Rocksmith, edutainment software from Ubisoft that teaches you how to play a real guitar under the guise of a Guitar Hero-esque game, now morphs into Rocksmith 2014, with an exciting new feature called Session Mode. Rocksmith 2014 will be available this coming October.

After hearing feedback from users, the Rocksmith developers decided to flesh out the tools surrounding their amp simulator. That led to the new Session Mode in Rocksmith 2014. Ubisoft demoed the new game on the E3 show floor this week, and it’s already clear how much work the developers put in to make this new edition a friendlier, more innovative experience for beginners and experts alike.

Pictured below, Jerry Cantrell of ALICE IN CHAINS at the Ubisoft E3 event:

The original Rocksmith had an amazing amp-simulation tool that allowed you to virtually mimic practically any guitar tone by changing various options. You could even change the position of a simulated microphone in front of your virtual amp cabinet.

whatculture.comAmp mode, from the original Rocksmith, let you simulate various cabinets. However, as any musician knows, playing by yourself is quite a bit different than playing with a band. But bands are flaky. You never know when someone’s going to disappear for greener pastures or because their day job got in the way.

When you open Session Mode, you can fill out the roster of a virtual ‘band,’ choosing a different instrument for each of four slots. In the demo we saw, a wide variety of drums, guitars, basses, and other instruments were available. Ubisoft also created a number of preset groups of instruments in genres—progressive rock, for instance.

Once you’ve created your perfect backing band, it’s time to start jamming. This is where the mode gets really impressive. Rather than playing a preset track for you to play over, Ubisoft designed a new AI that dynamically generates a backing track based on your current style of play.

The resulting improvisations don’t have the polished sound of a finished track, but they do sound a lot like a group of friends hanging out and playing music together.

Read more at this location. Footage of Jerry Cantrell talking to IGN about Rocksmith 2014 can be seen below: