3 - Announcements

[HarveyHouston]

About Announcements

This is the new thread where you can view (almost) everything that is going on in the Rock Band Customs Project, whether it be here on GBAtemp, in our GitLab Group, on Discord, or on other sites that we frequent.

Updates

GitLab repository updates will be marked with a bold red header. This includes new branches, new files, changes to existing files, or removal of files. When you see that it's been updated, use git pull on your clone of the repo to add the changes. If you're not using Git, download the new/updated branches and extract to your project folder, letting it overwrite duplicate files.

New and updated GitLab Wiki pages, GitLab Snippets, and other announcements will have a normal-colored bold header, which appears black in the Default GBA theme and white in the Dark/Black themes. These do not require cloning the repo or downloading ZIPs, but are important as they offer new information either never known before, lost in time (i.e. RawkSD), or mentioned on other websites and has been copied/enhanced in RBC.

 

[HarveyHouston]

RawkSD Stable version 3 (i.e. RawkSD RBCP version First Edition (working title)) is Coming to the Rock Band Customs Project!

Edition(s): Rock Band 2 - Platform(s): Wii, Wii Family Edition, Wii Mini, vWii (Wii U's Wii Mode)​

For those of you who have Rock Band 2 for Wii collecting dust on a gaming shelf somewhere, get ready to take it down and dust it off, especially if you want to help out with the RawkSD code! Thanks to @AerialX and his GitHub repo, the (ancient) codebase for the RawkSD beta v3 has now been imported into the GitLab group we maintain! This is the first step of making RawkSD stable v3 a reality!

For those who don't know, RawkSD was developed as a way to inject custom-made songs into Rock Band 2 on the Wii when Rock Band 2 was the latest and greatest version of the series. RakwSD version 2 and earlier required the user to patch IOS 37, one of the critical system files that the Wii relies on to run games (Newbie hacker tip! The Wii uses NAND partitions, similar to smartphones and other dedicated devices, and the same format is also used on the Wii U. On Wii-like devices, the NAND system can be manipulated by patching the IOS system files). RawkSD version 3 was being developed as a way to avoid patching, and could have possibly worked on the Wii U's Wii Mode (or vWii) as well, but about that time, Rock Band 3 was released by Harmonix, and interest in hacking Rock Band 2 waned.

Thus, we are stuck with two versions - RawkSD 2 which requires patching and thus can't work on vWii, and RawkSD 3 beta which only works if you set your system clock back before January 2011. However, now that we have the code, it's very possible that we may be able to create a stable version of RawkSD version 3 without the need to set the clock back!

The Rock Band Customs Project Needs Developers!

So, now comes the question - "Harvey, why aren't you modifying this?" Well, to be perfectly honest, my life is so busy that I haven't got time to program. So, what does this mean? My project is in desperate need of coders! I need people who have or is willing to make GitLab accounts, can join my group, and knows how to code. Will YOU help me out?

Take a look at the RawkSD repo on GitLab! https://gitlab.com/rock-band-customs/rawksd

 

[HarveyHouston]

C3 Purging Time Window Extended

Due to circumstances beyond my control (i.e. the Christmas rush), I am extending the deadline for removing all references to C3 (Rhythm Gaming World and the C3 Database) to December 30th. This will give me plenty of time to finish doing the majority of Christmas, and of course make it easier on others who want to do the same.

Also, I am well aware that the website home page, as well as several pages on the site, look messy and unusable. I'm still trying to work with WSL Ubuntu so I can access the repo files I have locally, instead of cloning them again and taking up precious hard disk space that I need for hacking tools.

RockBiink is coming to RBCP on GitLab!

Edition(s): Rock Band 2, Rock Band 3, The Beatles: Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band - Platform(s): Wii, Wii Family Edition, Wii Mini, vWii (Wii U's Wii Mode)​

I've talked to my buddy StackOverflow0x, requesting for the latest package of his software RockBiink. He has agreed to let his software be bundled with other software in the Wii/vWii repo on GitLab! I'm also trying to get him to send me the latest on others he has developed, including MiloMod. The website will also be changed appropriately to explain better how to use this software once it has been added to the repo.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Rock Together Weekend!

Hey, everyone! Our Discord server is hosting the first of (hopefully) weekly events called Rock Together Weekend! GBAtempers who are members of this group are welcome to join the Rock Band Customs Project on Discord and participate in the event. If you don't have a Discord account, please make one (it's free!) and join our Discord server. You'll find the event in the Events section, or by clicking here: https://discord.gg/DbMaJWgt?event=935320232325689436

Custom Songs are acceptable! If you downloaded a custom song from C3 Database, Google Drive, or elsewhere, you can use it in your multiplayer venue!

All Rock Band editions and consoles supported! Use the official Rock Band Central servers, Wiimmfi, or other common third-party servers, and get rocking! Make sure your title supports multiplayer play - the original Rock Band on some consoles and all Track Packs do not have multiplayer functions.

Stream the action directly to our Discord server! Join the Stream Your Rock voice channel and stream the Rock Band video feed for everyone to see! You can either point your camera at your TV/monitor, or use the screenshare feature if using an emulator, or you have your console's video output hooked directly to your PC.

What are you waiting for? GO ROCK ON!!!

Update: This event has ended with no turnout.

 

[HarveyHouston]

FINALLY! All Systems are Go Again!

It's been WAAAAAAAY too long! After fiddling with various software, digging out the old Ubuntu laptop drive and rigging it to my Windows computer, I can finally use Git on Windows to access my old GitLab repos.

In other words - the Rock Band Customs Project is dead no more!

You'll be seeing some updates be pushed to the repos here soon, as well as some website changes. As a matter of fact...

RockBiink and MiloMod are Now in the Wii/vWii Repo!

Edition(s): Rock Band 2, Rock Band 3, The Beatles: Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band - Platform(s): Wii, Wii Family Edition, Wii Mini, vWii (Wii U's Wii Mode)​

I just surfed through old Discord posts to find the latest RockBiink and MiloMod editions by StackOverflow0x, and have added them under Windows Software in the GitLab repo! Now you don't have to go back and surf through all those C3 posts to find that software anymore! I'll keep requesting the latest versions and push them to the repo as they become available.

 

[HarveyHouston]

More Website Improvements - Tackling the Smartphone Compatibility Problem

Okay, so I'm not super tech-savvy when it comes to designing websites. In fact, much of my web design is borrowed code from places like W3 Schools, SoloLearn, and even other websites by using their source code. I don't use JavaScript in my Rock Band Customs Project website because I want it to be simple to use without all the frustrating scripts that slow down your browser. So, it's very exhilarating when I can achieve something using only HTML5 and CSS that, normally, people suggest using JavaScript to do it because it's "easier".

Like a sliding sidebar for smartphone compatibility. Ever since a year ago when I had launched the website part of the project, I had actually completed basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript training, and I even made some local websites for myself, but not only did I keep having to re-learn everything, I found that things kept breaking because I was using links that expired too quickly due to moved web pages, and JavaScript security was tightened to the point that it was near impossible to use iFrames with JavaScript embedded in them.

So, when I designed the Rock Band Customs Project GitLab website while it was still under the cover of the PROJECT DELUXE placeholder name, I decided to completely make the site from scratch using only HTML and CSS - no JavaScript, because I didn't want there to be issues. I still like JavaScript, but it does tend to slow down even local web pages, and can cause problems with a web page if it relies too heavily on JavaScript and then something in JS breaks (which was often).

The Rock Band Customs Project website as it can currently be seen on a desktop, using a monitor of AT LEAST 1200px wide.​

This led to compatibility issues. I tried accessing the site via a smartphone, and it was horrible in landscape mode. All the boxes, images, and everything was squished, and font is barely readable due to staying a static size that doesn't scale up for smartphone screens.

So, this year, I thought I'd work on that issue a little more. I knew I could use CSS to make the sidebar hide away, but I had trouble doing so. I tried using a toggle button with a sandwich menu icon, but that hardly worked with the sidebar, which is an HTML document displayed via iFrame - the guide I followed built a menu from scratch within the current HTML document, which I didn't want because that would mean I would have to inject and update the sidebar on EVERY WEBPAGE, which I was doing at first when I created the site, but I hated it and switched to a separate HTML doc.

Ironically, the solution was right in front of me: by using transition properties and the :hover tag, I was finally able to make a hideaway sidebar:

The hidden sidebar, seen on mobile screens and any display smaller than 1100px wide - hidden (left) and revealed on cursor hover or finger/stylus tap (right).
​

Now, the feature is still new, and I haven't ironed out all the kinks yet - fonts still appear small on some devices, for instance - but at least I tackled one glaring problem already! I'll try to fix the others soon enough, but for now, I already like where this is going!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Better Improvements to the Mobile Site

I'll admit, working with HTML and CSS is a lot of fun, but it can also be the most frustrating. Tweak this, find out it doesn't work, undo and tweak, still not working, make more edits... It's somewhat frustrating.

Fortunately, I'm learning new ways to make things work (almost) the way I want. I had forgotten to use the metadata containing the parameters for mobile devices, thus enabling for resizing. I also discovered the vh parameter, allowing for height scaling based on the web browser's height.

As new code gets adopted in modern browsers, I do what I can to take advantage of it. Therefore, it's always best to use the most up-to-date browsers you can find for your OS. That way, you'll have no problem loading my website!

 

[HarveyHouston]

GitLab Free is Restricting Us, So We're Being Less Restrictive!

GitLab executives announced in March that GitLab free groups will be restricted to only five namespaces each. This includes individual users and top-level groups that have access to the main group. Earlier this month, GitLab extended that limitation to September 15th.

This is a major blow to the project, as I had wanted for so long that people join GitLab AND my group, along with the other requirements and suggestions outlined on my Join page. People all over GitLab are complaining, and some have already left to join places like GitHub where such limitations are not in place. While there is the argument that these people are being cheap, not every single user can afford to pay a monthly subscription fee to GitLab to have access to more features. Also, many projects on GitLab ARE free, and setting this restriction will hamper their productivity. I can't tell you how many projects I run across on GitLab that are open-source, free software, but I can pretty much guarantee that it is the majority of GitLab.

So, for anyone still interested in joining, here's my current proposal. To all interested software developers and customs song authors, as well as any other interested parties wanting to join my project's efforts, you are no longer required to join my GitLab group. Just make an account on GitLab, have your Discord account ready, successfully add customs to ANY platform (even emulators), and then tell us what you want to do. That's it. That's absolutely it. That's all the requirements. No need to join our GitLab group like it's some sort of exclusive club; just have GitLab and do the other things. Adding customs is probably the most time consuming, but if you've already done it, just do the other things, and we'll take it from there.

For members of our project. f you need access to our repos, just go to our group and fork one of the repos. Forking is available to every GitLab user, and as of right now, that's not going to change. The maximum number of forks of the project is virtually limitless, so fork away! When you're ready to submit changes, just submit a merge request for the changes to be made to our own repos; we'll review the changes to see if it works and ask questions if necessary. If all checks out, we merge.

So, just to recap:

• A GitLab account is still required, but it is no longer mandatory to join our GitLab group.
• A Discord account is required for live chat. This is also so you can be better recognized as a Project Member.
• Add customs and show us you did it so we can know that you can work with our materials.
• Tell us why you're joining, so we can help you achieve that goal.

One, two, three, four. No more, no less. We don't know how things will stand after September 15th, but we do know that we are ready for it! So, don't hesitate! Join us!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Major Changes - All GitLab Repos Open for Public Access

If I may be so blunt, GitLab is really ticking off a bunch of people with their five namespace limit. As I think more about it, it's starting to tick me off a bit too, as I'm not in good enough financial status to pay on a per-month basis for more users.

