360voice Community - Rock Band 2: Setlist, RB1 tracks, & 20 more songs!

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 300

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 211

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

3749 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:07:24 PM

I am actively updating this thread as new information becomes available. Updates will be at the top.
---------------------------------------------------------
Rock Band 2 E3 Press Release
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63005]Here is a link to the news![/url]

I'll just post the most awesome parts:

quote:
- Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay--the first time ever in videogame history!

quote:
- The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs - with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall.[/b]- Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and Emerging rock acts including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse and more.
- Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, "Let There Be Rock”
- After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track, “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy
- For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue”
- With ongoing weekly DLC releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end!

---------------------------------------------------------
Full Setlist
(seems the leaked list was real)
The full on-disc setlist is now listed by decade here, on the official Rock Band 2 site.

1. AC/DC Let There Be Rock 1970s
2. AFI Girl's Gone Grey 2000s
3. Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know 1990s
4. Alice in Chains Man in the Box 1990s
5. Allman Brothers Ramblin' Man 1970s
6. Avenged Sevenfold Almost Easy 2000s
7. Bad Company Shooting Star 1970s
8. Beastie Boys So Whatcha Want 1990s
9. Beck E-Pro 2000s
10. Bikini Kill Rebel Girl 1990s
11. Billy Idol White Wedding Pt. I 1980s
12. Blondie One Way or Another 1970s
13. Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue 1970s
14. Bon Jovi Livin' on a Prayer 1980s
15. Cheap Trick Hello There 1970s
16. Devo Uncontrollable Urge 1980s
17. Dinosaur Jr. Feel the Pain 1990s
18. Disturbed Down with the Sickness 2000s
19. Dream Theater Panic Attack 2000s
20. Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf 1980s
21. Elvis Costello Pump It Up 1970s
22. Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way 1970s
23. Foo Fighters Everlong 1990s
24. Guns N' Roses Shackler's Revenge 2000s
25. Interpol PDA 2000s
26. Jane's Addiction Mountain Song 1980s
27. Jethro Tull Aqualung 1970s
28. Jimmy Eat World The Middle 2000s
29. Joan Jett Bad Reputation 1980s
30. Journey Anyway You Want It 1970s
31. Judas Priest Painkiller 1990s
32. Kansas Carry On Wayward Son 1970s
33. L7 Pretend We're Dead 1990s
34. Lacuna Coil Our Truth 2000s
35. Linkin Park One Step Closer 2000s
36. Lit My Own Worst Enemy 1990s
37. Lush De-Luxe 1990s
38. Mastodon Colony of Birchmen 2000s
39. Megadeth Peace Sells 1980s
40. Metallica Battery 1980s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones Where'd You Go 1990s
42. Modest Mouse Float On 2000s
43. Motorhead Ace of Spades 1980s
44. Nirvana Drain You 1990s
45. Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky 1960s
46. Panic at the Disco Nine in the Afternoon 2000s
47. Paramore That's What You Get 2000s
48. Pearl Jam Alive 1990s
49. Presidents of the USA Lump 1990s
50. Rage Against the Machine Testify 1990s
51. Ratt Round & Round 1980s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers Give it Away 1990s
53. Rise Against Give it All 2000s
54. Rush The Trees 1970s
55. Silversun Pickups Lazy Eye 2000s
56. Smashing Pumpkins Today 1990s
57. Social Distortion I Was Wrong 1990s
58. Sonic Youth Teenage Riot 1980s
59. Soundgarden Spoonman 1990s
60. Squeeze Cool for Cats 1970s
61. Steely Dan Bodhitsattya 1970s
62. Steve Miller Band Rock'n Me 1970s
63. Survivor Eye of the Tiger 1980s
64. System of a Down Chop Suey 2000s
65. Talking Heads Psycho Killer 1970s
66. Tenacious D Master Exploder 2000s
67. Testament Souls of Black 1990s
68. The Donnas New Kid in School 2000s
69. The Go-Go's We Got the Beat 1980s
70. The Grateful Dead Alabama Getaway 1980s
71. The Guess Who American Woman 1970s
72. The Muffs Kids in America 1990s
73. The Offspring Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated) 1990s
74. The Replacements Alex Chilton 1980s
75. The Who Pinball Wizard 1960s
Bonus Tracks
76. Abnormality Visions 2000s
77. Anarchy Club Get Clean 2000s
78. Bang Camaro Night Lies 2000s
79. Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow 2000s
80. The Libyans Neighborhood 2000s
81. The Main Drag A Jagged Gorgeous Winter 2000s
82. Speck Conventional Lover 2000s
83. The Sterns Supreme Girl 2000s
84. That Handsome Devil Rob the Prez-O-Dent 2000s
---------------------------------------------------------
GameTrailersTV Gameplay Video
Here is the kind of short video of Rock Band 2

