Offline woes

[Edwardoo]

must agree,
I mean, I bought RB Blitz only for the songs but I tried the game too and I must say it´s super duper awesome and fun, it reminds me of Audiosurf on PC, but yeah it sucks with the offline mode,
I have internet on XBOX but not all the time, I only can have Internet on PC or XBOX so I can´t be online on XBOX all the time, and the offline really sucks, no powerups, no scores, no saves, damnnn, fix this Harmonix, PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE

[FredyGarbagis]

I've been bringing this up for weeks,since E3 when they did the Gamespot thing and didn't have powerups and I asked about it. Heck I sent to Kotaku even. Not that they bothered to post it or any reviewer out there actually did their job and mentioned this.

Though the no progress at all is new.

Dumb reviewers can only say nonsense like "the music genre is dead", in a year with titles like Rhythm Heaven Fever, Retro/Grade, Sound Shapes, Lumines Vita, Rhythm Hunter: Harmo Knight, Dyad, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Rhythm Thief, and of course RB Blitz.

Critics got no clue.

[Meat-Popsicle]

Even if it didn't "count" for anything, they could have at least given us the full game to play offline. It'd still be annoying, but it'd at least be fun.

I agree with this completely. It would still just be, essentially, practice mode for the "real" game (which can only be played when you are connected online). But at least it would be a practice mode that allows you to get used to using the powerups.

I suppose part of the hook of the game is to force you into playing long enough, and well enough, on enough different songs, before you earn the ability to unlock the powerups in the first place. But I don't see how it would ruin the balance of the game to also have them available in offline mode, where you can't use them to rack up a massive score any way. I would hope they would add that functionality, at some point, maybe after the game has already been out for a few weeks and they've already created hundreds of thousand of addicts, people who had to earn everything the hard way.

Or, yes, they could make it very clear that the game can't be played at full functionality in offline mode. It's awkward and less satisfying to play wihout RBW connected, but it's still the exact same game. Offline, it is not unfair to call it a stripped-down practice mode / demo [though it CAN still be played with all of your songs].

[HamKet]

I'd like HMX to chime in here. I am really interested to know why they deemed it acceptable for the game to be so stripped down offline, without informing the player.

Surely they couldn't have thought no one would play offline?

[Meat-Popsicle]

I'd like HMX to chime in here. I am really interested to know why they deemed it acceptable for the game to be so stripped down offline, without informing the player.

Surely they couldn't have thought no one would play offline?

I think they were very clear in these boards that they were doing it, and why they were doing it - well, maybe I'm just an apologist for Harmonix, but the explanation made a lot of sense to me. But it doesn't look like they mention this issue anywhere in the PSN store listing, which I find just a bit surprising.

[Skippy Deluxe]

I think they were very clear in these boards that they were doing it, and why they were doing it - well, maybe I'm just an apologist for Harmonix, but the explanation made a lot of sense to me. But it doesn't look like they mention this issue anywhere in the PSN store listing, which I find just a bit surprising.

It's a downloadable title, meaning that you at least need an internet connection to download it in the first place. As for requiring a continuous connection, I tried to start Blitz under a local profile (i.e. an offline account, not even Xbox Live Silver) and when it couldn't connect to Rock Central I got an explanation about how the game would be different when playing offline. Presumably anyone playing the demo would see the same thing.

[HamKet]

Meat-Popsicle: If HXM commented on it before release, that's good to know. I'm not on these forums often to see all of their posts. Might you have any links where they state or imply that online is needed?

Skippy Deluxe: I haven't played the game except for one or two songs this morning before work, so I don't know what happens offline when you go offline. If it does state that gameplay changes, that's great. (But not so great if you didn't 't know about it before you bought the game.)

I really do think there should be a disclaimer in the game's respective marketplaces clearly stating it needs a constant internet connection to get the full experience. This is the kind of information that informs a purchase. (There is no such statement in the Xbox description of the game:
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...5-d8025841122d )

[HamKet]

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showt...=1#post4815956

Thanks for that.

While I understand the reasoning that Pope mentions, it just doesn't seem like the kind of thing they should be counting on. Many people do not have a reliable internet connection or even broadband. Others go use the connection from work/school/their friends to download things, then take their consoles home and play offline.

[Kain]

I think the decision to neuter the Offline mode the way they did is only shooting themselves in face. Okay, so leader boards and social interaction is one of the major points they're pushing. That's great for people who are into that thing. But what about the people who just want to play the game without any of that nonsense?

A friend of mine doesn't have the internet. He's got a job that only really gives him enough money to support himself, his girlfriend, and his three children. He can buy a game every now and then, but the internet and even cable television is a luxury he can't really afford to pay on a monthly basis. Now, I'll pick him up at his house some 20-30 minutes away every month or two, take him and his PS3 back to my house so he can use my internet to download any game patches or buy something from the PSN store, and then it's back to his house where he doesn't get to go online. He was interested in Blitz, but now that he sees he can't even play it fully, he's not going to bother.

I mean, seriously. Those who want to use RB World will do it. I've got no problem using it. But keeping others out in the cold because they can't is just bad for everyone.

[FredyGarbagis]

I think the decision to neuter the Offline mode the way they did is only shooting themselves in face. Okay, so leader boards and social interaction is one of the major points they're pushing. That's great for people who are into that thing. But what about the people who just want to play the game without any of that nonsense?

A friend of mine doesn't have the internet. He's got a job that only really gives him enough money to support himself, his girlfriend, and his three children. He can buy a game every now and then, but the internet and even cable television is a luxury he can't really afford to pay on a monthly basis. Now, I'll pick him up at his house some 20-30 minutes away every month or two, take him and his PS3 back to my house so he can use my internet to download any game patches or buy something from the PSN store, and then it's back to his house where he doesn't get to go online. He was interested in Blitz, but now that he sees he can't even play it fully, he's not going to bother.

I mean, seriously. Those who want to use RB World will do it. I've got no problem using it. But keeping others out in the cold because they can't is just bad for everyone.

That's a pretty good example and I'm sure there are plenty of other stories similar to that from your friend, especially if you consider 360 and PS3 are getting cheaper by the day. Also, internet connection outside of the "first world" is rarely reliable.