Shroud

Instructions above are focused on editing the BASS track, but I guess it's trivial to notice where, and how to edit the guitar tracks similarly. Just note that the method above destroys both Dynamic Difficulties and Fret Hand Positions, which are then regenerated automatically. That's because I always play charts at 100% difficulty, and I ignore FHP suggestions, so I don't care if both are autogenerated.

These notes were written for my own use, so they aren't exactly pretty... I use 3 software tools: the DLC Builder, Editor on Fire (EOF) and Custom Forge Song Manager (CFSM): WHEN FIXING A CDLC FOR THE FIRST TIME: 1. Open DLC Builder 2. Drag .psarc into DLC Builder and choose a folder to output all the files to. 3. That folder will have .xml files for each arrangement (lead, rhythm, bass, alt paths, vocals,) and the lights. 4. Goto Tools -> Remove DD, and choose the .xml file you want to edit (this will remove DD i.e. make all notes appear in track 0) Goto Tools -> Convert WEM to OGG WHEN CONTINUING A PREVIOUS FIXING: 1-4. Just open the existing .rs2dlc project from DLC Builder MAKING CHART CHANGES: 5. Open EOF and go to File -> Display -> x2 Zoom 6. Goto File -> Import -> Rocksmith, then Select the .xml file for the arrangement you want to change, choose PART_REAL_BASS 7. Goto File -> Load OGG, then Select the .ogg file for the audio 8. Find the problem areas and make your changes* 9. Save the EOF project (will create a new .xml or overwrite) ! If errors in fret positions: Goto Track -> Rocksmith -> Fret Hand positions -> List, click Delete All and click Generate UPDATE CDLC PROJECT AND FILE: 10. Open the .rs2dlc file from the extracted .psarc folder (or just go back to DLC Builder) 11. Select the original arrangement you changed, and copy the name of the Bass Tone Key somewhere also note down Scroll Speed, Tuning Pitch, Picked, Tuning and Priority 12. Right click the original arrangement you changed and remove it 13. Click the + next to Arrangements and import the newly created .xml file(s) from your EOF project folder 14. Paste the name of the Bass Tone Key (or select tone from the Tones list below the instruments) also choose Scroll Speed, Tuning Pitch, Picked, Tuning and Priority 15. Click "Build Test" or "Build Release" if you want to test the new arrangement or if you're ready for it to be considered completed** 16. Open CFSM and add DD back * HOW TO DO BASIC EDITS IN EOF !never use shift to select multiple notes (selects all past notes?) mouse left-click selects a note mouse right-click add/delete a note mouse middle-click opens properties of ALREADY SELECTED notes ctrl keep pressed to select multiple notes change a note position by selecting, then drag with mouse change a note fret by selecting, open properties, edit fret number change a note duration by selecting, then use mouse wheel add special markers from properties add unpitched slide don't set the slide property, increase note duration, Ctrl+U and set any fret up/down appears as a black slide over note duration + red arrow with fret under note add pitched slide need two notes, set the linknext property appears as a purple slide over note duration + red slash with fret under note ! notes at the same time position move together, and show properties together ** it looks like after editing in EOF, the XML track always reports an error about notes in the first bar but it seems that it's ok to just ignore it

I don't have a tutorial but we can write some. I haven't gone as far as creating CDLC from scratch, primarily out of fear of getting into another time sink (especially on tempo mapping tasks), but I do make changes to existing CDLC when I notice factual notes errors and when I disagree with fretting solutions. Let me fetch my notes...

I downloaded a bunch of those at random, and converted it using the ChartConverter. I noticed a couple of issues, that I thought I should mention: First, PhaseShift customs are distributed as RAR archives, but the ChartConverter does not decompresses them, so you have to manually extract them before converting (this is really not a big deal, but it would be great if it would be able to also process archive files directly). Then, I think the ChartConverter is missing the audio file. According to your github notes, it should create these files: song.json (song metadata) song.ogg (song audio recording) arrangement.json (song structure information - currently just measures/beats) <part>.json (one file per instrument part) Here is what it creates instead: I suppose that the ChartConverter doesn't really need to do anything to the audio (OGG) file, other than copying it to the output folder, but it doesn't do it. I think this may be a bug because it actually DOES work when converting from Rocksmith PSARC files. I first thought that it is expecting a file specifically called "song.ogg" which is Rocksmith default, while PhaseShift customs have a different audio file name, typically "guitar.ogg", but renaming the source file didn't help. The longer truth is... those PhaseShift customs are usually RockBand customs converted with another software called C3 CON Tools, which in most cases merges all audio stems into a single file, and calls it "guitar.ogg" (in those rare cases when the multitrack audio stems are not encrypted, it leaves them separate). Also, it worries me a bit that the song.json file mentions different .ogg files for each instrument ("drums*.ogg", "vocals.ogg" and "keys.ogg") under the "SongStem" property, as if expecting multiple stems which aren't there even in the input folder... Note that I haven't actually tried to play these converted songs in ChartPlayer, so I don't know yet if they would crash.

