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Piano/Keyboard In Rock Band 3

A

Archie

Second-rate Anihawk
Things are going to look cramped on small TVs with four scrolling fretboards and a vocal overlay. I hope HMX has figured something out to deal with that concern.
 
D

DMeisterJ

Banned
Seems like Harmonix does not understand how to make a successful sequel.

You do not just keep adding to the game, you refine it by cutting away all the uselessness and gimmicks.

More is not always better

:sadface:
 
V

vermadas

Member
I approve of this news, but how are they going to fit all of this shit on the screen at once? There's also the controller limit to contend with, assuming they allow the 5 different instruments playable at the same time.
 
S

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
Minsc said:
The Keyboard will be one of the most useful instruments, perhaps even more than the drums, in the sense that game skills will translate to real life skills.
Click to expand...
You really think it's going to be a full keyboard layout? How exactly would the game's "Note Alley" work in that scenario? 88 lines of gems scrolling towards you?
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
I'm gonna have to wait until I see a tracklist and an interface before I'm toally pumped. And maybe a price too. But I know Harmonix can make a pretty kick-ass game out of that.
 
H

HooDoo

Member
Useless if we don't have any Rammstein track.

Might pick this up for dirt cheap if we have more Muse songs though. :]
 
B

BattleMonkey

Member
DMeisterJ said:
Seems like Harmonix does not understand how to make a successful sequel.

You do not just keep adding to the game, you refine it by cutting away all the uselessness and gimmicks.

More is not always better

:sadface:
Click to expand...

Except Rock Band does not have useless gimmicks to cut.
 
H

Hypereides

Member
Vinterbird said:
They need to bring the fucking keytar

2092238-nephew.jpg


This or bust HMX
Click to expand...

Omg Nephew. I fucking love you dude.
 
C

Chû Totoro

Member
So they're doing Pop'n'Music ?

Ok I'm full of crap... Keys could be nice. But I don't have any room left for this in my house :(

And I don't want a 5 keys thingy... (88 neither...) 8 would be nice.
 
T

The_Inquisitor

Member
Is it just me, or do I not really give a fuck about the on screen characters? I think they spend too much time on that. I'd prefer that dev time to be spent on other parts of the game.
 
A

Archie

Second-rate Anihawk
DMeisterJ said:
The use of bands as the focus of the game's songs seems kinda like it doesn't really need to be done, IMO
Click to expand...
I would consider all the shit Neversoft does to be gimmicks (boss battles, pointless celebrity cameos, Mario Kart mode, pig transofmrations, etc)

The_Inquisitor said:
Is it just me, or do I not really give a fuck about the on screen characters? I think they spend too much time on that. I'd prefer that dev time to be spent on other parts of the game.
Click to expand...
The background presentation is a large reason why the genre became so popular in the first place. It is more exciting to think your avatar is shredding a Steve Vai song instead of staring at a blank background for 4 minutes.
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
DMeisterJ said:
The use of bands as the focus of the game's songs seems kinda like it doesn't really need to be done, IMO
Click to expand...
There's a little problem with that. And that problem is that most songs are performed by bands. I don't see how that's a gimmick.

The_Inquisitor said:
Is it just me, or do I not really give a fuck about the on screen characters? I think they spend too much time on that. I'd prefer that dev time to be spent on other parts of the game.
Click to expand...
I like seeing my own dude performing the song I'm playing. And seeing how there's nothing much that can be improved, I would like them to make the visualization of my dude rocking out even more awesome.
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
Shig said:
You really think it's going to be a full keyboard layout? How exactly would the game's "Note Alley" work in that scenario? 88 lines of gems scrolling towards you?
Click to expand...

Maybe you'll get actual music lines & notes scrolling.. damn you, ruining all my fun, this thing would suck if it's a keyboard with 4 keys.
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
LakeEarth said:
Wow, 3 singers! Now you can have three people do the thing in the game no one in the group ever wants to do.
Click to expand...
You'll find that having multiple vocalists helps spreading the shame, and as such encourages people to jump to the mic.
 
