How to Play

An explanation of concepts and gameplay mechanics necessary to play the game.

Introduction

Clone Hero is a game that focuses on "strumming" the correct colored "fret" note combinations in rhythm to a song. While a compatible guitar is recommended, it is not required, and a controller or keyboard can be used with equal effect. Additionally, Clone Hero features "Drum" gameplay that centers on using a compatible drum kit and hitting the corresponding pads in rhythm to a song.

Clone Hero is a rhythm game heavily inspired by, and literally a "Clone" of, the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. In fact, all recommended controllers originate from the production associated with those games. 

Clone Hero includes 17 songs as of version 1.0, but is capable of loading custom songs, too. Read the FAQ for information on adding custom songs. 

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Gameplay

Clone Hero gameplay requires you to strum while holding the correct fret in rhythmic time with a song. CloneStrumming Herothe includescorrect 17fret songscombination ascontributes to your score and builds the combo multiplier. The goal of versionthe 1.0, butgame is capableto ofbuild loadingthe customlargest songs,score too.possible.

Pro Tip: Use star power to double your current combo and reach a new high score!

It is recommended to use a compatible Guitar Controller, however it isit's also possible to play with a traditional gamepad controller (playstation dualshock controllers, xbox controllers, etc), a computer keyboard, Rock Band drum kits, and even electronic midi drum kits - See the Controllers Guide for more information.

WhenNormal playinggameplay withrequires ayou guitarto controller,press the strumbarstrum mustbar be pressed either down or up while pressingholding the correct fret buttons when the onscreenfret note indicatorsgems are inside of the hit window. See the Controls Page for a detailed explanation of the controls by controller type. 

Pro Tip: You can enable hit window visualizationdisplay in the profile menu!

Strumming when not required results in an overstrum,. theseThese strums do not count against your score, but they eliminate any on-going combo and cancel the current star power section (if you are in the middle of one).

When not using a controllerguitar gamepad,controller, it is recommended to enable "Gamepad Mode" which eliminates the need to strum and instead requires only thatrequires you pressto hold the correct fret buttons associated withwhen the on-screen frets when theygems cross the strikeline. See the Controls Guide for more information on how to enable this mode.

TheMissing goaltoo ofmany thenotes gamemay iscause you to buildfail, the largest score possible. this is done by minimizing the number of notes missed, minimizing the number of "overstrums," and maximizing the usage of "star power." 

In the settings,however, you can enable and disable "No Fail" (enabled by default) whichin allowsthe yougame settings to ignore this and continue the song regardless how many notes are missed. With

this

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disabled,

Game Modes

In all modes, prior to beginning a song you are prompted to select your instrument, the songdifficulty, willand stopapply aftermodifiers.

enough

notes

Pro areTip: missed (dependent onIs the currentgame difficulty).too hard? Try a lower difficulty or enable "Drunk Mode" to widen your hit window! 

Game Modes

Quickplay

Quickplay is theThe standard mode of playplay. and allowsAllows 1 or more local players to play songs from theyour localcurrent song list.list . During quick play you cannot change song speed or difficulty. Scores and stars earned are saved after you complete a song. 

Versus

Versus Mode is aA competitive score battle mode availableintroduced in v1.0. It is similarSimilar to the Pro Face Off mode from GH2 onwards (though you can be on different difficulties unlike PFO)., Thethe player with the highest score wins.

You can play Versus both offline (select Versus on the main menu) and online (the host player changes the Game Mode setting to Versus).

Wins and losses are not tracked.

Practice

Practice mode allows you to select sections or groups of sections to practice and lets you change the speed using the directional buttons during play. 

Online

Online play allows you to join servers (public or private) and play songs shared by all members of the lobby. See the Online Multiplayer Guide for more information.

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Song Menu

Once you select your game mode you are then shown your current song list to choose from. You must scan your song directory every time you add or remove songs. 

In the song menu you will see a description of the possible available actions at the top.

Press "Select" (back on Xbox guitars, "-" on Wii guitars) to open the song menu where you can change the note speed, go to a random song, view setlist options, open the song in the file explorer, or change the visible instrument scores. 

