ectogemia

Hooray for Current Events for making a last minute "comeback"!! no thanks to hylian lemon for his pseudovote :( :( (: (;d

"Son, we'll be gone all weekend. Here's the keys to the liquor cabinet and stripper vault. Don't throw a party. Loveyoubye."

1. This thread is bananas. 2. Isn't it the opposite? Many new games have become needlessly complex or gameplay-deficient whereas retro games are quite simple by comparison but offer direct, satisfying gameplay?

Momentary recognition by 30 people is precisely what I have wanted ever since I decided that the one time I received momentary recognition by 29 people left something to be desired.

DAMN IT, HYLIAN LEMON. I saw your votes. gonna go drink some drano now, afk forever

Hory shet, ain't dat da troof. I was all full of shit when I submitted my remix. "Oh, this sucker is going to clean up in votes." WRONG. This round is just insane. I don't even feel bad that I'm not getting votes; for once, it is justified, and you are not all huge assholes for voting for remixes other than my own (is he kidding?!?! IS HE?!?!). I just kinda gave up trying to choose a clear-cut top 3 when I voted this round and went with my gut instead. It was like a 7-way tie for my top 3...

Rexy, chill out. No one really voted for my first entry, yet I still think it's one of the coolest pieces of music I've ever produced, and that's all that matters. Music is subjective. If someone else doesn't like a tune, but you do, ESPECIALLY if you wrote it, then tell them to piss off. Enjoy your handiwork despite/in spite of what others may have to say about it. And even if this were a competition of respect/popularity, I don't think whining would improve your chances of winning.

Clown Man would be disappointed too if he were capable of any emotion other than "HYUK!!!" but he isn't.

Yay for compulsive decision-making! Benjamin Briggs and myself are looking to head to MAGFEST Thursday-Saturday. We're looking for in-house lodging Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. Does anyone in the MAGFEST area have room for the two of us to crash those nights? Proper $$$ compensation and complimentary free booze will be provided as is mandated by the binding Law of Not Being an Asshole.

Sweeeet I actually said out loud "hey, awesome!" when I went to the front page and saw that you had been posted. I'd have to agree with the write-up that this isn't a world-beater, but it was definitely a tight arrangement that used a lot of the same sounds as the source but managed to morph it into something completely different. That takes skill, mang. So good work, and congrats again on your debut!!

Very nice, this is much more well-mixed than when I first heard it. This soundtrack makes me so damn nostalgic. Combine it with chiptunes and chrimbus, and you've got a recipe for ol' ecto wishing he were 12 again. Nice work

That's why I love your music so much and why it's such an inspiration for me to do the same with my own music It really is like nothing I've ever heard before. If you have any more music beyond your posted remixes that you're willing to share, send it my way! And I've probably listened to this remix 30 or more times. So good.

I beg to differ. It is Earthbound verbatim. Same rhythm. .If you did that unintentionally, you just rewrote one of the best melodies of all time, so conglaturation!

