Score or Enjoyment

[Booker]

Having seen a couple of posts here from people complaining about non-expert players online I'm just curious to see how many people play this game for the enjoyment of being able to 'pick up and play' so many different songs or are you more interested in Gold Starring everything and being at the top of the leaderboard.

Personally, I've just started to venture into the land of the orange button (or 3 limbs at once for the drums) but will always go back to medium (or easy drums) online because it's more important to me to finish songs and enjoy playing with other people than it is to see those high scores.

[RockBandRocker]

I play for the fun of it.

If I think I can handle expert on a song, I go for it (on guitar).

If I think I can handle hard on a song, I for it (on vocals).

The thing I will most likely NEVER do on-line with others is drums. Than again I have neglected playing my drum career. :)

[Artemecien]

In a way it's both for me.

Originally it was just the sheer awesomeness of rocking the **** out to some badass tracks,but now we're getting better and recently got our first gold stars for the band,we want to replicate the feeling we got from that achievement.

Sure does feel good,so now score does play a part in play.
Not a huge part,but deep down we all want to hear the chime of gold stars in our ears.

[ReverseEngineer]

I could care less about gold stars. I want to play the songs well, though. But I will play where I'm comfortable online. so, the "it's both" applies to myself, as well.

I was once where the OP is, skillwise. But you'll get better, and playing medium online will just seem boring (as it has for me). As for bandmates... play whatever you want.

[krammkracker]

For me... It differs...
If I'm playing solo... Its scores all the way.

If I'm playing with friends (quickplay or BWT) its much more about rocking out with your friends and enjoying the songs and the game then throwing your guitar to the ground for missing one simple note in "Dreamin" (yea I'm still bitter)

[killerewok]

I enjoy playing drums. I enjoy beating my old scores. Really, I think the two go hand-in-hand. Part of the fun is getting better.

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

i mainly play on expert, but i always make sure its fun. on drums for instance, i'm stuck on don't fear the reaper and foreplay, even though i can beat every song in the last tier besides RTTH.

but i know on guitar i always have fun trying to get gold stars, or even five stars ont eh harder songs. its just a great felling of accomplishment.

but FUN is what this game is all about. its the best when friends are over or your at parties.

[Idylla]

and once you learn to start at red instead of green, you'll be an expert guitar player in no time.


omg this! - I've also just ventured into the land of the orange button, and have found after some practice I am able to do quite a few songs on expert after coming from 99%/100% medium heritage :)

I also play for the enjoyment of completing a song - no-one - I'd imagine likes to be in the red all the time (let alone failing), however after getting my first GS (Bass) on Maps I'm kinda enjoying the score aspect as well, shame the fact it was a GS doesn't get recorded anywhere!

[Der_Lex]

I play for enjoyment. Sometimes, getting a higher score can be cause for that, but it's by no means my final goal. I'm fine with other people playing on whatever difficulty they prefer, as long as everyone has a good time.

[Booker]

and once you learn to start at red instead of green, you'll be an expert guitar player in no time.

I admit that playing solo I am a sucker for getting 5 stars (done all of tier 1 on hard guitar/bass and have 1 left to do on medium drums (however decided roxanne should be in tier 1 needs their head examined :mad:)

However it always annoys me when people get on their high horses and say that if you don't play expert online your not worthy to play with them.

[Der_Lex]

and once you learn to start at red instead of green, you'll be an expert guitar player in no time.

I'd say this really depends on your play style, though. Personally, I still start out on green, since I somehow find it easier to slide with my pinky than to jump up to green each time. I guess that goes to show that no technique is 'the only way'... just try out what's best for you.

[captainsamus]

I mainly play for fun, but try to GS songs every so often.

[Zarhawk]

I play for both

[NathanRandom]

It varies for me. There are some songs that I could play over and over again with a few friends and not care about the score we get at the end. If were going through BWT we rarely replay the same songs just to beat a score.

[krammkracker]

and once you learn to start at red instead of green, you'll be an expert guitar player in no time.

I agree, this is how it worked for me. I never move my hand unless I need to hit a green note.

I tend to use my index finger for both red and green.

* Course it does make it hard to beat some songs with alot of r-g-r-g-r-g like "Blackened" (or maybe its "Ride the Lightning"--- the only 2 songs I can't beat on expert guitar)

[Mercuie]

I play for the fun of it. I like getting online and getting a full band. I don't care much what level that play at, as long as they play what they feel they can do well.

