UFO:Alien Invasion
Development => Sounds and Music => Topic started by: azrael1322 on May 25, 2010, 11:23:24 pm
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Hi there,
My friend H-Hour introduced me to your game and mentioned you took music contributions. I wrote this song and would love feedback on it, any comments/criticisms are welcome (my skin is thick so go for it) It is inspired by Van's UFO AI Main Theme. If the song is liked I'd love for it to be used for something, just let me know if you want to use it. Thanks!
The file is too big so here is a link to it at box.net
http://www.box.net/shared/s0t66nhh36
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a very nice song - here is some feedback on it:
the part at 3:00 reminds me a little bit to starwars - i thought that the theme would start now. the change comes out a little bit too loud imo
1:37-1:51 a little bit too little action.
it would be nice if you could make the song a little bit more "loopable"
oh - please also keep in mind that we need ogg vorbis to include a song in the game - not mp3 please.
here http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai?view=rev&revision=29493 are some information about the sampling rates.
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Hi there!
Thanks so much for the reply. I just had it as an mp3 just for demo purposes, I'd be happy to provide as an .ogg, just figured I wouldn't bother if no one was interested in using it. I'll be sure to check out that thread before I submit another version. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about the "loopability" of it either, if you would like to use it I can work on that a bit. Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I can't get at it at the moment but I will see what I can do tomorrow with it. Thanks also for listening and considering it!
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Hi azrael1322 :)
I just listened to your track a few times and I like it very much. At first, I wasn't too keen on the Digi piano at the very start, but it does grow on you after a few plays.
It will be nice to hear your next version with the 'loopability' applied. ;) :D
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1:37-1:51 a little bit too little action.
Hehe, poor azrael and his empty bridges. He keeps writing them but no one's digging them. :)
One thing that occurred to me listening to this track is that it starts in a sombre mood. Once the battle scoring is all worked out in the future, it could be cool if the campaign scripting would allow us to specify specific tracks to play after a mission with a low score, or with excessive casualties, etc. This would make a nice I-just-got-trampled track.
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Hi there!
Ufo song now with improved loopability!! (tm) Ok, so it's not the most creative loop but I think it works pretty well. I put a little swell thing in the quiet section, I think it helped. I also turned the drums down a little bit. Also now in .ogg, and I believe within the specs but let me know if I need to convert it at all.
Hey Gren, thanks for the comment, glad you liked it! Yeah the digi piano is a bit odd, at first I thought it was too much of a celeste wannabe. But then I started really liking it, glad it grew on you as well.
Yeah, this was written to seem mostly somber. Thanks H, I'd love to see it used for that, but whatever you guys feel it's best for would be great with me. And yes, it has finally sunk in that people don't like empty bridges, so next thing I write will have WAY too much happening in the bridge :)
http://www.box.net/shared/ulyxbmab00
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btw. what is the license you release this under? is "Creative Commons Attribution 3.0" ok?
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This music piece is quite nice and fitting. However, I see 2 problems with this music (apart from some of the instruments don't sound real)
I don't like the song to fell nearly silent after 1:15. This silence is even more quiet, than the very beginning. Imho it doesn't fit after there was a crescendo from the start on. This piece seems much more harmonic if the part between 1:15 and 1:50 just is cut out.
The second thing is, that this piece is too short. In loop it will get anoying quite early, I fear.
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Hi there!
Yes, "Creative Commons Attribution 3.0" is fine!
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Thanks Prinegon for the comments. Is there a particular instrument you felt was too unrealistic? I have a somewhat limited sample library, and am fairly new to the whole thing, so if you can be more specific on that I'd appreciate it. Yeah, the song was not originally written with the realization that it would be looped and I think I would've written something a little different had I been thinking that from the start. Thanks again!
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I like this Game, but the Music in this Game was a disaster. I deactivate the music as it causes physical pain.
I think this Game needs a more discreetly music, like in the UFO Enemy Unknown Game. A more ambience music.
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I like this Game, but the Music in this Game was a disaster. I deactivate the music as it causes physical pain.
