Rock Band 2 Deluxe

Introduction

Rock Band 2 Deluxe is a Massive Quality-of-Life Improvement Mod by MiloHax

This repo contains everything you need to build Rock Band 2 Deluxe for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

Features

Quality of Life

No strum limit executable modification by GMS
Fast start executable modification by ihatecompvir
Additional intro skip scripting to skip the intro movie
Custom settings loader as a frontend for Xbox and Xenia
Overshell - a custom on-screen menu system for changing modifiers, speeds, textures, and more. Opened by pressing SELECT, SELECT on most menu screens
1080p support via PS3/RPCS3
Full Combo indicator per instrument via the multiplier
New tour setlists utilizing the Rock Band 1 setlist by C0Assassin
Updated genres from Lego Rock Band/Rock Band 3/Rock Band 4
Non-Playable characters now playable
All modifiers unlocked by default
Integrated Rock Band 1 unexportables
No losing fans in career on quit/restart
Flawless accomplishment replaced with Full Combo, and checks perfect note streak as well as all notes hit
Double bass pedal port supported on stock rb2/rb3 kits
Modifier for E-kits to fix an issue the above line introduces (midi drum bass kick fix)
Disables drum fills by default and replaces activations with auto activations (static fills)
Modifier to restore Legacy Drum Fills
Bass streak effect from RB3/RB4 available on all instruments - modifier to restore vanilla functionality
New menu, Tweaks, in game for additional modifications
Selectable song speed and track speed by 5% increments
Selectable venue framerate up to 60fps
Black Venue modifier with decreased load times and system load
Press select to restart the section in practice mode
Default difficulty on first load is Expert
Song title always visible modifier
Detailed song title modifier including album, year, track number (does not work properly in random/setlists)
Manual calibration adjusts by 1ms instead of 5ms

Authoring

Author shown on song title - in your songs.dta (author Author Name)
Autoplay modifier for chart demos
Gameplay watermarks to deter abuse of autoplay including -
- Disabling autosave
- Replacing endgame percentage with BOT
- Manipulating MTV Overlay
Cycle camera menu button - available in-game when autoplay is enabled

Additional Modifications

Selectable colors per fret
Several modifiers to change the look of the highway/track
Nice (69%) and Awesome Choke (98-99%) callouts on solo completion
Various visual upgrades from the fourth main-line Rock Band title
New main menu music pulled from other Rock Band titles
Pad is guitar modifier - same functionality as GH1, GH2
Pad is drum modifier
Freestyle drums modifier
Modifier to not force vocal gender per match song
No flames modifier
Firework gems modifier
No crowd modifier
No whammy effect modifier
No track muting modifier
No sustain tails modifier
Rock Band 3 Sustain look modifier

Prerequisites

You will need...

A vanilla copy of Rock Band 2 for PS3 or Xbox 360 that you can extract onto your PC. The USA version is required for PS3 (BLUS30147)
For Console: A modded/hacked PS3 or Xbox 360 and a way to transfer files to it, we recommend using FTP
For Emulator: A mid-to-high-end PC capable of running RPCS3 or Xenia

Setup

There are a couple different ways you can set up Rock Band 2 Deluxe, you can download a Pre-Built Version or set up the Repo.

Pick which one is best for you.

Pre-Built Versions

There are pre-compiled versions of Rock Band 2 Deluxe in the Actions tab of this repo and in the Nightly link. These are ready-to-install files for Rock Band 2 Deluxe for both platforms.

These are recommended if you have no way of setting up the repo (unsupported platform, no administrator privileges, etc) or if you get stuck at any point in Repo Setup.

These are not recommended for Xenia as the repo is structured for you to easily build and run it.

If you're going to be installing a pre-built version, skip down to the Installing section. Mentions of the repo and build_x.py can be disregarded, and mentions of _build are referring to the contents of the .zip file you downloaded from the Actions tab or Nightly link.

Xenia Emulator
RPCS3 Emulator
PS3 Hardware
Xbox 360 Hardware

Repo Setup

Setting up the Rock Band 2 Deluxe repo for the first time is meant to be as easy as possible. As well, it is designed to allow you to automatically receive updates as the repo is updated.

If you get stuck here at any point, try using the Pre-Built Versions instead.

Installing Required Dependencies

Before you do anything, you'll need to install a few things before you can properly set up and build Rock Band 2 Deluxe.

Git for Windows, Dot Net 6.0 Runtime, and Python (version 3.9 or later).

Install Git and Dot Net 6.0 Runtime with their default options, and select "Add python.exe to PATH" on the Python installer.

Then, open a new command prompt (press Win+R, type cmd and press Enter), type in pip install gitpython, and press enter. Close the command prompt when it's done installing.

Initializing the Repo

Now, go to the Releases of this repo and download _init_repo.bat if you're on Windows or _init_repo.sh if you're on Linux.

