Edit the notes that come up.
(game directory)/data/practice/melodies.txt (I think it is .txt) 
Congratulations on a great game.
Reminds me of the old game Rock Manager.
A few suggestions.
- 2 guitar players in the band, maybe add like a dual guitar solo in the notes or something
- Band logos, it was a nice feature in Rock Manager
- The ability to choose a album cover, also from Rock manager. The album cover would not only affect sale but also the mood of the band(picking a cover that doesnāt fit the band would result in unhappy band members).
- Remove the black figures in the live concert screens and put a stock body(male and female) and then have their faces generated on it.
- Get album reviews based on the overall quality of the album, anothe nice thing from rock manager.
- I saw this somewhere else here but thought it was a excellent idea, bad PR. Have the members do stupid things like puke on reporters, kill a hooker or something. Something that creates a scandal
- A way to tell which songs are already on a CD and which songs arenāt. Will help with knowing how many songs I need to create before being able to make a new album.
- Also saw this elsewhere, make it possible for the player character to be something other then a singer. Sometimes the singer isnāt the songwriter/creator in a band
Iād like to see more possibilities for band inititated publicity besides posters and fliers as well as more opportunity. A website would be nice for this as well, plus you could have merchandise sales there too.
I also have a couple of suggestions! First off, it would be awesome to have a ā10 Highest Scoresā list (ala Civilization 4) to compete with yourself and give further purpose to replaying the game.
Also, It would be better if you bought a more expensive instrument/lighting, etc., without buying a cheaper version, that the cheaper one is no longer available for sale.
Another thing is that the āCD Studyingā mode is off balance with the āSeeing a Live Showā mode to the point that studying CDās is almost worthless. It takes 6 turns to study a CD to get what you can get with attending one live show in one turn.
It would be great to have more things to buy and make the spending choices even harder. The ability to hire a PR guy to increase chances of interviews, etc. would be cool. More stats and potential results/hazards info before signing with commercial endorsements would be good as well. Otherwise, it is too big of a risk and too easy to just ignore it all and never sign with anyone (I am not referring to the ārecord/CDā aspect).
One thing that I have noticed after a couple of games is that a āMaster Sheetā would be helpful. Something that lists the bandās fatigue, amount of T-Shirts left, etc., how many days until the next gig, etc. In other words, an āat a glanceā report that allows you to quickly decide what is that dayās MOST important task that needs your attention, without having to dig through numerous things for that information.
The game is AWESOME and better than 50% of the PC games on store shelves. You need to get the word out on this game! Keep adding things too. The above suggestions are just a few off the top of my head after playing 3 full games. This is the BEST rock band simulation ever made!Keep up the good work!!!
One thing Iāve noticed after playing though about 5 times now. There is a lot of clicking through to other screens, selecting and then going back, or not selecting and going back.
Seems to me, that a lot of the clicking to other screens is a bit of a waste of time (and sometimes literally it wastes a day).
I think some UI and usability testing would show up where the interface needs work. I mean, for some parts (like the buy page) it makes sense, but there are some needless interface swaps that dont really buy you much functionality.
So for instance, your āwhat do you want to do nowā page should offer ALL options, or at least offer click throughs for what you want. For instance, when Iāve played a gig, I usually want to rest back to some ārestedā state, but sometimes I want to go and buy something. So you have to go to the main menu and then go to the buy page. Why not have the main menu ātoolbarā at the bottom of the post-gig page so you could go directly to the ābuyā page from it? Or why not go back to your main interface after a gig and have something on the main toolbar to rest or select other activity?
Its mainly interface flow rather than game specific stuff that I think could use improvement.
Outside of that, Iād like to see:
- Some way of actually generating hype, either bought or worked for
- An interface for tracking progress over time (perhaps measured in a line graph, with comparison from other times youve played the game to see if you are getting any better)
- A way of resting that doesnt involve lots of clicks
- A way to bypass the musicianship screen, which gets very repetative after a number of playthroughs (although I like the concept)
- A way to maybe store characters. How about that you can ātrainā characters in one run through of the game, but at the end of the game you can choose to save the individual band members such that thier stats gets stored at thier present state. Call them āsuperstarsā or some such, so that when you next play the game, you can āhireā these superstars to make up your band. Imagine playing through with ātake thatā and then saving out robbie williams as the āsuperstarā etc.
Iām sure Iāll think of more later.
My idea of an addition would be some sort of critics. So that critical acclaim, based on song quality, musicianship & performance, would bring hype by itself, while bad reviews would demotivate even a commercially successful band.
I use Windows XP and a GeForce 4 MX 460 video card. I donāt think Iāve updated the drivers since I bought my computer so thatās probably the problem. Unfortunately I donāt know much about computersā¦ what is the easiest ways to upgrade my drivers?
Go to the following web address to download the current most up to date driver for your graphics card. Hope this helps.
Hi,
I edited the meldies.txt file to make all the melodies short, as I was having problems but it still has lots of complicated ones, does it only effect new games?
Thanks
I think the keyboard is actually hard coded in the game while the other instruments are not.
Well, that didnāt work. The program I downloaded couldnāt find any drivers that were compatible with my hardware. Whatever that means. Well, never mind. Iāll be bying a new computer in a few months anyway and itās not like I canāt play the game.
Thanks for your help.
Something a little weird :
I started making lots of money at one point in the game, so I thought of buying the best instrument for the 3 members of the group (from original to best), but they kept complaining they were using weak instruments, after buying every quality of each instrument the next day, they stopped complaining.
Same thing with the Van + Limo, using Limo without van = They will moan about needing a van, or using the luxury rider, but not the cheap rider, theyāll say that they are dying of hunger.
