So... about the hammer on's...

[ModernDayWarrior]

I noticed in the videos that some notes were smaller than the others. Are those the hammer on's? Because if they are that will take some getting used to... I'm used to the white ring around hammer on's on GH2. Weird.

[JimNasium]

Someone who went to PAX mentioned that yes, they're the hammer-ons. An excellent improvement

[PsycoCheerio]

Yea, those are the hammer-ons/Pull-offs...it only took me about one song and i had it down pretty good...it's much easier once you actually give-it-a-go.

[idiotec]

To me, much easier to identify. A nice improvement.

[Kaboobi]

Yep, they're a bit different looking, but in the long run they should be much easier to pick out than they are in GH2.

[ModernDayWarrior]

Yeah. That's true. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

[ZkDotNet]

Follow-up question: Is the change purely visual? Or, is the note window smaller too (ie, think the difference between GH1 and GH2 windows for HOPOs), or was there no noticable difference between RB and GH2?

[PsycoCheerio]

I didn't notice a difference, but didn't really play songs that had a large amount of them...

Epic had the most out of the songs i played guitar on...but it felt good in comparison with the window to GH2.

[sa_nick]

The new small things are awesome, I had a 20 inch tv and didnt even know there was a difference between HOPO notes and not until after I'd finished the game. Just had to judge by distance and trial and error.

[BarryC]

I really can't stand hammer-ons and pull-offs even after Guitar Hero 2. There's too many times it messes me up because when it's slow enough for me to hit all the notes it tries to atuo hit it when I hit that fret and when I can't hear that I hit the note it throws me off. This happened on many occasions and I'd rather just have a feature to turn them off completely. Sliding works great most of the time and I love songs that use it, but I can sacrifice that for better playability.

[miketoast]

Yep, they're a bit different looking, but in the long run they should be much easier to pick out than they are in GH2.

I definitely agree. When I first started playing GH I didn't even know they were there until a friend showed me the difference. I'm all for a note that looks physically different, it'll be so much easier to pick up as it comes down the fret board

[Bleemanguy]

I really can't stand hammer-ons and pull-offs even after Guitar Hero 2.

I have to disagree. I absolutely love HO's n' PO's, and they make songs such as "Thunder Horse" much easier.

[MartyMcFly]

I'm confused by the hating on H/O's and P/O's. They are there to help you. And they do help tremendously. You can't beat Freebird or even come close to Jordan if you can't do them.

If you hate them because you have trouble on them. You must not play on Expert. Just keep practicing. I didn't like em too, but that's when I wasn't good at doing them.

You can't like something if you suck at it ;)

[ababypenguin]

I have to disagree. I absolutely love HO's n' PO's, and they make songs such as "Thunder Horse" much easier.

me too, how can someone possibly beat songs like Freebird or Jordan w/o HO/PO's?

>>edit lol, you beat me to it Marty

[Apples]

I rather like the GH2 note structure (both the ho-po scheme and the gem-shaped notes).

When I look at the Rock Band notes, they look smaller, and I fear that it will make it more difficult for hitting and timing guitar play.

The ho-po notes look especially difficult to hit due to their size, I'm hoping this is just due to the low quality of many videos I've seen.

[MartyMcFly]

I think it's just the quality. When you've got the screen right there in front of you, you'll easily be able to pick out the H/O's and P/O's immediately.

Plus, with the squared notes, I think it makes it easier for the timing. It's easier to see when a line or square lines up than when a circle enters a circle.

Does that make sense? :rolleyes:

[IErrantVentureI]

Maybe someone who went to Pax will let us know just how small they were.

[FatWilma]

even with the early videos, i noticed the new HO/PO's and immediately thought it was a huge improvement over the old ones. i feel like its gonna make a big difference for me because i can't see the white-ring notes coming as easily as i would with different sized ones.

[FreQstar]

even with the early videos, i noticed the new HO/PO's and immediately thought it was a huge improvement over the old ones. i feel like its gonna make a big difference for me because i can't see the white-ring notes coming as easily as i would with different sized ones.