Heck if they go "hey i might fail this" im like, don't worry i'll watch you. I in fact spend a lot of time saving band members, which makes it more fun when they have no dlc, cause ... zzzz.

But yeah its all for fun. I love a 4 play expert party, but its rare. Good music is good music and fun people are fun people. Why limit yourself.

[TornShaun]

Both, if i'm playing online i deciede which level to play on by the song, if its say GGHT guitar then i play on medium but if its GGHT bass then i play expert. I'd rather enjoy the song online than be kicked after 1 song for being carried the whole song and the song sounding **** cause i can't handle it. Score wise offline i'm just trying to better myself on my own with no one to ***** at me if i **** up where as online i caouldn't give a stuff about the points just as long as the whole band enjoy playing the song together.

[InsoFox]

Fun fun fun funnity fun fun fun fun fun fun FUN.

I think my position is clear. I usually play vocals on medium, because even though I can sing alright, it gives me that little bit of extra leeway that means I don't need to stick too rigidly to the chart to do very well. Guitar I'm playing on medium, will probably venture into hard soon but I don't play it much, I'm a real guitarist and so I'm not as motivated to be good at it. Drums I'm venturing into hard now, will eventualy progress to expert. But none of this matters if I'm not enjoying myself, or in the case of drums at least learning something.

"But if you're just in it for fun, InsoFox, why don't you just play on easy or medium the whole time?"

Well, two reasons:

1) The harder charts more accurately reflect the music, which is part of the fun (with the possible exception of vocals), so as I get better at the game I'll want to use those more.

2) As far as the drums are concerned, I genuinely want to get better so that when it comes down to it I can eventually progress to real drums. I'm not just having fun in this case, I'm also seriously working on my limb-independence and speed, and that involves gradually playing on harder difficulties.

[Flawless]

Completely fun... the only time I got for score is the odd time I try to beat my own scores on songs, and that usually ends up being fun if that mood strikes me.

[Dugrex]

I have spent a lot of time getting better at this game, so I am proud to play on expert. However, I will never be one of those guys that kicks players for playing on easy or medium. I mean what is the point. If you are playing online shooting for gold stars you are either crazy or a masochist. Have fun. It is a great group game, enjoy it.

[Dugrex]

I agree, this is how it worked for me. I never move my hand unless I need to hit a green note.

I tend to use my index finger for both red and green.

* Course it does make it hard to beat some songs with alot of r-g-r-g-r-g like "Blackened" (or maybe its "Ride the Lightning"--- the only 2 songs I can't beat on expert guitar)


Have you tried Thrasher. That is a bear. I agree with you it really is the best way to play for me. But that r - g thing can get tricky.

[snoopj123]

It's a little of both, but I do think there's much more fun in bringing over some friends and playing 4-player to any song that's within our abilities than there is to sit back and brag about how many Gold Stars you got on Expert.

Although, playing continuously and getting to new heights is fun as well.

--j

[kingtonyx]

I play for fun, although sometimes when I'm playing alone I get into GOLD STARS mode where I'll restart over and over

I don't like getting that way, although I do like being in the top 100 for many of the songs for Bass Solo... it makes me feel like I've accomplished something cool you know?

there are some songs I know I won't get that rating on and play anyways (Tom Sawyer)

[moneyp]

Anyone complaining about non-expert players online can go suck eggs, quite frankly. Some people actually have lives and other interests besides gaming. Given the normal temperament and maturity of most X-Box Live players, I had actually disabled my voice chat to "Friends Only" within a month of getting the system. I wound up re-enabling it strictly for Rock Band, and my Friends list has ballooned. There are a lot of very cool people from all over who play this game, Expert and otherwise.

Yeah, I do the Scorehero thing and keep track of my accomplishments, but this game is supposed to be about fun and social interaction. You know who the most boring people are? The ones who have nothing more to talk about than their rankings and how many gold stars they have. Congratulations: Expert in Rock Band, but can't pass Easy in holding a conversation.

With Rock Band 2, it looks like many of the hardcore score freaks will have a reason to hook up online, for pointz and challengez. This is good; there's no reason that the game shouldn't allow them to maintain the insular little shell their life has and/or will become. As for me, if I'm not hanging out online with the friends I've already made, I'm hitting the quickplay and finding new ones.

