::sigh:: Still no online Band Wold Tour

[RingoDot97]

I had hopes that HMX would aim to roll out online BWT for Christmas, as a large chunk of folks were unwrapping the special edition box. But Christmas came and went, and nothing. And so now for all of us who dont have videogaming friends that live nearby, we're stuck with a fun and workable, yet oddly unsatisfying online mode.

So here is my "Dear Harmonix" part. Online Band World Tour. Please. Soon.
I know this is redundant to many many many other posts, but what better way to let HMX know how we feel :)

Thanks for the great game! And I hope that development is rolling along behind the scenes.

[Nate4VT]

We won't be getting online BWT in Rock Band... you'll have to wait until Rock Band 2

[RedTsunami]

We won't be getting online BWT in Rock Band... you'll have to wait until Rock Band 2

How do you know that? They could easily put an online BWT into RB if they could figure out how to program it. Simple patch would do the trick.

[WiseOldUnicorn]

They said in an interview that online BWT was something they'd "like to explore in a future game," or something like that. I forget what the exact wording was, but it led most people (including me) to believe that it's something we won't see until RB2, unfortunately.

Although HMX would make a lot of people very, very happy if they went ahead and patched it in (hint hint, HMX).

[RingoDot97]

Ive been reading over all the official and unofficial HMX statements regarding Online BWT. Theyve never said "no" for inclusion in rockband or "yes, only in RB2". Theyve said they were working on it for RB before launch, and it wasnt up to snuff because of, among other things, getting all the band data synched and consistent over live. They have said theyd like to do it in the future. But that doesnt mean it couldnt be patched in.

the good news is that its not a problem with bands playing over live. That works (as can be seen in the current RB modes).

Im hoping its like H3 and online co-op. They didnt want to say anything about it just in case they couldnt get it to work to their satisfaction.

[cjkuhlenbeck]

lol it hasnt been nearly long nuff for them to make a large update yet (would make the game look faulty, even if its only adding new features). But nah, seriously thats a bunch of crap. At the point they managed to get quickplay to work online with friends, it would've been a sich to make BWT online. same concept, only different look. It could've been done, but i think they want to save it for RB2 so people will actually buy it instead of just keeping RB1. And to to the person (which i know there will be one) who says they cant cuz of the achievements and band config, the BWT lets you have guests, its the same concept, and the achievements online...alot of the online xbox games out there require you to go online to even get all the achievements..look at halo 3...like 70% is online...speakin of halo 3...they did it in campaign. you can play the campaign and invite friends to complete all the levels in it, so yea...bam...lies busted

[cjkuhlenbeck]

oh and technically you can even have them set in as a band member instead of a guest, because some games have clans. The techonolgy is there, and they've got a link with EA, which has been doin that for years. Could've easily been inplemented

[Frederf]

At the point they managed to get quickplay to work online with friends, it would've been a sich to make BWT online. same concept, only different look. It could've been done, but i think they want to save it for RB2 so people will actually buy it instead of just keeping RB1.

Correct and incorrect. Yes, HMX could have easily made a fast-n-easy BWT mode for online but they had higher aspirations which they were unable to achieve before launch. They didn't want to "save" online BWT for RB2, they wanted to release online BWT for Rock Band but didn't because they were unable to achieve their grand lofty scheme with it.

Online BWT was not stated to be "will only be in RB2" at all. They stated in some future effort they would like to whether that be a patch, a sequel, or never is all guesswork.

I also take issue with "would make the game seem faulty." That's not their stance at all. Adding features to the game is different from having to squash 100 bugs post release. They're just busy as bees and trying to get funding/permission/time/resources to pursue what they want. Also they have to prioritize their efforts and online BWT is probably not on the top of that list.

Issues that would likely take priority over online BWT would be: Les Paul compatibility, PS3 voice chat, band leader changing, online quickplay matchmaking, and fan cap tweaking.

[RingoDot97]

I concur, mostly. The technical challenge of playing online was solved.
Comparatively, the rest of it should be simple, although realistically, no software development is simple. But its that fact that makes me hopeful for an eventual update. The largest task left is building in a way to coordinate the game state. You would think that either a) make the band leader store it all, and transfer it when you start your session, or b) store multiple copies for each bandmate, and then do an integrity and consistency check when the session starts.

Either way, the big task is done, which is why its within reason to think they might push the extra mile for their fans and give it to us.

I think HMX knows the importance of fan goodwill. They want people to buy the DLC, and extra components, and all of that can be wiped out if they start tearing down the goodwill theyve built with the game so far.

Keep your fingers crossed.

[RingoDot97]

Issues that would likely take priority over online BWT would be: Les Paul compatibility, PS3 voice chat, band leader changing, online quickplay matchmaking, and fan cap tweaking.


Good points. And dont forget one of their biggest concerns. The supply chain! You know they want to get out standalone guitars, drums, smaller cheaper bundles etc. Not that thats a software concern, but its probably affecting things at HMX anyway.

