This Forum is Dying !

[Feigned]

As for Harmonix replying; you can't expect them to come here on a daily basis.

Actually, you can expect them to come here on a daily basis. I've been to HMX and met the people that deal solely with the community. They read a lot more than most people think.

Unfortunately, everything they say has to be carefully monitored and filtered because the slightest misinterpretation of the most harmless comment can lead to big trouble. People read too much into what employees (of any gaming company) say, so they have to post cautiously. Yes, it's sad that they aren't able to respond as much as we'd all like, but rest assured that they are listening.

[JetWolf]

I personally disagree with the premise that the forum is "dying". What I think happened is that before the game was released, only the hardcore anticipatory folks were around. Obviously there were a lot of ideas bandied about -- nobody knew yet exactly what to expect.

Once the game was released, the forum was flooded with new members. And as with any forum, more people means more noise than signal. The good stuff is there, and it's probably fairly close to the same levels as before. But now it's evolved (little need for creative speculation with the actual product in-hand) and you have to search a little harder to find it.

As to HMX's involvement, I can't say that I particularly agree there either. With the important stuff, I find they're extremely quick to respond. Rumours are cut off quickly, and clarifications are readily handed out. For myself, I find that their communication is so consistent and reliable that I take a lack of said communication to be equally telling. If HMX had something they could say on a matter -- whether positive or negative -- then I firmly believe they would. Until they come flat out and say "No." then I remain positive about a development.

Unfortunately, as was previously mentioned, they're a business. For better or worse (usually worse), that means absolutely anything they say has to be very carefully weighted and measured. Especially when it comes to aspects of the game. That's a shame, but it's also a truth.

Obviously your opinions are your opinions. I suspect that you weren't really looking for another point of view with this thread, but hopefully you've seen one despite that. And if not ... well, 'tis a big Internet, after all.

[No_Skill]

http://innerslacker.com/images/argue091204.jpg

[darknessmoon]

I don't think this forum is that bad. I actually like coming here. Although, it gets pretty annoying to see the same post over and over again, by different people. Some people really need to learn to search before posting

QFT. Last week was SO annoying with so many people posting about the supposed March DLC OVER, and OVER, and OVER again, despite there being a response from HMXJohnlok. I've posted that HMXJohnlok's response in ALL of those threads in hopes that people will STOP posting about it, yet so many people continue to do so and so many people consider the whole March DLC to be 100% fact...

Still, SOME good threads still pop out here and there, but they sometimes get lost amongst the hundreds of NEW threads with the same info/BS that's been discussed continuously already...

[Parodygm]

The http://rockband.scorehero.com forums are the place to be (if not for note charts alone). I come here occasionally after I've exhausted everything going on there.

Maybe I'll go check again, because the last time I was there it would have taken less than 2 minutes to exhaust everything that was going on.

EDIT: Pleasantly surprised. I'll browse around.

[SenRaq]

Who said these forums are dying? Where else can we read a spelling contest between Goldfoot and CrackerAxe?

[Apples]

The forums are not dying, they have simply changed tone. Pre-release there was a lot of healthy dialogue to discuss new features, request new songs, request features, and speculate on the unknown. There was a lot of intrigue and anticipation in the discussion.

Now that the game has been out for a while, there is nothing "new" to spark positive discussion. (Save the weekly DLC annoucements, which are by far the most popular thread-starter going)

That leaves a tired rotation of repeat questions ranging from Who's Next, broken guitars, or gripes about Band World Tour.

[almo]

...and the artificial fan limits for dificulty.

Dood, the fan limit makes sense. It's the same reason a level 50 Rogue gets nothing for killing a level 40 shaman. It proves nothing. Once you've reached a certain level, continuing to play the same settings shouldn't advance your score.

Harmonix REALLY know their game design.

[Thrashdragon]

This forum died on 11/20/2007. Healthy, mostly polite discussion gave way to constant whining about international release dates, "this song sucks", broken instrument issues, and the PS3 Les Paul incompatibility, to name a few of the constant, eye-searing, recurring threads. I used to check the forums several times a day, now it's maybe once a week and that's just to see what the new DLC is.

It's just too much trouble to sort the wheat from the chaff (the forums being horribly, horribly slow since the redesign doesn't help). Unfortunately, unlike most forums, this one is tied to a retail product, so they can't start arbitrarily banning morons or they'll risk alienating some of their userbase.

R.I.P. Rock Band Forums. I used to like it here.

[Smidget]

Now that the game has been out for a while, there is nothing "new" to spark positive discussion. (Save the weekly DLC annoucements, which are by far the most popular thread-starter going)

Yep. This is why we badly need Rock Blogs back and a developer podcast. I really enjoyed spending all the time I used to here but now find it hard to find a reason to post at all

My suggestions to bring back good discussion and even some members that may have long since left after the release:

Rock Blogs, developer podcast/vidcast, and contests*. Of course with dedicated threads for discussion of each.

There's actually quite a few good threads on page 1 of the Rock Band area right now, it would just be nice to have specific things to look forward to besides DLC, something that can only bring about so much discussion before it turns into "eh, its ok but I'd rather have 'this'" or "awesome! now how about some of 'this'"


contests: not in the tournament sense. Best 10 designed (not modded) guitars/drums, oddball things like the recent Mass Effect dance contest (see here), aaand thats all I can think of right now. But you get the picture.