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Input Devices Media Music Entertainment Games

Guitar Hero World Tour Equipment Problems, Subscription Possibilities? 146

Guitar Hero: World Tour's recent launch saw boxes of plastic instruments flying off store shelves, quickly selling out in many areas. Unfortunately, many players reported problems with the bundled drums sets, prompting Activision to release a drum "tuning" application and a free midi-USB cable to connect the instruments to a PC. Otherwise, reviews for the game have been largely positive, and MTV's Multiplayer Blog did an analysis of using Rock Band drums in GH:WT, and vice-versa. Kotaku looked at which set was louder, coming to the conclusion that while they sound different, decibel levels are very similar. The early success in sales for GH:WT caused Activision to say holiday demand may not be met, and that they're examining two methods in particular to develop the franchise: instrument upgrades (hopefully less ludicrous than Logitech's $250 axe) and the possibility of a subscription-based model for user-generated content. "[Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby] Kotick says that there are now 25,000 user generated tunes that have been created for the game, and projected 'up to 100,000 songs' by the end of this year."
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Guitar Hero World Tour Equipment Problems, Subscription Possibilities?

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  • by Flamesplash ( 469287 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:01PM (#25671439) Homepage Journal

    No mention of the PS3 WT drums on RB compatibility issue? We have to make some noise if Rock Band is going to release the path Guitar Hero says is needed.

    • by Josejx ( 46837 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:10PM (#25671527) Homepage

      It's the same situation on the Wii. Guitar Hero: WT is incompatible with the Rock Band Wii drum kit. It's absolutely ridiculous for both platforms to not support these controllers, and reeks of a money grab by Activision.

      For what it's worth, I've had less fun with Guitar Hero: WT than Rock Band Wii, gimped as it is. Hopefully Rock Band 2 Wii is at least as good as the previous installment, and DLC works as promised.

      • Guitar Hero: WT is incompatible with the Rock Band Wii drum kit.

        How about the converse? Will Rock Band 2 work with World Tour equipment?

        I've ordered WT already because I've already got two guitars from GH3 and Aerosmith; the drum kit can wait till I have more money to throw around. I'd like to get Rock Band 2 as well, but only if I don't end up with a room full of incompatible equipment.

        • by geekoid ( 135745 )

          Rock Band tried t0 get Activision to let them make a compatible devise, Activision said no.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by JCSoRocks ( 1142053 )
        RB2 is *awesome*. It's a huge improvement over RB. I've owned both games almost since they were released.

        RB2 has a no fail mode which is great for teaching your friends without failing songs over and over. You can tour with your friends online now via Xbox Live (I'm sure it works on PS3 same way). You can tour as a single player and you can play bass as a single player now as well. There are drum solos now and the calibration tools works a lot better. There are many, many other improvements but those were
      • I won't buy any more Activion games unless I buy them used, cause I still have a bitter taste in my mouth after the we-deserve-compensation-for-our-guitars-to-work-in-rock-band for the PS3 debacle. Besides, I LOVE RB2. It's a nice improvement, they have way more downloadable songs to choose from, and since I import the songs from RB1 for only 5$ (55 songs) plug the 85 on the disc + the 20 free songs I just got last night + the 50 or so songs that I downloaded from my brothers PSN account, I have over 200 s
  • by lysergic.acid ( 845423 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:12PM (#25671541) Homepage

    a subscription for user-generated content? so Activision wants users to pay them money to share their self-created content?

    why are mainstream game publishers run by such douche bags? it's not enough that users are adding value to their product by donating their time/creativity to create new content for the game, but now the game publisher wants to "monetize" this content by charging users for sharing their own songs with each other.

    • by NuclearError ( 1256172 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:39PM (#25671791)

      Why are mainstream game publishers run by such douche bags?

      You haven't seen anything yet. [arstechnica.com]

      • by initialE ( 758110 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @12:04AM (#25671981)

        Why are mainstream game publishers run by such douche bags?

