GZ2 FAQ

[Triple D]

GuitarZero 2 F.A.Q.

I created this FAQ in the hopes of cutting down on repeated questions in the help forum, I plan on keeping it updated and I hope to have it in a organized layout. If you come across any problems not noted in this FAQ I would appreciate it if they were brought to my attention. In the end I hope this will end up as a universal guide to fixing and customizing the game.

Unfortunately, I don't have all that much of an idea of what these error messages mean, so I'm relying on you people to report them and figure them out so I can put the up here.


I. General Questions

• A. Where Can I Download this Game?
  
• B. What all do I need to run this game?
  
• C. Where can I make a suggestion?
  
• D. Where can I report a bug/glitch?
  

II. Error Message on Startup/During Game

• A. Microsoft.XNA.Framework.NoSuitableGraphicsDeviceException...
  
• B. System.ArgumentException: The character "SOMETHING" is not available in this spritefont...
  
• C. System.Exception: Audio system failure: z...
  
• D. System.IO.FileNotFoundException...
  
• E. System.InvalidOperationException...
  

III. In-game problems

• A. During gameplay you are unable to play certain chords
  
• B. Lag makes gameplay impossible
  
• C. Starpower goes off at undesirable times
  

IV. Other Questions

• A. How do I set up tiers for my songs?
  

V. XML Editing

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I. General Questions


A. Where Can I Download this Game

Assuming that it is updated when a new release comes out, you may find the lastest version using the link on the home page of the wiki. The wiki may be located here.


B. What all do I need to run this game?

You can find pretty much anything you need to play this game is this great thread made by furiouss. It is found here.


C. Where Can I Make a Suggestion?

Here.


D. Where Can I Report a Bug/Glitch?

If you have any sort of error, please report it so I can add it to this FAQ. You can report them here.


E. How do I get the game started?

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II. Error Message on Startup/During Game



A. Microsoft.XNA.Framework.NoSuitableGraphicsDeviceException...

Problem: If you receive this message when attempting to open Frontman, it means your current video card (a part in your computer responsible for handling graphics) isn't capable of performing operations required for Frontman. Typically that means it cannot support Pixel Shader 1.1 or DirectX 9, both of which are needed to play the game.

Solution: Purchase a new video card, I will provide a brief list of suitable cards later.


B. System.ArgumentException: The character "î, ü, etc." is not available in this spritefont...

Problem: There is a character (most likely a song name or artist name) that isn't included in the font files the game uses. This normally happens when a song has a character that isn't a typical letter (most likely the letters with dots over them, etc.).

Solution: Find the file with the odd letter and replace it with something typical. You're best off checking song.ini files or .charts because this is most likely where the problem is.


C. System.Exception: Audio system failure: z...

Problem: This error occurs when you start the game up without all of the necessary sound files.

Solution: This error can be fixed my making sure you have every sound file (i.e. the menu up and down sounds as well as many other) needed for the game. You can just download entire game again if you can't find what's missing.


D. System.IO.FileNotFoundException...

Problem: This error is likely a result of not having all of the required software.

Solution: Make sure you installed the DirectX using the web installer, as well as the C++ Redistributables.


E. System.InvalidOperationException

Problem: This error is caused when your computer cannot reach the shader requirements of the note meshes you are using.

Solution: Try installing different notes from mods because they have lower shader requirements. The Rock Band Mod (created by JD2504) is a popular choice.

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III. In-game problems


A. During gameplay you are unable to play certain chords

Problem: If you are unable to play certain chords in the game, most likely the chords requiring three or more buttons pressed down, this most likely means that your keyboard was manufactured so that only certain key combinations are usable (this is typically a method used to cut costs down).

Solution: You can simply just map the fret keys to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 instead of F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5. Though the Red/Yellow/Orange chords may not work. Triple D recommends a guitar controller.


B. Lag makes gameplay impossible

Problem: You computer's hardware is incapable of providing the "push" to run the game properly.

Solution: The expensive option is to purchase new hardware, though I must say that if your computer is incapable of running Frontman it may be time for a new computer. The cheaper (free, infact) is to open config.xml change compatibility mode to true. This may not work on all computers and it will result in poorer audio. Not only that, but compatibility mode isn't supported anymore by Callisto and may be completely removed.