[Sarge51]

I play 90% for fun. But I get overly excited when I beat my old scores. and emo when my Xbox Live disconnects mid-song. :P

I do get serious when people are watching though and shake my head when I mess up. :P

[TheGodFather73]

It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to simply improve my scores and I get enjoyment out of that. Other times I simply want to play the songs and listen to the music. Lately though I've been drifting more towards the 'improving my skills' over listening to the music. Once I could play a lot more songs on Expert, it became more addicting (to me). I only play online with a few friends, who are better than me (one is VERY good on guitar; top 200-1000 on many of the very difficult songs). They don't care what level I play on though so it's always fun whenever we get together online, regardless of whether or not I need to drop down to hard for a particular song.

[princeofcups777]

Having seen a couple of posts here from people complaining about non-expert players online I'm just curious to see how many people play this game for the enjoyment of being able to 'pick up and play' so many different songs or are you more interested in Gold Starring everything and being at the top of the leaderboard.

I want to be able to play all songs on expert drums and not fail out. 80% of the way there. What is this gold star of which you speak?

[Mr. Tate]

I hardly notice the score and the stars. I play for the sake of it and I can be satisfied with my self with a 90% ratio as well as very disappointed with a 99% on Expert. I also try to add something to my game but I play at the level that gives me pleasure, not the one where I egt some in game accomplishment.

[Ventura]

Enjoyment all the way.

The idea is to enjoy the music while feeling like you're playing it, not seeing how many points you can get.

[drakkahn]

I am an expert vocalist ranked 93rd on the PSN Leaderboards Solo. I play for fun. I don't care what difficulty someone plays on as long as they can make it through the song. I don't mind saving someone but all I ask is be able to do well enough where the rest of the band has time TO save you.

If I want to gold star songs, I just jump to my friends list and only play with them because I know they are all expert players and it is an understanding that when we get together we are shooting for the gold.

Otherwise, I wanna have fun and do well for the Pot Luck band I happen to be singing for. If we happen to be expert and gold something...bonus. If not, it's all good. I got more practice.

[v1g1lance1]

I play for both:

Scores when I'm playing SOLO OR when I'm playing Online with a specific group of players who are looking for the same thing.

Fun when I'm playing random online. Speaking of which - nothing RUINS the fun more than someone playing outside their skill level because they're worried about what others think or being kicked. I'll play (and have fun) with anyone playing on easy over someone who I have to repeatedly save playing expert.

:)

[keicher]

we have two bands, one for earning high scores when the "original 4" are together, and then another band where people come over to just jam and have fun with.

[blackplastic22]

For me gold starring and being at the top of the leader boards is the main reason I enjoy playing the game.

[master2uall]

i started out just for fun, but now only play for scores, gold stars, and my never ending quest for the number one spot on bwt leaderboards, im at around 200 right now.

[jrinck]

Gold stars are nice, but not required.

I don't care what level someone plays at, so long as they are at least competent at that level. I would like to at least FINISH the song, if at all possible. :D

[frizzy_bj]

I play for enjoyment mostly.

It is satisfying to see some of the scores that we can get in BWT though.

[GEEMIEE]

When I first started playing Rock Band I played guitar on Hard (had experience with GH1/GH2, where I worked my way up from Easy). After a few months, I got up to Expert, but still played Hard online (Because it was more fun than trying to focus on Expert).

I'm not sure when it was, but I just sort of stopped playing Hard altogether, and moved up to Expert completely. Doing that little change has made me much better, now every time I play I'm "getting better" so to speak.

I then went to GH1/GH2/GH:80 and beat them all on Expert, and I only have Lou left on GH3's Expert.


I really never had to make any big "jumps" to play on Expert, I just found Hard more entertaining. But when I finally decided to make the complete transition to Expert I got a lot better quickly.

[ppetrovi]

If I am playing by myself on drums or guitar, its for Gold Stars and fun.

If I am playing with my roommate or friends, I usually play guitar AND sing with my mic stand, so I dumb it down to medium or hard, and have a blast.

It is more fun doing medium with guitar and mic, then doing well on expert in my opinion. I am always OK with whatever level people play on, as long as they can be competent at it. I hate when a guy online fails 3 times in the first minute then quits to save embarrassment, haha. Too late buddy!

[grumpypariah]

i'm purely for the fun and enjoyment.

hell, i sometimes pull out the old jeans that are a few sizes too tight, put on one of my wife's frilly blouses, put on the motorcycle boots, bust out the Aquanet, and have Glam Metal Awesomeness...........

