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Denver, 7:32 PM
Wed Nov 25
53 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/06/08
1) high-quality, removable whammy bar. Make it a replaceable module, so if/when it fades, it can be fixed easily or the module replaced. Being able to remove the whammy helps with storage/travel;
2) fret buttons with bearings. No more cheap buttons with rough travel, please;
3) concealed Wiimote. How about a guitar that doesn't compromise on aesthetics? All we need are two mechanical passthru buttons that will trigger the 'Home' and 'A' buttons, and a few tiny holes that allow the Wiimote feedback to be heard. This is maybe the ONE thing that PDP's Rage guitar got right;
4) slightly larger size. Does not need to be full size, but should resemble a toy for adults, not just a toy;
5) conveniently located buttons. Players should be able to activate Star Power/Overdrive without moving away from the natural strum motion. The Nyko Frontman got this right;
6) 'button-only' Star Power/Overdrive activation switch. Some folks like to put on a show while rocking out, and nothing sucks more than acidentally activating Star Power/Overdrive because you got a little too vertical;
7) swappable faceplates. In abundant supply purchaseable online. I don't want my axe looking like everyone else's;
8) quiet components. I should not be able to hear my guitar over my television!
9) reasonable cost. Quality costs, sure, but gamers want a solid guitar without having to pay $300!
10) styling. Stratocaster, Telecaster, Flying-V, Les Paul, Xplorer, SG, Ibanez RG. These styles have been done before, but work because of their iconic nature. Keep it classic;
MadCatz, do the above, and shed your reputation as poor peripherals maker overnight.
11/06/08
11/06/08
IDK what it means for Wii DLC for Rock Band, but I was on the Wii channel on my Wii, Guitar Hero WT has the pay-to-play wifi logo, but Rock Band 2 just has the regular blue Wifi logo.
11/06/08
11/06/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
On another note, I must be among the internet's minority of users that hasn't had any issues with the drum set. Works perfect. My friend thought it wasn't working right, but quickly realized he was hitting the side of the drum pad, which only picked up his hits about half the time.
10/31/08
especially for the quieter songs...
still no one has mentioned that the general difficulty on the game has changed dramatically. i can play a ton of songs on expert and routinely get 4 stars plus on hard in a vast majority of the songs.
well, except for that Ted Nugent song, the beginnings is kinda tricky...
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
Im not talking about the actualdevelopment. That sux I KNOW. Its after the fact them trying to get the issue resolved my releasing this and giving a usb cable to help. Im comparing this to rock bands mess that seemed like no one gave a shit. Other than that rock band was badass...
10/31/08
And a PC app? Oh come on, I game on consoles what about if I don't have a PC?
If I had bought this, I'd have taken it back and waited the years until they can get their act together.
10/31/08
If I buy a console game
if I don't have a PC
If I had bought this
Hypothecially outraged?
10/31/08
there is a catch. your PC needs to be within range of your console.
its just a MIDI in so you need the game to test the settings
hope you gotta laptop!!
10/31/08
I agree that this isn't as great as it working out of the box, but I can't think of a better way to handle the situation than this.
10/31/08
...I can't think of a better way to handle the situation than this. -NeoAkira
I can. Occam's Razor.
The 'tuner' application should be available for the systems the game was made for, preferably part of the menu system, and not require an additional cable or a PC.
Better solution.
10/31/08
That process alone could mean no one would get a fix for weeks.
10/31/08
The 'ideal solution' is not ship a broken game in the first place.
Using testing and certification as a crutch for why things aren't being properly corrected would be weak.
I know your example was Microsoft, but allow me to shift gears: LittleBigPlanet has been patched multiple times already since it launched nebulously earlier this week.
So don't tell me patches can't be done quickly.
Besides, with the current solution, you'll have to wait for the cable to be shipped. I can't imagine that not taking a week or more.
10/31/08
Yes, they had faulty instruments. But my replacements came promptly, at no additional cost, and I was given a free game for my troubles.
And all the while HMX acknowledged the hardware problems. There was none of this "Well maybe the settings aren't to your liking" BS.
I'm sorry Activision, but when I'm pretty sure its not a timing issue when I can't even select a menu option with your busted controllers.
10/31/08
And as someone who worked with Microsoft certification before, sometimes certification on even the smallest changes can take days for the back and forth.
I bought Guitar Hero 2 for Xbox 360 on launch day and got one with a defective whammy bar. It took Activision 10+ days to get a patch out (which then people complained bricked their 360s) and over a month to ship new batches of non-defective guitars.
10/31/08
And as someone who worked with Microsoft certification before... -negitoro
You know, it's weird. The frequency with which people I've had disagreements with on Kotaku who at some point assert some advanced expertise has dramatically increased recently.
Anywho, earlier you claimed the certification process could take "weeks." Now you give a real world example from the same developer of 10 days. Well, I guess your technically correct, because 10 days is 1.43 weeks, but c'mon, people can't wait 10 days to download a patch to adjust the sensitivity of their drums.
Honestly, how quickly do you think you'll get that otherwise useless cable? I can't imagine it taking less than, oh, say 10 days.
And anytime something is patched, by the way, people will blame it for a system failure. Proximity attribution error. It is erroneous to correlate two events based on how closely they occur without any other evidence.
You still haven't given anyone a valid reason why a PC application and obnoxious cable is a better solution than a patch on the system the game is played on that will allow you to adjust the sensitivity via the game menu.
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
It's one thing for computer applications to not work on a Mac, you accept that when you buy it. It's another for them to completely ignore Mac users for a $200 piece of equipment that shouldn't require a computer to work in the first place.
10/31/08
Pirate it. MS may not deserve your money, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to run programs.
(that said, Apple is more outrageous than MS. At least MS doesn't ask people to buy it's proprietary hardware... or minor updates.)
10/31/08
10/29/08
email customer support and complain. they will send you out a USB to MIDI connector and a link to the software patch.
after that everything should be ok. the response from an Activision CSR will be fairly quick. my whole solution was resolved in less then 3 hours of waiting for emails.
if your drums still don't work after the patch you need to email them back and tell them that you tried the patch and failed miserably. then you need to make arrangements for something else.
IMO activision has acted fairly good on their side to resolve this issue. they knew the problem and send out a fix in less than three days from the release of the game
Good Job Activision!
[walks away with a bag of money]