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Author Topic: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014  (Read 6226 times)

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RoyalScam

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So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« on: March 15, 2014, 07:19:56 am »
There are things one probably should not do when they haven't been out for awhile. 

For the past year, well two actually, I've just focused on work.  There's been the occasional fun, but let's just say I'm not one who lives for the weekend.  This past weekend, I spent some time with an old friend. There was a trip to a pistol range, some test driving of gear at guitar center, and the all important consumption of  fried foods and adult beverages.  Things I haven't done in a long time.  The evening ended up with a bit of a jam session with several friends when James couldn't remember the bridge of some song.  Shane said he had that song on Rocksmith on his 360.  That soon changed to us each taking turns playing Rocksmith...slightly drunk of course.  Anyway, while I can play the guitar, I'm no pro.  I have my moments and have always wanted to learn and practice a bit more.  While playing at Shane's, I found myself getting some high scores, playing scales and chords, shooting ducks and zombies with a Gibson explorer.  That was it for me.  I went and purchased Rocksmith 2014 for PC.  Turns out my Athlon 4400+ 2.31G wasn't up to the task, so  Rocksmith ended up costing me about 500.00.  New PC  i5 8g terabyte hd graphics etc....   Anyway, the upshot is I now have the Athlon for a MAME build, that is, when I recover financially form these recent purchases.

So long story short, don't get drunk and Rocksmith, it costs.  And while I have your attention, I have two games on Steam, Portal, which I got free a couple of years ago, and Rocksmith which I just purchased.  What other Steam related titles do you suggest?

Regards,
Scam

BadMouth

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2014, 12:12:52 pm »
So how does it compare to the old version of Rocksmith as far as beginners are concerned?
I typically suck at music and foreign languages (gotta be a connection there somewhere).
I'm only 20 minutes into the old one.  Will I learn any faster with the new one?  :lol

As far as other games on Steam, there's tons of great stuff for next to nothing if you wait for sales and humble bundles.

I really enjoyed Limbo, although it is pretty short. 

The new Tomb Raider was a really good story although I hate these newfangled "quick time events" where you passively watch then press a random button at the right moment like it's a 1983 laserdisc game.  Large parts of the game felt very passive, like I was watching a good movie rather than controlling anything.  The gorgeous scenery and battles somewhat made up for it.  It was $10 recently and well worth that.

Mortal Kombat Komplete is a must have IMO.  It drops to $7-9 every so often.

If you like sports games:

I picked up NBA 2k14 for $6

There is no current Madden NFL game for PC, but the version of '08 available for download on Amazon is DRM free and there are online communities that keep the rosters updated.  Don't bother with the CD version. 


I probably have over 60 games that I've bought because they were only a couple bucks, but haven't had time to play.





RoyalScam

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2014, 01:54:50 am »
Thanks for the recommendations, Mortal Combat for sure and Limbo sounds cool.  I've often heard/seen the Humble Bundles in threads here and on Mameworld, but as I wasn't purchasing anything game related, I didn't realize it was on Steam. I'll join the herd, just a little late I guess.

As for the different versions of Rocksmith, I can't really compare them.  I only played the Xbox 360 version for a short while, and like I said, I may not have been as coherent as I normally am ;).  That being said, I can never seem to be able to navigate through menus on modern gaming consoles, so when it was time for a new song or "guitar arcade" game, my buddies handled that.  My honest opinion is that Rocksmith doesn't actually teach you the guitar.  It'll teach you how to play songs, chord shapes, and scale patterns.  Where it falls short is it doesn't  tell you what notes are actually in the scale.  That is, it will show you the shape of a scale, say Am pentatonic, but not what the individual notes are  in the scale and where on the fretboard it is. From what mini games I've played, the scale was simply the pattern of the common "blues" scale on the 5th fret, not the whole fretbord, like this;

http://www.synapticstudios.com/2009/guitar-lessons/scales-looking-for-patterns-and-the-a-minor-pentatonic-box-scale/

The one thing that really bothers me, although I'm getting used to it, is if you're used to tablature, the strings are upside down, makes the chords look weird.

