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i loved it. i thought kylo's performance was stellar - he's not some implacable foe (which we didn't need more of), he's this deeply conflicted dude who is not necessarily the strongest of jedi, or even the strongest dude. i mean, look at him, he looks like he should be cashiering at a discount shoe store, and he's trying to live up to this galactic badass. his acting was fantastic, if you recognize that being awkward and difficult to get along with and riding the struggle bus emotionally is good acting (in this case, it totally was). i love the concept of finn's character, as well as rey. i like that there wasn't one major character who realizes that they're going to save the galaxy and becomes awesome just in time to suck in the sequel. finn's groundwork is set for him to eventually be a hero, but they didn't need to make him blossom in this film, and that'll make it better when he eventually does. and rey's just phenomenal. great acting, great character, great job fitting the role and the actress, etc. i don't think it's strange at all that she was able to pick up concepts of the force quickly (it's not like they had her creating a lightsaber from scratch, the concept of imprinting your will on someone else is something everyone wishes for and 'practices' from young childhood), or that she was good at dueling since she had the stick and was obviously trained at it. once she remembered to draw from the force - which, according to ep 5, comes as naturally as breathing to someone who has the potential - her actions were fluid, defined, and not desperate at all. conceptually difficult to render on a screen but i'm sure that a well-written book would be able to make that be clearer without assistance. someone else mentioned how lived-in the world felt. i think that's a great way of putting where the initial series succeeded and the prequels failed. they were so sterile, and here it was much more realistic that the areas had existed for a long time. i loved it. i want to watch several more of it. i wish my thread (which started on thursday night!) was the main star wars thread though

Why would you want a "heroic character"? Heroism is a one-dimensional concept. People are complicated. It's refreshing to see a story that isn't about someone wanting to save the universe just because it's the right thing to do. We've gotten quite enough of those over the last... forever in storytelling. The exact questions you ended this thought with are why the characters are good. Because they're not the same old "save the world" heroes. "Save the world" heroes are uninteresting, aren't thought-provoking, and are incredibly predictable. Rey's character is interesting because while she seems to be a good person we don't really know the extent to which she's willing to put out for the cause. That's her defining flaw. Flaws in character define good characters. We don't understand her, because she has more complex motivations than "i must save the galaxy from darth kysnorenkolo", and this is the first act of her character progression. A lack of one-dimensional heroism in the movie isn't a problem. In fact, Luke Skywalker had similar flaws. He was always willing to help, but he wasn't doing it because he really cared, he was doing it because he thought he had to. The Empire Strikes Back addresses his doubt and lack of genuineness on Dagobah. Yoda shows Luke through his training his lack of resolve and made him think hard about what he was doing and why he was doing it. And you know what? He fucks up and leaves his training incomplete because he gets worried about Leia and Han. Then he fights Vader, and because of his fear and his incomplete training, he gets his hand cut off and is overwhelmed by the emotion of learning Vader is his father. The Empire Strikes Back is such a good movie because everyone loses, and it's all Luke's fault because he put himself and his friends before the greater good. That's not "heroic".

Agreed it's too repetitive and could have used more dynamic contrast, but still a good listen and a classic theme.

I loved the running gag with with Han finally discovering the joys of the Bowcaster.

Man does no one remember that Kylo Ren was dealing with a fucking blaster wound during the last battle scene...? "HOW COME HE SUCK SO BAD" I'd probably fight like garbage too if I'd been fucking SHOT and was trying to like.. not bleed out, on top of dealing with what I assume is a lot of pain This is the only dueling scene in the entire movie, and he has a handicap. Of course he's going to fight like shit. On top of that, we have no idea how extensive his training has been, and it makes it seem like he's had hardly any formal force training and is instead just very force adept. I don't find this super hard to believe, since he's fully aware of his lineage and knows that the jedi/sith/force aren't just myths. There are plenty of people who are good at something with minimal (formal) training because they're aware of their affinity for it and have fostered their talents. There are plenty of musicians who fit the bill right here

I saw yesterday finally and thought it was great! All of the new characters were really cool, and they interacted well with the old ones. It was pretty much everything I was hoping for, and I am excited for the next one.

Not metuhl enough! For some reason the amp sim you're using is giving this a dull tone (can use more treble). The tone can also use more "bite"; it's not very aggressive. Try comparing the tone to the one in this cover (the original is here), which I think showcases the mutes. Or, I also isolated the guitars and bass here so you can hear the articulations better (the bass is just Shreddage Bass), so maybe that'll help with the sequencing. In terms of the sequencing, I try not to overuse the pinch sequel, because it's a unique sample that can seem fake once you hear it many times. Also, in spots like 0:36 - 0:37, it seems unrealistic when you go from a high note to a low note on the lead with no fret noise, because the time gap between them is so short that the guitarist would have to move his/her fingers quickly, likely making a fret squeak noise if not careful. You can probably have a better idea with sequencing lead guitar from watching this. At 1:52 - 2:04, it's pretty blocky when you have a bunch of chords one after the other like that; it almost sounded like you wrote it in a hurry, it sounds pretty quantized, and it would be smoother if you used single notes every now and then when it makes sense. Lastly, remember that metal track on BadAss V3 that you did where you were happy with the drum production? Yeah, get that production with these drums. You've done it before!

