StrickenBiged's Epic Quest for another Platinum and Rock-Godhood

[skateak]

Seems like you have made som nice progress with your guitar skills, keep it up! I just started the PS4 version today and I'm really struggling with audio input lag, lag from the TV is understandable (HDMI), but I even get lag when I use headphones directly in my controller, which for me is not understandable, what setup are you using?

Do have an optical audio port on your TV or some type surround sound that has it? I am using one and it is much much better than HDMI. The only headphones I have used are the wireless Sony ones and I never noticed any extra. Also, use Linear PCM in the PS4 audio settings.

Edited May 8, 2016 by skateak

[StrickenBiged]

Seems like you have made som nice progress with your guitar skills, keep it up! I just started the PS4 version today and I'm really struggling with audio input lag, lag from the TV is understandable (HDMI), but I even get lag when I use headphones directly in my controller, which for me is not understandable, what setup are you using?

 

The Ubisoft forums warn against using the PS4 controller audio-jack. The reason being is that the PS4 sends its audio to the DS4 controller via bluetooth 100% of the time, so there is an additional layer of encoding and decoding which will introduce lag even if the controller is plugged in. (This problem is not present on XBOne, for example, where the audio will be sent down the wire if the controller is plugged in to the XBOne.)

 

HDMI suffers lag for the same reason. The PS4 has to encode the audio, then the TV decodes it. Again, this takes some time, introducing lag.

 

My setup is that which is advised on the game's boot-up screens: My PS4 video goes to the TV via HDMI, and the audio goes straight from the PS4 to an external speaker via a optical connection (TOSLINK). Once that's connected, you can change the PS4's audio settings to send audio via the optical output.

 

You can get a soundbar or speaker which takes digital audio fairly cheaply these days. I got a Samsung HW-J250, which is a fairly cheap option but works well. It also makes all my other games and general TV watching sound miles better than my crappy TV speakers ever did. 

[StrickenBiged]

A bit late in posting these, but they're not particularly exciting updates:

 

Days 87 and 88: Thurs 5 May and Sun 8 May 2016

 

So, two relatively short sessions on these days.

 

On the Thursday, I spent some more time in Learn a Song smashing out missions. Had to play a new song (chose a Queen one) and reach 75% accuracy on Woman. Only got about 40 mins with the bass today.

 

On the Sunday, there was a bit more in the way of structured practice. After a few easier missions (get a 150 note streak, stuff like that) I got a mission to increase my mastery of 2 more songs above 75%. Managed to do the first one no problem but the second, Heaven Knows by the Pretty Reckless, took me a few attempts. 

 

The final mission, which I wasn't able to hit, asked me to improve my mastery of Woman to 75.8%. Now, the long section of riff in the middle of this song isn't hard, but my clumsy fingers just can't seem to get around the pattern and I always fluff it at normal speed. So I jumped into Riff Repeater for the first time in a while and slowed it right down. 

 

Just like it promises, I was suddenly able to do this sequence. I've started increasing the speed and hope to improve my mastery of Woman next time this mission shows up in the rotation. On the day though, we suddenly realised we were late to the movies, and I had to shoot off.

Edited May 11, 2016 by StrickenBiged

[Hemiak]

Just an FYI, RS 2014 is 9.99 ps3 and 14.99 ps4 on the NA store right now. I'm going to grab it now and hopefully that'll help me get back into it.

[StrickenBiged]

Just an FYI, RS 2014 is 9.99 ps3 and 14.99 ps4 on the NA store right now. I'm going to grab it now and hopefully that'll help me get back into it.

 

Do it. It's an absolute steal at that price. 

 

And then having access to the almost 800 DLC tracks available on 2014... well, you'd be absolutely spoiled for choice. 

[StrickenBiged]

Day 89: 14 May 2016

 

Got about an hour with the bass today. 

 

I bought the Rise Against song packs. (I'd not heard of these guys before Rocksmith, but I'm happy to have found them!) Good fodder for the "play a new song" missions. The bass parts do some interesting things with the phrasing - while the shifting and riffs themselves are relatively straightforward, 

 

Again, I spent most of my time in "learn a song" letting the missions guide me. Of note were the missions which asked me to improve my mastery in particular songs: I got We are the Champions (Queen), Self Trap (Playground Kings), and Bombtrack (Rage Against the Machine) each above 85%, with some requiring more practice than others. Bombtrack was a hell of a lot of fun - I started to throw my whole body into playing that one, - and as more notes are revealed in We are the Champions, I find I'm having more and more fun playing that one too.

