Please Make Band World Tour Mode Single Player!

[VixDiesel]

I'm sure it's been said before but for some reason the site is giving me a hard time getting topics to load so I'm just gonna make one. Flame away. Heh.

Anyways, I know I won't have anyone to play this game with me. Believe me, I'm extremely pissed that gh iii has songs only in co-op and I have no one to help me unlock them.

So it makes me sad that a huge chunk of this game will be unplayable for me based on reports saying that offline band world tour mode is 2-4 players and that there is currently no online band world tour mode.

So, please, please make a single player band world tour mode as well. I know there's the single instrument careers but it's not the same.

[Kaboobi]

Uh, the game is already done. I guess if you ask nicely the might be able to delay the game a few months so they can put it in.

[dragulaAC]

There's always the method of singing while playing guitar. This would count as 2 players, even though you're doing both parts on your own. That would make for a pretty interesting challenge that hasn't been done before. I'm looking forward to atleast trying it even if it's not necessary.

[LongDarkBlues]

Having seen how forgiving Easy is on the vocals - this guy at Best Buy was soooo off and still scored in the upper 80s - I'm guessing it won't be that hard even on Medium (the minimum to unlock stuff), particularly the bass + vocals combination.

I've got enough people to do BWT, but I'm still looking forward to doing it myself (with my all-Lumberjack band)

[HeXcoda]

Yeah, this has been debated back and forth -- I'm one of the primary instigators of "BWT should allow for solo play", myself. But it's too late for them to make a major change like that at this point.

I don't count vocal+bass as solo BWT, because it's not... it's multiplayer BWT you're fooling into being solo BWT, and even if it TECHNICALLY works, we may not be able to reach high enough scores using it to really get very far. It's a hack, and it's possible, but it's not the same thing as allowing true solo BWT.

But honestly? The problem isn't really solo BWT. It's SOLO, in general. The game has little to offer a solo player due to the heavily stripped down solo "career" paths. No virtual band, no band name, no band logo... all you get is one created character and a several-year-old setlist tier grinder mechanic we've seen in music games even before Guitar Hero. It's not compelling at all, beyond the basics we've done time and time again.

RB2, or RB2008, or hopefully but not likely DLC needs to offer a more compelling solo element. Create a band of NPCs. Make managerial decisions. Hire and fire drummers who aren't making the cut while you play guitar. Etc. There should be something more to it than a glorified practice mode.

[sporkBrigade]

Yeah, this has been debated back and forth -- I'm one of the primary instigators of "BWT should allow for solo play", myself. But it's too late for them to make a major change like that at this point.

I don't count vocal+bass as solo BWT, because it's not... it's multiplayer BWT you're fooling into being solo BWT, and even if it TECHNICALLY works, we may not be able to reach high enough scores using it to really get very far. It's a hack, and it's possible, but it's not the same thing as allowing true solo BWT.

But honestly? The problem isn't really solo BWT. It's SOLO, in general. The game has little to offer a solo player due to the heavily stripped down solo "career" paths. No virtual band, no band name, no band logo... all you get is one created character and a several-year-old setlist tier grinder mechanic we've seen in music games even before Guitar Hero. It's not compelling at all, beyond the basics we've done time and time again.

RB2, or RB2008, or hopefully but not likely DLC needs to offer a more compelling solo element. Create a band of NPCs. Make managerial decisions. Hire and fire drummers who aren't making the cut while you play guitar. Etc. There should be something more to it than a glorified practice mode.

Now that they've got creating the platform for the rocking your ass off out of the way, it'll be extremely interesting to see what they come up with in the future. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine Knights of the Old Republic combined with Madden Manager mode. Decision trees with Light and Dark points assigned. Control your own destiny, and change the face of the recording world forever. F**k yes.

[HeXcoda]

Now that they've got creating the platform for the rocking your ass off out of the way, it'll be extremely interesting to see what they come up with in the future. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine Knights of the Old Republic combined with Madden Manager mode. Decision trees with Light and Dark points assigned. Control your own destiny, and change the face of the recording world forever. F**k yes.

You know, having a Light/Dark meter would be hilarious in this game.

Dark Actions: Renegging on your contract, selling out to one of the Big Five, payolaing your way onto the airwaves (artificial fan boost), recording a commercial jingle, getting drunk at a party and doing a hit and run on a homeless guy and stashing the body in a sewer grate. Basically, be the biggest, loudest, most obnoxious bunch of 80s hair metal bastards you can imagine.

