DDR Dance Pads - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Stompy · 04-28-2004, 10:46 AM

I was thinking about picking up DDR, but one of the things I'm not so sure about is what pad to get.

I know the el cheapo ($20) pads will crap out anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. However, a lot of the other pads are somewhat expensive, but then that begs the question: which is better regarding comfort and durability?

If I'm gonna spend $100-150 on a pad/platform, that thing better be GOOD and last me a few years, ya know? But which to chose from... there's the hard foam kind, then there's the metal platforms.

There's a guy on Ebay selling metal platforms for $90 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...102356728&rd=1), do you think that'd be a good buy?

There are discussions on this on the DDR forums (for example, DDRFreak.com), but those threads are sticky threads getting into the 60+ page range... and it's kinda tedious to read through all that. I'm assuming this is a Frequently asked question

Thanks

skier · 04-28-2004, 12:46 PM

well I just buy the 50$ (canadian) cheapo pads, then duct tape them to my floor. The only time they have broken on me is when they were completely submerged in a flood (i lost my modded PSX with that flood too ;_; ) and one of those actually survived, after I cleaned it up. The other one that broke was defective in the first place, and i got it replaced right away.
If you want a solid quality mat, go for the metal ones. They are heavy and cumbersome, but they will last ya a long time for sure. Personally though, i've spent 150$ on mats (3 mats) over 4 years, and they are just fine for me.

In_Stereo · 04-28-2004, 07:05 PM

I've also bought the cheapo mats, and they've never crapped out on me. it takes a little duct tape to keep 'em in place, though, and you never really get that arcade feel.

skier · 04-28-2004, 08:09 PM

yeah you do lose the arcade "sense", mostly because it's easy to slide your feet instead of stepping. I had to almost relearn to play maniac in the arcade.

RedCometChar · 04-28-2004, 08:46 PM

I got a pair of Ignition Pad knockoffs from eBay, and I'm satisfied with them. They don't slide or bunch up (there's an inch of foam padding inside) and the price was reasonable, $50 plus shipping for the set.

mgcloud · 04-28-2004, 10:10 PM

I got a $50 CAD regular mat ... it was a mistake. Slides all over the place and it's near impossible to ace even the simplest of the maniac songs (Mr. Wonderful, Kick the Can, 1234 007, those kind of things). Duct taping it might work as previous posters have stated, but it was impractical in my situation.

Not only that, but it breaks easily. If you do get one, don't roll it or fold it to store it (which is weird, cause that's how it came in the box). Something inside there got broken after the second day I bought it, so my left arrow is continuously on and my up arrow only works once in a while

I'm about to buy a metal pad, but I need $$ first :*(

Barbaloot · 04-29-2004, 10:10 AM

Are there any pads you can get that work well on carpeted floors? I was thinking the foam pads would be best for carpets, as the cheap thin plastic ones would probably break...

Stompy · 04-29-2004, 06:04 PM

I've read that the cheapo pads work BETTER if you put a piece of plywood under them, or one of those clear chair boards (commonly seen under computer chairs that roll).

I might borrow my friend's foam pad (the $100 ignition pad) and see how that feels and works out.

Then again.. for $150 I could get a metal pad,.. man, decisions decisions!

skier · 04-29-2004, 07:04 PM

Yeah on a thick carpet, the cheap pads are worse than useless, especially if you don't tape em down.
Mine are in the basement, on a rug on top of concrete, taped down. I can just move the rug to where I want my pads.
If you put them on the plywood or clear stuff, i'm sure you could use them on carpet though. Either way, you should make a decision. Dont want to do any work, but pay more: buy expensive pads.
Do a little work, pay less: buy cheapo pads and appropriate material.

MSD · 04-29-2004, 08:31 PM

I've heard that if you rip one off of an arcade version, it's pretty simple to hook it up to a ps2. That way it's free ...

JakeDrake84 · 04-30-2004, 10:42 PM

Heres the real trick:
Buy a regular cheapo pad for 20 bucks,
get ahold of some of that hard plastic flooring you find in offices that have the spikes on the underside.
Duct tape the pad to the top of the plastic and its almost like one of those expensive 50$ pads. A nice hard feeling like the arcade, absolutely NO slipping, and it makes the buttons much more sensitive(so you don't have to stomp all over the older pads) I was pulling off maniacs I could never dream of doing without the plastic, trust me this works.

killklaus · 05-01-2004, 12:34 AM

If you are primarily playing it alone, than get the cheap pads. THe game gets old very fast when you aren't playing with friends.

I have found that the only people who really need the metal pads are the people who play maniac/hardest mode possible.

Stompy · 05-03-2004, 06:14 AM

I borrowed a friend's Red Octane foam pad (the $100 kind) and one of the lesser expensive pads (Mad Catz or something).

The foam one is so much better because you can actually tell where your feet are just by feeling the pad.

The game's pretty fun, but man... the music SUCKS.

There's also this strange "in between" phase I'm stuck with. I'm getting A's and AA's on pretty much everything in Light mode, so I figured I might as well try Standard. If I do Standard, I get my ass handed to me. It's like there's no gradual difficulty increase (unless I'm missing something).

I'm playing the DDRMax2 version.

Amarth · 05-03-2004, 07:02 AM

Just make sure whatever pad you get has some type of plastic bars or whatever between the squares so that you can feel where your feet are.

