Gario

Yeah, Spakku pretty much nailed it on the head, there. Also, while the drums are far better than they were, the patterns do still a bit repetitive. It's not that you don't change them up (you do, quite a bit), it's that you have too much reliance on bass drums and snare, for the most part... It would benefit from a great deal from things like hat work and such. Also, the link in Z1 was, indeed, young according to lore. If you read the instructions for Z2, it explains that the events of Z1 all happened considerably before his 16th birthday, so he couldn't be older than 14 or 15. Maybe not a kid, but certainly young.

I know, right? I can't speak for the J's, but I feel the arrangement of the instruments, the atmosphere, etc., are enough of a variation. Again, OCR may or may not accept this based on the conservative nature of this, but it's certainly worth the shot. Archangel, if you want to be sure, send a PM to either a judge or to Zircon (a former judge) and ask one of them about it, if you want to put it on here. They'd have a far better idea on whether the conservative... thing would affect it's chances. Funny, I'm assuming you want to put it up here - it's ultimately up to you, after all Oh, and this prelude song probably isn't in FFXIII because Nobuo Uematsu isn't involved in the soundtrack. Rights to the song and all...

Hold on... I'm getting lost in this one... Alright, it's official - this is badass. It's very, very well done (and I don't just say these things). Beautiful orchestration, great samples, excellent production. I love the reverb on the piano - it takes it out of reality just enough for it to be fitting to the style. Yeah, if I don't say anything bad about something that generally means it's pretty close to perfection. Normally, for a song that's this conservative I'd say you need to vary it up in order to get it on OCR, but I think this is an exception. This needs to go on this site, so submit it, damnit. EDIT: I'm trying to dl this thing, but it's givin' me trouble. Help? EDIT2: Wait, I think I know the problem... nm, lol.

I know, false dichotomy. It often is the case, though (SSBM is the perfect example of an exception). Until VG companies learn how to make games easy to learn & accessible, yet challenging & complex under the surface we're going to see many games that fall under that dichotomy, unfortunately.

Meh, I think the article pointed out one thing very clearly - there's no satisfying everyone. Sure, the people who love the new streamlined games have a good point in that these new games should be open to new players, trim the fat, etc. However, those that complain that new games aren't 'HARDCORE' also have a point in that if a game isn't difficult, it often isn't very fun, either... for them. Really, VG companies have quite the dilemma, and there's nothing they can do about it. Do you make a game more accessible, thus alienating a loyal audience, or do you continue to make the games difficult and complex, thus alienating a new audience? I think they're making the right choice, streamlining games and such, because let's face it - if you want a hard game, go set up your good ol' NES and run through Contra again. Hardcore gamers already have a vast library of games at their disposal, so they suffer less when games are 'streamlined' or 'dumbed-down'. I'm sure there are some games that satisfy both parties, in some sense, but alas, they are few and far between.

Yeah, any % run ftw. I'm going to work on getting my runs down to a recordable time if it kills me ... In honor of the new album, of course .

I second this

Yeah, I suck... 3:27, going through as fast as I can (not 102%). Mind you, though, I haven't played it through since I was 12 so I'm a little rusty, to say the least. I'm going to try to get my time down as much as I can before the release date - here's hoping for under an hour before the album is released!

Every time I see this, I laugh.

The vocals add a lot to the music - it's designed for vocals, as I can now see. You need to make them clearer, though - Spakku basically nails it, there. Is the vocal track attached to the mixerboard in a way that it mutes with the electronic effects in the background? That's what it sounds like, to me, but I could be wrong.

http://ringfestivalla.com/ Yeah, it's no MAGfest, but let's face it - unless you live in New York or something this opportunity never comes up. IT'S WAGNER'S GODDAMN RING CYCLE!! 16 hours of epic opera madness! I learned of this back in December, but couldn't find a site for it until today. It's probably the only time in anyone's life that you'll be able to see this, so don't miss it! (you'll regret it later, believe me ). I don't know how many of you guys like opera, but man, I'm there (even at 350$ a seat, plus travel costs...).

I might join... except you could expect a runthrough of about 5+ hours, so probably no vid... I haven't run the game in years (as in, since 1995 or so), nor would it be a 102% run. I think it's be a worthy celebration of this album's release, though Yeah, here's to hoping for a release soon (within the next month or two)!

DAMN YOU, MEDIAFIRE!! I didn't know some sites had that feature... Ah, bless Box.net for it's dl-replacing capabilities (I actually rely on it - sub a half finished song and get'er done a week before it's judged... don't tell the J's mah secret...)! Best of luck with this in the panel, anyway - I believe it's passable, even as it is. I think the J's allow for changes to a song after it passes, anyhow (as long as those changes are not significant, like structure changes), so if you want to make changes after it's passed I think it's possible,

How do people think up stuff like this? I am amazed on at least a couple different levels. What's even more amazing is that this pic wasn't posted by Schwaltzvald... Also, in the FFT picture don't forget Orlando (T.G. Cid) on the top, there.