Sooo... I'm doing something that I've never done before. Every single hidden project of the Rock Band Customs Project GitLab group is now COMPLETELY open to the public. NO EXCEPTIONS. This is in a way retaliation against what GitLab is doing to keep us GitLab users restricted. If, for some reason, you don't have access to something, or you think I might have missed opening up access to something, please let me know. I want to be as open and honest with people who use my project files as I can be, so don't hesitate to tell me if something seems missing!

I know what you're saying. "Why not just move to GitHub? It's easier and unrestricted." Honestly, I am toying with the idea, but I'm just not ready to make the move, yet. Up until recently, GitLab was a much better choice for me, and making the move back to GitHub just still seems like compromising my values, at this point. It's kind of hard to explain in writing, so just bear with me.

As for contributing, it has always been true that anyone with a GitLab account, regardless of Project Member status, can fork the project and make merge requests, and with all projects open, that rings even more true now. I will not refuse merge requests outright without review, and I encourage people to fork my projects if they have anything good to contribute, even if they are not considered members of the project. I may not have made that very clear before, but I'm now putting that in writing so anyone who was hesitant to do so before can feel more comfortable about doing it. I'm also not going to condemn anyone for forking a project and letting it just sit there for years (looking at you, David Bond), but I do encourage updating your forks every once in a while to stay in the loop when you want to add something useful later on.

Finally, The PlayStation and Xbox repos were moved to subgroups. Anyone with a Git instance of the project files may want to update that instance. These subgroups exist in order to compile more relevant project repos together, although I'm not entirely sure if they count as separate namespaces to the main group or not (I think not, but we'll just have to wait and see).

Thank you all for following the project, and I hope to make it easier for all of you to contribute! God bless, and ROCK ON!!!

 

[HarveyHouston]

An Update on the Status of RBCP GitLab

Apparently, GitLab staff has been getting a huge wave of complaints on the five namespace limit, so they decided to remove it... sort of.

According to an update posted August 16th, GitLab is now allowing groups owned by those on the Free Tier to have multiple namespaces - with one catch: The Free Group must be a public group in order to not be restricted. Private groups will still be limited to five namespaces (or top-tier users and groups linked to the main group), effective October 19th. It seems to be a coincidence, considering I had made every single hidden project within the Rock Band Customs Project on GitLab public not long before this change, and as long as my account doesn't restrict my group (since my own account has private documents and I own the group), I welcome this new restriction.

Still, it's curious to me as to why GitLab felt like they needed to apply the restriction in the first place, since obviously they're not hurting for money, and with the recent change affecting only private namespaces, it only deepens my curiosity. Regardless, unless I am somehow mistaken about the details provided by this update, RBCP GitLab will continue to operate as it always has past the new deadline. I had held off making other changes until I knew for sure about what to expect, and with this post by GitLab Staff, I am confident that our project will continue as it always has.

Now, what about my Team groups? Teams was a requirement for a very short time until I realized that anyone could fork and do merge requests without needing to be tied to the main group, then it became optional. It's still very optional, and possibly not even necessary at all now. However, this doesn't change my stance on how people join the Project - while I would rather them join my RBCP group, it is still not a requirement. You will be recognized as a member of the Project, as long as you have:

• An active GitLab account.
• A Discord account.
• Proven that you know how to use the tools by showing that you've added customs to a Rock Band game on any platform.
• Have something useful to contribute.

For now, that's really all you need in order to be considered a Project Member. Feel free to reach out to me here on GBAtemp or on Discord if you have any questions about joining!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Knight Rider is going to be the New Owner on Halloween!

It's true! On October 31st, I will officially hand over the GitLab and Discord instances of the project to Richard Jerome De Vries, who goes by the handle Knight Rider after the TV show of the same name, and runs his own YouTube homebrew channel Knight Gaming. He also helps maintain the Rock Band 4 to Rock Band 3 project, and has also dabbled in Clone Hero.