        You haven't seen anything yet. [arstechnica.com]

        Yeah. [slashdot.org]

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by terbo ( 307578 )

          >>> Why are mainstream game publishers run by such douche bags?
          >> You haven't seen anything yet.
          > Yeah.

          Almost similar. Except that you don't have to pay to participate.
          You get an edge by paying.. now for GH I'm not even sure how they
          distribute user tracks, but if the company made a way for it to
          work in game and seamlessly (I saw people burning discs to play
          customs ....) then it would definitally be cool - but paying for
          *all* access would be lame. Paying to get some tracks earlier
          would add

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          : (

          The quote from the exec and the sentiment from Ars Technica don't quite line up. You can have a "property" that provides income and development potential for a decade or more. You can develop that "property" without beating it into the ground.
          *points to Half-Life* : D

    • 100,000 songs? Do they really expect all of them to be good? It's probably 99,990 really horrible songs written by emo kids in their basements and 10 reasonably good songs. Hardly worth paying for. Example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67_og3v_Ow [youtube.com]
      • by geekoid ( 135745 )

        define good.

        Who cares that many of them will be crap? The good ones will bubble to the top, and consumers like me will skim the top.

        It's not different then anything else. Most song generated by bands are crap to most people. That's why you don't hear them on the radio.

        • No, you don't hear them on the radio because the RIAA cartel pretty much controls the radio and what gets played on it. If you listen to the few stations (usually online) that aren't controlled by them then you will, in fact, hear music that isn't part of the billboard top 100.

          I like independent music and artists and even among them there are a lot of people that just plain can't sing, or write dreadful lyrics or just started playing a month ago... or all three. At any rate, I stand behind my point that i
  • Drumset (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:15PM (#25671561)
    If you're going to seriously play drums on this game (or rock band 1 & 2), get rid of the bundled drums and replace them with the ION Drum Rocker set (about $270-$300). They are much easier to play for extended periods of time.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by ohtani ( 154270 )

      SOOO agreed, considering my experience with the drummania drum sets available.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Smauler ( 915644 )

      Wait... is the game that good to justify hundreds of dollars for one instrument? AFAICT, most people play it for 1/2 an hour and get bored of it. Now, I'm not saying you didn't here..... but a little perspective may be in order.

      • Re:Drumset (Score:4, Insightful)

        by pimpimpim ( 811140 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @03:00AM (#25672777)
        As it seems from the ion drum website, these are actual electronic drums that you can also hook up to a drum computer (at least one of the same brand). I guess that makes more sense than buying a $250 guitar without snares.
        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by kiyoshigawa ( 844575 )

          As it seems from the ion drum website, these are actual electronic drums that you can also hook up to a drum computer (at least one of the same brand).

          The bit about needing the same brand is a myth propagated by the folks at ION to sell Alesis drum brains. I currently have a Roland TD-3 Drum brain hooked up to my ION Drums and everything works just fine. Feel free to mix and match drums as you please. You can also use Roland V-Drum Cymbals with the ION controller brain and suffer no adverse consequences.

          • Just wondering. Have you tried other pads (sounds like you might have a Roland kit) with the ION controller brain? On the surface, it seems like it should work, but I'd like confirmation before I start plunking down money. From ION's site, it sounds like they might make the controller brain available separately at some point. I used to play drums and would like to get back into it. I'd much rather get a real electronic kit and spend an extra 75 or 100 bucks or so on the ION brain instead of buying the whole
      • by geekoid ( 135745 )

        It is replacing Keriole in some places.
        Yes, it is huge.

        In my case I blew it off until I played it at a friends house last year(GH3). I could not believe how fun it is. It reminded me of the joy I felt when I was playing games in the 70s/80s.

        I still play it. I'll never master it, me and my kids have a great time playing.

        I can not think of anyone I know who didn't play it for many hours. Yes, It's a tiny data set of about 100.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Aalst ( 943515 ) *
      If you're really serious about drumming in Guitar Hero or Rock Band 1 or 2, you should consider buying a proper electronic kit (any kit with MIDI out) together with a MIDI adapter.