Light Actions: Playing free gigs, visiting college campuses, teaching guitar lessons, touring endlessly, allowing free soundboard bootlegs, giving money to charity, beating sellout bands during battle-of-the-bands challenges, mentoring younger up and coming bands, etc...

There's a whole world of possibilities here beyond just hitting notes while music plays. And there's no reason those things can't be done solo OR multiplayer. Yes, the "true experience" of Rock Band is multiplayer but that doesn't mean the other 90% of the time the game should be gathering dust due to lack of compelling solo content beyond beating your own scores, Pac-Man style.

So, will HMX step up to the plate now that their "proof of concept" game is out the door, and really make this work..?

[MundaneSoul]

Hex and spork, those ideas sound hellaciously awesome. I've been kinda hoping for the same type of thing myself (in a future iteration, of course).

[LongDarkBlues]

Hire and fire drummers who aren't making the cut while you play guitar. Etc.
I can't think of anything that would be more irritating in this game than computer controlled players who can't 'make the cut'

[Bakkster]

I can't think of anything that would be more irritating in this game than computer controlled players who can't 'make the cut'

Agreed. The tiered structure of single-player has worked so far, I don't see a reason to change it. It's fun, and it doesn't distract you from the reason you're playing the game (the music) with management or other tasks.

I plan to sing and play an instrument at the same time to get my BWT fix until I return to school in the spring. Sure, it's a little more challenging, but when I fail it will be my fault, not the game deciding to screw me because I didn't hire a good enough bassist.

Sure, I like the idea of a "sellout" meter, or other mechanics in the game, but I don't want it to mess up my single player tiers. Boss battles are one of the reasons I haven't bought GH3: I just want to play the songs. There's too much that these extra mechanics can mess up. Give me standard single-player and keep the unique mechanics in the multi-instrument/player mode.

[HeXcoda]

I can't think of anything that would be more irritating in this game than computer controlled players who can't 'make the cut'

Yeah, that's something that would need a lot of playtesting and tweaking, to ensure they don't make the experience less fun. One idea: You get bonus fans if you can hire a really good drummer, but they may come with penalties like occasionally trashing a hotel room and costing your money. Or, your drummer is a cheapskate and always flies coach or uses the same sticks for eight years, so he earns you money (by not having to spend a lot of it) but you don't get as high of a fan bonus. Etc.

And then, he can get addicted to heroin, go into rehab, and your friendship with him can eventually lead to the band breaking up until you decide to reform it later in a desperate attempt to stay current despite losing your bass player and guitarist before you fade from the public eye! And then contribute Cherub Rock to a video game.

Anyway...

The overall point is that there are a LOT! of amazing things you could do with this concept with solo play. So, even if the ball got dropped this year, presumably HMX can pick it up next year and give us soloists something to do.

[Bakkster]

Yeah, that's something that would need a lot of playtesting and tweaking, to ensure they don't make the experience less fun. One idea: You get bonus fans if you can hire a really good drummer, but they may come with penalties like occasionally trashing a hotel room and costing your money. Or, your drummer is a cheapskate and always flies coach or uses the same sticks for eight years, so he earns you money (by not having to spend a lot of it) but you don't get as high of a fan bonus. Etc.

So what you propose is ANOTHER game mode, in addition to quickplay, solo career, and BWT, which is part band manager, part rhythm game? I can't get behind an idea like this because it's no longer about how well you play the song, it's an RPG.


The overall point is that there are a LOT! of amazing things you could do with this concept with solo play. So, even if the ball got dropped this year, presumably HMX can pick it up next year and give us soloists something to do.

Most soloists that I can think of who go on big solo tours are, surprise!, vocalist-instrumentalists. Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, and Bob Dylan to name a few. I guess I still don't see how this is a bad thing to emulate, or not pushing the envelope for solo play. This isn't GH, where you can't play bass and guitar at the same time. It is very possible to sing and play an instrument at the same time, and it is incredibly common in music.

I call that solo play.

[dragulaAC]

Ripping on Solo mode is ok I guess, although I think it's fine the way it is. Solo mode in Rock Band is just one mode to choose from in the game. Whereas in other guitar games, that is the extent of the entire game. So I really don't have any complaints about it.

