Could Rocksmith’s sequel be closer than we think?

On March 15th, 2011 Rocksmith was first announced by Ubisoft. If you ever have some spare time, go to the various gaming forums and observe the skepticism on March 15th, 2011 and compare it to the general commentary now. Quite a contrast don’t you think?

Regardless, the game as it is right now could definitely use some work. There are numerous issues with our Sony friends, Cable recognition issues with PC, and yes even the XBox has its fair share of issues. In fact I crashed last night twice (making the total number of crashes for me three) just scrolling through the setlist during multiplayer.

This article isn’t about lamenting over the unpatchable problems of Rocksmith, but more-so an exploration of some recent evidence that causes me to believe the sequel is on the way.

[Sidology]

yes, i would like this

[PopRocks359]

If the sequel provides enough of an upgrade over the first one (give me my friggin' online co-op damn you!) then I will buy this in an instant. I loved the first Rocksmith a hell of a lot more than I liked Rock Band's guitar pro mode.

@toymachinesh

What are you talking about? Online has always worked fine in Guitar Hero and Rock Band games (which both use realtime audio as well) and Rocksmith works basically the same way. If anything it should be easier since Rocksmith is a guitar only game and therefor could only require two players.

[toymachinesh]

Online co-op would be very limited due to realtime audio. If anything Ubisoft should take a page from Rock Band Blitz and just have you issue score/percentage challenges on your friends list.

edit:
Rock Band and Guitar Hero are MIDI triggered audio samples. That's a bit different than audio from a guitar/bass.

[Sidology]

Think about it like this: You're converting an analog signal into a digital signal and it's impossible with the current technology we have at our disposal. I mean, as humans. Internet speeds are nowhere near as quick as they would need to be for online co-op or versus for a title such as this.

Compare it to this idea: People can't hear you sing in Rock Band or Guitar Hero due to the same limitations. You're triggering local samples and the information that you've successfully complete/partially completed/failed a "phrase" in the game translates to the other players. Nobody is actually hearing you sing, it's only the pass/fail information that gets broadcast.

[PopRocks359]

You make a fair point about audio latency. From a gameplay perspective though I'm not sure how that necessarily makes it impossible to implement the feature though. Can't they make it so the player can only hear their own guitar and then they can process both scores at the end? That to me is at least a little better than having no online multiplayer at all.

[lociefer]

If so, i hope they let us import jam.tracks, extensive theory, online sessions as jamming and playing together, and faster saves

[SatanSki]

Most important features i would like to see are free tab scrolling, free looping and missed notes highlighting in riff ripeater.