R

red shoe paul

Banned
Oh what a surprise, it's been done before years and years ago just like the drums and guitar:

Keyboardmania%202nd%20Mix.jpg


And better.

I mean. No, Keyboardmania is a RockBand ripoff.
 
D

DMeisterJ

Banned
ElNarez said:
There's a little problem with that. And that problem is that most songs are performed by bands. I don't see how that's a gimmick.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood my post.

I was talking about having one band be the focus of the game release seems kinda useless especially given the fact that RB has put up full albums from bands before. They could just put up some Green Day albums to achieve the same idea, no?
 
B

Brainboy

Member
Hm. In theory I'm all for this idea. I assume they will sell a bundle with the keyboard and game, which, if priced appropriately, could be pretty interesting to me.
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
DMeisterJ said:
I think you misunderstood my post.

I was talking about having one band be the focus of the game release seems kinda useless especially given the fact that RB has put up full albums from bands before. They could just put up some Green Day albums to achieve the same idea, no?
Click to expand...
Ooooh. You're talking about single band games like GD:RB. Which is absolutely not Rock Band 3. I still fail to see your point. How would RB3 be better by not focusing on a single band when it already does not focus on a single band ?
 
T

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
red shoe paul said:
Oh what a surprise, it's been done before years and years ago just like the drums and guitar:

Keyboardmania%202nd%20Mix.jpg


And better.

I mean. No, Keyboardmania is a RockBand ripoff.
Click to expand...
Oh jeez, not this shit again!

Does Keyboardmania have any Elton John songs? No? GET THAT WHINING OUT OF HERE!
 
C

chogidogs

Member
please make this work with my midi keyboard please make this work with my midi keyboard please make this work with my midi keyboard please make this work with my midi keyboard
 
N

Noisepurge

Member
vermadas said:
I approve of this news, but how are they going to fit all of this shit on the screen at once? There's also the controller limit to contend with, assuming they allow the 5 different instruments playable at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yeah the space is starting to be a problem.

Does the Xbox and Wii allow for more than 4 controllers? This would not be a problem with the PS3 but i bet they won't make different versions.
 
R

robochimp

Member
red shoe paul said:
Oh what a surprise, it's been done before years and years ago just like the drums and guitar:

Keyboardmania%202nd%20Mix.jpg


And better.

I mean. No, Keyboardmania is a RockBand ripoff.
Click to expand...


Oh hey is that English on those screens?
 
S

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
red shoe paul said:
Oh what a surprise, it's been done before years and years ago just like the drums and guitar:

And better.

I mean. No, Keyboardmania is a RockBand ripoff.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I loved all the iterations of Keyboardmania that were made available to play in the country that I live in.

Oh wait.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
Noisepurge said:
Yeah the space is starting to be a problem.

Does the Xbox and Wii allow for more than 4 controllers? This would not be a problem with the PS3 but i bet they won't make different versions.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, the Wii can let you do more than 4 players via the GCN ports up top; I believe a few WiiWare titles already do this. The 360 will be interesting to see, though; I'm sure they've got something figured out since Harmonix and MS are very cozy with each other.

Well, I'm excited for this.
 
G

Gunstarheroes

Member
red shoe paul said:
There are machines here in the USA, you do know that right?
Click to expand...

Look, im all for defending the bemani games being first to do it. However, arcades are dead in the US, so they never caught on. HMX just went along and improved upon the idea and happened to strike lightning. Plus, classic rock tends to have a much broader appeal the j-rock. Bemani did it first. HMX usually improves upon it.
 
N

navanman

Crown Prince of Custom Firmware
Not too keen on this. The market for new instruments is completely dead and only the few dedicated are going to spend the cash to have a full set of plastic instruments for this game.