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Note Types

During normal gameplay, there are many note types that may appear. These notes all requireexpect different actions from the player and may change their visual appearance depending on which instrument being played. In general, the fret that corresponds to the gem color must be pressed when the note hits the strike line and you must strum at the same time (unless the note is a HOPO or tap, see below for more information).

Guitar and Bass Notes

The 5-Fret guitars areis the most common gameplay style and are what themost Guitar Hero and Rock Band Gamesgames wereused. designIn around.this Thesecontroller style, notes comeappear in 5 differentseparate colorslanes. byBy default:default, these lanes are colored: Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange. See our Custom Content Guide for information on changing theyour color profile.

The 6 fretFret gutiarsGuitars were introduced by Guitar Hero: Live and feature 3 frets columnslanes each and 2 fret rows,rows for a total of 6 frets. The game indicates which you press using the color for the row and the position for the column - black is the top row, white is the bottom row. Sometimes the fret will be a square, indicating you must press both, known as a Barre chord.Chord. 

Every note type also has a Star Power Varient.variant. These indicatebecome visible during a star power phrasephrase. andIn these sections, all notes must be successfully played without overstrumming to earnbuild your Star Power. See the Star Power section for more information.Meter.

Strum Notes

TheseThe notesmost common style of note, these require you to strum when the gems reach the strikeline while holdingpressing the correspondingcorrect frets.

Pro Tip: You do not need to press the frets at the same time you strum, you can keep the frets held withoutbetween releasing,chords onlyand strummingsimply isstrum required.when the gems are inside the hit window!

5-Fret

  

6-Fret

HOPO Notes

"Hammer On" and "Pull Off" notes do not require a strum as long as you have an active combo.combo. If you do not have an active combo, then you must correctly strum at least once in rhythm to begin a new combo. From there, you simply need to hold the fret when the gem reaches the strikeline.

5-Fret

  

6-Fret

Tap Notes

Tap notes are similar to HOPO notes except you do not need an active combo. At any point, as long as the fret is pressed or heldpoint when the gem(s)gem reachis inside of the strikeline,hit window, pressing the notecorrect fret will count as "hit".

To

Thesehit notesthe havesame anote transparencyrepeatedly thatyou distinguishesmust themrelease fromand tappress notes.the fret when the gem is within the hit window.

5-Fret

   

6-Fret

Open Strum Notes

OpenThese Notesnotes are indicated by a purple bar and only require you to strum without holding any frets when the indicator reaches the strikeline. 

Pro Tip: Even if you're playing in gamepad mode, you must still strum to hit these notes!

5-Fret

6-Fret

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Open Pull-Offs

OpenThese pullnotes offsindicate arethat similaryou tomust release any currently held frets when the opengem strumis note,inside exceptof the hit window, you do not need to strum andas simply need to release all the held frets once the gem enters the hit window. These have the same mechaniclong as theyou HOPO notes and requirehave an active combo to not require a strum.combo. To hit consecutive open pull-offs, press a fret in-between each open pull-off and release when the nextgem oneis reacheswithin the strikeline.hit window.

5-Fret

<coming soon>

6-Fret

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Drum Notes

Drum notes are differentsimilar fromto guitar notes in thatexcept they require the player to strike the corresponding tom or cymbal when the gem crosses the strikeline. Unlike guitar notes, there are no HOPO or Taps. Instead, there are Tom, Cymbal, and Kick notes, and then variations of them known as Accent and Ghost notes.

Tom Notes

Tom notes are theThe standard drum note shown in both 4-lane, 4-lane Pro, and require5-lane compatibility modes. Require the player to strike the corresponding tom.tom These are always present and can also include Accent and Ghost notes (see below).

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Alternate "Square" Tom Notes

Withinwhen the profilegem menu,is users can activate "Square Toms" which changewithin the spritehit ofwindow. the tom notes to more easily distinguish between Toms and Cymbal notes. Like normal Tom notes, these can also appear in Accent and Ghost notes (see below).

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Kick Notes 

KickRequire notesyou are separate from Tom notes in that they require the userto use the foot pedal to strike the kick tom.drum. These notes can occur at the same time as tom and cymbal notes.

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Cymbal Notes 

Cymbal notes are specificSpecific to the Pro Drums mode and indicate that the user should strike a cymbal instead of a tom. 

<image coming soon>

Pro Tip: Having a hard time determining tom notes from cymbal notes? Enable "Square Tom Notes" in the profile menu to activate a different tom note style!

