The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls

Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: pbj on December 27, 2013, 11:45:05 pm

Title: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 27, 2013, 11:45:05 pm
Picked these up on Christmas Eve.  I'm told they're "Korean bootlegs from Taiwan." 

 :dunno

(http://i.imgur.com/KsQPWx0.jpg?1)

They weigh about 100lbs each and make sure you wear thick leather gloves picking these things up - the bottom edges are razor sharp. 

Bottoms are a little rough:

(http://i.imgur.com/9AqdEWi.jpg)

What it looks like with the wood ripped off.  The authentic ones are supposed to be completely wrapped in stainless steel.

(http://i.imgur.com/3Tva635.jpg)

Underside of one of the arrows:

(http://i.imgur.com/7pLYvMT.jpg)

Grid underneath arrows:

(http://i.imgur.com/BxVkfXG.jpg)

Under the grid:

(http://i.imgur.com/dBMPqpF.jpg)

The pushbutton is always lit when it's powered.  Clicking it breaks that connection and lights the bulbs around the arrow.  Yes, those are mostly 555 bulbs with wires soldered directly to them and affixed to the wood with hot glue.  One 47.

 :dizzy:

A very weird combination of good construction and corner cutting.

Anyway, unlike the hypocrisy in the MAME community, the DDR folks seem quite open about the fact they've bootlegged all the software, imagery, and music from the arcade machines.  And then eventually monetized it by selling conversion kits and then their own machines.  So I've currently got some bootlegged up "In The Groove 2" software chock full of DDR assets. 


Now to decide what happens to these things...

 :cheers:

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Nephasth on December 28, 2013, 12:00:17 am
Now to decide what happens to these things...

For some reason, I can't picture you using these... at all.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 28, 2013, 12:10:04 am
I suck at it but I always liked them in the arcades.  I think these will withstand all 450 of my pounds slamming them.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Fursphere on December 28, 2013, 01:25:40 am
Everytime DDR comes up - this clip pops into my head.


Grandmas boy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWKQidVsjM4#)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: rablack97 on December 28, 2013, 12:03:49 pm
This guy did a hell of a job on this build..

http://www.pnwbemani.net/bemani-discussion/custom-made-itg3-machine!/ (http://www.pnwbemani.net/bemani-discussion/custom-made-itg3-machine!/)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on December 28, 2013, 02:04:11 pm
Those are actually the Taiwan bootlegs from Korea. 
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 30, 2013, 12:53:01 pm
Making some extremely slow progress on this.  Figure I might as well make them USB like everything else.

Picked up a couple of these for use as encoders.  If the project fizzles out, this is something I might actually use for something else some day.  Seems awfully cheap at $6 shipped...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES-Style-Controller-Game-Pad-USB-For-PC-MAC-Pixel-Art-Blue-NEW-/221327412066?pt=US_Video_Game_Controllers&hash=item3388244b62 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-NES-Style-Controller-Game-Pad-USB-For-PC-MAC-Pixel-Art-Blue-NEW-/221327412066?pt=US_Video_Game_Controllers&hash=item3388244b62)

Mulling over how to handle the lighting.  I've got hundreds of pinball bulbs laying around.   :P
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: MonMotha on December 30, 2013, 01:01:03 pm
These are commonly referred to by players as "crap-o-cabs".  There's no wood in a legitimate stage from Japan, though the DDRX era US-region ones are made of wood (and they suck, too).  It's pretty unlikely you'll ever get these to work very well as the design just isn't very good, but you can have some fun with them.

Regarding lighting, I'd go with LEDs if you actually care.  Those incandescents are harder to switch (being a higher power load) and don't respond well to the rapid on/off cycles that the game subjects them to: they die quickly AND don't light up quickly enough for a good effect.

Also, In the Groove started out as a similar game offered as a conversion kit, then they had Andamiro (maker of a legitimate competitor to DDR known as Pump It Up) sell dedicated cabinets.  There were not originally any DDR assets in ITG, though they did (legitimately) license a few of the same songs.  Konami eventually sued them into oblivion over the conversion process due to trademark infringement: apparently they didn't do enough to cover up all the old Konami trademarks during the conversion process.  ITG machines are commonly "hacked" by their users (they just run Stepmania, an open source DDR simulator) to add in all the old DDR songs/simfiles, but this was not present in the original ITG distributions.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 30, 2013, 01:10:30 pm
You're overstating the shortcomings of incandescent bulbs - the ones in this well used pad are clearly original and most of them work.   ;D





Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 02, 2014, 01:32:34 pm
Ah to heck with it.  Might as well exploit the sales this time a year and go LED:

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=3496185 (http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=3496185)

$1.46/string and you wash out the tax with a 10% coupon.  I'm picking up a pile of these this afternoon.  Hard to beat 3 cents an LED that comes with wiring and its own socket.  I'll chop a couple of these up and throw a wall wart in each pad and the lighting issue should be solved.

