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Rock Band Platform |OT|
- Thread starter BenjaminBirdie
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JonathanEx
Member
Dave likes to do something called "sitting on a seat" when playing guitar.XShagrath said:
I don't know why he comes here instead of Score Hero, the soul-less, heat magazine reading bastard.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Score Hero doesn't have charmers like you.
Another ION Rocker review/preview that didn't read as glowingly as others I have seen:
Functionality: 9
"One thing thats missing, however, is the ability to differentiate between single or double hits. You can drum roll no problem. Strike two different pads simultaneously and the kit as well as the game will react as it should, producing two distinct sounds. But if you hit the same pad with both sticks simultaneously, it sounds the same as if you hit it with just one. This could be a part of Rock Band 2s limitations. Without being able to test the Drum Rocker with a module, however, theres no way of knowing if this is a limitation of the kit itself."
Drum Pads: 9.5
"They have just the right amount of bounce its not on par with a real, non-electronic drum set but is certainly comparable to other electronic kits."
Cymbals: 8.5
"If you hit a drum pad hard enough, theres a good chance one of the cymbals will react slightly. When this happened, I assumed that it was because of (A) the proximity of the cymbal to the pad I was hitting, or (B) the base isnt sturdy enough to withstand the vibration of my hit, which (via vibration) makes it way to the cymbal and causes it to react.
When bringing this up to Ion Audio, the company insisted that my unit must be defective. But when banging on the Yamaha DXPL, the exact same thing happened. That kit sells for $700. In chatting with a Guitar Center employee, I learned that cymbal reactions like this are not uncommon for low-end kits."
Pedal: 8.2
"it seems that glue is used to attach the spring to the top part of the pedal. The bottom is securely screwed down, but there are no screws on the top just a greasy-looking brown substance. The Simmons pedal was designed the same way, and though this may be normal for electronic and/or acoustic kits, it seems a little cheap. After months or years of heavy use, the glue could break down. Screws are less likely to do so and, if necessary, could be replaced more easily."
Drum Kit Base: 6
Adjustability: 5
Setup and Instructions: 3
Clamp/Wing-Nut Reliability: Questionable
"Ion Audio touts the Drum Rocker for being adjustable and configurable. Thats likely why every image I see (from Game Informer magazine to the companys own Web site) is different. But that doesnt explain why the instructional setup is not optimal, nor does it convey that in order to make any significant adjustment, you have to loosen several screws, hold the arm or leg in place to prevent it from falling, and screw it back together. This is not a long process but its not a quick one either. Its tedious and uninviting I didnt appreciate having to do this every time I wanted to make an adjustment."
"After a few days of use, the clamp holding the Xbox 360 module (the device that connects the instruments to your console) broke off. This occurred while the wing-nut was being loosened (to make an adjustment, of course). Ion Audio assured me that this only happened because my unit was defective. But that wasnt the only clamp that broke. Two weeks later, one of my cymbals became unusable when its wing-nut fell apart (also while being loosened).
I want to believe that if I purchased a Drum Rocker of my own that the clamps would be more reliable. But honestly, none of the ones provided with this review unit not even the ones that stayed together looked very sturdy. One could argue that this is not uncommon for low-end drum kits, just like the cymbal reaction problem. After all, the Simmons kit had a very similar design (complete with cheap wing-nuts). But Im still skeptical and less satisfied than I would have liked considering the hefty price tag."
Verdict: 8.3
"I want to recommend the Drum Rocker. I want to own one myself. But the setup, adjustment and reliability issues are a bit troubling. Also, without being able to test the kit with a drum module in-store, Ion Audio is asking consumers to take a leap of faith and spend about $600 ($300 for the Drum Rocker and $300+ for a decent module) without knowing how it will perform as a standalone kit. If you want it solely for the best Rock Band performance possible, this is a must-buy peripheral. But unless you can accept its flaws, the Drum Rocker is not recommended as an all-in-one drum solution."
- http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/p36453.htm for the full review (I only copy and pasted selected quotes out of politeness for the site, go there to read the full thing)
Functionality: 9
"One thing thats missing, however, is the ability to differentiate between single or double hits. You can drum roll no problem. Strike two different pads simultaneously and the kit as well as the game will react as it should, producing two distinct sounds. But if you hit the same pad with both sticks simultaneously, it sounds the same as if you hit it with just one. This could be a part of Rock Band 2s limitations. Without being able to test the Drum Rocker with a module, however, theres no way of knowing if this is a limitation of the kit itself."