I think this Game needs a more discreetly music, like in the UFO Enemy Unknown Game. A more ambience music.
Everyone has a preference and an opinion, but I disagree. :( The music in this game is very good.. :o I think you may have the right idea by suggesting a few more quieter, ambient pieces, but many game players like to listen to a wide variety of music genre as they play a game - and if it's your preference to turn it off all together - well, there is always that option anyway. ;D :D
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I agree with Gren, there is some cool music in this game. Though as he mentions there might be some room for improvement (when isn't there?) I wouldn't call it a disaster by any means, but to each their own. I noticed this has been added to the trunk and just wanted to say thanks for including it! I'll be writing a bunch over the summer and should have some others to contribute down the road, thanks for all the feedback on this one, it's so helpful not just for the current piece but for future consideration as well! :)
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Where would this track go? It has too relaxed feel compared to the average battlescape track IMO (and aerial interceptions are out of the question), so geoscape seemed like the target but now I feel that it's too relaxed and "slow" for it too. So now we're kinda out of options :-\.
Part of this feel might have something to do with the general emptyness of the track. Compared to the van_geoscape, it just feels so silent and in need of something. For example, at 0:36-1:06 it has enough (in the sense that the track feels like geoscape music IMO) instruments playing and 2:36-2:56 feels like the "highlight" of the track but between those it feels just empty... Too silent when the world is still in huge risk of getting conquered. Even if it's supposed to be ambient.
PS. It seems I yet again disagree with someboddy else, this time with VaeliusNoctu.
PPS. Though after playing it for nonstop during the time it took me to write this all I admit it starts to sound better and better for geoscape. Still feeling empty IMO.
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Well, azrael's a friend of mine so of course I'll defend his work. But I have to say that I think the piece's more laid back feel is a good thing, especially when playing for extended periods of time. Some of van's work is really nice, especially the theme piece. But all the metal in the game really does my head in over time. And I think when playing the game, the quiet sections really won't be as noticeable, and will even be a welcome respite for all but the most dedicated metalheads.
Hertzilla's right, this isn't a battlescape track. But does everything have to be metal? I have to turn the music off every time I install a new version, which is a shame because the theme as the game is loading is really nice.
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Well, azrael's a friend of mine so of course I'll defend his work. But I have to say that I think the piece's more laid back feel is a good thing, especially when playing for extended periods of time. Some of van's work is really nice, especially the theme piece. But all the metal in the game really does my head in over time. And I think when playing the game, the quiet sections really won't be as noticeable, and will even be a welcome respite for all but the most dedicated metalheads.
Hertzilla's right, this isn't a battlescape track. But does everything have to be metal? I have to turn the music off every time I install a new version, which is a shame because the theme as the game is loading is really nice.
I'm not saying it should be metal, nor that it should fit into the battlescape. I'm just saying that, for most of the track, it feels like there is an instrument missing. That there should be something playing in the background, silently but still hearably to give this track more life.
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Indeed, more atmospheric music no real music, whether now rap, techno, metal or whatever.
Games like UFO which one plays for hours, you can not bear with traditional music. On the other hand it is so important not because I look eh mostly Star Trek or Hogans Heroes alongside.^^
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I looked at the encoding at this track, at a glance it appears to be in a good format for the game, which is good because it means it does not need to be re-encoded like some of the others were.
Should it go in the 2.3 branch?
I noticed it is only in the trunk right now.
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I've added this to the geoscape playlist now, where I think it belongs (not really a battle tune).
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I like this song but iam sorry - there several things which bugs me and led me to the decision to take it out. It would be nice if you can change this points so we can add it to game again:
1. I suggest you rework the whole drum/beat track and change the samples (get rid of the industrial drums). I suggest to orient on the orignal X-Com 1&2 music on this point.
2. Avoid using a stereo enhancer effect (iam sure you used it for the strings/pad at the end?). Instead use it mono and add a stereo pad synth.
