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HowTo Build a Quality DDR Deck
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."
On Slashdot, if DDR is meant to stand for "Dance Dance Revolution" instead of "double data rate," as in "DDR SDRAM," then you're gonna need to spell it out at least once, mmkay?
perl -e 'foreach(values %SIG){$_="IGNORE";}while(){}'
Using the free Stepmania and what..completely original songs?
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.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but why not just toss the kids outside and station a college near-drop-out to shout "run, fat-ass!" at them every few minutes. That certainly sounds cheaper.
I seriously question the results of this being as good as other designs I've seen, from looking at the parts list.
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 game In The Groove will recognize the importance of this!).
Omeg La. Rofl Leh.
Not really. From Lik-Sang you can get a pretty solid metal dance pad for under $150. Maybe not "better than arcade quality", but then I'd question whether the project listed is better either. Without trying it, you can't tell, but hey. Fair play to the guys for doing it though, it's a nice project anyway! :)
Game dev and music blog
Has anyone tried double-clicking the left-hand sidebar headings? "Help", "Stories", etc? Watch the triangles!
Someone messed up.
You can tell that the author is not a seasoned DDR freak like there are out there.
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
Yeah I tried it. It opens and closes the sections and the triangles behave normally. Really people, the design is just fine.
With firefox everything looks okay to me...
I don't. I just got my morning slashdot fix, and my eyes already hurt. While all the main /. elements are here, the overall look is quite generic "2.0". I also agree with most criticism regarding typography and colors/contrast in this thread. Did I mention the comment scores on the right? Ahr!
Yeah, the triangles don't track the double click, only the first click, people don't notice that :P
To explain to the people that see no bug:
Double-click (that's DOUBLE-click) an OPEN section. The section will close, and the triangle will point right and then down again.
Now SINGLE-click another open section. The section will close, and the triangle points right.
Hmm... slight discrepancy. Which way should triangles point for closed sections, again?
I am going to have to disagree. You can build a reputable steel one for less than $100. Howtos are all over the web. The Cobalt flux is far more affordable at $299 as well. Fantastic quality, takes a beating and the polycarbonate plastic and galvanized steel can stand up to a barage of vehicles running over it with no problems. http://www.cobaltflux.com/media/MikesDDRandFoogyDo ogy_Runover+Holic.avi
30% off web hosting. Coupon code "SLASHDOT".
Yes, here's a screenshot. 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.
Do you know if anyone's released a custom CSS or any other kind of workaround that makes everything go back to normal?
:(
This new layout is much harder to read, and only looks marginally better
Cheers...
$HOME is where the
-- silver_p
Now we need an article explaining WHY anyone would want to do this....the HOW is trivial.
... no! Look at those welds, awful. The first 300 lb. nerd buddy of his that comes over to play and get some exercise will snap that thing into a hundred pieces.
You have a lot of fantasies about men going down on you. is this the result of your being beat up continuously in school? Generally folks like you haven't an ounce of maculinity is them, are frequently beat up, and try to get out their frustrations by venting like this online. No chance of you getting the shit kicked out of you, or even being identified.
Probably also into anime porn. Really sad.
A reason could be interactive mediainstallation. I did something like that with alarm pads and a hacked gamecontroller for much less but only 5 points of interaction in this project: http://block4.com/fps Another project from Canada with a higher resolution than mine: http://tapiton.drone.ws/en/index.html
"Buy some modern text books"?! Now THAT'S quality journalism.
It's really hard to take the creators seriously, their price range itself is quite a laugh, from $250 to $1000.
2 54
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
I'm probably missing something, but how exactly is a computer game that forces people to jump around to play going to entice people to become fitter?
I find the exercise I get cyling to the office along the river while listening to a BBC news podcast difficult to beat, except for the odd game of squash. At the time time I find it really difficult to believe that anyone could subject themselves to this sort of rat-racing occupation, let alone build one.
Nihil Illegitemi Carborvndvm
An older DIY design is here, and Riptide's videos as well. Build costs are estimated at 140 and 200 dollars. One more here.
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, as that provides further feedback.
It also doesn't use any vertical crossbeams in the pads, leading to sensor and support disparity. This is why the base is generally built out of wood, or a bit more metal. That keeps the right side of the left sensor feeling the same as the up, down, and left sides. As it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if stepping on the right side of the left sensor crushed the pad material for a permanent button-down signal. Or if the acrylic began to bow there.
For that matter, generally you want Lucite or Lexan for the deck. Hard as hell, and going to take it for a while. But people have successfully used other things.
And if you're going to buy metal, you want a Cobalt Flux. Unless you're more casual / like your knees, at which point get an ignition. Most of the 150 metal mats will leave you disappointed, especially compared to the Cobalt. Though I've heard the 200 ninja is ok too.
The ______ Agenda
Looks like the author could use some remedial schooling themself. Grammar/spelling errors abound.
</nazi>
Seriously... I want to know what Slashdot reader double-clicks on ANYTHING in a web page. My father, or mother-in-law, sure. But Slashdot users? C'mon... we all know better. As for the article: Cool idea. Too flashy for my taste. I prefer the authentice DDR arrows, and I'd like the arrows to light up when pressed. I really found the steel frame to be the most interesting. From the looks of the welding job, I'm not sure I'm ready to use a welding torch. Also, people need to make sure they put some type of shock absorbing feet under the "arcade" style pads if they're going to be playing on a concrete slab. I tried playing down in my basement, as opposed to my living room with a wooden sub-floor above a crawlspace, and I gotta say, "It didn't feel too good."
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.
THROUGH, NOT THREW!
I see typos every day in news stories from "journalists" why should we expect more from some geek? It really is the decline of western civilization as we know it. Oh yeah, and DDR is gay.
Terrible karma and aiming lower, which in this environment of one-sided reason, is higher.
If you want a high quality DDR danceing surface that lasts and you don't want to spend lots of dough, do this:
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 ($3)
Tape the vinyl down to the plywood with a roll of black duck tape ($5)
For ~$45 you have a nice dancing surface that will last you at least a year playing heavy mode (I do 9 foot songs on mine) that does not slip or move across the floor.
How, exactly, can the author claim the build time is only 30 minutes ("0.5 hours") while at the same time bemoaning the loss of their welder?
If a project requires welding, I think that moves it squarely outside of "amateur" territory.
http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=592 54
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), adjustable (you can set up how much pressure trips the state machine and registers a step), triple-system (USB,XBOX,PS2) wood DDR pad (check out the last couple of pages on that thread).
The inventgeek.com deck is supposed to be cheaper than the West Virginia systems. Hmm...
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 rather have for a class of 30? Probably the display that's bigger.
West Virginia's setup has a TV, Xbox, pad, and game for $740.
Just my math, but I don't think the inventgeek.com homemade setup is saving anyone any money.
Both of you lack imagination if you cannot see how it is useful. For one, No, I am not going to GO OUT and PAY MONEY to dance just to get fit. Nor do I know how to dance, if I am left to choose my own moves. I have no clue what to do, and it's way too late to start learning (I'm 32). DDR is the ONLY time I have EVER excercized in my life and enjoyed it. And, before construction encroached on our open spaces, the wife & I played at least 6 songs every day. Good fun. I wipe the floor with her and am pretty much undefeatable by any of my friends (but 8 year old asian kids can kick my ass of course). I can't bike due to my knee, I don't have an IPOD or any desire for a portable audio player, and fuck having to excercise during daylight. You sit here and decry something many people have found valuable, and for what? To proclaim your elitism?
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com