      Here are two choices of adapters:
      http://www.rockband.com/users/sethmeisterg/gallery [rockband.com]
      http://www.bytearts.com/midi/index.htm [bytearts.com]
      • Re:Drumset (Score:5, Funny)

        by ciderVisor ( 1318765 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @04:41AM (#25673163)
        If you're really, REALLY serious about playing drums in Rock Band, you should start a band with your mates. Geez.
        • by geekoid ( 135745 )

          If you are really really serious about FPS, you should be out killing people.

          Please, it's fun. It's a game. Get off your 3 meter horse.

      • Would those be by any means better than the add on module that ION recommends for Drum Rocker, shown here. www.americanmusical.com [americanmusical.com]
    • by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

      If you're having trouble with the drums not being responsive enough, there's a very very simple fix (also nearly free) that you can do. Me and a friend were having trouble with our drumset, and the fix worked wonders. You simply open the drums and put a piece of tape over the sensor down to the back of the drum. This increases the sensitive area, and makes the drums as sensitive as they should be. (Or too sensitive if you use too much tape. Test as you go.)

      Here's a link about fixing the toms.
      http://www.good [goodinput.com]

  • by mattytee ( 1395955 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:15PM (#25671563)
    Shouldn't the user generated content be free?

    I mean, it's not costing them to produce, and their own stuff means servers and bandwidth are already necessary, right?

    I'm betting user-generated content will be finding its way onto bittorrent along with a crack for any kind of lock-in to the subscription service.
    • by moderatorrater ( 1095745 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @01:34AM (#25672471)

      their own stuff means servers and bandwidth are already necessary, right?

      Not quite. If the user generated content were free and being pulled from their servers, it's entirely possible (even likely imo) that the free content would be downloaded 2 to 3 times as much as the paid for content. In addition, they may be required by the distribution networks (xbox live, psn) to charge for additional content. Overall, offering user generated content for free risks that content's costs bleeding the profits dry.

      Of course, the huge amount of free content would also be a driver for increased sales of their ridiculously priced peripherals, but to an executive it would probably seem like an easy decision.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by AndyBusch ( 160585 )

        But keep in mind that the GHTunes are basically a handful of MIDI files (one for each instrument). This is a far far smaller bandwidth burden than the store tracks which contain a compressed audio track for guitar, bass, drums, vocals (maybe?), and one for everything else.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Theoboley ( 1226542 )
      Or you could just take the time to create the song of your choice in the in game editor. That fact in itself will drive me to buy GH:WT. I want to make some In Flames songs for the guitar.
  • I've paid more. I play GUITAR FREAKS and drummania. I've owned a guitar that was about $300 cause it was "arcade style": http://mgrsti3030s.seamlesstech.biz/templates/frmTemplateR.asp?CatalogID=10923&SearchYN=N&subFolderID=97 [seamlesstech.biz] (And places like play-asia.com don't have it anymore cause it's a limited edition item so it's "out of print")

    And the "arcade style" sets for drums are full electronic YAMAHA drumsets.

    I'm very very used to expensive controllers for music games to simulate an arcade experience.

    • Wow. I wish I had that kind of money. And time. And ability.

    • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @12:46AM (#25672235)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by meringuoid ( 568297 )
      I've owned a guitar that was about $300 cause it was "arcade style"

      When a simulation costs more than the real thing, surely you've got to wonder if there's a problem.

      • by geekoid ( 135745 )

        No, it's just that there is a larger market demand for the easier entrance to enjoying music.

        People spend 10 bucks on a hand held solitaire device when a deck of cards cost a buck.

      • You're forgetting the 'Total Cost of Ownership' of a playing a real guitar. It's the one year of private lessons, the two years of frustration, and the seven years of practice, that will cost you the most. This is like the Windows vs. Unix debate all over again. Only in this case, instead of pissing off all your Windows friends at parties, you're pissing off all your Guitar Hero/Rockband friends.
  • by phalse phace ( 454635 ) on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:22PM (#25671629)

    the drum tuning application provided by Activision, which requires a 20 character code to install, only came with 19 characters.

