FreeOrion

Hi folks,

I would like to share this bit of music with the FreeOrion community.
The stuff is here: http://gry.uw.hu/music/csp08.ogg (I hope it will work)

Gry

Hey, I like it. Some of the sounds are very reminiscent of MoO2. What kind of synths do you use?

For some reason, the synth brass reminds me of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis...

I used Subtractor synths with built-in patches (Reason w Factory Soundbank) and samplers with some effects (delay, reverb, etc).

Now I see some points where the song can be improved. If I have time I will upgrade it

Gry

I liked it, Gry. Good job. The only things I felt that needed tweaking/changes (for it to be an awesome track) were:

-> At around 02:19, I felt the heavier keyboard melody was a bit too soon after the short softer 02:14 keyboard sample. Perhaps bridging the area with extra softer keyboard melody, and then gradually bringing in the heavier keyboard melody sample over time. In laymans terms - That part was "too big of a mouthful".

-> 02:55 - 03:01 (The 2 bangs, silence, and the xylophone type stroke) aren't necessary because it kills the mood. If you transition the parts without this, it would definitely make for a great Galaxy map track. On the other hand, keep the first bang, and have another similar 00:43 - 00:57 where it has that quiet, but "mysterious and vastly empty" theme again. Then have the second bang. This may improve the desire for the listener to hear the conclusion to the song.

If you can try this, and work it right, the song will be perfect, and would definitely sound very professionally done.

Kind regards,

Xanoblivion.

Just FYI, if you look at Gry's two posts, they're from about a year ago. I don't think he'll be back any time soon.

It may still come as some advice for others who may read this

Hi,

Yes, I am almost not here... [I already forgot my login password ] However, once in every month I come back, to check this topic

xanoblivion: thank you for your thoughts! I will try to make the changes you suggested. At least as far as I understood your advice... Since then I made slight modifications in the rhythm section, but I think it didn't make it worse
I really hope that the track can be used somewhere in the game.

I will come back soon (or later) with the next version

Thanks,
Gry

Here it is!

Without bangs:
http://gry.uw.hu/music/csp12b.ogg

With bangs:
http://gry.uw.hu/music/csp12.ogg

Let me know if it still needs improvement.

Gry

Nice work, I prefer the version with bangs(csp12.ogg). I can see this working for the design screen and the galaxy map.

Nice, I like it.

Oh, this is lovely. Both with and without bangs are very, very good in their own ways. I particulary like the bits that begins at around 1:10 and 2:00, and 2:30, and 3:14, and... yeah. It just keeps getting better, and better, and better, and better, the further you get into the track.

Warning: I'm about to step on your artistic integrity and make a lot of critical remarks which I really have no background to make, but I will anyway. I don't produce anything related to music myself, so if you want to ignore this, feel free

Here goes:
I'm almost sure it could be split into several looped segments, which could be good because it seems a bit wrong to put [a song that doesn't get really distinct until after +1 minute] into the game on screens which the player will likely not want to spend too much time in. Much like the main theme for Civ 4, in which you hardly ever get to hear the "crescendo" unless you sit at the main menu for quite some time.

What I'd suggest would be:
- to use the first 1:30 of the track as a basis for a loop to play on the galaxy map, and in other places where you don't want to agitate the player too much.
- to use the time from 1:30 up till 2:30-3:00 or so, as a basis for a second loop with the same purpose as the first
- to use the time from 3:00 and out as a basis for a loop for the combat screen and other such activities.
- to retain the original track as it is right now, and use as a "main theme" for the credits, opening screen, main menu and so on.

Doing this would also create a feeling of unity and thoroughness in audio design throughout the game, in that quite a lot of music is added which bears the same style, sound and feel.

Chopping up the track into loops is OK for me. (However I would like to hear also the whole as it is now, somewhere in the game )

I don't know how the looping is solved in the game. Please let me know if I should generate something... (I would expect that looping can be done using this track and defining a loop_begin and a loop_end time but maybe I am wrong... ).

Gry

I think, for the time being, it may be best to either make the track itself loop endlessly or just fade it in and out. I don't think we have a system worked out of how to combine certain loops. It's probably a good idea to just assign certain tracks to certain screens for now.

I created a "loop-like song" from the first part. It is 6:38 long, and can be repeated endlessly because of the fade-in/fade out.
I can create such loops from the next two parts if this one is good enough.

Here is the link: http://gry.uw.hu/music/csp13loop1_04.ogg!

I really like it. Just a minor critique: I was listening with headphones on and thought the "stereo panning" effect of one of the windy background instruments was a bit too much, it almost made me dizzy
Do you have a name for the track? I think I'm going to commit this.

If you are interested you could try working on something more aggressive, which could be used in combat.