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DDR Dance Mat/Pad recommendations?

M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Hi folks. My queries in the other thread are being ignored, presumably, because all of the hardcore DDR fans are avoiding the Mario Mix thread! Ha!

Regardless, I'm interested in getting into the DDR series, and since I own a PS2 as well as a GCN, the PSOne and PS2 classics are probably a great place to start. (I know about the PC version of Stepmania, or whatever, not interested.) So... I did a Google search on mats, and it seems like there are dozens of them... different models, different versions, different makers (RedOctane, Naki, Ignition, etc.)

Never having used them before, I can't begin to imagine which would be best for me. I'd be playing on a polished wooden floor, so something that doesn't slip would be nice. I'm also in a 6th floor apt building, so something that doesn't reverberate in the level below me would be grand too (not too much of a concern, thick floors and very high cielings in the apts.)

Can someone please point me to the best PS2 Dance Mat? I noticed some have 4 buttons, some 8, etc. I just have no clue. If it works with the PSOne games as well, then that's just a swell bonus!
 
Well, some pads kind of dip in the low end of around 30-40, but personally, I'd just splurge and get the RedOctane Ignition pad for ~100. RedOctane, as far as I've read (and played), seems to get the most praise from the home DDR players.
 
$100 is way to much, $30-40 would be just fine. I guess the ones that come in the official bundles are crap?
 
The BNS DX-xtreme is the one I had after moving up from basic Mad Catz. It's been absolutely great (~1 1/2 years) and the 9-10 footers all register, and are very responsive.

It's basically like the Red Octane, but 50 dollars cheaper.

EDIT: The cheaper ones do okay up until you start hitting the >5 foot range. Assuming you've been playing on those pads from 1 foot up, the pads will wear, bunch up, and then just stop being as responsive.

Unless you're sure that you want to get pretty good with it, then splurge and get a better pad. If you just want to play casually, then the cheap 20 dollar ones are okay.
 
"Ignition is great until you start playing anything higher than midrange songs.

I'd recommend a metal pad eventually, but they're expensive.

http://www.cobaltflux.com/

Sexy."

Nah, the ignitions hold their own the higher level songs (and I've played heavy songs on much, much shittier pads). That said, I would *love* to get metal pads.
 
Teknopathetic said:
"Ignition is great until you start playing anything higher than midrange songs.

I'd recommend a metal pad eventually, but they're expensive.

http://www.cobaltflux.com/

Sexy."

Nah, the ignitions hold their own the higher level songs (and I've played heavy songs on much, much shittier pads). That said, I would *love* to get metal pads.
Click to expand...
It may be my style of play (I do lots of slides and stuff), but yeah, I can't do anything higher than 7 on a pad with any sort of accuracy.

The official bundle pads aren't bad, but be sure to tape them down to something.
 
Ah, I don't do much sliding, sometimes a pad slides little by little because I don't pick up my feet very much, but, I managed to beat Burning Heat on Heavy on a really, really, really shitty 6 dollar DDR pad on carpet, so I don't think many people would have *too* much trouble with an ignition. But yeah, I definitely aspire towards metal pads.
 
I have a soft Red Octane pad, and it busted on me. The up sticks down due to some sort of irreversible crease.

I have a crappy $20 BeatMix or whatever pad as my backup, and that seems to work fine (I stay in the standard range, sometimes dabble into heavy though). It does slide a bit.
 
Mejilan said:
$299!? Hell no!
Click to expand...
If you ever get into arcade playing it won't seem that bad.

One weekend I dropped $75+ when we got a new machine. :( I played almost exclusively in the arcade. I also worked at the arcade so it was almost like they were getting all the money they paid me back. Sigh.
 
Regardless, I'm interested in getting into the DDR series, and since I own a PS2 as well as a GCN, the PSOne and PS2 classics are probably a great place to start. (I know about the PC version of Stepmania, or whatever, not interested.)
Click to expand...

Why not? If its only because of PC inconvenience, look into the Xbox Stepmania. Yes, it requires a softmod. I'll never understand why that would deter someone that doesn't use Xbox Live, though, as it isn't like you need to open the Xbox or anything. I digress.

I actually use a $20 Naki mat, with the soft bottom and crap. It isn't the most sturdy thing in the world, of course, but I was surprised at how well I could do on a soft mat. Granted, I don't play DDR much in the arcades these days, and I never was godly at it. I pretty much switched over to IIDX when I hit 8-footers.
 
Mejilan said:
Thanks for the recommendations and links. Still not sure what to get, however. :(
Click to expand...
Seriously? I'd recommend one of the official bundles to start with. Tape the pad down to some plywood and play until you're getting better. Then buy something a little more expensive down the road. It's the best pad you'll get for the $20!
 
Yeah, go with Lambtron's suggestion to start.

