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It's good to see some optimism this round, but I think I'll always prefer your earlier remixes Flexstyle.

I was under the impression that you were trying to emulate the mood of the original song. Except, compared to the original, this lacks energy. The soundscape feels empty, thin, and boring, even when more instruments came in later. The FF7 battle theme always got me really excited. It made every random would-be-boring battle exciting. The orchestra, however fake, seemed excited to be playing it. Every single note is filled with energy, nothing is wasted. Those orchestra "hits" that play throughout the song are loud for a reason. They're loud because they're exciting. They drive the song forward. The new electronic elements are not "punchier and more powerful," they're just there. Everything is just there, playing, but not really mattering. 6:46 got a bit better, but it sounds like it should be the more laid back bit in the middle where the guitars and piano can finally shine, not the part where the song only just starts to get interesting. Add more instruments, add more chords, put accents on your notes. Don't waste a single second building the song up, being boring. Let the song excite me from start to finish. https://youtu.be/VsZgc0uTYU4?t=365 Doesn't this orchestra sound like they're having fun? Every time that chord builds up it's like they can't even contain themselves.

I like this source and am quite happy with where my track is going.

I'm kind of peeved at the date requirement, but I thought about it, and going with the default junk on each available day does give me time to flex my level design muscles and try to slowly teach myself how to make good levels, rather than atrociously hard levels (or just outright bad ones), without overwhelming myself with options. So I think I'll take it slow and follow the limits.

Not to troll or anything but ....what? Compressors can be used to subtly increase the intensity of a performance. If it's intensity you are going for then you may want to rethink your use of compression. When used correctly, they can bring out the more subtle sounds of a recording, things that indicate that the player is playing with more energy. Bow scrapes, Puffs of air etc. Compression also keeps the dynamics controlled so you can keep the volume right where it needs to be without fear of it suddenly dropping below the sweet spot and getting buried. But as it is right now compression is the least of your worries with this mix. That guitar around 7:50 sounds like a synth which really clashes with the realism of the piano sample you are using. Which sounds decent but has too much reverb... The "guitar's" entrance is also unexpected. in a bad way. Something like that should have been used waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before the 7 minute mark. Another issue is that the acoustic guitar is also a clearly fake synth guitar. in order to make obviously fake sounds like that work the playing of them has to be perfectly in line with how they sound when played by a professional player. Someone who has studied that one instrument their entire lives. Things like this take loads of listening and research. There is almost no creative use of stereo in the entire 11:00 minutes of the mix which is a significant problem if you want to keep listeners engaged for such a long time. A mix should be dynamic in it's own way (seperate from the "dynamics" of the individual recordings) Mix dynamics involve elements getting louder/quiet, wider/narrower, Disjointed/Focused etc. and it all plays off of the emotion present in the playing and the structure of the music. This can also be defined as "subtle manipulation of the listener" which takes YEARS of mixing practice and training your ear to perceive slight changes in volume in order to pull off correctly. The biggest sin however is that this is a midi rip that has been repeated for 11 minutes until it ends. suddenly. Sorry to say, but something like this will not have a chance on OCR because their is no creative reinterpretation of the source. Which is a shame because outside of a few instruments, it sounds like you are working with some pretty decent sounding samples. It's good to be ambitious but this is over the line for your current abilities.

Haha, imagine if it came out before FF9, people would go crazy lol

Well, it still has a lot of odd bass writing decisions but there isn't pervasive clipping on loud parts anymore (see 1:40).

I did enjoy some of the sounds going on in the most recent version, but I do have a few issues with the arrangement: First off, the tambourine(?) that starts at about 0:37 came across as way too loud compared to the rest of the mix. It made it hard for me to focus on the rest of the mix. I feel like it should be toned down quite a bit, or even removed - I don't think it would be missed. Secondly, the arrangement from start up until the 3:00 mark felt very cut/paste, with only a few elements being added in over time but no real change to the mix itself. Even after 3:00 it felt more like a few simple instrument changes/dropouts. I did enjoy the flute at 4:21 though, but afterwards I was treated to more of the same. The guitar at 5:25 was, once again, a nice break from the repetition, along with the electric guitar segment and the short flute segment following it. It all went back to more of the same, though. Overall I'd have to agree with Timaeus on a lot of his previous points: I think you have a nice potential soundscape set up - very chill and relaxing up until the electric guitar comes in - but it's just the same thing over and over with different instruments. At 9:55 you had a nice(despite simple) counter-melody come in, and I think you should expand on those throughout the song. Change it up a bit. Maybe use some of the better instruments at your disposal and add in some original material to it. At 11:00 you actually set up a very nice and rich soundscape and what could of led to a wonderful ending...except it went back to more of the same before abruptly cutting out. I think a major problem is that although you removed all compresses and remastered it to EBU R 128 standards in order to "push the dynamic values to the maximum", your arrangement doesn't have a lot of dynamic variation to begin with. If I may be so bold, I would suggest you shorten it by quite a bit and try to make every segment meaningful in some way. Like I said, it had an enjoyable opening and what could have been a great ending - it's all that stuff in between that just feels tedious and a bit lazy.

