Excuse me while I dance my face off.~

[Moon Rabbits]

k, so I got DDR: SuperNOVA for Christmas, with the dancepad and all that jazz. I love it and have been playing it like mad and have managed to pull a leg muscle :(

So, in my break from DDR, I decided to go online and look at things related to DDR because I like to be obsessed with things like that :jess: Anyways, I discovered this juicy delicious little thing called StepMania (www.stepmania.com), which is pretty much a DDR clone for the PC.

Excited, I discovered that there are also countless songs with player made steps to go along with them. Overjoyed by the fact that I could be dancing along to "Bitches" by Mindless Self Indulgence, I promptly began my search for some way to connect my Dance Mat to my PC.

Thus, my question is this: do you recommend that I find a Dance Mat meant for the PC, or should I just get an adapter for my PS2 dance pad? Any Dance Mat recommendations are welcome :bigsmile:

[Shoeberto]

A USB converter would be the best bet; StepMania's site actually lists ones that are most compatible with dance pads.

As for pads themselves, if you're willing to put some time into it, you can't beat building your own. (http://www.digitaltorque.com/mydancepad/) I built the actual base to mine two summers ago and, despite issues I've had with poor soldering jobs in the wiring, it works fantastic. It only came up to be about $40 out-of-pocket expenses for me, too, since a lot of the supplies were things my dad had out in his shop - it might not work out of everyone this way, but if you know someone who is in to carpentry, it's worth a shot :)

Red Octane (http://www.redoctane.com/specialty-ddr.html) has a reputation for some beasty pads, too. I think opting for a thick foam pad is a good idea for anyone somewhat serious about playing, since they're not as expensive as hard pads but have much better performance than the super-thin pads.

Which is not to say I'm a terribly serious DDR player in building my own; just bored and curious as to what kind of results I would get :)

[Moon Rabbits]

Wow, I didn't even notice all the hardware recommendations on the StepMania website.

Building my own pad would be interesting, and maybe I will once I get a job.

Thanks for the links and info, Hsu.

[Kamiko]

I have one word.
BeforU.

[KentaRawr!]

My brother plays Stepmania like mad, but he uses the keyboard.

If the pad you currently have is working for you, then you should find some sort of console to PC USB adaptor. It definitely works for us. :p Until, of course, the pad broke.

[JKTrix]

USB adapter, definitely. StepMania is awesome for DDR fans, and you can apparently make your own steps to songs you own if you get into it that much.

[Markus. D]

I have a USB converter!

I play Stepmania quite alot!


its fun n_n-b


there are plenty of fan-made thisms.

:)

[Jowy]

If you want to shell out the coinage, get a Cobalt Flux dance pad. They can be ran over by a Ford Explorer and still work!

[Moon Rabbits]

If you want to shell out the coinage, get a Cobalt Flux dance pad. They can be ran over by a Ford Explorer and still work!

I've heard good things about CF. They've also got hard-foam inserts, and I'd much prefer that over my soft-foam pad.

[Jowy]

The Cobalt Flux pads are the high-end metallic arcade replica. The Red Octane pads are the sexy foam insert ones. ;D

[Dr Aum]

Try to avoid cheap 3rd party pads. I've had one break completely, one that has its START button permanently pressed down, and another that works fine. At least, the last two were working alright until recently, but now whenever I play they both seem to have a .5 second or so lag, which is of course no good for DDR.

Makes me a sad panda. :(