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Rock Band Network Beta Plugged In, Rocking
Remember the Rock Band Network? The still-unreleased service plans to give musicians the power to release their own tracks onto a special online store, giving Rock Band fans an even larger selection of tunes to choose from.
Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that the beta for the Rock Band Network is now live, giving a select segment of gamers a chance to playtest and shape the content that will eventually be hitting the Rock Band Network Store. What select segment? To get your hands on these tracks, you’re going to need to have an Xbox 360 and be a member of the XNA Creators Club. (Membership runs $99 for a year or $49 for a four-month subscription.)
Tracks will have to be approved by the community before they’re shifted over to the Rock Band Network Store. From there, artists will score a 30-percent commission from sales. Harmonix and MTV Games say that “a selection of standout tracks” will be available on the PlayStation 3 and Wii, so players looking for the biggest selection—for better or worse—will probably want to stick to the Xbox 360.
What’s the approval process like? There are some guidelines on the Rock Band Network site. They’re worth a look, even if you don’t plan on downloading a single track from the service. Here are some of the highlights:
Guitar and Bass
• Is the authoring consistent throughout the entire song on all difficulties?
• Is expert a literal transcription of the song rhythmically?
• Is the intent of the guitarist authored, rather than any sloppiness?
• Are forced hopos functional and reasonable?
• Are there green-orange chords, three finger chords, or jumps from these gems on the hard difficulty? There should not be.
Drums
• Are all drum hits (other than exceptions listed below) authored on expert?
• Are flams authored as two gems on expert?
• Are disco beats authored correctly, so that the red pad has less of an effect on the crowd meter?
• Does all of the pad movement feel correct? Is it reasonably playable?
Vocals
• Are all lyrics spelled correctly?
• Do all of the lyrics match up to what the singer is singing?
• Are there any hyphens appearing in places they shouldn't?
• Does each phrase begin with a capital letter?
Non-Instrumental
Crowd animations are also important. The most obvious issue is when crowd animations aren’t authored at all. The crowd will just stand around, looking bored with what’s going on. Make sure they’re rocking out! Also, since there’s a few states that they can have, if it seems like they should be more or less excited, it’s good to make a note of that.
What do you think? Are you or your band interested in giving this a shot? Are you a player who’s looking forward to the deluge of new tracks? Are you at all concerned about the quality of these new tracks?
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