Drum Pads: 9.5
"They have just the right amount of bounce its not on par with a real, non-electronic drum set but is certainly comparable to other electronic kits."
Cymbals: 8.5
"If you hit a drum pad hard enough, theres a good chance one of the cymbals will react slightly. When this happened, I assumed that it was because of (A) the proximity of the cymbal to the pad I was hitting, or (B) the base isnt sturdy enough to withstand the vibration of my hit, which (via vibration) makes it way to the cymbal and causes it to react.
When bringing this up to Ion Audio, the company insisted that my unit must be defective. But when banging on the Yamaha DXPL, the exact same thing happened. That kit sells for $700. In chatting with a Guitar Center employee, I learned that cymbal reactions like this are not uncommon for low-end kits."
Pedal: 8.2
"it seems that glue is used to attach the spring to the top part of the pedal. The bottom is securely screwed down, but there are no screws on the top just a greasy-looking brown substance. The Simmons pedal was designed the same way, and though this may be normal for electronic and/or acoustic kits, it seems a little cheap. After months or years of heavy use, the glue could break down. Screws are less likely to do so and, if necessary, could be replaced more easily."
Drum Kit Base: 6
Adjustability: 5
Setup and Instructions: 3
Clamp/Wing-Nut Reliability: Questionable
"Ion Audio touts the Drum Rocker for being adjustable and configurable. Thats likely why every image I see (from Game Informer magazine to the companys own Web site) is different. But that doesnt explain why the instructional setup is not optimal, nor does it convey that in order to make any significant adjustment, you have to loosen several screws, hold the arm or leg in place to prevent it from falling, and screw it back together. This is not a long process but its not a quick one either. Its tedious and uninviting I didnt appreciate having to do this every time I wanted to make an adjustment."
"After a few days of use, the clamp holding the Xbox 360 module (the device that connects the instruments to your console) broke off. This occurred while the wing-nut was being loosened (to make an adjustment, of course). Ion Audio assured me that this only happened because my unit was defective. But that wasnt the only clamp that broke. Two weeks later, one of my cymbals became unusable when its wing-nut fell apart (also while being loosened).
I want to believe that if I purchased a Drum Rocker of my own that the clamps would be more reliable. But honestly, none of the ones provided with this review unit not even the ones that stayed together looked very sturdy. One could argue that this is not uncommon for low-end drum kits, just like the cymbal reaction problem. After all, the Simmons kit had a very similar design (complete with cheap wing-nuts). But Im still skeptical and less satisfied than I would have liked considering the hefty price tag."
Verdict: 8.3
"I want to recommend the Drum Rocker. I want to own one myself. But the setup, adjustment and reliability issues are a bit troubling. Also, without being able to test the kit with a drum module in-store, Ion Audio is asking consumers to take a leap of faith and spend about $600 ($300 for the Drum Rocker and $300+ for a decent module) without knowing how it will perform as a standalone kit. If you want it solely for the best Rock Band performance possible, this is a must-buy peripheral. But unless you can accept its flaws, the Drum Rocker is not recommended as an all-in-one drum solution."
- http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/p36453.htm for the full review (I only copy and pasted selected quotes out of politeness for the site, go there to read the full thing)
sublime085
Member
I had a fucking awesome Rock Band moment the other day.
I had about a dozen people were over, we were drinking and playing RB. I was on vocals and we were playing "Move Along", and at that part where all the instruments stop playing and there is that vocal solo, without any direction or pre-planning every single person in my apartment sang along. I had fucking chills. Seriously, no other game has ever given me a comparable sensation. Sure it could have happened with a better song, but I honestly felt like a fucking rock star.
'Twas magical.
I had about a dozen people were over, we were drinking and playing RB. I was on vocals and we were playing "Move Along", and at that part where all the instruments stop playing and there is that vocal solo, without any direction or pre-planning every single person in my apartment sang along. I had fucking chills. Seriously, no other game has ever given me a comparable sensation. Sure it could have happened with a better song, but I honestly felt like a fucking rock star.
'Twas magical.
BigBlackGamer
Member
Ten-Song said:
awesome games man. I dunno everytime me and ian get around each other we have the need to act like idiots.
I like Get Clean though.
XShagrath said:
Well, stars are the middle ground actually. It's a way of competing with myself, but not being amazingly anal about getting a slightly higher score or anything. Frankly it's also their own fault since they introduced this concept to us. It's not something that the fan community simply made up on their own. They just weren't thinking when they created the new game that it wouldn't have these features.
And to think I thought the PS2 port of GH3 was buggy and weird (like money and purchases from all bands being pooled meaning I always have ludicrous amounts of cash) with a really half-assed Quick Play (I have to choose difficulty first!?!? It tracks stars?! This is just an unlinked career mode you douche-nozzles!), but now I would appreciate getting it back a bit just to have the stars on there.
I won't know until I get there though, but it looks like the new quickplay is a huge improvement. Like Dave, though, I mainly played my DLC in career mode so I'd get stars and it would "count". This is going to be annoying. Almost as annoying as how in BWT it shows gold stars for single songs, but not for multi-song setlists even if you get gold on all of them.
PedroRVD said:
So which one are you, to use the parlance of our times, banging? Is it both? Is it simultaneously?
Ten-Song said:
Indeed. They have been consistently sucking hard since GH1. They have awful songs and a terrible name. They have no right to exist.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Rock Band to me is basically a game of "see how long a row of gold stars you can get on the DLC screen". When I can get the screen to display nothing but gold stars, I'm a happy bunny. There's only a few places I can do that though. There's always a bastard that messes it up.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Woffls said:
I'm all for any, really. I do like the main riff in Me And My Old Lady so much though, so it's kinda blinding me to it's other flaws.
Ixnay is the secret best Offspring album for sure. Smash ain't got shit on it. Well, apart from the tag-team of Come Out And Play and Self Esteem.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Xevren said:You're going to love rock band 2, glitchy leaderboards, no star tracking or anything. It's pretty awesome!
Love the game but I just hope the leaderboards get fixed.
I like leaderboards, but honestly they're so much hassle to get to that I usually don't bother. So that stuff isn't as much of an issue. Best thing about World Tour that I've seen is being able to press yellow after a song to see the leaderboard.
The lack of gold stars though...it's the one thing they could do to the interface that would upset me the most.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Archie said:
YES.
Every time you play single player, it should basically be Geo Wars 2.
sublime085
Member
If you're ever in the south loop of chicago on a monday night feel free to stop by!Belgand said:
sublime085
Member
I'm sure you love living in your shoebox for $2500 a monthBelgand said:I appreciate the invitation, but if I'm ever in Chicago I will know that I have failed.
All the cool cities are on the coasts.
Could be worse though. I could find myself in Atlanta for some reason *shudder*.
Chicago architecture > Every other American city.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Hey, I just played Feel The Pain on drums. This is the new power of Frets On Fire that I didn't know existed. The even more surprising thing is that unlike guitar, playing drums on it feels pretty close to Rock Band. In fact, I find I cope with rolls better, possibly because of a more relaxed timing window.
sublime085 said:I'm sure you love living in your shoebox for $2500 a month
Chicago architecture > Every other American city.
Nah, I share a converted basement on the edge of town with my girlfriend for only $1200 a month. We don't have either a dishwasher or even a double sink. Since it's an in-law we don't get to control the heat either (and in this city people will leave the heat on all year long). We do have a (crappy, paved) backyard and washer/dryer though. Average 1 bedroom rent here is still only around $1800, but it's going up.
When I was in/just out of college I was paying $600 for a two bedroom, 1.5 bath with in-unit laundry, dishwasher, included cable TV, pool, patio, and two parking spaces. We were paying more than anyone else we knew, but we had the nicest place.
I won't give you that Chicago has the best architecture, but I will say that if you don't like Victorian architecture you're sometimes screwed here because they want to preserve the fuck out of it even when it sucks. We also have a ton of absolutely terrible mid-century crap and no idea on how to properly use space so despite having very limited area (the entire city is on the end of a peninsula so we have nowhere to expand to) very little is built more than two or three stories high and what is is either commercial or much loathed downtown "luxury" towers that everyone hates.
ratcliffja
Member
birdman said:
I'm talking about 500 DLC songs, not 500 combined. I checked yesterday and I think there were close to 300 available already for DLC. There are probably 12 or 13 more weeks left this year. 500 is probably a bit of a stretch unless they release a full album every week along with extra songs, but 400 is not only possible but now seems pretty likely unless I overestimated the current number of DLC songs.