Where is this going to fit on UI though. The in-game interface is already over-crowded with 3 instruments and vocal track. Trying to fit a 4th lane vertically won't work very well as it will be completely overcrowded. Not a whole lot of room to horizontally either..

Plastic instrument rock was once the most popular casual game now its a small "hardcore" fanbase casual game.
 
J

jdogmoney

Member
DMeisterJ said:
Seems like Harmonix does not understand how to make a successful sequel.

You do not just keep adding to the game, you refine it by cutting away all the uselessness and gimmicks.

More is not always better

:sadface:
Click to expand...

hlacV.gif


I've wanted a keyboard since the first Rock Band.

Keytar = day one
 
I

InaudibleWhispa

Member
LakeEarth said:
Wow, 3 singers! Now you can have three people do the thing in the game no one in the group ever wants to do.
Click to expand...
Really? At my parties singing is by far the most popular choice. Maybe if your Rock Band playing consists of a few awkward guys trying to get high scores, but we tend to play it just to have fun and last I looked, Karaoke games are fairly popular. Besides, 3 people singing together is going to be a lot less intimidating than singing solo.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
red shoe paul said:
Psst. It's on PS2 also.
Click to expand...

Shig said:
Yeah, I loved all the iterations of Keyboardmania that were made available to play in the country that I live in.

Oh wait.
Click to expand...

Bemani fans make this so easy sometimes.

Seriously guys, get over it; Konami dropped the ball outside of Japan and the west was there to pick it up .
 
E

ElNarez

Banned
navanman said:
Not too keen on this. The market for new instruments is completely dead and only the few dedicated are going to spend the cash to have a full set of plastic instruments for this game.

Where is this going to fit on UI though. The in-game interface is already over-crowded with 3 instruments and vocal track. Trying to fit a 4th lane vertically won't work very well as it will be completely overcrowded. Not a whole lot of room to horizontally either..

Plastic instrument rock was once the most popular casual game now its a small "hardcore" fanbase casual game.
Click to expand...
It's been said multiple times : Actual games sales are going up. It's the big bundles that came crashing down, because everyone already had the instruments. With the correct marketing, this new peripheral could be pretty huge.
 
D

dsister44

Member
hmmm, i already can play the keyboard pretty well, hope fully my real life skills will transfer to this so that i star off AUTOMATICALLY AWESOME!




give me some awesome muse songs and id be so down for playing this at house parties although not actually buying it
 
C

close to the edge

Member
Interested in how they'll do this, seeing as a proper piano has 88 keys which is not going to work for casual play. I guess they will just use one octave (12 keys) and probably not a lot of chords you need to play.
 
H

Huggy

Member
If it's a full keyboard I might bite. It'd be nice to learn at least a portion piano play.

How "real" is drumming in current music games?
 
S

StrikerObi

Member
If they're smart they'll have a couple SKUs, not just Game and Game + Mega Band Bundle. They ought to at least have a third SKU for Game + Keyboard since lots of people already have all the other instruments.

A SKU for Game + Guitar might or might not be a good idea, since it would put a lot of focus on one instrument that most people already have. It made sense for Guitar Hero, but not so much for RB. Game + Keyboard is alright because nobody has a keyboard.

I already have (in my main setup)
- A MadCatz Fender Replica guitar controller that I got for $100 (300 MSRP) on Amazon's Deal of the Day. This is the god of RB guitars.
- A Hofner Bass controller from Beatles RB
- Beatles RB Drums (had RB1 drums but they died long ago)
- Four microphones (2 wired from RB1 and TBRB, 2 wireless from Lips)

I also have (but don't really use)
- RB2 Stratocaster drops strums (also used to have a RB1 strat that died)
- Wired Fender Precision Bass which is used occasionally but it has finicky strummers since it is the original P-Bass model. The newer ones fixed that issue (and are wireless).

I don't need any more plastic instruments, except the new keyboard. If necessary I'll buy the game and the keyboard separately. But I'd really like a bundle with just those two items. I'm sure lots of people are in my situation.
 
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