Please Patch To Enable Single Player World Tour

[lupine]

Will you please patch the world tour to work on single player if we can't play it online? I don't have a friend who wants to play rock band with me every night and my wife can't be relied on to play it well enough for me to unlock everything. Why can't I play it single player? It's kind of ******ed that I'm required to have someone else around to play the best part of the game.

[HeXcoda]

I agree with you in whole, but HMX has already gone on record stating that there will not be a solo BWT because of "balance issues". So, sadly, /thread.

[vtjustinb]

Better learn to sing and play guitar.

Hey, people where complaining about guitar difficulty--there ya go.

[logicalnoise]

Will you please patch the world tour to work on single player if we can't play it online? I don't have a friend who wants to play rock band with me every night and my wife can't be relied on to play it well enough for me to unlock everything. Why can't I play it single player? It's kind of ******ed that I'm required to have someone else around to play the best part of the game.

they might release one sop you can do BWT online with otehr people but they won't do one to just make it a single player experience.

[Eman311]

they might release one sop you can do BWT online with otehr people but they won't do one to just make it a single player experience.

They have already confirmed they won't be doing online BWT for Rock Band 1

[xenopherus]

I agree with you in whole, but HMX has already gone on record stating that there will not be a solo BWT because of "balance issues". So, sadly, /thread.


Didn't know it was official.... This is.... Baffling and depressing news. I don't want to have to learn the lyrics to all those terrible songs so I can sing and play guitar at the same time!! (Main Offender, Celebrity Skin)

[jmiscavish]

Will you please patch the world tour to work on single player if we can't play it online? I don't have a friend who wants to play rock band with me every night and my wife can't be relied on to play it well enough for me to unlock everything. Why can't I play it single player? It's kind of ******ed that I'm required to have someone else around to play the best part of the game.
Yeah, I won't be able to play BWT at all, either, and for the exact reasons you just gave. It's online or solo for me, except I guess HMX doesn't care enough to do that.

I really can't imagine why you leave something like that out of the game to begin with. These people only release 1 game every 3 years, you figure that's enough time to implement that sort of thing.

[logicalnoise]

Yeah, I won't be able to play BWT at all, either, and for the exact reasons you just gave. It's online or solo for me, except I guess HMX doesn't care enough to do that.

I really can't imagine why you leave something like that out of the game to begin with. These people only release 1 game every 3 years, you figure that's enough time to implement that sort of thing.

take even one day of class in game design and you'll know why it can happen.

[stiper327b]

I really can't imagine why you leave something like that out of the game to begin with. These people only release 1 game every 3 years, you figure that's enough time to implement that sort of thing.

First of all, let me say that I'm one of the ones who was calling for a single player BWT from the get-go. I've softened my stance over the months to just wanting some BWT elements in the single player mode. But we have to cute HMX some slack on this. First off, they don't release one game every 3 years. In fact, since GHI, they've released one game EVERY year. And with RB, this schedule is even more impressive. They had to build everything from the ground up, BWT, peripherals, interface, charts, secure licensing, art, game engine, shell, EVERYTHING, and they did it in one year. That's impressive in and of itself, but with a game this massive, it's nigh miraculous.

Secondly, I am starting to understand why they didn't allow single player BWT. This game was made to play with other people. Nearly every single review has stated that this game absolutely shines in multiplayer, maybe more than any game before it. It is the reason why this game was even made, why they went through 12 months of hell to get it done (all the while working on an iPod game, the 360 version of GHII, and Rock the 80's mind you). If they allowed you to play it by yourself, you might not be all that motivated to get other people together on a regular basis to go through it. So while you might have fun dealing with the mechanics of BWT on your own, especially the risk/reward system, you don't really have any motivation to step outside of that and get other people over to play with you. And considering that's the true beauty of this game, I can understand why the devs tried to keep that from happening.

Now, what I will say is that I don't see any reason why the single player mode couldn't have been more fleshed out. Sure, it's just like the GH modes, and that's great, but I wanted more reason to do what I'm doing. I wanted the risk/reward system to be implemented, in some capacity, with the Solo Tour. I wanted band customization and logo creation and all the bells and whistles that come with BWT. I didn't necessarily want all the mystery, random, or marathon set-lists, but just something to make it more than a grind fest.

But alas, that didn't happen, either because HMX is much smarter than I am (a very good possibility) or a lack of dev time (another good possibility), but what we are getting is tremendous, so while I would have liked more, I'll love what I've got.

[sonicbrew]

There is still no reason why it cannot work for single player. Don't allow online stats or whatever, but they could still unlock for SP use even offline and patch it. Many of us opted for RB because of Harmonix commitment to their previous ventures. We should not be penalized because we don't always have someone to play with and I am in this same damn boat.

This has been rehashed over and over again, however; and if we do not get a patch for it some time down the road there sure in hell won't be a RB2 for me....

Edit: Stiper, DLC will still work for us in single player correct?

[HeXcoda]

Secondly, I am starting to understand why they didn't allow single player BWT. This game was made to play with other people.

It's all very shiny and idealistic to say that the game is intended to be multiplayer only and solo play would detract from the awesome, but the reality of life doesn't work that way. Even if you could get a complete team of dedicated gamers in your living room 50% of the time, the other 50% of the time you'd be stuck with a lackluster solo experience. As has been made clear by people posting in this thread and many others, even 50% is a highly unrealistic expectation.

The solo in RB is passable. We've been playing it already in Guitar Hero, etc. But if RB2 strolls around and there's still no compelling solo element because "Our multiplayer is shiny and better!" why would someone who is gaming alone half the time bother buying the game? It'd be just a glorified song pack at that point with no innovation for them. Hopefully HMX has learned from this mistake and will cover the obvious gaps in their game the next time they do this.

[VixDiesel]

I want single player offline BWT too! I have from the beginning. I've got no on here to play it with. I'm gonna try the singing and playing at the same time but it's not gonna be as fun.

[seafisch]

take even one day of class in game design and you'll know why it can happen.

If you're referring to online BWT, I can understand that. If you're referring to offline SP BWT, don't give me that argument - the game can fill in for one or two players already, so it can damn well fill in for three. In fact, it does in the Solo Tour modes. Should be an easy patch.

And I agree with HeXcoda. If there's no patch, and RB2 comes around and SP still gets shafted relative to MP, then I'll thank HMX for saving me another $170 (or whatever RB2 costs) and go my merry way.

[FailedNinja]

Secondly, I am starting to understand why they didn't allow single player BWT. This game was made to play with other people. Nearly every single review has stated that this game absolutely shines in multiplayer, maybe more than any game before it. It is the reason why this game was even made, why they went through 12 months of hell to get it done (all the while working on an iPod game, the 360 version of GHII, and Rock the 80's mind you). If they allowed you to play it by yourself, you might not be all that motivated to get other people together on a regular basis to go through it. So while you might have fun dealing with the mechanics of BWT on your own, especially the risk/reward system, you don't really have any motivation to step outside of that and get other people over to play with you. And considering that's the true beauty of this game, I can understand why the devs tried to keep that from happening.


Nearly every review also says the single player is lackluster and single players would be better off with Karaoke Revolution or Guitar Hero.
The ability to play any of the songs using any one of the instruments is in the game.
I presume that the overworld view (select city and venue) is controlled by a single player (the band leader).
Yet for whatever reason, single player BWT was not included.
Disappointing to say the least. Gamebreaking for some unlucky ones, but fortunately not me.

[scapino78]

I'm in the same boat; my girlfriend and friends play regularly, but are not anywhere near skilled enough to actually accomplish anything in BWT. Adding BWT elements to the single-player experience would increase the replay value significantly.

[tucsonovernite]

BIG THINKERS on the forums this morning....yeah I think just about everyone wants SP BWT and online BWT how about using your energy for something positive I dont see what youre doing here except chasing your own tail...

[lupine]

I will be able to play a little of the BWT but my wife just isn't as into this kind of thing as I am and won't want to spend 2 to 3 hours per night playing the same songs over and over again to unlock everything in the game. I have friends, but not many gamer friends who want to play this kind of thing with me at that level of commitment. Seems like a very dumb choice to penalize people for not having a readily available friend around all the time who also rocks at rhythm games.

I agree that if they can fill in for three band mates in single player already, there's no reason why they can't fill in for three band mates in BWT and let me play the way I want to play. Seems like a no brainer to allow the best part of the game to anybody who wants to buy their product. It seems even more important to offer single player BWT due to the fact that there isn't an online BWT for people who don't have anyone to rock with.

We need to have a Single Player BWT patch, and soon. Leave it in the multiplayer section but remove the 2 player requirement. That should be freaking easy to patch.

[scapino78]

BIG THINKERS on the forums this morning....yeah I think just about everyone wants SP BWT and online BWT how about using your energy for something positive I dont see what youre doing here except chasing your own tail...

In GHIII, there was a large petition to get the boss battle songs available for quick play and multiplayer, and eventually it was patched in for free. If enough of us speak up, there's a chance that Harmonix will do something.

As for using our energy for something positive, these ARE the Rock Band forums; it's not like this thread is supplanting one for Habitat for Humanity. This is as positive as it gets.

[FailedNinja]

BIG THINKERS on the forums this morning....yeah I think just about everyone wants SP BWT and online BWT how about using your energy for something positive I dont see what youre doing here except chasing your own tail...

*shrug*
What are you doing? Curing cancer?

[Cantat]

*shrug*
What are you doing? Curing cancer?

LOL.

I agree. The fact that BWT will not be available for solo players is really bad news. But knowing there won't be a patch so you can create your band online is just depressing... that was the most attractive part of the game, IMO. Plus, it's the only way for many of us to play along with other people.

Hope HMX reconsiders it :( .

[Bullseye]

BIG THINKERS on the forums this morning....yeah I think just about everyone wants SP BWT and online BWT how about using your energy for something positive I dont see what youre doing here except chasing your own tail...

I think people just feel that since certain HMX personas do read these posts, maybe they'll get the message that the solo aspects are limited and could easily be made better.

My two cents (wow, if I added it up, I've probably got several dollars worth of opinion) is that Yes, this is a multiplayer game and balanced as such. And the reward for getting a Rock Band together (not just being a rock star), is the BWT experience. However, video games are normally intended for non-social, individual play, and as such, a good portion of us expect to have access to all features in a solo mode. I can understand the "balance" is set for a multiplayer experience, but really, it wouldn't be difficult to add the risk/reward model. I'm guessing the balancing issue is because the solo experience would probably be extremely easy since your band members would never fail. You'd be able to unlock most of the game w/o incorporating the band aspect, which is the whole point of the game design.

So, no, I guess a solo patch (if not already confirmed) is unlikely, but maybe HMX will see this kind of feedback and the next version of this game will be Rockband 2: Rock Star (The Solo Tour), and include a SWT where you can be singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, or Sax player (yeah, I live in a fantasy world where there are more peripherals).

[mltdwn]

Is it just me or as we get more and more technologically savvy we also get more and more introverted? I mean come on, 70% of people consider their online friends closer and more important than the people they know in real life? Someone comes out with a game that encourages in person social interaction and we complain that we don't want to spend time or go outside our comfort zone so the MP stuff should be available to us in the SP game? Come on, go out, make new friends (or reconnect with your old friends), invite them over and then try to get them to give RB a shot. You have to be a "little" encouraging you know. That's how I got my wife to play. And you'd be amazed how interesting "real life" can be.