3. Exchange the digi piano with a better one or try it with a good vibe synth.
4. Echange the bass vsti or add another additional bass vsti.
5. Echange the oboe with a synth or add one to it.
5. Some passages are too empty. My suggestions:
-0:29 add a fade in pad here
-1:10 add a background choir
-1:50 add a deep bass line or a deep pad or choir.
6. Iam not sure about that background sitar. Probably its better using a different instrument.
I hope youre not angry about this.
May i ask you what program you use?
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I doubt that Azrael will want to make the changes, but you are sound designer so it is your call what to do with the soundtrack. I saw the IRC discussion.
My only request is that before any songs are removed from the repository, perhaps mattn or someone can get them all into data_source. Personally I don't like your musical choices but I think everyone probably has very specific preferences on the music. Some like the techno stuff, some like the metal stuff, some like the more ethereal tracks, and most (like me) find the mix very jarring. It would probably be best to distribute different musical options as "mods" (it would also reduce the download size of the official distribution). It's very easy to compile a different set of tracks and a new .ufo file and distribute it as a pk3 via the forum.
Then we can have a smaller set of "official" tracks (and I'm happy for you to take the decision on this).
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I have to agree and side with H-Hour on his points - Musical tastes vary quite a bit, and just one or two developers have NO right to force-feed their own personal tastes down the throat of the player and "straightjacket" them into listening to only one style they might not like and not have a choice.
For a long time I've glanced at reviews of the game on third-party sites, and looked at comments from people who have downloaded and played the game. When it comes to comments about the soundtrack, not surprisingly some favor it with a "thumbs up" and others really would want something else. I even recall one player who hated the slow ambient stuff, calling it "electro-jazz" and saying "it puts [him] to sleep..."
I'd also like to point out that many of the tracks that were recently commented out in the .ufo file were already approved a long time ago after much work, and it is counterproductive to development to carve out and remove things from the project to the personal likings of one or two developers every time a new developer joins the project. This is a perfect example of what Winter was talking about when he came to the project, things constantly being pulled out, put back in, changed back and forth as people joined and left the project. It stifles developmental progress of the game and creates chaos.
That being said, if the variety is too jarring and consistency is desired, the player should still at least have some choice, with a menu option, downloadable packs, whatever.
I don't make it a secret that I would personally favor a good hard-rock action soundtrack for parts of the game, but I at least am aware that not all gamers like that type of thing, some would prefer other material, and I respect that, I don't try to force my own taste on others.
On a side note, I actually do have much better-sounding air combat tracks and better versions of the old ones I've never uploaded, but I'm putting that off until we get around to starting a branch for implementing 3D air-fight sessions that would use such tracks. It'll be a while before things get to that though.
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Personal taste was never a criterion for me. I picked out the tracks which fit most to the gameplay (with some "corrections" by MCR). For example: Personally I love metal. But it havnt any business in a turnbased X-Com styled game except for the Airfights (i love your airfight tracks and iam sure - they will really fit). You cant use a metal track for battlescape/geosphere - it just dont fit to it. Sure it would fit as long as there some action on the screen but as soon as youre searching for aliens it will become inappropriate. I also took out the tracks which had bad samples - like drums or synths that dont match a certain point of quality (separate the wheat from the chaff). Ill probably put a finer point on it later (giving a explanation why i removed certain tracks). Right now iam too tired for it. Anyway if there so many complaints about it iam fine if we revert my changes but in my eyes it will be a step backwards (i dont want to annoy anyone).
btw: i came up with the idea releasing a "soundtrack" on our indiedb profile - featuring all the music which were, is and will used in UFO:AI.
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I apologize - I admit that I can be prone to a "gut reaction" to certain things, and if I came across too strongly I'm sorry.
I'm just a tad bothered seeing long-established/approved works pulled back out of the game like that, especially in such an abrupt and almost spontaneous manner without everyone's input and proper discussion.
Side note: Sorry for the very late reply, I had a lot happen in real life lately.
btw: i came up with the idea releasing a "soundtrack" on our indiedb profile - featuring all the music which were, is and will used in UFO:AI.
Yes, that would actually be a nice thing to have, I'd suggest releasing it when 2.4 finally gets out.