Metal DDR pad suggestions

the gattchoon · Post by **the gattchoon** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 12:34 am

For some reason, I feel like investing in a metal DDR pad...

I only have a PS1, so do any of you have suggestions of what kind of metal pad is better/what not to get? And from where (online)?

Arka · Post by **Arka** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 12:44 am

Well, the standard for metal pads (if you can afford it) is the Cobalt Flux, which is compatible with the PS1 and PS2. Unfortunately, they cost $300 apiece, not to mention about $50 in shipping (IIRC).

You might also check http://www.indyddr.com/forums/viewtopic ... 82&start=0 and http://www.indyddr.com/forums/viewtopic ... =metal+pad for the words of wiser heads than I on the topic. In fact, there are probably older threads on the topic which you could dig up with a forum search. Everything I could possibly say about the CF is contained in those threads, so I'll shut up now.

Post by Ho » Tue Jul 04, 2006 8:00 am

I know I'll probably catch some flak (not Flakk, but flak) for this, but I'm just not a huge fan of the Flux. It's not a bad piece of equipment. It seems sturdy and responsive. But it feels nothing like the arcade stage.

At least for me, I wanted to recreate the arcade experience at home. The CF's flat surface and touch sensitive rather than pressure sensitive panels simply didn't get me anywhere near that effect.

Of course my quest to recreate the arcade experience eventually led me to buy an arcade machine. So be sure to consider any of my opinions with a requisite 'hardcore obsessive' grain of salt.

I'm very curious to hear from someone who has tried one of these. The design appears to be a little more arcade authentic, but that's based only on looking at the picture.

BeastieBoys4Life · Post by **BeastieBoys4Life** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 1:54 pm

I have a CF and I still don't think its that good but its the best one out there not to break, but my did. I did get it replace for free and it still works good. Ho has a good point that it doesn't have an arcade feel that what I was looking for but when I didn't work at Mega Play I used to play on it everyday after school. Only thing I did good with that pad was AAA Diving on DDR Extreme but that doesn't matter.

Also another reason I don't like the CF that much but I have it..is that I get WAY to many almost. I played Spin the Disc once and got 5 greats and 6 almost (yeah I'm that cool).

Anyways the CF still seem the best buy.

Arka · Post by **Arka** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 4:38 pm

Ho wrote:I know I'll probably catch some flak (not Flakk, but flak) for this, but I'm just not a huge fan of the Flux. It's not a bad piece of equipment. It seems sturdy and responsive. But it feels nothing like the arcade stage.

At least for me, I wanted to recreate the arcade experience at home. The CF's flat surface and touch sensitive rather than pressure sensitive panels simply didn't get me anywhere near that effect.

Of course my quest to recreate the arcade experience eventually led me to buy an arcade machine. So be sure to consider any of my opinions with a requisite 'hardcore obsessive' grain of salt.

I'm very curious to hear from someone who has tried one of these. The design appears to be a little more arcade authentic, but that's based only on looking at the picture.

Ho: have you ever played on CFs with the arcade mod that they're pushing nowadays? I've heard such a thing exists and am curious about them, but I neither have them myself nor know anyone local who does.

Post by Ho » Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:53 am

Arka wrote:Ho: have you ever played on CFs with the arcade mod that they're pushing nowadays? I've heard such a thing exists and am curious about them, but I neither have them myself nor know anyone local who does.

Actually, yes. I played on one modded with metal panels over the corners and the center. This did help to simulate the recessed arrows of the arcade stage and solved the flat surface issue. One downside was that this also made the X and O buttons (the top corners) inaccessible and made navigating the home versions of DDR a bit of a hassle.

However, there is still the matter of the fact that the panels are touch triggered and not pressure triggered. Realistically it doesn't really matter, but it's not faithful to the arcade (which does matter to some, including me). For instance, on an arcade stage you can bounce on a single panel without ever removing your foot and trigger it multiple times. A touch panel like the CF (or soft pads) won't register those bounces because you have to remove your foot before it will trigger again.