[raregamer]

wtf, you can't play Bwt just being one player how do you unlock new songs then? All I want to do is play the drums. I am getting my game in a few hours I better have fun playing other wise I went through hell to get one.

[FailedNinja]

wtf, you can't play Bwt just being one player how do you unlock new songs then? All I want to do is play the drums. I am getting my game in a few hours I better have fun playing other wise I went through hell to get one.

It has been stated that you can unlock everything through single player.

[MJDoja]

These posts annoy me. Try playing the game or accepting it for what it was designed as; just the idea of Single Player World Tour in a music perspective seems silly and forced. it gives you a reason to get people to play the game with you. of course there is always something that people have to be dissatisfied with, and if you complain about something enough, developers usually patch it in after enough time passes and people have "suffered" long enough.

its nice that you can unlock the songs in single player, though.

[seafisch]

Someone comes out with a game that encourages in person social interaction and we complain that we don't want to spend time or go outside our comfort zone so the MP stuff should be available to us in the SP game? ... And you'd be amazed how interesting "real life" can be.

No one is complaining that they don't want to - they are merely pointing out that they cannot, due to that "real life" thing you mentioned. Work, kids, and other constraints on time - both for oneself and for that person's friends and family - make it difficult for the more senior gamers to get other people together for the time required to fully explore the World Tour mode.

[scapino78]

These posts annoy me. Try playing the game or accepting it for what it was designed as; just the idea of Single Player World Tour in a music perspective seems silly and forced. it gives you a reason to get people to play the game with you. of course there is always something that people have to be dissatisfied with, and if you complain about something enough, developers usually patch it in after enough time passes and people have "suffered" long enough.

its nice that you can unlock the songs in single player, though.

Heaven forbid the developers let the people paying $170 for the game have more fun!

[MJDoja]

whats money got to do with it again?

it seems that playing SP BWT with a GH3 controller and a game copy of rock band just wasnt what harmonix intended.

but logic fails in these situations.. i say wait a while and theyll probably give it to you. keep up the fight!

edit: im thinking of the big picture, clearly they didnt just leave it out for no reason at all. guess its time to learn how to sing on easy mode while u play your instrument! (unless you have a better idea, posting here could work if the devs actually decide to respond/comment on it)

[FailedNinja]

These posts annoy me. Try playing the game or accepting it for what it was designed as; just the idea of Single Player World Tour in a music perspective seems silly and forced. it gives you a reason to get people to play the game with you. of course there is always something that people have to be dissatisfied with, and if you complain about something enough, developers usually patch it in after enough time passes and people have "suffered" long enough.

its nice that you can unlock the songs in single player, though.

It doesn't work like that. I'm not going to guilt my friend into playing by whining "but I can't play it single player". If you can play with friends in a band, you will regardless of whether there is single player BWT or not.

Say I can only meet with my friends twice a week. Is Rock Band just supposed to gather dust the other five days of the week? You might say yes and that might be good enough for some (I think it will be for me), but I can't really fault anyone if it upsets them. Afterall, they are shelling out $170 for it.

[MJDoja]

It doesn't work like that. I'm not going to guilt my friend into playing by whining "but I can't play it single player". If you can play with friends in a band, you will regardless of whether there is single player BWT or not.

Say I can only meet with my friends twice a week. Is Rock Band just supposed to gather dust the other five days of the week? You might say yes and that might be good enough for some (I think it will be for me), but I can't really fault anyone if it upsets them. Afterall, they are shelling out $170 for it.

just imagine for a sec that this game wasnt designed specifically to accomodate the hectic and erratic schedules of people in your life.

if they let you do SP BWT.. nobody would attempt to do MP BWT and that little magic would be lost. but.. to me its a valid point. i dont want you and others to be alienated; just the same as i DO like that the game makes you find friends to play with if you want to go through the band world tour.. like a real band.

it doesnt seem impossible for them to just patch it in, its not like running a band alone wouldnt be fun in its own way..

[metalfenix]

You have to be a "little" encouraging you know. That's how I got my wife to play. And you'd be amazed how interesting "real life" can be.
But did you manage to get your wife (or friends, brothers, sisters, whatever) to play long and hard to unlock everything in WBT? Of course I can bring some people to play RB let's say 1 or 2 hours one week or another, but hell, I need them to unlock EVERYTHING in the game?

Ah well, I was aware of this since the beginning and I bought my bundle knowing that maybe I couldn't progress in the WBT, but still, one can ask, right?

Maybe an EP focusing in solo career may be a good idea in the future

[Ultrace]

Say I can only meet with my friends twice a week. Is Rock Band just supposed to gather dust the other five days of the week? You might say yes and that might be good enough for some (I think it will be for me), but I can't really fault anyone if it upsets them. Afterall, they are shelling out $170 for it.
Actually, you should fault them. This is no surprise. It's been known for weeks that you cannot play solo BWT--plenty of time to cancel preorders or not line up to play the game on opening day. Anyone who bought the game in spite of that gets no sympathy for not being able to use this mode. If someone posts here that they heard about this, wanted to cancel their order and were unable to, then they have my sympathy--but I get the feeling that they'll be able to recoup that money pretty quick.

And those who plunk down $170 on a game without knowing anything about it... Well, they probably didn't know about the BWT anyway, so they wouldn't be disappointed to find out that a mode of play that they didn't know exist only supported single-player.

[lupine]

It would be good to keep this near the top to make sure it gets the attention of HMX. Are there many more people who feel the same way? Perhaps I should start another petition like I did for Guitar Hero DLC?

[sqweak]

adding fuel to the fire, did anyone else notice that the blurb on the back about BWT says (paraphrased):

"Tour the world with your band, with friends or solo"?

There's more to it than that, and the phrasing makes it clear they're talking about the BWT mode.

[milkman4591]

Just another person signing it. I could understand no online, but no solo world tour is ridiculous. Hate how they are cutting us out of the best part of the game.

[Terranova]

Just another person signing it. I could understand no online, but no solo world tour is ridiculous. Hate how they are cutting us out of the best part of the game.

Have to agree, HMX must have known not everyone can have the ability to play the BWT via multiplayer, yet they still chose to ignore BWT for the single player, i can't play BWT either, as i have said in other threads work and other commitments for me and my friends etc just don't allow it, the only saving grace for me is the DLC and drums other wise i wouldn't be getting Rock band at all, i just Hope HMX see this and realise that multi-player may be the step forward but to ignore the single player like this is a step in the wrong direction.

[misc128]

I have to agree with everyone. This is a huge oversight. How are people with families expected to play WBT mode? My friends don't have the time to drop by my place to play Rockband for an hour or two. With work and family, I don't have the time to play for hours. My son is still a baby so he can't play with me. It seems like this mode is only for kids, college students and the unemployed. How often do the people at Harmonix with families play WBT? If they hardly play WBT with their friends, how could they expect the rest of us to?

misc128

[PinkFloyd]

I have to agree with everyone. This is a huge oversight. How are people with families expected to play WBT mode? My friends don't have the time to drop by my place to play Rockband for an hour or two. With work and family, I don't have the time to play for hours. My son is still a baby so he can't play with me. It seems like this mode is only for kids, college students and the unemployed. How often do the people at Harmonix with families play WBT? If they hardly play WBT with their friends, how could they expect the rest of us to?

misc128

2 hours? How about the Endless Setlist? That's over 6 hours of pure rocking!

[Ultrace]

I have to agree with everyone. This is a huge oversight. How are people with families expected to play WBT mode? My friends don't have the time to drop by my place to play Rockband for an hour or two. With work and family, I don't have the time to play for hours. My son is still a baby so he can't play with me. It seems like this mode is only for kids, college students and the unemployed. How often do the people at Harmonix with families play WBT? If they hardly play WBT with their friends, how could they expect the rest of us to?

misc128
This is the argument I see used by everyone and I still don't get it. I'm 32, married, and work a full-time job, as do my friends (with differing schedules, even) and we're still going to work out ways to spend the time together. Is it going to be 6 hours a night? No way, but there will definitely be some time spent. As for supreme challenges like the endless setlist, that's the sort of thing for a dedicated weekend. It may just be that completing WBT mode for you takes longer than it does for someone who spends four hours a night kicking it with their friends, but it's not impossible or even unreasonable.

If playing the game is important and if your friends enjoy it, you'll find a way to naturally pull it off. Remember too that you don't have to have four people to play WBT... You can always drop your significant other or even a neighbor in to tackle singing in a pinch.

[badlefthook]

I think you guys need to think about this more as what it is.

Rock Band is a party game at heart. You don't see people getting upset that playing Fusion Frenzy or Mario Party don't have more fleshed out single player modes.

I understand the frustration, really I do. But in the end the game is what it is.

The single player mode could be more fleshed out...I totally agree (I have enjoyed playing/singing through the single player tours to this point). But at the same time, this is the first installment of the Rock Band franchise.

When Guitar Hero came out people complained at the lack of multi-player elements...and bam..GH2 comes out with increased multi support. I know the argument will be "but this isn't the first game they've made!" and you're right, but it is a NEW game. I'd imagine that RB2 will have a lot of the things that you guys want in the single player experience (and guess what...it won't be $170 since you already have the instruments).

But this is a forum and you're allowed to vent, so just take this as me throwing in my thoughts...not telling you guys to shut up or anything.

[Maggot_Brain]

How about just giving US the choice? I mean, why be so hardcore about keeping the tour multiplayer? $170 should get us a little love, right?

[Stevedave]

This thread actually inspired me to make an account and post. I completely agree with the folks that have mentioned that no solo or online BWT makes it pretty hard to enjoy the game to the fullest.

Lots of my gaming is done during off hours after the responsibilities of the day are done and it's pretty hard to schedule time to get a consistent group of friends together to play Rock Band. (It's hard enough to do for my real life rock band!)

My fiancee, who's not usually a gamer, is digging the game so far -- so hopefully we'll be playing BWT together a lot. But she's a beginner and even though I play on expert for guitar, I doubt we'll progress past medium overall -- and I heard you can only go so far in BWT without playing on hard.

Anyhow, the game is great; I'm thrilled with it -- but it sure would be nice to be able to play BWT solo or over xbox live.

-Brian

[espher]

Considering this was known for many, many weeks prior to the release of the game, and most of you still went ahead and bought it, coming here and *****ing just seems ridiculous to me.

If I can convince my mother to come over and play BWT (she doesn't even know half of the songs for crying out loud), it shouldn't be too hard for you to convince someone.

This feature wasn't even announced in the initial round of releases, and I'm seeing people who were down on their knees doing something inappropriate to Harmonix back then threatening to not spend money on the next game after going ahead and spending it on this one knowing FULL WELL that this was not a feature.

Clearly it doesn't phase you as much as the drama you people are trying to generate would have us believe.

Crying now is just inane.

Not being able to play this mode is not going to lock you out from any gameplay elements. You can still play all the songs, with all the instruments, and download more (because you know you will despite all the NOT GETTING MY MONEY tears), and then go ahead and touch yourselves at night.

[blue_dragonzero]

Damn right. You all should be playing the game instead of complaining.

[Maggot_Brain]

No it isn't. RB can be improved.