Agreed.

to the HO/PO detractors the fixed system in GH2 make the game feel so much better. I've barely played GH1 since.

I'm really glad to see the GH3 HO/POs have been graphically improved as well.

[IErrantVentureI]

Yeah, especially in GH2 with star power going. Very hard to tell what's an ho/po.

[ZkDotNet]

Yeah, especially in GH2 with star power going. Very hard to tell what's an ho/po.

With star power going is was hard. When the notes were a SP phrase, it's practically impossible. I've missed more than one SP phrase because they looked like they could've been HOPOs, but... nope, they weren't.

[IErrantVentureI]

I had many a multiplier ruined by notes suspiciously looking like hammer ons. Whooops.

Kudos to Harmonix for fixing this issue.

[PsycoCheerio]

Really nothing to worry about on size...i was pretty skeptical of the new look until i played it...WAY better...HOPO are so much more clear.

I played through GH1 entirely before i even noticed them...

[travmeatwad]

Can someone post a video that shows this off well? I must have not of been paying very good attention, because I've never noticed this.

[ababypenguin]

Can someone post a video that shows this off well? I must have not of been paying very good attention, because I've never noticed this.

I haven't noticed either, can someone get a screenshot or video so we can see this in action? I have tried to look on some IGN pics and vids but I can't see the HO/PO's.

[BarryC]

I'm confused by the hating on H/O's and P/O's. They are there to help you. And they do help tremendously. You can't beat Freebird or even come close to Jordan if you can't do them.

If you hate them because you have trouble on them. You must not play on Expert. Just keep practicing. I didn't like em too, but that's when I wasn't good at doing them.

You can't like something if you suck at it ;)

I wasn't "hating" on them. And yeah, I've beaten Free Bird and Jordan on Expert without hammer-ons and pull-offs.

[ababypenguin]

And yeah, I've beaten Free Bird and Jordan on Expert without hammer-ons and pull-offs.

sorry but that sounds pretty impossible, I think you were using them without knowing it.

[jq71586]

sorry but that sounds pretty impossible, I think you were using them without knowing it.

I think Freebird is possible, Jordan would be a more difficult task, but I think it could be done. This is how I 5* all the songs on GH I because the ho/po system on that game was absolutely worthless. I don't think a great score is possible because keeping a multiplier would be a lot harder trying to strum out every single note.

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PSN - jq71586 - looking for PS3 friends :D

[parastroke7]

The window for hammer ons in GH1 was about the width of pencil lead. Picture that coming down, and trying to hit the button RIGHT when the center of the note was synched with the middle of the on-screen button. Very ass-painish.

I 5 starred every song except Texas Flood because of that crap. I hate!

[4degrees]

I was a little scared that they'd taken away the hopos all together.

[MrNazraq]

For me, the GH1 & 2 HO/POs were pretty easy to spot. When I played the RB demo, it was pretty difficult for me to spot them.

Basically, all I noticed was that the HO/POs were just a tiny bit smaller. Anyone else have any other way to describe it? How can they be more easily identified?

Maybe it was because I was playing on a 17"screen... hopefully they'll be easier to spot on my 50" at home.

[Frederf]

In real sheet music "pick up notes" are often visually smaller note symbols at the beginning of the real phrases. It looks like rock band sought to recreate that. For pick up notes I think it works great. Long stretches of these tiny guys might be a different matter.

Also I'm sure that the visual size and the timing size of the notes are 100% independent. They could make them the size of greenland and it'd play the exact same.

[visualdeity]

You can't like something if you suck at it ;)

Not true at all. I suck at War3 so much, the computer wipes the floor with me even on Easy, but I love it. ;)

I honestly think, after playing the demo, that it's a bit harder in general to hit stuff in Rock Band than in GH, but I may get used to it. I spent most of my demo time playing drums, anyway, and I'm not sure if it'll even be possible to tear me away from those things when the real game hits my living room. I think I may have missed my calling as a musician, and should've picked up drums instead of guitar...