HowTo Build a Quality DDR Deck 96
Compu486 writes "In an effort to show that quality dance gaming systems can be done affordably, Inventgeek.com has put together an article showing how
to make DDR systems better than arcade quality for not a lot of cash. Using this
type of system and the free stepmania, hopefully schools
in West Virginia can save some scratch and buy some modern text books."
OK, quick thing here... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:OK, quick thing here... (Score:2)
Re:OK, quick thing here... (Score:5, Funny)
Free? (Score:5, Insightful)
The songs included with any of the games are all 'protected'. Schools would rather pay $500 per piece of software than have something that might not be completely legal.
Re:Free? (Score:1)
They could use the original songs, if it's only for exercise then why waste hundreds of dollars on Brittney Spears tunes?
Re:Free? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Free? (Score:2)
Can I be the first to say:
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
Re:Free? (Score:1)
Re:Free? (Score:2)
Yes, "completely original songs".. (Score:3, Informative)
Cheers...
Re:Yes, "completely original songs".. (Score:1)
Re:Free? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Free? (Score:1)
Stepmania itself comes with nothing but the program, and the default skin, you have to download all the DDR/ITG/PumP songs, themes, and characters separately keeping them out of that legal trouble for the most part. And yes, there are original songs. BEMANISTYLE.COM is a goo
Re:Free? (Score:1)
We have about 30-40 songs already underway from several artists.. including DM Ashura who is set to have a song included in one of the next DDR games
Check it out.. we are located at http://www.smmix.com/ [smmix.com]
Re:Free? (Score:1)
Free, High Quality, and Legal..
I fought fairly hard to try to get a true open content license (I wanted the CC Attribution ShareAlike [creativecommons.org] but the rest of the team, and more so the artists wouldn't fold entirely
I ended up penning my own varaition of the CC by-nc-nd with several loopholes.. most importantly to allow commercial performance (so that it could be used in arcade machines), this license is located here [smmix.com]
Once again, please check it out if you have a
Re:Excuse me for going extremely off-topic... (Score:1)
Re:Excuse me for going extremely off-topic... (Score:1)
Re:Excuse me for going extremely off-topic... (Score:1)
Yes, here's a screenshot. [imageshack.us] Nothing serious, but still a bug. And is it just me, or the sidebar state isn't tracked, and gets reset on every reload? Makes the whole idea pretty useless, unless there's a setting somewhere in preferences which would collapse them by default.
Re:Excuse me for going extremely off-topic... (Score:1)
Re:Excuse me for going extremely off-topic... (Score:2)
This new layout is much harder to read, and only looks marginally better
"Run, fat-ass!" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:"Run, fat-ass!" (Score:4, Funny)
Although it might cost a little more, I'm sure this [imageshack.us] guy would be much more effective.
Re:"Run, fat-ass!" (Score:2)
That sounds too much like an oxymoron to me.
Hrm... (Score:1, Insightful)
The use of springs in particular worries me - moving parts on DDR pads are not a good thing, as they introduce a critical breaking point.
I've seen light-based sensor designs (from a couple sadly cancelled arcade dance game projects) that work better by minimizing part motion and allowing you to actually hit the things with your hands (anyone who has played Expert songs on the Stepmania-based g
Re:Hrm... (Score:1)
Re:Hrm... (Score:4, Informative)
The real DDR pads are constructed of wood for a good natural overall springiness, then covered in sheet metal for durability. The buttons use presser sensors as opposed to mechanical contacts, so there's no actual movement to them (and they can go for years of abuse without wearing out because of it). Also each button has 2 sensors for redundancy, only one needs to be tripped to detect a push...
Not to mention the best part of the real machine is that there are no ABXY buttons to accidentally push
Re:Hrm... (Score:2)
Re:Hrm... (Score:1)
That's only for 2 player cabs... For the solo cab, it's 2 sensors per.
Re:Hrm... (Score:2)
Re:Hrm... (Score:2)
It looked very similar to the one in your post except for the sensors which were just white rubber strips. I also seem to remember that whole area shown in white being made of wood. Maybe the older ones were built a little different, maybe my memory isn't as good as it
Cost effective? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Cost effective? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Cost effective? (Score:1)
Yay to Cobalt Flux, nay to RedOctane - I lost trust in them after DDRFREAK members revealed (with photographic proof) that they use rusty metal.
BTW, How is the MyMyBox SOLOMODE 2200 pad? I am getting it tomorrow and if it is the kind of pad that needs modding to be any good I would like to know, preferably what modding is needed. ^_^
Re:Cost effective? (Score:1)
Re:Cost effective? (Score:1)
total before shipping: US$ 99.90 (~53.04 GBP)
Weight 17.40 kg
Need raised panels (Score:5, Interesting)
The arcade pads, higher end home ones (cobalt flux), and even the foam pads have raised sections so that you know where you are while you're playing. It's very easy to get lost and start stomping the wrong buttons while playing on heavy (hard) or challenge mode.
--my 2 cents
Quality for $1000? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Quality for $1000? (Score:2)
Re:Quality for $1000? (Score:2)
Next question... (Score:1)
application: media arts (Score:1)
Modern text books? Offensive (Score:2)
Cost range... (Score:5, Informative)
I have built my own pads, and as has been mentioned, movement is a very bad thing for actually playing DDR, and the most expensive I have gotten one of my pads to cost was about 150, with LEDs, a polycarbonate surface instead of the acrylic. I had tested an acrylic setup by making a steel square (what I was using to hold up each arrow) and having friends jump on it, which is a little more realistic than "stacking a 55 pound anvil on top of a ballpin hammer and hitting it with a 20 Lb Sledge hammer." at 150lb, with a hard jump, I broke it. My 300lb friend didn't even get a chance to try.
