Impressions from playing at PAX

[onix12345]

Just thought I'd post my impressions, as a Frequency/Amplitude player who got to play quite a bit of Blitz at PAX this weekend.

The gameplay is excellent. I was skeptical that the 2-lane track format would provide a challenge, but it's actually just as fun, if not more so, than the previous Freq/RBU games. The "track unlock" gameplay is completely replaced with the "track leveling" gameplay, which is probably the most significant change for any HMX game in a while -- missing a single note is not nearly as disastrous for your score as in any previous Freq or GH/RB game, and it seems like there's some interesting strategy in choosing whether to level tracks versus playing a track with more notes. It also removes the need to do split-second track movements like in Freq/Amp, which I think makes it considerably more fun.

The control options are pretty good. I mostly used the strangely-named "Freakish" setting, where you move with a stick/dpad, and hit notes with the shoulder bumpers/triggers. This makes it easy to hit quick double notes on either lane, by using both a trigger and bumper. I do think it would be nice if the final game had completely customizable controls, like Freq/Amp had.

Four little things that annoyed me, posed as questions both to other people who played (to see who else noticed them) and to HMX people (if any info can be given about them):

1. Occasionally, the twisty note track will go over a hill in the road. This makes it very hard to read upcoming notes for a few seconds.
2. When I had to move way across the board, like from drums (far left) to keys (far right), the display kind of choked up a bit, like it lagged for a second because I switched tracks too fast.
3. Perhaps this is an option that I missed or that will be added in the final game, but I didn't see an option to wrap around the tracks (i.e. pressing "move left" when on drums to wrap around to keys).
4. During an instrument solo, since the non-solo tracks don't have any notes, I think it makes sense to just auto-move to the track that has the solo. But, perhaps this could be an issue when two instruments have simultaneous solos. Anyway, just a minor thing.

[Cipher_Peon]

That's good news that you enjoyed it!
Hopefully the end product will be even more awesome than what you experienced!

[bclare]

Four little things that annoyed me, posed as questions both to other people who played (to see who else noticed them) and to HMX people (if any info can be given about them):

1. Occasionally, the twisty note track will go over a hill in the road. This makes it very hard to read upcoming notes for a few seconds.
2. When I had to move way across the board, like from drums (far left) to keys (far right), the display kind of choked up a bit, like it lagged for a second because I switched tracks too fast.
3. Perhaps this is an option that I missed or that will be added in the final game, but I didn't see an option to wrap around the tracks (i.e. pressing "move left" when on drums to wrap around to keys).
4. During an instrument solo, since the non-solo tracks don't have any notes, I think it makes sense to just auto-move to the track that has the solo. But, perhaps this could be an issue when two instruments have simultaneous solos. Anyway, just a minor thing.

I was at PAX too, I played Blitz three times: Band On The Run, Symphony of Destruction, and Raining Blood. To your questions, I can answer or elaborate a couple

- At the HMX panel on Saturday about RBB, someone asked about wrapping around. The answer was that that option was coded, but is not slated for inclusion in the game at this point. I hope they decide to put it back in though.

- As for simultaneous solos, only two HMX charted songs have them, One Vision and No One Knows; NOK is a RB3 disk song so it won't be in RBB. A bunch of RBN songs have simultaneous solos though. I asked one of the HMX guys at the booth about that and he didn't know how the game would handle that. Of course the guy I talked to wasn't the one who coded the game, so it's likely that there is some sort of resolution to that issue and he just didn't happen to know.

- As much as some people have complained about only having 2 lanes, I'll testify that as a veteran RB player the 2 lane RBB charts for songs like Raining Blood can still be extremely challenging. The end of Raining Blood is the hardest section I saw, on three instruments.

[Lowlander2]

As for simultaneous solos, only two HMX charted songs have them, One Vision and No One Knows;

Don't quote me, but I think Spinning Wheel has this too.

[lvmathemagician]

Don't quote me, but I think Spinning Wheel has this too.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Lowlander2]

I forgive you.

[M_Robbins5]

Don't quote me, but I think Spinning Wheel has this too.

Child In Time too.

[GNFfhqwhgads]

And One Vision (RB3 Version).

[Lowlander2]

Child In Time too.

How could I forget that one?

[Tedrox]

Tuesday's Gone has a guitar and keys solo at the same time too.