Aha! I am not familiar with Phase Shift but I guess the format is different. I tried a RockBand CON file at random: https://rhythmverse.co/songfile/516393c649c19 Then just in case I had picked a faulty one, I tried one that I made myself to be sure it is a file that works fine in the game https://rhythmverse.co/songfile/5e21618fe82055.58100215 These are XBOX files for RockBand3. I don't know if there is a tool to convert them to PhaseShift format.

I tried Ableton DAW and it worked straight away. However the chart converter is not giving me any output... I set the source and output folders, put some RockBand files into it, and then it said finished processing but I see no output file...

I can't get the ChartPlayer to load in Reaper v7.40. I installed the .NET SDK 8.0 and refreshed the VST scan, but it says that all .dll under the ChartPlayer folder are shown as failed to scan. I checked the troubleshooting instructions and there is no AudioPlugSharp folder under %appdata% to check the logs. Any idea? Do I also have to install AudioPlugSharp.

It's not a standalone program, it works in a DAW such as Reaper, Cakewalk or Audacity.

That's a brilliant idea! This way there's no need to update RB charts, you get out of them more instruments than RockBand itself supports

I should get back into playtesting your ChartPlayer this summer, probably with Audacity as a DAW this time. Since last time, it appears you have added Drums and Keys support, amazing!! I haven't actually been able to find a screenshot of your ChartPlayer with drums and keys, but I am guessing you used Rockband as a model for drums and Rocksmith+ as a model for keys? It would be great to find a way around Rockband's drums limitation of not supporting open/closed hihat (quite a bummer since it's a basic skill for drummers). Also looking forward to see what you will come up for the vocals. Since you already have FFT-based pitch detection for guitar/bass, it should work also for vocals. But generally, games like Rockband aren't that good at vocal notes visualisation...

I am having second thoughts... maybe I should pick up my guitar more often and try out some of your exercises How do these work actually? Do you put them in the game the same way as normal CDLCs? Do you slow then down from riff repeater and then gradually increase speed, or does each exercise include different speeds and you pick/repeat one section appropriate to your level?

But I think he specifically asked how to make the chart playable with a 4-string bass...

I think there are a couple of options to choose from. If there are only a few notes on the low B string, you could replace them with the same notes one octave up, and the song will ve playable by a 4-string bass, although not faithful to the original. If there are no notes on the high G string, or if those are not too uncomfortable to play after moving them down to the D string, then you could just set the tuning to B standard, and eventually people can play with a 4-string bass using a pitch shifter.

As a bass chart user, there are only a few things that I consider real dealbreakers: - out of sync charts - charts that are just copy-pastes of the main groove and completely ignore all the variations Even factual errors in notes and rhythm don't bother me that much because I know how to fix them. That's also the case for notes length and slides, but I don't usually care enough to fix them at all. But an out of sync chart is unplayable and requires a significant amount of work to fix it myself. And downloading a complex chart only to find that the author didn't bother to enter the variations throughout the song is appalling and irritating, as again it requires enough work to fix that compares to making it from scratch. I certainly wish to see red flags for such CDLC so that at least I could check out WHY they were flagged and then decides if it bothers me or not. Checking all comments for every single CDLC in case someone mentioned issues without reporting is not nearly as practical. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't want a CDLC to be taken down automatically because of a report: staying visibly flagged is enough, also because if the author doesn't want to fix certain issues maybe someone else will. Even a non-starting CDLC might be easy to fix if someone looks into it.

