Rock Band 3 Official Thread

[BD2003]

The more I play, the more problems I discover, and I'm far from alone there as evidenced by the RB forums.

Serious audio problems - static, crackling/popping during songs. And then the occasional loud screech.

Playability - freezing, just everywhere. Menus, load screens, cutscenes, during online play. The other night, not even 20 seconds into a song, my screen suddenly goes black and I'm booted back out to the PS3 XMB.

I can tolerate some minor bugs here and there, but this is seriously unacceptable. How could they not discover this during playtesting?

I guess its a PS3 thing? Not having any issues on 360.

 

[bolomite]

I guess its a PS3 thing? Not having any issues on 360.

I don't think so, plenty of 360 and Wii users are also reporting bugs:

http://www.rockband.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?20-Software-Support

 

[Aikouka]

Makes me kind of glad I didn't buy into the game yet. I wonder what caused all of these issues since I assume the core game didn't change much from RB2 with the exception of Pro mode and adding the keyboard. The keyboard would probably be the biggest change that affects all game modes.

I'll probably wait until the price drops so the bugs will also be squashed.

 

[Termie]

Ok, finally had a bug...when I created song lists, some songs would be repeated. That and I couldn't back out of some menus.

Other than that, the game is a blast. Just had 10 people over and we rocked for 4 hours.

So, as I see it, the bugs are no biggie. The game is still awesome and with keyboard and the new ability to change instruments and difficulty on the fly, it's so much more fun for parties than RB2. And RB2 was awesome, so that's saying a lot.

Verdict: Don't wait...buy it!

 

[Jeffg010]

I'm on xbox 360 no problems for me. I only played the new songs and mostly keyboard.

I'm getting better on keyboard in pro mode. I start out with learning an instrument for keyboard then move off to songs. I feel like I'm getting better but it is going to be long time until I can do pro mode on expert. Pro mode feels like the first time a started playing GH when it came out. It took me over a year until I could get into expert.

I love the goal section it is nice to have everything you want to work on right on one page. Like Darth Vader said "impressive" is what I think Rockband 3 is to me.

 

[Pheran]

The more I play, the more problems I discover, and I'm far from alone there as evidenced by the RB forums.

Serious audio problems - static, crackling/popping during songs. And then the occasional loud screech.

Playability - freezing, just everywhere. Menus, load screens, cutscenes, during online play. The other night, not even 20 seconds into a song, my screen suddenly goes black and I'm booted back out to the PS3 XMB.

I can tolerate some minor bugs here and there, but this is seriously unacceptable. How could they not discover this during playtesting?

You are having way more problems with me. So far I've only seen 1 lockup in the character creator and I've never heard any audio problems at all. I do have occasionally weird issues with the sorting/filtering not showing all songs, but mostly I've been playing with very few problems. But I'm on a 360 so maybe the PS3 is worse.

 

[bolomite]

Finally some solid info on the Fender Squier guitar:

http://www.fender.com/rockband3/exclusive/

MSRP $279.99, release date 3/1/11

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Finally some solid info on the Fender Squier guitar:

http://www.fender.com/rockband3/exclusive/

MSRP $279.99, release date 3/1/11

Also some interesting fine print from the information page on the Fender site:

The Squier by Fender Stratocaster Guitar and Controller can only be used in the guitar sections of Pro mode in Rock Band™ 3. It cannot be utilized in the Standard mode of Rock Band™ 3 or any previously released Rock Band™ software.

The Squier by Fender Stratocaster Guitar and Controller requires the use of the MadCatz® MIDI Pro adapter (sold separately), compatible with the Nintendo® Wii™, Microsoft® Xbox 360®, and the Sony PlayStation® 3*.

This puts a mild crimp in my guitar-challenged plans to wait for the Squier and skip the Mustang controller entirely.

 

[Pheran]

Finally some solid info on the Fender Squier guitar:

http://www.fender.com/rockband3/exclusive/

MSRP $279.99, release date 3/1/11

I just came in here to post this, but bolomite beat me to it.