C. Starpower goes off at undesirable times

Problem: Your controller is improperly calibrated and reads that it is always in the upright position.

Solution: To fix this problem, you must open your Windows control panel and then go into the game controllers section. Once there, you will need to calibrate the controller. When you reach the tilt calibration part make sure that you set the controller's "default" tilt to where you want to activate starpower. Update: I don't think you'll be able to get Xbox 360 controller tilt sensors calibrated correctly. I just read somewhere that the sensor is reversed for some odd reason. This may or may not be true.

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IV. General Questions


A. How do I set up tiers for my songs?

Imagine that these are folders:
"Songs" -> "My Song Tier" -> "My Song"

This will create one tier with one song "My Song". If you add another layer, you get this:

"Songs" -> "My Song Pack" -> "My Song Tier" -> "My Song"

This will allow you to have different "Folders" on the setlist, and when you go into that folder, you will have your "My Song Tier" with one song in it "My Song".

So in your Songs folder, you can have a bunch of folders set up like this:

For example:

> Songs
--> Guitar Hero 1
----> Opening Licks
------> Infected
------> Thunderkiss '65
----> Axe Grinders
------> Iron Man
--> Guitar Hero 2
----> Opening Licks
------> Possum Kingdom
--> Rock Band
--> Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s

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V. XML Editing

This section will cover all of the lines you can edit in the config.xml file. I will start at the top and work my way down. I will start each out by telling its valid values.

Pitch Shifting Enabled

"true" or "false"; some computers (including mine) will not be able to experience the correct sound when using this. Instead it results in a whiny, scratchy noise. If you experience this, you should turn it to false. Default is true.

Compatibility Mode

"true" or "false"; if you find the gameplay too laggy to play, you can change this and hopefully it will run the game smoothly; though, it does create audio problems and is no longer supported by Callisto (the programmer) and may be removed from new versions.

Crowd Volume

Any integer; I'm assuming this would be the ingame crowd cheering and booing. If you enjoy the virtual crowd then leave this on, otherwise turn it to zero. Default is 30.

Crowd Clap Volume

Any integer; this one changes the volume of the crowd's clapping during starpower. Default is 100.

Screw Up Volume

Any integer; this one affects those sounds you hear when you hit the wrong note. Default is 40.

Miss Volume

Any integer; this is how loud the audio track named guitar.ogg will play when you miss a note. Personally, I leave it the same as the Song Volume because most custom songs only have one audio track. So if you miss a note the entire song becomes quieter. Default is 20.

Song Volume

Any Integer; I'm guessing this one controls the volume of all .oggs for a single song. Default is 45.

Delay

Any Integer; This delays the notes to the music, allowing a "fix" for certain out of sync songs. It does nothing to help if the song itself is fretted out of sync, but say you play a song and it is consistently out of sync but you are sure the right notes are fretted in the right places, you would enter a MiliSecond delay value in here. Default is 50.

Sync Tracks ToMs



Full Screen

"true" or "false"; this should be self-explanatory, does the game take up the entire screen or just a window. This should be set to true for best performance. Default is true.

VSync

"true" or "false"; if true, syncs the screen vertically so that if the game lags suddenly (ex: no lag when playing notes w/o tails, then the game lags by a few fps when playing notes w/ tails), the gameplay doesn't become choppy. If false, no syncing takes place, however, fps may improve if the software/hardware on your CPU is just right. Just toggle the two and then play multiplayer to see the effects/find out which option works best for you. Thanks to CJB100.

MipMapping

"true" or "false"; if true it will allow for faster rendering times and result in fewer artifacts at the price of relatively small amounts of memory. If false, the game will need to generate every single texture it needs at the time it needs it. Default is

Resolution

Common ones include 1280 x 1024 and 1680 x 1050 as well as many others, this one should depend on your computer along with whatever mod you're using. Basically, this controls how detailed the graphics being displayed will be. Default is 800 x 600

Position For Random Song Option

"Bottom" or "Top"; this is mainly a useless option though it could prevent one button push. If you like the game to pick random songs for you just pick Top, otherwise leave it alone. Default is Tottom.

Player 1 Lefty

"true" or "false"; when true, the first player's fretbuttons will be mirrored with orange on the left and green on the right. Default is false.

