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Rock Band 4 |OT| We're Putting The Rock Band Back Together

Lady Gaia

Member
Sadly keyboards with their bajillion keys can't play Rock Band because most keyboards only allow you to press 3 distinct keys at once. Even more only allow two. And strumming counts as one of your keypresses.

Modifier keys behave differently, though, so if they really wanted to go that route they could use Left Shift, Right Shift, Alt, and Control as four keys that can be reliably sensed in any combination along with another key or two. It might be possible to pull it off but I'm far from convinced it would be a satisfying experience.
 

bobohoro

Member
RBN and possible Mod-support?
Sounds nice.
I'm highly skeptical that the crowdfunding will reach anywhere close to the goal though, and after RB4, I will wait for Harmonix to finish their product before giving them my money.
 

FyreWulff

Member
wait what

how

RBN purchases are just like any other transaction on XBL/PSN.

So for example, they'd script/assign anyone who bought "Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Full Version" to be able to download "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" off the Xbox RB4 store for free.


edit: to clarify the steps that need to happen with this song, as an example, if RB4 PC gets funded:


1. Whomever charted Blue (Da Ba Dee) for RB3 RBN takes their song data files, and resubmits them to RBN on Steam, after tweaking the data and adding support for new features if they want.
2. Harmonix checks they still own the rights, and approves it for the RB4 PC.
3. Harmonix chooses to port Blue (Da Ba Dee) from RBNPC to the Xbox/PS store. (this has been confirmed that they will port certain RBNPC songs to RB4 console)
4. Harmonix assigns anyone who bought Blue (Da Ba Dee) to be able to download the RB4 version for free as long as they're on the same account.
 
RBN purchases are just like any other transaction on XBL/PSN.

So for example, they'd script/assign anyone who bought "Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Full Version" to be able to download "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" off the Xbox RB4 store for free.

Oh wait, sorry, I thought you meant that PC players would be able to download their old console RBN songs for free on Steam.
 

CS_Dan

Member
Shamelessly stolen from the RB forums:
5jtlnvr4ulzt.png


(Regarding RB2 and LEGO appearing for some on the SCEA store)

Looks like RB1 might drop soon!
 
Looked on Rock Band Store (In UK) on Xbox One. Can find nothing about Rock Band 1 export, which I paid for a while back. Is it available for UK Xbox One yet?
 

Mister Game

Project Director, Harmonix
They've confirmed that if an RBN author resubmits their song to RB4 PC, and then that gets ported to the consoles, and you owned the original console version of that RBN song on 360/PS3, you will be able to download the new version for free.

So that's pretty much the way any RBN song is going to come back.

Actually, this isn't quite right.

I think you might be referencing this comment from Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rockband/c...4_on_pc_gasp_crowdfunding_campaign_is/d0jjch8

Criss was commenting in general that we want to carry entitlements forward, but in this case it's more complicated since the Sony RBN songs are ONLY available on PS4, not Xbone (because the 360 RBN songs were automatically submitted by XNA, but the PS3 RBN ports were submitted by Harmonix, and therefore part of the regular DLC entitlement to PS4).

So in this case we can't commit to doing what you describe above. We MIGHT be able to, but we might also require songs that are re-submitted and then ported to the new consoles to be a unique version (e.g. "Song Name - RB4 Version") with a separate entitlement.
 

Kolma

Member
Actually, this isn't quite right.

I think you might be referencing this comment from Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rockband/c...4_on_pc_gasp_crowdfunding_campaign_is/d0jjch8

Criss was commenting in general that we want to carry entitlements forward, but in this case it's more complicated since the Sony RBN songs are ONLY available on PS4, not Xbone (because the 360 RBN songs were automatically submitted by XNA, but the PS3 RBN ports were submitted by Harmonix, and therefore part of the regular DLC entitlement to PS4).

So in this case we can't commit to doing what you describe above. We MIGHT be able to, but we might also require songs that are re-submitted and then ported to the new consoles to be a unique version (e.g. "Song Name - RB4 Version") with a separate entitlement.

Well holy crap Harmonix is here with us too!

Does this mean that it's possible all PS3 RBN songs will come to PS4 after exports, track packs, delisted, etc? (if so, damn you lucky lucky ps4 rockers)
 

Mister Game

Project Director, Harmonix
Well holy crap Harmonix is here with us too!

Does this mean that it's possible all PS3 RBN songs will come to PS4 after exports, track packs, delisted, etc? (if so, damn you lucky lucky ps4 rockers)

Maybe. It's one of a big list of things we can spend time and money on, but there are a bunch of other stuff that's higher priority.

The delisted ones will never come back; their licensing has expired and we can't renew.

If we do port PS3 RBN -> PS4 we would most likely do the same songs for Xbone, they were the ones that sold the best. Later, we might consider the whole RBN catalog but that seems really unlikely to me right now.
 

