In this page I am going to explain how to set up Dance Dance Revolution on your computer. You will need a dance mat of course, maybe a Playstation/USB adaptator, a software and music tracks.
Why an adaptator ? A couple of years ago, much mats available were designed for the Playstation1/2. Purchasing a Playstation/USB adaptator was a must, but this is not the case anymore. The dance mats deluxe ignition dance pad features in its 3in1 installment connectors you can directly plug into your PS2, Xbox or PC, then many mats followed this path. If you are equipping today for DDR, you should not worry about adaptators.
BEWARE ! Lots of adaptators are on the market, but only one is well suited to dance mats : EMS USB 2, and you can plug two mats with it. According to the official website http://www.stepmania.com/wiki/USB_Adapters, other adaptators can work but I personally know only about the EMS.
Why this one ? The trick is, directional arrows are dealt with as independent boutons, not as axis. Try to press simultaneously up and down with an axis... does not work.
Where can I get it ? On the web, as a (french) example on www.fl-games.com (menu playstation 2 - manettes, look for "Adaptateur 2 manettes PSX/PS2 sur PC"). Price is 16€50 plus shipping.
How
do I get it to work ? EMS USB2 needs a driver, download here. Just double click the exe to set it up.
Beware (2): There is a little swich
on the adaptator, it MUST be on "PC" and not on "game" or else Windows is lost.
Once the driver is set up, and the adaptator plugged, check in the setting panel, game controllers that "axis 4 button 16 joypad" appears twice. If not, check the switch,plug/unplug, or reboot.
Here we are, real business. You have got some choice on a wide price range. Let's face it, this part of the website is the most interesting, but also the hardest to maintain, because web dealers are closing and others opening everytime. What is more, I have no money to benchmark all these mats :D So please, share your good bargains with me at ddr.pcgamer@gmail.com.
The following was written for European readers. My american friends, you are lucky people, because you have a lot of mats we do not in your shops. Just tell me about your favorites, there. I shall talk about these mats in further revisions of the website.
Basic mats, 15-20 euros
A classic, it looks like this (usually the brand is top way). My first dance mat !
Bad points
A good deal of bad points in fact. This dance mat is very thin and light. It slips a lot while you are dancing, making it very hard not to lose the location of the arrows. I tried to block its corners under a chair, but then it folds. Not very reliable too, after a few months the bottom is torn and arrows begin to respond only when they want to.
The good point
Price. You can grab a USB mat for 20€, which makes a very cheap introduction to DDR since you need nothing else. On the other hand, upper class mats are not much more expensive, yet they are much better.
Where to get one
Good address at mayflash.eu, you can get two for 30€. The site supplies all Europe, and is very reliable. If you buy just one, the deal is less interesting : 20€. Plus, you will regret it because having two mats is a lot of fun !
Mats with foam inserts (about 40€)
Compared to the basics ones, these mat feature one little trick making a huge difference : a 3-4 centimeter foam insert you place into the mat by opening a zip, see the picture below.
To my knowledge, the Deluxe Ignition Dance Mat from Futuremax is the most widely spread dance mat of this kind. It exists in three versions : 2, 2.5 and 3. The competition comes from Positive Gaming and its PG:impact.
Good points
This foam insert is highly valuable because it solves the two main failures of the basic mat : slipping and folding. Slipping may still be a little issue, but nothing compared to the basic mats, beacause foam insert mats are much heavier. No more folding thanks to the higher rigidity of the mat.
As a result, the dance feeling is much better. Comfort is also highly improved since the foam absorb the shocks, and the noise is (a little bit) reduced for the neighbours below
you...
In my opinion foam insert mats are without a shadow of the doubt the best choice to begin Dance Dance Revolution. Price premium is not huge compared to basic mats, and they are definitely worth it.
Bad points
Foam mats are usually not the kinds which last for years. The problem ? Hard plastic on the top of the mat bears huge tension and ends up being torn
I have experienced this with many Logic 3 Pro Dance mats (not available anymore), and I know from friends it is quite the same with the Deluxe Ignition 2. I do not expect the 2.5 to be better. However, I have been owning two Deluxe ignition v3 for a year now and they are still as first day (they are more expensive, too). It seems the Positive Gaming Impact has also a good durability, from what I have been told.
There is a counterpart of the dance comfort brought by the foam, which is you can sink a little in the foam, and thus lose some speed in your moves. Some mats feature high density foam which solves this problem out : Deluxe Ignition v2.5 and v3, Positive Gaming.
Which one you should buy and where
As written above the Deluxe Ignition come in three flavor v2, v2.5 and v3 (actually the real name of the v3 is deluxe Dance Pad v3). Difference between v2 and v2.5 is the material used for the foam. You get high density foam in v2.5, avoiding sinking in the mat. v3 is a different story, it is a totally different dance pad, much more durable, with recessed arrows so you can feel their position, and high density foam. The three of them come with a 3in1 connection to plug on USB, PS2 and Xbox.