[cjkuhlenbeck]

Im sorry, but i think its crap. If they supposedly "tried to get it in for rockband release" as everyone else says, they could've. Its not a leakable type of game, so the dont need to really check for glitches. Like i said, i can list at least 50 games off the top of my head that date back to late 90s that have the exact same online base, it would be easy, and quick, and EA owns/created/produced at least 30 of the games i can think of. They're saving it, so people will continue to buy RB games, its not EAs way to only release 1 every 2 years. And they need to make up for the loss in replacement guitars. Notice how the never give you a straight answer? thats because they want you to hope for it and continue to buy the "limited time" DLC, thinking you'll get to use it there sometime in the future, while they never get accused of lying. If you believe everything companies tell you, you must spend alot of money on nikes, fast food, and dvd's, cause commercials and PR firms got you..

[cuddie]

Im sorry, but i think its crap. If they supposedly "tried to get it in for rockband release" as everyone else says, they could've. Its not a leakable type of game, so the dont need to really check for glitches. Like i said, i can list at least 50 games off the top of my head that date back to late 90s that have the exact same online base, it would be easy, and quick, and EA owns/created/produced at least 30 of the games i can think of. They're saving it, so people will continue to buy RB games, its not EAs way to only release 1 every 2 years. And they need to make up for the loss in replacement guitars. Notice how the never give you a straight answer? thats because they want you to hope for it and continue to buy the "limited time" DLC, thinking you'll get to use it there sometime in the future, while they never get accused of lying. If you believe everything companies tell you, you must spend alot of money on nikes, fast food, and dvd's, cause commercials and PR firms got you..
Wait sorry what does being a "leakable" game have to do with glitches again? Does that mean if a game isn't "leakable" the developer doesn't have to check for glitches and therefore could release a buggy game to the public? That's is one of the most idiotic statements I've read on these forums, and that's saying something.

Also, if it was so "easy and quick" why didn't games like Halo2 have it? What are these 50 games that date back to the early 90s? Name them, off the top of your head like you stated. You obviously know close to nothing about network coding or coding, period.

Another thing, "limited time" dlc? What lol? DLC released isn't going to disappear after a set amount of time. Perhaps you are just a bit loony?

All these conspiracies you boil up in your head...tsk tsk tsk...at least try to get your facts straight first, and do some research. Maybe if you do you won't come off sounding like a total dumbass.

[Frederf]

If you could read the proposed feature list of how Harmonix wants to implement for Rock Band Online BWT, you'd be surprised how NOT quick and easy it would have been.

[Ventura]

I have to post in this thread, if just to express my support for an online BWT mode, either patched into Rock Band, or included in a sequel (I don't care, so long as the feature's there).

Most of my mates don't understand these music games. They're just not their cup of tea. They're mostly all busy playing games like Team Fortress 2 or ET: Quake Wars. So I've got no chance pretty much having three other people over who are all willing to play the game at the same time, never mind on any difficulty level past easy. And regularly enough to warrant creating a band and advancing through the game? Forget it.

Sure, it doesn't help that the game hasn't been locally released out here in Australia yet, but I don't think that's gonna make much of a difference as far as my mates are concerned, even when it does come out.

So as far as being in a band is concerned, and I mean a 4-person band, online is pretty much my only option.

[logicalnoise]

Online BWT has a few roadblocks for now. 1) they'd have to completly restructure the XBL servers and PSN servers whicyh means some definite down time. 2) I don't know about PSN but XBL limits patches to 4 megabytes each. That's not a lot of space for a whole new mode. the QA and testing required for such a mode means they do need to wait till RB2 to give any type of shot at being successful. They weren't lying when they said they wanted in this game but ultimately they needed it out by thanksgiving.

[Skullfire]

But technically it would not be a patch, but a new game mode, so they could release it as free DLC instead.

[dfjdejulio]

How do you know that? They could easily put an online BWT into RB if they could figure out how to program it. Simple patch would do the trick.

Well, we know that they think it's a hard problem to design it properly. They've said so.

Might it be coming still? Yes, it might, but we know it's not coming soon. It's best to just assume it's not coming and then be pleasantly surprised if, some time next year, it happens to show up.

[RingoDot97]

If you could read the proposed feature list of how Harmonix wants to implement for Rock Band Online BWT, you'd be surprised how NOT quick and easy it would have been.

You make it sound like you have :P
If, so, care to share?

[RingoDot97]

But technically it would not be a patch, but a new game mode, so they could release it as free DLC instead.

Ala Crackdown. Would work for me. Heck, Id even pay for it :) (not too much :P)

[RingoDot97]

Sure, it doesn't help that the game hasn't been locally released out here in Australia yet, but I don't think that's gonna make much of a difference as far as my mates are concerned, even when it does come out.

So as far as being in a band is concerned, and I mean a 4-person band, online is pretty much my only option.

Im with you. Im out in Germany and all my XBL friends are back in the US.
Doh!