Kolma

Member
Maybe. It's one of a big list of things we can spend time and money on, but there are a bunch of other stuff that's higher priority.

The delisted ones will never come back; their licensing has expired and we can't renew.

If we do port PS3 RBN -> PS4 we would most likely do the same songs for Xbone, they were the ones that sold the best. Later, we might consider the whole RBN catalog but that seems really unlikely to me right now.

I meant delisted entitlements sorry.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Actually, this isn't quite right.

I think you might be referencing this comment from Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rockband/c...4_on_pc_gasp_crowdfunding_campaign_is/d0jjch8

Criss was commenting in general that we want to carry entitlements forward, but in this case it's more complicated since the Sony RBN songs are ONLY available on PS4, not Xbone (because the 360 RBN songs were automatically submitted by XNA, but the PS3 RBN ports were submitted by Harmonix, and therefore part of the regular DLC entitlement to PS4).

So in this case we can't commit to doing what you describe above. We MIGHT be able to, but we might also require songs that are re-submitted and then ported to the new consoles to be a unique version (e.g. "Song Name - RB4 Version") with a separate entitlement.

ah, okay. I'll add a link from my post to yours for the clarify.
 

Mister Game

Project Director, Harmonix
Delisted songs that we already bought when they were active on PS3 and 360. You guys have stated we are getting those back on RB4 but it's at the bottom of the list for song entitlements.

Ah, got it.

I'm not on the team that's working on DLC/entitlements, but I assume those are after most of the exports but before any RBN tracks.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Rock Band 4's update is live, patch notes

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rockband/comments/48ttyw/march_update_patch_notes/


Career Mode

Career Mode scores now post to Leaderboards
Downloadable content is now playable in all paths of the Career


Scoring Fixes

Removed drum exploit where you could get extra points by repeatedly hitting the note at the end of a drum fill
This comes along with a leaderboard wipe for drums, pro drums, and full band scores!


New Rock Shop Items

5 new hair options:
Ponied Up
Shag Doll
Liberty Spikes
Fanned Mohawk
Frizzy Stardust

5 new hat options:
Snow Business Beanie
Cold Soldier
Cold Comfort Hat
Viking Helmet
Sport-Related Head Protector

General Bug Fixes

Fixed issue with “Somebody Told Me” had missing notes when receiving Overdrive on the final unison phrase
Fixed issue where Player Stats display white square or yellow box instead of percentage symbol
Fixed issue with full streak Stage Presence only occurring once per show in Campaign, now making it possible to get the “Locked In” achievement / trophy
Dropping out and back in during a Freestyle Guitar Solo causes the Performance stats to give incorrect values
Fixed issue where Freestyle Guitar Solo toggle option was grayed out during solos
Fixed issue where achieving a streak and dropping out during an Freestyle Guitar Solo caused the streak meter to not increment during the solo
Fixed issue where Longest Streak was incorrect if player did not break streak before entering Freestyle Guitar Solos
Notes at the end of “Big Rock Endings” are now counted toward the Longest Streak stat
Fixed issue where the Options menu in the Overshell would darken when selecting Breakneck Speed
Fixed a camera cut where the guitarist would go through the camera
Fixed an animation issue where the vocalist would walk out past the front of the stage
Fixed issue where the audio for Dynamic Drum Fills was playing even when a Dynamic Fill was not present after the first successful Overdrive deploy
Fixed issue with the Activity Feed for folks who have more than 30 friends
Fixed issue where the same song could be suggested twice when selecting an Encore
Random band name generator can no longer create a duplicate name of a previously created band
Encore requests are now correctly factoring out non-applicable Stage Presence awards for Solo Harmonies or Vocal Freestyle for Easy/Medium Vocals
Fixed issue where “Band Hub” music was persisting after returning to the Main Menu
Encores now give bonuses in Career Mode

Personal account preferences will now save when Xbox One is powered down, including:

Freestyle Guitar Solo toggle state
Dynamic Drum Fill toggle state
Breakneck Speed preference
Awesomeness Detection preference

Band Multiplier will no longer briefly appear as 1x before disappearing
Fixed issue that causes stand-in character to appear in Career if you dropped in/out during a show
Fixed issue where players couldn’t back out of narrative Tour Choice screens
Score thresholds for star ratings now adjust when switching difficulty mid-song in Career Mode
Fixed incorrect audio effect prompt after quitting the song “I Will Follow” during the first show of the Career
 
Hmm, there's a very interesting reply to someone on reddit asking about ions working on the Xbone.

HMXJoshHarmonix Social & Community Lead • 27m

Don't give up hope yet! Nothing confirmed, but there's something interesting potentially brewing.
 
Now when will they change the scoring issue for stars if you change difficulty halfway through the song?

If you start a song on Hard, then even before the first note comes you switch it to Expert, it still puts the star threshold at the Hard level, and vice versa. So you could quickly five star an expert song since it is looking at needing a Hard score, but you can never gold star it that way since Hard doesn't have a gold star threshold.

