Ravich

Games that have not aged well: FFIX. The battle system is pretty horribly designed to begin with, but it's so clunky and slow that it's WAY worse in retrospect. It should have just been turn based because the ATB sure as hell isnt doing any good with 10 second animations for regular attacks. Even then, it wouldnt have made the length of battles any more bearable. I love FFIX, but poor choices were made regarding the battle system On the other hand, I personally feel like FFVII has aged very well for a PSX game. The field sprites are very awkward (but perhaps endearing?), and the MIDI isnt as good as VIII or IX, but I think it plays quite smoothly. The battle system graphics dont look all grainy like VIII and IX do these days, and the battle system itself plays very smoothly. The animations transitions from one to the next relatively seemlessly, and there is minimal ridiculousness when it comes to animation length for spells and whatnot. The translation is of course flawed, but I've seen far worse. It makes certain lines read a bit awkwardly, but at least the characters still retain speech mannerisms that define them. There are games where the translation may not have blatant grammatical errors, but every single line that is uttered sounds incredibly awkward (Legend of Dragoon and Shadow Hearts come to mind). I would say that Ocarina of Time also did not age well. I played through a healthy portion of the game a couple of months ago, and while I enjoyed myself, and I could DEFINITELY see why it was such a huge deal at the time it was released, I dont think the game can hold water today. I'm sure that in 1998, the open green fields of Hyrule were like nothing anybody had ever seen before. Today, however, it does not present the player with the same overwhelming sense of wonder. There are also plenty of instances where it is not clear at all where you have to go next or what you have to do, and that was okay back in the 90s. That's how video games worked. If you got stuck, you explored and wandered and became even more attached to the game before you stumbled upon your next goal. That's just not how it works anymore. There's also the lack of fluid camera control which just wasnt available with controllers from that console generation. FFX also aged poorly IMO. Like a lot of early PS2 games, it spent a lot of time saying "OOOOOH look how pretty 3D graphics are this generation!" without much thought as to why we are zoomed in on someone's face. Maybe that's just a SE thing though, since FFXIII did a lot of the same thing. Hell, maybe it's a Japanese thing, since MGS4 was even worse in that regard. Anyway, back to FFX. More importantly, the voice acting is a complete and utter joke. If it retains playthrough value for future generations, it will be because it is funny. I also agree with the sentiment that it is usually factors other than graphics that date a game for me. Pixels the size of my thumb nail dont stop me from having an incredible experience playing games like MGS1. MGS1's gameplay is perfectly effective (bells and whistles from the sequels arent that great IMO), and the voice acting is probably the best in the series because the actors arent fitting their lines to some animator trying and failing to make a CG character model look realistic. I also feel like Vagrant Story aged well. Sure, the graphics are definitely outdated, but cinematic aspects of cutscenes are better than 90% of what we see in current gen games. Also, spectacularly mediocre voice acting did not ruin the whole thing. I dont think Sakimoto hurt the equation either. As for my feelings on current gen games that wont have aged well.... I would say it applies to any game that relies on a "cinematic" approach to storytelling but doesnt really pull it off particularly well (MGS4), and of course any game that relies on graphics to be impressive but lacks substance (FFXIII). Video games are at a pretty pivotal point in time though. Standard gameplay formulas are cleary becoming outdated, and we're only just beginning to have a grasp on making 3D graphics look relatively realistic at a practical level of effort put in. We'll see where this goes. Ultimately I think that games which succeed in creating an atmosphere and an immersive gaming experience are the ones that will still be playable in years to come.

Hmm. I avil came to mind, but I couldnt find anything that resembled that sound. Taking the pitch down a bit did help though. I guess I'll just have to hear it in context when I get around to one of those tracks. Can you explain what you mean by "thunder plates"? Even google couldnt tell me. I did try a chinese tam tam and found something that might work with some modification. The timpani for Cid's theme I'm not convinced of though. Those drums dont sound pitched, and the timpani in other FFVII tracks dont really sound like that. Thanks for the help.

These arent really remixes, so let me know if there's somewhere else I can post them instead. As a way of working on my MIDI technique, I take MIDI data from 90s JRPGs (mostly FF) and give them a makeover with sample libraries. I just wanted to post several of them for feedback, since I'm always looking for things to improve upon. Here are a few that have turned out fairly well. Cid's Theme (FFIX) - http://www.box.net/shared/fzrp16ylge Fowers Blooming in the Church (FFVII) - http://www.box.net/shared/ouryk85ck8 Great Warrior (FFVII) - http://www.box.net/shared/y2o8tulqcg I'd be doing more of these, but my current workstation cant handle that much of PLAY (I am an EWQL user), and I actually havent had much luck finding accurate MIDI files outside of FFVII tracks.

Going to assume that you all have access to the tracks.... 1) Cid's Theme (FFVII): the drums that come in sets of 3 on the first beat and the '2 and' of every measure. They are not toms, but I cant figure out what else they would be. 2) Turk's Theme: The 2 hits that come on the '4 and' and downbeat of the following measure about 9 seconds in. It's similar/the same as the drum in the Shinra Theme that functions as the "snare" 3) The thing that comes in on off beats in Fighting (FFVII) around 11 seconds in. Sounds like a wood block type thing but much deeper and no necessarily wood (if that makes any sense). The same instrument can be heard in Legendary Beast (FFVIII) on offbeats about 45 seconds in. That's all I can think of for now. These have been bothering me for a while.