It features The Foo Fighters with Everlong and shows off some new effects, new clothes, and some cool new venues.
---------------------------------------------------------
Game Informer Preview
Info and scans at ScoreHero

Some more songs were confirmed, expansion ports for drums touched on, and more features revealed. I plan on editing the post later with some quotes.

Songs:
Almost Easy - Avenged Sevenfold
Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
I Was Wrong - Social Distortion
Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
Rock 'n Me - Steve Miller Band
Testify - Rage Against The Machine
White Wedding - Billy Idol

And in case you missed the first announced songs:
"Ace of Spades" -- Motörhead
"Everlong" -- Foo Fighters
"Pinball Wizard" -- The Who
"Panic Attack" -- Dream Theater
"Any Way You Want It" -- Journey
"Chop Suey" -- System of a Down
"Kids in America" -- The Muffs
"Give It Away" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Hello There" -- Cheap Trick
"Pump It Up" -- Elvis Costello

Features/Info:
All RB1's venues and dozens more
Expansion ports for cymbals that double as pad inputs
Jukebox mode lets you listen/watch your music without playing
No-fail mode
Limited ION drumset that doubles as real electronic kit
Limited edition REAL strats, stripped and stuffed with buttons

And for those of you who noticed, yes, these songs were all in the 85-song leaked list, so it's looking more and more like that is mostly true.
---------------------------------------------------------
Rock Band 2 Q&A Dev Blog with Dan Teasdale
Source

Once again, here are the most interesting parts:

quote:
Q: "Will there be any improvements on vocals? Will there still be talky parts, and, if so, will they be fixed or easier to hit than they were in RB1?" - Lady Sia..

A: Yes, on multiple fronts. We've improved the balance for pitched vocals, and completely rewritten the non-pitched talky detection. Rock Band 2 has drastically more reliable talky parts.

quote:
Q: "I was wondering if you could create a code or a option to shut off the vocal pitch meter? Singing the song and making it "your own" would be a great idea and make an interesting addition to the game!!" - jd506

A: I can't talk about specific features until E3, but I think you'll be very happy with one of the new features in RB2 :)

quote:
Oh, and one more thing for people having issues getting gold stars: The gold star score threshold is now easier to achieve in Rock Band 2. No more cursing at impossible deploy paths!

---------------------------------------------------------

The A/V Club Hands-On
Source

The A/V Club over at The Onion now has a hands-on with some new info. A lot is the same, so I'll just post some choice quotes and bold the exciting new info:

quote:
First off, the career mode. Rock Band 2 cuts the solo world tour, and it makes the concept of a "band" more flexible. Any number of people, online or off, can join a band: you can play by yourself with three steady non-player characters of your own design, you can start a band with remote players, and you can invite people just to sit in with you. Your characters don't have to stick to one instrument, giving you the flexibility to jump from guitar to drums. And if you're just playing in a pick-up band at a party, a "party-safe" mode keeps newcomers from accidentally hitting the wrong button and backing everybody out when you're trying to start the song.

quote:
In the band world tour, you'll still compete for cash and fans, but you'll have more variables to play with. You can hire staff – promoters, your mom – to support your band or find new gigs. A risk and reward system will complicate the business end: hire a sleezy accountant and you may clear more money from a successful gig, or you may get robbed if you underperform.