[espher]

Full disclosure: I am single, working full time (forty hours a week on the clock, so about nine and a half a day including transit time, sometimes longer), not in school, live on the outskirts of a city with a population of about fifty thousand people, and work afternoons/evenings.

My Rock Band experience could be improved if you'd sell me the guitar and drums that you apparently can no longer use by not being able to play BWT. The game can be improved, but patching this isn't going to drastically improve the game.

I don't cry about not being able to play Capture the Flag or Deathmatch in another game or say that it "takes away from the experience" and "limits the value of the game" because I can't find anyone to play with. If the game includes a robust single player mode that gives me all of the core features, that's fine and dandy. I can still shoot people, can't I?

Edit: To me it's PARTICULARLY stupid if you're one of those people that's been crying for the last few weeks, then went and bought the game, and came back to keep crying. Grow up. I mean, you're apparently adults with families and jobs, but I guess you could be improved upon.

Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick, but that's because I am. It's my personality archetype. (http://www.davenevins.com/personalities/types/entj.htm)

[HeXcoda]

Sorry if I sound like a bit of a dick, but that's because I am.

Well, at least you're aware of it.

Some of us who are keen on a single player experience with BWT elements are not crying or whining or touching ourselves at night, as earlier posters so eloquently put it. We just think BWT is great and that there's room for HMX to expand that experience to the single player game as well, to give us something more to do than grind tiers. It is a weak spot in RB's armor and one that could use some polish, is all. The game IS allowed to be flawed yet fun.

[espher]

I just think it's the first time I've seen so much crying about a multi-player mode not being available in single-player when really essentially the same game type is already available in single-player. There are just extra 'perks' for playing the game as co-op multi-player in the designated multi-player mode.

And, while you might not be crying about it HeX, but rather soliciting an expansion because it's a great game type (and it is), there are plenty of people that have been crying about it and throwing around childish threats. :)

I mean if you can still play everything I guess I just don't see what the big deal is. The hardware gripes I can understand, but this is just beyond me.

[FailedNinja]

I want to point out that there is a difference between crying and making a suggestion. I am for solo BWT, but I still bought the game and I still enjoy it. I just think it would be better with solo BWT and have stated as much with my supporting argument. I don't see anything wrong with that. People whining about this thread however...

And to the person mentioning Mario Party, I just want to point out that Mario Party has a single player mode with all AI opponents (at least it used to, I haven't played since like the third one). My point is that all the elements seem like they are already in the game code so it would seem like it would be an easy addition. I think it would only add to the game and not subtract. Even if the majority wouldn't use it, it would still be appreciated by the few that would. So if Harmonix is able to spend a few days implementing it in a patch and are on the fence whether they should or not, put me down as a vote for implement it.

[MJDoja]

I have to agree with everyone. This is a huge oversight. How are people with families expected to play WBT mode? My friends don't have the time to drop by my place to play Rockband for an hour or two. With work and family, I don't have the time to play for hours. My son is still a baby so he can't play with me. It seems like this mode is only for kids, college students and the unemployed. How often do the people at Harmonix with families play WBT? If they hardly play WBT with their friends, how could they expect the rest of us to?

misc128

get over yourself and learn to balance gaming with your real life, stop crying for real.

its a hobby, you have responsibilities, is this a news flash to you?

yeah, you want to play bwt cuz you think youre missing out.. boo hoo. some people dont even have the game or cant find it, and you only care about doing solo play of the same songs you've been doing except you get little extra stuff in a different format?

gosh.. life sucks for people who have to work for a living, i guess we should all go on unemployment to enjoy rock band.

[badlefthook]

And to the person mentioning Mario Party, I just want to point out that Mario Party has a single player mode with all AI opponents (at least it used to, I haven't played since like the third one). My point is that all the elements seem like they are already in the game code so it would seem like it would be an easy addition. I think it would only add to the game and not subtract. Even if the majority wouldn't use it, it would still be appreciated by the few that would. So if Harmonix is able to spend a few days implementing it in a patch and are on the fence whether they should or not, put me down as a vote for implement it.

I was the guy who mentioned Mario Party. And yeah...there is a single player mode with AI opponents. And the complaint is always the AI is weak...etc.

I'm just saying that the point of a party game is to have the best of the gameplay in the multi-player environment.

Again, I'm in favor of a solo BWT, but I don't think it makes or breaks the game. I just think that a good chunk of people's reactions are a little overboard.

[Eman311]

Add this please, ASAP.

[ElevenSword]

Please add.

[Comedian]

I think that the BWT mode is one of those watershed moments in game genre development where a game adds something so natural and obvious in retrospect that it becomes a standard feature in all future games. I will never again buy a music game that is just a list of songs, without some type of RPG wrapper around it, both for solo and multiplay. Yes, it's a thin RPG wrapper in this case. But I'm easily amused. :)

There are huge possibilities to advance the idea from here. Even a game like WoW is just an RPG wrapper around the simple twitch and response game of combat. Not that I'm recommending someone develop World of Guitar Hero. Well, actually I find that pretty neat. But I'm weird. :)


"That's the last PUG I join - it was three lead guitars and a keyboardist. What are we gonna play - Yes? I swear it's hard to find a good bass."

"You think that's bad? I spent two hours raiding Lollapalooza last night and all that dropped was Creed and Nickleback."

"Ouch"

Anyway, as far as the current game goes - I don't really see a downside to enabling BWT for solo play. I'm having a blast playing the game as it is, but the more options the better. It also seems like it's not a technical limitation, but rather a design decision. So I'll add my voice to the "in favor" chorus here.

But if it doesn't happen, I'm still cool. Love the game.

[stiper327b]

I'd like to see this added as well, but you guys do realize it'll throw off the balance of BWT, right? You progress through the mode by performing to a certain standard. You reach or surpass that standard, you're rewarded with fans/money. You don't, you lose the same. As most of you have or will find out, it's much easier to five star a song yourself as opposed to five starring a song with three other people. And with the relative ease of most of the songs guitar wise, most people would have BWT "beat" (such as it can be) pretty quickly.

My idea would be to add in BWT elements into the Solo Tour mode. And really, the only thing that I really want from the BWT mode is the risk/reward system. Right now, as it stands in the Solo Tour, you're not penalized for failing a song, and your only reward is the ability to play harder songs/buy stuff. Sure, it's what we've always played, and I understand that, but to have the element of choice, to have something to play for in the Solo mode other than advancement, would be just awesome.

[Nukem945]

At least give us this option. We'll decide if the single player is fun or not. If you've got friends over you can do the multiplayer thing, but sometimes I just wanna play the game myself. You're not always gonna be able to get people over to play.

All I want is more flexibility to play how I want to play. Please just let us do that.

[hardyfoster]

agree agree agree.

maybe it's too late to patch rb 1 maybe not.

but the next (if any) RB to come out should definately adress this matter.

i think they could patch it though. they said they couldn't. whatever.

disappointed in hmx but will still find various ways to do SWT mode. i'll let everyone know. i'll have more time to experiment over the holidays.

[metalfenix]

Maybe it would be a good idea to bring a Solo focused BWT EP for Rock band. well, if GH2 had it's EP (the 80's edition) why Rock Band don't?

[Uncognitive]

They have already confirmed they won't be doing online BWT for Rock Band 1

Confirmed this where, exactly?

[sickdaddy]

Shadowrun comes to mind as a multiplayer only game that didn't do so well...

I would love to do a solo tour, as well as multiplayer tour. Unfortunately, after my friends leave, I would like to play a tour by myself as well.

Hopefully they will see the response of many that want it and patch it or something. I hope so.

[Darkfalz]

Agreed. Solo BWT should be patched in.

I only have time to play late at night and on the weekends, but all my gamer friends don't play/get rhythm games, so there is no one I play w/ regularly for me to play with. Its frustrating that some of the best elements of the game are out of my reach.

I was fully expecting to be playing RB all week long during my vacation, but I wasn't expecting to just be playing a GH clone with the exact same grind gameplay.... and after 3+ weeks of GH3, I'm just over it.

[shaneman]

I must agree.

Upon reading about BWT, I was hooked. I had already planned on buying it, but that just put me over the top, no questions asked.

But, finding out I couldn't play it without others was truely a moment of defeat.

Please, I beg of you, somehow add a Solo BWT, or at the VERY least, online BWT. Please!

[Frederf]

In the BWT / Solo Tour debacle I find myself confused why there's exists a distinction at all. Why does the game needlessly Balkanize into 47 different sub modes, character-band links, character-instrument links, unlocks and so on.

Starting with the concept of The Band, which should be simple enough, we find our first oddity. The band should have fans, tour buses, members, etc. Progress is tied directly to a band naturally. Not so in Rock Band, we find it oddly tied to a character. Surely a Band can be saved and controlled by a single profile (transferable not copied of course) because the data has to be saved somewhere.

Now that we've got a band, it's time to assign characters as members of the band. It's at this time that the concept of band leader becomes pretty meaningless. The band roster should be completely flexible. If there's any need for a band leader, let it be selectable and changeable at any time. A character gets a paycheck, not the band obviously, and all things-buyable are for the character, so the cash should be split between the band members at pay time. Likewise all merchandise is character-specific so money and stuff belong to a character. Transferable? Why not.

The character-instrument link becomes less important at this stage. Perhaps a "Guitar Lessons for Singer - $100" could be available in the store, I don't know. Once the band becomes independent of any single character (and thus instrument) then the lion's share of most people's woes vanishes.

============
Quickplay doesn't have to be such a root level option once you speed up and flex up the band process. If you want to play very quick here's how it goes:

*Play Offline
*Select Band: User-Created Band 1/ User-Created Band 2/ etc /Quick Band
*Select Players (each four slots): Human-Controller / Empty (AI plays)
*Select Characters (each four slots): Pre-created Character / Empty (Auto-gen)


*Select Mode: World Tour (unlocks, set lists, fans, buses, etc) / Free Play (everything unlocked, no need to save any data)

PLAY
==================

Now tell me this isn't 100X easier, more flexible, and practical than how it is now. I napkin sketched this idea out in what, 5 minutes? I dare anyone to find fault with this. I'm so very happy to explain "but how would this work" "how about that?" type questions.

[Maggot_Brain]

That's exactly how I would do it. The game is called Rock BAND, not Rock LEADER. The band should be the focus, members come and go. No doubt, Rock Band 2 will be fixed although I think they should fix RB 1.

[Zakuen]

Sure Rock Band is a party game at heart, and I have no problem with that. The fact is though you still have the option to play the other 'party' games listed earlier solo for the times your friends aren't around if you want. It might not be AS fun, but the option is still there.

I only have 2 friends really interested in playing Rock Band with me, and one works 2 jobs currently, and they both live a good 45 minutes away. They both have girlfriends at the moment as well, and the last thing the girls want to see is us playing plastic instruments all day or night. Its not something we can just get together for at night, or even every weekend. One friend I could get away with playing online, but that isn't an option right now either. So for me, it would have been nice to have an OPTION to play solo the times they aren't around. I know there's a sort of solo career, but from what I've been reading it doesn't sound like you really create your character and band or anything. I was really hoping i could create everyone in my band, and just rock out when no one else was around. Believe me, I want to have a group of friends over and playing when I can, but I really don't see any VALID reason they couldn't allow you to do it solo. Having the option is always a good thing, if you start telling people how they have to play, well.. it kind of sucks when its obvious alot of people want more.