Iām only wondering if we could only have one quality of something (like the best guitar) and still have the effect, so we donāt have to buy every guitar.
But anyway, awesome game!
I think Iām annoyed by a rare bug, as Iām playing from my laptopā¦
I cannot see images of the characters, of my singer, and even of the thing (gold medal?) I should get when I do a āclassicā song.
I must admit itās killing a good part of my fun, as Iām getting black squares in auditions, at the bottom left 
As I didnāt see anyone else getting that bug, I suppose it must be rare.
If you have time to check this, nevertheless, and you want some screenshots, PM me what you want and I will send that to you 
Anyway, a nice game, with an excellent music and a good gameplay, even without pictures.
Being able to release singles.
Charts etc.
missing / black textures may well be caused by a video card with relatively low memory, do you know how much memory your laptop video card has?
Hi Cliff!
Fantastic game:)
Just asking when will the patch come:)
It would be awesome when you could add some more things to buy as effects or something! And it would be cool if you could set the playlist for the gig so you donāt have to play bad songs or something:)
Waiting for patch!
Thx!
What Iām currently working on is some playbalancing code to smooth out the game for those who find it a bit tricky. This will also involve a system of events that might trigger, so for instance, the manager of a local music shop might award you a free guitar if you have a talented guitarist, as a way of promoting his store.
I also plan to make the GUI a bit clearer and tidier.
Great:)
But i would like to know when it would be ready, because iām really looking forward for updates
There was an idea about website and i think it is cool idea! It would be awesome when you could make your websiteā¦ like you choose what color it is, what there will be! And later you could hire an programming expert or a journalist who makes stories after every gig or song or album:)
I now it is hard to make but it would awesome:)
Suggestions:
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A DIY (do it yourself) approach to music; recording albums with home equipment (and possibly building up a recording skill), manning your own merch table, and possibly getting punk rock credibility for doing so.
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Appeal to different types of fans. Perhaps a list of locations and fan types for each location as well as a locationās affluence and interest in music.
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Music industry and economy that varies either randomly or with different events for various locations.
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The incorporation of radio, especially payola (the act of a record company setting up a subsidiary company which pays radio stations to play a certain song).
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Ability to hire an agent to haggle with venues, possibly dropping the hire costs or negotiating a guarantee that might be a bit higher than the higher cost but to be paid after the show as opposed to a week beforehand. Including a feature such as SoundScan, an industry standard used to measure the amount of records sold by a band, as well as keeping record of ticket sales in the past would give an agent more leverage when negotiating with venues.
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Ability to hire a music attorney to negotiate with record labels, potentially getting the band more royalties from each record sale or the ability to negotiate a contract. Basically, more in-depth record contracts. Who gets the rights to the mechanical recordings? Who gets the rights to the performance of the songs?
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Ability to purchase and run your own studio to make money off mechanical royalties on other bandsā records and, of course, the ability to record your own records.
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Ability to sell rights to songs youāve written in return for performance royalties. This includes selling the rights to other bands, or even for commercials (in which case the band would receive mechanical royalties as well, assuming that the original recording of the song was used).
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Option to sell songs online. This should give the band more money per song than a major record deal would, but the band would have to worry about generating their own hype; either that or the quality of music OR appeal to a large enough fanbase of a certain type could create a word-of-mouth campaign, boosting the bandās popularity. The option to release songs for free with a donation option would be nice, too. The online option would be especially nice for DIY-ers as they could avoid a major record deal altogether.
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Labels with different personalities. Will the label try to push the band as the next pop sensation by spending millions on marketing and payola if they believe in the band, but neglecting them if they donāt? Or will the label push all bands equally regardless of current fame? This would also impact the ability of a music attorney to negotiate with labels. If a label stereotypically will not budge on a certain issue, itāll take an amazing skilled attorney to negotiate. Also, is the label going to want you to play with that emo band just because theyāre on the label too?
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Staff members of different skill levels: not all mixing board dudes are created equal.
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Managers should not be paid a flat rate, but instead paid a percentage of a bandās gross income.
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An ASCAP equivalent; a company which pays an artist based on fees collected from radio stations, bars, restaurants, etc. These fees are blanket memberships, however, and the fees are divided among the companyās represented bands based on an estimate of plays during a period of time. This is where it would be almost essential to have a more fleshed-out game world in which other bands exist and are in direct competition with yours; the more famous bands would receive more ASCAP fee royalties than the less famous bands.
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The ability for a band to create a distinctive sound; as it is, it seems like, during songwriting, each song is a strange amalgamation of classical, sci-fi, funk, blues and tribal drumming. It makes it hard to believe that anybody would actually want to listen to my band in reality. Maybe an overhaul of the songwriting system is in order?
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Perhaps a scale of attributes for each band member instead of simple labels such as āegotisticalā or ādestructiveā to help distinguish them from each other. Dealing with a 65% egotistical member would be much different from dealing with an 88% egotistical member.
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The ability to hire a street team to fly poster and hand out flyers instead of making your poor band members do it.
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The ability to build relationships with other bands via interviews, etc. so that one might be able to tour with a more popular band or let a less popular band tour with them. An overhauled gig system could see a bandās agent trying to find a fitting opening act for the band in each location the band is visiting. Imagine trying to find a classical/IDM band in Montana for the big tour! Also, labelmates would generally have a better disposition with you and may be more willing to tour with you.
Phew.
That was a lot.
Take it from a music industry studies student, though.
(edit: take these as you like. I know how hard coding is. I can barely get C++ to spit out a random variable to a text file for me without crashing five times over.)
Some really good ideas there.