Player 2 Lefty

"true" or "false"; same as Player 1 Lefty except this one makes it so that the second player is lefty. Default is false.

Song List

"Songs" or "Folders"; if set to "Folders", when you play Frontman, the setlist of songs will divide songs into folders rather than showing every single song in your songs folder. If set to "Songs", every single song is shown. Default is Songs. Thanks to Monkeyboy1993.

Always Ask For Specific Song Difficulty

"true" or "false"; if set to true, the game will ask you what difficulty you want to play on for each song you select. Default is false.

Song Directory

This is where the songs are loaded from. Default is "\Songs". The variable here can be relative to the starting folder (ex: if the folder where you put your songs is C:\Program Files\Frontman\Songs.. you can just put "\Songs") or it can be a full folder address if the folder is outside the starting folder (ex: you can write "C:\Documents\Songs"). Thanks to CJB100.

Hyper Speed

"true" or "false"; if true the ingame fretboard will move much faster. This does not alter the song's actual speed/BPM. Default is false.

Show Solo Progress

"true" or "false"; this feature will display a percentage counting how many notes you hit in a solo with no real hit to performance. This is similar to the feature in Rock Band and will only work in songs with their sections named. Default is true.

Show Remaining Song Time

"true" or "false"; if set to true this will display a timer counting down the time left in the song you are currently player. There is no obvious hit to performance and this should be set to true. Default is false.

Player Name

Can be anything; this is the name displayed in high scores for when you complete songs.

Stage

"Animated2D" or "video" or "image"; this controls how the background is displayed during actual gameplay. Default is Animated2D.

Sort Setlist By

"Title" or "Artist" or "Directory"; this controls the order in which songs are displayed in your game's setlist. Title sorts it by the name of the song starting with A and ending with Z. Artist organizes it in alphabetical order by the name of the Artist. Directory organizes it by the order in which it shows up in the "songs" folder. Default is Title.

edited to change name to frontman

[hzac]

Sticky bitches

[Tean]

Very useful. Have some karma

[iamdaddy]

Jul 24, 2008 17:41:27 GMT -5 Triple D said:

Guitar Zero 2 F.A.Q.

Delay

Any Integer; not sure of what it does at the moment.

This delays the notes to the music, allowing a "fix" for certain out of sync songs. It does nothing to help if the song itself is fretted out of sync, but say you play a song and it is consistently out of sync but you are sure the right notes are fretted in the right places, you would enter a MiliSecond delay value in here.

[Triple D]

@ sr212787

Heh. Thanks for the new error. Seriously though, it looks like you must have accidentally downloaded the beta 6.1 patch instead of the actual beta 6. Though you may have just accidentaly moved a file the game needs somewhere else. I recommend downloading the game again (rapidshare.com/files/122605605/GZ_Beta_6.rar) and then downloading and installing the update (rapidshare.com/files/125816400/GZ_Beta_6_-_Update_1.rar).

In the meantime I'll add that one to the FAQ.



Also, thanks for the info, iamdaddy. I hope you don't mind if I use what you wrote for it, because I couldn't say it any better.

[callisto2002]

Very, very nice.

BTW: The FileNotFoundException more often than not means that you didn't install DirectX using the Web Installer or that you're missing the C++ Redistributables.

[Triple D]

Heh, thanks for the update. I've never understood this error stuff. I'm just going by what I see in error reporting threads.

[canped]

I think the audio system failure may mean that the file is not a true .ogg ; it may have been named from a 24-bit .wav or other unreadable file rather than properly converted... maybe.

[Triple D]

I'll put it up there. It doesn't seem like that's a common error, so we won't really know if that's it until someone else gets it and reports it.

[canped]

I'll go and modify a .ogg and get back to you.

UPDATE: Its not that, although .wma renamed as .ogg cannot be played and will produce an error saying 'Cannot Stream file from [file location]'

All other formats I could throw at it are supported fine just by renaming, which is pretty spectacular.

[CJB100]

C. System.Exception: Audio system failure: z...

Problem: I still cannot find anything to explain this problem. It may just simply be your sound card drivers.