quote:
Harmonix is also looking into merchandising options. While they haven't confirmed details, they're exploring a way to let you buy real-life posters and t-shirts bearing the name and logo of your imaginary band. This struck me as a funny yet not-so-funny idea: it adds an intriguing dimension to the act of pretending you're in a rock band. In Rock Band, you can pick it up for fun and laugh at the plastic toy guitar – but the longer you play and the better you get, the more invested you can become in your characters and your band. As Teasdale put it, "It's like getting people to roleplay without even realizing it."

quote:
The Rock Band 2 guitar has several refinements. According to Matt Boch, Creative Designer of Hardware, "We iterated maybe 25, 30 different strum bars. What we ended up doing is giving [it] a nicer, more tactile, less mushy feel. There’s no click at present, but there’s a vastly reduced travel." It also comes with an automatic calibration system with a built-in mic and light sensor, which looks neat and which you'll use exactly once, unless you work at Harmonix and go batty every time you have to set up a demo on a new screen and sound system.

The real upsell is the drum kit. If you're a serious drummer, you can buy the improved kit with a metal-reinforced pedal, quieter, velocity-sensitive pads, and wireless support on all platforms. The kit also comes with new additions and peripherals, which will be revealed at E3. And about the drums. Clearly, the addition of a drum kit marked a new direction for the franchise: while the guitar loosely simulates and abridges the experience of playing guitar, the drum kit is a drum kit, and the game represents an actual set of training wheels for up-and-coming percussionists. Rock Band 2 takes this a step further with the addition of an actual drum training program. I watched Teasdale demo this, and it resembles the game's practice mode, but with a large library of basic beats and fills: "Simple 8th Note Hats," "Robot Rock," "P-P-P-Panama!", "Upbeat Hats 1," and so forth, all playable on three kits – electronic, vintage, and "trashy." There's also a freeplay mode, where you can play drums over mp3's that you've ripped to your console.

quote:
But while Harmonix has skipped user-generated content for the forseeable future, two of the team members dropped hints about a different initiative: a path to bring more indie bands onto the Rock Band platform. As Greg LoPiccolo, VP of Product Development, explained, "We have a very ambitious indie initiative that’s cooking now. It’s not really ready for any detailed announcement. But long-term, we see that as a significant component of the Rock Band universe, that gets used actively by the independent music community to debut new material. We think that it’s an ideal way for people to explore new music."

---------------------------------------------------------
[b]Gamepot Hands-On
Gamespot's Rock Band 2 Hans-On

Here are the hilights:

Rock Band on-disc songs available (not sure if it says how)
Velocity-sensitive drums
Characters can play multiple instruments
Quickplay setlist creation
Online Band World Tour
Battle Of The Bands
Challenges

Songs:
"Ace of Spades" -- Motörhead
"Everlong" -- Foo Fighters
"Pinball Wizard" -- The Who
"Panic Attack" -- Dream Theater
"Any Way You Want It" -- Journey
"Chop Suey" -- System of a Down
"Kids in America" -- The Muffs
"Give It Away" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Hello There" -- Cheap Trick
"Pump It Up" -- Elvis Costello

Prizerebel: FREE MS points & games for filling out forms (use an email address for spam)
I have earned over $235 in Gift Cards, Microsoft Points, and LIVE from here!
SwagBucks is the EASIEST freebie site around. Just use their search engine!
I have received $390 in Amazon.com credit already!

Tribes: Ascend - An awesome free-to-play FPS for PC...with jetpacks!

Edited by - Bill Mcdougal on Jul 14 2008 7:02:55 PM

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:23:26 PM

wesayyoinksobillcanread:

The folks at Harmonix are busy. When they aren't working away to create weekly downloadable content in support of last year's Rock Band, they've been coming up with new ways to keep you rocking on your home console. Prime among those projects is the upcoming Rock Band 2, the follow-up to one of the more memorable music games of recent years. At EA's recent pre-E3 event in Los Angeles, Harmonix showed off the follow-up to this incredibly popular game and gave some hints as to what to expect from the highly anticipated sequel.