It's actually a synth? Damnit, I need my ears checked. Unless the J's already reviewed your work, you could probably make changes to the file and upload it and replace the file you submit. That way it'll have the changes before going through the panel. If you want to change it, that is I know how you feel, man... Project whoring, ftw.

I see how the music flows, now, so here's my suggestion. The first two minutes are indeed too repetitive, so you definitely need moar variation. Moar variation? Look at the source and notice that, harmonically speaking, it's actually changing it up a lot - while the tune and texture is the same, the harmonic background adds enough interest for the listener to grab and such, so it doesn't get boring. I think that's one thing I've noticed most remixers of this song tend to miss... If you're going to use the beginning of the source for the first 2 minutes of the song, try playing around with the harmonies under the theme. It'll take this mix to new heights Also, there's a little ditty that's played in the very beginning of the source that's never introduced Obviously, you can chose to add it or omit it, but perhaps it will generate ideas for you... Just another thought. I like the changes in the second half. You brought in mah favorite part from the source, yay. The little techno sound... thingy... that comes in at 2:28 is loud, though. I suggest turning it down to an appropriate level. Overall, as I said before, the mix is very clean (which is good)... it's a little bit quiet, though. Nothing more than raising the main mixer volume, so it should be a (relatively) quick fix. I don't really hear anything that'll clip out if the volume goes up, so there shouldn't be a problem with just bringing it up a few decibels. Why aren't I posted yet? Actually, I've been working on project music rather than on my own stuff (for better or worse). Most of the music I've been working on actually achieves a pretty high standard (I'm guessing easily OCR worthy, but self assessment =/= truth), but none of it'll be released until... 2011 or 2012? Yeah, it sucks, but I'm enjoying it, despite that little snag. I've got one thing in the queue that isn't project bound, so here's hoping that it's up to par Keep at this mix, though - let's see where this takes us

Well, it HAS changed a little bit (no more TPPK'ing, by the looks of it, and another new quest, woot), but it's still a relatively small update. Still, I think I'll download it and try it out. I'm itching to play again (especially since my Hell/Act 5 Druid has been eaten by my hard drive ), so I guess this is the best time to start again.

Vocals would help a lot, and live variation would be a real boon to the piece. I have noticed the variation in it already, but more would help. Making it a medley is a good idea (considering the short source), but be careful to make the music sound like a cohesive whole - if it sounds like two songs placed next to each other it's generally frowned upon. Do it, but with caution As for the organ, think of how an organ functions. They tend to have a similar dynamic with all of their notes, but they use swells to make the sound get louder and quieter. If it's all one dynamic it tends to make it sound like a machine wrote the music, so add some volume variation (and do it in a way that increases the volume mid-note and gradually, for realism's sake). That'll help it along, just don't go overboard... it's a tricky business . As for better samples... Does anyone know what Garageband (or Macs in general) accepts? I'm under the impression that VST and VSTi are both Windows plugins, so they may not work as well for him. I'm sure there are better sample sets and such out there, though. Good luck!

Don't worry, mine was a joke, too ... ... although I'm sure there are a few posters who've actually experienced some counterpoint wrath from me, so it's sometimes hard to tell . Level99, hurry up and give us an update - we're tearing each other up in here, 'cause you're not feedin' us any music!

Inspired by a nameless WIP on here? Ah, Hoboka, how people could learn from you . Generic, indeed - the sounds and such are quite so, although nice and clean, for the most part. Except that instrument at 0:42. It has too much reverb on it, which takes away from the neat quality you've got going throughout the rest of the song. I actually don't care about the generic sound, overall, but the mud adversely affects me. Alas, it takes you a while to introduce the second part of the source (2:00)... I like the first part and all, but I get a bit bored of it after awhile. I like the cutoffs you make in order to shorten the theme and such, but I feel a bit more variation is also in order whenever you introduce the source. That's just me, though (You know how I've been brainwashed by the ways of OCR, lol). Otherwise, it's too soon to tell how the flow of the song is going, so keep going .

... I'd dig into you for this, but you know not what you're saying . I guess I shouldn't get so into ripping apart people when they lack Music Theory and mock it on here, but it's so.. damn... hard... not to...