Accent Notes

AccentNotes notesthat aremust availablebe tostruck harder than normal notes. Require a drum kitskit that havewith velocity sensors includedbuilt-in (most e-kits and some video game kits). Accents must be struck harder than normal notes, the sensitivity level can be controlled in the profile menu.

<image coming soon>

Ghost Notes

GhostNotes notesthat aremust availablebe tostruck lighter than normal notes. Require a drum kitskit that havewith velocity sensors includedbuilt-in (most e-kits and some video game kits). Ghost notes must be struck lighter than normal notes, the sensitivity level can be controlled in the profile menu.

<image coming soon>

Pro Tip: Don't want to play with accent and ghost notes? You can disable/hide them in the profile menu!

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Score

Your score is increased every time you strumcorrectly hit a note within a the hit window. EveryEach time you successfully strum the correct notes within thesuccessful hit window,increases your base score increases by at least 50 points. If the note strummed includes multiple notes, called a "chord,chord," then your score increases by 50 multiple by the number of notes in the chord. 

If the note or chord is a "sustain,"sustain then you must hold the frets without releasing. During this time, your score increases by 25 points per beat while the sustain lasts. DuringBe thisaware, time, "Chords"chords do not compound,compound sothe sustain score, holding 1 fret or more will always increasesincrease the score by only 25 points per beat. 

Your highest score per song is saved as of version 0.20. ThisScores scoreare persistsstored acrossfor profiles,each instrument, but notevery acrossprofile instruments.shares the same set of scores.

Combo

DuringHitting gameplay,notes continuous successful strumscontinuously without accidental "overstrums"missing or missingoverstrumming anywill notes resultsresult in a combo multiplier. The multiplier increases every 10 consecutive notes  from 1x -> 2x -> 3x -> 4x4x. forWith each 10 note or chords successfully hit. Starstar power increasesactive, thesethe bymultiplier 2xis respectively,doubled to 2x -> 4x -> 6x -> 8x combo. 

AnyPro missedTip: note or overstrum (strumming when not necessary) results inHaving a resethard time building a combo? Try calibrating to reduce the effects of theaudio combo.and visual latency!

Star Power (SP)

Enabling Star power is a special way to build score that, when activated,Power doubles theyour active combo. Star power is builtaccumulated by hitting consecutive notes that are indicated by star shaped gems orwith 5-fret notes, and a lightning bolt in the gem for 6 6-fret notes.note gems. SP is obtained in phrases; each note of the phrase must be hit without a miss or overstrum to obtain.build your star meter. A successful phrase raises the SP Meter by 1/4. If a sustain note is in a phrase, whammying will gradually increase the meter as well. To activate SP, the meter must be at least 1/2 full. A 1/2 filled bar will last for 4 measures of music. 

In order to enable star power, you must have at least 1/2 of the star bar filled. With 1/2 or more of the star power meter filled, activate star power with "Tilt" enabled by turning your guitar vertical. With "tilt" disabled, or with a guitar that does not have tilt capabilities, active star power by pressing "Select/Back" on the guitar. 

Pro Tip: Does your guitar not support tilt? Press the Back/Select/Minus button instead to activate Star Power!

During star power, all note gems will look the same withhave a cyan tintcolor toinstead them.of Notethe normal color. Be aware that SP phrases can still occur when SP is active, resulting in cyan colored star notes.

Solos

Solo sections give a bonus score based on your total %percentage of notes hit during the solo section. 100% will award 100 points per note hit, 50% or below will award no bonus, and everything in-between will award more points as the percentage increases. 

Not all songs have Solo sections. Your performance on a solo will be graded and a message shown at the end depending on how well you did.

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Stars

Stars are a measure of how high your average multiplier was during the song. Average multiplier is calculated by totaling up all of the notes and sustains in the song at a 1x multiplier (referred to as the base score), then dividing your actual score by that total. Solo bonus does not affect average multiplier, it is factored out before calculating for stars.

3 stars = 1.0 average multiplier 
4 stars = 2.0 average multiplier
5 stars = 2.8 average multiplier
6 stars = 3.6 average multiplier
7 stars = 4.4 average multiplier
7 stars is roughly equivalent to Rock Band 4's golden stars.