Admittedly, I did cancel the 30 strings of incandescent I had ordered at 55 cents each.  No idea what the hell I'd do with that many lights.   ;D

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 02, 2014, 09:02:37 pm
Annnnd Lowe's sold them out from under me. 

Went to Hobby Lobby, guy ahead of me was literally arm sweeping entire shelves of boxes of lights into his cart.

Can't win them all, I guess. 

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on January 03, 2014, 01:03:33 pm
Get in there and throw some elbows black friday style.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 03, 2014, 01:38:09 pm
I bought a pile of battery powered 10-LED strings for $1.70/each... shipped.  Why do we even have stores?  Any wall wart should be able to handle those things simultaneously, so I'll put one string in each arrow.  Heck, a lantern battery would probably last years.  Terminal strips and USB extension cables have been ordered.

Progress anticipated when all this junk arrives from China next month.

 :cheers:



Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 04, 2014, 08:56:30 pm
Okay, time for an actual update.  The control pads arrived.

(http://i.imgur.com/s3gJ1BS.jpg?2)

Uncomfortable and the buttons are hard to press.  And we wonder why these things are on clearance 3 months after release?

Easily opened.  Hm... looks like the resemblance was intended:

(http://i.imgur.com/SjsoZik.jpg?2)

Anyway, forget all that.  Here's what we came for:

(http://i.imgur.com/NO0eVWt.jpg?2)

10 beautiful inputs with a common ground.  2 inputs (right and up) that would require their own ground wires (or perhaps some creative work at a terminal strip).  Didn't even have to scrap anything off the copper pads.

Terminal strips haven't arrived, but I couldn't wait.  I got out the DMM and buzzed out the inputs.  I'll clean this up later.

(http://i.imgur.com/1LbN3r8.jpg?2)

And here we go.  Time to decide what happens with these pads.  Using the second control pad for things like Enter/Start/Escape right now.  Even though In The Groove doesn't label the inputs as Joy1 / Joy2 when you're mapping them, it does in fact recognize both gamepads as separate devices.  The way the game works, it doesn't even matter which order they're plugged in, so it lends itself well to a modular design for each pad.

(http://i.imgur.com/NaDlXLT.jpg?2)


Done!   ;D


Not really... need to figure out the wiring and how I'm going to get handle bars.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Nephasth on January 04, 2014, 09:31:37 pm
2014 UCA. You heard it hear first.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 05, 2014, 05:12:38 pm
In one of those moments of frugal brilliance, I realized that adding two push buttons to this thing would both eliminate the need for handlebars and make the pads completely functional with In The Groove with no additional devices needed.

The holes are 1.5" across, slightly too wide for regular push buttons.  I bought some light up 46mm ones and they'll just be glued in place so I don't have to cut up the metal underneath.

But as a test, I cut a couple of gaskets out of plastic, shoved buttons through them, and wired it up.  Works really well and it's pretty intuitive to have the right button work as Enter and the left as Back/Escape.  You can see one of them in the photo below.

(http://i.imgur.com/vOwpUAU.jpg)


I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.


 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Nephasth on January 05, 2014, 05:21:27 pm
I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.

 :laugh2:  Creeper.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: wp34 on January 05, 2014, 08:44:17 pm
I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.

 :laugh2:    Nice.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: yotsuya on January 05, 2014, 10:16:04 pm

I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.


 :cheers:

I've got $5 cash-in-hand that says PBJ "disappears" again in the next 3 months...  :laugh2:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Le Chuck on January 06, 2014, 08:09:53 am

I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.


 :cheers:

I've got $5 cash-in-hand that says PBJ "disappears" again in the next 3 months...  :laugh2:

Infatuation with clowns, teenages lured into the garage, yep...seen this one before.    :lol
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Nephasth on January 06, 2014, 01:14:31 pm

I've already successfully lured a curious neighborhood girl into my garage, so project priority has increased.


