Buying a pad

[dragonmegaXX]

Ive wanted to buy a good pad for a while now, and I think I finally have enough of a money buffer to afford one, so I need help deciding on what to get.

Ive looked around on the interwebs a lot looking for decent stuff, but everything seems to have good and bad reviews, so I figured I may as well come here and ask those I look to(as players).

So basically:
-im willing to spend $300-$350
-Using mainly for stepmania, but if it has a ps2 connect thing thats cool too.
- bar not necessary, i can use something else
-wont break fast pleeease -_-
-Good sensitivity

Any suggestions? Ive heard mainly about ions and cobalt fluxs but I dont know much.

[MP3 player]

cobalt flux!

[dragonmegaXX]

Originally Posted by MP3 player

cobalt flux!

It would be nice to give some reasons :P
Pros/ Cons

[BethanyBangs]

what he said. cobalt flux.

[Zageron]

Make your own.

[Matrixdude]

Cobalt Flux. All the way.

http://www.cobaltflux.com/

[Superfreak04]

I just bought a cobalt flux about a month ago. and it is perfect! If you're playing on playing OpenITG, then you're gonna love it. First off, make sure you buy the arcade mod, or else you will lose placement of where the arrows are. The only REAL gripe I have about these pads are that when you first get them, you double trigger sometimes because the sensitivity is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD.

Remember, if you're using these pads on either Stepmania or OpenITG set InputDebouceTime to .05 in Data/Stepmani.ini or you WILL get a lot Way Off's from the pad due to it being REALLY sensitive.

All in all, I'd recommend these to anyone. I was beasting 13's with no problems on these bad boys.
Pros: Very sensitive, almost guaranteed not to get a pad miss. Although sometimes it DOES happen.

Cons: If you're used to the regular arcade pads, you may be disappointed, but with time you'll get the hang of the pad, just make sure you buy the arcade mod.
Also, the pad tends to slide slowly on carpet floors, so you may have to get creative on stopping that. I just put really heavy weights in front of the pad.

The total cost WITH shipping was $348 so it fits your budget perfectly. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to contact me.

[Gray Fox]

Originally Posted by Superfreak04

The only REAL gripe I have about these pads are that when you first get them, you double trigger sometimes because the sensitivity is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD.

I got one recently and this is still a problem for me, adjusting/cleaning the panels don't do much about it.

Don't get me wrong I'm pretty sure this pad is really nice but I think I got a dud with how messed up the sensitivity is (random boo's and misses on any game) I even had to do this penny mod I read on some forum so now its at least playable.

I remember that blueshark pads were top notch, alas they're no longer in production. As for what to get I would vote cobalt flux if you're looking to play harder songs. If you know a thing or two, make your own.

[Superfreak04]

Originally Posted by Gray Fox

I got one recently and this is still a problem for me, adjusting/cleaning the panels don't do much about it.

Don't get me wrong I'm pretty sure this pad is really nice but I think I got a dud with how messed up the sensitivity is (random boo's and misses on any game) I even had to do this penny mod I read on some forum so now its at least playable.

I remember that blueshark pads were top notch, alas they're no longer in production. As for what to get I would vote cobalt flux if you're looking to play harder songs. If you know a thing or two, make your own.

Did you fix the .ini in stepmania/OpenITG?

[dragonmegaXX]

Cool :3 Looks like Im getting a cobalt flux for christmas then
Yaay, odds are Ill lose 20 pounds within 2 months xD

Thanks for the advice and stuff.

[Oni-Paranoia]

Originally Posted by Superfreak04

Did you fix the .ini in stepmania/OpenITG?

Don't always rely on that to solve your pad problems. I've worked on regular ITG and DDR pads and their can be a ton of things wrong with a pad.

The first thing to asses wouldn't be the .ini file. It should be something like...

- Make sure your computer can handle four buttons for all four arrows. Some computers don't allow that and you might accidentally be holding arrows longer than you think when pressing the next one.

-- Make sure the program (SM, ITG etc...) is running cleanly. Lower graphics if necessary etc...

--- Make sure cpu is running properly. Background programs, downloads etc... may effect game performance.

---- Alas make sure .ini file is correctly adjusted to your liking or 0.05 (which seems to be a favorable number.)

It's always good to have a process to troubleshoot anything. It might never be what you expect it to be.

[Gray Fox]

It's not a delay problem with mine, the sensitivity is really funky. You know how your feet is always on an arrow (excluding mines) well when you lift a foot to go press on another arrow it sometimes registers that lifting motion as a step.

Heck even when half of your foot is on the panel (heel and toe) it's unpredictable on what you get so you have to basically use your whole foot. To finish it off the pad is really sensitive sometimes and registers a single tap as a double tap which gives misses/boo's in streams.

As far as I can tell there really is no fix for it so I'll most likely purchase another pad at another point in time. I prefer the arcade anyway so I'm all good lol

[who_cares973]

My ex uses tampax pearl she says they work great for heavy flow

[Gray Fox]

If she labels those pads in the Music Games category then I demand to know what game she's holding out on all of us.

Also just noticed they're going with a cobalt. Grats, I would like to hear how it treats ya when it comes in.