I switched between the 2 constantly to see what were the differences and so far its just the first 30 secs and the moment after 1:40 that are different ( at least to me). For me, the winner of the first 30 seconds is from Remix 2. you give the listener almost 15 seconds of the original soundtrack; plenty enough time for the listeners to figure what the song is from. To then give it your rendition of the piece, letting the listeners know what to expect (style-wise) from the song... There's nothing wrong with the first 30 seconds from Remix 1, as it is the more tame version, but I feel Remix 2 has a better impact for an intro. However After the 1:40 mark. I feel the victor goes to Remix 1, simply because it is just cleaner. That one synth that is just playing one note from remix 2 is just there for like 20 secs and it's kinda overpowering the other instruments. Now for the parts that play between 0:30 - 1:40. I like how it stays true to the OS. The pacing is pretty good and just when the song was about to get monotonous u changed it up at 1:18, much appreciated. I Hope this feedback helps out.

This is very energic without being super fast. The sound design is excellent, especially during parts like 1:35. The guitars added a lot of depth to the overall mix, plus some bass too. The chilly atmosphere is respected, bonus points lol Nice job, Tim, keep 'em coming.

Very groovy. The beat/bass combo worked very well. There's a lot of ear candy here and there -- I liked the trance-y and chiptune-y synths. It was quite simple, but I enjoyed this remix. Very nice job, Tim!

I thought Chernabogue had Shreddage?

FL Slayer!!! \m/ I didn't know you were still doing metal remixes! When are you gonna learn the guitar yourself? You ought to do that, you could probably be good enough to play this song in a month or so!

To quote Gilbert Gottfried, "YOU FOOL!" Well ladies and gentle peoples, the deadline has come and gone. I'll be spending the next day or so finishing up the text for the back and making a song order after I listen to them all. After that, the files all go to Dyne so he can do some truly unspeakably vile things to them before handing it all out to everyone. I can't give you an exact day, but it'll go up between the 22 and the 25, so keep an eye out for it in the Community forum. With that, I'd like to give a big thanks to all the remixers who threw something together for this album and keeping that thing from punching through the rest of the way to claim us all, and to Dyne for letting me helm this beast again. And with that, we can stick a fork in this project, cuz it's done.

I thought the movie was good, but not great. Some of the things I had problems with (Rey being stupid-good at the Force despite having zero training and only knowing she was Force sensitive for like 20 minutes) other people had already mentioned, but one thing that bothered me no one else has brought up yet. None of the main characters feel very heroic. Okay, well, there is Poe, but he doesn't get much screen time. Finn is a good guy but would rather run than fight. Rey is a good person as well, but is more worried about getting back to Jakku than anything else. Both of them had the potential to suck it up and sign on with the Resistance, but neither actually does it. Finn was all ready to leave and do his own thing, but makes a detour to save Rey after she's captured. He helps the Resistance because that will lead to Rey getting rescued, and actually lies to them in order to make sure that he can rescue her. He might have changed his mind by the end, but he's unconscious by that point so we don't know what he thinks. Rey gets pulled into the conflict by Finn (the stormtroopers see them together when they're after him, which he points out makes her a target too), tries her best to stay alive without getting any of her friends killed, consciously rejects the idea of becoming a jedi and fighting the First Order and mostly just wants to go home, but she's captured and spends most of the rest of the movie escaping. There's the bit where she goes to find Luke at the end, but honestly given that there's no dialogue it's impossible to say why exactly she's doing it. (To bring him back to help the Resistance and save the galaxy? To get answers about the visions she had? To embrace her destiny and train as a jedi? To get his help in healing Finn? Because he's her father? To return his lightsaber to him so she doesn't have to carry it around anymore?) Han is deliberately avoiding the Resistance (and has been for years, apparently) and even when he does get involved again, it's clear that his relationship with Leia and his son are his real motives (and what he's been running from until then) rather than any particular calling to help the Resistance or fight the First Order. None of these would have been problematic on their own, but when every main character is like that, it leaves things feeling a little flat. If either Finn or Rey had been eager to sign on with the Resistance and fight the First Order (thus leading the other to do the same because they're important to each other), then it would have solved the problem. But they don't, so it seems like they end up being heroes basically by accident instead of because they're heroic characters. Now, things that were really good: The dynamic between Finn and Poe was fantastic. The (sadly few) scenes where they're on-screen together are some of the best in the film (even the "Damn, that's one badass pilot" scene where Finn is watching Poe from the ground without realizing who it is). The return of Han Solo was great, and they really nailed the sense of "older and wiser, but still getting himself into trouble". Harrison Ford's wisecracking was amusing without being overdone. Finn and Rey were both well-acted. My issues with their character arcs aside, I have no problems with the way their dialogue was written or executed. I see what some people mean about Finn being Jar-Jar light (he's certainly not as smooth as other Star Wars protagonists), but I disagree with that characterization. Seeing him get flustered made for an interesting contrast to the other main characters, who are generally unflappable. On the same note, the relationship between Finn and Rey was also done well. They clearly care for each other, and it was developed much better than the standard "love at first sight" or "I publically hate you but secretly love you". Things that were less good: I didn't particularly care for the performances by Poe or Kylo. They weren't horrible, but they weren't especially compelling, either. (Except when Poe was with Finn, anyway.) Kylo wasn't especially impressive as a villain in general. They humanized him too much, too quickly. If you want a villain to carry a movie like that, then he needs to be a genuinely impressive threat. Instead he gets beaten up by a wookiee, an ex-stormtrooper, and a girl with Force sensitivity but not an ounce of training. Really, the whole climactic duel with Kylo (and Han's death preceding it) feels like it should have been the end of the second movie, a la Luke vs Vader at Cloud City. Without the first act building up the character, it felt like a bit of a letdown. They kept it a bit too close to the original trilogy at times. We start on a desert planet that's not Tatooine, after the band of plucky do-gooders that's not the Rebellion gets some important information that's not the Death Star plans and sticks it in a droid that's not R2 because the rebel that's not Princess Leia is about to be captured by the evil force user that's not Darth Vader. The droid ends up with the skilled pilot local kid who's not Luke, who ends up having to leave the planet after stormtroopers chase them off on the Millennium Falcon. The middle bits (first with Han and Chewie, then with the old-lady alien) were great; they hit the Star Wars feel perfectly without seeming derivative... then it's back to rehashing the attacks on the Death Star -- launching from the no-longer-secret Rebel Resistance base to attack the superweapon's weak point with X-wings and blow it up before it can destroy the Resistance base's planet, while another team does a ground assault to bring down the shields and make it vulnerable.