I really enjoy the game, and I know I've just begun to scratch the surface as to all the lessons and tutorials it offers, so who know's, learning the fretborad may be in there.  I really don't think there's any music theory in there, though.  As for making practice a lot of fun, it nails it.

So you want to really learn, here's how it happened for me.  I had the music classes in High School, was a drummer in the marching band.  My brother bought a cheap Harmony acoustic guitar at a yard sale and never played with it, but I did.  I read the Mel Bay books, played Smoke on the Water, learned the "four chords" so I could fake a lot of stuff and had friends who played in various garage bands.  I was, and still am, the electronics geek, I was forever repairing amps, gear, and when I was in high school, a lot of 8-track players ( I'm old ).  I ran sound and lights for a bunch of the guys and really just through osmosis, I picked up a few things, and a lot of bad habits.  Years later, I met who would become my best friend, Ed.  I decided to buy a cheap electric guitar and start playing again, the damned thing would not stay in tune.  I went to a local music store where I met Ed and  he explained correct guitar setup and intonation.  Being the gearhead I am, found it fascinating.  While I was there a kid came in with an old Fender Princeton with a bad hum.  I took it in the back of Ed's shop and repaired it.  We were in it together after that.  Ed had been playing bass for local bands, and I'd go out to at first see, then later haul gear, run sound lights, and repair.  After the bars closed we always seemed to end up back at Ed's shop with half the bar, to continue playing, and having fun.  That's where it really happened for me.  Different people showing me how they did it, and having these impromptu jam sessions.

While I see the need for individual lessons, and private study, the real learning experience comes from playing with others and that's not something I think Rocksmith can do.

Thamks,
Scam

BTW just figured it out tool/options/play settings/invert strings  now it looks right to me.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2014, 10:26:52 am by RoyalScam »

Samstag

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2014, 04:58:30 pm »
So how does it compare to the old version of Rocksmith as far as beginners are concerned?
I typically suck at music and foreign languages (gotta be a connection there somewhere).
I'm only 20 minutes into the old one.  Will I learn any faster with the new one?  :lol

The new one is laid out much better with a faster and more intuitive interface.  The old version seems really clunky in comparison.  One feature the new one has that's really nice for beginners is the adaptive learning.  You can start a song at 0% mastery and only get a few notes thrown at you, but if you're hitting every note it keeps increasing the difficulty until you're playing the whole song.  If you miss a lot of notes it goes back to an easier level.

I just started in December with no musical experience and now I can play a lot of songs 100% on bass.  But no matter how good your teacher is guitar takes a lot of practice to learn the muscle memory.  You have to be willing to put the hours into it if you want to get somewhere.  What I like about rocksmith is it makes the practice a lot of fun.

If you have it on PC or a modded xbox make sure you check out customsforge.com for custom DLC songs.  There are hundreds of great songs available, though the quality of the charting is all over the place.

lilshawn

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2014, 02:58:53 pm »
well, if you enjoyed portal, you'll enjoy portal 2. Couple of new dynamics to the game, yet retains it's "puzzle" roots. Good storyline too.

but other than that, it really depends what kind of games you like. but load up steam every day and check out what's on sale. lots of games go on sale for a day only and they are like 70,80,90% off. F1 2013 went on sale for 13 bucks this last weekend (75% off)...it's normally a $50 buck game. I've bought games during the big sales (steam summer sale and winter sale) for LITERALLY pennies.

Alternatively, get a bunch of games you are interested in... add them to your steam account "wishlist"...then if one of your wishlist games goes on sale, you will get an email about it. (good guy gabe  :lol)

BadMouth

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2014, 03:25:13 pm »
www.greenmangaming.com also has good deals.  Product key is emailed to you.  They are mostly steam, but a few use Origin or some other DRM.
Always try to use the % off code on the home page.  More often than not, it works on already discounted games.