[Brane Ded]

I agree that the band world tour should have a solo option. As a matter of fact, I don't see why it doesn't. It should have been a no brainer from the start.

Honestly, who does it hurt to allow people to play that mode solo? I'll admit that it throws off balance, because the more band members you remove, the more variables you remove.

Somebody who's good at guitar parts and five stars every song on expert completely removes the risk part of the risk and reward system. But what does that get you? In-game money so you can buy the expensive guitars that don't even look that good?

My issue is that I just don't see what's seriously standing in the way of doing it. You disable the check that keeps you from starting the game mode with less than two people. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

It's a neat game mode that gives you more of a reason to play the songs than to get to the next one. Sure it ultimately doesn't get you anything you couldn't get in the solo tour, but to me that's just another argument for it. What's the point of locking it away for balance concerns if in the end, everything you earn in world tour mode amounts to precicely nothing.

Software companies act like they just can't patch a game anymore these days without releasing a sequel. Especially on consoles - that's why these things come with hard drives now.

[xCHRISx]

Add my vote for online and/or SP BWT! It's seldom that I can have friends over, so I would like to have something more substantial to shoot for when I'm alone playing for a few hours in the evening before bed. I don't see any real reason why this should be held back.

[SoulScreme]

Why not just play Solo Career?

[FailedNinja]

Why not just play Solo Career?

You can't name your band or create a band logo
You can't play set lists
You can't win vehicles, roadies, etc.
You have less control over the venues and cities you play in

just to name a few

Again, it's just one of those (seemingly) small things that would add to the enjoyment and make a good game even better.

[Abspara]

Why not just play Solo Career?


It's not that the solo career mode is bad persay, it's just severely lacking compared to the variety offered in the BWT. Does the solo career mode offer the ability to gain fans? the ability to create and name your own band? Does it offer different challenges to overcome such as "mystery playlists" "create your own setlist" etc. or play in speciality setlists such as "southern rock"? Does the solo career mode allow you to become inducted into the hall of fame and become the legendary rocker you bought this game for?

All the solo "career" mode does is allow you to play through a predetermined setlist to gain money to eventually buy items that allow you to change your avatar's appearance in one form or another. Once that's been completed there's not much left to do but hope some people come over to play, so you can experience the better game mode.

I've played both the solo and BWT mode and the BWT mode wins hands down for variety and replayability.


I'd guess Harmonix/MTV does not want to do this is because of the long term marketability of the game. After all, they have drums, mics, and guitars to push, as well as a marketing campaign demonstrating the need for multiple players at one time. If the game was "beatable" by just one instrument, there would be no incentive for some people to buy all the defective cheap plastic instruments that the market will be flooded with over the next year.

After all, they have to distinquish this brand new franchise as "Rockband' and not a "Guitar Hero" clone with drums & a microphone.

[Maggot_Brain]

I hope to hell that a sucky Single Player tour wasn't just a damn marketing decision. I expect better.

[Terranova]

If HMX didn't want to have any BWT aspects in the solo mode they could have at least made a story out of it like GH3 did or added something, at least then it would be more than a tier slog with no real purpose other than to unlock and buy stuff for the BWT that some of us can't play.

[Brane Ded]

I hope to hell that a sucky Single Player tour wasn't just a damn marketing decision. I expect better.

The official reason is "balancing issues," though I bet you're closer to the truth. I don't see where balancing even comes into play in a game mode like this. So it may help expert players unlock everything faster. Big deal, it doesn't make you play better, which is where the true competition is, and where the majority of the balancing should be confined to.

I bought this game as a party game, but I don't party every day, or even every month for that matter. So for the love of God, I'd just like something more entertaining to do in the mean time. It wouldn't hurt so bad if it wasn't so painfully obvious how easy it would be to make this possible.

Harmonix, I'm begging you, please, unlock the world tour so I don't have to wait for one of two people I know who have any interest in the game and/or can play worth a crap to come to my house despite our conflicting schedules if he doesn't have something he'd rather be doing(whoo, run-on), to play this game together.

[phulcrum1984]

I second, third, 325th this!

Most of my friends don't like rythem games and the ones that do are either always busy or they live half a state away and only come to town like once a month. If you can't enable WBT online please please please do it for solo. Hell, I don't care if my band doesn't get leaderboards or something. I just want the story and more money I can unlock by myself.

[Hanover]

Im just kinda bummed that there will be no online BWT. I was thinking about the cool competitions they could have...and being able to be a team with people from all over the world. Maybe even mix in-person players with your friends who moved away, etc.

Sure, quick play is OKAY...but then there's no real goal other than to jam. I played online for a few hours the other night and we were all doing pretty good...and I was thinking how great it would be to be able to take it to that next step...unfortunately, there is no next step.

If there's anywhere where Harmonix dropped the ball, it's not following through with the online BWT mode. So much lost potential there, its not funny...and it would have been a pioneering moment.

[Darkfalz]

Yes, please god, just remove the 2 player minimum requirement.

I don't care if my scores from solo play are posted or not, I just want to play BWT solo!!!!

[SoulScreme]

You can't name your band or create a band logo
You can't play set lists
You can't win vehicles, roadies, etc.
You have less control over the venues and cities you play in

just to name a few

Again, it's just one of those (seemingly) small things that would add to the enjoyment and make a good game even better.

But, the whole point about not being able to name the band and make a logo is that you don't have a friggin band. You just have your dopey ass playing solo. Set lists are kinda cool. The vehicles, roadies, etc. is all BS. And really, when do you ever see the venue? You should be staring at the note chart!

[Maggot_Brain]

I don't care if my scores from solo play are posted or not, I just want to play BWT solo!!!!

Yeah, not everyone gives a damn about Leaderboards and stuff like that. Most of the folks I played with during the week just wanted to have fun.

[FailedNinja]

But, the whole point about not being able to name the band and make a logo is that you don't have a friggin band. You just have your dopey ass playing solo. Set lists are kinda cool. The vehicles, roadies, etc. is all BS. And really, when do you ever see the venue? You should be staring at the note chart!

I'm sure Harmonix is quite happy you just pissed all over their game.
Why have BWT or avatars or anything else at all? You should just be staring at the note chart, right?

[SoulScreme]

I'm sure Harmonix is quite happy you just pissed all over their game.
Why have BWT or avatars or anything else at all? You should just be staring at the note chart, right?

In reality, if you are playing by yourself, nobody is looking at the venue. The only reason those exist is really for spectators.

[Maggot_Brain]

But, the whole point about not being able to name the band and make a logo is that you don't have a friggin band. You just have your dopey ass playing solo. Set lists are kinda cool. The vehicles, roadies, etc. is all BS. And really, when do you ever see the venue? You should be staring at the note chart!

Here's how it should work: Solo Tour. Make a musician. Make a band. Put yourself where you like. Make other characters that will play other instruments and appear on stage with you. You're basically a solo artist but you do have a band that plays with you. Or at least make it a choice, like this.

-Quickplay
-Solo Tour (Crappy Guitar Hero Style)
-Solo Tour with Backing Band. (Best!)

So you get all the fun benefits of BWT even though you can only play alone. (And, you should be able to change instruments at will.)

Loading screen I saw today :"Dave Grohl played all the instruments on the first Foo Figher CD." There ya go.

/ramble

[FailedNinja]

In reality, if you are playing by yourself, nobody is looking at the venue. The only reason those exist is really for spectators.

Thanks, I always suspected I lived outside of reality.

[seafisch]

Yes, please god, just remove the 2 player minimum requirement. I don't care if my scores from solo play are posted or not, I just want to play BWT solo!!!!

Precisely. I could give a crap about the leaderboards - I just want to be less limited in my BWT enjoyment.

[Tomcove]

They have already confirmed they won't be doing online BWT for Rock Band 1

No, they didn't. Alex Rigopulos specifically stated that they wanted to have online BWT for release, but didn't feel that it would be polished by the time the game was scheduled to be released. This probably means, if you read into it a little bit, that there's going to be an update or a download of some kind in the future to allow online Band World Tour.

[Darkfalz]

In reality, if you are playing by yourself, nobody is looking at the venue. The only reason those exist is really for spectators.

I can actually follow an expert chart and still follow the on stage antics and the venue. Having access to all the venues is important.

Hell, just being able to decided what venue I want to play a particular song should have been a given. If you're going to make RB solo just a GH clone, at least give me the minimal options I had in GH!

[jmiscavish]

New to this thread, sorry if I repeat anything.

There should definitely be solo and online BWT. My brother-in-law and his wife created a band with my wife and me. Then he went back to minnesota where he will be buying RB and a 360 just to play it. We should be able to continue with our band online.

Also, last night I got sick and went to be early, my wife should also be able to play on our BWT without me. I'm not sure how it "unbalances" anything. If leaderboards are that important, they should just have separate solo leaderboards or don't count the solo bands towards the leaderboard at all.

What else could it unbalance?

[jenovan]

In reality, if you are playing by yourself, nobody is looking at the venue. The only reason those exist is really for spectators.

Er, when I'm doing vocals, I spend most of the time watching the band characters and the venue. I find it entertaining as hell, actually. :D

Just adding another /signed for Solo World Tour and/or online BWT. Others have already given great reasons more eloquently than I could.

[Akzidenz]

I posted a whole thread on this a few days ago. Glad to see that so many other people are pulling for some solo BWT action. Add my name to the list, maybe we can keep this thread alive long enough for Harmonix to care (probably not, though).

Thing is - despite what Harmonix may have said, it's probably not that difficult to patch and there's a sizable demand for it. So maybe we'll get lucky.

[An Evil Pancake]

/sign!!!!!!

[AcousticCitsuoa]

sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Damaged]

Would anyone even care about this tour thing in solo mode if Online was enabled? It sounds like the real problem is getting others all in the same room to play (schedules, kids, etc..). If there was online I don't know if I would ever need single player myself..:confused:

[HeXcoda]

I'd still like better solo content -- being able to design my NPC bandmates, picking venues, maybe some decisionmaking -- but yes, online would help tremendously.

Problem is, HMX has been inconsistent when saying how they're gonna do it. They've said "Stay tuned", and "We look forward to bringing you this feature in future games" and "We'd like it to be like an MMORPG" and so on. Patch? Sequel? It's not clear.

[psyborg]

Why is this even needed? Just play the solo tour.

If the whole fan/roadie campaign is that important get some friends or something.

[FailedNinja]

Why is this even needed? Just play the solo tour.

If the whole fan/roadie campaign is that important get some friends or something.

I'm sorry, I must have forgotten that the whole world revolves around you. If you don't want it, no one else must want or need it, right?

This has nothing to do with how many friends I have. I just think it would be nice to go through a tour with my own band on a Tuesday night when I'm kicking back alone with nothing else to do. And I think it probably wouldn't take too much of a change.

That's just my situation. Maybe someone doesn't have a good internet connection. Maybe someone doesn't have any friends that like rhythm games. Maybe someone just likes playing alone. Maybe somone has a night job so has weird free time hours when all of his friends are asleep. I don't know, but the point is it would be a welcomed addition.

We're not saying that this game sucks without SWT. We're not demanding that it be implemented. We're just saying that for whatever reason this option was left out, but we'd like it if it were added in a patch or sequel or whatever.