 

Had another go on Woman, (I had to get 75% accuracy for a mission), and managed to fumble my way through the riff that's giving me difficulty. At full speed, it's still quite hard, but the game has decided that I'm good enough for another note or two to be thrown into the mix. Going to need to slow this one down again.

 

Ended the session with some time in Session mode. A mission asked that I spend 10 minutes practicing in 3 different keys. Had a little jam with the pentatonic minor scale in D, F and E. Then quickly bashed out a mission that wanted me to try out the pentatonic major scale. Good stuff.

 

Day 90: 15 May 2016

 

Roughly another hour spent in the game, today entirely in Learn a Song. 

 

Had a lot more "play X new songs" missions today, which let me get through the Rise Against song packs. Lots of fast strumming in these, my arm got very tired indeed. 

 

I played through them too quickly, and the songs are too new to me, to remember what any of them are called really. I think my highest "one play mastery" was on Paper Wings, which was >90%. Most of the others were between 70% and 90% after one play. 

 

This is the sort of pack that exposes one of the weaknesses of Rocksmith 2014. It doesn't penalise you for playing notes when you shouldn't, provided that you still hit the notes that you should. So when you see a section where the phrasing goes like this ("_" =  one beat note, "____" = a sustained note):

 

_ _ _ ____ _ _ _ ____

 

You could play this:

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

and Rocksmith will not penalise you provided that you're playing the correct note.

 

Basically, I'm going to need to slow them down in Riff Repeater to get my head around some of the beats, rests and sustains in these lines if I want to play them properly. When things got a little panicked I just started shredding to get through. 

 

After getting through the remaining Rise Against songs, I went back to some favourites for a bit. Improved my mastery on Closing Time, which is a fun bassline, and went back to Bombtrack for a bit of fun, managing to edge up the score by a few tenths of a %. Need to just work on that intro some more.

[StrickenBiged]

Day 91: 18 May 2016

 

Another fun session today, even though all I did was more missions in learn a song mode. 

 

Started out with Closing Time by Semisonic, a favourite to get me warmed up. 

 

Spent about an hour with the game overall. For the easier missions (get a "great performance" or a 150 note streak) I'd fall back on old favourites.

 

Tried a few new songs (when the missions called for them). I particularly liked Swing Life Away by Rise Against, which I 100%-ed on my first go (so immediately went into Score Attack Mode and 100%-ed it again - I gotta remember that I need to clear 50 songs in SAM for the trophies there...). 

 

 

I also really enjoyed playing Good Enough by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which had a really very fun bassline to play. I was able to get about 95% mastery on my first go! It's a long, 6-minute-and-something track, so quite tiring, but I think I'll give this one more attention in the future. 

 

 

Another fun one I hadn't tried before was Me and the Bean by Spoon. Enjoyed playing this one too, but I don't think my final score was as high as the Tom Petty track. Another one to do some more work on though.

 

 

There was one more song of some note, but I can't remember what it was called now! (I'll try and remember to edit if I figure it out.) Anyway, it was noteworthy because I remember it being a song that I found difficult, but that I managed to improve my mastery from 75% to above 85% on my first go, when a mission asked me to do so.

 

What was that song...

[StrickenBiged]

Days 92 & 93: Sat 21 & Sun 22 May 2016

 

I'm going to lump these two sessions together because, again, they were so similar. Also, neither one was a "full session" as we had guests over for the weekend so I was sneaking in songs here and there when time allowed. 

 

Essentially, I was just noodling around in Learn a Song mode, hitting missions. Played a few new songs, got a few "great performances", improved my mastery to >75% on a number of tracks. 

 

I also jumped into Session Mode with my new brother-in-law on the Sunday. He's an accomplished guitarist. We noodled around in E pentatonic minor for about 15 minutes. The session mode is quite good really. The screen highlighted which notes would work best with the rest of the band, and my playing didn't sound too bad with the virtual band. My brother-in-law, of course, was kinda doing his own thing because he understands all this music theory stuff, so he was soloing and riffing like a trooper. I was just trying to sync up with the drum track rhythmically, and stick to the highlighted notes. I did get a little adventurous by moving between playing on the 12th fret and with open strings.

 

Other than that, not too much to report. I need to get back into the other parts of the game again really. Some guitarcade work would do me good.

[StrickenBiged]

Not counting this as an official "day" but I jumped on to the game last night to have a little go in Session Mode. Played for a while and hit 3 missions while I was there. 

