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HowTo Build a Quality DDR Deck

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dance-till-the-revolution-comes dept.

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."

4 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. OK, quick thing here... by mogrify · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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(){}'
    1. Re:OK, quick thing here... by Seriously,+who · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously, who can imagine Dial on Demand Routing of a Direct-to-Disk recording of a game of Dance Dance Revolution running on a machine with Double Data Rate RAM inside the Deutsche Demokratische Republik undergoing Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration?

  2. Need raised panels by starbuck8968 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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

  3. Cost range... by Tolookah · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's really hard to take the creators seriously, their price range itself is quite a laugh, from $250 to $1000.
    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=592 54