[TKurata]

Will you please patch the world tour to work on single player if we can't play it online? I don't have a friend who wants to play rock band with me every night and my wife can't be relied on to play it well enough for me to unlock everything. Why can't I play it single player? It's kind of ******ed that I'm required to have someone else around to play the best part of the game.

^^COSIGN^^

Just remove the dated GH3 style single player mode and make World Tour offline for single player...so easy for them to do. The current single player mode seems so unnecessary. The game would be so much more seamless without it.

BTW - the problem I'm having with a local, three piece band is that all my friends SUCK at Rock Band and it's frustrating...

[Maggot_Brain]

Would anyone even care about this tour thing in solo mode if Online was enabled? It sounds like the real problem is getting others all in the same room to play (schedules, kids, etc..). If there was online I don't know if I would ever need single player myself..:confused:

Absolutely. There are a bunch of total *******s in Xbox Live Land. We need a better solo tour for those occasional times you're not having a party. :D

[Brane Ded]

Would anyone even care about this tour thing in solo mode if Online was enabled? It sounds like the real problem is getting others all in the same room to play (schedules, kids, etc..). If there was online I don't know if I would ever need single player myself..:confused:

While I(and many others I'm sure) agree that if there was an online mode for the world tour, the desire for a single player world tour would be greatly diminished, Harmonix has all but said there's no chance of there being an online world tour in this game.

What that obviously means for a lot of us is that due to life in general - both our lives, and our friends lives - being able to actually PLAY world tour mode, as it exists right now, is a very rare event. Considering that the only apparent thing stopping you from playing it by yourself is a pop-up message on the screen when you try, we believe that this would be the easiest way for Harmonix to allow solo players to play it. Not all of us find it easy to round up one to three extra people to play the game every week, or even every month for that matter.

This is why people want the tour to open to solo players. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a complaint, it's a request. I love this game. It's easily the most enjoyable game I own at the moment. This is especially true when I have friends around to play it. The same held true for Guitar Hero II and III. When I had a friend over, we played together, for the fun of it. We never needed a whole game mode locked away only for co-op players to make us play together, and I'm sure anybody else here would say the same thing.

[Akzidenz]

Personally, my issue with waiting for Rock Band 2 to address this stuff is pretty simple.

I paid $170 for this, plus extra for DLC. Harmonix and MTV have said, repeatedly, that Rock Band is supposed to be more than a game. It's supposed to be a platform.

To me, that translates into something that doesn't have sequels every year. It translates into one single game/platform that you buy additional content for over a multi-year lifespan.

If someone else has a different definition of platform, then please - enlighten me. Otherwise, "wait for Rock Band 2" isn't an acceptable option.

[Eman311]

Would anyone even care about this tour thing in solo mode if Online was enabled? It sounds like the real problem is getting others all in the same room to play (schedules, kids, etc..). If there was online I don't know if I would ever need single player myself..:confused:

I would prefer online BWT, but I think that is less feasible then single player BWT.

[Damaged]

I would prefer online BWT, but I think that is less feasible then single player BWT.

I agree it's more feasible, but I'm sure if online was in there this argument would be rendered %60 moot. Maggot_Brain, good point on the quality of certain Live users.

I'm in the same boat as most posting here I guess, up at 4:30, home at 6pm and that gives me 3 hours to play with my kid and spend time with my wife before I've gotta crash. Not much time for gaming, although I do squeeze a few tunes in where I can. There's no way I'll ever convince my wife (the singer) we need to do a tour, I'm lucky she even tried it in the first place.

I'm almost afraid to say it, but if Rock Band is a "platform" maybe they would offer up a Solo style tour for a $5 downloadable enhancement? Yes, I know we all just paid $170 for this game, but if it was a choice between not having it and having it what would you pick? I'd probably pay the $5 just to see what all the excitement about this tour stuff is anyway. I've only played though the "normal" mode and was going to do drums next..

[Frederf]

Does anyone know why your BWT band has anything to do with your character's solo tour? Wtf's with that? If you don't level your solo character then all of a sudden your BWT band only has a handful of songs to pick from in mystery/create set list?

[Pehtras]

Add me to the list of people who would like BWT enabled for solo players.

[Hanover]

Im thinking it would be an upgrade pack you might have to buy...sort of like the quest packs for Oblivion.

I'd GLADLY pay $15 for it! Hear that Harmonix? I'D PAY FOR BWT ONLINE! :)


No, they didn't. Alex Rigopulos specifically stated that they wanted to have online BWT for release, but didn't feel that it would be polished by the time the game was scheduled to be released. This probably means, if you read into it a little bit, that there's going to be an update or a download of some kind in the future to allow online Band World Tour.

[Darkfalz]

Im thinking it would be an upgrade pack you might have to buy...sort of like the quest packs for Oblivion.

I'd GLADLY pay $15 for it! Hear that Harmonix? I'D PAY FOR BWT ONLINE! :)

Ditto. Id part w/ $15-20 for solo BWT.

[NitroHawkK3]

I know it defeats the vibe of Rock Band but i think it would be a nice addition to the game, even if it isnt a full blown BWT for solos some more depth in the solo tour would be nice

[brennok]

Count me in as another person who wants a single player BWT. My friends don't game at all and most of them either don't have time or see the draw any more. I guess I should have researched the game more before buying it because I didn't realize or know that it wasn't an available option in single player. It never occurred to me that the single player would be lacking the feature. As it stands now I will be most likely just returning the game and checking periodically to see if they add the feature.

[Akzidenz]

Ditto. Id part w/ $15-20 for solo BWT.

I would too. Not a crappy stripped down version, but I absolutely would.

[Hanover]

I bought it because a developer for Rock Band talked about how him and his coworkers wanted to play BWT online as bad as we do and that it might be made available later.

When he was asked if it would be in a patch or in another Rock Band game, he said, "I don't know."

If he would have said, "Absolutely not! What are you thinking?" I wouldnt have snapped it up so quickly.

Im TRYING to get friends over to play soon, but it feels like pulling teeth. I think this is one of those games you have to find the opportunity to force on people so they'll get addicted and want to play it all the time.


Considering this was known for many, many weeks prior to the release of the game, and most of you still went ahead and bought it, coming here and *****ing just seems ridiculous to me.

If I can convince my mother to come over and play BWT (she doesn't even know half of the songs for crying out loud), it shouldn't be too hard for you to convince someone.

This feature wasn't even announced in the initial round of releases, and I'm seeing people who were down on their knees doing something inappropriate to Harmonix back then threatening to not spend money on the next game after going ahead and spending it on this one knowing FULL WELL that this was not a feature.

Clearly it doesn't phase you as much as the drama you people are trying to generate would have us believe.

Crying now is just inane.

Not being able to play this mode is not going to lock you out from any gameplay elements. You can still play all the songs, with all the instruments, and download more (because you know you will despite all the NOT GETTING MY MONEY tears), and then go ahead and touch yourselves at night.

[Maggot_Brain]

Im TRYING to get friends over to play soon, but it feels like pulling teeth. I think this is one of those games you have to find the opportunity to force on people so they'll get addicted and want to play it all the time.

I know what you mean. HMX should have realized that people in Real Life have time issues. I've finished the solo campaign for guitar and drums and unless I get people to come over, I can't really do anything but the same old BORING GUITAR HERO stuff.

[surgicalCFe]

I want single player offline BWT too! I have from the beginning. I've got no on here to play it with. I'm gonna try the singing and playing at the same time but it's not gonna be as fun.

I just started singing and playing the guitar at the same time last night and it was a blast but also quite embarrassing. Was playing on easy and singing songs that I do not normally listen to and was making up my own words, it was hilarious! My girl friend was watching me play and we were both just rolling with laughter. Actually got her to start singing for me since she realized how fun it could be. You just have to be willing to make a fool out of yourself, go on, do it, its FUN!

[rcl66]

Now that the game is out and people realize how fun it is MP, why not patch it and allow SP world tour? I play the game with my family, but my kids can't stay up as late and I'm forced to go back to SP and loose all the fun of BWT.

Also - BWT feels like it is balanced too much toward hard core gamers. I actually managed to get my wife and 8 year old daughter to play the game but we are at a point where we can't progress (get more fans) because they cannot do the higher difficulties the game is requiring. Why not allow people to progress without requiring continued skill jumps? Even my son and I who were having a blast playing through on Medium hit a wall after just a few days and cannot get more fans because it wants us to play higher difficulty.

[Teh_Nfsjunkie91]

Now that the game is out and people realize how fun it is MP, why not patch it and allow SP world tour? I play the game with my family, but my kids can't stay up as late and I'm forced to go back to SP and loose all the fun of BWT.

Also - BWT feels like it is balanced too much toward hard core gamers. I actually managed to get my wife and 8 year old daughter to play the game but we are at a point where we can't progress (get more fans) because they cannot do the higher difficulties the game is requiring. Why not allow people to progress without requiring continued skill jumps? Even my son and I who were having a blast playing through on Medium hit a wall after just a few days and cannot get more fans because it wants us to play higher difficulty.

If you can all play medium, you can beat the game. The other arenas are reserved for "better" bands.

[Hanover]

Here's my take...

after reading the interview that caused all the speculation about them adding on-line BWT, I think it's coming.

The guy said it was something they wanted to do but they couldnt put it in the game "At Launch" because it was complicated. So rather than rush it and get it into the game "at launch" they wanted to do it correctly.

He didnt say "They couldnt put it into Rock Band" he says, "At Launch."

I havent seen any articles that have said that its NOT going to happen.

I still say this is going to end up coming as a downloadble-for-pay expansion pack.

The fact is, the groundwork has been laid. Quickplay already shows you what you can or cannot play based on what the people you are playing with have downloaded. It also keeps track of how everyone is doing all at the same time.

All they really need is a way to organize friends into bands...and the logistics of the whole band leader stuff. Obviously if you would have to have your band leader on line before you could play. This COULD suck if your band leader suddenly had to go offline (but they could make a cute animation showing someone storming off the stage and your band getting booed).

Now if they wanted to do battle-of-the-bands online, etc...then I could see how this might be an MMORPG-type experience. But really...how hard is it to record two scores and compare them to see who won?

Nah, they have a lot of what they need to do this already..

and yeah, I write software for a living.

[Naramie]

If they are so concerned with leader boards. Why don't they just split up the leader boards depending on the number of players, instrument makeup? Also wouldn't a single player kind of be screwed against a band with 2-4 players since they have access to more notes and points?

[JackBNimble]

I know that I may be opening a can of worms here but I have to put my 2 cent in.
I think that BWT should be offer for single players aswell and here is why.

The fan cap!.....Bare with me for a minute.
I am at the expert level and my friends and family are not .We have maxed out our fans and can not progress any further.I have completed expert on solo and would like to enjoy unlocking the full game that I have payed for.And to be unable to advance any further because I have no one who can play at my level is very frustrating.

If BWT was an online game this wouldn't be a problem ,but it's not online.I know HMX wanted it to be and who really knows if that will happen.

That fact is that if BWT was offer to the single player it would open up a whole new game for people.I think if BWT is not going to be an option for online game play then it should at the very least be offered for single players.To be a player at the expert level one would think that you would have access to the full game and all it's venues and unlockables.