 

Enjoyed the "doom" metal preset band. Got some horribly gnarly riffs going there. Lots of fun.

 

Only about 15 minutes overall as I had to go out to a meeting. 

[Hemiak]

Question about session mode, as I've had a "spend 10 minutes" mission that doesn't seem to be going away, not to mention the trophies for 12 and 60 minutes.

Is there a way for it to give you anything on the note highway, or do you just have to make it up as you go? I know you can use it to highlight the scale, and the band will follow along, but if I just have to randomly come up with something for an hour, I'll probably leave that trophy for last before the Plat (assuming I ever get that close)

[Hemiak]

Hmmmm, so I couldn't wait any longer. Dropped $10 on a psn card. Bought the RS disc export access, closed it down, fired up 2014... And it wants me to spend $10 on the disc import access. I need to pick the kids up at school so I only spent a couple minutes before I left, I'll try to figure it out when I get home.

Edit: OK, so fun stuff. Here's the problem as I figure it. You are Supposed to import the songs using 2014 on the ps3, which works fine. You only need the original's "disc export" feature when going to the ps4 version. So basically spending the $10 on exporting did nothing for me, and I had to request a refund. When I get my funds back I'll go into 2014 and buy the import pack.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Hemiak

[StrickenBiged]

Question about session mode, as I've had a "spend 10 minutes" mission that doesn't seem to be going away, not to mention the trophies for 12 and 60 minutes.

 

Dunno about the 60 minute one as I haven't gone for that myself yet. But for the 10 minute one, make sure you're using the band the mission recommends. I spent a while with the doom metal band the other day trying to get a 10 minute mission out of the way, and it didn't pop until I switched to the band they recommended. 

 

Is there a way for it to give you anything on the note highway, or do you just have to make it up as you go? I know you can use it to highlight the scale, and the band will follow along, but if I just have to randomly come up with something for an hour, I'll probably leave that trophy for last before the Plat (assuming I ever get that close)

 

I think the point of session mode it to experiment and start to learn how to jam. Try putting one of the options - I can't remember which, but it's the one which defaults to "radio friendly" - onto "changing" or "changes".  Listen close and you'll hear the drums change slightly before a key shift. 

 

Also, try playing the highlighted chord notes on the scale. These are the one's that will sound best with what the band is doing. After a while, you'll start anticipating when the highlighted notes are about to change within the scale, and won't need to look at the screen anymore.

 

Hmmmm, so I couldn't wait any longer. Dropped $10 on a psn card. Bought the RS disc export access, closed it down, fired up 2014... And it wants me to spend $10 on the disc import access. I need to pick the kids up at school so I only spent a couple minutes before I left, I'll try to figure it out when I get home.

Edit: OK, so fun stuff. Here's the problem as I figure it. You are Supposed to import the songs using 2014 on the ps3, which works fine. You only need the original's "disc export" feature when going to the ps4 version. So basically spending the $10 on exporting did nothing for me, and I had to request a refund. When I get my funds back I'll go into 2014 and buy the import pack.

 

Have you read the support page here? Apparently you were supposed to answer "yes" during setup when asked whether you've played vanilla Rocksmith. This would then prompt a scan of your PSN account and give you access to the songs if the scan confirmed you'd played. 

 

Hope you get the refund. In my experience, PS Store is pretty stingy with that shit. 

[Hemiak]

Dunno about the 60 minute one as I haven't gone for that myself yet. But for the 10 minute one, make sure you're using the band the mission recommends. I spent a while with the doom metal band the other day trying to get a 10 minute mission out of the way, and it didn't pop until I switched to the band they recommended.

I think the point of session mode it to experiment and start to learn how to jam. Try putting one of the options - I can't remember which, but it's the one which defaults to "radio friendly" - onto "changing" or "changes". Listen close and you'll hear the drums change slightly before a key shift.

Also, try playing the highlighted chord notes on the scale. These are the one's that will sound best with what the band is doing. After a while, you'll start anticipating when the highlighted notes are about to change within the scale, and won't need to look at the screen anymore.

Have you read the support page here? Apparently you were supposed to answer "yes" during setup when asked whether you've played vanilla Rocksmith. This would then prompt a scan of your PSN account and give you access to the songs if the scan confirmed you'd played.

Hope you get the refund. In my experience, PS Store is pretty stingy with that shit.

I did hit yes. I even deleted my save and started over. Then I deleted the entire game and reinstalled, but it always asks me to spend another $10. >:F My good buddy Josh at Sony was really cool, my refund should be here today or tomorrow. Then I'll go into 2014 and use the import access and hopefully be good.