From Motörhead to Elvis Costello--the song list in Rock Band 2 will be just as varied as in the original game.

For a while there, it seemed that online world-tour play might arrive as a patch for the original Rock Band; as it turns out, that feature will be one of the biggest features in the sequel, letting you join up with bandmates all over the world to fulfill your dreams of rock stardom. Online play sounds like great fun, and the folks at Harmonix have also made the smart decision to do away with band leaders in Rock Band 2. As a result, you can change your lineup at any time without having to break up the band as a result. Better yet, any character will be able to play any instrument as you go. Combine that with new gigs, challenges (more on those in a bit), as well as new cities and venues to play in, along with the ability to hire staff, and there will be a lot to do in Rock Band 2's World Tour mode.

Still, according to Harmonix, online World Tour wasn't the number-one feature requested by Rock Band fans. That distinction goes to "backward compatibility"--ensuring that all of the hundreds of songs that were found in the original Rock Band and available as DLC since its release will work seamlessly once the sequel rolls in. In that sense it's mission accomplished, because the game will feature full support for all of the original Rock Band songs, all of the downloadable content, and, naturally, the more than 80 songs that will be packed in with the disc version of Rock Band 2.

We know only a handful of the songs that have been announced so far in the sequel, but it's turning out to be as varied a list as in the first game. Here are the officially released songs:

"Ace of Spades" -- Motörhead
"Everlong" -- Foo Fighters
"Pinball Wizard" -- The Who
"Panic Attack" -- Dream Theater
"Any Way You Want It" -- Journey
"Chop Suey" -- System of a Down
"Kids in America" -- The Muffs
"Give It Away" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Hello There" -- Cheap Trick
"Pump It Up" -- Elvis Costello

This is just 10 of the 80+ tunes that will make up the entire song list in Rock Band 2, one that, if the previous game (and its subsequent downloadable content) is any indication, will run the gamut across rock's decades and various subgenres. With hundreds of songs available to you from the get-go, the ability to create setlists for quick-play sessions is a crucial addition in Rock Band 2. In the last game, you could pick songs only one at a time; with the sequel, you'll be able to create setlists exactly how you see fit. It's perfect for the Rock Band fan who insists that every third song be a Rush tune, or that repeating Freezepop's "Sprode" 13 times in succession isn't just a good idea, it's a great idea.

When you aren't rocking out with your all-night custom quick-play sets in Rock Band 2, you'll be spending your time with the new game modes, including Tour Challenges and Battle of the Bands. The Tour Challenge will replace the Solo Tour from the original Rock Band and follow a nonlinear path, in which you unlock new challenge groupings as you go. Tour Challenge will be playable either solo or with up to three other bandmates, with any mix of local and online players.

Hook up with your bandmates across the world in online world tour, or take part in challenges throughout the game. How you play Rock Band 2 is up to you.

The challenges themselves will be built around a variety of play styles, and beating one challenge will unlock additional challenge paths for you to take. Instead of being a linear list of songs, the challenges are structured more as a progression web in which you can choose which path to take through the game. For instance, the bass path will let you focus on all of the best songs for the bass, while still giving you access to play the other songs found in Rock Band 2 as side challenges. In addition, Tour Challenge mode will also integrate DLC automatically when building challenges. You can also expect to play album-specific challenges, which should only grow as the list of full-length albums available as DLC continues to expand.

The other big challenge mode is Battle of the Bands, which will also be available for one to four players, in any mix of local and online play. Unlike the progression system of Tour Challenge, Battle of the Bands is a straight-up tournament that pits your band against groups from all over the world. Harmonix will be creating new daily battles for bands to take part in; some will even have unique entry requirements, or gameplay modifiers. When playing Battle of the Bands challenges, you'll see an onscreen score, along with a score that you need to beat (such as someone on your friends list who has also competed in this challenge).