Solution: I recommend updating your sound card drivers first. It may also be that one of your ".ogg" files isn't a true ogg and may just be some audio file renamed into an ogg. If that doesn't solve your problem, I cannot help you anymore, sorry

I'm pretty sure this can be caused by not having certain sfx files, aka the sound effect when you move the cursor up and down in song selction menus.

E. System.InvalidOperationException

Problem:

Solution:

This i am pretty sure can be caused by unplugging a video game guitar controller while it is being used as the main controller for player 1, although it prolly can be caused by lots of things. I know people who have had this error have installed mods and it fixed their problems.

A. During gameplay you are unable to play certain chords

Problem: If you are unable to play certain chords in the game, most likely the chords requiring three or more buttons pressed down, this most likely means that your keyboard was manufactured so that only certain key combinations are usable (this is typically a method used to cut costs down).

Solution: Unfortunately you must purchase a new keyboard, though they aren't too expensive. You may not want to purchase the cheapest one you can find because you may run into the same problem. Triple D recommends a guitar controller.

On a lot of keyboards w/ this problem simply changing the keys for the frets to 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 will fix all problems excluding the [RYO] chord.

Song Volume

Any Integer; I'm guessing this one controls the volume of all .oggs for a single song. Default is 45.

This controls the volume for the .ogg called song. In other words, this controls the volume of everything except the guitar and bass.

Sync Tracks ToMs

Not too sure about this, but i think that this is used to help sync .charts that have bpm's w/ funky decimals (ex: bpm on a .chart is 120.025)

VSync

"true" or "false";

If true, syncs the screen vertically so that if the game lags suddenly (ex: no lag when playing notes w/o tails, then the game lags by a few fps when playing notes w/ tails), the gameplay doesn't become choppy. If false, no syncing takes place, however, fps may improve if the software/hardware on your cpu is just right. Just toggle the two and then play multiplayer to see the effects / find out which option works best for you.

MipMapping

"true" or "false";

no clue. just write something like "allows or disables in-game mip-mapping."

Song Directory

This is where the songs are loaded from. Defualt is "\Songs". The variable here can be relative to the starting folder (ex: if the folder where you put your songs is C:\Program Files\GZ Beta6\Songs.. you can just put "\Songs") or it can be a full folder address if the folder is outside the starting folder (ex: you can write "C:\Documents\Songs")




I think that should cover everything except SongList. WTH is that thing for?!

[monkeyboy1993]

Jul 24, 2008 17:41:27 GMT -5 Triple D said:

Guitar Zero 2 F.A.Q.

Song List

With song list you can either type "Songs" or "Folders". If set to "Folders", when you play guitar zero, the setlist of songs will divide songs into folders rather than showing every single song in your songs folder. If set to "Songs", every single song is shown.

[CJB100]

thnx i actually figured that out this morning and was going to post it, but you already got it figured out.

[Triple D]

Sorry about disappearing for four days, not that most of you probably even noticed. Four day long mega super D&D party.

Also, thanks for all the info guys.

[derelict68]

It may also be worth noting that in the songs section in the config.xml you can even point it to a network location in case you play GZ2 from multiple computers but want all scores and songs to be from a single location.

[superdreamon]

I dont think I saw this question in the F.A.Q.
My game won't start. And it shows no error message. I double click. And nothing happens...NOTHING.
Anyone knows what happened?

[derelict68]

I'm sure there is somebody who has seen this error before, but please post this as a seperate thread in this section. This thread should be used for comments/suggestions to the FAQ. We will include you're error and solution in the FAQ once we determine the cause.

Thanks!

[luigi074]

As far as Xbox 360 Axis for tiliting is, it is reversed (Eg: Tiliting up lowers the meter as opposed to rising it) for the X-Plorer Model 95055 (AKA: Bad Whammy Bar Model). I don't know about newer ones, but it is reversed on mine at least.

EDIT: Well, I found something strange. While calibrating through Windows it is reversed, but on the test screen it is normal (tiliting up moves the meter up). Tried tilting up while calibrating and it didn't make a difference. It's still way too sensitive. Tilting down makes it even worse, however.

[rocker12]

I can't figure out how to save the config.xml file with the edits.

[skittlexnewb]

How do i play this game with guitar hero guitar for PS2... all i know so far is

i need PS2 to PC adapter and a guitar hero guitar for PS2 but what else ? :S
help?