HMX: Please unpatch Pro Guitar DLC compatibility.

[Han Daimond]

So, the answer is "no"?

[Muhveli]

To paraphrase: "Pro guitar/bass was never intended for online play. deal with it." Let's face it, nobody who doesn't own a pro guitar controller is going to buy the pro upgrades. Still, it's fun to play/learn for fun solo and I understand the reasoning behind this but you should just have made it clear from the get go. Why does it have to take over three months for this to be addressed, when you could have just told us how it's going to be when the first RB3 DLC pack with pro upgrade possibility came out. Does not spell "we care" at all. Please try to be more forthcoming in the future, is all.

[bandaddy]

It's my understanding that the previously playable pairing of people with Pro Guitar as part of online bands was not the intended functionality

If this is indeed the case, this was an absolute ridiculous format for the game. Honestly, whoever decided on this or agreed to it should be severely reprimanded. It only succeeds in being totally divisive for all players and does not promote the theme Rock Band was based on.....BAND PLAY !

I will not upgrade to have Pro Guitar tracks just to play with those people unless someday I pursue it myself, at which time I'll have to decide I no longer like playing in online bands.

The DLC has "ADD ONS", not a different DLC, as indicated in the lists that come out each week, therefore it should be able to be played cooperatively with those that don't want or need the add on. Otherwise it should be a separate file altogether called "songname" (Pro Version) as a completely different download.

I would rank this as a devastating strategy for the game.

HMX, prepare for a deluge of backlash from this.

[GuitarGuruXXX]

Go to the back of the bus Pro players, we dont like your kind here.

[m_estock]

Henry, I understand the reason behind the change, but the odds that everyone in an online band will have the PRO upgrades for even one song is slim to none.

[hmxhenry]

To paraphrase: "Pro guitar/bass was never intended for online play. deal with it."

That's not the case at all, and it holds about as much water as saying that we're holding people hostage with regular DLC because a full band needs to have a track before they can play with each other online. Pro DLC is intended to work the same as regular DLC. But I can see that may not be an ideal solution for some people in this thread, so we're collecting feedback and we're letting Design know how we can improve things in the future.

Also, for what it's worth, the process of identifying an issue, confirming it internally as "an issue" and not "a confusing design choice", crafting a solution for it and then implementing it is not always as easy as any of us would like it to be. This wasn't something that popped up on launch day that we ignored until now, and there's a lot of work that we do behind the scenes that you're not seeing. Our hands were also relatively tied until we knew what was going to make it into the final version of the update that hit on Monday.

[charliesmile]

to all the people complaining about this:
YOU CAN STILL PLAY PRO OFFLINE, and you can still play 5 button guitar bass in online co-op.

this does NOT prevent you from playing pro-mode ever again.

[skyttskytt]

And if you want to play Pro Guitar on Under Pressure (RB3 Version) then the rest of your band mates need to have that file as well.

Honestly, I think this aspect is something that should be allowed to be bypassed. I personally feel that the base file should be what is required. With this additional requirement, it essentially forces online bands to either not be able to play the song, or force people who don't play pro instruments to spend an additional dollar per track for something they won't use. The dollar is only for pro g/b, and a lot of people are drums-only or vox-only in a band, or simply not-pro g/b players. I think it is asking too much of those people to require them to spend the extra money so someone else can play their instrument. I will never ask a friend to purchase any of these upgrades if they don't own a pro guitar peripheral, and as a result, the more people I play with that don't own the peripherals, the fewer songs I will be inclined to upgrade that aren't absolute favorites. If I have no desire to learn a specific song on my own time, I have no reason to upgrade, because I won't be able to play it with a band. This is all from the perspective of playing with friends; the issue with randoms basically guarantees the upgrades will be worthless.

[raynebc]

to all the people complaining about this:
YOU CAN STILL PLAY PRO OFFLINE, and you can still play 5 button guitar bass in online co-op.

And again, not everybody wants to play 5 button guitar. The reasoning for this limitation is understandable, but it puts nails in the coffin of playing pro mode online. If I want to play pro guitar with friends, this pretty much guarantees it will have to be in-person and not online. But one way they can turn this negative into a positive is allow for pro guitarists to compete against each other playing the same instrument part, like in the old days. I understand lots of people are hoping score duel would return, and it would restore the online pro guitar/bass community.

[charliesmile]

And again, not everybody wants to play 5 button guitar.

then don't.
play pro offline, or mingle on the boards and find players willing to buy (or who already have) the pro upgrades.

i feel you're making this needlessly difficult for yourself.