I've stopped looking because I have too much stuff already that I don't have time to play.

The next two in my queue are Borderlands 2 and Alan Wake.

Picked up Guacamelee as part of a humble bundle a few weeks ago.
Only played for 10 minutes, but it's fun so far.


 

Malenko

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2014, 03:34:54 pm »
so how does the guitar hook into the PC for rocksmith?

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Samstag

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2014, 03:47:20 pm »
so how does the guitar hook into the PC for rocksmith?

It's a proprietary cable, but effectively just a USB audio input device.  You can use other audio inputs but only if you crack/patch the game.

Malenko

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2014, 04:02:12 pm »
so how does the guitar hook into the PC for rocksmith?

It's a proprietary cable, but effectively just a USB audio input device.  You can use other audio inputs but only if you crack/patch the game.

I was wondering how the hell he hooks it up if he bought the steam version, soI looked it up and it says this:

Notice: The Rocksmith™ Real Tone Cable is not included with the purchase of Rocksmith™ on Steam and must be purchased separately. Please see your local retailer or many online stores to purchase the Rocksmith™ Real Tone Cable.

that sucks.
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Howard_Casto

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2014, 07:31:38 pm »
I've got the old 360 version that I seldom use because my 360 is currently a dust collector.  I wonder if there is any difference between the 360 cable and the pc one.  They are both usb afterall. 

Malenko

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2014, 07:48:23 pm »
I've got the old 360 version that I seldom use because my 360 is currently a dust collector.  I wonder if there is any difference between the 360 cable and the pc one.  They are both usb afterall.

wanna sell it? my interest is piqued
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Howard_Casto

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2014, 07:51:18 pm »
Nah I was thinking of upgrading to the 2014 version and use it on my pc.  The 360 is in the living room and that's why I seldom get the chance to practice with it.  Not only that but the acoustics are bad for that sort of thing. 

I thought I read somewhere that it was just a usb mic.... I wonder if they have a demo and I could test. 

Samstag

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2014, 11:10:46 pm »
The cable is the same for both versions and all three platforms.

pbj

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2014, 09:48:13 am »
They shoved some chip in the cable so you can't just use a generic $1 Guitar -> USB thing.  The PC version has been cracked to work with the cheapo cables, though.


lilshawn

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2014, 03:50:37 pm »
from the site:

Quote
The Rocksmith Real Tone Cable is required to play. It is a unique 1/4"-to-USB cable that enables Rocksmith to detect and respond to your guitar playing.
All versions of Rocksmith include the Real Tone Cable in the box, except downloaded versions and the Rocksmith 2014 - "No Cable Included" Version.
Compatible with all versions of Rocksmith on all available platforms.


i'm sure there are plenty of hacks to use a mic input or what have you on your PC, but i'll point out the elephant in the room, you will likely have less than stellar quality/results and/or bugs trying to play that way.

head down to EB games or someplace and buy a legit one...hell, you could likely get one "previously played for $19

I can play guitar hero like a rahckstaar, but have no clue about how to play a real guitar..or a piano...or a tuba...or a meat flute.


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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #16 on: March 19, 2014, 03:14:09 pm »
I can play guitar hero like a rahckstaar, but have no clue about how to play a real guitar.....or a meat flute.

***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

lilshawn

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Re: So, I bought Rocksmith 2014
« Reply #17 on: March 20, 2014, 02:47:25 pm »
I can play guitar hero like a rahckstaar, but have no clue about how to play a real guitar.....or a meat flute.



and the winner is... Quentin Tarantino! *audience claps*

Quentin thinking "...Dammit!... I just took a sip of water...---steaming pile of meadow muffin---... I'm going to have to talk... better get rid of it."

PHHHHHHHHT!