PENNSY.........ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?

*fake crowd screams to self*

anyway, i digress...........fun, all i really look at is percentage and stars.

i'm a medium player, occassionally venture to hard land, and i have no problem with that...........at least less problems then singing vocals with teased up hair and spandex shorts..........

[jaystonepk]

Higher score while I'm solo, totally fun when playing with friends, even in BWT.

[kiggidykev]

With a group, I play for enjoyment. We get through songs together, encourage each other to try harder difficulties, and generally feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the night when we try new songs and pass them.

Solo is a different story. I'm always trying to one-up myself and break my old high scores, and also add to my list of gold stars.

[ppetrovi]

^^

I wanna JAM with Grumpypariah!

[RealMessiah]

When I play online, I just want to finish the song with the people I have been matched up with, so I look at my spreadsheet and see how well I have played a song (guitar/bass) on hard and expert...If it is obvious I can do fine on Expert, I will go with that. If I think Expert may be pushing it or I feel like giving my fingers a break, I play on Hard.

Funny thing last night. Bare in mine, I have only played online four or five times and not for very long...The leader selects "Closer to the Heart". I am the guitar part, and since I have not gotten to it yet on Expert and my hard completion was 97%, I figured that would be fine.

So I get distracted when the song starts and I can't get myself or my fingers in the right spot..after about 15 notes of pure miss, the host just leaves and the song ends. I am sure I would have righted the ship in the near future. I would never leave because someone was doing poorly. It is just not that important to me.

So I went to my career and loaded up CTTH on hard just to make sure my 97% wasn't a fluke and maybe the song was harder than I knew (hence I found it so difficult to get back on after not starting the song on time)...I missed one note which saved my ego a bit.

Anyway, I play solo to care about score. Sometimes I will kick it back a level on certain songs if I just want to play them, but I am generally trying to better myself when playing solo.

When online, I really don't care what people do or what the score is. I just want to carry my part so as to not let the other people I am playing with down.

[Vandyan]

Its a video game... if you arent playing for fun, you have your priorities seriously confused.

Im a fairly decent expert level player, and I have no problem playing with people online who are playing medium or easy, as long as they are friendly and sociable. In fact I get far more annoyed when people try and play a difficulty they cant handle and end up doing poorly and getting all mad, or even failing / quitting out than I do when somebody plays at easy and has fun with it.

[BuckoFive]

Whenever I'm lucky enough to have people over at my house who are willing to play with me, it doesn't matter their skill level is, its just about the fun.

Whenever I play online its about the adventure, because sometimes it's heaven and sometimes it's hell.

Whenever I play alone, I'm always trying to improve scores/get gold stars. However, if I'm having a bad day, I tend to get bored and frustrated, and actually start to do worse. When this happens, I usually check out to see what kind of bands I can join online. Playing with other people is a great way to let off steam, and still work on your own skills. You can meet awesome people, and laugh/cry about the horrible people.

While I usually play on expert guitar, I don't mind what level the others play as long as they're fun. If I am lucky enough to get into a band of fun, lively, and considerate people, I will stay and have a good time. While I do prefer to play with others that have DLC, I don't hold my breath that all four of the band members will have the same songs as me. If we can gold-star the songs, then its even more wonderful, but its hardly a mandatory requirement for me.

If I'm unlucky, and get into a group where people are rude to each other, people hog the guitar without asking, don't talk to each other, pick the same songs over and over again, AND have no DLC, then I politely excuse myself after a song ends, and then either try to find another band, or go back to practicing for awhile.

So I say that you should just keep playing and going for it. For random online quickplay where you are being grouped with strangers, plenty of people have different skill levels, so I wouldn't trip over it. If people kick you for not playing expert, then they are douches. The more you play the more you'll improve in time.

[west siide]

I find it bizzare that you people get upset if you can't play expert if they are doing online quickplay.

Hello, the matchup is random - it comes with the territory.

It seems this problem will be alleviated with RB2 where they will be the expected Expert-only online modes. Then for those who feel elitist, they can corner themselves off from the rest of us and leave those of us who are decent, but don't want to live in Expert song in and song out, alone.

[BStu78]

Both. I've actually only been playing music rhythm games since last November but took to them very quickly and got Rock Band in May when I finally got a 360. (was holding out for the price drop that I guess finally comes next week; luckily GTA4 sales achieved the same result). I leveled up to Medium well enough and can easily 5 star most songs, and FC a handful. I've been experimenting with Hard on my own, but still play Medium with others because its just more fun. I do Hard Bass on easier songs. Actually, I even managed the Flawless Groove achievement on my own. I like it because it gives me a chance to improve my skills while still having fun and even improving my band score.

