[Legend of Zelda | Time of Courage]

Hey! Pretty neat remix you have going on here. I love the scope of the mix, how it hits a lot of the various Zelda themes from multiple games. The break that hits at the Zelda II theme is far and away the best part of the track. It's a shame it doesn't stick around for long though. I'm talking about about 2:11 - Freakin' awesome part.

Your mixing is alright, but there's a lot of muddiness in the track. A lot of your synth choices blend together to create this thick lump of sound that's difficult to dissect. Some parts play better than others, but certain areas become a bit 'muddy' - I'd like to see the reverb tweaked a bit and maybe toned down a notch and perhaps some different synths chosen all together.

Compounding that problem is the lack of diversity in the chosen sounds - each theme while unique in its own right falls into the same category.. while the drum work is solid all around, Things start feeling stale - specifically because of the synths and mixing, and that's a shame, because there is some awesome writing going on Love what you do with some of the themes.

Overall? Definitely a solid listen with some SWEET highlights (like 2:11) .. but the synths and mixing hold this back

Hope it helps!

-Dusty

[SIDfection Album Teaser]

Hey guys, I've been working on a little album project for about a year or so. Basically an album that celebrates the unique sound of the SID sound chip. The teaser is available as of now, with a full release down the road.

I did a small freelance job for a game called 'Life of Pixel' on the Vita, and wound up writing a track for the 'SID' section of the game. I fell in love with the track and decided to write a whole album based on that singular song. 1 year and 11 tracks later, Here we are.

Thanks for listening

Trailer is available here:

[Flexstyle Remix Contest - Winner announcement coming soon!]

BUMP: for great justice! Also as a reminder that this contest will be over in thirty days, which is plenty of time, but also you should hop to it if you're interested.

Are there any genre restrictions or things your not interested in or is it completely open? Something with Chiptune elements? Ect ect?

[Wooden - A mysterious electronic/acoustic/atmospheric thingie]

Very cool - there are lots of atmospheric touches here. I love the depth of the sounds on display, it feels like you can close your eyes and just immerse yourself in the soundscape your creating - it's warm and inviting - nice work. For some reason, I get a huge Metroid vibe from this track.

I feel like the reverb might be a *bit* too much - even to the point of causing some minor static ticks in my headset. Certain parts we're distracting and eventually i had to lower the volume a bit to compensate. Things never feel boring or static, the slight bending of synths towards the end is a nice touch.

Sounds fantastic, other than some minor volume issues. Great work.

[X Haus - Crystal BAse (Funky House/Chiptune/8bit)]

Nice track! I like the SID vibe going on, and while the beat is repetitive and simple - it totally works. For what its worth, I feel new instruments come in a bit too slowly and the track tends to get repetitive too quickly for its own good. Would've liked to see the chord progression played with a bit more and something to grab my attention a few times.

As it stands though, nice track with some great sounds. Keep at it man

[DEEP MELLOW DIVE - Project R X Sonic Adventure 2]

Nice work - love the smooth and mellow groove you have going on. Great atmosphere and pretty solid blending of textures all around. Diggin' it.

I feel the song tends to get too repetitive for my own tastes, especially towards the middle and end parts, pitch shift is not enough and the only break from your chord progression is towards the ending. Would love to see some changes in that regard but overall?

Good stuff!

[Great Fairy Fountain (Jazz Vibes/Piano)]

Nice Pretty fun listen and yea - i feel its a bit fuzzy on the recording side. There are some fun and interesting compositional things your doing on the piano that I'd love to hear brought out a bit more, but it tends to get drowned out with everything else. Another thing I'd absolutely LOVE to see is some drum work to go along with this - it might help balance out the song - but still, neat idea!

Would love to see it expanded upon.

[Stickerbrush jazz flute (Tropical Freeze staff roll version)]

Better, Closer, Warmer I think there are minor recording issues, but with your current setup there are limits, and that's okay. Overall for what your working with, it works. Here's some more useful feedback for you:

Now you have a great vibe going and your levels are a bit more balanced, I think there are compositional issues here as well.