Good timing for me, I should be getting a tax refund around then.

 

[Termie]

Also some interesting fine print from the information page on the Fender site:



This puts a mild crimp in my guitar-challenged plans to wait for the Squier and skip the Mustang controller entirely.

The biggest problem with this will be when you're playing a mix of songs from RB1/RB2/DLC and RB3 (which will probably be often). You'll constantly need to disconnect the Fender controller and reconnect the plastic guitar controller to play the regular songs. Kind of silly, but I guess this is really a specialty item, and its intended purpose is to play guitar, not to hit five colored buttons.

The price is absolutely fair. It's a bit more than a Squier Stratocaster, but a lot of electronics have to be packed in there to make it work.

And that Midi adapter, which costs $30, has all the controller functions, so it's not surprising that you need that. It would cost a lot more (and look very tacky) to have xbox controllers built into the body of a Strat. Plus you can use it to hook into a computer (which I would absolutely plan to do) to compose music. Here's a link: http://amzn.com/B00409SOD2

All around, I'm excited about this guitar...too bad we have to wait 4 months for it. If any of you are seriously considering dropping $150 on the Mustang, let me strongly suggest you wait for the real thing. As any guitarist can tell you (and I am one), a ~300 investment in a real guitar is going to be well worth your money. It will be far more realistic and satisfying, and obviously, if you really get into it, you'll have a real guitar you can show off your skills on.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

I think if you don't have a guitar then that is a good investment if you really want to learn to play.

If you do have a guitar, or 6 like me, it is kind of a waste but then you aren't really going to want to push buttons on the mustang either so I guess you buy it.

I can't wait until March to try pro guitar so I'll have to get both...

 

[Termie]

I think if you don't have a guitar then that is a good investment if you really want to learn to play.

If you do have a guitar, or 6 like me, it is kind of a waste but then you aren't really going to want to push buttons on the mustang either so I guess you buy it.

I can't wait until March to try pro guitar so I'll have to get both...

Yes, another guitar among a stable of guitars is kind of a waste, but no more of a waste than a 102-button plastic guitar among a stable of 5-button plastic guitars.

I certainly don't need another guitar (I have 3), but the experience of playing Rock Band Pro is almost certainly going to be different (and hopefully more fun) than printing out tablature from the internet and trying to learn a new song that way. Furthermore, I fully intend to take advantage of the MIDI capabilities of the Squier, something I've been thinking about for many years (I last shopped MIDI guitars back in 1991 (!) but begged off back then due to the cost...something like $400 or so...I think Yamaha made them back then).

 

[TheUnk]

Wow that is a long wait.... I wonder if there will be a Guitar Hero with a six string before then lol

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Finally some solid info on the Fender Squier guitar:

http://www.fender.com/rockband3/exclusive/

MSRP $279.99, release date 3/1/11

2 Q's.

1. how does the fender connect to a ps3? usb? bt?

2. in RB3 Pro mode, are there different levels of pro mode, say an easier "beginner" pro mode?

 

[abaez]

Pro mode for keyboards has difficulty selection, so I assume pro guitar and drums do too.

 

[Pheran]

2 Q's.

1. how does the fender connect to a ps3? usb? bt?

2. in RB3 Pro mode, are there different levels of pro mode, say an easier "beginner" pro mode?

1. The guitar is not console specific, it has a MIDI out which you must connect to the PS3 version of the MIDI adapter. Note that regular MIDI guitars won't work as the RB guitar has a bunch of custom MIDI messages to deal with finger positioning and such.

2. Yes, Pro mode has the usual 4 difficulty levels. On easy pro mode, there are no chords, for example. On expert pro you are playing the actual song.

 

[Pheran]

For anyone who hasn't jumped on board yet, there's a Rock Band 3 demo available for X360 and PS3. It includes 4 songs:

Spacehog – “In the Meantime”
White Stripes – “Hardest Button to Button”
Slipknot – “Before I Forget”
Foreigner – “Cold As Ice”

 

[snglwhtinfidel]

Hey, Pheran. Sorry to hear it accidentally made you buy my song, Inheritance, and even sorrier to hear that you didn't like it.