I've done more score tweaking on vocals, though still at Medium. As an actual singer, I find the constraints of Hard and Expert Vox tough to deal with and have focused first on mastering Medium. I did the Score Hero thing and found out I'm actually very good at that difficulty so I've been learning Overdrive paths to max my scores and working hard to FC songs. While I like that I score really well on Medium (even have a couple 1st's) I do stick with it mostly because its still the most fun for me. Score and fun aren't really an either, but fun definitely wins out.

[DesiredFX]

I play guitar and bass, mostly, and definitely for enjoyment. As I get better, I enjoy it more.

Not because of the scores--I'm not one to play a song over and over going for that one more star--but because even songs I didn't used to enjoy playing are becoming fun now.

I was actually pleased when I worked out how to beat This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race on Expert the other day. I was just having trouble with the fingering in the verse part, and now that I can handle it reasonably well, I feel like it should help me improve on some other songs, too.

What's funny is that, no matter what I do, I cannot get the hang of Can't Stand Losing You. Maybe I should try alt-strumming.

[Tom Imp]

For me it's totally about enjoyment. Every time I get the message that I'm not connected online and my score won't be registered, I say to myself "Who cares".

[RealMessiah]

What's funny is that, no matter what I do, I cannot get the hang of Can't Stand Losing You. Maybe I should try alt-strumming.

I am right there with you.

[Chris_Gonzalez]

Sort of both for me. I play for enjoyment the whole time, but if I'm sure I can at least five star a song, I'll practice until I do. That's on Drums and Guitar, at least, where I'm on Expert. I'm burning through the Medium Vocals career right now.

[Orion.Rock]

I play for score althought I dont care about what difficulty others play on. But if I wasent getting alot of enjoyment out of this game like I am then I wouldent have such high scores.

[illgreen]

Fun of course!


And achievements...

[BigHardE]

I try to gold star songs, but never can. I've got 100 percent a few songs (ie: say it aint so, Roxanne) but I'm not really good at using overdrive since I play left handed and can't hit the select button and anytime I lift the guitar while hitting notes I always mess up..

so basically I try as hard as I can to get a good score, but i'm mostly playing to have fun...

[botnic]

Once I started playing on expert, anything else was just less fun. Not becuase its challenging so much as I feel like I'm playing the song more.

[defenestrater]

It depends on what I'm doing and who I'm playing with, but for the most part if I'm playing solo tour I'm trying to beat my scores, and if I'm playing with other people then its just about having a good time.

[spidoman]

With earphones on or with friends I play for fun. I was surprised with the earphones, it makes it more about the music and not about perfecting everything so it's a lot more fun.

But just playing drums normally I'm trying to get better now, so you could consider that for score I guess.

[Frederf]

I went on the leaderboards once and saw I was 28,783 out of 100,000 or something. Um... yay? Who gets off on this? How could playing an engaging music game with your friends using the best rock songs of the latter half of the twentieth century play second fiddle to a glorified excel spreadsheet?

I play to improve and to groove mainly. Improving is one of my top goals. It feels really good to just get better at something I used to not be good at. Also I like playing with my friends in a song we all like.

[Vedicardi]

I play for fun but I still play Guitar+Bass on expert only and Drums on hard/expert, as well as vocals on hard/expert

The challenge is a part of the fun, but score doesn't really matter to me, although I do like trying to get more stars.

[DStone39]

"I am never into a game for the competition...I am into it for the fun...and sometimes the Achievements..."
-Quote on XBL profile.

Although, it is a bit a both. If there's a song I can sing or play Bass on Expert, I'll strive for Gold Stars. But it's not a priority. As for the leaderboards, I could care less about my rank out of 100,000. I'm just not that Expert of a player.

And for good measure, people that kick non-Expert players are the worst on RB's online. Learn to accept the newer and less talented than your high self. I was playing in a band with a Medium guitarist getting 70-80%, sure I was thinking "These are easy FCs" but I didn't want to scream, "NO MEDIUM! NO HARD! EXPERT ONLY!" That would just be rude. As long as the player is having fun, and I'm having fun, there's no problem.

[R33DH4M]

I play for score AND enjoyment.