    Activision did, however, suggest a work-around. "To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to install the applicatin."

    • by ozbird ( 127571 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @01:07AM (#25672339)
      Just use the cheat code:
      bass snare bass snare tom tom cymbal snare snare cymbal bass bass cymbal tom snare tom snare snare cymbal rimshot.
      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        Just use the cheat code: bass snare bass snare tom tom cymbal snare snare cymbal bass bass cymbal tom snare tom snare snare cymbal rimshot.

        you forgot the Ba-dummm Tishhh!!! at the end...

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward

          That's what a rimshot is.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            That's what a rimshot is.
            It is and it's not. What you're describing is actually two snare hits, followed by a bass/crash hit. For some reason, it's called a rimshot in comedic circles. In drumming, a proper rimshot is when you hit the snare head and rim with the stick at the same time (called a ping if you do it closer to the edge). It produces a sharp, slightly metallic sound.
            • Yeah and it screws me everytime I play drums on RB over at my friend's house. He's got digital drums and his kit doesn't register rim shots as regular pad hits in the game so if I hit the rim rather than just the pad... no hit. ...and yes, yes it wouldn't be a problem if I were better at playing real drums!
              • by Phroggy ( 441 )

                He's got digital drums and his kit doesn't register rim shots as regular pad hits in the game so if I hit the rim rather than just the pad... no hit.

                A real snare drum doesn't register rim shots as regular head hits either. ;-)

            • by Phroggy ( 441 )

              That's what a rimshot is.

              It is and it's not. What you're describing is actually two snare hits, followed by a bass/crash hit. For some reason, it's called a rimshot in comedic circles. In drumming, a proper rimshot is when you hit the snare head and rim with the stick at the same time (called a ping if you do it closer to the edge). It produces a sharp, slightly metallic sound.

              Well, there are a few different things you can do involving the rim of a snare drum, and some people call some of them a "rim shot" but the terminology isn't necessarily nailed down.

              1) As you have described, holding the stick normally, and hitting both the head of the drum and the rim at the same time. Easy to do by accident; a little tricky to do consistently on purpose.

              2) The most common, when playing drum set: flip the stick around backwards and hold the tip of the stick against the head of the drum ab

              • 1) Rimshot (aka, gawk or ping depending on where played)
                2) Rim click
                3) Stick shot
                4) That's just hitting/playing on the rim.

                Yes, I had far too many years of marching and orchestral percussion. : )
                • by Phroggy ( 441 )

                  Composers (and publishers) who are not percussionists don't know these terms well enough to use them consistently, so whenever I see a part that calls for something on the rim, I always have to just use my own judgment to figure out which technique sounds appropriate.

                  It's amazing the kind of crap I sometimes see written. One of my biggest pet peeves is composers who can't seem to figure out that suspended cymbal and crash cymbals are two different instruments often played by two different people, and it's

                  • Agreed there. Sheet music often doesn't differentiate between the different types of shots (it'll just be notated as an X note), so it's usually up to the percussionist or the conductor to decide which one sounds best in the context of the piece/movement. Also, not indicating specifically what type of mallet should be used can be viewed as leaving room for interpretation. After playing through the piece a few times, though, you can usually figure out what sound it was that the composer was looking for.

                    The
    • What? Its just a stupid .NET application that was whipped up in 2 hours. There's no code required.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:29PM (#25671699)

    24,500 of which are mario bros. related
    495 which infringe on commercial bands
    the other 5 are my 3 year old niece's random creations

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      There's a lot of music that's hit the public domain. All classical music, for example. Mozart made some very famous alterations to a nursery rhyme [wikipedia.org], and I see no reason that someone couldn't make a name for themselves making variations on public music. I played "Maple Leaf" in World Tour today and realized that it was a song I'd played when learning piano way back in the day.