Firstly; the song lacks some strong definition. It kinda plods along on its own pace - its very chill and relaxing, and maybe that's what your looking for - but to me it can feel a bit uninspired and boring at times. Always try to keep the listener interested in what your doing or whats coming next, or just loving the moment. You have the 3rd one no problem, the mid section of the song is awesome, but the transitions come slowly and things stagnate quickly.

Also your drumwork is probably the biggest culprit on why things get stale so quick - there is a single rather simple drum pattern going on here - it works and its pretty nice, but it gets old quickly; your transitions lack the punch they need because your drumwork is just going at its own pace. You said you wanted to add more so thats great but i'd say try to spice up the drumwork a bit with some new additions or just a different breakdown in general. It's one of the best and easiest ways to make a song less repetitive.

Massive change for the better so far though; the levels are much better now. As far as knowing when something is too bass heavy or treble heavy - it's kind've a learned skill and different people have different preferences. I've always listened to artists or professional music that i really like and want to emulate, and try to make what i'm doing sound like what they did.

Goodluck

[To Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X (chill electronic cover)]

Awesome stuff I love the thick 'paddy' sound you have going on here, the spirit of the original really shines through. The drums compliment things nicely and the lead is just fantastic. nice work. This is one of my favorite sources - good job doing it justice.

On the other end, would've like to see even more electronic touches thrown in or some deviations from the original melody - in many respects it feels like a cover. Also, there are a sour spot or two in the video, like 3:06 sounds a bit off. Still, really good stuff and worth a listen. There's this thick warm vibe that this track just exudes. Lovin' it.

[Casino Nightlife]

Very nice stuff here. The recording and playing is fantastic. I like most of the electronic touches - Things work pretty well. Casino Zone is one of my absolute favorite sources so I'm glad there's more coverage for it.

Sometimes the reverb that kicks in at like 0:26 is a bit overbearing and unnecessary. I also feel like maybe the track is just a bit too slow for its own good - It feels like the theme is dragging or plodding a bit. Love to see a version just a little bit faster.

All things considered? great stuff and a fun listen.

[Shrouded Reactor]

Awesome stuff. There's a lot of emotion in the track and it just feels pretty dark. It's been awhile since I've heard the original, but it feels like there are some more original elements thrown in here too. I'm especially fond of the section that starts at 2:40 - brings back the memories

Well done!

[Stickerbrush jazz flute (Tropical Freeze staff roll version)]

Neat intro, i like how simply the song begins. Flute and Guitar sound pretty okay, but your drums are really, really bass heavy and tend to drown things out - I'd consider finding some lighter drum samples or editing your current recording to sound less 'thuddy'.

Chord change @ 0:44 is nice and needed, the first part was getting a bit old. I love the long drown out flute parts that slide through the 2nd half of the song. Easily the bast part of the track. I'm not sure how much is taken from the original during this 2nd half, but its a step up from the first part.

Overall? pretty good. I think there are some recording issues, especially with the drums sounding so bass heavy, I'd love to hear it with something a bit lighter and not so intense. 2nd half is awesome, I'd suggest keeping that vibe going - it's very relaxing, sans the drums. Good luck finishing it and nice work so far.

[OUT NOW ON OC RECORDS: Sonic "Green Hill Sessions" by Jivemaster!!]

Not bad at all. Some of the arrangements are pretty nice. Some tracks like Green Hill are complete standouts, while others feel average. The album feels pretty cohesive and is a fun listen, but that price is a bit steep. '

Sweet work! Definitely worth a listen.

[Most Expressive VGM]

Transistor.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

The reason this seems to be the case is that the safer ADCs are more popular. But risky hyper-carries like Twitch and Kog are still good, they're just riskier to play. Twitch isn't, by any means, the only one.

I feel like 'Safer' ADCS are just plain better in competitive play. I never see Kog or Ashe in ranked play and there's this big negative stereotype that your bad if you pick them. They happen to be two of my favorite ADCs and When I get the chance to play one, people will immediately jump down my throat for picking them, Kog especially. Its not just ADCs either, safety in this game tends to boil down to raw stats, mobility, and cc. Most of the go-to popular champions have some combination of all three. The champions that have none of them are quickly discarded. Vel'koz seems like a prime example of this - I never ever see him.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

New discussion point, since I think we've all hashed out most of what there is to say about Nidalee until the next patch...