I also think that this would be a solution for many peoples FAN CAP gripes.

I would hope HMX would consider this as an ulternative to NO ONLINE BWT.Many of us just want to experience RB to the fullest.

[TH3Hammer]

Yeah, not everyone gives a damn about Leaderboards and stuff like that. Most of the folks I played with during the week just wanted to have fun.

I couldn't agree with this more. I would take fun over leaderboards any day. Not allowing people to enjoy a game in a different way because the hardcore minority will cry about their high score is ridiculously stupid. Just have "ranked BWT" where you have to have 2 or more members for those who care about scores. Let the rest of us have a BWT where we can play alone when the kid is asleep, or when we get off after working odd hours, or don't have a few papers due... you know, when we want to have (crazy thought here) FUN.

We aren't all high school kids with our cute little circle of friends that sit together at lunch and ride the bus home together to hang out after school. On average, people move every 3 years... no one stays in one place. For those of us who are older, most of our friends are scattered around different states and I'm not going to run out and try to find a new best buddy in my area so I can make little Rock Band dates. Even if you have friends in the area, you have to schedule around work, kids, spouses, and all of the other little emergencies and annoyances that pop up on a daily basis. Many of us in this situation would enjoy playing a solo BWT at our own pace and then hook up with friends when the opportunities arise.

I don't understand why some people on here are so against giving others options. Multiplayer is where it shines? That's fine... you get an added bonus since you have people who can make the time commitment to play with you. I'll be just fine with quickplay online with my friends that I left back on the west coast or have the wife fill in when she has the time. That should in no way affect YOUR enjoyment of the game - so really... why are you so against letting others get more fun out of the game? Leaderboards? I don't care about my scores or anyone else's. I would gladly trade leaderboards for options... make it as simple as ranked and unranked or just disable leaderboards for those playing alone.

How many of you who are opposed to solo BWT are playing with only two band members anyway? How would you feel if you couldn't play without all 4 slots filled? It's "Rock Band," not "Rock Duo" right? Anyway, it was a bad design choice in my opinion. I, along with many others would like to see it changed.

[stevenhash]

signed/// and i would pay for it as well it would make a great game 10 times better please add it thx

[not4you]

I couldn't agree with this more. I would take fun over leaderboards any day. Not allowing people to enjoy a game in a different way because the hardcore minority will cry about their high score is ridiculously stupid. Just have "ranked BWT" where you have to have 2 or more members for those who care about scores. Let the rest of us have a BWT where we can play alone when the kid is asleep, or when we get off after working odd hours, or don't have a few papers due... you know, when we want to have (crazy thought here) FUN.

We aren't all high school kids with our cute little circle of friends that sit together at lunch and ride the bus home together to hang out after school. On average, people move every 3 years... no one stays in one place. For those of us who are older, most of our friends are scattered around different states and I'm not going to run out and try to find a new best buddy in my area so I can make little Rock Band dates. Even if you have friends in the area, you have to schedule around work, kids, spouses, and all of the other little emergencies and annoyances that pop up on a daily basis. Many of us in this situation would enjoy playing a solo BWT at our own pace and then hook up with friends when the opportunities arise.

I don't understand why some people on here are so against giving others options. Multiplayer is where it shines? That's fine... you get an added bonus since you have people who can make the time commitment to play with you. I'll be just fine with quickplay online with my friends that I left back on the west coast or have the wife fill in when she has the time. That should in no way affect YOUR enjoyment of the game - so really... why are you so against letting others get more fun out of the game? Leaderboards? I don't care about my scores or anyone else's. I would gladly trade leaderboards for options... make it as simple as ranked and unranked or just disable leaderboards for those playing alone.

How many of you who are opposed to solo BWT are playing with only two band members anyway? How would you feel if you couldn't play without all 4 slots filled? It's "Rock Band," not "Rock Duo" right? Anyway, it was a bad design choice in my opinion. I, along with many others would like to see it changed.

Yeah, what he said!!!!

[Ultrace]

Yeah, not everyone gives a damn about Leaderboards and stuff like that. Most of the folks I played with during the week just wanted to have fun.

That's an amazing viewpoint for the population to have considering how many are fixated on the Fan Cap... I thought having fun came from playing the game, not from seeing a little number pop up at the end of a song... These same people berate the fan cap as if it cut off their limbs and made it so they couldn't proceed when in reality they still have dozens of gigs they can perform at the medium difficulty.

I'm all about fun too, but clearly there is a significant amount of the population concerned with leaderboards and the like.

I still remain on the side of multi-player BWT. It's about forming a band. I can do it with my wife, and I have friends, all in their thirties, who can get together to play. If others can't, then I feel for them, but this is not the solution. Online BWT may be, but simulating a band with just one person isn't.

[Maggot_Brain]

You represent the people who think adding an option in addition to what's in the game already is bad? I'm afraid that doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me.

[kanrei]

Just adding my two cents before the thread is locked:

Just reduce the minimum players needed for BWT from two to one and only count the score on the leaderboard if there are two or more people playing. I personally don't care one bit about leaderboards, rankings, or anything other than getting to play songs with my character and see different backgrounds. I am sick, SICK, of always seeing Tokyo when I play my DLC. I am sick of always seeing Seattle to play Should I Stay or Should I Go. It is not a solo tour if I always play the same songs in the same cities.

[dfjdejulio]

I personally don't care one bit about leaderboards, rankings, or anything other than getting to play songs with my character and see different backgrounds. I am sick, SICK, of always seeing Tokyo when I play my DLC.

So, would letting you pick a rocker for solo quickplay mode, combined with randomized venues for solo quickplay mode, do the trick for you then?

[kanrei]

So, would letting you pick a rocker for solo quickplay mode, combined with randomized venues for solo quickplay mode, do the trick for you then?


Yes to be honest. I think a patch to reduce minimum players needed for BWT was the easiest way to go, but yes, that would do it for me.

[TH3Hammer]

That's an amazing viewpoint for the population to have considering how many are fixated on the Fan Cap... I thought having fun came from playing the game, not from seeing a little number pop up at the end of a song... These same people berate the fan cap as if it cut off their limbs and made it so they couldn't proceed when in reality they still have dozens of gigs they can perform at the medium difficulty.

I'm all about fun too, but clearly there is a significant amount of the population concerned with leaderboards and the like.

I still remain on the side of multi-player BWT. It's about forming a band. I can do it with my wife, and I have friends, all in their thirties, who can get together to play. If others can't, then I feel for them, but this is not the solution. Online BWT may be, but simulating a band with just one person isn't.

How is forming a band with just you and your wife any different than someone being able to play the game solo? You still have 2 empty slots filled by AI rockers, while I would have 3. Maybe they should drop out the parts of the songs for instruments that aren't being used... so you and your wife would only hear the guitar and vocals, for example? I mean, this is about simulating a band right? Maybe you should have to have your friends over to virtually move your equipment from city to city and you should have to ride a virtual bus or airplane to each gig. Surely just signing in to your profile and selecting a rocker before being transported onto the stage isn't an authentic rock experience. Stop kidding yourself into thinking that you are better than someone else because you have more time to have friends over for your fake rock band.

Seriously, how is your experience diminished if other people can actually enjoy the game more if they can play BWT by themselves sometimes? We already said you can keep your leaderboards that a very small minority of the community actually cares about.

[Parodygm]

Odd thread. I'm playing solo BWT mode right now doing both vox/guitar and vox/drums. Make a new band, use your singer as the leader and you're set.

The thing that strikes me is how empty it feels doing the mode alone anyway. It leaves me crying out to play with others in a "real life" setting (which I do with a couple of buddies when I get the chance). It doesn't provide me with any more substance than picking songs from the regular solo tour.

I still don't get it. All the solo features are as promised and equate pretty much directly to the style of the Guitar Hero predecessors - it's not like solo play is any worse that is has been. Considering the focus on this game is obviously on joint play, it doesn't feel to me like solo BWT mode is an omission at all.

[kanrei]

equate pretty much directly to the style of the Guitar Hero predecessors

I only played GH3 before Rock Band, but that games lets you pick your character first, then venue, then songs. YOu are not always playing the same song in the same venue. I liked the Burning Man stage in GH3 and used that for most songs.

I am sick of Tokyo in Rock Band. I don't need single player BWT as much as better options for single player. Quickplay and solo tour combined for example. Use your character in quickplay or to play songs in different venues in solo tour.

It is like this, I play the game songs online and get different venues, but DLC is always Tokyo and online DLC playing is near impossible since I can never find people with them. If I want to play my DLC, it will always be the same venue. As my DLC list grows, the amount of time I never get to see any other graphics in the game grows. Do the graphics really matter to me? Yes, that is why I have a next-gen system and still not playing the Atari 2600.

[JackBNimble]

I bought RB over GH3 because of the options in game play with 1-4 players and the full band exp.

The fact is that not every one is able to play BWT for what ever reason.I myself am married with 3 kids 10 years old and under,my friends are married with kids and have very little free time.You see thats what happens when you grow up and get married.

RB solo tour is the samething as GH3 career set up.That's not to say it's bad it just gets very old once you finish the solo tour.If all I can do is solo then I should have bought GH3 .

That fact is that BWT is NOT ONLINE so I can not play BWT.And if it was an online option then I would be able to experience the full game of RB like many of you.

I would like to go through the game and unlock venues like the rest of you .I would like to exp. what BWT has to offer like the rest of you.Did I not pay $170 for the game like the rest of you?So why am I limited to only playing solo.

We all know HMX wanted to put BWT in the game as an online function.But they couldn't and that's fine with me as long as they can offer something else to the people who can not exp BWT for what ever reason.I do not think this is an unreasonable request.And I doubt it would effect the leader boards in any way if a single player BWT was enabled because your scored on all 4 players.

And one other thing .In the solo mode you have 3 A.I members in the BAND, so what's the difference if you had 3 A.I members in BWT?Your still in a band in solo are you not?

If BWT can not be an online function then it should be offerd as a single player mode aswell.I hope HMX can see my point.

[Frederf]

The idea is that Rock Band is like a pool table or a tennis court, it's a game to play with other people. I guarantee that if I could play BWT solo that I'd be done with the game by now and it would be gathering dust in a closet having been beat. Harmonix knew this when making the game. They really wanted to engineer your experience to be group play and not solo.

There's also a reason I'm on the Rock Band forums and not playing, it requires quite a lot of effort and coordination to play. Obviously online BWT is something they wanted to do but didn't.

What I can say is that there's no good reason for making quickplay so meager. Not earning cash, not selecting your venue... just didn't have to be that bare bones. One thing I am kinda unhappy about is that solo tour progress unlocks BWT songs. I think my BWT experience would've been better if all the songs in BWT would have to be earned in BWT.

[TH3Hammer]

"The idea is that Rock Band is like a pool table or a tennis court, it's a game to play with other people. I guarantee that if I could play BWT solo that I'd be done with the game by now and it would be gathering dust in a closet having been beat. Harmonix knew this when making the game. They really wanted to engineer your experience to be group play and not solo."

I disagree completely. I buy plenty of DLC that keeps the game enjoyable for me, even with the horrible solo mode. I don't need someone to lock off a portion of the game for me and tell me that I have to play it with a friend or not at all. That just ensures that I won't pick up the next one if they don't make changes.