BigBlackGamer said:awesome games man. I dunno everytime me and ian get around each other we have the need to act like idiots.
I like Get Clean though.
It's less that the songs they make bother me, it's just that they always seem to make songs that annoy me AND are a pain in the ass to play. Can never get that intro part to Get Clean done right.
Also, I should really find out where the hell I put my Xbox Live headset.
ratcliffja said:
There's 266 DLC currently (counting Dr. Feelgood). Add the three remaining albums (10+10+12), the 20 bonus DLC, and assume 12 songs for the No Doubt pack, and we know of 64 more songs planned for this year- making the known quantity 330. I think 400 is a doable stretch, but a stretch nonetheless. Though Dr. Feelgood brings us to 405 songs total already- hitting 500 cumulative is nothing. We only don't know 63 of the remaining songs, and that's because we don't know for sure what the No Doubt pack contains.
As for the naysayers about the star issue I was just reminded about the classic quote from Napoleon that "A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon". Just like trophies/achievements (and people buying crap just to get more points) gold stars fill this same sort of void to prove yourself and collect trophies of your achievements. They can't be easily discounted and I feel that Harmonix have done so at their peril. Of course, I doubt anyone will fail to buy RB2 because of it, but in a war this tight you don't want to give any reason for someone to prefer the other side. I can easily see people choosing to, say, buy DLC for GH:WT if it was offered for both games just to get gold stars there.
TheGreatDave
Banned
GH doesn't have gold stars I can obtain though. It's just a no-win situation
fistfulofmetal
Banned
Uncontrollable Urge is the worst song in the game. Fuck that shit.
sublime085
Member
YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!fistfulofmetal said:
edit: that means I agree
TheGreatDave said:GH doesn't have gold stars I can obtain though. It's just a no-win situation
Honestly that's my big problem with the gold stars. They were originally for getting 100% and served as a reward for that. Now we have nothing if we get that. Instead they just stand in because getting 5 stars is now hopelessly trivial on almost every song. It's just star inflation and we shouldn't be putting up with it.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Belgand said:
I love the system them have in Rock Band though. Ideally I'd like it if they could do something to show you got 100%, like some sort of special icon on the stars, as well as making them gold when applicable.
TheGreatDave
Banned
Maybe, but you can sometimes get 100% without getting gold, which kinda messes it up.
sublime085
Member
Yeah, but that's a bonus track. They all suck. :lolXevren said:
The only good bonus track this time around is Conventional Lover. IMO, of course.
NinajHeartless
Member
sublime085 said:
You speak the truth
and I agree Uncontrollable Urge is fucking awful
TheGreatDave
Banned
Rob The Prez-O-Dent is amazing.
sublime085
Member
I officially have permanent image retention from Rock Band on my LCD.
I can see the stars in the upper right corner, and the left border of the solo note track.
Oh well, at least I can't notice it if I play more Rock Band!
edit: oh right, Rob the Prez-O-Dent is pretty awesome. Elephant Bones DLC please! I wanna sing about twinkies and condom wrappers.
I can see the stars in the upper right corner, and the left border of the solo note track.
Oh well, at least I can't notice it if I play more Rock Band!
edit: oh right, Rob the Prez-O-Dent is pretty awesome. Elephant Bones DLC please! I wanna sing about twinkies and condom wrappers.
fistfulofmetal
Banned
Nah, it's Get Clean. Definitely Get Clean.
NinajHeartless said:
Is it the charting you guys dislike or what? Because otherwise talking shit about Devo is just not fucking cool and will not be tolerated.
Xevren said:
It's because Anarchy Club are completely terrible in a horribly generic manner in every way possible. Even their name is both generic and awful. I would greatly enjoy firing a potato gun into their crotches at close range.
NinajHeartless
Member
That is like the one Devo song I've heard that I just don't care forBelgand said:
I dunno I just don't enjoy playing it *shrug*
GotchaForce
Member
Er, need some help with the website. I registered, and was going to try to show off my band but after linking live name or whatever nothing happened. When I go to the drop menu for pictures, it lists characters, band and bands and characters but once I choose one nothing happens.
when I checked my band it says I've not made one...
when I checked my band it says I've not made one...
TheGreatDave
Banned
Uncontrollable Urge is pretty horrible on all accounts.
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