Who should be buying Essence Reaver? Is it a viable replacement for Tear --> Manamune on mana-heavy characters like Yorick, Jayce, and Ezreal? Is it a viable replacement for a Bloodthirster and/or BotRK? Intuition tells me no for the latter, since BT and BotRK both output quite a bit more damage -- one via raw number, the other via passive.

http://blog.ibuypower.com/blog/2014/06/23/doublelift-vlog-adc-itemization-patch-4-10/

Doublelift has some choice things to say about the Reaver and he summarizes my opinion nicely I'd like to see the Reaver literally STEAL mana from its target or something along those lines, would make it a lot more interesting/viable with hurricane.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

I completely agree with you on all points Armadon. She feels very much a 'jack of all trades' which is okay and can work, but I just don't think we'll see her in competitive play nearly as much. Time will tell!

On the subject of Nid support, I play almost exclusively support and am currently working my way through Gold playing support. I don't think she's viable as a support currently. Here is why:

1.) Her lack of control will doom her. If Blitzcrank, Thresh, or Leona land an initiate, the target MUST flash or die. Even if they flash, they've lost the exchange completely and are probably at a health disadvantage. (These are 3 of the most commonly played supports in the current meta.)

2.) She is too fragile. Even if your rocking tank items out of the gate, pouncing on a duo team is a death sentence, doubly so if they have ANY access to CC. It's very risky, and just not worth it. It's like playing an Annie support without the CC.

3.) Her scaling options as a support are poor. You'll invariably wind up a fragile spear bot like before, only you just won't do as much. Her new kit requires you to utilize all of her abilities to be effective. You must have some tankiness on the new nid, its very difficult to play through a support laning phase as nidalee and buy tanky items.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

I think that AD Nidalee is making a strong comeback with the new kit.

What does everyone think of the 4.10 changes to Nidalee, and the new items?

On the subject of Nid... It's still really early, and it'll be interesting to see how she develops, but ultimately? I don't see her being very popular for awhile. I think her poke game got hit a bit. (Probably needed, as much as it pains me to say that.) I think building the pure AP glass cannon nid that everyone used to play is non-viable, so her only viability comes in the form of Tanky-Bruiser nid and AD assassin Nid..both semi viable and certainly interesting to see, but ultimately? there are other champions that fill that role better. I feel like she has less build options and will only be played top now which makes me sad. I was kinda excited to see her as a potential support (especially with cougar at the start of the game) but she seems far to fragile for that. Time will tell, ultimately.. I love/hate the changes to her kit.

As for the item-changes, I think they are all good and positive changes. ADCs have needed some buffs for a bit now. Personally, I'm hoping they do something with Hurricane down the line, but I think overall its a good change for the game. Also excited to see Twitch/Lucain get the nerf stick a bit, they were in every SINGLE ranked game that I've played. It was getting annoying.

[Rainbow Road Montage - 'Skybound']

Hey guys, thanks for the super kind words Means a lot!

I do have some music on OCR some stuff has been denied because its too different from the source and other stuff is sitting in judge limbo. '

[Nintendo Wii U]

For what its worth, the main reason I've yet to purchase any of the new consoles is lack of compelling software. I have no plans to even jump on the Ps4/XBone train until I see something that really makes me interested in the systems.

As for the Wii U? I'll pick that up when Smash comes out, as I imagine thousands upon thousands of others will be doing as well. I could easily see it being a major turning point for the Wii U

[Wildstar]

I'm genuinely surprised there isn't more hype on OCR for this game. Almost every major MMO release generally has some fans on this site.

Wildstar is easily one of the best MMOs in recent memory. The best way to describe it is a great combination of Guild Wars 2 and WoW.. It kinda takes the best bits of both and combines into one awesome game. I have guest passes and will happily donate one or two to anyone that's interested in checking it out.

Highlights include Player Housing, Combat, Character Animations, and the Music.. my god.. The music is fantastic.

As for combat?