[JackBNimble]

The idea is that Rock Band is like a pool table or a tennis court, it's a game to play with other people. I guarantee that if I could play BWT solo that I'd be done with the game by now and it would be gathering dust in a closet having been beat. Harmonix knew this when making the game. They really wanted to engineer your experience to be group play and not solo.

There's also a reason I'm on the Rock Band forums and not playing, it requires quite a lot of effort and coordination to play. Obviously online BWT is something they wanted to do but didn't.

What I can say is that there's no good reason for making quickplay so meager. Not earning cash, not selecting your venue... just didn't have to be that bare bones. One thing I am kinda unhappy about is that solo tour progress unlocks BWT songs. I think my BWT experience would've been better if all the songs in BWT would have to be earned in BWT.

Well I'm finished solo mode and now I am bored because I have know one to exp BWT with most of the time.So my RB is collecting dust because there is nothing new for me to do in RB unless BWT will be online soon or they make it accessable for single players.

So did I make the wrong decission when I bought RB?Should I have bought GH3 instead?GH3 is $80 cheaper and I get the same teird set up in RB as in GH3 because I don't get to exp BWT.Did I waste my money?

[SamStone]

As a professional software developer who works on big projects, all I can say is that no software ever ships with all the features everyone wants for it. And not every feature can just be 'patched' into an existing game. A 'patch' to unlock functionality that's already coded, or to make some bug fixes or slight UI changes is one thing - but adding major new functionality is quite another.

The 'balance' issue they are talking about is probably that if you allowed solo 'bands', the top of the leaderboard would almost immediately fill up with solo performers. A band is limited by its weakest link - not just the players, but by the hardest part in the song. There are songs that would be easy to 5-star except for the guitar part, or the drum part, or the singing. If you allow a solo band, then someone will always pick the easiest part for the sole reason of climbing the leaderboard.

So if you're going to have solo bands, you're going to have to have completely separate leaderboards. And not only that, you'll probably have to seperate them by instrument as well. And then you'll probably have to set it up so that if you play drums or guitar or sing, you have to stay in that mode through the entire tour to people from always switching to the easiest instrument for a given song so they can beat other people on the leaderboards.

And then people will ***** about that, and demand that it's a horrible oversight that they didn't allow users to pick a different instrument for each song.

Then along the way, you start finding that your menus are starting to become difficult to navigate, and the numerous leaderboards are confusing, etc. Feature creep kills software.

So Harmonix probably decided that they were better off to focus their efforts on the core gameplay of playing as a band, make sure that the one thing Rock Band does it does extremely well, and optimize the interface, song selection, and other game elements for that.

As an analogy, consider the success of the iPod compared to other MP3 players. The iPod actually lacks a lot of things other players have. I have an MP3 player that has an FM radio, a voice recorder, a zillion different ways of organizing songs, and a whole bunch of other features. The price for that is that the device is not very focused, not very easy to use.

Apple said, "What people want most is the ability to play songs". So they dropped everything else and made damned sure that the one key feature worked splendidly. And the iPod outsells everyone else despite lacking features others have and being higher priced.

Harmonix made the right choice.

[TH3Hammer]

Harmonix made the right choice.

No they didn't. I would have preferred it if they had just scrapped leaderboards.

Harmonix made the wrong choice. See how easy it is to state my opinion as fact?

[Frederf]

Appealing to leaderboards is always a logical dead end in reasoned debate on these forums, a weakling's crutch.

Besides that what you say is wrong, 1-player BWT bands would not "rocket up the charts" because 1 person, even on expert earns a lot less than 3-4 players on medium. Despite being a weak argument, it's also not true. EDIT: Wait, I'm ******ed. Bands are ranked by number of fans for some incredibly stupid reason so yeah, 1-man on Expert would trounce 4-players on medium in terms of fan number. The fan-ranking on leaderboards was so outrageously idiotic that my brain blotted it out and replaced it by tour score in a desperate attempt to save my mind. ENDEDIT.

I want to step away from any opinion on whether solo BWT is right or wrong for a second and just focus on why it is the way it is. Harmonix made BWT 2-4 players on purpose to try and engineer our play experiences. We could argue all day whether that was a good idea or not, effective or not, but that's simply what they did and why they did it.

By making solo play less than it could be they made the multiplayer aspect better relatively.

[JackBNimble]

I want to step away from any opinion on whether solo BWT is right or wrong for a second and just focus on why it is the way it is. Harmonix made BWT 2-4 players on purpose to try and engineer our play experiences. We could argue all day whether that was a good idea or not, effective or not, but that's simply what they did and why they did it.

By making solo play less than it could be they made the multiplayer aspect better relatively.

When RB was being developed BWT online was going to be apart of the game.This would have made the game accessable to anyone who would choose to play BWT on or offline.It's no secret that HMX basicaly ran out of time and had to scrap BWT online.

BWT should be 2-4 players but when HMX scraped the online aspect of the game they didn't make any adjustments to the rest of RB.There for making RB NOT accessable to every one.

Now I am sure that HMX didn't want to limit anyone from playing BWT that's why it was also going to be an online game.But let's get real here,either make BWT an online experience or fix it so I and others can play BWT as a single player game.

I would like nothing more then to play BWT with 3 others but that's not going to happen untill it becomes an online game.And there are alot of other people in the same boat as me.

[Hanover]

What they really need is some sort of "Sim" or Adventure mode for solo people. Meaning, the life YOU are leading as a musician. This could be from auditioning to be in a band...to making good decisions and bad decisions as to which band or bands you pick to be in.

Maybe you are the band frontman AND manager. You make the decisions as to which venues you play...and you have to keep your bandmates happy or they do worse when you play in concerts. Not enough practice = worse rated playing band mates...something the computer could control statistically. You could even choose to go solo if you are the vocalist or lead guitarist for awhile before you end up in another band. But maybe in order to go solo you HAVE to play on hard or expert.

There are lots of things you could do for a one-player experience.

But you know...Harmonix has been extremely silent since RB was released. We have no idea exactly what is or isnt possible in terms of a patch. It sure would be nice if they could give us a bit of perspective so we could either raise or lower our expectations and stop with these types of threads if they're meaningless.

[griffinmills]

take even one day of class in game design and you'll know why it can happen.

Did we ever find out what this "zero day" game design class teaching was that prevents SP BWT?

I also see a lot of people citing a "technical" hurdle preventing BWT. Is not online Quickplay completely functional? If so, what stops them from online BWT? You have a few extra seconds of data being sent all around for what everyone's custom character looks like and....?

[kiralucifel]

Playing an instrument and singing is really really very easy, so know I understand why they didn't input solo world band tour!
It's peace of cake, I'm already playing guitar/voice on hard viewing the easyness

[BigBadFatKid]

releasing this would be stupid, BWT is only fun when your playing with someone else, if anything realise an online BWT, this is a stupid thread.

[Frederf]

Did we ever find out what this "zero day" game design class teaching was that prevents SP BWT?

I also see a lot of people citing a "technical" hurdle preventing BWT. Is not online Quickplay completely functional? If so, what stops them from online BWT? You have a few extra seconds of data being sent all around for what everyone's custom character looks like and....?

There is not a significant technical hurdle to barebones online BWT, HMX admits this and it's readily obvious. HMX had much loftier and complicated plans for online BWT beyond "Online Band Quickplay with some extra stats" and so decided to do it the spectacular way or not at all.

It's not a stupid thread per se. The game could have been designed for 1-4 player BWT and thus solo tour would've been dropped since it was redundant. The gameplay experience would be a lot different if they allowed 1-player BWT, the % of people that had a high number of fans and had blown the game to heck and back would be huge. I'd probably have completed it by now and not wanted to play it nearly as much.

[Nasty311]

I had kind of an idea this was the case when I bought the game, but now that I read that I cant get a tour bus and stuff on solo tour, Im mad!! haha

I agree it should have been put in, but I guess I will adjust and sing and play guitar at the same time and just play my solo tour on drums. I guess if thats all I can do, I will just have to adjust and go with the flow.

[RogueLegend]

Since I'm relatively new to the forums, and have only had rock band for 3 months, I'm going to bump this topic.

I think RB SHOULD be patched for SP World Tour.

Here are the reasons why it should be done-

A) It shouldn't be technically difficult. On the PS3 version, I am able to actually create a band and get to the intro page where you select "Start World Tour". Once I select it, it THEN throws the error about adding more people to the band- that says to me there is a check at that point, not some kind of hard coded limitation, otherwise it wouldn't have allowed a one member band to get to that portion of the game in the first place.

B) To some, singing and playing the guitar may not be hard- but what about drumming? I'm certain that the sound of tapping on the pads in any kind of close proximity would interfere with the voice detection algorithms. Even if it didn't, I'm sure a lot of people can't sing and play guitar at the same time, let alone drum and sing. Why don't we also take it a step further and suggest that people play drums and guitar at the same time- or do you finally agree that it was borderline rediculous by requiring someone to sing and play guitar to begin with?

C) IT'S ONLY A GAME. Who cares about the leaderboards? Are you seriously getting money based on your leaderboard ranking??

But for those of you who want to be silly use the leader boards as a "balancing" argument- I'll humor you. They've already separated XBOX 360 from PS3 leaderboards. So it's not impossible to separate them. It's also not impossible to keep from submitting one person band leaderboards

Further- if balance on the leaderboards really mattered, they'd separate two people band from three and four person bands in order to ensure true balance. If you truly care about "balance" on the leaderboards, you should be complaining about separating the bands that have different numbers of people to begin with instead of using it in a debate with the people who want a one person band. This thing is already unbalanced. Either get over it or do something constructive with your argument. Don't hinder the rest of us.

D) Lastly- it's my understanding that there are some versions of RB out with only one instrument, or, conversley, allowing you to just buy the game and you buy the peripheral separately. Should a person be forced to spend $60 on a game, and then be forced to spend more money to get just one peripheral and not be able to play the whole game? If the intent was to give people a multiplayer experience, they should have never sold the software separate from the hardware in the first place. People should not be limited to playing certain aspects of the game because they didn't spend enough on hardware. They should make all the hardware requisite, or don't don't sell the software separately.

The structure and format of the world tour is a story line that is great and multidimensional in its own right, and its obvious a lot of work was done to ensure a great experience. The single player is limited and linear. It has no variability and no multidimensional aspects. Some of us don't want to just replay songs in a straight order, but have more of a concert experience, where the audience chooses songs and challenges you to finish the set successfully. I've already finished most songs on expert. I want replayability beyond the linear, and I shouldn't be limited because of some theoretical "balance" issue that already exists due to the variable number of members per band to begin with.

I welcome anyone to discuss this with me, but to really make a compelling argument against my opinion, please respond to issues C and D, because those are probably the biggest ones listed, and so far, no one has been able to constructively respond to them. World Tour does not have to be exclusively multiplayer and no one has show any evidence or a compelling argument why it should be.

[RogueLegend]

I was reading back and apparrently, there is someone who is able to drum and sing successfully. I am dually impressed with this person's ability as well as Harmonix's programming skill. And since they are so skilled, an SP world tour shouldn't be that difficult.

And even if you can drum and sing, this still leaves out the majority of us who probably can't do this. Especially when you consider the fact that the PS3 has some issues with the singing portion of the game.