In the ever-escalating hardware wars between Rock Band 2 and its competitors, the next instrument salvo from the Harmonix crew will introduce some cool features. On the guitar front, the Fender Stratocaster body designs are still intact, but the (nonfunctioning) model on hand at EA's pre-E3 event showed off a sunburst paint job that looked really sharp. Even better than the color scheme are some of the new guitar features: wireless out of the box, a sturdier strum bar, and an autocalibration system that will let you automatically synch your guitar to your television to minimize lag, without having to go through the tedious setup process of the original game (though you'll still be able to manually calibrate your setup if you like). Although it won't have any additional pads, the Rock Band 2 drum set will feature velocity-sensitive pads that will play "louder" in the game the harder you hit them. The pads themselves will be more muffled to cut down on the noisy clatter as you wail away, and will feature a better bounce, making them ostensibly easier to play.

We didn't get a chance to play the new instruments in a game setting or try out the new game modes at the pre-E3 event, but we did get a chance to try a few of the new songs. Journey's "Any Way You Want It" seemed to be a particularly popular choice of the people on-hand, and bodes well for future Rock Band 2 parties. With new challenge modes, online Band World Tour, complete DLC compatibility, new accessories and looks for your created rockers, a new drum trainer that will take you through the basic beats and fills every drummer should know, and new instruments on the way, Rock Band 2 appears to be in great shape to continue the momentum that began with last year's original. Expect to see much more of Rock Band 2 in the coming months, including coverage of the game during GameSpot's E3 coverage next week.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 165

Current Streak: 1

Longest Streak: 175

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

USA
4711 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:24:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Gamestop

it seemed that online world-tour play might arrive as a patch for the original Rock Band; as it turns out, that feature will be one of the biggest features in the sequel, letting you join up with bandmates all over the world to fulfill your dreams of rock stardom. Online play sounds like great fun, and the folks at Harmonix have also made the smart decision to do away with band leaders in Rock Band 2. As a result, you can change your lineup at any time without having to break up the band as a result. Better yet, any character will be able to play any instrument as you go. Combine that with new gigs, challenges (more on those in a bit), as well as new cities and venues to play in, along with the ability to hire staff, and there will be a lot to do in Rock Band 2's World Tour mode.

Still, according to Harmonix, online World Tour wasn't the number-one feature requested by Rock Band fans. That distinction goes to "backward compatibility"--ensuring that all of the hundreds of songs that were found in the original Rock Band and available as DLC since its release will work seamlessly once the sequel rolls in. In that sense it's mission accomplished, because the game will feature full support for all of the original Rock Band songs, all of the downloadable content, and, naturally, the more than 80 songs that will be packed in with the disc version of Rock Band 2.

the ability to create setlists for quick-play sessions is a crucial addition in Rock Band 2. In the last game, you could pick songs only one at a time; with the sequel, you'll be able to create setlists exactly how you see fit. It's perfect for the Rock Band fan who insists that every third song be a Rush tune, or that repeating Freezepop's "Sprode" 13 times in succession isn't just a good idea, it's a great idea.

Instead of being a linear list of songs, the challenges are structured more as a progression web in which you can choose which path to take through the game. For instance, the bass path will let you focus on all of the best songs for the bass, while still giving you access to play the other songs found in Rock Band 2 as side challenges. In addition, Tour Challenge mode will also integrate DLC automatically when building challenges. You can also expect to play album-specific challenges, which should only grow as the list of full-length albums available as DLC continues to expand.

This is the stuff that I found to be the most interesting. They only had two screenshots which didn't show much. No new pics of instruments or anything.

The guitar will have an autocaliberation system so you don't have to do it manually (even though you still can).

EDIT: Cormyre beat me to it.

Edited by - zZ Dr K Zz on Jul 08 2008 1:25:18 PM

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:28:12 PM

only because I'm lazy and didn't feel like picking out pieces =P

But !!! Frick so they have NO plans on patching world tour to make it online for RB1?! F*** THEM! That just gets my goat right there... to have so many achievements on there that are now officially unobtainable for players like me that have no-one local.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 165

Current Streak: 1

Longest Streak: 175

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

USA
4711 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:30:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Cormyre

only because I'm lazy and didn't feel like picking out pieces =P

But !!! Frick so they have NO plans on patching world tour to make it online for RB1?! F*** THEM! That just gets my goat right there... to have so many achievements on there that are now officially unobtainable for players like me that have no-one local.

Yeah, that's what sucks about it.

Anyway, I'll post up something that you didn't post. The two pictures(At least I think they are from RB2, can't really tell):

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 1:33:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by zZ Dr K Zz

quote:
Originally posted by Cormyre

only because I'm lazy and didn't feel like picking out pieces =P

But !!! Frick so they have NO plans on patching world tour to make it online for RB1?! F*** THEM! That just gets my goat right there... to have so many achievements on there that are now officially unobtainable for players like me that have no-one local.

Yeah, that's what sucks about it.

Anyway, I'll post up something that you didn't post. The two pictures(At least I think they are from RB2, can't really tell):

Thats 21 ach's for about 320 pts that will remain locked until I order my co-worker to get expert good on drums I suppose...

CoolBleeze

49,023

Zone: Recreation

Total games played:

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 34

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

USA
3498 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 2:22:41 PM

I'm just as pissed as you are. No one in my family is good enough to do the BWT with me. The fact that you can't beat it with one member on Easy is ridiculous.

Zone: None

Total games played:

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 0

Comments Made: 1,337

Starting Gamer

0 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 2:29:34 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Cormyre

But !!! Frick so they have NO plans on patching world tour to make it online for RB1?! F*** THEM! That just gets my goat right there... to have so many achievements on there that are now officially unobtainable for players like me that have no-one local.

Maybe, but think about it this way... if ALL the RB1 songs (DLC or otherwise) are available for RB2... and RB2 has world tour... what does it matter?

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 2:43:29 PM

because it won't unlock the achievements nor be the same world tour as on RB1?

Zone: None

Total games played:

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 0

Comments Made: 1,337

Starting Gamer

0 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 3:04:53 PM

bah... RB1 had lousy achievements anyway.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 3:17:48 PM

but thats still a game only 30% complete when I can at least have 60 if they'd get off their duffs!

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 165

Current Streak: 1

Longest Streak: 175

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

USA
4711 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 3:32:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Cormyre

but thats still a game only 30% complete when I can at least have 60 if they'd get off their duffs!

True very true.

I never really try to go for the achievements in music games so it doesn't bother me as much.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 300

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 211

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

3749 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 4:26:21 PM

It's not going to happen. That's a pretty big improvement for a patch. I never thought it would realisticly happen, and now that Rock Band 2 is announced, I think that pretty much confirms it.

I'm interested to see how the World Tour will even work online. Do you have to play with the same members every time? How does the save system work if you can jump in and out of different band's tours?

Also, the new non-linear solo tour sounds interesting, but I'm afraid I might miss the classic career. I hope they're smart enough to know that they can't leave us without a straight-up list of songs that shows all of our gold stars and scores and what not. The leaked screenshot from G4 that showed 9 songs (all announced officially today in addition to Elvis Costello, which was in the other leak) showed a list that, while looking similar to the current music-store with sorting options, appeared to be an improved Quickplay mode. The cool part was what is obviously a score next to "Give It Away," indicating that the Quickplay mode may take the old career's place in that respect. Hopefully they throw the star ratings on there too.

As far as the drums, I don't see why we need them to be wireless or velocity sensitive. Just because Neversoft does it doesn't mean you have to. I don't know about you, but I don't run around the living room with my drums or play 20 feet away from the TV. It is nice that you don't have to worry about tripping over cables, but I'd rather not have to worry about batteries. Also, I don't want to hear the drums be quieter or louder based on how I hit them when I'm playing master versions of popular songs. I want to hear the actual drum sounds the way they were meant to be enjoyed. Hopefully there will be an option to disable that. Otherwise, the only way to hear the unaltered drum track would be to play with an original drumset.

With all that said, I'm VERY excited about Rock Band 2.