Then, make a new empty folder, put _init_repo in the folder, and run it. This will pull the repo down for you and make sure you're completely up to date. This will take some time.

The folder should look like this once it's done:

The Rock Band 2 Deluxe repo is now set up! You are ready to build and install install it for your platform of choice:

Xenia Emulator
RPCS3 Emulator
PS3 Hardware
Xbox 360 Hardware

If you were not able to set up the repo properly, refer to the Troubleshooting section or use a Pre-Built Version instead.

Installing

Make sure you follow Setup first!

Xenia Emulator

First, extract your vanilla Rock Band 2 game disc and copy ONLY the contents of the gen folder to \_build\xbox\gen\.

Navigate to _xenia and map your controller with x360ce. If it asks you to create xinput1_3.dll, create it and rename it to xinput1_4.dll.

Then, navigate to user_scripts and run build_xenia.py to automatically update, build, and run Rock Band 2 Deluxe. You need to run this script every time you want to play. run_xenia.py, however, will not automatically build and update the game and will only run it. If you are on Windows you'll want to go into windows_bats instead and run anything with the .bat extension instead.

Rock Band 2 Deluxe should now be installed! We highly recommend you check out Optional Upgrades for songs and other cool stuff you can add to your game.

If you're having issues, refer to the Troubleshooting section and find your issue.

RPCS3 Emulator

NOTE: Rock Band 2 Deluxe only works with USA (BLUS30147) copies of the game on PS3.

First, extract your vanilla USA (BLUS30147) Rock Band 2 game disc and place it in the games folder in your RPCS3 directory. Do NOT touch this folder once it's in games, Rock Band 2 Deluxe installs as a PS3 game update and installs in its own separate folder, shown below.

Next, you will need the latest update for Rock Band 2 installed on RPCS3. Get it Here and drag and drop it on top of the main RPCS3 window to install it. This is not the Deluxe download, but it is required to ensure you install everything to its proper place.

If it doesn't download, right-click it and select Save link as... If your browser says it "can't be downloaded safely", ignore it and select Keep.

Then, if you set up the repo on Windows, navigate to windows_bats and run build_ps3.bat. Then, if you set up the repo on Linux/Mac, navigate to user_scripts and run build_ps3.py.

After that, copy the contents of \_build\ps3\ to \dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30147\ in your RPCS3 directory. Click Yes to overwrite the files.

Rock Band 2 Deluxe should now be installed! We highly recommend you check out Optional Upgrades for songs and other cool stuff you can add to your game.

If you're having issues, refer to the Troubleshooting section and find your issue.

To update Rock Band 2 Deluxe, repeat the above steps (minus installing the vanilla game and the latest update). You can click the Watch button (All Activity) to be notified about any updates that occur.

PS3 Hardware

NOTE: You WILL need a HACKED/MODDED (CFW or HFW/HEN) PS3 in order to play this mod on console. We hope this is clear.

NOTE: Rock Band 2 Deluxe only works with USA (BLUS30147) copies of the game on PS3.

NOTE: Do NOT touch the contents of your vanilla game if you dumped it to your HDD, Rock Band 2 Deluxe installs as a PS3 game update and installs in its own separate folder, shown below.

First, you will need the latest update for Rock Band 2 installed on your system. You can check for updates by inserting your disc, pressing Triangle, and selecting Check for Update. Update to version 1.02 if it asks you.

Then, if you set up the repo on Windows, navigate to windows_bats and run build_ps3.bat. Then, if you set up the repo on Linux/Mac, navigate to user_scripts and run build_ps3.py.

After that, copy the contents of \_build\ps3\ to \dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30147\. Click Yes to overwrite the files.

Rock Band 2 Deluxe should now be installed! We highly recommend you check out Optional Upgrades for songs and other cool stuff you can add to your game.

If you're having issues, refer to the Troubleshooting section and find your issue.

To update Rock Band 2 Deluxe, repeat the above steps (minus installing the vanilla game and the latest update). You can click the Watch button (All Activity) to be notified about any updates that occur.

Xbox 360 Hardware

NOTE: You WILL need a HACKED/MODDED (RGH or JTAG) Xbox 360 in order to play this mod on console. We hope this is clear.

First, dump or extract your Rock Band 2 game disc to a place where Aurora can see it.

Then, if you set up the repo on Windows, navigate to windows_bats and run build_xbox.bat. Then, if you set up the repo on Linux/Mac, navigate to user_scripts and run build_xbox.py.

After that, copy the contents of \_build\xbox\ to the location you extracted your disc to. Select Yes to overwrite the files.

If you're installing Rock Band 2 Deluxe for the first time, it is recommended that you rename the vanilla default.xex to default_vanilla.xex for safety.

Make sure you clear your song cache, as well as your system cache.