 :cheers:

I've got $5 cash-in-hand that says PBJ "disappears" again in the next 3 months...  :laugh2:

Infatuation with clowns, teenages lured into the garage, yep...seen this one before.    :lol

John Wayne Gacy
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: BadMouth on January 06, 2014, 01:50:24 pm
In one of those moments of frugal brilliance....

I ---smurfin---' love those.

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 09, 2014, 09:54:07 am
Well, here's a good tip.  If you're looking for cheap Christmas lights in January, go visit the kosher-friendly grocery store.

(http://i.imgur.com/6r9fjNj.jpg)

Unfortunately, they only had two strings of LED lights, but at 90% off I bit on their entire shopping cart of incandescent lights.  ~75 strings, ~$16.  I should be stocked up for awhile.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 13, 2014, 08:14:10 pm
Buttons arrived:

(http://i.imgur.com/OWWsX1H.jpg)

Here's the plan for them:

(http://i.imgur.com/xO3xBV1.jpg)


Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 25, 2014, 11:30:37 pm
The last parts I needed showed up this week.

Mainly terminal strips and LED battery powered Christmas lights.  While searching for a roll of toilet paper, I found an old beard trimmer charger for a weed whacker trashed years ago.

Chopped off the end, wired it to the push buttons and here we go.  Sure, we could do resistor calculations and determine amperage needed but hush now only lights.  I put 1 string of 10 inside each arrow.


(http://i.imgur.com/44GT1KX.jpg?1)

Still looking good with the grid tossed on it:

(http://i.imgur.com/EAyDUem.jpg?1)

Uh oh.  Now we have a problem.  The plastic arrows have aluminum tape on the bottom of them:

(http://i.imgur.com/UUnoebJ.jpg?1)

Not sure what I'm going to do about that.  Possibly remove some of that tape... or just ignore it.

(http://i.imgur.com/d527FeV.jpg?2)

Anyway, plays great.  All that's left to do is zip tie up the wiring and put the bottom back on the pad.  Then on to the second pad...

 :cheers:



Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Gamester on January 26, 2014, 12:27:22 pm
Not sure what I'm going to do about that.  Possibly remove some of that tape... or just ignore it.

With the time and effort you spent lighting them up, it seems silly to ignore the fact that the illumination of a huge portion of the arrow is blocked...
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 26, 2014, 01:56:08 pm
Argh, I know.  I've tried some judicious removal of the aluminum tape, but its ripping off ink.

I may have to source new bootleg arrows or trying shoving these in the deep freeze and see if it falls off.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Xiaou2 on January 26, 2014, 11:43:15 pm
Unless they have changed the design... 

 When someone places their weight on the square, it sinks down, and the foil touches the Positive and Negative strips, causing the circuit to complete.

 While they Might have also used the pushbutton as a backup... I think they choose foil as the main contact method, because microswitches need a 2mm depth to activate.. and often need perfectly centered activation.   In the case of a Dance game.. players might often barely tap a tile quickly, rather than completely put all their mass on it.    This is probably especially true, for the harder levels, whos notes fly by so fast as to nearly break the sound barrier.

 The originals probably had a Foil pattern on them that was shaped in a certain way to allow the light to shine around it.  Such as possibly leaving a cut out where the arrows white outlines are.    But as they wore out... and operator probably just put more tape in other spots, thus covering up the lighting.

 If you have a way to get cheap prints, you could probably scan the arrows, touch them up..  print them out.   Use paint remover on the plexi, sand and polish..  then apply the printed arrows to the bottom of them.

 You will then have to get some sort of metal or foil contact material, and glue it to the bottom... leaving the areas you want lit up, uncovered.

 Not sure how much new arrows go for... so not sure which method is the Thriftiest.


 The xmas lights do not work too well in this application however.   They are too focused, and the light does not seem to spread out enough... thus causing them to be quite visible when lit.   This is why Pinball machines look best with Traditional bulbs, rather laser beam retina scorching LEDs.   A few pinball lamp sockets would probably be much better... and look a lot better.  It would be interesting to put some pinball flashers in there for fun.   heh.   Would probably give quite the startle, as the player may think an electrical short just happened!  heh

 You might be able to salvage the xmas lights... by balling them up, and covering them with a translucent, but not transparent, shield material.  Sort of like how certain Pinball machines use those rubber covers over bulbs.  Or a cars brake lights have an internal diffusion surface inside of them.

 xmas lights are pretty unreliable (even the LED versions),  and usually dont last more than a handful of hours..  which would be a real pain to deal with regularly.  Especially if they are out of season.   Where as standard small socket pinball bulbs can last years of constant "On time", without failure.

