*NO* Terramex 'Distorted View'

[djpretzel]

email sub file Terramex - Distorted View.mp3 - djp


Me:
Numbermind
Real name: Brendan Bradley
number2mind@hotmail.com
www.numbermind.com

MP3:
Filename: Terramex - Distorted View
Name of game: Terramex (AKA "Cosmic Relief" in the USA) Original Theme Composer: Ben Daglish Game Designers: Teque Software
System: Commodore 64

Comments:
One of the few games I remember from way back, Terramex is probably as obscure as games get. The game was unique in that it was a sidescroller that urged you to use weird objects to progress (i.e. using a vacuum cleaner to fly around and reach cloud platforms). I couldn't for the life of me understand what the game was about, but there were so many interesting ways to die-- like climbing into a cannon after you put in too much gunpowder-- so I guess I made up for it.

I composed most of this from memory, and I think I may have missed a few notes, but I'm OK with that. I definitely went for the harder, more driving "orchestral techno-ish" sound that most C64 songs lend themselves to, and I took liberties in making the chords more complex. I'm most satisfied with the middle part, where all the instruments come together and... well, I guess you'll have to listen to it. As a final note: this took about 16 hours to do.

Thanks.
Brendan Bradley

[Liontamer]

http://exotica.fix.no/tunes/archive/C64Music/Daglish_Ben/Terramex.sid - Subtune 1/9

The first 2 minutes or so was a sound upgrade with additions. Fine approach for a SIDtune, but it needs to be a hell of an upgrade to make it here. Arrangement was decent on the whole, I suppose. The drum support had nothing behind it at some points. 3:25-onward was a good example.

The changeup at 1:53 nearly sounded like indiscriminant notes, and the organ-style synth joining in at 2:17 was just as aimless. Some will bitch at me, but just because the source tune was structured like this doesn't mean you should retain that structure. The new lead joining at 2:29 was terrible. Great...SMASH THE CYMBALS A LOT AT 2:41 IN ORDER 2 RAWK! It's tacky.

I heard the rest, but that's basically enough commentary for now. I haven't heard mixing and production this sloppy in a long time on the panel. I've heard worse, mind you, but this was still frustrating. The potential's there for the artist to improve, but this was just poorly put together.

NO

[GrayLightning]

This isn't that bad. We have heard far worse, this is decent. Two main issues for me here is this needs more of a unique arrangement and better production/mixing. The bell pads have quite a lot of decay for this kind of fast mix, it creates a bit of chaos in the mix. Synths/samples on the whole are average and aren't capitalized on by either good sequencing or processing. The ride at around 3:20 gets annoying, the velocity is also way too constant and the sequencing of it is too robotic. Fade out endings are fine if done well, but this is a fade out of the drums and percussion only. A bit too standard of a conclusion in my view.

Decent mix, not horrible, but not passable either. Keep working at it.

NO

[DarkeSword]

Hmmm...too similar to the original in the beginning. Also, that background synth choir pad thingy playing the arpeggiating line is way too loud and verby; it makes the whole thing sound messy. There's a really crowded sound here. There's no balance here. Everything is just in your face the whole time. :(

NO

[zircon]

Arrangement isn't my concern with this one. There are some production issues that stand in the way of an otherwise cool mix. The drum patterns sound very "GM" and the panning doesn't help either. That synth lead is VERY good, but the rest of the sounds, between the bass, drums, organ synth, etc. are cluttered. Go easier on reverb and use an EQ more to separate the different parts. Overall, as the mix progresses, the sound becomes more and more messy. Not cool. I would try reworking your drums a bit first and then see what you can do to make the individual elements stand out more. It seems like you have a handle on designing electronic sounds, and there are some cool ones here - keep working on this!

NO