As far as games go, I'd say to pick up Konamix alongside whichever PS2 release you decide on. Most would probably disagree, though, and the 30fps is pretty nasty nowadays. I <3 the songlist.
 
Thanks guys, I'll do as Lambtron recommends. As for the games, I plan on getting all 6 of the Sony releases... perhaps the 2 MS ones too. We'll see.

Should I care if a pad has only 4 buttons, or 6 or 8 or 9 or whatever?
 
Teknopathetic said:
Well, some pads kind of dip in the low end of around 30-40, but personally, I'd just splurge and get the RedOctane Ignition pad for ~100. RedOctane, as far as I've read (and played), seems to get the most praise from the home DDR players.
Click to expand...

I definitely suggest these as well; they’re worth the price. But I say buy them at EB, and get the warranty ($10) too because most likely they’ll rip. Then just exchange them when they do.

The cheap pads end up dying too soon. My Red Octanes have been going strong for almost 2 years now.
 
fuck soft pads.

when i lived with the ex, we had 2 metal pads downstairs with the import ps2. one was a BNS, one was a TX-1000 i think. both are excellent. i did like the BNS a bit better though. both were about 90-100 bucks on ebay

ddr2ug.jpg
 
Lambtron said:
Ignition is great until you start playing anything higher than midrange songs.

I'd recommend a metal pad eventually, but they're expensive.

http://www.cobaltflux.com/

Sexy.
Click to expand...

Sexy if you like having no idea where your feet are. ^_-

I can't stand CF pads due to their lack of height differences between the arrows and the metal parts. Annoying as hell.
 
FINALLY! You are the first person I've ever found that didn't like the Cobalt Flux pads! I hate the bastards! :)
Hard pads = use shoes.
 
And soft pads = socks?

Well... I took the dive. I bought all 6 of the Sony DDRs... DDR, Konamix, and Disney for the PSOne, Max, Max 2, and Extreme (Bundle) for the PS2. I imagine I won't have a problem using the bundled mat with all 6 games, right?
 
I'm pretty sure that the Disney game, ALONE, costs more than the other 5 put together. If not... it's DAMN close. Let me add them all up (and actually pay.)
 
Abouth $300 total. But 5 of the 6 games are brand new and still sealed, so I'm happy about that.
 
daegan said:
Sexy if you like having no idea where your feet are. ^_-

I can't stand CF pads due to their lack of height differences between the arrows and the metal parts. Annoying as hell.
Click to expand...
They have the new arcade modification thingamobbers to elevate the corners & center. Hawt!

Nothing > Arcade, though.

The two top corner buttons can be used for the now-defunct Solo mode (O and X on the PSX pads), though that may be in Konamix? It's fun, but not as fun as double mode. Play in socks on the Konami pad or you'll tear that fucker in two. Have fun, rock the shit out of Disney Mix, it's horribly underrated.
 
Trust me, for the price I paid, I will love the Disney one! Hahah...

Apparently there was a Disney DDR for the N64... but like 90% of the DDRs I've found, it was Jp only, apparently.

I really have to wonder why DDR never made it out on the GCN... what exactly about the game(s) would somehow not work with the GCN userbase where it would with the Xbox userbase, for example. Ahh well...
 
Konami seemed to start hating Nintendo this generation. They just REALLY held back. Now Castlevania is on PS2/Xbox. It doesn't make sense.

Anyways, there were a crapload of DDR games released in Japan, but it's effectively dead there now. They failed to update it along side the rest.
 
I thought DDR was effectively part of the culture over there. It's dead? I know there are at least 3 more DDRs slated for release here, 1 each for the PS2, GCN, and Xbox.

As for CV, I'm not surprised that Konami bailed on that for the GameCube, but I really think DDR could have found a comfort zone with the GCN fanbase.
 
Lambtron said:
They have the new arcade modification thingamobbers to elevate the corners & center. Hawt!

Nothing > Arcade, though.

The two top corner buttons can be used for the now-defunct Solo mode (O and X on the PSX pads), though that may be in Konamix? It's fun, but not as fun as double mode. Play in socks on the Konami pad or you'll tear that fucker in two. Have fun, rock the shit out of Disney Mix, it's horribly underrated.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Wow. That's hot.

The beat-gear pads were literally better-than-arcade-perfect but only 2 or 3 of them ever made it over here, as far as I know. A lot of people got screwed out of money on that. I believe that Chris Danford (of StepMania and In The Groove fame) got his.
 
Yeah, Konami's other Bemani games are more popular than DDR now.

The two top corner buttons can be used for the now-defunct Solo mode (O and X on the PSX pads), though that may be in Konamix
Click to expand...

Yeah, Konamix has solo mode. And as said, it's fun, but no doubles.
 
Wow, you spent $300 on DDR games already? I hope you like it! :-O

I started out with the BNS Ultra-NX. It's a fantastic soft pad for only $25 (plus shipping). But, if you're willing to spend the money, I guess I'd go with BNS's more expensive soft pad (though I never tried it).