Let me reiterate what I've said on Discord - I am not leaving the Rock Band Customs Project. I am still owner of this GBAtemp group, and I will stay on as maintainer of the Discord server and GitLab group. However, this will relieve me of the lack of interest in help, as I think Knight Rider will be able to take over with ease and get the help he needs.

DON'T STOP ROCKIN'!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Rock Band Customs Project Discord Has Forums!

If you're wondering about the missing text channels, that's because... Knight Rider deleted most of them. Unfortunately, we can't recover the info that was posted on those channels, and there was some really valuable stuff that is now lost to time forever.

On the brighter side, he did make a new addition which can help you guys seek assistance and get better help - FORUMS! That's right, thanks to a welcome Discord feature recently added, we now have forums where you can post threads and get live help better! Please take advantage of this, and feel free to repost any content we lost from the deleted text channels.

I hope and pray that Knight Rider does better with our project, and is more careful in the future before making sudden changes. Fortunately, I've saved most of the Nintendo channels, but anyone who had PlayStation and Xbox tips may want to repost them in forum threads.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Addressing Concerns over Epic Games Shutting Down Servers

On January 24th 2023, Epic Games will be shutting down servers for some of their older games, including Rock Band titles (specifically Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Rock Band 3, Green Day: Rock Band, and The Beatles: Rock Band). Already, a notice has been posted in our Discord community, but I'll do my best to answer the most pertinent questions about this.

Will I still be able to play online?
As of January 24th 2023, you will not be able to play certain Rock Band titles online using Rock Band's official servers (known as Rock Band Central in-game). Mods for consoles exist to remedy this already, including Wiimmfi, so this is not a major issue.

Will the DLC for these older titles be delisted?
AFAIK, this should not affect the DLC, mainly songs and song packs, available through the Music Store on those titles, as this is based on the stores of the respective platforms they are on (for instance, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). I'd also like to remind anyone who wanted to purchase the Wii-based songs that the Wii Shop closed on February 2019, and thus songs on that platform are no longer for sale, however you may be able to find them using PC tools that browse the NUS (Nintendo Update Servers), which currently are still active.

Will this also affect LEGO Rock Band and Rock Band Blitz?
Since those titles partially rely on servers served by other Rock Band titles, they may very well be affected, but this is not entirely known.

Does this affect Rock Band 4?
All functions of Rock Band 4 that are still available should remain available after the deadline, as this only affects non-current Rock Band titles.

What about Rock Band VR?
Rock Band VR is a different game altogether, and thus should not be directly affected.

Can I still use Clone Hero / FretsOnFire / Phase Shift?
None of these games were developed or maintained by Harmonix at any given point in time, so these games should not be affected at all by the official servers going down. That said, I'm not sure if any part of these games have ever used the official servers, but if they did, it would only have been to extend the online play functionality, and not to get DLC or other means.

Will custom songs and mods continue to work?
The license verification system is built into each game and not directly on the servers themselves, so spoofing licensing and adding customs (or adding back abandoned DLC) should continue to function after January 24th.

Why is Epic Games doing this? Are they trying to kill off the Rock Band series?
No! Epic Games wants to continue supporting Rock Band and add to it as long as there is a large-enough interest in the series. They're only making room on existing servers for other future titles that may need the server space. Businesses just do this; it's an expected process.

Does this affect Guitar Hero?
Activision Blizzard owns Guitar Hero, not Epic Games, so no.

Got More Questions?

Come to Discord and ask me there! Alternatively, you can also start a thread here in this GBAtemp Group and ask some questions.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Looking for someone to take over this GBAtemp Group

I'm considering transferring ownership of this group to anyone interested in staying on top of the project. The owner should meet the following criteria:

• They need to be a part of RBCP Discord.
• They should at least monitor the GitLab group, if not join it.
• They should be willing to answer questions, or refer to people on GBAtemp who can answer them better.

...That's it. Nothing fancy. Any takers?