Edit:
There are also some unanswered questions that I hope get touched on at or before E3. I'm really interested to know whether our current characters, bands, and art will transfer to Rock Band 2. Oh, and this preview didn't even mention the mode for guitarists that also sing or the feature that is supposed to help you transition from Rock Band to real instruments that was mentioned in the press release.

Edited by - Bill Mcdougal on Jul 08 2008 4:49:32 PM

Zone: None

Total games played:

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 0

Comments Made: 1,337

Starting Gamer

0 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 4:34:51 PM

quote:
It's not going to happen. That's a pretty big improvement for a patch. I never thought it would realisticly happen, and now that Rock Band 2 is announced, I think that pretty much confirms it.

How do you figure? I mean... granted I know next to nothing about coding... but why would it be that much different than just standard online play? just add an altered track menu, a different point system... and... tada?

Again, maybe I'm totally talking out of my keister... but I can't imagine it being any more difficult than... say... adding a music store via online patch.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 300

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 211

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

3749 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 4:48:09 PM

Perhaps true (also know next to nothing about coding), but the music store probably took more manpower to create than one would think. But I think the biggest issue was that they've been working hard on Rock Band 2, so why spend extra man-hours to upgrade the old game a couple months before the new one? Also, only Band World Tour may be a often requested feature, but the in-game music store probably sells more music to casual players than when you had to fumble through the whole XBL Marketplace.

Zone: None

Total games played:

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 0

Comments Made: 1,337

Starting Gamer

0 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 4:51:23 PM

quote:
so why spend extra man-hours to upgrade the old game a couple months before the new one?

So people like Cormyre don't start to hyperventilate over achievement points and go into cardiac arrest :D

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 7:18:03 PM

or get the pitchforks and torches out and have a one man mob... which would be fitting as they're sticking me as a one man band....

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 165

Current Streak: 1

Longest Streak: 175

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

USA
4711 Posts

Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 9:23:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Bill Mcdougal

Also, I don't want to hear the drums be quieter or louder based on how I hit them when I'm playing master versions of popular songs. I want to hear the actual drum sounds the way they were meant to be enjoyed. Hopefully there will be an option to disable that. Otherwise, the only way to hear the unaltered drum track would be to play with an original drumset.

I agree with you about that, but they may be doing it for competition with GH: World Tour's drumset. Their drumset will act the same way.

The only difference between the two is (quoted and according to EGM) "that you'll be able to execute drum fills anywhere in a song, not just in predefined areas (you currently activate them by hitting both cymbols at once)." I think its cool that you can activate it by hitting them at the same time.

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 300

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 211

Comments Made: 1,337

Advanced Gamer

3749 Posts

Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 06:36:56 AM

Ok, so I just updated the main post with new articles and information. Excited?

quote:
We've improved the balance for pitched vocals, and completely rewritten the non-pitched talky detection. Rock Band 2 has drastically more reliable talky parts.

Awesome for singers. That was a huge problem.

quote:
Oh, and one more thing for people having issues getting gold stars: The gold star score threshold is now easier to achieve in Rock Band 2. No more cursing at impossible deploy paths!

I'm not sure about this one. A few songs were impossible to gold star on specific instruments, so obviously they had to fix that problem. Hopefully they other songs don't become way to easy because of it, and hopefully they only make it easier for solo players, as I don't think gold stars were hard in multiplayer at all.

quote:
The real upsell is the drum kit. If you're a serious drummer, you can buy the improved kit with a metal-reinforced pedal, quieter, velocity-sensitive pads, and wireless support on all platforms. The kit also comes with new additions and peripherals, which will be revealed at E3.

New additions and peripherals, huh? Could cymbols be in Rock Band 2 after all?

Edited by - Bill Mcdougal on Jul 10 2008 06:37:54 AM

Zone: Recreation

Total games played: 397

Current Streak: 0

Longest Streak: 349

Comments Made: 1,337

Moderator

USA
7766 Posts

Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 06:37:16 AM

Odd... for the most part I thought gold staring songs was ridiculously easy in the first place...