Skip to 24 minutes in, towards the very end and watch the boss fight. This is the combat in a nutshell - It's very fun.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

is it just because his poke is so big and annoying?

There's a lot of reasons and it varies per matchup, but i'll try to summarize with a few points:

1.) Harassment. It's a big deal for Xerath! You might say - this can work with a lot of champions like Lux or Ziggs but Xerath has a very easy time maintaining his mana, provided you can keep his passive ticking. His cooldowns are short and harass seems constant and unending. It's very easy to punish a support who needs to get in close like Leona and just force her to play on the sidelines, watching helplessly as you harass them both down from afar. Another thing to note is that it's very difficult to hold a turret against Xerath because of his reach and siege potential. You can't just.. hide under your turret with a Xerath floating around and try to farm - he forces you to go back.

2.) His kit works well on the defensive. He can stop big creep waves and pushes; he has respectable disengage tools. Certainly not the best, but his reworked W and E are absolutely great at turning around bad engages or stopping a jungler from ganking. He also has a few tricks to get vision without wards which is always nice in the support game. Diving Xerath under his own turret is usually a bad idea with his stun/slow.

3.) His mid-game potential as a support is terrifying. I feel like Xeraths kit works very well with the items you can build on him towards mid game in the support role. A lot of his abilities do good damage and his Ultimate is just so very nice to have on the offensive. Anytime your involved with a teamfight you can usually pick off a few people who run with your ultimate, and that leads to big pushes and big objectives early.

I guess that's all I can think of for now - Most players tell me i'll get camped by smart junglers, but unless my ADC is flat out bad at positioning, It usually ends well for us. I would recommend banning some of the more mobile/assassin junglers when playing Xerath, Lee Sin and Khazix both spring to mind as being difficult to deal with.

[Save the Earth, Save the Galaxy (Mass Effect themes remix)]

Hey there Looks like this has fallen a bit, I'll be happy to give you a review.

First thing that springs to mind is your production quality - its pretty good. The piano and strings sound great; you have some good ambience going on. Your transition at 1:00 is pretty interesting. The Kickdrum sounds okay, I like the tempo variance. You do a great job of layering the sounds just right. Things sound good for the most part. Nice work!

1:40 sounds great. Excellent blending of sounds here. I'd like to see a bit more variance with the lead and chord progression; you tend to fall into the 'just keep it going' mentality of so many electronic tracks. I think a more active lead would do justice. The break is great, nice transition again from the Electronic to the Orchestral and again - well blended sounds. After the break, you start this heavy orchestral building. Things sound pretty good; Not quite as good as your first half, but respectable.

Overall, the later half of the song starts to get repetitive. A lot of this is your drum work and looping chord progression. The part that hits at 6:25 is such a welcome change of pace. You could have probably dropped a minute or two out of the song as a whole and still gave the listener the same experience. I'd even say a better experience. As a whole though? This is pretty nice work. looking forward to seeing your future endeavors.

[EWI Multitrack cover of 'Village' theme from SimCity (SNES)]

Neat! This track was always a favorite of mine. I adore most of the SNES Sim City and Sim Ant soundtracks.. a lot of hours poured into those games as a kid.

As for the music? Really interesting sound coming from the AKAI. It completely reminds me of the SNES original in a good way - the playing sounds great.

I'd love to see a remix or some more creative liberties taken with the source material though; as a cover it sounds very reminiscent of the original. Still, nice work.

[League of Legends: I finally updated the player list in the OP!]

So i just raised to Silver I in solo queue with Xerath support exclusively. It feels like a bit of an accomplishment. I started in Silver V, and it only took me about 2 weeks. I'm easily winning 60-70% of my games with him. If the trends continue I'll be in gold very soon. Haven't lost a promo yet

Support Xerath counters the current support meta so hard right now and no one realizes a thing. He stops Leona, Braum, and Thresh easily and can even stand toe to toe with Morgana and Blitz. The only supports he has trouble with are those that have access to strong healing potential like Sona and Raka. For some reason, they have fallen out of popularity lately in favor of the more aggressive or 'defensive' supports.

Hoping to hit Gold soon.