 Better quality LED can last a lot longer, but there is added complexity, costs, and the focused lighting issues... as well as possible color issues.  Its only recently that they have created white leds that do not have a blueish tint.  Many of the xmas sets dont have them however, as they are probably trying to get rid of the older leds.   Also, not sure of the lifespan on new white leds.  Certain solutions get the desired end results... but not the longevity.

 Also, for better light spread... paint the inside of the box white.   Such a thing can reduce the need for brighter bulbs, and produce far superior results altogether.  Dont be tempted by metalics / silver.  White works better.  I speak from experience, when trying it out on a tube fixture.

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 26, 2014, 11:58:21 pm
Yeah, some good thoughts there.  I did some tape trimming and paint
touch up and wasn't thrilled with it.  Outlining the arrows with aluminum tape would provide sufficient sensitivity and transmit all the light.  These strings are REALLY bright when uncovered.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Xiaou2 on January 27, 2014, 12:46:01 am
If too bright, you may consider placing an additional piece of sanded plexi in front of them, in-between the actual panels.   

 Or use a painted surface plexi, thats opaque white, so that the light is bounced back down onto the white painted wood flooring, and then bounced back up into the chamber and panels. (Indirect lighting).   That way, the bulbs intensity can never be seen..  and the light will be a lot more diffused and even.    Leds are the hardest to diffuse..  so multiple methods may be required for good looking output.

 Touching up clear plexi is very difficult.. as if any of the paint is too thick, it will show in various dark spots.    You might only get lucky using very distant spray paint with masking... using very light and well controlled coats.   An airbrush may be the best bet, as you get superior control of the air to paint mixture, as well as complete flow levels.   All that is of course if you have the art eye to be able to pre-mix a perfect color match before hand.

 After touchups are done.. you would want to mist a light backer spray of translucent white.  This protects the color, but also provides a more diffuse lighting effect.  Which is why they use this method on most all lit arcade & pinball artworks.

 A few coats of clear-coat spray, would be good to add durability to the final end result.

 Its very difficult to do such a touchup, which is why most people just remake them from scratch... or buy replacements.
If unlit, its not bad... but once lit... any little variance in paint density can ruin the whole thing.  Which happens very easily, if any spatter occurs, trapped dust/dirt,  ... accidental finger smearing... etc.

 Fun stuff.  >.<   I speak from mostly negative resulted attempts... sadly.   Then again, I didnt have a working airbrush back then...  so I do wonder about trying again...

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Le Chuck on January 27, 2014, 07:29:27 am
You said something about freezing the tape off. Try canned air inverted. Could be a simple way to do it w/out taking it all apart.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Nephasth on January 27, 2014, 08:57:04 am
You said something about freezing the tape off. Try canned air inverted. Could be a simple way to do it w/out taking it all apart.

But that would require spending money. I'm sure he knows about this method, he's a pinhead.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 27, 2014, 11:28:35 am
Freeze spray is a joke and doesn't accomplish anything.  If you're going to go that route, I'd suggest rubbing dry ice on whatever you're about to destroy in the process.  I've had better luck with heat guns but you've got about a 5 second window between "just right" and "melting the ink into the adhesive".

Anyway, I removed two of the better looking arrows and scanned them.  Here's the red one cleaned up:

(http://i.imgur.com/4abTegS.png)

I've got to figure out how I'm going to get 11.5" by 11.5" backlit film printed up.   :P

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: ppv on January 27, 2014, 11:49:04 am
Freeze spray is a joke and doesn't accomplish anything.  If you're going to go that route, I'd suggest rubbing dry ice on whatever you're about to destroy in the process.  I've had better luck with heat guns but you've got about a 5 second window between "just right" and "melting the ink into the adhesive".