Well, I have an awkward hour or two of nothing to do before the first of many chrimbus dinners I'm signed up for, so it's review time. Synthesize This -- Got a nice disco orchestral feel to it. I feel like that lead needs a little life, some vibrato for sure. That filter envelope just isn't cutting it. Right around 2:12, there's a muted guitar sounding thing that is panned pretty hard left. Kinda obnoxious, needs to be closer to center or better balanced. Benny Hill theme? Why the hell not, right? Not sure why this bothered me, but at the end of some of the phrases, the lead would filter out a lot... just when one would figure the lead should be at its strongest to really strongly close out the melodic idea. Whaaaa, and an Earthbound reference at the end? Nice. Welp, I really enjoyed it. It was well put together and very well-produced despite those minor issues I brought up. Cruise Control -- I get the vibe that all your remixes for this compo have been pretty "safe" so to speak. I really would have liked to have seen some weirdo stuff going on, but I guess I'm just partial to weirdo music a lot of the time. Annnyway, the arrangement is very tight and concise, although it's extremely conservative. The production was excellent, but I thought the guitar could have used juuuuust a bit more love. Drag Me Up (to Heaven) -- Oh shit, I love it already. The arp that starts around 0:27 is just a little loud and hot on the highs. I love the rhythms going on here. Hah, the Magnet Man arrangement is so weird. It's much slower than I'm used to hearing. Those panning pulse stabs beginning around 1:32 are a little loud and hot on the highs as well. Tomahawk Man's Final Chapter -- The spoken word stuff is too loud and exposed and panned left a little bit. Piano is a bit dry and mechanical as well. Hah, all that being said... I love the weirdness of it. The chip lead is a bit loud as well. You've gotta low pass that magical8bit stuff juuuust a little bit. They're really fuzzy with the very high frequencies being so naturally loud. The stereo image around 2:02 when the organ comes in is vastly different than what was occurring immediately before it, and the transition is slightly jarring. The muted rhythm guitar at time is extremely quiet and indiscernible -- kinda just seems like noise. LMAO, the "nooooo" at 4:42. Sounds like Consuela. Ok, and that last Tomahawk Man line was wonderful. Yeah, so by the end of it all, this remix had won me over. I really wasn't sure if you were being serious or not through it all, so I didn't want to be an ass and start trashing the spoken word stuff, but yeah. By the end it was pretty clear you were just being 100% hilarious. So anyway, thank you for that. Very creative, solid arrangement, production was lacking a bit. Towering Shade -- It all seems a bit dry and conservative, although I know you mentioned that you started it last night or something like that, so considering that, it's alright. Subarctic Nightfall -- Ooooo, I love the juxtaposition of the rhythm and the chill piano-y stuff. That being said the first piano lead-in is a bit loud. Right around 1:07 there's a bit of an awkward harmonic moment. Piano is too loud again around 1:13. I kinda struggled to hear the crappy Wily theme. Anyway, nice work man. You've really honed your chops since your first entry. It shows. You're starting to figure out the chillout style. Top This -- In response to the explicit challenge in your remix title, please see remix #09 entitled Current Events (Elec Man in Wily Tower 1-1) in order to have your challenge met. Welp, I said it before: DAT BASS. So damn thick. And yeah, I don't know what I was missing the first time. I hear Wily's theme loud and clear this time. I think the first listen I gave it was more of a "HOLLYY CRAPPPP" listen, just kinda taking in all the craziness for its own sake. That comb filtered wubwub bass is NICE. The odd harmonies of Top Man's theme as played by that bell-sounding thing were awesome. Yeah, so this even better the second time around. Awesome work. If I were even remotely a dancer, I would have danced to this. Ivory Tower -- Oh I geddit. Ivory because it's a piano. Welp, I love me some solo piano and I love me some classical musikz, so let's see how this goes. Very nicely composed so far. All that theory that I'll never learn, and so expertly implemented! And yet completely lost on me. Love the abrupt transition into Wily at about 1:24. Gorgeous arpeggios at 1:59. Eh, I really don't know what to say about this one. I really have nothing to critique. Just an #1 spot? Probably. Electropuncture -- The lead at the beginning needs a little off its high-end and volume. The arps are nice Did everyone use square arps in their respective remixes this week? I'm sure C7 had them in there somewhere with the piano. Arps were a bit loud around 1:40 as well. But holy crap, man. This is a sweet arrangement. Very chaotic and crazy. The piano needs a lot of production and humanization love. The piano's compression was extremely apparent during those runs around 1:58. Soon after, the piano chords were squashing other frequencies and exhibiting overcompression as well. 2:25 transition got me rock hard. both themes were VERY well integrated. There was a ton of source material here, but it still seemed like a completely unique product, so nice job! The Return of Gangsta Man -- YOU HAVE DEFEATED GANGSTA MAN. GET EQUIPPED WITH: F. STAMPS. Haha, I LOVE the crash man implementation at 0:52. Once the chip lead comes in, it's a bit weak (are you using the Crash setting on Peach? how creative ). The lead at 1:48 needs to be quieter and it needs to be EQ'd pretty heavily as it's clashing with other instruments. The minor Crash Man at the end was excellent, too. Solid arrangement with some production issues. I'm a little partial to complex arrangements and chips, so Gario gets the #1. I love me some piano, so C7 grabs #2. Flexstyle's arrangement was thicker than Queen Latifah. #3. 1. Drag Me Up (to Heaven) 2. Ivory Tower 3. Top This

