Level 99

Sooner or later I'll need to hijack that first post so I can have my way with it, without cameras to ruin the fun and nasty things. You've been a naughty little original post, haven- wait, where was I? Oh, yes. For that whole poker-manz: the missing link project, or something. It will be organized closer to the release date. Which means you need to go and firmly establish that release date. Go! SHOO! I await your return with baited breath, young zombie-killer.

Don't blame us, blame DEVEN! He's the one with the idea, Alexis! Oh, and Kaleb, sorry about the deceptive advertising. We just wanted to get you hooked before you realized we had little to nothing of value except the clothes on our back and our ability to tear down confidence.

Duke Nukem Forever 2: Milkyway Wishes. *pokes*

When you showed me the video, I was pretty blown away. When you told me that what you recorded was done on one take, and that's what was used as one the guitars in the final song, I was floored. Your guitar and production skills are ridiculous, Mr. Fishy. Even though FFVII has been remixed almost to death, I didn't have a problem with your version in the least. Despite my guitar bias, this track is solid through and through. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel or explore very many new territories, what it does do, which is rock, it does well. Posting the video was a great bonus so that I can see how you play, and then imitate it...and then I will become you my face is melted...actually, that would be a great idea for one of the smilies on the site: a smilie with the face melted. Good tunes, good vid, good times.

Gaming laptops are honestly just a hassle all around. More expensive than regular laptops and their gaming-equivalent desktops by-far, plus the increased heat generated, and with how quickly gaming parts become outdated these days, you're honestly just better off building a gaming desktop and getting a laptop for some small mobile stuff. Are you dead-set on getting a laptop that can do gaming graphics?

It's fine, honestly. Next time we need a webcast recording, we'll give you a heads-up. I underestimated how difficult it was going to be to record 3 people in the same room over skype and get a capture of the stream as well. Even with three computers, it ended up failing cause the ONLY MAC in the Macgyver'd rig was the one recording the steam and it botched. So much for Macs being the ultra-reliable ease-machines of lore Chalk it up to a learning experience, we move on in stride. We didn't even do any of the mixes left in our to-do list. Next destination: The MAGFest-acular Beard&Hug-a-thon w/Mandatory Robes. I'm doing hardcore reliability testing on the hardware this week to make sure NOTHING fails. I'll even be bringing two laptops to make sure if something messes up, we have a backup. You can plan for 99 issues, but it's always the one you don't plan on that shows up. So I'm planning for 101 issues. Mr. Brushfire will also be doing some nice video recordings of stuff that occurs, whatever the antics end up being. Should hopefully have things uploaded and ready within a week of MAG being over, because we like you all. We like you all a lot.

Things are still slowly chugging along on the back-end. The holidays ended up serving as more downtime, which is fine, because the new year will bring lots of awesome stuff. I hope to have WIPs from everyone except bLiNd within January. Wishing everyone a happy new year in-advance, and hope you all enjoyed the Christmas NiGHTS music on Winter Dreamers EP. Still lots more to come NiGHTS-related before the project is released, so stay tuned.

2 packs of chocolates, a Saturn-style USB controller, some very nice cards, and most importantly, cash. Oh, and some dude from Sweden. He apparently plays cello. He's got to go back, though, which sucks. At least he can do my laundry and dishes for a few weeks.

Punk? Ska? Outrun? Awesome. I can see why they've been badgering you to submit this. It's the unmistakable classic LuIzA-style approach, and from every perspective I look at it, it rules. Guitars sound great and the performance is awesome, and we all know I have a bias with guitars. I also love ska and punk, so pretty much this song right here is a combination of, like, ten-thousand things I adore. Too bad about that Ferrari though, I feel bad for it breaking even if it's just a video game remix.

I liked this song a lot, and tried to argue with Brushfire over who got to announce it. I was the better man and let him have it, but let it not be said that I didn't fight over you! I spent hours, days, and even weeks coming up with a short and clear way to express how I view this mix. It's basically boiling down to "what if Daft Punk remixed video game tunes with slap bass in the disco era". This song is just awesome, through and through. Great length, it never feels like it's too long. The production and performance are all top-notch. The entire song has this crunch to it that would make Nestle jealous. Badass. Who knew cheetah's be so funky?

I don't really need to say much here, do I? It's standard willrock! You know standard willrock is good. Standard willrock satisfies. Standard willrock has yet to disappoint me at all. And standard willrock applied liberally to VF-tunage is pretty awesome. My usual compliments on your production and instrument choices. Keep it up!

This has always been one of the most moving pieces from the album. The range of styles on the album itself is quite vast, but I have a soft-spot for this kind of orchestral style. This was one of my wake-up alarm songs for a while, and with good reason. If you have this song playing in the background, all your humdrum activities seem very epic. Great job with the track, John. This moving and adventurous-feeling mix is one of your best, and it could have been plucked right out of a movie score without question.