Brandon sent me a few things. His track will be very good and heavy, as always I wrote my notes for VV1 and VV2, as a quick track-by-track retrospective. I'm waiting on Brandon's track to finish the album's art (back tracklist) and my own notes. It WILL be sent to eval this week-end or when I get a good connexion during a lunch break or evening.

My reviews for this week. I'm not feeling well, so I'm afraid it's not that nuanced or detailed. KingTiger feat. bLiNd - IT'S NOT URSUS: Some Crescent Grizzly in the intro; intro doesn't do a lot for me, the low-fi to regular sound is a bit too long I think and there's too little builing up in my opinion. However, the drop is effective. Variation on the last part of the X-Hunter stage, with the mix sitll feeling a bit empty. Mix loses its energy at 1:20, for a long build-up. At 2:05 it kicks back a bit again, without the build-up having lead to much. Another drop at 2:33, with - again less energy. I feel like you've had three consecutive build-ups without a real pay-off. Build-up at again leads to a drop at 3:23, but this time it flows into a part with more energy. However, the continuation of the same dominant bass note/chord and the standard beat doesn't give this a climactic feel I expected after such a build-up. The part at 4:23 finally has some other parts of the X-Hunter stage; parts with different chords. However, since you don't use the primary notes (I have no idea how to call it differently), it also lacks a bit of the energy. Furthermore, since the bass note/chord stays the same, it doesn't really mesh well. I think this mix really misses dynamics, a better structure and energy. It doesn't sound bad, but it's not going anywhere 6.5/10 Darren Smith - VAAM: Wow, this is glitchy and... weird. A bit too chaotic for my taste, but is certainly has a unique vibe. I have a feeling some of the drums are a bit off in timing; which makes it hard to listen to. I think that the transition to Blast Hornet at 1:09 doesn't flow that well. Crescendo at 1:22 works well. Those low frequencies are flooding my headphones a bit but that could be just my headphones. Oooh I like the final part, nice contrast between the instruments and feeling of the rest of the song. Wow, ending is VERY sudden. Very unique sound, but a bit too unstructured for my taste. I hate to evaluate something with something as subjective as that as conclusion, but it just didn't feel cohesive with a clear goal. 7/10 Jorito - (Don't Wanna) Hurt You: Setting the vibe right away, with the choice of bass synth and the ominous feeling. Excellent layering of intruments so far (this is 0:41). Good transition into Gravity Beetle, while still swtiching dynamics there. Bridge at the 1-minute mark is well done, with a bit less energy, followed by a sudden burst into a fast-paced part with a nice blend of mixes, which I really liked (the transition)! I felt like the drums needed to go double-time at 2:11 to give a better climactic feeling (this is true for the following parts as well). Aside from that, the Rick Astley-vocoder-parts mix nicely with the rest Ending is too sudden for me in this mix as well. Great mix, nice build-up, altought the climax (the last minute or so) really needed a change in drums and more building up, since it's such a long climax. 8/10 ladyWildfire - Tribal Hunter: Nicely built-up, and a nice vibe you're going for. The X-Hunter theme is nicely altered so it meshes really well. I also like the new chord progression. Can't make out much of the Splash Warfly theme out, but that could be because I'm not too familiar with the theme. The birdge is nicely done, altough if you were really going for a tribal feeling you should've used different percussion instruments here. I feel like the part starting from the 2-minute mark are missing some additional instrumentation, a carrying instrument (or vocals as some have already suggested). Awesome vibe, great rearrangement of the X-Hunter theme to fit it. The last part feels like it's missing something though 8/10 Ghetto Lee Lewis feat. Jason Covenant & WillRock - Caffeine Shoveling Hunter Turtloids: After listening to your Maverick theme I already heard some similarities between it and the X-Hunter theme, so this should be good Classic trance intro, works well, although I don't like the sound of the drums there; they're a bit flat. They're good after the intro though. Nice transition into the vocals, works really well. I feel like the decrease in energy comes too swiftly. The build-up afterwards with the guitar works really well, building further up with a small chiptune part, which makes a re-entry in the climax (which I like). Climax also should've lasted a bit longer imo. Nice piano ending (although the last chord is a bit cheesy). Great mix, you've really used your team members' skills well. Great energy, nice blending of sources and good structure. Build-down comes a bit too soon and ending aswell, in my opinion. 8.5/10 Amphibious - Cloud Hopping: I like the groove you're going for, it fits your Maverick theme well. Drums and bass are nicely done, and you somehow made the phased e. piano clearly audible while not cnosuming everything which I always find very hard to do nice dynamics throughout. Good variations in the lead instruments as well, without it being distracting. I also like the creative use of the X-Hunter theme, it works really well! Very well done, the style really fits the Maverick theme well and the X-Hunter theme has been creatively rewritten so it blends in perfectly. Lots of dynamics going on, really keeps in interesting. Awesome job! 9/10 Anorax - Soaked Tapes: Also going for the groove, curious to find out what happens. Oh I am not fond of the instrument that sets in at 0:19... it sounds midi'ish and the timing is a bit off (since it has a build up). The synths afterwards also lack some depth and could be of more quality (especially the ones in the background). There are some timing issues in the 0:40 - 1:00 part. Hmm, this needs a change in pace of dynamics. I am also not fond of the out-of-tune later on. And I'm not really hearing any of the two themes in there. Sorry to be so negative Not fond of this one; I think the instruments aren't good, there are a few timing issues, the piece needs more dynamics and I have a hard time recognizing the themes. 5/10 Usa feat. Sir_NutS - Laser Power: I like the ambient intro, very á la aquatic themes (also caused by the high amount of reverb). Sudden transition works very well, with still "aquatic" sounding instruments accompanying the guitar. Transition to the X-Hunter theme works very well. I was going to say the the X-Hunter theme was very straightforward, but the synth part afterwards nicely solves that problem original stuff also works well, keeping in line with the overall feel but also having different instrumentation and dynamic. Ending is kinda sudden and the song feels a bit too short. Nicely done, good dynamics, nothing too fancy with the themes and a bit soon and abrupt ending 8/10 Supercoolmike - A Centipede's Burden: Hmmm interesting adaptation of the theme, but the dissonance is not really working for me. Glad you changed things at 0:44; the additional instrumentation at 1:00 works well, hoever I felt that a change in pace or energy was needed after this part. At the 2-minute part, the piece begins to drag on a bit. The entry of magna centipede at 2:20 doesn't flow really work, but it works. The inclusion of X-Hunter in the background is nice. The transition at 2:40 doesn't work well imo. The mix then further shifts to a very different feel, and again at 3:09 - it makes the mix feel a bit uncohesive. The change in pace at 3:30 is also an example of that. Ending is not that good either Very creative writing with a unique feel. However, some choices do not work that well, the transitions later on in the mix don't work well imo and the mix misses a change in energy or dynamics to keep it really interesting all the way 6.5/10 The Hiryuu - A Blaze in the Northern Fortress: Wow, this sounds muddy... the guitar are buried in... well nothing actually but they sounds miles away. The timing is really off and the high pitched synths are not really pleasant to listen to. Some synths are also really off-key and the songs feels like it's unintentionally sped up. I'm sorry for the negativety here, but it doesn't sound good to me unfortunatly This song shows a lack of time: it's really muddy, timing's off, some parts are off-kley or do not mesh together and it sounds unnaturally fast. 4/10