      I'd also be willing to bet large amounts of money that the pattern the notes make as they come down will be the main focus of some
    • Achievment Unlocked - how many of those songs are just people uploading random trash to add 5 points to their e-peen (just like I did)
  • Tuning Kit? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday November 06, 2008 @11:39PM (#25671789) Homepage Journal

    I could really use a USB MIDI adapter. I don't suppose anyone who doesn't need it wants to get one and sell it to me? Or for that matter, someone who only needs it once? It's about $40 shipped to get the M-Audio Midiman Uno, so it would have to be cheaper than that... On the other hand, if I just wait a year they should be all over Gamestop for like ten bucks. Anyway, this is a call to all slashdotters who have the kit and weren't thinking about getting the device: what were you thinking? You know you're going to want one someday.

    • I haven't gotten my USB-to-MIDI cable from Activision yet (just put my RMA in today), but I was able to tune my drumkit with my USB MIDI keyboard (An EDIROL PCR-80). Here's the thing - I had to hook the drumkit to the MIDI OUT port, not the MIDI IN (I know this for sure, because I originally tried using my M-Audio iControl with only a MIDI IN port, and it didn't work). What does this mean? That cable Activision is sending out is MIDI OUT, not MIDI IN. So if you were planning on using this free cable to
      • That makes no sense whatsoever.
      • by Phroggy ( 441 )

        I haven't gotten my USB-to-MIDI cable from Activision yet (just put my RMA in today), but... That cable Activision is sending out is MIDI OUT, not MIDI IN. So if you were planning on using this free cable to hook a MIDI keyboard to your computer as an input device, it won't work. MIDI signal goes OUT of the cable, not IN.

        A USB-to-MIDI adapter normally has both MIDI IN and MIDI OUT connectors on it. I have the Midiman USB Uno the parent mentioned, and that's what it has - a USB connector on one end, and two MIDI connectors on the other end. It's possible the cable Activision is shipping only has a single MIDI OUT connection and therefore cannot be used with an input device such as a keyboard, but I'd be surprised if this were the case.

        Also, I'm a little confused by your mention of the M-Audio iControl [m-audio.com], which doesn't appear

        • It's possible the cable Activision is shipping only has a single MIDI OUT connection and therefore cannot be used with an input device such as a keyboard, but I'd be surprised if this were the case.

          If they are having them made just for this purpose, it's substantially cheaper to just have a male DIN plug on one end, a USB "A" connector on the other, and a little snap-together plastic box in the middle to hold the electronics than it is to actually put a female DIN with through-connectors onto the PCB and then put a MIDI cable in the box with it - and there would be no benefit to them in giving you the MIDI IN connection.

          Of course, it wouldn't be a purpose-built device, but a modified version of existi

      • That cable Activision is sending out is MIDI OUT, not MIDI IN. So if you were planning on using this free cable to hook a MIDI keyboard to your computer as an input device, it won't work. MIDI signal goes OUT of the cable, not IN. If you still want mine when I get it though, let me know :)

        I'd still love to have it - because it's still (potentially) useful for hooking up MIDI instruments to a computer - they just won't be useful for input. It's fine for running tone banks, or anything else that can be controlled by MIDI from which you don't need feedback.

        I do have a PC with a joystick port MIDI interface and ye olde cable with in and out plugs (no through, though.) My one and only MIDI device so far is a Kawai PH50 I got for free at a yard sale, and whose power jack I had to resolder. It does

    • swissonic MIDI-USB 1X1 - 20 euros at thomann.

      • Whatever a thomann is, the USD is not all that strong against the Euro (better than a couple months ago though) and I'd still have to pay shipping. Doesn't sound like I'd be saving any money. And for the record, I know the Midiman Uno works with Linux, which is an absolute requirement. (Not that the Swissonic interface might not, but I don't know if it does or no.)