Anyway, I removed two of the better looking arrows and scanned them.  Here's the red one cleaned up:

(http://i.imgur.com/4abTegS.png)

I've got to figure out how I'm going to get 11.5" by 11.5" backlit film printed up.   :P

Or you could always use a cleaner one...
http://zephyrcat.deviantart.com/art/My-DDR-Pad-Arrow-B-26186928 (http://zephyrcat.deviantart.com/art/My-DDR-Pad-Arrow-B-26186928)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 27, 2014, 12:15:00 pm
Hm.. I appreciate the link.  Guess that's what I get for not googling first.   ;D  More fun this way and the art's different, though.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: yotsuya on January 27, 2014, 12:21:22 pm
To fit in with Konkey Dong, you should customize the text to say "Show Me Your Boobs".  >:D
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: mcseforsale on January 27, 2014, 01:09:20 pm
And with that, I *subscribe*.  :cheers:

AJ


To fit in with Konkey Dong, you should customize the text to say "Show Me Your Boobs".  >:D
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: jdbailey1206 on January 27, 2014, 01:41:01 pm
To fit in with Konkey Dong, you should customize the text to say "Show Me Your Boobs".  >:D

(http://www.quizmasters.biz/DB/Pic/Famous_Bobs/Gfx/Famous_Bobs_01_Full.jpg)

Just showing you my Bobs.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 27, 2014, 03:48:25 pm
Been dicking around with the blue today, too.  Been years since I used photoshop.  All that time getting paid to clean up scans of clipart sample catalogs and turn it into t-shirts and signs is slowly coming back to me...

(http://i.imgur.com/ymLHxdB.jpg)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: yotsuya on January 27, 2014, 03:58:39 pm
Looks good, James.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on January 27, 2014, 04:52:25 pm
Mad rep if you change at least one color's text to "show me your bobs"
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 27, 2014, 05:09:43 pm
You know, the font was so darn similar to a slightly skewed Impact that there was zero point in trying to clean up the scanned text.

(http://i.imgur.com/0IEgQGW.png)

(More specifically - I used 42.38PT, A/V Metrics, Tracking at 50, and Horizontally scaled at 120%.  Slight skew to the right.  It's so darn close to the original that nobody would notice the difference)



Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: yotsuya on January 27, 2014, 05:12:58 pm
I'd rather see Boobs than Bobs. But each to his own.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 27, 2014, 05:18:38 pm
(http://i.imgur.com/jLDS6AH.png)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: TopJimmyCooks on January 28, 2014, 10:38:56 am
printed.  on the machine.  being danced on. 
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 28, 2014, 10:48:22 am
No pic, no machine

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on February 03, 2014, 10:22:36 am
Well, I tried soaking one of the arrows in lighter fluid overnight.  It loosened up some tape but it wants to peel off ink, too.  I'm probably just ignoring this whole thing until I feel compelled to spend $100 replacing something nobody will ever notice or care about.

Had a Super Bowl party yesterday, so I decided to rig this up for play.

(http://i.imgur.com/dFNUDuS.jpg)

Of course, one of my friends made it all of 15 seconds before asking "how much did this set you back?"

Played like a champ, did have to toss some emergency foam under a couple of arrows.  I'll hand it to In The Groove, once I explained "red is back, blue is next" it needed very little supervision.  Did get some complaints that there were too many menus and I agree but I think that software is oriented towards people that take DDR extremely seriously.

 :cheers:

On to the next one...

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on February 13, 2014, 10:30:33 pm
Got turned loose on a poster printer today:

(http://i.imgur.com/tZ0cVCH.jpg?1)

Damn, that's gorgeous.  Shame the light transmission sucks:

(http://i.imgur.com/1HGqO93.jpg?1)

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 14, 2014, 12:27:26 am
1 year later.  It was a hit at New Years last year and people want two players.  My 42" took a dump so this got idled.

Anyway, wired up to a kade emulating a keyboard.  Old laptop running stepmania 5 in Linux.  Found out that stepmania gets weird if you start it up with two USB devices plugged in.  Solution is to plug in second after program has started.  That cost me two hours of my life.

Now to squeeze a deal on another flat screen.

(http://i.imgur.com/EfJTW92l.jpg)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 12, 2015, 11:38:17 am
Flat screen deal squeezed.  Pads dragged into gameroom.

(http://i.imgur.com/9F55km1.jpg)

Pretty big hit at New Year's and dual pads is fun on the easiest difficulty.