If you have a Paypal account, I'd be glad to Paypal you a buck as reimbursement for the 80 points you misspent. I probably won't check this forum out very often (only found this 'cause I was just googling "Single White Infidel" to see if people were saying anything), so if you're interested, you can send a message to Single White Infidel on facebook with your paypal account address and I'll send over a dollar as soon as I can.

Rock on,

SWI

 

[Jeffg010]

Hey, Pheran. Sorry to hear it accidentally made you buy my song, Inheritance, and even sorrier to hear that you didn't like it.

If you have a Paypal account, I'd be glad to Paypal you a buck as reimbursement for the 80 points you misspent. I probably won't check this forum out very often (only found this 'cause I was just googling "Single White Infidel" to see if people were saying anything), so if you're interested, you can send a message to Single White Infidel on facebook with your paypal account address and I'll send over a dollar as soon as I can.

Rock on,

SWI

 

[Pheran]

Hey, Pheran. Sorry to hear it accidentally made you buy my song, Inheritance, and even sorrier to hear that you didn't like it.

If you have a Paypal account, I'd be glad to Paypal you a buck as reimbursement for the 80 points you misspent. I probably won't check this forum out very often (only found this 'cause I was just googling "Single White Infidel" to see if people were saying anything), so if you're interested, you can send a message to Single White Infidel on facebook with your paypal account address and I'll send over a dollar as soon as I can.

Rock on,

SWI

Wow, an RBN artist actually posting here. While I appreciate your extremely generous offer, there's no need, it's only 80 MSP. Also, it's not so much that I dislike the song, punk just isn't a style that I would usually download. It's actually starting to grow on me a bit. Thank goodness it wasn't screaming death metal.

I appreciate you taking the effort to post here and offering to rectify a situation that is absolutely no fault of your own. If nothing else, I've gained a huge amount of respect for your band for being a class act.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Anyone else rethinking the pro guitar after the Harmonix news? I think I'm going to wait now and see how everything plays out. It isn't really supported well enough at this point for me to gamble on them continuing to release dlc.

 

[DougoMan]

Has anyone played this on a Wii yet?

Is it finally time to get an Xbox 360? Or PS3?

 

[Pheran]

Anyone else rethinking the pro guitar after the Harmonix news? I think I'm going to wait now and see how everything plays out. It isn't really supported well enough at this point for me to gamble on them continuing to release dlc.

Well, we already have an enforced wait of over 3 months to see if anything happens (for the Squier anyway). I'm not too concerned because worst case scenario, I still end up with a real working electric guitar and all the songs released to date. But it would certainly suck if HMX went away or DLC stopped.

 

[Termie]

Anyone else rethinking the pro guitar after the Harmonix news? I think I'm going to wait now and see how everything plays out. It isn't really supported well enough at this point for me to gamble on them continuing to release dlc.

Well, we already have an enforced wait of over 3 months to see if anything happens (for the Squier anyway). I'm not too concerned because worst case scenario, I still end up with a real working electric guitar and all the songs released to date. But it would certainly suck if HMX went away or DLC stopped.

I assume you guys are talking about Viacom's pending sale of Harmonix, correct? I wouldn't worry about it too much. Another company will likely swoop in and buy the company...possibly EA. While Harmonix doesn't have any big new games on the horizon, RB3 and Dance Central are huge hits and will continue selling for quite some time. And hence bringing in money for any company that buys Harmonix. Viacom bought Harmonix a few years back for $150mil...pretty good deal, I'd think, but maybe they have a lot of overhead with the music licensing and all the programmers needed to put together DLC.

 

[jdport]

I'm not sure what leads you to say that they will make money for whoever buys them... if they are losing money now, there must tremendous overhead associated with the production of these games... without some promising revenue generator on the horizon, I don't know how anybody can expect to make money off them right now.