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I've owned a Cobalt Flux, Blueshark and two Impact Arcades on top of a host of soft pads. It's a sad state seeing the current offerings of pads. Basically the o

I've owned a Cobalt Flux, Blueshark and two Impact Arcades on top of a host of soft pads. It's a sad state seeing the current offerings of pads. Basically the only company manufactured pad is Stepmania X with long wait lists and limited supply or very DIY solutions like the L-Tek pads or used stuff. I want to start playing again but I literally can't get any decent pad in Europe, which makes me sad. Almost easier to just buy an older cabinet.

city41 6y ago
Why do you say the L-Tek is DIY? It's a tad DIY if you want the bar, and also if you are a really high end player you might need to mod it with the arduino hack, but out of the box it's good for most players. The StepManiaX stage isn't a wait list, it's the opposite with first come first serve and literally sells out in ~20 seconds every time a batch goes on sale. I have one and can attest it's absolutely spot on and worth the hassle though.
- fxtentacle 6y ago
  In my case, some of the songs that I used to play in arcades in Asia use all 9 directions. The L-Tek pads only have center + 4 arrows, but none of their products has all 9 of them. EDIT: Here's pictures of the L-Tek: https://www.vierpfeile.de/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7709 https://www.vierpfeile.de/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7709 It also looks like the sensors inside aren't based on piezo crystals and rubber like the arcade machines.
- httpsterio 6y ago
  Because it uses the older type capacitive sensors and not the pressure sensors that Kyle Ward stole off Brittany's pads that ended up being Rhythm Horizon. It's kinda the industry staple these days as you can adjust the sensitivity to your play style in software without having to touch the hardware. I'm a pretty high level player (passes in 15 blocks and 3 stars in 12), although I'd be content with any pad that I can just play for fun on that doesn't require modding or constant fixing. Like the blueshark, the sensitivity in Ltek pads have to be adjusted by adding material between the panels and the sensors and they're pretty prone to either breaking or just losing their sensitivity, so they require basically weekly tune ups and they're never really perfect. Ive been looking for a pad with a bar and pressure sensors for about 1k USD. I'd buy the Stepmania X pads if the shipping costs weren't absolutely bonkers.
  - city41 6y ago
    Do you live outside of the US? Within the US I'd argue the smx shipping is quite reasonable. The crate weighs 255 lbs, is custom made and it's delivered by freight. Within the US the total is about $1800-1900. For a perfect, modern arcade quality stage that can be configured anyway you can imagine it's well worth it.
fxtentacle 6y ago
I'm in the same position. I'm looking for pads with all 9 directions for those B4U songs. Let's hope a kind stranger on HN will know of a new and upcoming pad manufacturer...

city41 6y ago

Why do you say the L-Tek is DIY? It's a tad DIY if you want the bar, and also if you are a really high end player you might need to mod it with the arduino hack, but out of the box it's good for most players. The StepManiaX stage isn't a wait list, it's the opposite with first come first serve and literally sells out in ~20 seconds every time a batch goes on sale. I have one and can attest it's absolutely spot on and worth the hassle though.

fxtentacle 6y ago
In my case, some of the songs that I used to play in arcades in Asia use all 9 directions. The L-Tek pads only have center + 4 arrows, but none of their products has all 9 of them. EDIT: Here's pictures of the L-Tek: https://www.vierpfeile.de/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7709 https://www.vierpfeile.de/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7709 It also looks like the sensors inside aren't based on piezo crystals and rubber like the arcade machines.
httpsterio 6y ago
Because it uses the older type capacitive sensors and not the pressure sensors that Kyle Ward stole off Brittany's pads that ended up being Rhythm Horizon. It's kinda the industry staple these days as you can adjust the sensitivity to your play style in software without having to touch the hardware. I'm a pretty high level player (passes in 15 blocks and 3 stars in 12), although I'd be content with any pad that I can just play for fun on that doesn't require modding or constant fixing. Like the blueshark, the sensitivity in Ltek pads have to be adjusted by adding material between the panels and the sensors and they're pretty prone to either breaking or just losing their sensitivity, so they require basically weekly tune ups and they're never really perfect. Ive been looking for a pad with a bar and pressure sensors for about 1k USD. I'd buy the Stepmania X pads if the shipping costs weren't absolutely bonkers.
- city41 6y ago
  Do you live outside of the US? Within the US I'd argue the smx shipping is quite reasonable. The crate weighs 255 lbs, is custom made and it's delivered by freight. Within the US the total is about $1800-1900. For a perfect, modern arcade quality stage that can be configured anyway you can imagine it's well worth it.

fxtentacle 6y ago

I'm in the same position. I'm looking for pads with all 9 directions for those B4U songs. Let's hope a kind stranger on HN will know of a new and upcoming pad manufacturer...