So, who all is going to be hanging around the Virginia/DC/Baltimore area after MAG for a few days this year? Since we only all get together a few days out of the year (or years), totally need to make the most of the opportunities. I'll try to keep this list updated with people staying and ideas: Confirmed after MAG (and for how long): Level 99 (lives in the area) AeroZ (until the 12th) Audio Fidelity (until the 9th or 10th) Abadoss (until the 9th or 10th) Brushfire (lives in the area) Proposed activities: At least one more group meal of some kind!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the time is almost upon us... Hopefully, this is the last update I'll need to make for my crew for MAG. At the moment, the carpool has simmered down from extra people to pretty much just some of the people I'm rooming with at MAG, and who they're carpooling with. Gotta pick OA up from the airport at around 2 on Thursday, so expect myself, OA, and Avaris to arrive at around 3ish (just in time for check-ins, woo!). Prophet and Cyril may or may not be joining the carpool, we have to figure it out this week. This is a last-call for anyone looking to try to join a Baltimore carpool that leaves the 31st mid-day and comes back sometime in late afternoon on the 4th. After MAG ends, AeroZ, Audio Fidelity, and Abadoss (wow, that's a lot of A's) will be staying with me for a few days. I'm going to start a separate thread for post-MAG activities. Anyone who's staying in the area should feel free to pitch ideas. Maybe we can plan another group outing since the Brush BBQ was cancelled. Well, I'll see most of you in a few days. Can't wait to get snazzified for the Bond part!

Weird. I installed it all, restarted, and then every time I loaded the Play engine it caused graphical glitches. And it never actually worked. And Sonar couldn't detect it either. Hopefully It's just something that requires a reinstall of it, and my computer isn't broked from it.

HOLY CRAP! ummm AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL bring ice-climbers wear if you want. He's on a military base so I'm sure it'll be well-ready for the ice if it happens. We're still on for tomorrow, set it a little earlier to compensate for traffic (around 4 PM instead of 5). This'll be nice and small, then. I'll see you folks tomorrow. Drive safely. Kizyr, check your PMs in a bit, it'll give you more specific directions for getting to brushfire's place. Make sure you had ID on you!

Heh no, all a running joke about extensively long names, Mr. Cho. We'll have you on again...one day. Oh, people don't need our pimping to hear Deez Nuts. We want to pimp YOUR songs *points at everyone who did a track for the album*.

Yeah, I know I know. I'll see if I give in when I get home today. Thankfully, most people in my family are aware that if they're gonna get me any presents, it's usually cash. Unmarked, nonsequential bills that have been laundered...which I will then use to purchase "goods and services". I'm eying that Borderlands discount very much...

I must give this my stamp of approval. I don't have anything negative to say at all. The various iterations of the theme being repeated never once lost my interest. Bravo.

Why are there not tons (ie double digts) of Legend of the Mystical Ninja mixes on here?! Goemon and his crazy hair is more deserving than that. Obey or his spikey yo-yo of death will come and smite thee! This was very cool. The distorted guitars were a good choice, if not a little unconvincing in the execution. If it's real, then it's a very synthetic distortion and very exact playing. To be fair, though, if they are sampled/synth guitars, then I give you kudos for such good execution that it made me question their authenticity a bit. The backing strings could have been used a little better, in either case. So call me a fan of the arrangement and the idea, not so much of how it ended up. I'll echo what Deia said about how the artificialness of this really bogged me down.

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!! Make or sig animations, remixer of Darius. This could have used some more beefing-out of the mix, eq and volume levels. That doesn't make it any less fun of a listen, though. It's good, not great, but you incorporate a lot of fun stuff to make it deserving of a listen. Most of my beef would be with the production and mix now, because it's very middle-focused. Supping up the high and low a little, and better placement of some instruments in the mix would have made this really shine. As it stands though, it's a nice tribute to Darius' Legacy.

Very well made, and quite danceable. This makes me want to go grab my glow sticks and hit up club technochocolate. *lightswitch raves* All around, a solid piece of work!

This really captures a classic Uematsu feel while still adding some nice new stuff. I like how the heavy melody-focus doesn't detract the other instruments from exploring some new support areas. Good production, and I loved the drum samples (I have a guilty pleasure of glitch-drums). I found myself snapping to this without realizing it. It's both smooth and edgy at times, a quality that is hard to capture.

*blinks* did that just happen? Did you really just do that to the source, dude? *butthumps* THAT WAS FANASTIC!!! I tried very hard to find something to point out that I didn't like, you know, cause I hate you Anso, but I couldn't. This was kickass. Great concept, great execution, great production. My hat is off to you, sir. While it may not be something to listen to in my car while driving, it is definitely something I'd listen to if I wanted to get work done somewhere. You go from chill and chimey to acid-spasm detuning without flinching. I can only assume it's that magical beard that gives you your powers.