Keep in mind that the Report functionality and process is always a work in progress. It is not set in stone and will change again. I am quite sure that the devs are constantly looking at how things work and how people are using them, and then correct the course. For instance I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of reports it takes to hide/remove a CDLC will be significantly increased in the future. You're not the only CDLC author who has expressed contrary opinions on the current Report system. If it's getting annoying to you, just ignore reports, don't bother updating your previous CDLC, and don't share new ones you make, but don't pull the plug completely. Especially if you have lots of CDLC made, statistically the more you make the more likely some will get reported, but on the other hand the very vast majority is not getting reported at all.

Great initiative! Unfortunately I have no time for guitar other than picking it up casually once or twice a month, as I am more or less a full-time bassist at the moment (and I am not interested in shredding on bass), but I had my share of technique heavy lifting in my youth and part of me still misses that

I had read many times that Real Tone cables were getting scarce, and 3rd party cables mostly didn't work for RS (in fact there's a lot of seemingly equivalent cables on Amazon with customers comments about them not working with RS). I've also read many times here about how Real Tone cables stop working after a few years, though none of mine have abandoned me yet. So eventually I now have 4 Real Tone cables. After my first, I kept monitoring local second hand marketplaces and bought another every time one popped up on sale nearby for ten bucks or less. But as i said, none of them ever broke, and now I start wondering if I should keep getting more, or if I should stop hoarding and leave them in the wild for others to pick up.

I'm looking for CDLC that are cool to play on bass in drop D tuning. I already have a bunch of them downloaded but otherwise there are just way too many others from bands I don't really know, so I am open for suggestions. Any genre is fine. Intermediate level preferred but not strictly necessary.

Indeed, stem separation tools are good at separating drums, vocals and bass, but bad with guitars and keyboard. But... if you're lucky and the song you want has one guitar only and no keyboard, the tool will separate drums, vocals and bass, and leave you with the "everything else" leftover track which will then contain only the guitar track. You can then merge all other stems and have a reasonable guitar-less version of the original song. Overall however, I would simply guess that full-audio is still more popular than a backing track, because then you can also hear more clearly what and how you should play. In many cases, the visual representation of notes in RS (but also tabs and classical notation) can be deceiving on the exact rhythm. Without audio to remind you, it can happen that you think you're nailing the rhythm while you're really not.

Looks like an error with the show lights, have you tried selecting the "default showlight" checkbox? Also, isn't it easier and better nowadays to make CDLC with the CDLC CREATOR program?

They are all very legitimate questions without a unique answer I don't like the distinction between Lead and Rhythm guitar, it's an obsolete distinction. I wish the game never separated the paths like that but rather showed all guitar charts at once with maybe a symbol to indicate whether it has a solo. I think the only reason to have a separate Rhythm path is for players who don't want to stumble upon a song that requires them to play a solo. In the real world, bands can have multiple guitarists without one of them being the only soloist, there are songs with two distinct guitars both of which have a solo and I would rather have them on separate tracks as the original guitarists. Otherwise I would always instinctively choose Lead path in RS and don't like having to switch path to check what's on the other, but this is how the game is designed unfortunately for me. Count-ins aren't always needed. Their purpose is to signal the tempo especially when many instruments start at once. Rarely but possibly you could also have a count-in later in the song. I would use a count-in only where it helps your instrument. The worst case is when you hear a count-in and you have nothing to play next. For the fade out, I wouldn't bother with multiple tones, just stop charting notes when it makes sense, possibly on the first downbeat. When I created a (very few) customs for Rockband3, I put the audio files into Reaper and edited the ending, increasing volume to compensate for the fade out, and trying to cut-off the song on a downbeat, which is one way musicians play such songs live (other ways are a "big rock ending", medley with the next song, or come up with an entirely different ending, but none of these are doable for CDLC). It doesn't always come out nice, so I wouldn't recommend it as a standard solution but you can give it a try.

Degli Afterhours non c'é ancora nulla, tempo fa avevo scritto qui una lista di autori italiani di cui avevamo un po' di CDLC, per aiutare la ricerca visto che non c'é una funzione per filtrare in base alla nazione o alla lingua:

I haven't checked the latest improvements but I just wanted to say again that this is already an incredible job!

Did it use to work and are you using the same output device? Just in case you aren't already doing so, make sure you are using wired analog speakers or headphones, not USB.

Yes it's pretty good, though not in my top picks of their discography, but they have so many albums by now that it gets harder to beat my favourites. I am happy they moved back from the synth-electronic pop of last time which was ok but not stellar... I like them best when they do more quirky music, and while this new one sounds somewhat blues/american-rock oriented, it also has that quirkiness I really like.