New title from hmx confirmed: Rock Band Blitz

[geo2n2]

I want to give this game a fair shot, but my excitement has dwindled to be honest.

I was reading Ars Technica's article, and these are the parts than turn me off to the game:

But by reducing the complexity of the standard Rock Band rhythm tracks, Blitz feels a bit more disconnected from the music that you're supposed to be playing. In Rock Band, following a complicated progression of notes on the guitar or drums was almost like reading sheet music that outlined what the coming notes would actually sound like....
&
What's more, the tracks that you're not currently working on play just fine without your direct input.
&
In Blitz, on the other hand, it feels like you're just twiddling your thumbs to some pretty background music rather than actively playing that music.

These are my interest-killers for the game. This is counter to main reason why GH ad RB games were so compelling; this would feel less like you're "creating" the music and more like you're simply tapping along to an mp3 track. It feels less "interactive". That's why I hated GH's multi-instrument mode and was happy HMx kept RB "pure" in that sense. Music playing regardless of what you're doing with your controller was totally contrary to the premise of the game. RB3 and Unplugged on PSP still felt like you were "creating" the music, and the use of master tracks conveys that feeling. (and was really cool to hear single elements of songs). However, perhaps that's intentionally not the point of this game (i.e. it's not supposed to be a simulation of playing the music). In which case it doesn't really interest me.

I've kinda went from excited to I'll never really play it but will buy it for the RB3 track pack functionality.

[LoopyChew]

These are my interest-killers for the game. This is counter to main reason why GH ad RB games were so compelling; this would feel less like you're "creating" the music and more like you're simply tapping along to an mp3 track. It feels less "interactive".

There's no plate-spinning, to be sure, but it's not tapping along to an MP3 track--it's more like being able to switch whatever instrument you're playing along with. If you're on the guitar track and you miss notes, the guitar still cuts out, right?

[Magnet]

This is counter to main reason why GH ad RB games were so compelling; this would feel less like you're "creating" the music and more like you're simply tapping along to an mp3 track. It feels less "interactive". That's why I hated GH's multi-instrument mode and was happy HMx kept RB "pure" in that sense. Music playing regardless of what you're doing with your controller was totally contrary to the premise of the game. RB3 and Unplugged on PSP still felt like you were "creating" the music, and the use of master tracks conveys that feeling. (and was really cool to hear single elements of songs).

I've just watched videos and haven't played the game, but I can't agree with that article's assessment in the final quoted paragraph. If you're on a track and you stop hitting the gems that are coming your way, the track audio still drops out, just like with Rock Band. Your actions still affect whether the instrument stem plays, and it's hardly the same experience as tapping to an MP3 track. Plus, the instrument you're currently playing on has its volume increased so you can hear the part you're playing stand out more.

The text you bolded in the quote is talking about the fact that you don't "clear" each track for a certain amount of time like you'd do in previous lane-switching games. This different gameplay mechanism doesn't affect the basic musical creation aspect of the gameplay though. At its core, it's still: hit a note, hear the instrument; miss a note, don't hear the instrument.

It is a new approach to the formula compared to what HMX has done in the past, and you won't be hearing multiple instruments drop out at once like in the other games, but that's because it's a different kind of game design this time around. Each has its benefits and drawbacks though. The "clearing" engine (where you hit notes for 1-2 measures and the track plays itself for a period of time until you must return to clear it again) allows for multiple instrument audio drop-outs when you do poorly, but it restricts when you can play which instrument. In that engine, you may really want to play a cool little part in the song (say a guitar lick or drum fill), but you'll be stuck playing bass or vocals at the time. With this "non-clearing" engine in Blitz, only the instrument you're playing at the time will ever drop out when you start missing notes, but you also have more freedom in deciding which instrument you want to play at a given time.

I hope that explains the differences they're referencing better (in case you didn't 100% understand), and I really don't agree that this going to be like playing along to background music as they suggest. With the track dropping out when you miss notes and the currently-played track getting a volume boost, I think this is going to be much more musically immersive than they let on. Of course two-button gameplay is going to be much more about rhythm than anything else, but it's not like you're tapping along to an MP3 where your actions are meaningless to the music - which I also would personally see as a hollow experience.

[geo2n2]

I've just watched videos and haven't played the game, but I can't agree with that article's assessment in the final quoted paragraph. If you're on a track and you stop hitting the gems that are coming your way, the track audio still drops out, just like with Rock Band. Your actions still affect whether the instrument stem plays, and it's hardly the same experience as tapping to an MP3 track. Plus, the instrument you're currently playing on has its volume increased so you can hear the part you're playing stand out more.

The text you bolded in the quote is talking about the fact that you don't "clear" each track for a certain amount of time like you'd do in previous lane-switching games. This different gameplay mechanism doesn't affect the basic musical creation aspect of the gameplay though. At its core, it's still: hit a note, hear the instrument; miss a note, don't hear the instrument.

It is a new approach to the formula compared to what HMX has done in the past, and you won't be hearing multiple instruments drop out at once like in the other games, but that's because it's a different kind of game design this time around. Each has its benefits and drawbacks though. The "clearing" engine (where you hit notes for 1-2 measures and the track plays itself for a period of time until you must return to clear it again) allows for multiple instrument audio drop-outs when you do poorly, but it restricts when you can play which instrument. In that engine, you may really want to play a cool little part in the song (say a guitar lick or drum fill), but you'll be stuck playing bass or vocals at the time. With this "non-clearing" engine in Blitz, only the instrument you're playing at the time will ever drop out when you start missing notes, but you also have more freedom in deciding which instrument you want to play at a given time.