04-28-2004, 10:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Stompy Banned from being Banned Location: Donkey	DDR Dance Pads I was thinking about picking up DDR, but one of the things I'm not so sure about is what pad to get. I know the el cheapo ($20) pads will crap out anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. However, a lot of the other pads are somewhat expensive, but then that begs the question: which is better regarding comfort and durability? If I'm gonna spend $100-150 on a pad/platform, that thing better be GOOD and last me a few years, ya know? But which to chose from... there's the hard foam kind, then there's the metal platforms. There's a guy on Ebay selling metal platforms for $90 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...102356728&rd=1), do you think that'd be a good buy? There are discussions on this on the DDR forums (for example, DDRFreak.com), but those threads are sticky threads getting into the 60+ page range... and it's kinda tedious to read through all that. I'm assuming this is a Frequently asked question Thanks __________________ I love lamp.

04-28-2004, 12:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
skier Rawr! Location: Edmontania	well I just buy the 50$ (canadian) cheapo pads, then duct tape them to my floor. The only time they have broken on me is when they were completely submerged in a flood (i lost my modded PSX with that flood too ;_; ) and one of those actually survived, after I cleaned it up. The other one that broke was defective in the first place, and i got it replaced right away. If you want a solid quality mat, go for the metal ones. They are heavy and cumbersome, but they will last ya a long time for sure. Personally though, i've spent 150$ on mats (3 mats) over 4 years, and they are just fine for me. __________________ "Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

04-28-2004, 07:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
In_Stereo Upright Location: near minneapolis	I've also bought the cheapo mats, and they've never crapped out on me. it takes a little duct tape to keep 'em in place, though, and you never really get that arcade feel. __________________ i've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!

04-28-2004, 08:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
skier Rawr! Location: Edmontania	yeah you do lose the arcade "sense", mostly because it's easy to slide your feet instead of stepping. I had to almost relearn to play maniac in the arcade. __________________ "Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

04-28-2004, 08:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
RedCometChar Not Brand Ecch! Location: New Orleans	I got a pair of Ignition Pad knockoffs from eBay, and I'm satisfied with them. They don't slide or bunch up (there's an inch of foam padding inside) and the price was reasonable, $50 plus shipping for the set. __________________ Killing that robot makes me want to go home.

04-28-2004, 10:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
mgcloud Upright	I got a $50 CAD regular mat ... it was a mistake. Slides all over the place and it's near impossible to ace even the simplest of the maniac songs (Mr. Wonderful, Kick the Can, 1234 007, those kind of things). Duct taping it might work as previous posters have stated, but it was impractical in my situation. Not only that, but it breaks easily. If you do get one, don't roll it or fold it to store it (which is weird, cause that's how it came in the box). Something inside there got broken after the second day I bought it, so my left arrow is continuously on and my up arrow only works once in a while I'm about to buy a metal pad, but I need $$ first :*(

04-29-2004, 10:10 AM	#7 (permalink)
Barbaloot Upright	Are there any pads you can get that work well on carpeted floors? I was thinking the foam pads would be best for carpets, as the cheap thin plastic ones would probably break...

04-29-2004, 06:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
Stompy Banned from being Banned Location: Donkey	I've read that the cheapo pads work BETTER if you put a piece of plywood under them, or one of those clear chair boards (commonly seen under computer chairs that roll). I might borrow my friend's foam pad (the $100 ignition pad) and see how that feels and works out. Then again.. for $150 I could get a metal pad,.. man, decisions decisions! __________________ I love lamp.

04-29-2004, 07:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
skier Rawr! Location: Edmontania	Yeah on a thick carpet, the cheap pads are worse than useless, especially if you don't tape em down. Mine are in the basement, on a rug on top of concrete, taped down. I can just move the rug to where I want my pads. If you put them on the plywood or clear stuff, i'm sure you could use them on carpet though. Either way, you should make a decision. Dont want to do any work, but pay more: buy expensive pads. Do a little work, pay less: buy cheapo pads and appropriate material. __________________ "Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim

04-29-2004, 08:31 PM	#10 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	I've heard that if you rip one off of an arcade version, it's pretty simple to hook it up to a ps2. That way it's free ...

04-30-2004, 10:42 PM	#11 (permalink)
JakeDrake84 Upright	Heres the real trick: Buy a regular cheapo pad for 20 bucks, get ahold of some of that hard plastic flooring you find in offices that have the spikes on the underside. Duct tape the pad to the top of the plastic and its almost like one of those expensive 50$ pads. A nice hard feeling like the arcade, absolutely NO slipping, and it makes the buttons much more sensitive(so you don't have to stomp all over the older pads) I was pulling off maniacs I could never dream of doing without the plastic, trust me this works. __________________ "The guts carry the feet, not the feet the guts..." -Cervantes

05-01-2004, 12:34 AM	#12 (permalink)
killklaus Tilted	If you are primarily playing it alone, than get the cheap pads. THe game gets old very fast when you aren't playing with friends. I have found that the only people who really need the metal pads are the people who play maniac/hardest mode possible.

05-03-2004, 06:14 AM	#13 (permalink)
Stompy Banned from being Banned Location: Donkey	I borrowed a friend's Red Octane foam pad (the $100 kind) and one of the lesser expensive pads (Mad Catz or something). The foam one is so much better because you can actually tell where your feet are just by feeling the pad. The game's pretty fun, but man... the music SUCKS. There's also this strange "in between" phase I'm stuck with. I'm getting A's and AA's on pretty much everything in Light mode, so I figured I might as well try Standard. If I do Standard, I get my ass handed to me. It's like there's no gradual difficulty increase (unless I'm missing something). I'm playing the DDRMax2 version. __________________ I love lamp.

05-03-2004, 07:02 AM	#14 (permalink)
Amarth Loser Location: About 50,000 feet in the air... oh shit.	Just make sure whatever pad you get has some type of plastic bars or whatever between the squares so that you can feel where your feet are.