Foam insert pads?

Hey everyone,

Long ago I used to be an avid player of DDR, up until around the release of Supernova on the PS2. Now I'm interested in getting back into DDR by playing the PS2 games and simfiles on Stepmania. I miss the fun of the series and want to get in shape, but the old pads don't work so well anymore...

I used RedOctane Ignition pads, which worked really well for a good amount of time. RedOctane is no longer around, so I was wondering if there are any other good foam-insert pads being sold. Keep in mind I'm not interested in perfection (I would shell out the money for a metal pad if that was the case), I just want it to be similar to the Ignition pads in that they last a decent amount of time and very rarely make mistakes by being under-sensitive or over-sensitive.

I understand that the market for DDR is significantly smaller than it was back when I played, so if there are no good options I would appreciate honesty. If there are no good foam insert pads, what other options do I have to play DDR at home?

see my thread stickied up top. You can try ddr game or ebay or whatever, but for the most part you're stuffed without picking up a hammer and saw, or buying an arcade machine of your own.

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Thanks for the heads up. I did see the sticky thread, but didn't want to mod unless as a last resort. I have a softpad lying around, I may try to mod it with the suggestion in that thread. Thank you!

it's not too hard. just grab a piece of board and some duct tape or a staple gun. go nuts, and voila. if you want a cover for it, vinyl floor covering or some sort of flexible strong plastic sheet (not really acrylic or plexi, it doesn't flex enough and causes ghost steps) could work.

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271147568865
I have this pad and it was really good, it doesn't slip to much and its really cheap.
http://www.angelfire.com/pro2/softpadmod/
Then do a simple mod that will take no more than $30 so in total you send about 40 or less.

Thank you very much for the suggestions, I've ordered a couple of the pads you recommended and intend to mod it in a few weeks. Hoping I'll be able to get back into DDR again!

I remember doing something very similar to this with my old PS2 DDR mats back in 2002. Those things worked frickin' great compared to how they were unmodded. A vast improvement until I stepped up to the Ignition pads a year or so later.

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So the pads aren't quite as good as Ignition ones were, but are they still fairly close? I was used to the Ignition pads back when I used to play.

My mod wasn't exactly like the one described above, but close to it. Honestly, I would say it was pretty darn close in usability to the Ignition pads. However, once my modded pads wore out, it was much simpler to buy an Ignition pad (back in 2002) rather than hassle with buying a new DDR soft pad and modding it on plywood, etc.

Tl:dr, I feel that both pads performed equally well. Ignition pads just came as-is and were ready to use without fuss.

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