The only fix is to change difficulty, then restart the song.
 

Mister Game

Project Director, Harmonix
Now when will they change the scoring issue for stars if you change difficulty halfway through the song?

If you start a song on Hard, then even before the first note comes you switch it to Expert, it still puts the star threshold at the Hard level, and vice versa. So you could quickly five star an expert song since it is looking at needing a Hard score, but you can never gold star it that way since Hard doesn't have a gold star threshold.

The only fix is to change difficulty, then restart the song.

Just so you know, we are aware of this issue, but since it doesn't allow you to exploit your way to get gold stars OR a leaderboard score that's invalid, it's a lower priority for us to fix.

We discussed this during development, and it turns out that the fix is actually quite complicated, because it has to handle edge cases for drop in and drop out as well. We looked into it and it turned into a horrible mess.

You might say "Yeah, but I can cheat to get 5 stars and make more money/fans in the campaign". And this is true, but you could also simply drop to easy and play the songs that way and get 5 stars every time, so although it might be letting you cheat a little bit, it's not something that you couldn't exploit in other, legitimate ways by just playing the game on a low difficulty.
 
How does the Rock Band 2 Export Pack Work?

I click on it, and it says i already have it purchased. Then in the store it says no content to be found?
 

FyreWulff

Member
How does the Rock Band 2 Export Pack Work?

I click on it, and it says i already have it purchased. Then in the store it says no content to be found?

What platform are you on?

If you're on Xbox, you have to get it via "Ready To Install", I believe.

On PSN, I think there's still issues with it being available, which should be fixed in the near future.
 
Just so you know, we are aware of this issue, but since it doesn't allow you to exploit your way to get gold stars OR a leaderboard score that's invalid, it's a lower priority for us to fix.

We discussed this during development, and it turns out that the fix is actually quite complicated, because it has to handle edge cases for drop in and drop out as well. We looked into it and it turned into a horrible mess.

You might say "Yeah, but I can cheat to get 5 stars and make more money/fans in the campaign". And this is true, but you could also simply drop to easy and play the songs that way and get 5 stars every time, so although it might be letting you cheat a little bit, it's not something that you couldn't exploit in other, legitimate ways by just playing the game on a low difficulty.
Cool. Thanks for the response. I see how it would be low priority in fixing as well, as it doesn't really exploit much. It is more of a minor annoyance that can be bypassed by beginning the song.

Thanks again for the response!
 

Rated-G

Member
Well according to the Rock Band Twitter, the LEGO/RB2 exports coming to SCEA this week was a miscommunication, and more info will be available next week, not necessarily the exports though.

Well... I guess I shouldn't have made plans so early in the week for a Rock Band party. Thought for sure we'd have them by this weekend.

I kind of wish they could have just held off on the release of all the exports until they were ready and sure they could launch simultaneously for all regions and platforms. And that they would just have held off on saying anything about them pending or coming until they were 100% certain, because seeing them launch in such a confusing way and having to wait while other don't, being told they'll be coming on some days and then watching them come and go... It's become a big of a drag...
 

FyreWulff

Member
I kind of wish they could have just held off on the release of all the exports until they were ready and sure they could launch simultaneously for all regions and platforms.

They said they used to do this back in the day but they're no longer going to hold back content anymore if one platform gets it ready ahead of time.
 

Rated-G

Member
They said they used to do this back in the day but they're no longer going to hold back content anymore if one platform gets it ready ahead of time.

Yeah, I know, it's just... When they said that I assumed it would be like, oh Xbox US is going to get this a day or two, maybe two weeks earlier than the last release, SCEE. Rather than like... some of these extreme cases like Xbox having Green Day since near launch, or the fact that European PS players have barely gotten anything yet and have even less of an idea of an ETA. The way all of this has worked has just been a little confusing, and I'd imagine frustrating on both ends.
 

XShagrath

Member
Yeah, I know, it's just... When they said that I assumed it would be like, oh Xbox US is going to get this a day or two, maybe two weeks earlier than the last release, SCEE. Rather than like... some of these extreme cases like Xbox having Green Day since near launch, or the fact that European PS players have barely gotten anything yet and have even less of an idea of an ETA. The way all of this has worked has just been a little confusing, and I'd imagine frustrating on both ends.

SCEE seems to be completely inept. I'm not over there (nor do I even own a PS4), but I read all the time about how Rocksmith and Rock Band DLC are delayed for seemingly no reason.

I guess it's just the European rhythm game curse. Harmonix has always had problems with Europe, whether it was their own fault (like in the past), or with SCEE (as is the case now).
 
Heads up for UK folks:
I was in the Derby PC World yesterday and they were selling Rock Band 4 - Band in a Box for £100 on PS4 & £80 on Xbox One.
 
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