Lambtron said:
They have the new arcade modification thingamobbers to elevate the corners & center. Hawt!
Click to expand...

Link, please? :)
 
I strongly recommend the LevelSix (www.levelsix.com) deluxe pads. They are exactly the same as the RedOctane ignition pads, are just as reliable, and cost $40 instead of $100. RedOctane is the most overpriced source of pads on the internet, I see no reason to ever buy a pad from them.

The only thing better than a LevelSix ignition pad is a Cobalt Flux hard pad, but that's like $300.
 
Tain said:
Why not? If its only because of PC inconvenience, look into the Xbox Stepmania. Yes, it requires a softmod
Click to expand...

I did just that, I believe by your recommendation in a previous softmod thread, and it's the best gaming-related thing to happen to me in years. I can't even comprehend why anyone would not want to have a modded xbox now.

I do have one question, though.. Is there any good ps2->xbox controller converter that works well with ps/ps2 dance pads? I have a Konami Deluxe Pad (the pad that "Ignition," etc, are copying) and would love to use it on the xbox for StepmaniaX, but the converter I bought has a good full second of lag when used with it. Strangely, when I use normal ps2 controllers with it, there's no lag at all. I've searched all around for answers but have found nothing but a bunch of conflicting reports, and I'm not too keen on buying another converter without being pretty sure that it'll work nicely. I'm tempted to just buy an Xbox-dedicated pad, honestly, but I've already bought so many different pads over the years that I don't know if I can stand to pay for yet another.

Any ideas?
 
Heh I'd like to know too. I looked around DDRFreak and bought the converter that some people recommended and said worked with pads. "Works with pads" I guess means it reads them, but there's at least a quarter second of lag, which is obviously unplayable. Does anyone know of any PS2 -> X-Box converter that they've *actually used* with a DDR pad and that has no lag?

Is there anywhere that sells Konami Deluxe pads? I hear they're incredibly nice but incredibly rare...
 
Jer said:
Is there anywhere that sells Konami Deluxe pads? I hear they're incredibly nice but incredibly rare...
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt it, as I couldn't even find a store that would sell them when they first came out. I ended up buying one in Japan in 2000, and it was hard to find even there!

As for the quality, I doubt it's much better than any of its clones, if at all. At the time it sure seemed like a huge leap forward in dance mat technology, though. :)
 
Jer said:
I strongly recommend the LevelSix (www.levelsix.com) deluxe pads. They are exactly the same as the RedOctane ignition pads, are just as reliable, and cost $40 instead of $100. RedOctane is the most overpriced source of pads on the internet, I see no reason to ever buy a pad from them.

The only thing better than a LevelSix ignition pad is a Cobalt Flux hard pad, but that's like $300.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Checking it out. Wait. Is 1 inch enough? I thought I read that 3 inches was the way to go? Or is that only for soft mats? I'm confused. Also, if I buy the PS2/PSOne, version, would the PC and GCN adapters they sell also work well, or will there be a lag?
 
Wow, I suck at this game. Beginner is pathetically easy, downright unfun, but lots of the songs on Light, the next difficulty level up, destroy me. Is there something I'm not getting?

Ahh well, more practice won't hurt!

*resumes Dancing*

What's the best of the PS2 discs, btw? I have Extreme (PS2), DDR (PSOne), and Disney Mix (PSOne), so far, with the Max & Max 2 (PS2), and Konamix (PSOne), on their way...
 
There's not a whole lot to 'get' for awhile (up until you start needing to learn how to twist, but that's not until you get to like 7/8 foot stuff), except:

- Don't go back to the middle between steps.
- Alternate feet, don't plant the left foot on the left arrow and use the right foot for everything else.

Other than that, it's just practice.

Max 1 is my favorite US mix. Japanese Extreme is far and away the best home mix, if you have a Japanese/modded PS2.
 
Yeah, I mix up my up/down foot depending on which steps came/come right before/after the up/down steps. Meaning, I can fairly decently use either my left or right feet for the up/down steps, depending on the situation.

Hmmm, I HAVE been wasting time and energy going back to the middle after every step, however... except for those streak steps.

What do you mean by 7/8 foot stuff?
 
Adding onto what was mentioned earlier: Don't use your whole body to step, I dunno if you're doing this or not, but one of my friends who's played longer than me can't even play on standard (I moved up to heavy within a few months, he hasn't moved up to standard in a year) because of this. He uses his toes to kind of pop his whole body up and down to keep rhythm, unfortunately on anything that has 8th steps, this *kills* his balance and throws him off. Try to not move your upper body up/down much, just shift it left/right to keep your balance.

It's hard to illustrate what I mean, so I hope you understand me.

I'm assuming by 7/8 foot stuff he means the song's difficulty rating. Easier songs are represented by less feet, harder by more.
 
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