  • I bought the kit (Score:5, Interesting)

    by JimboFBX ( 1097277 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @12:43AM (#25672213)
    I bought the full band kit, and just got off the phone with walmart about returning it. Here's what I've had:

    The drums are a bit better to use in theory, but the sensitivity (out of the box) is too low. I really have to hit things above where I'm comfortable and it isn't forgiving if you had poor aim. I got a blood blister after some extended playing.
    Using star power is random. Sometimes it gives it to you, often times it doesnt.
    I ordered the USB-MIDI adapter to fix my drum kit. It came in 4 business days. My computer detects it but doesn't do anything with it. Its not an option on the drum controller drop-down and none of the MIDI options are substitutes. Restarting didn't help nor did disabling the other audio devices. It shows up under the device manager though and has a green light when connected. So... I can't fix it.
    My guitar's strum broke today and has about a 5% chance of registering a downward strum now. The tap bar was always iffy with it, and the star power button used for muting was flat out inconsistent.
    I broke part of the things used for holding the drum sticks by playing with them up. Don't do that.
    Freak on a Leash is fun to play, a lot of the songs aren't though. They're long and repetitive. Whoever put Dinosaur Jr. in there should be shot.

    Red Octane makes you pay to ship your defective device to them, with a copy of the receipt (mind you this game hasn't been out for 90 days). Its hard to find their warranty returns on their website. Here's a link:

    http://www.redoctanegames.com/Warranty/USA/ [redoctanegames.com]

    That is why I'm returning the kit to wal-mart, I dont feel like I should pay 12 dollars and take extra time out of my work day to drop off a package, then wait 3 weeks to get another potentially defective device.
    • ok, does anyone know how to get the legs and the feet of the drum set detached once they lock in place? Maybe I'll just see if they can swap out the defective guitar with one of the individual ones. The drums just need the sensitivity fixed after all...
    • Maybe get a blister on your little finger, maybe get a blister on your thumb.

      Hey what did you expect? Money for nothing?

    • I got a blood blister after some extended playing.

      Welcome to playing drums. And yes, I seriously mean that. You get blisters from playing.
  • If I was going to go to the trouble of getting people together to play different instruments, I'd ditch the fake guitar hero ones and buy real instruments. I was in a garage band in high school, but even if it required me to pick up an instrument from scratch I think it would be a lot more fun than playing a video game version. I realize they aren't the same thing, and each to their own, but the reward is so much greater when you actually play that I'm surprised by the popularity of the group game even more

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by HycoWhit ( 833923 )
      The majority of people don't have musical talent. Hoping to get a random group together to learn instruments and play recognizable songs late at night after a night out partying is a pipe dream.

      Give one of the games a whirl sometime. Actually knowing how to play diminishes some of the fun. But in the end it just another way to enjoy music.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by syousef ( 465911 )

        The majority of people don't have musical talent. Hoping to get a random group together to learn instruments and play recognizable songs late at night after a night out partying is a pipe dream.

        You think I'd put together a band because I have talent!?!? MUhahahahahahhahaha. I play badly, and I can't read sheet music, but I'm not trying to earn a living or make it big so who cares. Playing an instrument reasonably in tune gives you a huge sense of accomplishment when you get it right. Even moreso if you and

        • by repvik ( 96666 )

          Believe me, managing to play "Through fire and flames" also gives you a huge sense of accomplishment ;)

        • by geekoid ( 135745 )

          There is no such thing as talent, just different levels of obsession.

          Besides, GH can be a competitive game that you get pretty good at in a very short time, toy can pass the guitar around to different people at a party and they will be able to play the easy levels without much practice...

          There are tons of reasons to play this as opposed to an actual instrument.

          It like it's a game or some such~

    • I finally got around to picking up Rock Band for my PS3 about a month ago (there's some pretty nice deals on the Sams Club website--30 for the guitar, 35 for the game). I used to play drums a long time ago, and I play guitar now. No, the game isn't quite the same as playing the real thing (well, the drums are in the ball park), but it definitely does get you used to some of the general motions you'll need to go through if playing the real instrument. It certainly does get you used to playing power chords, t
    • was in a garage band in high school, but even if it required me to pick up an instrument from scratch I think it would be a lot more fun than playing a video game version. I realize they aren't the same thing, and each to their own, but the reward is so much greater when you actually play that I'm surprised by the popularity of the group game

      I guess it's a matter of differing tastes.

