I returned to the game a couple weeks ago, having stopped playing in January. General thoughts are the game has improved a great deal and I’m having fun but one of the better new features, for me, is the music skill. This has been so much fun.
First up, the music is extremely high quality. Really, really well done. I love guitar in real life and now I get to play some really beautiful songs in game. The music on offer is all brilliant and fits the theme of the game so well. Well done.
This is a great example of sideways advancement done well. I’ll often just set up in Windsward or Everfall and start soloing and if anyone asks to join in I always let them. It’s a very effective social tool, the rewards are genuinely worth it and overall the process just works as it is. I do have some thoughts on how things could get better and some minor issues with it and I wanted to share these.
- If you get tips, you should get faction standing in the territory you’re playing in.
- Please, please, please let us talk in chat during the tip timer! This is really annoying.
- Virtuoso skill level: Please add another skill level above Expert. Expert is very challenging (and I still miss some notes occasionally on the more difficult songs such as The Butterfly or Potter’s Sprint) but I’ve effectively mastered that now and what I noticed quickly is that it still can have large gaps between actual notes/chords. This is fine for Expert level. But I think you should add a Virtuoso level for those who have mastered Expert and just fill in all those gaps! I’d like this level to effectively have every note/chord represented (or near enough).
- “Fake Clapping” Toggle: Sometimes, with songs that are usually for group play but if you don’t have a full band, some fake clapping starts to play and I believe this to be based on the number of other players nearby. I sort of don’t mind it but it’s really fake and doesn’t always go with the songs I play (like ballads). And it fades off sometimes midway through. Personally, I’d rather just not have it at all but appreciate some might like it. So can we have this as a toggle on the song selection page, please?
- Minor gripe but I don’t think the sideways scrolling system is better than the “Star Wars scrolling” system. It’d be quite nice to have it set up visually in the same way most guitar hero type games work. Not top priority, just my opinion.
- Some songs for Flute that aren’t novice solo? I mean, I don’t love the flute but all its songs are solo and none are Expert level. It just seems under-represented. A nice flute and guitar duet would be nice. Maybe a flute trio or something.
- Some sort of tip adjustment. I don’t play for the coin but it is nice when you get tips and you do always get tips because the buffs are worth it and not everyone wants to play or learn how to play well. This is one of the better features of this skill! Yet… 10g… It’s just a bit bleh. I feel like there should be some more structure to this part and I’m not 100% sure how that should be implemented but I’ve got some basic ideas:
- Optional tip increase: Hit R to tip or E to increase tip by increments of 10g.
- Tip levels: Default tip of 10g is just a “well played” level but doesn’t give the tipper any buff. To get the buff for 50% duration you need to tip 25g. To get the full duration of the buff it is 40g. Something like that.
- Tip levels set by the performer: This one might be controversial so I’m just including it because it’s just an idea, not something I necessarily want. In the song window the lead performer sets the tip level. Audience members can opt to tip the standard 10g just to say “thanks” or they can pay the asking value to obtain the buff. This would, somewhat, commercialise the skill, allowing players to compete for tips if more than one has a pitch in a location. They can even advertise their performances in Trade (Performing all buffs on cycle for just 35g per song at Windsward statue!)
- Song length impacts experience: I made it my mission to not do what most others do and so I don’t play the shortest songs on repeat just to level faster. I play all songs and I love doing so but I think most don’t and this is understandable to a fashion when the progression clearly rewards this. Make it so each song has its own experience value (base value at least). The tougher, longer songs should reward more experience, it’s that simple.
- What is the “MAX” thing for? If it has some practical use, please explain it. I ignore it because, practically, I know I’ll get four stars so long as I don’t miss more than a couple notes. It seems distracting and pointless to me but if anyone knows what it is for then I’d appreciate an explanation anyway.
- Allow groups to play songs with fewer instruments (i.e. if you have a group of 3 and you want to play Courage of the Keys, all 3 should be allowed to play the guitar part). In real life, if I am jamming with friends on guitar, it’s OK for us all to play the same thing at the same time.
- Perhaps flash individual “scores” above the heads of the players, optionally (maybe a toggle on the song selector). This way, you can have actual guitar hero style battle of the bands between playing members. Just a friendly competition, but still everyone should be able to watch and see how each member does. This would work well if we could choose to play the same instruments, as it’d be a literal head to head battle.
- Please do keep releasing new songs! I managed to find a couple of the new songs on PTR and, if I’m honest, they’re underwhelming (I haven’t tried them all I don’t think but the ones I did try felt very much like quick fill content to me, not nearly as amazing as the songs we have - felt like the Ore song was just playing the same note constantly? I mean, if it’s some sort of joke then fine but I’m not interested in playing joke songs more than once).
- Please consider replacing the “Song in your step” buff with a small run speed buff. Like really small, 1-2% only (that’s cancelled by combat obviously). The encumberance one is pointless. No one uses it.
- At level 200, please add a new buff that increases aptitude experience by 5%.
- Maybe add some sort of theatres where players can play and even set up a scheduled event where any buffs receieved stack for the duration (can only take part in one concert per day, both as performers and audience members). The “entry fee” is set by the lead artist. The band then play a fixed number of songs based on the level of the lead artist (up to and including all of the buffs if they’re level 200). If they don’t deliver 4 stars, the value of gold paid is reduced respectively (down to zero if they deliberately troll everyone - and quitting early refunds all gold and removes any buffs, just so people don’t have to sit through trolls).
- And then allow competitive battles of the literal bands to occur once per week (agreed skill level, play through a set of songs, highest scores win). I’d actually love to take part in this. Sign up with your band and see if you can reach the final and win the weekly prize.
- Let me choose my “band” name…
I think that’s it. If I remember anything else I’ll try to edit or add later.
Thanks again for such a great feature.