Almost everything on the support page has to do with importing into the ps4 version unfortunately.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Hemiak

[StrickenBiged]

I did hit yes. I even deleted my Dave an started over then deleted the entire game and reinstalled, always asks me to spend another $10. My good buddy Josh at Sony was really cool, my refund should be here today or tomorrow. Then I'll go into 2014 and use the import access and hopefully be good.

 

Good result, but weird that you were asked to spend $10. Maybe it was something similar to the "refresh your licences" issue I had on the PS4 version of 2014. 

 

Glad you got it sorted and got a refund tho.

 

P.S. I have been playing during my holidays last week, but haven't had the time to update yet today. Long story short, 4 sessions, more of the same really - hitting LaS and Session Mode missions, with a brief foray into SAM to get 30 songs done on Medium or harder (I played on hard). A quick session on Temple of Bends to hit a mission by getting that game to level 4. Mostly bass, although I did have a go on Rhythm guitar where I played Bombtrack by RatM.

[Hemiak]

Good result, but weird that you were asked to spend $10. Maybe it was something similar to the "refresh your licences" issue I had on the PS4 version of 2014. 

 

Glad you got it sorted and got a refund tho.

Checked when I got home today, $10.26 on my account.  Fired up 2014, held my breath and bought Disc Import Access. It immediately asked me to download it from the standard in-game XMB menu thingy (success!) Did that, installed it about 5 minutes later, and I'm golden. Huzzah!  #BestBuddyJosh

[StrickenBiged]

Days 94 - 98: Sometime between 28 May and 5 June 2016

 

Was on holiday between these dates, so my practice was irregular, and I wasn't really keeping track. And now enough time has passed that I have sort of forgotten most of it... I'll jot down what I can remember for posterity. It was probably about the equivalent of around 4 sessions, so I'm counting that as 4 days.

 

Guitar - I picked up the guitar and had a pop at the rhythm path for a change. Boy do I ever suck at chords all over again... Still, I had some fun with Bombtrack on rhythm, which is essentially exactly the same as the bass arrangement. Managed to get it to 70 odd percent, the opening riff is still giving me trouble. Also had a crack at Star Chords. Managed to level up, but my scores are still woefully short of a million, let alone the 10M I'll need for the trophy...

 

Bass - Lots and lots of missions, in Learn a Song, Session Mode, and Guitarcade. Basically did whatever the game told me to. Got a bit better at Ode to Joy, played all the Rise Against tracks, noodled around all over the place really. Also spent a session playing songs I'm good at on hard mode in Score Attack, working towards the "Beat X songs on X Difficulty trophies". Got another 15 or so to go on at least easy difficulty, and I think these should be wrapped up. 

 

Overall, a bit disjointed, but there we are.

 

In other news, this week's song pack is Good Charlotte! Used to love these guys in my youth, so had to buy that one as a guilty pleasure...

[StrickenBiged]

Days 99 - 100: 10 & 12 June 2016

 

You may be able to sense a pattern forming....

 

Spent most of my time on these two days playing around in Learn a Song. Mostly hitting missions, but I did get through the new Good Charlotte DLC. Were they a "cool" band to listen to even in the early noughties? Probably not, but they're a guilty pleasure. I can't deny that I had a lot of fun remembering and playing these songs on bass. Simple bass lines for the most part. Girls & Boys is a particularly fun one, as is I Just Wanna Live. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous will require a bit more work. I need to fret more softly on the string tuned all the way down to Drop Db to play it right and get the game to recognise what I'm doing. 

 

The game's new obsession, as far as the missions go, is the song Brand New Kind of Blue by Gold Motel. "Improve your mastery" it tells me. "Get a new high score in SAM" it berrates me. It's a hard song, alright game. I'm working on it... Grrr. 

 

Other than that, played a few songs just for fun. Another One Bites the Dust is still immense fun to play. 

 

Also jumped into session mode again to knock out a couple of missions. Finished up a "play for 20 minutes" session, then learned about spacing, then had to apply spacing in a 10 minute session. Also learned a couple of new scale patterns, Ionian and Aeolian. 

 

Didn't get into the Guitarcade this weekend. Still need to get back onto that.

[StrickenBiged]

Day 101: 16 June 2016

 

Had a pretty long session last night. 