Fluffyumpkins · Post by **Fluffyumpkins** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:39 am

I'll chime in and say I love my CF pad. Sure the feel is slightly different, but you'll find yourself going out to the arcades less and less once you get stepmania and enjoy the multitude of great songpaks available, for free, to anyone who has time to download them. They don't break, aren't hard to clean, store easy, and smell great. For what it's worth, I've never had the issues with almosts. My guess is that if he was playing extreme, he didn't turn off dance play settings. (Or is it turn on... I can't remmeber. Hell I don't think that version of the game supported it)

A+++++++
Would buy again.

Post by Ho » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:24 am

Just to reiterate in case it wasn't clear:

It is not my intent to be negative about CFs.

They are a fine piece of hardware, play well, and are a good choice for home DDR equipment. I was just pointing out that they cannot fully and faithfully recreate the feel of the arcade stage. So if that's important to you, you should look somewhere else.

Pheonixguy · Post by **Pheonixguy** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:28 am

Fluffyumpkins wrote: My guess is that if he was playing extreme, he didn't turn off dance play settings. (Or is it turn on... I can't remmeber. Hell I don't think that version of the game supported it)

Extreme doesnt have dance play, and Im 99% sure your first guess was right about dance play settings. ^_^

FLAKK · Post by **FLAKK** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:11 pm

http://www.mymybox.com/ddrmbsgxg365.html

Quite pricey. But if you want the arcade feel, this seems to be what you are looking for.

Post by Ho » Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:14 pm

FLAKK wrote:http://www.mymybox.com/ddrmbsgxg365.html

Quite pricey. But if you want the arcade feel, this seems to be what you are looking for.

Ho wrote:I'm very curious to hear from someone who has tried one of these. The design appears to be a little more arcade authentic, but that's based only on looking at the picture.

FLAKK · Post by **FLAKK** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:53 pm

I completely missed that part of your post. The two seem to be identical except for the bar and an extra inch on the pad with the bar.

My only concern would be with the company themselves. A few people on Pump Core tried purchasing a PIU pad from them and had a shady experience.

Arka · Post by **Arka** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:24 pm

Ho wrote:
Arka wrote:Ho: have you ever played on CFs with the arcade mod that they're pushing nowadays? I've heard such a thing exists and am curious about them, but I neither have them myself nor know anyone local who does.
Actually, yes. I played on one modded with metal panels over the corners and the center. This did help to simulate the recessed arrows of the arcade stage and solved the flat surface issue. One downside was that this also made the X and O buttons (the top corners) inaccessible and made navigating the home versions of DDR a bit of a hassle.

However, there is still the matter of the fact that the panels are touch triggered and not pressure triggered. Realistically it doesn't really matter, but it's not faithful to the arcade (which does matter to some, including me). For instance, on an arcade stage you can bounce on a single panel without ever removing your foot and trigger it multiple times. A touch panel like the CF (or soft pads) won't register those bounces because you have to remove your foot before it will trigger again.

Ah, okay - thanks. I didn't know exactly what was involved in the "arcade mod." I'm surprised it didn't address that issue, but then, I guess that would require reconstructing the buttons' internals rather than just adding things to the outside of the pad, which (if I understand you correctly) is all the mod currently consists of.

FLAKK wrote:My only concern would be with the company themselves. A few people on Pump Core tried purchasing a PIU pad from them and had a shady experience.

Shady experience? FLAKK, please elaborate.

FLAKK · Post by **FLAKK** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:51 pm

http://pumpcore.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=24

I'd rather stick with a company I know about and can trust for now. But then again, this is the first time I heard any negative feedback from MyMyBox and it's nothing too extreme.

lgolem · Post by **lgolem** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 1:08 pm

Ho wrote:I'm very curious to hear from someone who has tried one of these. The design appears to be a little more arcade authentic, but that's based only on looking at the picture.

I figured I would spread the word about these babies....I have played on cobalt fluxes, red octane afterburner and even some other type I dunno what they were at Christina's house....and these are just simply amazing....they feel just like the arcade pads and they are as sensitve as a brand new machine. One of my friends has one and I played DDR on it and LOVED it....I want to order one myself but that is 300$ I don't have.