Game Mechanics

From Guitar Hero - Wiki on Neoseeker

Guitar Hero is a series of games in which the player "plays" a song with the aid of a guitar-shaped controller. Notes come down the screen at the player, and to play them, both the cooresponding fret on the neck of the controller and the strum bar must be pressed.

Scoring

The scoring in the Guitar Hero series is as follows:

Regular note - 50 points
Hammer-on/Pull-off - 50 points
Power chord - 100 points
Chord - 150 points
4-note chord - 200 points

Every time you hit 10 notes correctly in a row, your score multiplier will increase.

10 note streak - 2x multiplier
20 note streak - 3x multiplier
30 note streak - 4x multiplier

For example, a 2x multiplier will get you 100 points per regular note, 200 per power chord, 300 per chord, and 400 per 4-note chord.

Special Techniques

Hammer-ons and Pull-offs: If the note is glowing on top, it is called a "hammer-on" or a "pull-off" (HOPO) These notes do not need to be strummed if the note before it was hit, but they still need to be fretted correctly. If the note before it was not hit, then the note must be strummed, like a regular note.

Power Chords and Chords: Power chords are when two notes are held at once and strummed at the same time. Only the two notes in the power chord may be pressed when it is strummed, or it will be missed.

Chords are the same as power chords, but they require 3 notes to be held simultaneously instead of only two. They give more points as well.

Star Power: Star power doubles your multiplier and increases the amount your rock meter goes up when you hit a note. It is obtained by hitting all the notes in a star power sequence. Usually, 2 star power sequences are needed to be able to activate star power, but there is one circumstance where it can be done with only one.

Long Notes: Long notes are notes that require the fret button to be held longer than just momentarily. When a long note comes, there will be a line behind it, indicating that you have to hold down the fret button for that duration. You do not need to hold the strum bar down for the duration of the note, only the fret button.

Long Notes in Star Power sequences: If there is a long note in a star power sequence, you can use the whammy bar for the entire duration of the long note to gain extra star power. As long as the line behind the note stays blue, the same amount of star power is given, no matter how fast you whammy. If there are many long notes in one star power sequence, enough star power can sometimes be extracted to be able to activate it with only one sequence. This is the only time that a one-sequence activation can occur.

Strumming: Strumming is performed with the "strum bar".You can strum up and down, and they both do the same thing. Strumming down then up rapidly increases the speed of your strum and is called Alternate, or "Alt" strumming. HOPO's are the only notes that do not need to be strummed, and that is only if you hit the previous note.

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