 

More of the same really, jumping in and out of songs in Learn a Song, doing whatever mission the game was trying to throw at me. It is still obsessed with Brand New Kind of Blue, which I'm finding quite tough really. Lots of shifting and development of the riff as the song goes on. Must practice it some more. Other than that, I had the opportunity to play some of my favourites as and when I'd get a mission like "Get a great performance" or what have you. 

 

Jumped into Session Mode's missions after that. Played around with a couple of new scales, the game got me to start sliding up and down the neck to play scales in a different octave, stuff like that. It can go by so quickly that I'm not sure it's all going in... . 

 

Finally I did some guitarcade. Got my level up and new high scores in Scale Racer, Gone Whailin' and Temple of Bends. 

 

Overall, I think I played for about 2 hours. Was good fun, and definitely helped relieve a hard day at work.

 

With a few songs, I need to start making sure I'm not gaming the system. I found that while playing Walk this Way I could get the game to detect all the notes, but they sounded like shit IRL. Might play a couple of songs with the rest of the band muted to see what I sound like on my own... I bet it won't be good!

[StrickenBiged]

Day 102: 18 June 2016

 

Had a decent session today. Not too long, but not too short, probably about an hour. Bass, still. 

 

Started in LaS to get warmed up. Hit a few easy missions along the way, like get a 150 note streak or a "great performance", etc. Got 2 missions for increasing my mastery in Brand New Kind of Blue (I think I've managed to get that riff where it shifts a lot better ingrained into my head) and Walk this Way respectively. Also improved my mastery in Ode to Joy, which netted me another mission. 

 

Moved on to the Guitarcade. Managed to level up and earn new high scores in Gone Whalein' and Scale Racer, earning missions for both. Didn't manage to break 10m for the trophies though. Also played some new scales on the second set on Scale Warriors. Completing level 1 earned me a mission there. Most of my time during this session was spent doing these. 

 

Went back to LaS and played Stricken by Disturbed, just for fun. Really like that song - it's not where my PSN name came from though, if you were wondering - and I'm starting to get better at the "light touch" required for playing at lower tunings. Then decided to get a new high score on SAM, medium, on Walk this Way. But the game crashed halfway through the song and I took that as a sign...

[StrickenBiged]

Day 103: 21 June 2016

 

Had a reasonable session today, about one hour with the game. Still bass.

 

Spent some time in LaS. Got a mission for doing a 150 note streak, even though it took me 3 songs to nab it. Then the game asked me to play Walk this Way, which is a little above my abilities right now. Need to spend some time in riff repeater on that one before I'll be comfortable with it. I can cheat it by flailing my fingers around, but that's not good if I want to improve.

 

Switched over to Guitarcade. Did another level of Scale Warriors for a mission. Next mission was to level up in Temple of Bends, which I suck at - seriously, I'm already level 5 and my highest score isn't even 1M. I just can't seem to figure this one out. Didn't manage to level up in the end.

 

Felt like indulging in some angst (been feeling a little stressed out at work) so went back to LaS and down tuned to DdropC. Played Stricken, Ten Thousand Fists and Indestructible by Disturbed, and then played Toxicity and Aerials by System of a Down. Managed to get 100% accuracy on my first go of Aerials (this was my second PT of the song, so it was already mostly unlocked) so decided to jump over to SAM and play through it on Hard. Missed one note... Still, enjoyed playing some "angry" stuff, it helped.

[StrickenBiged]

Day 104: 22 June 2016

 

A very quick 25 minute session. Kept the bass in a low tuning and played through some Disturbed and System of a Down tracks. Not much to shout about, so not really counting this as a dedicated session, just wanted to blow off some steam.

[skateak]

Day 104: 22 June 2016

 

A very quick 25 minute session. Kept the bass in a low tuning and played through some Disturbed and System of a Down tracks. Not much to shout about, so not really counting this as a dedicated session, just wanted to blow off some steam.

Any update the past month? I worked on this a little bit. 7 of those plays were in LAS. 

[StrickenBiged]

Any update the past month? 

 

No, I've been really shit at playing. Been mentally busy at work, especially the last week, and that has cut into my free time.

 

I just sorta fell out of the habit I guess. I need to get back on it. 

[Edunstar84]

No, I've been really shit at playing. Been mentally busy at work, especially the last week, and that has cut into my free time.

 

I just sorta fell out of the habit I guess. I need to get back on it. 

Same here! Though now I have more free time I've fallen out of the habit so it's a bit difficult to get back in.

[Hemiak]

I wasn't able to play at all this month due to family vacation and the event I was running. Now that it's over I'll get back to it. My poor fingers...

Edited August 1, 2016 by Hemiak