And I understand that it feels empty simultaneously playing drums and singing to that one person. His emotional perception should not limit our practical application- especially when he has a remedy for the emptiness he feels. We should have a remedy to the emptiness we feel as well.

[sqrrl grrl]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only person out there with no friends, lol....
I'm trying to rig up some sort of mic stand so I can sing and play bass...

[RogueLegend]

Haha, if you're a Washington local, you're always welcome to come over.

My big irritation is that even with being able to play expert on guitar, I don't feel comfortable yet trying to sing and play at the same time. Doing bass+singing might be an option. But for many of us on the PS3, the 1.03 update and beyond kind of screwed up our ability to just sing, let alone sing and play. I haven't been able to sing since the update (not that I have that great of a voice to begin with).

I first tried singing after the 1.03 update, and I thought it was my voice that was causing the pitch meter to bounce. Then I start working through the forums and found out it's an existing issue.

[psychp0]

So maybe I can see why they did not enable single player BWT, but what I just can't understand is why we can't have ONLINE BWT. For the younger generation it's much easier to get big groups together to play (although just playing weekends sucks), but for those of us 30+ w/ a family (especially kids) it gets much more diifficult to get everyone together. Having the option to play online BWT would really complete the game for me.

Just my .02.

-MSFTSucks

[Sarge51]

Get friends. End of discussion.

[psychp0]

Get friends. End of discussion.

Typical ignorant response. If you read, friends are not the issue for most. It comes down to availability, ability, and other circumstances. Troll somewhere else.

-MSFTsucks

[Sarge51]

They already have Single Band World Tour.

You know what it's called? SOLO TOUR. There is a reason it's called BAND World Tour. This game is suppose to encourage you to play with friends instead of alone in your mom's basement.

[psychp0]

They already have Single Band World Tour.

You know what it's called? SOLO TOUR. There is a reason it's called BAND World Tour. This game is suppose to encourage you to play with friends instead of alone in your mom's basement.


Again, you're missing the point because you choose to ignore what people have been writing. I for one have plenty of friends but unfortunately, most don't play rock band or are not good enough to complete BWT. As most of the game is geared towards BWT, it means I'm missing quite a big chunk of what the game offers. So while I may not promote single player BWT (as that doesn't make much sense), I do think they should at least enable online BWT in order to open up the rest of the game to a broader audience.

Just to set the record straight as you made another stereotypical (and false) remark in your previous post, I'm more than likely older than you, married, and have kids. Consequently, I don't haev to worry about playing in Mom's basement. Thanks for the attempted insult though. It did provoke a laugh, as I always laugh at stupid remarks.

-MSFTSucks

[TheGodFather73]

I'm also voting for Band Solo Tour (or whatever you want to call it). It's not a matter of me not having friends, but we're all in our 30's, have families, and we work 11-12 hour days. It's just not feasible to expect people to come over a few nightts a week to play a VIDEO GAME. It's not a second job, it's to relax and chill out. I enjoy playing the game by myself, and more with friends, but it would be nice to have the solo tour like the BWT.

A lot of the attitudes I've seen in this thread have been very similar to the ones I saw when I used to play WoW - "There's no reason you can't work 80 hours a week, get revered with every faction and raid the Black Temple every night. I do it, it's not hard." etc....

[Melchiah]

There's already a SOLO Career in Rock Band...making Band World Tour another possible SOLO Career sort of defeats the purpose. Even though it stinks, in a way, that we can't play Band World Tour alone, it also makes for a great reason to get friends together to play multiplayer. If I could play Band World Tour alone...I wouldn't have had nearly the fun that I've had playing with my friends, since I wouldn't have been as inclined to invite them over as much as I did to play...since it's hard to get them to come over, at times, anyway.

[MF-PO'd]

I'm in favour of a solo band tour also. Just because some people think the game is "supposed" to be played with friends is completely irrelevant. The game is clearly advertised as 1-4 players. The single player option should not be gimped. I bought the game like everyone else, and I buy quite a fair amount of DLC like everyone else. I feel solo players should be offered a decent single player option.

[DeadManDrumming]

There is one. Its 100% the same as GH's (well it doesn't have a couple cut scenes which after you play easy once 99% of ppl just skip them anyway).

Whats your motivation? Gold star all songs on drums/vocals/guitar/bass....ohh wait. Screw Single player BWT put in BASS SOLO MODE!

[firebreather428]

exactly i want online tour mode pls

[RogueLegend]

Melchiah-

Based on your logic, there should be no Multiplayer BWT either- why? Because you can already play as a band in the same way as you can in Solo, with a straight setlist.

And again, if you don't like playing alone- go ahead and invite your friends over. You have a solution to your problem. I have a girlfriend I live with who likes to play occasionally, but she's not good enough to break fan caps beyond medium. And not everyone has friends who wants to play.

DeadManDrumming - This is rock band- not GH. If you prefer GH's mode of play, go play GH. Just because YOU perfer GH, it doesn't mean I should be limited. I didn't want the GH experience, I bought RB for the RB experience.

Also, BWT is a different experience, between mystery setlists to a better sense of accomplishment when you get to choose/complete venues.

But, I do agree to having a Solo Bass tour/mode.

[RogueLegend]

They already have Single Band World Tour.

You know what it's called? SOLO TOUR. There is a reason it's called BAND World Tour. This game is suppose to encourage you to play with friends instead of alone in your mom's basement.

Sarge- I do already play with others- they're not good enough to break fan caps and we keep replaying venues.

But if you don't like the idea of calling it single player Band World Tour, then we'll call it Solo World Tour. Is that good enough to get you out of our way. If you don't want it or care to have it, then you don't need to post. There's a reason this thread is called "Please Patch To Enable Single Player World Tour." This thread is supposed to encourage Hmx to patch the game instead of limiting it. If you're so hot on obeying titles, then go post somewhere else.

I don't know if you've had a look into the music industry, but there are plenty of independent artists who do world tours by themselves without a consistent band.

[Ultrace]

There's a reason this thread is called "Please Patch To Enable Single Player World Tour." This thread is supposed to encourage Hmx to patch the game instead of limiting it. If you're so hot on obeying titles, then go post somewhere else.
If people can make an intelligent argument about it, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to post here attempting to persuade HMX to not spend time on this when the time could be better spent on other pursuits (which they may or may not be working on)--additional DLC content (venues, clothing, etc.), Bass solo tour, etc. Clearly for a variety of the population, solo BWT is not a priority, and they're going to make themselves heard as an opposing side whenever this issue is brought up.

I believe that BWT should remain a multi-player experience, myself. The goal is to watch your band evolve from rag-tag nothings to superstars. Along the way, you (at least in theory) agree as a group about whether to take charity events, what city to hit up next, if your fashions should all match or clash, whether you should all risk moving to Hard or Expert on that mystery setlist... These kind of dynamics don't occur when you're a single omnipotent voice who controls the other members of the band as the mindless puppets they are. Am I reading too much into this mode? Perhaps, but as one of the most satisfying gaming experiences to be had anywhere (IMO), it merits it.

I look forward to the day when it goes online so that people can form a group easier than the current in-person restriction, but until then, the game is how it was designed and I think that decision was well-founded. And although some may yell "apples and oranges", this is actually quite similar to Call of Duty 4 or multitudes of other current games, where they ship with multiple modes of play, some available in single player only and others in multiplayer only. This mode just happens to be multiplayer only, and was how the game was developed. Just like having Dead on Arrival in the game--you may not like it, but it's there regardless, and just about as likely to stay.

[TheGodFather73]

If Players = 1 Then go to Solo Tour

If Players >=2 Then go to Band World Tour

How about change the first to:

If Players =>1 Then go to Band World Tour

Delete the second, and ta'da!

I imagine it wouldn't be too much more difficult than changing an If-Then statement here and there and it could be patched in. I doubt this would take away from a lot of development time. Yes, it may be more complicated than this, and I'm sure the computer devs in the forums will jump all over this, but there is no way it is more complicated than implementing new content, DLC, etc. And implementing it wouldn't hurt anyone. Nothing is taken away from the people who are arguing against this.

[Melchiah]

Melchiah-

Based on your logic, there should be no Multiplayer BWT either- why? Because you can already play as a band in the same way as you can in Solo, with a straight setlist.

And again, if you don't like playing alone- go ahead and invite your friends over. You have a solution to your problem. I have a girlfriend I live with who likes to play occasionally, but she's not good enough to break fan caps beyond medium. And not everyone has friends who wants to play.

Please don't misunderstand my post. I am not strongly for or against solo Band World Tour. Actually...to be honest, I'd probably more in favor of it rather than against it, but I was simply playing devil's advocate in a way.

Solo BWT would definitely increase the enjoyment people can get from Rock Band when playing solo, but I also do see what HMX was possibly trying to accomplish by making it multiplayer only. Maybe they were trying to incline people to play it multiplayer and see how fun that is before simply playing everything solo and not really attempting to get friends together to play.

Anyhow, solo BWT definitely wouldn't be a "bad" thing, especially at this point. The people who are going to play it multiplayer have already done so...so patching a solo BWT option now wouldn't really hurt anything. Also, making different leaderboards for solo BWT and multiplayer BWT and the patch adding the solo-ability to BWT definitely wouldn't anger...anyone, really. Since people who worked hard to get high on the leaderboards (those who care about leaderboards) with a friend or two of theirs would all of a sudden have their accomplishment/hard work nullified.

[RogueLegend]

Ultratrace- Perhaps the subtlety in what I said was missed, but I was really using his own "it's called this for a reason" logic against him as for a reason why he shouldn't post here. That logic is not a good argument for anything. I welcome a good discussion with reasoned thought.

Here's my reasoned thought: Solo World Tour can be implemented without taking anything away from the group experience as Melchiah said.

I don't think you're reading too much into the Band World Tour, in fact, the collaborative nature is one of the better parts of the game. The difference is that I think you're being too absolutist/purist about it. Especially given the way they're marketing rock band.

Why sell the game (I'm specifically talking about the software) with one or no other peripherals if you're going to severely limit the extent of game play for a single person??? Sure, you could argue for piecemeal assembly, but how practical is this and how many people are buying the software with a lone instrument?

Or the fact that they included a 56 song setlist in the game? How many people have time to come together as a band for a game and sit down to do 56 songs? I'm sure there are a few of them out there, but they are far between.

Personally, even with a SP World tour, I would still do it multiplayer- my girlfriend likes to play, and I enjoy playing with her. But we're at the point where we can't progress any further and have to replay venues. There are certain songs that she refuses to play even. Is my only alternative in a scenario like this is firing my drummer and going to find someone better so that we can progress? This game has a lot of value, but I feel like there's a substantial piece of value here that I'm not getting.

And I would argue that the numbers of people wanting a solo bass career are probably smaller than those wanting Solo World Tour. Regardless of the numbers, in my mind, they go hand in hand.

[DSOTM]

just because the game shines during multiplayer doesnt mean that you can ONLY have fun on multiplayer
srsly, not everybody has somebody to play rock band with at every time of the day, i dont want to call up my friends and go "hey want to play rock band" every single ****ing time because i want to play bwt
i wish there was solo bwt if you havent noticed

[Sarge51]

Not only that, you could just sing and play guitar/drums. That's what I did for a little while. Not only does it fix your solution, it's more fun and challenging.