risers vs. flat pads

[Neural]

Cobalt Flux has their "arcade mod" for their dance pad.
The Blue Shark has recessed arrows.
There are a number of other hard pads out there, but not all of them have this feature (where the arrows are recessed like the arcade machines).

A number of the home made dance pads and instructions I've found on the net seem to pass over this little feature.
I've never played on an arcade machine, however I went ahead when I built my home pad and modified it so that it has the recessed arrows feel to it.

My question is: Is it really that important? I'm not doing much more than 6 foot songs right now (and not doing more than "B" scores on those), so maybe I'm not to the point yet where it matters.
Just wondering mostly what others opinions are on it.

[infamous360]

it only matters if you are used to the arcade

[Empathy]

What I found worked for me is taht I needed to know what arrows I was on, whether it be raised buttons, a la Red Octane Ignition pads, or recessed arrows on a CF, or arcade machine. The cheap flat mats screwed me up so bad I could hardly get a C on an 8 footer that I can easily FC.

[Arctic Wolves]

It matters greatly if you have flat shoes, generally. You also shouldn't play DDR in such shoes (though I usually am).

[Empathy]

Nonsense, I play DDR in skate shoes all the time and I'm no worse for the wear, and I actually prefer them to running shoes or regular sneakers since my feet dont get as sore. The only time I could see where having shoes with an arch on the underside coming in handy is if you're trying to hit hands over the brackets on the pad with just your two feet. Really, though, the point of the recessed arrows (or raised) in my mind is for ease of use, you can tell exactly where you are based on the feel of the pad below your feet. If you've never played on an arcade machine before, this will be new to you, but IMO, I believe it will help you improve more than playing on a flat mat.

[Αng]

I'm normally an arcade player, but I have a non-arcade-modded CF. When I'm playing on the CF, I find it very easy to get off-center and lose where the arrows are, since there's no difference in height. That's the only problem I have with it, but it's a pretty crucial problem.

[Mr_Owen]

I just got my Flux and after using it for a while am very eager to get the arcade mod off. It makes my steps in accurate and makes it require more effort.