Kenogu Labz

Merry Christmas, indeed!

Unfortunately, I've never found a lyrical translation or vocal performance that hasn't bugged me to death. I think the tune is a fantastic and beautiful one, but honestly, every time someone sings to it... they break the spell, so to speak. Not sure this is the right forum for this, though. This forum is reserved for remixes that are being worked on, not arrangements that have already been made.

Ohh, it pulls the best move it can find, usually, although its definition of 'best' isn't always as good as it thinks it is. You just have to really play smart, and don't give the CPU a break. If it has an opening, it'll almost always take it.

Another two freebies (or, at least, near-freebies) today. The 'Overachiever' might not be an option for those new to Steam, but hey, maybe they can just watch even more trailers.

You know it'll just grow back, like in The Santa Clause... But hey. Maybe we can make Stevo's Wig out of the cut remains. It'd make a rockin' TF2 unlock, if nothing else.

Like Baha said; it takes about an hour before you'll get used enough to the speed. A little persistence goes a long way. And hey, you have several days to do it, so no rush, eh?

...I just realized that having the treasure hunt be based off of achievements is... skewed, at the very least; the number of high-price games used in the objectives make it so those who are already rich/have lots of these games have a higher chance at winning more games... Well, on a positive note: Shatter's pretty fun, for those who haven't tried it yet. It probably won't last long, but it's still a well-polished spin on classic gameplay.

OCR has another birthday; for everyone here, it's like having a second birthday! Caaaake all 'round, eh? But seriously, looking forward to another great year!

Oooh, I'd definitely be interested in the HL2/Ep.1. Always wanted to pee my pants in Ravenholm. :3 I haven't seen achieves for a single game I'd be willing to pay for. Even the cheeap ones just don't seem that interesting. Hoping at least a couple of the games I got over Thanksgiving show up, but not looking all that likely...

Commander Keen's an old classic, and it just got tons funkier with this song. This one's been in my playlist for awhile; it's always surprised me how impressive the tracking skills are on this. It's yet another example of what Mazedude can do with even the simplest of samples!

Maaan. I really need to just go and check out more of AeroZ's stuff; I always find it super catchy, but then never bother to download it. I've really loved this melody, ever since I took the time to start playing the game. This electronic take on it really *clicks* somehow. Nice job again, and hope to hear more FF V awesome from you again, soon!

Well, think of it this way, then: how do you feel when a song lifts a passage straight from Bach? Or adds a wisp of Rachmaninoff? Disappointed, or happy that such motifs have been carried and used creatively in multiple works? I think drum loops are actually an area in which the creativity of a work can be expanded on, simply by their inclusion, if used properly. You hear an easily-identifiable sound. You know you've heard it before, in a different context, but that song was much more fast-paced and exciting than this one... this is cool, mellow, and rather a bit mysterious. One sample, multiple structures built from it. While drums aren't melodic (which does hurt their case somewhat), I'd say a similar concept applies here. And while I do understand the vital importance of originality, I'd urge you to take a look at where you're at: this site is devoted to the derivation of new material based on the old, restructuring what has already been made to make something new. All composers do this to a degree: they build off of what others have done before, play with it, learn new things about the structure of music itself, and then use it as a launching pad to make greater things.

Drum loops can be a fantastic base-point for a song. Why make your own that's not as good, when you can use something that matches exactly the mood you're looking for? In code, it's called boilerplate. In music, it can take on the form of loops. There's no crime in using them, nor shame to be had, as long as the loops don't form the meat of your song. Drum loops can be licensed, I believe, either individually, or as part of a pack. If you listen to most TV shows, there's a lot of stings and loops that recur frequently, simply because serialized programs don't have time to compose an entirely new set of songs for each new season; it's just not practical (and they skimp on the music budget, to, I suspect). I'm actually somewhat surprised I haven't heard that particular loop more than I have. It's shown up once or twice in various other songs I've heard, mostly in games. Quite the nifty one.

Again, that's a fairly common commercially available drum-loop. No need to panic about it.

YEESSSS. After that amazing opening theme, Yoko managed to make it even more breathtaking. Though it would have been better if attached to one of the other storylines... *cough*Geo*cough* There's a lot of vocals scattered in this game, most of them surprisingly well-performed, even if only used as stings. This one in particular, though, really stuck after I'd finished playing, especially with its placement in the game.

Not familiar with the source... but still impressive, given how tough it is to transcribe to NSF in a way that still carries the original instruments. Even with the VRC6 addition, it's quite the feat. Famitracker's a great tool if you prefer a more visual style of NSF creation. While the MML->NSF toolkit is much more complicated, it's also much more powerful and fine-tunable, in my opinion. But we're not here to argue that, are we?

Working on one. Crazy judging queue's slooow, though. DarkeSword is a 'mixer. Other than that, I can't think of any we'd consider regulars. A lot of our regulars gravitated here after playing on the server for awhile, if I recall correctly.

For anyone who hasn't picked up LeChuck's Revenge, I can tell you that it is definitely worth it. I haven't laughed so much playing a game in a long time. If you haven't played the first, it'll be funnier if you play it first. Then you'll start catching the in-jokes. Oh, and the soundtrack kicks some serious butt. Try listening to Largo LaGrande's theme without getting into the groove.

Fixed. :3 The Indie packs have all looked okay so far. Still hoping they put in Saira; Nifflas needs some love.

It's time for Steam's Black Friday sale again! Everyone got their wallets out and their accounts full? I'm looking into getting the Sam and Max deal; I loved their job with the Monkey Island games, and I wanna play more from them. So, any deals you bite for? Any hidden gems up that you'd recommend? [Steam Store]

Meh, he's just throwing out a truckload of straw men to try and defend himself against the inevitable. Hopefully, the admins are discerning enough to see through the smoke screen. Good luck to you, though! Hope you get a chance for y'all to beat their butts in-game. :3

WIP v9 Several changes, here. Snare's been swapped out, a lot of background has been pushed back to make room for the leads, and the intro and ending have a new sound that better fits with the glassy pads the rest of the song uses. Does the balancing seem to be improved at all? EDIT: With advice from Bahamut and Palpable, I bring you the [final WIP]. Volume ramped up through compression, and post-production almost removed entirely in favor of pre-prod balancing.

Thanks for the feedback, Nutritious, halc! The reverb is, unfortunately, on the necessary side of washed out. Many of the samples I have don't sound that great without heavy modification. The oboe/bassoon is actually one sample. The big problem with turning it up is that its volume level quavers dramatically; it has some pretty harsh spikes, some of which you can hear in the rendering. I've tried to minimize it, but bringing it up too much more would definitely be painful. That's been the trickiest part about balancing that first section. In terms of it sounding like a real instrument... it's just your imagination. Treat is as a synth, and it goes down a lot more smoothly. Now, if I had good woodwind samples... I'll see if I can bring forward the drums a bit more, that seems to be a universal comment I've had. I'll see what I can do about further balancing the support and leads.

Don't worry, you can just lure him out with riddles 'n' rings.

You can check the box 'Disable smilies in text' to get rid of the smiley. A few of the extensions near the beginning made it feel a bit empty, but the 'Sorceress' extensions were most awesome indeed. Can't wait to pick it up!