Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Rock Band 4 Getting More Music Exports, Practice Mode, And Playlists In 2016
Harmonix held an AMA ("Ask Me Anything") on Reddit today addressing questions/concerns about the present and future of Rock Band 4. Main highlights from the discussion include the news that track exports for Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and Lego Rock Band are heading to Rock Band 4 in January.
Additionally, Practice mode and playlist creator/setlists are being implemented for free sometime next year. Online multiplayer is also being looked at, and a survey will be sent out asking fans what they’d like to see in a Rock Band 4 online mode.
Below is a list of other noteworthy information combed from the thread, which you can check out yourself here.
- Improved track search options are on the radar
- No announcements for PC support
- Rock Band 4 won’t release for Wii U, but Harmonix is interested in bringing the game to “whatever Nintendo brings next”
- More character creation assets on the way
- Xbox One support for ION drums is being worked on. No ETA at the moment
- Rock Band Network export could happen, but is tricky due to licencing and not a priority
- Keyboard and Pro Guitar support are never returning to Rock Band
- Official Rock Band 4 tournaments (ala Guitar Hero) are a possibility
- Changes will be made to legacy tracks to support Rock Band 4 features "wherever possible"
- The Beatles: Rock Band export is not happening and likely never will
- Green Day export coming to PS4 in 2016 (live now on Xbox One)
- Harmonix uses naming conventions that artists provide, so multiple uses remain. E.G.: HIM/H.I.M.
- Working on addressing exploit bugs/glitches that allow players to cheat and gain 5000-ish points during fill sections, arbitrarily putting them at the top leaderboard position.
- No plans for an M-rated version that retains a song’s original swear words.
- The Doors packs (bug that causes you to buy them again or wait) are coming in 2016.
- Working on addressing Xbox One bug that forces hard crash near the end of songs.
- Previous Rock Band exports won’t be available for those who missed them the first time and there are currently no plans to sell those tracks as DLC.
- Double-pedal support for drums not coming anytime soon (all songs are authored for single pedal) but isn’t a total impossibility
For more on Rock Band 4, read our review and keep up with the game using our complete list of DLC tracks.
[Source: Reddit]
Our Take
Kudos to Harmonix for being largely transparent about Rock Band 4's current status and future during the Reddit discussion. Fans thankfully only have to suffer with song selection until next month when custom playlists hit the game. Online multiplayer (whenever that happens) is a needed addition, and the survey means fans have the ability to help shape the Rock Band 4 online experience.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