I hope no one is under the impression that I believe this mix is 'bad', by any stretch of the imagination. I think I even said it was a nice mix with some fun elements thrown in there. I only said that it wasn't going to make it on OCR, and I gave the exact reasons why. I hope quoting the site standards isn't intimidating, as that was not my intention. Clockworkengine, the general attitude of this site and it's forums are not one of disdain and snobbery. It's one of encouragement and critical analysis, for the most part (sure, there are some posters that have egos bigger than their postcounts, but I'm trying to exclude that from the 'general attitude' bit). You see, if I said this song was great, grand and ready to be posted on OCR, I wouldn't be of much help to the OP if that wasn't in fact true, would I? He's expressly asked in his post if it was ready for OCR posting, so I gave him the honest answer followed by the reasoning behind it. If he simply posted this here and said 'Hey guys, this is a little something I'm doing on my own time' my response would be very different, but this is not the case, here. This actually has been addressed by the site - of course most of the standards are subjective. That's why there are 8-10 judges with a variety of styles at any one time judging the music. That rids the process of subjective bias, for the most part (you can never get rid of all bias, but one can get rid of most of it this way).I would suggest looking through here and on the front page to get a better idea of what OCR is looking for. I understand you're new, so you can see for yourself how the J's interpret the standards. The standards are there for good reason - please don't be harsh interpreting their decisions, since it's the decisions are made so this site can have as much of it's music on a standard of quality that's unmatched by any site out there, atm. It's tough, but it works well. I've seen enough carnage on this site (suffering a few rejections myself) to have a general understanding of what's accepted on here and what isn't, so my advice probably holds. By the very fact that the poster wanted to know what needed to be done in order to get on this site he has implicitly given everyone else the right to tell him what is needed for that very purpose. Think of it this way, if the poster wanted a very specific effect that his lo-fi instruments provided, and the general public (and, implicitly, the J's) didn't understand what the effect was or why he used the lo-fi instruments, what good does that effect do for anyone? He's bravely exposing his music to the people here in hopes that they will give him an objective answer, in turn learning something about music and making himself a better composer, overall. By telling him anything other than what one believes to be the truth ultimately hurts that purpose. Really, you're being rather closed-minded here. Who's to say that fidelity is not artistic (or an artistic variable)? Not you, I or OCR. However, at the same time OCR is looking for a specific format and quality level, and it's their right to do so. Is this my site, your site, or any member of OCR's site? No, no and yes - it's djpretzel's site. He decided that he's looking for music with a certain quality, thus that's what will be posted here.If you want a site dedicated to remixes with a purposeful low-quality sound, look up Olremix.org, or if you want an alternative site with good mixes (and a different set of standards), look up remix.thasauce.net. OCR isn't the end-all of music, you know, but the poster wanted a mix on this site, so he'll need to comply with whatever standard is in place, atm. No, since I am not referring to the electronic portions of the music. He is using many 'realistic' instruments in his song, which implies that he's attempting to add some 'real' music, for color. I'm making a couple of suggestions that would help him achieve his most likely goal - if this isn't what he wants then he can let me know for himself (it isn't very hard to respond to something like my post, you know), and I will instead point him in a direction that will help him with what he wants. Until then, though, the non-humanization sounds like a mistake, and will be treated as such, by most listeners that hear it.Long post, but I'm a bit disgruntled by new posters that don't quite understand what the direction of my posts are or the purpose of this site is. I'm not trying to sound angry or antagonistic - I'm trying to clarify a couple of points for anyone here. Please don't disregard this as an angry rant, as it's not. I'll admit a bit of my PPR mentality is eeking out in this post, though...

Yeah, make more, dude... Hell, let's collab on a duet, for shits and giggles. Bring in Liontamer and we'll have a real whoppin' group goin', here I can't believe the last post on here is over a year old - it still seems like just yesterday I was laughing at this stuff... And don't diss the Cradle one - that was by far the best one here, lol.

Hmm... well, this won't be accepted on OCR, I'm pretty sure of that. Not to say it's bad, but it doesn't quite follow some of it's prerequisites. Namely... There really isn't nearly enough variation to the source in this music. The changes in the instrumentation is nice, but it's not nearly enough to be accepted on OCR. There really needs to be some structural changes in the music in order to be acceptable, which your remix contains none of. The standards bring some options to the table, so try experimenting with those ideas a bit and see where that takes you. I like the change-up at 2:58 - 3:36, but it isn't enough to get this on here. Also... While many of the synths are pretty good, some of them are jarringly low-fi instruments (the piz. string is the prime example, in the song - it sounds like it came from DKC2). Also, some of the instruments could use a little bit more humanization (such as the organ in the beginning), so work on that. Watch out with the drum work, as it's very repetitive as it stands. In fact, you could use a whole new set, since the drums you use now are very weak and lack the hat work completely. Overall, it's a fun listen, and I wouldn't mind listening to it more than once, but it's just not what OCR is looking for. Good luck with any future endeavors.