Hmmm... then I should also be able to find accurate FFVIII MIDI files, but so far I have not... well that's somewhat good news.

That's a very broad topic. Can I ask what the research project is for?

To cut right to the point, sometimes I just like to remaster oldschool FF tracks with modern sample libraries. I have yet to find collections of MIDI files for FF games that are accurate with the ONE exception of FFVII. All other sources I have tried (all of them) are clearly fan made and rarely have files that are reasonable accurate all of the way through. Anyone here able to help me out with converting PSF files into MIDI? There is a program called PGconv available only in Japanese that I have managed to find. It is supposed to be able to convert PSF files into MIDI data, but even after getting a friend to translate the Japanese from the program for me, there is a needed clg file that know one knows anything about. That is, there is an input for the psf file as well as a "convert" button, but... where the hell am I supposed to get the clg file, whatever it does? Anyway, I thought it would be worth asking here, since there are some FFT tracks that I'd really like to mess around with, and I'm just not willing to buckle down and do them by ear yet.

For starters, strings are going to have staccato type articulations labeled (abbreviated) as marc, mart, or spiccato Second, like others have said, it's going to take a while to get used to all of the sounds. Think about it this way: you're knew to the entire library, so the bottom line is that if you're getting woodwind sounds that you would otherwise be satisfied with, you could be saying "yuck" because the rest of the sections arent sounding all that great. It takes a while to figure out what sounds you like, but in general I find that: Unless you are going for a "natural" concert hall sound, you probably want to stick to solo woodwinds. Woodwinds playing unison in 3s tends to sound pretty awkward and not very in tune, and the fact of the matter is that a lot of orchestral writing isnt going to put an entire woodwind section on the same note. When it comes to brass... I'll be honest, I struggle a lot with brass. It's very easy for brass to start sounding unnatural because the overtones differ greatly compared to other instrument types, and their interaction is less predictable. Additionally, a brass player can play the same exact note in a number of different ways, producing a different timbre for each, so it's hard to simulate that control with a sample library. If you're doing fine with brass, then dont worry about it. Strings are a unique beast. They suck. Total pain in the ass. In general, the idea is that you're going to have to layer patches. It's probably a good idea to have a base sound that you like that will remain consistent for the part, and then applying other patches depending on the situation (swell, hard sus, etc). Something to keep in mind is that if you're going for a lush string background, go ahead and try out the large string ensemble patches. In general, those will blend together far better than individual string sections. The important thing to remember is that if it sounds like it works, then it works. Dont worry about what the patch is called or where it's coming from. Necessity is the mother of invention, so if you find something that works, use it. If you're not satisfied with something, look for an alternate solution.

I like what you've done with Terra's theme. Some things to think about I feel like the augmented feel you've got in the first harmony could be carried into the very first harmony change just because it doesnt feel like an intentional reversion to the softer less unsettling harmony from the original, if that makes sense. Other than that, I think that the reverb and sustain work well for this piece, just watch for parts where it gets especially thick, since the left side of the mix gets a bit overbearing during some of those instances. I would try taking a close listen at the parts where you've got heavier ostinato going, and making sure that the repetitions arent drowning out the melody, and try giving them a bit of variation in velocity. I'm a fan of the atmosphere especially. Very different feel from the original.

What do you use for that guitar sound? Anyway, for Costa Del Sol, I dont think the guitar sits will on top of the smooth, dampened sounds you've got going with the rest of the arrangement. If the guitar had something else crisp supporting it, it wouldnt feel as naked when the guitar drops out and the flute picks up.

Well, the orchestra feels really sunken back and almost muted, whereas the drums and guitar seem right next to my ears, so I think it needs a bit of work as far as creating "space" goes. The other thing I would comment on is the dynamic range throughout. Try perhaps to create more of a feeling of building on top of what's already there, since that's what Uematsu sort of did with this track. When a new instrument comes, try to make it more apparent. I like the ideas you're working with, but I'm not too familiar with the programs you're using, and I wouldnt be too surprised if Finale doesnt give you much of a choice in the sound you get. Maybe try more forte markings?

The PLAY upgrade for Gold alone is only 99$. I have the kontakt powered CCC, and from what I understand kontakt is in fact much more CPU friendly and stable than PLAY, but the fact of the matter is that 1) PLAY is only getting better. It's new, and PLAY PRO will be out in the somewhat near future and 2) EWQL is done with Kontakt powered sample libraries, so if you plan on buying from them in the future, it's just a matter of when you make the switch to PLAY. Kind of sucks, but I dont think we have much choice in the matter. CCC is a really great foundation if you have the money to spend on it, and now that SO Gold can have close mic'd samples, it's even more versatile than before.

Just throwing it out there that until Monday, you can get EWQLSO Gold upgraded to having both hall mics and close mics for 200$. Definitely had to go for this one, since I'm dying in my attempt to use stage mic sample sets for a wider variety of settings.

Not sure how far past 0:54 you're talking about, but there's a Tuba doing the bass and some pizz in the background, the flutes on top like others have said, and then the reeds in the middle. There's definitely a clarinet on one part, and I want to say the other is an oboe in its lower range because it has that duck call quality to it.