      Up until I started playing these games in the spring, I hasn't really heard much about them and thought they were silly. Now,

    • by geekoid ( 135745 )

      Great, someone else talking about what is awarding to other people, well done jack ass.

      This is an enabler. More bands will come out of these products. It's another gate way into music.

  • I have posted a detailed How To Guide for fixing the Guitar Hero World Tour Drum Kit sensitivity problems [powertuneplus.com]. For example my Red Pad took a very hard hit to register consistently, and my Orange cymbal was similar.

    My guide features high quality photos and videos demonstrating before and after response of the drums.

    The official solution is to do a support request and get the USB MIDI cable shipped to you. But my fix will have you drumming TODAY.
    • by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

      You don't need glue. All that's needed is a phillips screwdriver, tape, and about 15 minutes. I have another comment posted here on this story with links on how to do it.

      Note: it wasn't me who came up with the fixes I linked. But I tried them, and they work.

      Here's the links again.

      http://www.goodinput.com/2008/10/27/guitar-hero-world-tour-drum-fix/ [goodinput.com]
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhF5noVUBN8 [youtube.com]

      • by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

        Yes, I know the page in the first link talks about detaching wires, gluing, etc. Ignore that. Use the pictures on that page for reference on how to get to the sensors. Watch the video in the second link, and apply the tape-only method to all 5 drums. It works.

        • by geekoid ( 135745 )

          Put a little bit of foam rubber between the sensor and the piece holding it on.
          Not you can't see any changes.
          I suspect the fix will be something like this.

          I don't like the cardboard because it's a little stiff(the cardboard you perv) around the wires.

  • the instrument compatibility state right now?

    With the Circuit City closing and my son being a little bit older (i.e. actually sleeping through the night now), I actually could justify buying a 360. I already had a wii but the state of DLC on the Wii made me want to get a 360 for RB2 and GH:WT.

    My understanding is that everything is compatible between RB2 and GH:WT. But what about RB1?

    As a side question, is the DLC for RB1 available for RB2? There were some good trackpacks I want to get but I'm not buying RB1

    • So can someone clarify the instrument compatibility state right now?

      My understanding is that everything is compatible between RB2 and GH:WT. But what about RB1?

      Depends on your platform. I can speak to two, the Wii (mine) and XBox ( a friends).

      The Wii has far less compatibility of instruments. The XBox seems to have the most.

      The the XBox, I know the GH guitars work pretty much with everything. On the Wii, the guitars only work with the game they came with -- GH used a wireless guitar using the Wii-mote, R

      • by tweek ( 18111 )

        Yeah I came to the same conclusion (w.r.t to Wii). I got the Wii for free (sort of...Capital One miles) but I just could NOT justify buying RB or GH for the Wii without REAL dlc. That's where the replay value is.

        And honestly, it looks better on the 360. Then again it looks even BETTER on the PS3 but I'm not shelling out that kind of cash.

        I just want to have 2 guitars, 1 drum and 1 mike that works for both. With all the baby toys laying around, I don't have space for two sets of kit ;)

        • but I just could NOT justify buying RB or GH for the Wii without REAL dlc.

          See, for me, DLC is a non issue. I have no interest in it, and I'm not really willing to pay for it.

          I want it all contained on the game disk, and I don't want to fsck around with it or pay some greedy bugger money for each additional track. I hate having my game play being monetized by some greedy bastard -- I'll pay for the game, but add on content has little or no value for me.

          Guess it's all what you want to get outta the game.

          Che

          • by tweek ( 18111 )

            Interesting because I see DLC as the true replay value. I'm not up to snuff on costs for the DLC but for me, the value of not having to swap game disks to get new content is more valuable.

            • Interesting because I see DLC as the true replay value. I'm not up to snuff on costs for the DLC but for me, the value of not having to swap game disks to get new content is more valuable.

              *shrug* Could be an age thing. For me, the entire concept of DLC is just something that has no appeal to me. Give me a decent game, and I'll play it.

