Rock Band Network 2.0 Features Outlined for RB3

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Rock Band Network, the toolset that allows anyone to create playable tracks for sale in Rock Band, will be getting a face-lift for the release of Rock Band 3. Dubbed Rock Band Network 2.0, the tools will support the new keyboard peripheral, pro drums and keys, vocal harmonies, and more (via RockBandAide)

Any content already made in RBN will be supported by RBN 2.0 in Rock Band 3. Using any of the new features will presumably make your content RB3-exclusive. Songs for RBN 2.0 will begin to release at the end of Q1 2011. Left out, however, is support for pro guitar authoring, as explained by Harmonix:

  • The way that Pro Guitar DLC is implemented in Rock Band 3, it would have been substantial work to add to the pipeline for both Harmonix and Microsoft.
  • It is extremely time consuming to author, to the point that it might be just as time consuming to author a Pro Guitar part as it would be to author the rest of the track.
  • Peer Reviewing any Pro Guitar songs would be problematic due to the fact that we will be building a brand new install base of Pro Guitar players at launch.
From The Chatty
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    August 23, 2010 4:25 PM

    is the Rock Band Network still only supported on the 360? if i can't make tunes for this game using my PS3 then i'm not dumping anymore money into Harmonix's pocket.

    I've got a half dozen guitars, amps, effects, cash put aside for a drum kit, material, 15+ years experience, etc. basically everything i need to start making my own tunes for the game - except that i play on PS3. i really don't mind paying a yearly licensing fee for access to the tools. what i do really mind, is having to buy a 2nd console, a 2nd version of the game, a fee for basic online services and an extra fee to access premium services, and another fee for the tools.

    i'm sure i'm in the minority here but leaving this as 360 exclusive means i won't buy this game until i get bored of all the Soundgarden material coming out in GH6 - and that might not be for a while.

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      August 23, 2010 4:45 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 23, 2010 4:45 PM

      Yes, it's on 360 only, because there's XNA for Microsoft, and nothing of the sort for Sony. It's not Harmonix's fault Sony hates communities. :/

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        August 23, 2010 4:46 PM

        Not even that. The fact that HMX can only push 5 items at a time through Sony's store is the major factor there. HMX has stated they'd love to push out songs to PS3 the same day that the 360 version is out, so even if you aren't in on the development process, you'd still be accessing all the hundreds of released songs.

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          August 23, 2010 4:51 PM

          How have they been putting out more than that with regular DLC?

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            August 23, 2010 4:56 PM

            It has to do with how Sony's store engine works.

            http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/63516

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              August 23, 2010 5:19 PM

              Ohhhh okay. I never really knew much about Sony's PSN.

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                August 23, 2010 6:03 PM

                Yea, as it says in the article it comes down to Sony and their lack of support for user created content. Hopefully that changes as I'm sure you're not the only one in that situation.

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          August 23, 2010 4:55 PM

          thanks for the replies. rather disappointed that it's still basically exclusive to the 360. i was really hoping to actually start making my own content with the new release. :(

          don't suppose anyone's heard rumors of PSN+ offering any kind of support for these kind of endeavors?

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      August 23, 2010 4:55 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 23, 2010 6:01 PM

      "what i do really mind, is having to buy a 2nd console, a 2nd version of the game, a fee for basic online services and an extra fee to access premium services, and another fee for the tools."

      Well, since this is a game you don't own yet (RB3) my advice would be don't waste your money on the PS3 version, and buy a 360 if you're that interested in all the additional features available for that platform. Alternatively, find a way to force Sony to support their console properly, their 'PSN Plus' is a joke, imo.

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      August 23, 2010 8:21 PM

      No, you won't be able to use your PS3. Harmonix has been pretty clear about this. The reason? The Rock Band Network is built on XNA. Sorry but beyond better network support on the 360 you'll have to blame Sony for the dearth of developers tools and accessibility in contrast to Microsoft's XNA platform. Its quite simply easier for amateur developers to wpork off XNA. You have a lot of musical equipment, but do you have ten grad for a PS3 dev kit? No, then you're out of luck with Sony, beyond not being a registered PS3 developer. That's not the case with XNA.

      I'm not being a fanboy, I comfortably develop games across all platforms. I'm platform agnostic. I'm just saying that beyond the intricacy of developing for current Sony hardware (which can be very rewarding if you untangle its arcane complexity), Microsoft has made it much easier for amateurs to get involved and the RBN is a product of Microsoft doing in this generation to a greater extent what Sony did previously with the Net Yaroze. If you want to have amateurs developing on the PS3 (including efforts like the RBN) then tell Sony, don't blame Harmonix

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      August 23, 2010 9:05 PM

      I think the real mystery here is that I'm supposed to believe that you have "a half dozen guitars, amps, effects, cash put aside for a drum kit, material, 15+ years experience and everything you need to start making your own tunes for the game" (and selling them, btw, making money) and yet you seem to be very reluctant to spend $150 on a XBox 360 (the old Arcade will work perfect for you), $100 a year for a XNA subscription and $130 for a copy of RB2 with all the instruments and $60 for a copy of Reaper that, if you're super serious about music creation to begin with, you probably already have anyways.

      So. Since Sony doesn't have the infrastructure in place to support RBN (which is totally Sony's fault) you're going to hold off spending $400 and putting your music out there for people to enjoy on the off chance (albeit extremely unlikely) that Sony will suddenly decide that independent game studios and creators is a market that they want to go after and implement the framework to support user creation.

      I'm just sayin'...

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        August 24, 2010 12:55 AM

        it's not the cash i have a problem with it's the principle and at this point I recognize where the issue stems from (thanks for the insight people).

        i've been playing music since the early 90s, it's not that hard to amass a relatively nice collection over the years. i'm not looking to put music out for profit, never have, the main point was so that my friends and I could play some personalized jams (if anyone else liked it great, if not - still great because my friends get to share in our own stuff).

        i'm not super serious about this, i saw the potential and enjoyed the idea, it seemed like the simplest way to combine my two biggest passions. so yeah, while $400 isn't a huge amount, i have to chose between buying a redundant gaming system that none of my friends own or use, or i could finally pick up an Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth - at this point i'd rather get the pedal (even if i don't have any room left in my pedal suitcase).

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