Compilation of questions answered by HMX (indexed)

[Sayburr]

Wow... over 1.5 hours to make this... time for a nap

[FujiSkunk]

Nice work, Sayburr, thank you for your dedication.

[Sayburr]

No problem, I was trying to find an answer in the other thread and it took forever, so I decided if I couldn't find answers, no one else could either... so I decided this thread needed to be indexed.

As issues are resolved that are indexed, the link can be removed... also, no matter where the conversation goes, revelent information can be linked to in the index.

Should be a useful thread now.

[Bront20]

Awesome, thanks.

[Sayburr]

Why didn’t the Wii get the free song(s)

HMXHenry said Free DLC, as with paid DLC, isn't something that we're able to set without 1st party consent. We submitted this HMX pack to all 3 consoles and for whatever reason only MS and Sony agreed to offer the free pack so that's why it's only going to be available on the 360 and PS3. It's obviously in our best interest to make these songs available to everyone that wants them (and there's no reason why we wouldn't want Wii owners to have a chance to play these songs) but unfortunately it's not a process that we have complete control over.

Even free songs need to be licensed. Even free songs from HMX bands need to be licensed. One of questions that has popped up a few times has been about the possibility of releasing this pack as a paid download on the Wii, and unfortunately that is unlikely to happen any time soon. As I understand it, songs licensed for free release can't be also be released as paid downloads, even on other consoles. Licensing is a complicated process, and an influx of money for a song licensed as a free release would, I am sure, complicate things further.

[Sayburr]

Why charge and export fee, is it to gouge us for more money? How about just taking a hit on the bottom line and giving it to us free?

HMXHenry said FWIW We don't make any money on export fees. That all goes towards re licensing music for the option to use your songs in future games. Licensing for music isn't a universal thing (unfortunately) which means that licensing a song for RB2 doesn't mean that we're licensed to use it in commercials, demos, podcasts or future games. It's not by choice, it's just the nature of the beast.

Beyond that, "taking the hit on our bottom line" would severely impact our ability to make future games, release future DLC, maintain good relationships with artists, etc. We're doing absolutely as much as we can to get as many songs as possible for as little as possible, but at the end of the day is an entirely optional feature that we have to clear with all the bands and labels. And we put in a lot of work to make that option possible because we believe it leads to the best overall Rock Band experience.

[Sayburr]

Can’t you fix vocal overdrive deployment better than that?

HMXPope said see that some of you aren't satisfied with the way that we've addressed vocal overdrive deployment. Hopefully this provides some context.

Many of you in this thread were reporting problems deploying overdrive while singing, and many of you were super helpful in providing us detailed feedback on the problems you experienced. Turns out many of you like to play really loudly!!

That's a fun way to play, but RB3's design doesn't have the option to adjust your Mic Sensitivity, which previously helped you compensate for such loud setups. Similarly, others were affected by proximity of the microphone to speakers and the volume required to activate OD, which presented problems even when playing at lower volumes. Unfortunately, we're not able to take every home theater set up into account while developing games, so we had to find a solution that would help everyone regardless of volume or set up.

A number of you in this very thread put forward the idea of a BACK/SELECT button overdrive deploy as a good work-around, and we were able to accommodate that. The scope of integrating a Mic Sensitivity system into RB3 is not one that could be contained in a title update. The button-deploy is the best option to help you guys play vocals the way you want to within the constraints we have post-release.

Missing the mic sensitivity slider from RB2 is a reasonable comparison between RB2 and RB3. We on the Community team miss it in certain circumstances as well, as we often play in loud convention halls or at Rock Band Bar Nights! We understand what you are feeling, but we also hope you can understand and appreciate the vast amount of work that it takes to update a title after its release. We believe the title update released this week goes a tremendous way in improving the Rock Band 3 experience, and we've done our best to incorporate your feedback in ways that were feasible and helped the greatest number of users.