There's a gaping problem here in the production, and that's this: the instruments don't fit their notes, and the notes don't fit their instruments. There's 0 expression on any of the orchestral elements, so they sound mechanical and fake. Yes, the original sounds like that too, but it's an OST, not a remix. With a remix, you have the resources to elevate the original. Additionally, somehow the synth bass sounds mechanical as well. Are you doing anything with your velocities? If so, it's too subtle to notice, or the bass is a sample that keeps using a similar phase (i.e. retrigger-like). Or the velocity response on it is set to nearly 0. And the one major problem with arrangement: it gets very repetitive. The synth bass never changes rhythm or intensity, and when it "does", that's when it's not present. The drums don't really change between the copy+paste, nor does the collective rhythm of the orchestral elements. Here's what you copied and pasted: The basis of the instrumentation at 0:39 - 1:43 is used three additional times (in a row... ), while you added a flute, and then a sine pluck, then some high brass, then some sort of slow-attack lead for a fast melody that pretty much matches the sine pluck melody at that point. The drum patterns It's just too little development for such a long, looped piece, so as far as I'm concerned, you only wrote 1:43 of remix. Not to mention it sounds suspiciously close to the original, so it's practically a MIDI rip, even if you didn't use a MIDI. Lastly... abrupt ending, which is just another partial copy+paste. So, sorry to say, but I'm not getting "modern" from this. It kinda sounds like the original plus two synths.