at is about the same size as a mac mini. It will give me plenty of space for my recording and stuff.

Sure, I could get an old PC for $300, but I already have a PC, and seriously need the iLife Suite.

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I used to be active here lol

Apoc · Trick Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Location: Toms River NJ

All right, I'm a real latecomer in noticing this project, but I'm pretty excited about it. Here's my input. I've read all ten pages of thread, so if I ask a redundant question it's just because I legitimately missed it.

1. The pads have a wooden base, which stands to reason, but will the whole top surface of the pad be steel, or just the parts with the directional buttons?
2. A super SM machine, sweet deal!
-Running the system off a computer is a good call, but although I haven't looked into it I'm sure you can circumvent Vista by buying a new machine, formatting the hard disk, and installing a slightly older version of Windoze, such as XP or 2000, if that's what you're into. Remember, Bill Gates is the antichrist. Aviod his trickery.
-The sound system is of the utmost importance, since it's a dancing game. (for the record, I hate DDR's speakers) If you haven't already given this too much thought, I would recommend a system of Polk speakers. Even though you're going to be outputting through a soundcard, don't be afraid to rig a system that uses non-computer specific speakers. For instance: Polk Two-Way Loudspeakers are freakin' awesome, and in conjunction with a kickin' subwoofer you've got a soundsystem worthy of Zeus.
-Will it include all the songs from DDR and ITG right off the bat? If you have Mr. Crappy Internet, which I do some days thanks to my wireless router, it takes a while to get 'em, but www.ddruk.com has simfiles in packs, complete and organized by which mix they came from. And a quick search through the ITGfreak simulator forum will yield similar simfile packs of original ITG and ITG2 songs. I figure you already know this but it can't hurt to mention.
3. The DT600 - super awesome, yes? Approximately how much for the pad without bar? Remember when creating a new product that asthetics, while nice, are secondary to quality, but if what some of these people have been saying about these pads are true then you don't need to be told that... still, pretty pads are nice.
4. And finally... a website, you say? Well sir, I just happen to be the co-owner of a small webhosting business who would gladly host and help design your website. I do lots of image editing too, and I'd love to pitch in with the graphic design of the site with logos and whatnot. PM or email me if you're interested.

At any rate that's my two or seven cents. This is at the very least a worthy project, and if things work out right this might be the start of a very successful and lucrative little business, especially if the pads are as good as all that. I have a feeling they are.

Apoc
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ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

Wow, that's a very nice, detailed post, and I really must thank you for taking the time to read the entire topic; that's always pretty cool.

1. Actually, you asking that just reminded me that all pads should be available wood or steel finish. DT200's and DT500's should also be available plexi finish for about $25 extra. (backlit stationary panels)

2. Yeah, but it's kind of a new concept here, so I'm working out some legalities.
-For mine, I'm just going to use a Mac Mini with a 500GB HD I found on Newegg for $220. 40 cents a gig = good deal.

I could get a 2TB hard drive for $700 = more space/$, but I'd never be able to use it up. Otherwise, I might actually leave the system choice to the buyer. When there's a $12,000 profit involved per unit, you can afford to customise it.

-I'll be using basically the same speaker set-up I'd perform with, but with a better bass amp (not really necessary for keyboards, vocals, and electric guitar) and 2 small, computer speakers, to create an enveloping sound-dome. There will be a giant amplifier right in front of you, 4 speakers covering a 210Â° arc behind you, and decently sized computer speakers pouring sound down onto you. I'm a musician; I don't F' around with my sounds.

-Well, I don't think I can legally sell it with the songs, but I can definitely include a complimentary 120GB external pocket drive with around 900 official charts on it.

3. A DT600 standard is $50. Quality doesn't take a backseat, but it sits in the passenger seat while "HOLY HELL THAT'S CHEAP!" drives. 8D They look pretty cool and have little handles underneath the panels. The standard pads look basically like 9 steel blocks of 2 slightly different altitudes screwed to a wood base.

4. I actually have a friend who owns a really high-end webhosting site, and I'll be getting $300+/yr worth of webhosting for about $30-$35 a year. I would total be into having the web design be a community project though. I think that would really add some good emphasis to what DTG is all about.
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I used to be active here lol

Apoc · Trick Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Location: Toms River NJ

Excellent!

Yeah, at $12,000 a pop why not live a little with the customization? But I'd be wary about making too much profit off a four-panel dancing arcade game. If memory serves, a very long time ago there was this company named RoXoR... Point is, even if you're not selling a machine that comes with DDR songs and charts, I believe the ruling was that the up/down/left/right dancing game is intellectual property belonging to Konami. Better pay them royalties. That said, what songs will it include, if not automatically DDR stuff? Generic SM songs? Top Bemanistyle songs? Food for thought.

Good to know you're a musician. We do things better

What's wrong with being perfectionist (or marvelousist, if you also play DDR). What do you play, out of curiosity? keyboards, guitar, oboe, percussion of all sorts here. At any rate, surround-sound speakers is a kick buttocks idea.

Mac mini with 500gb at that price is a sweet deal, certainly can't complain... StepMania works well on that OS, I hope? I rarely work with macs, personally, so I'm not sure if they're compatable. Not preference that I use PC's, just convenience. And yeah, 2TB is super over the top, almost unfathomably large and certainly unnecessary.

That's a good deal on the webhosting, and even so I'd love to lend a hand with graphic design at least, which is my personal forte. We can talk more about that if you want me on board.

Hm - are you going to use a customized DTG theme for StepMania? Because that would be pretty sweet, and I'd love to try my hand helping with that as well.

And at this point, put me down on the waiting list for a pad when you've started producing 'em - I'd love to have a DT pad!
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CEO Nwabudike Morgan wrote:

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jpoppyz · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject:

yeah, i wouldn't reccomend having songs pre-installed on the machines, expecially if you charge for them, as you may find yourself in many legal troubles with konami and the people who made the packs(assuming they care, that is).

also, you should seriousely consider offering your line of pads in a PIU version as well. i garuantee you someone(and by someone, i mean ME!) would buy them. just a suggestion.
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