(http://i.imgur.com/38VqfzB.jpg)

OH YES I DID
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: wp34 on January 12, 2015, 11:49:59 am
Go Ninja Go Ninja Go!
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Slippyblade on January 12, 2015, 05:28:41 pm
My daughter wants a real dance pad.  Gonna try my hand at building one.  Seeing the guts on this thing actually helps a lot.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Well Fed Games on January 13, 2015, 11:32:07 am
There is a quirky independent dungeon crawling/rhythm game called Crypt of the Necrodancer (http://necrodancer.com/ (http://necrodancer.com/)) that has a dance pad mode, in case you are looking for something a bit different.

I just dug out my PS1 dance pads last week, I've been having DDR nostalgia lately.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 13, 2015, 12:06:03 pm
Mother of god....

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Generic Eric on January 13, 2015, 12:32:27 pm
Dungeon Delve Revolution.

I was hoping for a video of a person playing.  I didn't really get a sense of how playing with a pad changed the game play.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: DaOld Man on January 13, 2015, 12:32:33 pm
Well, here's a good tip.  If you're looking for cheap Christmas lights in January, go visit the kosher-friendly grocery store.

Im sorry, I never thought you to be Jewish.

Druish, maybe.

 
Quote
Princess Vespa: I am Princess Vespa, daughter of Roland, King of the Druids.

Lone Starr: Oh great. That's all we needed. A Druish princess.

Barf: Funny, she doesn't look Druish.

BTW, great work with the dance pads. Got me to thinking now, it would be great fun for the grand girls. But do they have to be so heavy?
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: DaOld Man on January 13, 2015, 12:58:52 pm
How do you feel about the dance pads for wii?
Since I already have a backlog of projects I need to hold off on new ones for a while.

And this may be the way to go with my young grand daughters:
Example (http://www.amazon.com/DanceDanceRevolution-Bundle-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B003TJYOTW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1421170632&sr=8-9&keywords=wii+dance+pad+revolution)

Im wondering how good these things are especially for young children, 2-5? Does weight make a big difference on these things?

(Sorry PBJ, don't mean to hijack your thread.)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Vigo on January 13, 2015, 01:04:08 pm
BTW, great work with the dance pads. Got me to thinking now, it would be great fun for the grand girls. But do they have to be so heavy?

Now, I'm sure your grandkids aren't that overweight.   ;D




How do you feel about the dance pads for wii?
Since I already have a backlog of projects I need to hold off on new ones for a while.

I think the wii dance pads work great, and my son who is 3 has no problems triggering it. I can try it out on my 2 year old if you want. It is more sensitive than the old NES track and field pad.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: DaOld Man on January 13, 2015, 01:50:32 pm
BTW, great work with the dance pads. Got me to thinking now, it would be great fun for the grand girls. But do they have to be so heavy?

Now, I'm sure your grandkids aren't that overweight.   ;D




How do you feel about the dance pads for wii?
Since I already have a backlog of projects I need to hold off on new ones for a while.

I think the wii dance pads work great, and my son who is 3 has no problems triggering it. I can try it out on my 2 year old if you want. It is more sensitive than the old NES track and field pad.

Ha ha thanks Vigo, I noticed that heavy comment after I posted. Of course I meant the pads, 100 pounds each? Was this to keep someone from packing them out of the arcade?
(edit: Or did I fall victim to PBJs humor again?)
Thanks for the comments, I have asked their mom if its ok to get them one, she hasn't texted back yet so it's entirely up to the parents if they approve of it now.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 13, 2015, 02:34:00 pm
They're steel box framed and wrapped in stainless steel.  They are seriously heavy duty.  One of my friends weighs ~400lbs and the pads don't even flinch.  I'm not particularly strong but they're a ---smurfette--- to carry.

My wife announced at the New Year's Eve party - "no cameras."  So there you go.

I listen to a lot of electronic music anyway, and I've gradually been adding some industrial to this.  Being a fan of the genre helps immensely.  You could always get one of those weird Disney themed DDR games for little kids.




Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on December 11, 2015, 05:21:35 pm
Necro bump.

Defying all explanation, nobody has ever released a Stepmania version of The Humpty Dance.

Until now.

Anyway, chunked it through Dancing Gorilla.  It's 3 minutes long, but I think fades out at a good spot in the song. 

Enjoy.

(http://i.imgur.com/lEOEYIF.jpg)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8u0r9jir7gr9xr/humptydance.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8u0r9jir7gr9xr/humptydance.zip?dl=0)

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 26, 2016, 09:30:25 am
The Humpty Dance has been updated to fix a couple minor issues with the .sm file.  "The" has also been dropped so you don't have to wade through the Ts on your song list to find it. 