[seafisch]

I think the frustration is that a lot of people won't be able to get people together often enough for a mode that requires 2+ people (putting aside the play + sing option for a moment), but they keep hearing about how f'ing awesome that mode is going to be. And then they hear that the solo mode is the same tiered progression of songs that has been in all of the Guitar Heroes.

If solo mode was some blend of what we're used to and what BWT promises to be, it would be a bit more palatable. And if the game can fill in for one or two players, why not three? It seems like such a no-brainer. That's where the frustration is for me.

But, since the game is already able to fill in for one or two players, making it able to fill in for three seems like something that's easily modifiable with a DL patch, to make BWT an option for solo play. That's what I'm hoping for. Developers, are you listening?

And you can't create the whole band in solo mode? Is that for certain?

[sonicbrew]

I would really like to see this as well. I will be playing solo most of the time and the solo career mode just doesn't stack up against BWT. I have been playing guitar for 33 years but I cannot sing and play and it won't be any different for the game.

[HeXcoda]

So what you propose is ANOTHER game mode, in addition to quickplay, solo career, and BWT, which is part band manager, part rhythm game? I can't get behind an idea like this because it's no longer about how well you play the song, it's an RPG.

I'm just tossing ideas out for fun; it doesn't HAVE to work that way. And what do you think BWT is? It's an RPG! You have stars, fans, and cash -- all stats that build over time and involve risk/reward exchanges, some luck, and some strategy!

All I want is some of that great RPG element that already exists to also exist for solo players. A tiered grinder is easy. I could code one in my SLEEP. Why not have an extra mode on top of that which blends the two? Let the players decide what they want to play.


Most soloists that I can think of who go on big solo tours are, surprise!, vocalist-instrumentalists. Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, and Bob Dylan to name a few. I guess I still don't see how this is a bad thing to emulate, or not pushing the envelope for solo play. This isn't GH, where you can't play bass and guitar at the same time. It is very possible to sing and play an instrument at the same time, and it is incredibly common in music.

I call that solo play.

It works, but let's not kid ourselves, it's not what HMX intended as a solo player mode. BWT is not balanced around this faked-solo-really-duo play... with it, you're expected to do twice the work because that game is designed to be played by two people on two separate instruments. You can drop the difficulty down, but that'll result in less points, less stars, less cash, and likely a wall after which you can't progress anymore.

What we need is a solo mode that implements the gameplay perfection of note-hitting and the awesomeness of BWT's decision making and progression, without the artificial restriction of needing two active instruments at once. This is not gonna take away from anything else that's already in the game. It only adds to it for people who can't routinely get a group together to go through the extensive BWT mode.

[Bakkster]

I'm just tossing ideas out for fun; it doesn't HAVE to work that way. And what do you think BWT is? It's an RPG! You have stars, fans, and cash -- all stats that build over time and involve risk/reward exchanges, some luck, and some strategy!

True, but in BWT it's still all skill based. You only advance in popularity and toward buying new clothes or gaining access to new stadiums. The idea of hiring band members who can fail you means that the AI can cause you to fail a song, even if you 100%. That is not cool.


All I want is some of that great RPG element that already exists to also exist for solo players. A tiered grinder is easy. I could code one in my SLEEP. Why not have an extra mode on top of that which blends the two? Let the players decide what they want to play.

Because the "combo mode" would be a pain to code, and it hardly seems necessary.


It works, but let's not kid ourselves, it's not what HMX intended as a solo player mode. BWT is not balanced around this faked-solo-really-duo play... with it, you're expected to do twice the work because that game is designed to be played by two people on two separate instruments. You can drop the difficulty down, but that'll result in less points, less stars, less cash, and likely a wall after which you can't progress anymore.

What we need is a solo mode that implements the gameplay perfection of note-hitting and the awesomeness of BWT's decision making and progression, without the artificial restriction of needing two active instruments at once. This is not gonna take away from anything else that's already in the game. It only adds to it for people who can't routinely get a group together to go through the extensive BWT mode.

You are right, BWT is not designed as a solo mode. That's the point. It's cool because it focuses around a band instead of an individual. And is it really a problem that playing two instruments is a challenge? It seems that the common complaint is that the game 'might not be hard enough'.

I agree that there is room for improvement in solo play, but I don't think the first outing of Rock Band is the place to add it. There were too many other features to worry about, than to code a new mode that practically already exists. If RB2 doesn't improve on the solo career gameplay, feel free to complain. Until then, just remember how many other improvements were made, and suddenly an omission like this is pretty minor to the overall quality of the game.