Intro drums are just a bit corny-sounding and exposed. They need a little processing and perhaps some compression. The piano has similar issues and is quite robotic. The crash at 0:54 is nearly silent, but I'm partial to huge crashes myself. The little chromatic roll at 1:10 is a fine idea, but it sounds a bit exposed as it is. Perhaps add a little flair to blend it in to the melodic line better. The counter-melodic music boxy thing at 1:38 sounds a little bit off, harmonically speaking. The kick and snaps around 2:15 also need some treatment. Compression for sure, here. The kick needs more frequency punch in general. Try experimenting with different EQ configurations and maybe add some overdrive after the EQ. Around 2:46, the pizzicato string part is clashing harmonically with the other parts. The arrangement itself was very smooth, and the sound choices were solid. That said, I wasn't a fan of the piano you chose, though; just sounded a little bit low-quality. Nice outro. Aaand it's done. Yep, not a bad job, just need to address the compression issues, harmonic issues, and that's all I've got for ya.

Soooo, Darke... you going to update the Egregious Scores from last week?

It was none other than my remix, Equestrian Slam.

Happy birthday, WCRG overlord. Your birthday wish must have been for all the competition participants to come up with ways to enhance the title of my "Electric Sleep" remix. Thanks for looking out for ol' ecto!

I heard that guy's remix is entitled Enteric Seep. What an inappropriate individual, I hate him because he's stupid and he's dumb and he's stupid.. edit: and he's stupid.

Whatever you have now, add a sweet bass. What? SEVENTH PLACE is evolving! Conglaturations! Your SEVENTH PLACE evolved into FIRST PLACE! It is. Why the hell not?!?!.

OH MY GOD WHY IS IT SO... No, the damn remix is entitled Electric Sleep. Although, I do plan on making a Sheep Man remix fairly soon that will be entitled Electric Sleep... ELECTRIC SHEEP. Ok, this is getting ridiculous. I really meant to type Electric SHEEP that time around, but my fingers did not comply. Anyway, I will make a Sheep Man remix called Electric SHEEP because all this confusion in this compo basically demands that I do I'm sure everyone will call that one Electric Sleep, and I'll just give up on everything and everyone. Aaaaaanyway, thanks for letting me know I sent a very, very nasty PM to the judges.

I heard Flexstyle's remix too. DAT BASS. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhgod. I'm really amped for this round seems like there will be plenty of badass remixes. mine includedHARDMENWILLPREVAIL

Well, Hoo-Ray! Thanks much for the multiple listens I'll fix the lingering lead clashing and sub it. If I get NO'd for, um, liberalism, then I'll adjust it. I like it the way it is now, but will OCR like it? If so, I won't fix what ain't broke edit: hah, and you said I have a good ear (WAIT, EYE) for arrangement? You know, I still don't really know what arrangement actually means I just try to make cool music, hah. Can someone give me a good working definition for it? Yes, I'm aware google is at my fingertips and that I sound like a dumb-butt asking such a fundamental question. Deal wid it.

I probably sound like a broken record at this point having said this in so many threads, but I used to have this issue (in fact, I had no musicality whatsoever) until I started to improvise on piano. The more I did it, the more in tune I got with the music in my mind, rhythmically, harmonically, and melodically. Just figure out the chords to a simple song (VIDEO GAME MUSIC PREFERRED, K?) and jam it on your left hand and play variations on the melody with your right. Then start making up your own stuff over the chords. Do this all the god damn time for months and months, then sit down at your favorite DAW and let the music flow. Your mind will explode with how easy it all will come out.

I generally play around on my keys with different presets til I start making some cool sounds. Then I generally make a chord progression and start making all my own patches at that point or using ones I've made in the past. 75% of the time I'll toss in a melody of some sort, and the other 25% of the time, I'll start putting together some percussion for the chord progression. If I do the melody first I do percussion next and vice versa. This is pretty much my MO every time I open a project file, and it gets 60-90 seconds of music written in no time.