And - I added the music video. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8u0r9jir7gr9xr/humptydance.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8u0r9jir7gr9xr/humptydance.zip?dl=0)

It's fairly easy to do, but documentation is spotty, so:

You open up the .sm file, add a line that says #BACKGROUND:filename.avi; and dump the AVI in the same folder.  Done.  On Windows machines, if the avi is named the same as the mp3, it appears to grab it automatically and no line needed in the .sm.  You have to spell it out in Linux.  Windows and Linux both will automatically grab .jpgs named songnamebn.jpg and songnamebg.jpg for the banner and background respectively.

I'm using one website to pull down the mp4 from YouTube, and then another website to convert to AVI.  Then I'm running it through "Solveig MM AVI Trimmer" to remove the audio and cut down the file size.  The sync is close enough especially since you've got some anime girl dancing around and arrows everywhere in the foreground.

Also did a newer song - Eisfabrik - Maschinen (SITD Version)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5jis969dg0854y/maschinen.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5jis969dg0854y/maschinen.zip?dl=0)

Haven't played that one on the pad yet but seems fine on the keyboard.

:cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Locke141 on February 07, 2016, 10:05:50 am
I down loaded Step mania and am thinking about getting some cheep USB pads from China. (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Arrival-Non-Slip-Dancing-Step-Dance-Mat-Pad-Pads-Dancer-Blanket-to-PC-with-USB/32445523195.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.1.Cd4M7c&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_9,searchweb201644_5_505_506_503_504_301_502_10001_10002_10016_10017_10010_10005_10011_10006_10003_10004_10009_10008,searchweb201560_1,searchweb1451318400_-1,searchweb1451318411_6449&btsid=d3bc8e5f-faa3-4ca0-b061-8bbbba1f21be)

If I like the game with the cheep pad, I may try gutting one and having a frame welded. Do you think the cheep pads would have most of the parts needed? Minus the structural bits, LED's, and arcade buttons. 
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: solar on February 07, 2016, 04:00:04 pm
If I like the game with the cheep pad, I may try gutting one and having a frame welded. Do you think the cheep pads would have most of the parts needed? Minus the structural bits, LED's, and arcade buttons.

If you end up really playing it enough to warrant making your own. After buying the leds, buttons and frame...the extra usb encoder you'd need it would probably make more sense just starting from scratch.

Looking at the pics it doesn't seem like it'd be a very complicated build.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on February 07, 2016, 04:23:10 pm
I've owned and hated the cheap pads.  99% of this game is being up on a raised metal platform and stomping the hell out of it.  You only need six inputs per player to interact with Stepmania.  A Pi 2 could probably run it but nobody has bothered.

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on April 20, 2016, 03:12:03 pm
Added a couple more songs, updated links for the others.  Maybe this should be moved to a new thread....

Anyway:

Digital Underground - Humpty Dance - https://www.dropbox.com/s/vb8smj2rj9af4gy/humptydance.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vb8smj2rj9af4gy/humptydance.zip?dl=0)

Eisfabrik - Maschinen (SITD Version) - https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsw8xpnn1e1fjz6/maschinen.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsw8xpnn1e1fjz6/maschinen.zip?dl=0)

Men Without Hats - Safety Dance - https://www.dropbox.com/s/5sax79klvrtfsbg/safetydance.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/5sax79klvrtfsbg/safetydance.zip?dl=0)

New songs:

Houston rapper Mack Studda who brings the butter - Move to the Web - https://www.dropbox.com/s/3nkampz8pjyjxoc/movetotheweb.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/3nkampz8pjyjxoc/movetotheweb.zip?dl=0)
(video is 70s pimp footage, prolific use of the n-word and various profanity)

Hocico - Dead Trust - https://www.dropbox.com/s/3z1fx8ox231w0d6/deadtrust.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/3z1fx8ox231w0d6/deadtrust.zip?dl=0)
(lyrics are mild, video is people in leather underwear wrestling around)

:cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on November 17, 2016, 05:24:32 pm
Been awhile, here's a new horrible song I've been enjoying lately....


Youth Code - Glass Spitter - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ecysiiwukrmc1cz/glass_spitter.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/ecysiiwukrmc1cz/glass_spitter.zip?dl=0)

Video is from another one of their songs, but it's all just some chick screaming and jumping around anyway...