As always, we're here to listen to your feedback and pass it along to the design and production teams for consideration. Thanks for thinking about this issue and providing us with your feelings about the ways you play Rock Band.

[Sayburr]

Why no Double Bass (Expert +) in Rock Band 3?

HMXHenry said double bass won't be charted… We're not always able to fit every feature on our wish list into a title, and with a big release like RB3 there were a ton of new features that would have a huge impact on the vast majority of people playing the game. Comparatively, the number of songs where double bass would be helpful / appropriate would be fairly slim, and since all the songs in RB were charted so they could be played with one pedal there's not a real need for the feature.

I definitely understand that there is still a strong desire for a double bass option though, and I will continue to pass threads like these along to the Design team. With Pro Mode taking a stronger focus on teaching real world instrument skills, there's a chance we'll see more features like this in the future. Encouraging people to adapt to cymbals is a huge first step beyond the standard four pad game play for drums, and we're very excited to see how the RB community reacts.

UPDATE: Harmonix is now allowing RBN authors to release two versions of songs if desired. One charted with normal single pedal bass drum and also double bass. These songs will all be marked with (2x Bass Pedal) after the title.

I will try to keep this listing updated, but no promises.

Last Updated Feb 15, 2010

25 Total Songs:

Cephalic Carnage - Abraxas of Filth (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Shylo Elliott - Alpha Strike (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Kataklysm - At the Edge of the World (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Silent Descent - Beyond Grey (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Mike Orlando - Burn (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Rock
Rainbowdragoneyes - Creatures ov Deception (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Other
Kataklysm - Determined (Vows Of Vengeance) (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Broken Equilibrium - Epitome of Misery (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Rock
Bluefusion - Fighting Spirit (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Progressive
Sonata Arctica - Flag in the Ground (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Dirge Within - Forever the Martyr (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Massive Slavery - Humanity's Last Hope... (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
August Burns Red - Marianas Trench (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Man Parts - Motorcide (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Novelty
Freen in Green - Nocturnal Wasteland (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Other
Broken Equilibrium - November (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Rock
Kataklysm - Numb & Intoxicated (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Deadlock - The Brave / Agony Applause (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Firewind - The Fire and the Fury (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
We Are The Illusion - The Podium (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Decrepit Birth - The Resonance (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Chaotrope - XIV (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Arkaea - Years in the Darkness (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Dying Fetus - Your Treachery Will Die With You (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal
Devin Townsend - ZTO (2x Bass Pedal) Genre = Metal

[Sayburr]

Hey, if you can release Pro-Guitar/bass upgrades for legacy (RB, RB2 compatible songs) why can’t you release harmony and even keys upgrades?

HMXHenry said on Feb 25, 2011, I don't know if there are any technical limitations that would prevent us from releasing harmonies or keys as individual updates (that is, releasing them as $0.99 updates rather than full on RB3 versions) but it's safe to say that there are work load and accessibility issues that will keep this from happening.

I don't know if releasing instrument upgrades piecemeal would be possible from a licensing standpoint, but even if it were possible it would mean twice as many submissions to first party. So rather than releasing 10 RB3 versions, it'd mean submitting 20 different upgrades and I'm guessing that would eat in to how many tracks we'd actually be able to get approved in a timely fashion. I also don't know if that would make purchasing DLC more or less confusing if it meant having upgrades available for guitar / bass, another for keys and a third for harmonies.

It may also have something to do with instrument popularity, looking at how many people play Pro Guitar in RB vs. how many people use harmonies, and releasing upgrades based on which instruments will get the most use. I'll touch bases with Audio and see if there's any more info we can share.

[Sayburr]

All, right! I heard a rumor that Metacallica’s Master of Puppets is coming to Rock Band, when can we expect it?

HMXHenry said on Feb 25, 2011, This is one of the silliest RB rumors going around. Don't bother getting yourself built up every week for an album that's not even on our schedule. I'm not saying that it might not happen sometime, or that we'll never see more Metallica again, but this album's not on our schedule for the foreseeable future.