I have not had the chance to get my feets on a Positive Gaming yet, but it appears to be a tough competitor. It seems to be very similar to the Deluxe dance pad v3, but cheaper and unfortunately hard to find. Several readers have written to me to report this is a very, very good mat. Probably today's best choice.
The deluxe ignition are sold by MayFlash. This is a nederland society which is gaining a strong position in the european dance mat market. They sell Futuremax products. There is a discount if you buy your mats by two. I advise you to do so, because
DDR is much more fun when played with a friend, and also because the prices for one mat are too high. If you go for the Deluxe v2 it will be 60€ for two : this is a reasonible budget choice.
The v2.5 adds the high density foam but should not be more durable. This is 80€ for two. It is your choice to decide whether high density is worth the premium, but in my view this model can not compete with Positive Impact, sold at 40€ (see below)!
Way more expensive, at 120€ for two, you get my current mat, the Deluxe v3. You have my word this is top-notch. But perhaps Positive Gaming is close to it and will save you money.
Quite hard to find this popular Positive Gaming. Only link I know is this one. 39€, this is a great deal ! Out of stock right now though... Strange thing, on the official website, you do not get any info where to buy it.
"caouec" handwork mats
If you feel skillfull with your hands, and want to make YOUR original mat, you can try and make a caouec. This is a mod of the basics mat involving plexiglas and laminated wood. You make a sandwich with the mat between the plywood and the plexyglas, and you get for cheap something that looks (vaguely) like a metal mat. There used to be a wonderful tutorial on the web. Now you have only some info on this forum.
Metal mats
Metal mats are the choice of the hardcore DDR gamer. This is the closest to the arcade feeling you can find, for like 20kg weight.
As for the foam mats, MayFlash offers an interesting selection of metal mats, with or without bars (models with bar are here), and fair shipping price through Europe.
TX6000=TX4000 plus a bar, TX2501=TX1501 plus a bar, TX6500=TX4500 plus a bar and so on. The bar is 20€ premium and allows you to perform better on hypra speed songs.
I have read a piece of good reviews from my readers concerning the TX4000/6000. Difference between 4000 and 4500 (only 6500 seems to be available right now) is that on the 4500 the arrows are located a little bit below the rest of the mat. This way you can feel where they stand BUT the edges are annoying for some players... Orgames website compares 4000 and 4500 with unboxing pictures and everything : check the articles section. TX1501 is sold at
the exact same price as the TX4000, 125€, but unfortunately I do not know this one.
If you are looking for upper level metal mat, Futuremax has started in 2009 to import to Europe the Mymybox Blue Shark, a mat with a very good reputation in the US. Check there, and a video review there. This top notch mat is also much more expensive with quite high shipping price.
Another european competitor is Positive Gaming. They are Swedish and make a light (10kgs) dance mat, loot at this .However, I did not see where you can buy it. My friends from Azur games had the chance to test one, it does not seem to be worth its huge price : 600€ !.
In the USA, the choice of metal mat is wider with very high quality products like the le cobalt flux : http://www.cobaltflux.com.
This one is widely viewed as the best mat ever, virtually as good as the arcade. Price is not that high, problem is shipping from the US is huge. That said, it
can even endure a SUV roll over, look at this!.
Mainly two free PC softwares, Stepmania and Dance With Intensity. I began DDR on Dance With Intensity which has a very efficient interface and profiles handling. Unfortunately its development is stopped and now Stepmania is much more complete. Very strong point, with Stepmania you can play on a local network and even on the internat with a world ranking system, just like Starcraft and the likes !
Dance With Intensity page will provide you with a detailed tutorial to set up the soft, and you have the equivalent on page Stepmania. You can download for free DWI there, and Stepmania there.
More recently appeared In The Groove , I will not speak much about it cause I did not try the demo version I received with my last mats. Contrary to Stepmania and dance with Intensity, this is a commercial software and it is played on specific titles with modified rules from the original DDR. That is what I am not interested a lot...
Swedish Positive Gaming has released iDance for the fitness clubs. The soft is designed to be played with a wireless version of PG's metal mat, strongly multiplayer. Imagine 50 people playing DDR on a fitness room. Like In The Groove, iDance is commercial and uses its own songlist, Stepmania titles do not work.
Last but not least, musics. A Dance Dance Revolution title is made of a mp3 file, dwi or sm file (both work with Stepmania, only dwi for Dance With Intensity) which contains the arrows succession. You have also banners or even videos showing background. More details on Stepmania
and Dance With Intensity pages.
New titles are released every day, and you can even make your own with my help page Create your dwi ! To begin, read the section "Getting started with DDR" on the DDR, what's this ? page. I give some titles on direct download.
Then look
at the Links , several trails to make your collection of titles.