It's also for us to want to go back and play the games the music came from and appreciate Mr. Iwata's contributions. @Brandon Strader I've got more than a few items from OCRemix's back catalog in my Nintendo music playlist, appropriately titled... "Iwata Jams".

Ah super groovy/jazzy remix -- you were not lying about adding drums, haha. The organ is a neat addition too. The different sections were very creative. My only concern is that it's really short -- is that a real problem lol?

Metroid! Some of the sound design is rather simple, intro lead, bass, and snare in particular. There's also more complex sounds, creating a disparity between them. Best example of this might be around 5 minutes in, with the bass being simple and the other things more complex. The arrangement is cool, but feels a little stretched thin. Could be a minute or two shorter (says the guy who made an 8+ minutes track for the DKC3 album). Some really cool original touches in here. 4:36 brings in some really cool original writing. Then there are parts than seem more like filler, like 4:50-5:05. Something about the sound design around there brings to mind the more lush and wet Metroid Prime tracks. I've got two ideas for you to try, if you're interested in some experiments that might help you improve the track and your remixing in general (make sure to do this on a copy of the remix so you don't lose what you've got so far). 1 - Redo the sound design as chiptune, to make things really simple, and work on the arrangement without being distracted by the sound design. You can also try all piano (except drums, obviously), or something else to help you get at the arrangement without distractions. 2 - Disable all the effects to get at the sounds themselves, and redo the simple/complex category sounds to make things more cohesive. Then redo the mix. Cool stuff.

What!? No orchestra? That's a sin here. Anyway, I like it, but I would say I'm not a huge fan of the guitar tone. On the extended mutes around 1:08 it doesn't sound "metallic" enough for how breakdowns like that usually go. It might need to be choked a bit more and maybe a bit more gain or something.

What's funny is while I was playing through again and saw the ending I thought back to the scene in the Planetarium with Bogenhagen where they're showing the dude die, and up pops a tree on the other side of the world. The ending made me think of that. The lifestream was going to help stop meteor at the end, but where was it getting that power? ALL THE PEOPLE

Funny story. I asked Beth a while ago who her Secret Santa was and she didn't tell me who. Wonderful thing after a long day... I found a package in front of my door. I was so excited to see who it was from. Seconds later I could not stop laughing. Trying to find the gift was an adventure. I honestly believed she trolled me until I ripped the damn thing apart. haha I found this: Not going to lie. This made me cry like a baby...but that's not surprising, right? I've always been the emotional one. Getting the gift made it harder not to go to MAGFest. Unfortunately I had to cancel it. Thank you for this, Beth. I had no idea you could make such a beautiful thing. I'll definitely wear it to MAG 2017. I promise. In the meantime I'll take care of these. I love them. I can't wait for gift #2.

Good lord. Does the source so much justice with those synths