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG2kPZrU5W4#)

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 24, 2017, 04:04:52 pm
Been on a vocal trance kick lately, much to the relief of those in my life that have had to endure my angry German oontz phase for the last 15 years.  So no nudity, screaming, or swearing in this one.

This one starts off pretty straight forward, then gets hard at the crescendo, and then tapers off easy again.  Probably right at the outer limit of my DDR abilities.

Kaimo K & Sarah Russell - Why Can't You Love Me

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rptpyzh64p4bsvl/Whycantyoutry.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/rptpyzh64p4bsvl/Whycantyoutry.zip)

It's the wrong video but the chick's hot so I pulled footage from another one of their songs.

:cheers:

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hitxk3wpmY#)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 24, 2017, 04:24:26 pm
And here's the Club Mix of Safety Dance.. should have never done the regular version;

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjt1yxpqfwusyqq/safetydanceclubmix.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjt1yxpqfwusyqq/safetydanceclubmix.zip)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on April 07, 2017, 01:14:11 pm
Mutrix Tune Squad Drop the Bass remix of Space Jam:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8hmk6b3jtfw601/spacejam.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8hmk6b3jtfw601/spacejam.zip?dl=0)

Good mix of nostalgia and modern sound, should mess with your guests.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: HaRuMaN on April 07, 2017, 01:23:07 pm
Now I gotta go get Stepmania again... 
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on April 07, 2017, 03:50:15 pm
Dancing Gorilla is being bitchy, but I got this one working:

12 Gauge - Dunkie Butt

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiom5kyyyheymiw/dunkie.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiom5kyyyheymiw/dunkie.zip?dl=0)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on April 07, 2017, 04:20:34 pm
Technotronic - Pump up the Jam    :lol


https://www.dropbox.com/s/bnkq5w2qevn11tq/technotronic.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/bnkq5w2qevn11tq/technotronic.zip?dl=0)
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on May 05, 2017, 03:40:23 pm
Blank & Jones featuring Robert Smith - A Forest

https://www.dropbox.com/s/04ffx1i11tpyyzq/forestclipped.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/04ffx1i11tpyyzq/forestclipped.zip?dl=0)

This one is a touch shorter than a usual song, but the temptation was too great to abruptly stop it at a relevant lyric.

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st5Z_04S-o#)

 :cheers:

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: Locke141 on May 07, 2017, 10:22:29 am
I did end up ordering a cheep pad to play around with. It's also relatively cheap for welding work by my house. It's tempted to jump in and do one but with the three-year-old and a four month old it seems like I never get around to finishing this project anymore.
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on October 09, 2017, 11:09:12 am
Essence of Mind - Nightmare (Elec This! remix)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vi5bwf348j6uuf2/Nightmare.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vi5bwf348j6uuf2/Nightmare.zip?dl=0)

Been awhile since I did a depressing electro song.  Video is lifted from another one of their songs but nobody will notice.

 :cheers:

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on January 05, 2018, 05:16:44 pm
Metric - Gold Guns Girls dubstep mix

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg913rj82axj6g1/Metric.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg913rj82axj6g1/Metric.zip?dl=0)

 :cheers:
Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on February 23, 2018, 02:41:42 pm
Gary Numan - When the World Comes Apart

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6prlxjoku6v924p/numanworldcut.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/6prlxjoku6v924p/numanworldcut.zip?dl=0)

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on April 13, 2018, 12:21:17 pm
Alice Glass - Forgiveness

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8zindmhy7eqkzc/forgiveness.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8zindmhy7eqkzc/forgiveness.zip?dl=0)

 :cheers:

(who knew the former screeching eye candy from Crystal Castles had a decent solo song in her)

Title: Re: DDR Pads Acquired
Post by: pbj on September 19, 2018, 04:37:01 pm
Carlito - Sukiyaki Teriyaki

https://www.dropbox.com/s/86m4kor4ikfirov/sukiyaki.zip?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/86m4kor4ikfirov/sukiyaki.zip?dl=0)

 :cheers:

Bonus link to his weird Russkij Pusskij video...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9hifmovqy5j5xi/Carlito_-_Russkij_Pusskij.avi?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9hifmovqy5j5xi/Carlito_-_Russkij_Pusskij.avi?dl=0)