I hope that explains the differences they're referencing better (in case you didn't 100% understand), and I really don't agree that this going to be like playing along to background music as they suggest. With the track dropping out when you miss notes and the currently-played track getting a volume boost, I think this is going to be much more musically immersive than they let on. Of course two-button gameplay is going to be much more about rhythm than anything else, but it's not like you're tapping along to an MP3 where your actions are meaningless to the music - which I also would personally see as a hollow experience.

I'm confused. The track you're on does drop out? So the article is incorrect then? HMx should contact them if so. (unless I just read it wrong)

[Magnet]

I'm confused. The track you're on does drop out? So the article is incorrect then? HMx should contact them if so. (unless I just read it wrong)

Here's a video where it's probably most obvious that it drops out (since the player is new and misses a fair amount of notes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfIfHL16nrw

I don't believe the article says that the track you're on doesn't drop out, I think you must have misread something. Remember that the bolded part you quoted is referring to the tracks that you're not currently playing: "What's more, the tracks that you're not currently working on play just fine without your direct input. " That line is referring to the different game design used in Blitz compared to previous lane switching titles. In previous titles, you're required to repeatedly switch instruments to "capture" each instrument track periodically to stay alive and keep a multiplier, whereas you don't have to do that in Blitz. I know this explanation may be confusing, but it makes much more sense if you've played (or watched gameplay videos of) previous games like Unplugged or Amplitude.

I think the writer could have phrased it better, but what he's written is not wrong (as long as the reader understands the gameplay mechanic from past games that he's referring to).

[Meat-Popsicle]

Based on the feedback from PAX that I've read, I'm officially looking forward to playing this game and not just treating it like a Track Pack. Bonus!

[Dangimarocker]

You are correct, it's all speculation at this point. It's not being negative about the future of Rock Band ("realistic" at worst, and super-positive about the present situation), though I'm apparently buying what everyone else is speculating about the next Sony product (i.e., there will be plenty of consumer-unfriendly changes). Does this mean I should have bought an XBox instead? Yeah, maybe, but too late.

I based the backwards-compatibility speculation on the graphics processing unit that Sony is probably going to be using for Orbis. It would require a complicated and expensive additional hardware to add a proper emulator, even more than what was needed to emulate the PS2 (a feature that didn't even work for all games, and was dropped from production relatively quickly). Yes, everything is pure speculation at this point, but I don't expect it to be backwards compatible, so I'll be keeping my PS3 hooked up for a while. If it turns out to have this feature after all? Hey, nice bonus.

My speculation on not being able to transfer DLC includes not just the track record of Harmonix (stellar!) but also of Sony (... not stellar?). I expect Sony to make it a priority to hinder pirating, and modding, and even the used game market, and I expect their efforts to have the effect of making this transfer impossible. Might I be wrong? Sure! That would be nice if I was.

And no, you can't use a PS2 controller on a PS3, there's no similar port on the PS3. There are 3rd-party adapters to try and work around this, but the one I saw in action kept timing out in the middle of action. I went ahead and bought my cousin a real PS3 controller, because it was just sad to watch.

If they don't transfer DLC (which is rumors right now) they can forget selling 96% of that new console to anyone and they will go bankrupt and seriously i'll go to the corp building and point and laugh at each now worker that exits the building. (they deserve it anyway, how does it take till 4pm to put dlc up?)
Just how i feel right now about Sony, I will gladly switch and buy less dlc if sony does this since I won't trust either console anyway.

[HMXPope]

I've kinda went from excited to I'll never really play it but will buy it for the RB3 track pack functionality.

I'd urge you to wait until you can play the Trial Game before passing judgement. If you check out the hands-on coverage we've gotten for RB Blitz, you'll notice that among the other major outlets, the Ars article is the only one that's taken a negative slant.

I'd just hate to see one article dash all of your excitement about a game that many, many others have played and enjoyed.

[mikeyts]

If they don't transfer DLC (which is rumors right now) they can forget selling 96% of that new console to anyone and they will go bankrupt and seriously i'll go to the corp building and point and laugh at each now worker that exits the building. (they deserve it anyway, how does it take till 4pm to put dlc up?)
Just how i feel right now about Sony, I will gladly switch and buy less dlc if sony does this since I won't trust either console anyway.

Did Sony or Microsoft transfer DLC from PS2 and original Xbox games to PS3 and Xbox 360? In the case of RB, the DLC being music, is it even legal under contract?

I've played through a couple of my old Xbox games on the 360, though I didn't own any DLC for them.

When I think about it, you are allowed to download anything you own on XBL onto any machine and play/use it while logged into your XBL account, and I didn't get a new XBL account when I moved to the 360 so maybe DLC will be transferable to the next generation platform.

[Sayburr]

When I think about it, you are allowed to download anything you own on XBL onto any machine and play/use it while logged into your XBL account, and I didn't get a new XBL account when I moved to the 360 so maybe DLC will be transferable to the next generation platform.

That is something I will not worry about until 2013, if the Mayans were wrong, that is...