I really think if this kid was trying to be serious about selling them to a school, he would have designed his own control box, it's not hard to make a HID device, and costs much much less.
For more information, check out this thread on making DDR pads: http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=59
Re:Cost range... (Score:1)
Re:Cost range... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
*roll eyes*
Both of you lack imagination. (Score:1)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
I constantly see people complianing that kids don't get out and play enough - now some kids are actually playing - while also playing a video game - and people still complain. What gives? They are
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Yes, I'm aware that energy is expended in this pointless occupation, I just question what the value is of making exercise a side-effect or gimmick of some fad that's going to go away in a week or
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Watch somebody playing heavy mode doubles sometime... not easy songs like BREAK DOWN!, Candy, Long Train Runnin' or some of the slow and crappy songs, I mean MAX. (Period), MAX 300, PARANOiA Survivor MAX (on Oni diffuculty), stuff like that. The stamina required, the twisting, running, jumping... how anybody would not see even remote exercise in this really
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
There's a lot of people with comprehension problems out there today. Look at the word entice, it's critical in my original post. DDR isn't a way of enticing people to get fit, it's a gimmick based on a current fad that's going to go away as all fads do. I'm not saying the fad, for the few weeks it lasts, doesn't make people exercise, merely that it isn't the road to long or even medium term fitness improvements.
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
"DDR isn't a way of enticing people to get fit" is absolutely true, as DDR is a game, has been since 1998, but the purposes change; more and more people are using DDR as part of a fitness routine - Middle and High schools/even colleges are getting the game incorporated in gym classes, DDR is even finding the way into fitness
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
I find the whole "invent entertainment so people go to the gym" thing somewhat distasteful, likewise the idea that schools should include it to try and entice kids to be more active is... shortsighted at best. Fighting games are not exactly a new genre, just a new media wrapped around something that might well be as old as humans.
I see this leading down a slippery slope of building explicit reward systems to regulate every part of healthy life for a populace completely incapable of caring for itself.
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Re:Fitness Gaming? (Score:1)
Thank you for unknowingly illustrating my point. Yes, I believe teaching sports to kids in school is markedly superior to letting them play some
Not the greatest, but not bad (Score:2)
The main problem with the InventGeek design is that it doesn't appear to have any tactile feedback. You need the subtle height differences to be able to read with your feet. Also, you want the standing surface in the middle to be solid metal (unless you're going to play Pump It Up [piu4home.com], as that provides further feedback.
It also doesn't use any vertical crossbeams in the pads, leading to
Spell check? (Score:1)
</nazi>
Re:Spell check? (Score:2)
If you decide consciously that you are not going to play by the rules that the rest of us play by, don't be surprised when the rest of us look at you as though you're an idiot.
Re:Spell check? (Score:2)
You should reconsider your overuse of the word 'that'. Your first sentence would be more readable as follows: "If you decide consciously you are not going to play by the rules the rest of us play by,
Removing the unnecessary 'thats' results in a cleaner, more natural sentence. Also, you really aren't supposed to start sentences wi
Xbox/PS2 (Score:2)
Which is the same reason you can choose a PS2 one... there are plenty of PS2 to USB connectors available that work fine with dancepads.
Why bother? (Score:1)
Re:Why bother? (Score:1)
The ghetto way of doing this (Score:2)
Get a cheap "soft" dance pad - the kind without the foam, but not madcatz - from gamestop or EB. ($20)
Cut a piece of plywood (or particleboard) just a little bigger than the dance pad ($10)
Put down carpet tape on the plywood in a grid pattern ($5)
stick the dance pad down to the carpet tape
Get a sheet of clear vinyl from the fabric store just bigger than the pad, but a little smaller than the plywood
He lost me at "welder" (Score:2)
If a project requires welding, I think that moves it squarely outside of "amateur" territory.
Re:He lost me at "welder" (Score:2)
What I wonder about is how you can weld the thing in under 30 minutes. Unless they aren't including setup time for welding (getting parts, tools and safety equipment together, se
Check out the DDRFreak forums on this (Score:2, Interesting)
That topic has *lots* (too much, probably) of info on this. There are several different designs. Personally I would think that the wood-based ones developed there are better (and they are the most common). I am designing a CCFL-lighted(one tube per arrow which light up permanently, when you step, or when you're SUPPOSED to step depending on mode), microcontrolled (PIC18F4550 based), pressure-sensor-based (no moving parts, at least not substantially moving
Re:Check out the DDRFreak forums on this (Score:1)
Re:Check out the DDRFreak forums on this (Score:1)
There's no cost savings I can find here... (Score:1)
inventgeek.com
Pad (estimated): $250 - $1000 USD
Stepmania: Free, but...
A computer: at least $400-500 for the low end, probably more if you want to run Stepmania flawlessly. (Guess what: School systems tend not to have extra computers laying around they can ship off to gym class. I know, I go to a high school.)
Plus, computer monitors are what, 15, 17, 19 inch? Versus a TV monitor at 30-40 inches, which one would you r