              Hooking my gaming console to the internet and paying for DLC and all that stuff is just something that I can't convince myself provides actual value to me.

              Then again, I'm p

        • On the Xbox 360, not only is all Rock Band DLC compatible between RB1 and RB2, but for a mere five bucks, you can rip every song from Rock Band 1, save for three, into Rock Band 2. The three non-transferrable songs are, as I recall, a cover of Paranoid, a cover of Run To The Hills, and a master of Enter Sandman.

          I play Rb2 with my RB 1 instruments, and depending on battery status, either the wireless guitar from GH3 or the wired guitar from GH2.

          • by tweek ( 18111 )

            That sucks about the 3 tracks. That's the type of stuff I would want to play the most. Then again, while I've been impressed with the Ozzy cover vocalist, I just cannot imagine how bad a Bruce Dickenson cover vocalist would be. It would be like trying to cover Geddy Lee.

            Some things are better left to the original artists ;)

            • In that case, don't play the Tom Sawyer cover in RB1; instead grab the various Rush master tracks (including the full Moving Pictures album) off of DLC.

        • From my understanding, RB2 for Wii will be a whole other world. Apparently they're doing a proper port of RB2 to the Wii, and you'll be able to get DLC for it. This puts it more or less on par with the 360/PS3 versions. Of course, it's not out yet, so we'll see how it actually all comes together. But if you already have a Wii and want one of the games, it seems like it might be worthwhile to hold off to see how RB2 Wii is.
  • by jasenj1 ( 575309 ) on Friday November 07, 2008 @09:23AM (#25675017)

    Here's a different idea:
    Try turning the GH Tunes store into iTunes for Guitar Hero.
    And turn the Guitar Hero engine and tools into the Unreal Engine of rhythm games.

    Let third party developers produce full-quality songs and let them sell them on GH Tunes. (For a price of course.)

    Activision can then focus on making the Guitar Hero engine and instruments better, and release first party titles - like Aerosmith, AC/DC, & Metallica - but also benefit from others making less blockbuster games - see Guitar Praise http://www.guitarpraise.com/ [guitarpraise.com]. That would solidify Activision's peripherals as the industry standard, their tools and environment as standard, and allow them to reap profits from selling the tools and licensing fees from third-party games.

    Sounds like win-win all around to me.

    - Jasen.

    • by tweek ( 18111 )

      Okay wow. While I'm not likely to buy Guitar Praise anytime soon, I would love to have access to The Crucified's catalog. Or Mortal for that matter.

      Not my lifestyle anymore but the music is still topnotch.

  • It is not a ludicrous price for what you get.
    I won't buy one, but it looks like a quality build, not some plastic thing you snap together.

  • by rtechie ( 244489 ) * on Friday November 07, 2008 @04:37PM (#25681495)

    I've used and played every single controller for Guitar Mania, Beat Mania, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. I've used almost all the 3rd-party controllers for the PS2 and XBOX 360. I've played all the Bemani games in the arcade. I've even played the drum kit for Rock Revolution briefly.

    In my opinion, World Tour has the best equipment currently available. The strum bar on their guitar is the best of any bemani-guitar, hands down. The World Tour drum kit, when properly tuned, is way better than the Rock Band or Rock Revolution drum sets. The ION Rocket drum set is probably better, but it's $300. The Logitech guitar might be good too (it isn't out yet) but it's $250 and only works on the PS2 and PS3.

    This isn't just my opinion. My girlfriend is a pro drummer and guitar player and she agrees that the World Tour instruments are best.

    Now as to the game itself, Rock Band 2 is better hands down for any number of reasons.

    My advice? Buy the World Tour band kit and Rock Band 2 w/o the instruments. That's what I'm doing.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      "My girlfriend is a pro drummer and guitar player and she agrees that the World Tour instruments are best."

      Maybe that's the problem..it's too much like a real drum and not a game controller.

      SO it isn't just your opinion, it's you and your girlfriends opinion, with a touch or argument from authority tossed it.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side. - Han Solo

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