To clear your song cache, navigate to System Settings > Storage > Rock Band 2 and delete the song cache.

To clear your system cache, navigate to System Settings > Storage and press Y to clear the system cache.

And finally, disable updates for Rock Band 2 in Aurora. Rock Band 2 Deluxe rolls TU6 into its base installation.

Rock Band 2 Deluxe should now be installed! We highly recommend you check out Optional Upgrades for songs and other cool stuff you can add to your game.

If you're having issues, refer to the Troubleshooting section and find your issue.

To update Rock Band 2 Deluxe, repeat the above steps (minus installing the vanilla game). You can click the Watch button (All Activity) to be notified about any updates that occur.

Optional Upgrades

These are some optional, but very handy additions you can make to your Rock Band 2 Deluxe installation.

Songs

You can find song packs compatible with all Rock Band titles for both platforms on this Spreadsheet.

You can also use Onyx Music Game Toolkit to generate your own custom song packs for Rock Band games or convert Xbox 360 packs to PS3, and vice versa. Converting custom songs from games like Clone Hero is a breeze.

Installing Songs on Xenia

Download an Xbox 360 song pack of your choice and open Xenia. Navigate to File > Install Content, and select your song pack(s) of choice. You can select more than one at a time. Xenia supports both CON and LIVE files.

Installing Songs on RPCS3

Download a PS3 song pack of your choice and open RPCS3. Drag and drop the song pack you want to install on top of the main RPCS3 window and select Yes to install it.

Installing Songs on PS3

Download a PS3 song pack of your choice and put it on the root of a USB drive. Then, open Package Manager and select the song pack you want to install.

Installing Songs on Xbox 360

Download an Xbox 360 song pack of your choice, then copy it to its respective folder.

For RB2 LIVE files, install them to:

Custom Textures

Rock Band 2 Deluxe has a variety of custom textures, found in the Deluxe Settings menu in-game, as well as a way to import your own with relative ease.

Importing Your Own Textures

For highways, copy any .jpg, .png, or .bmp file into \custom_textures\highways\, then navigate back to user_scripts and run process_textures_highway.py. The process is the same for other texture types, just insert them to their according folder and run the according script.

These will resize your images accordingly, including those with arbitrary resolutions, and convert them to the proper format for Rock Band 2 Deluxe to read.

You will need to rebuild Rock Band 2 Deluxe in order for these to take effect.

Troubleshooting

If you're having issues with Rock Band 2 Deluxe, here's where you can look for common issues and try to solve yours.

Below every issue are most of the possible reasons they may be happening and how you can fix them.

Repo Troubleshooting

The `.bat`/`.py` files open and immediately close!

You don't have all the required dependencies installed.
- Head back to Installing Required Dependencies and make sure you followed the directions properly.

Xenia Troubleshooting

My game opens to a black screen!

You don't have a vanilla copy of Rock Band 2 installed.
- Extract your disc and extract ONLY the contents of the gen folder to \_build\xbox\gen\. That folder should look like this after Rock Band 2 Deluxe is built:

Rock Band 2 Deluxe did not build properly.
- Make sure you have Dot Net 6.0 Runtime installed.

The game doesn't get past the splash screens!

You are not supposed to replace default.xex in \_build\xbox\, only the contents of the gen folder.
- Navigate to user_scripts and run git_reset.py to rebase your repo. (If you're on Linux)
- Navigate to windows_bats and run git_reset.bat to rebase your repo. (If you're on Windows)

My controller isn't working even though I have x360ce set up!

Navigate to _xenia and rename xinput1_3.dll to xinput1_4.dll.

The framerate is awful (below 60)!

Your PC is most likely not capable of running Xenia and we haven't found any settings to help optimize it.
- You can try using RPCS3 instead, but you may get similar results.

The character models don't look correct!

Navigate to _xenia, open xenia-canary.config.toml in your text editor of choice, and change gpu from vulkan to d3d12 and d3d12_readback_resolve from false to true (you may need to press CTRL + F to find these). This will fix all texture issues but will drastically affect the framerate, you also may experience BSODs. If you don't want to deal with any of this, we recommend using RPCS3 instead.

RPCS3 Troubleshooting

I can't find `BLUS30147` in `\dev_hdd0\game\`!

You do not have the latest update for Rock Band 2 installed in RPCS3.
- Get it Here and drag and drop it on top of the main RPCS3 window to install it.
  - If it doesn't download, right-click it and select Save link as... If your browser says it "can't be downloaded safely", ignore it and select Keep.

Rock Band 2 no longer shows up in the game list!

You are not supposed to touch any of the files where your vanilla game disc is installed.
- Re-extract your disc and install Rock Band 2 Deluxe to \dev_hdd0\game\BLUS30147\.
  - If it's installed correctly, it will look like this: