MindWanderer

Y'know, I -thought- so, but I figured that after I miscategorized Proto-Dome, -surely- I must have double-checked when I first put Geeky Stoner down....@SonicTH: For now, this is a one-shot thing. If it works I'll come up with a "season" format, but this one will be one round, one partner, one bracket.

It's an idea, and the solution might be to somehow lower the bar for "stars," but the whole point is to get the most experienced remixers past some of their first hurdles, with the ultimate goal of getting them good enough to be posted. Pairing random people together would be a different sort of compo altogether.Novices: Signups open tomorrow at 12:00 noon Pacific time. Please follow the instructions in the first post at that time. Stars: Signups close tomorrow, same time. If you're interested and haven't said so yet, please post by then. From the original thread, we still haven't heard from Rexy, Neblix, or PROTO·DOME.

Thanks. I guess anyone can look at your profile to find some samples, but if you want to add any specific examples of your focus(es), or any other info that would help folks choose you or not, please edit your post.Regarding the DAW: If this is going to work as a competition, it would be a pretty crippling requirement to have everyone's tools match. But this is why this is a pilot episode. In the real launch there may need to be additional requirements. Perhaps the Star can only provide advice and not work on the actual mix file, or perhaps the only files they can send back and forth are midis and sound samples. Something to hash out later.

To clarify/reiterate: If you're not a posted/accepted remixer, as the primary or only contributor to a piece, you're in the Novice category. Novices should wait until next Tuesday, when Star signups are closed, then send me a PM with their ranked list of Stars they'd like to work with, or specifically indicating a lack of preference thereof. If you want to post your samples in the thread, that's fine, but I want them in the PM as well so I don't have to hunt through the thread for them.

The plan is to go with SuperiorX's suggestion, more or less: this will be a standalone pilot, then Season 1 will be a series of one-shots where participants in earlier "episodes" get first dibs on slots but cannot be paired with the same partner twice. I don't see a ReMixer profile on your name--are you posted/accepted under another name? Clearly unclear; I revised things above a little, but basically, I want to make sure that every Star gets a partner, so if you are willing to take whoever's left over (randomly) I'm willing to guarantee you a slot. How can I state that more clearly? Sonic won't conflict, but probably your other commitments will. We'll see based on this test round how much time the Stars actually end up putting into it.

ReMixing With the Stars Pilot Episode ReMixing With the Stars is intended to give beginning remixers some support, encouragement, and mentoring in their quest to become great, and as a sidenote, to become posted remixers. For the purposes of this competition, "stars" are anyone who is a posted OCR ReMixer, as the only artist or as the lead arranger on a piece. ReMixers with mixes accepted by the OCR judges but not yet posted also qualify. "Novices" are everyone else. This isn't meant to be a statement on who's a "good" or "expert" artist, but it's a somewhat meaningful threshhold which doesn't require any subjective judgment on my part (however subjective the OCR judging process may be). It's not perfect, but seeing as how objective criteria are almost impossible to come by when it comes to art, and these are the OCR forums, this is what we're going with. Results! First Place: "Broken Wings" by urdailywater feat. Flexstyle, with 35 points. Second Place: "Vertigo" by wildfire feat. TheGuitahHeroe, with 34 points. Third Place: "ScarfFace" by Tuberz McGee feat. Jason Covenant, with 30 points. Fourth Place: "Yo Momma" by AlmightyArceus feat. Rozovian, with 27 points. Fifth Place: "Before the World Ends" by Kuolema feat. Sir_NutS, with 25 points. Sixth Place: "Upon New Shores" by Cash and Change feat. DusK, with 11 points. Download Season 1 Now! Participants Rozovian with AlmightyArceus; Source: http://youtu.be/f5_R4WMBZjg DusK with Cash and Change; Source: http://youtu.be/4P26FsWQf18 Flexstyle with urdailywater; Source: http://youtu.be/g_1U7L_uDA4 Sir_NutS with Kuolema; Sources: http://youtu.be/dv2rUPvp644 http://youtu.be/uhgkRJUnWN4 Prophecy with Tuberz McGee; Source: http://youtu.be/rS0Lu_seKzw TheGuitahHeroe with wildfire; Source: http://youtu.be/sg5-ELCZ9Ys Theme This pilot episode's theme is "Beginnings"! Your remix should either: Be based on a source that's used for a title screen, into/opening sequence, or starting stage/area, or Evoke the feeling of being used for such a thing (regardless of the source). This is a judgment call, but in my opinion Who's That Child is a good example--I could easily see it being used for the epic opening of a Castlevania HD remake. Schedule All deadlines are 12 PM (noon) Pacific time (PDT). As this is the "pilot episode," we're going with a schedule that's a little more than a month long. The goal is to get it down to 1 month cycles Signups for Stars from Monday, July 9 until Tuesday, July 17. Please post in this thread indicating your interest. Also please provide links to 2 or 3 remixes you've done which you feel best illustrate your style and strengths. Also include any other information you feel would help someone decide if you would be a good mentor for them (software preferences, preference and schedule for IMing live, etc). Signups for Novices from July 17 to Tuesday, July 24. Please send me a PM listing: The Stars you are interested in working with, in rank order, or "no preference" Links to at least two compositions on which you are the primary or only arranger. Novices who choose "no preference" of Star get priority for one of the slots. This is to help make sure every Star gets to work with someone. Please do not disclose in the thread who you ranked or did not rank, or even that you chose not to rank anyone. I don't want someone to put themselves out there as a mentor and feel rejected, including by deduction. Your sample compositions don't have to be any good (this isn't an audition), and they don't even have to be game remixes--it's just to establish that you've at least tried your hand at composition and production to a digital format. Things you've posted to the WIP forum are preferable but not required. [*]Announcement of the pairings and theme on July 24. The theme will be broad enough to allow many, many options, serving mainly as a unifying factor. [*]ReMixing from July 24 to Tuesday, August 7 (2 weeks). Rules and guidelines below. [*]Voting until Tuesday, August 14. Votes should be based on, in roughly descending order, use of source, arrangement, production, and enjoyability. Interpretation of the theme shouldn't be considered. You'll pick your three favorites, in order. Your first-place vote will get 3 points, your second-place 2 points, and your third-place 1 point. Participants (both Novices and Stars) may not vote for their own mixes, but participants who vote will get a free first-place vote added to their score. I asked DarkeSword for a social group, but he suggested I use PMs instead. So that's the way we're going to do this. Please send me a PM with your votes, like this: 1. First-place ReMix 2. Second-place ReMix 3. Third-place ReMix Rules Pairings: I'm going to assume that the Novices will outnumber the Stars. The number of slots available for Novices will thus be equal to the number of Stars that sign up. Novices who put their name up in [thread=40410]the original thread[/thread] get priority over those who did not, and Novices who do not express a preference of Star get priority over those who do. Otherwise signups are first-come, first served. After establishing the list of participants, each Novice will be paired with their first choice Star; if two or more Novices choose the same Star, the conflict will be resolved by coin toss or die roll. If there are still conflicts after that, they'll be resolved the same way. (This method should be familiar to those who followed the Mega Man/Mega Man X/Sonic Zone compos.) If you lose the coin tosses for every Star you ranked, you're out and will be replaced by the next person on the waiting list--so if you rank Stars at all, rank everyone you're willing to work with. Left-over Stars will be randomly paired with those who did not express a preference of Star. Mixes: The Novice must be the primary remixer. Stars can contribute by giving advice, playing a live instrument or vocals, and with production, including minor adjustments to fix timing or dissonance issues. They may also contribute a short solo segment. No one other than the Novice and Star may help in any way. Submissions: All entries must be sent to me by the 12PM PDT deadline via PM on the forums, with a link to a reliable host for me to download your mix from. I also recommend you post in this thread that you have done so, since I know there have been issues in other compos with PM's not being received. Please submit your file as an mp3, preferably encoded at a high-quality VBR or 320kbps. Filenames must be in the following format: Novice feat. Star - Title (Game).mp3 Example: MindWanderer feat. djpretzel - The World's Worst ReMix (Pong).mp3 Proper file names mean I can do my job of getting the compliation done and posted faster, which means you get to hear the great music produced by this sooner.

I was going to suggest Rexy and Brandon face off for 3rd place, but Rexy has a huge advantage in that she's 1) already worked on such a piece, and 2) it kicks ass. The opening segment (pre-voice clip), in particular, was just beautiful.

Darkesword introduced another possibility regarding themes: Making the themes based on the style or genre of the remix rather than of the source. I have some mixed feelings about that idea. On the plus side, it would definitely force people to try different things. It would also reduce voter bias based on genre, and make comparisons between the remixes easier. On the minus side, it might not be as fun for the remixers to do something in a style they don't care for. Perhaps more importantly, I think it would be a bit fatiguing for the listeners, being given six or more remixes that are all, say, heavy metal, or all evoke an "underwater" feel. I could do a mix of both types of theme, I suppose. For instance, a "Racing" theme could allow a dubstep remix of Mario Kart, but a mix like "On the Highway" from Maverick Rising would also count, not being from a racing game, but rather evoking the feel of one. Opinions?

I noticed from Darkesword's example that many of these decisions are pretty arbitrary. But my answers: Point scoring: Vote for 3, award 3/2/1 points, kind of the default for this sort of thing. Picking themes: I will rule with an iron fist. Er, clicky-finger. Mwa ha ha. Maybe later we can do something where the winner picks the next theme, but at a 1/month schedule it'll already be tight for time, plus I really want to make sure the themes are broad enough to appeal to everyone (some of DoD's are pretty specific, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Hosting the music: I have my own site, not a problem. Should be able to do this the same way Darke does, with auto-ID3 and whatnot. I don't want to do ThaSauce, it's a bit of a barrier to entry, plus with two contributors it could get a little confusing. Voting: Okay, here I need help, since it seems I can't create a social group myself. I'll probably have to go begging to Darkesword, unless someone else has the right privilege and wants to volunteer? The other issue is, what other compos are on the table right now? Sonic is wrapping up in a couple of weeks, so it would be nice to coincide the start of this with the end of that, but I believe we're due for the next Maverick battle, and if that starts right away, this should at least be offset from that one so that a round or two worth of people have been eliminated before I start recruiting.

Nice idea! Combines the freedom of drop-in, drop-out with the continuity, and the enforced learning from, and teaching, different people. I'm definitely leaning this way now. I also notice that participation at DoD seems to be higher during their "open" months. Unless the specific game or source is fixed somehow, there's always going to be some issues of people voting for whatever source they like better. Maybe make the first and last "episode" of the "season" open, and come up with themes for the "episodes" in the middle, just to retain everyone's attention?With PROTO·DOME put in the right category (oops), there's clearly enough interest on both sides to get this started. I'll continue to gather input and discuss options in this thread, and plan on starting a "real" compo thread with more-or-less finalized rules on Monday, July 2. One week to collect entrants, two weeks to mix, 1 week to vote. If this becomes a regular thing, I'll probably stick to the first Monday of the month to start the thread for each new episode, which means there will sometimes be some overlap between voting and gathering participants for the next episode, but that should be okay.

Preferences do seem to be tending that way. I mainly want to avoid hurt feelings for if someone puts themselves out there and no one asks them for help, while others have people flocking to them. It could turn into one of those "who's the best remixer" threads that should be avoided at all costs. We could mitigate that by having the novices sign up by PM, ranking their preferences secretly, and I'd make assignments and break ties randomly without letting anyone know who was most popular.I also want to make sure everyone who's interested in being a mentor for this is able to do so. The PM method wouldn't help if there's someone no one is interested in learning from. Interesting, and that might be cool for the veterans, but I'd like the novices to be totally in their comfort zones. If someone puts themselves out there enough to jump into a new and extremely challenging hobby, I want them to come out of it saying, "I made something truly awesome," not "I don't really dig this, but I guess I'm satisfied with how I did." Also, novices might not have the budgets for good software or even sound cards; if the genre were, say, Classical, then the sample quality makes a huge difference. Very reasonable and modest, and I'm sure no one is arrogant enough to say they have nothing to learn from anyone (Edit: Ninjaed by PROTO·DOME. Seriously, anyway). But the truth is that you are good enough to have gotten posted, and that's a milestone you could potentially help others achieve. That's kind of why I wanted being posted to be the dividing criterion, because it's objective (at least, for this purpose). Of course, if you're not comfortable being a mentor, then that's by far the most important thing.

Wow--I'm amazed at how supportive people are at having me do this myself! I got the feeling that all I've really done around here is piss people off with critical reviews. I'll talk logistics with other compo organizers. Oh, yeah... I actually did have this in the back of my head, but forgot to mention it. Yes, each participant should submit a sample of their work--novices to prove that they've at least put some effort in and have at least a minimum amount of software to make it happen, and stars as samples of their work, so novices know where their expertises are and how they'd be most helpful.Regarding tournament vs. one-shot format, I see your points, but I have mixed feelings. In favor of a tournament format: The tournaments seem to generate a ton more interest than the PRCs, which are often cancelled due to lack of interest. A round-robin format ensures that everyone gets to try several new things. It gives you that continuity effect of seeing individuals improve, which was a constant positive comment in the Wily Castle and the Sonic tournaments. However, since this is a new idea, perhaps we can compromise: start it off as a one-shot, repeat as interest holds, and maybe do a tournament as a special event or if interest starts to fade a bit. Regarding mismatches in numbers: What makes me uncomfortable is that it might come down to a judgment call. Say we have 3 novices and 5 stars sign up, and the stars are Gario, WillRock, DusK, Jakesnke17, and TheGuitahHeroe. I think we could all agree that Gario and Will stay where they are, but how the hell could one choose between the others without hurting feelings? Could do "first to volunteer for a demotion, first served," but that kind of sucks. Themes: We could do this a few ways. I don't want it to be as restrictive as the PRC. Even choosing a particular game is limiting, and I want novices to choose something they have a passion for. But there should be some thematic element. When I was considering a tournament, I thought we could do novice/star theme sets (8-bit vs. 16-bit, Nintendo vs. Sega, fire stages vs. water stages) and do the usual tournament compo thing with them, but that makes less sense with a one-shot. Partnering: Here's where feedback from experienced remixers could really be helpful (since all of my efforts have been pure MIDI). Round-robin format is obviously moot if this is one-shots. If people get to choose their partners, we risk hurt feelings and playing favorites, and perhaps novices holding out for working with some of the biggest names around here rather than learning what they can from people who are still pretty darn good. Then there's the whole "remix outside your box" idea. The compelling argument for letting people choose is of course software compatibility. What do you all think--randomize and force people to go outside their comfort zones and take some chances, or let people choose partners who favor the same tools they do? I'm going to update the first post with a list of people who have specifically said they'd participate (scheduling permitting). I'll just assume that if you have a remixer profile linked to your username that you'll be in the star category; if that's not accurate for some reason, please specify.

Update: This is happening! Compo thread and signup instructions [thread=40611]here[/thread] This suggestion is based on some thing I've noticed about compos here: One of the most awesome things about the multi-round compos is watching the improvement of relative newcomers to the remixing scene. We don't get to see as much of that as we might because the tournament format means that newcomers usually get eliminated early. OCR could always use more remixers. OK, that's just a general statement. So the compo format I'd like to suggest is something like this: Participants: Equal numbers of posted/accepted remixers interested in mentoring newcomers, and newcomers (anyone describing themselves as such and not posted/accepted remixers). Probably small numbers of each, say 5 or 6. They are henceforth referred to as "stars" and "novices." Format: Each round, each star is paired with a novice, in a random but round-robin manner, so that each star is evenually paired with each novice. Rounds are 2 weeks. Instructions: Each pair collaborates on a mix. The novice should take the lead, with the star providing mainly advice, but can also help with production. They can also contribute a solo or live instrument/vocals, but otherwise the arrangement should be by the novice. Voting/results: Voting is for best mix of the round, perhaps the top 2 or 3. Points go to both remixers, even though they'll work with other partners for the rest of the compo. To make up for people flaking out, the lowest score of each participant will be dropped. If someone drops entirely, they should be replaced (but they won't inherit their predecessor's points, so they probably won't win). Advantages/interesting things about this format: Obviously, beginning remixers get a helping hand and some mentoring. It encourages both sides to experiment with styles and generes. Novices would be best off if they try to match the strengths of their star of the round, which might involve them trying something new, but if a novice is only comfortable with one or two things, they might force their star to stretch themselves. For instance, if I participated (which I wouldn't, I don't have time) and I had never worked with chiptunes but was paired with Gario, it would be a good time to learn. On the other hand, if I only know chiptunes, and have no interest in doing anything else, and get paired with DusK, then he "gets" to have fun with a style he doesn't normally use. It makes a fair collaborative compo because each novice remixes with each star, so you're going to end up being judged more on your own contribution than those of your partners. Although it would be a slow compo, it could run concurrently with others without being overly disruptive. Novices would be better off doing this compo than other major ones in which they may not last long without some more experience. Stars aren't doing a whole mix, and from what I can tell, for several of them this might take only an hour or two of their time over the course of two weeks. Since I'm not really established here, I'm mostly hoping someone likes this idea and runs with it--I wasn't planning on running this myself! (Though I could, perhaps.) Update: Wow, what overwhelming response! Here's the list of interested parties, time permitting: Stars DusK Gario TheGuitahHeroe Rozovian Rexy Neblix PROTO·DOME Flexstyle Novices TheRexAsaurous urdailywater Yami Calum mak Cash and Change SuperiorX jnWake Garpocalypse Amphibious Kuolema wildfire Geeky Stoner I fully expected some imbalance, hopefully we'll see some more interest from prospective mentors. Note that the format will be different from what's described above; read the rest of the thread for the discussion.

First, I love The Megas. I've been listening to History Repeating: Blue on my daily commute, nonstop, since Monday. That said, I have mixed feelings about the album, especially as compared to Get Equipped. Some of the tracks, especially To Watch You Die, represent some of the best they've ever done. The vocal parts not only go along with the melody and harmony lines of the sources, but they're good tunes in and of themselves. They're catchy--I particularly like the part in One Last Time that's done like a duet in a musical. The original tunes are played masterfully, and the whole piece receives attention. Gamma Unchained is, IMHO, at the other end of the spectrum as far as source treatment. I love this source tune, which is actually kind of lengthy, but Gamma Unchained focuses 90% on the first part, with no coverage at all of some parts. It's a good song, but a less effective homage to MM3. The other oddity in source treatment was that there are a few songs where the harmony line (usually the keyboard part) was pretty loud, and drowns out the melody line. One Last Time It's pretty cool, but I'm personally more a fan of "Mega Man with lyrics" than "songs with Mega Man worked in." Lastly, in the original parts, I notice a few repeating melodic themes across songs. The bridge of Walk Away from Light sounds a lot like part of Wily 2, and there's part of Can't Stop the Top that reminds me greatly of Look What You've Done (from Megatainment). There are also quite a few monotonic sections of vocals that could have been mixed up a bit. On the other hand, the lyrics of this album were, IMHO, much better than those of Get Equipped. Get Equipped had some pretty cool lines (my favorite being "Your speed means nothing if it's death that you're running from"), but there was an awful lot of cheese, too. This one is more original, with only a few figures of speech, and the only cheesy line was "History repeating/Who do they call when robots need defeating?" They could still do with better grammar, though. All in all, totally worth the money, and I'll be there with my dollars when History Repeating: Red comes out. I know from concerts that Fly on a Dog and I'm Not the Break Man are awesome, and I'm definitely looking forward to Hard Man, Shadow Man, Gemini Man, and Needle Man--and finding out what the remaining 3 or 4 mystery songs are. --- As for which song to submit to OCR... well, if you put Sparked A War on there you won't sell any more copies of the single. OCR has a few other remixes of the title screen, so I wouldn't pick One Last Time. Similarly, Can't Stop the Top is awesome and a good example, but we already have Cataclysmic Crash. So my pick would be To Watch You Die.

I'll do reviews just to get my thoughts in order to vote. It's a tough one! Bone Shark (Amphibious): Great instrumentation and arrangement, just pure simple goodness. Nothing particularly surprising, but nothing to complain about either. Dub Interference (Ben Briggs): Weird... in a good way, but damn this is hard to compare to its competitor. A little repetitive at the end, and ultimately I'm not sold on the wackiness. I want to like it, and maybe I'll like it more by the end of the week, but right now it's just a little too strange for my tastes. Regular Gonzales (Main Finger): More traditional than I expect from Main Finger, which isn't saying much. I like the mix of his usual twisty arrangements and more traditional synth instrumentation. That said, I found myself wishing the second half were a little more adventurous, which is something I never thought I'd say about MF. PseudoMeltdown (Phonetic Hero): You really can't mistake pH's mixes for anyone else's, can you? Not crazy about that rhythm instrument in the opening and at 1:52, but I like the overall arrangement and the voice use a lot. Dare of the Fossils (Rexy): Interesting. Starts off reminiscent of Lunar: SSSC, then a chipper flute and steel drum section--then DusK? Strange but cool. Pair of Rexes (TheRexAsaurous): Very Sonic, good soundscape, but it doesn't vary a whole lot. The piano is a little out of place among those particular instruments. The "restart" at 1:10 doesn't seem to accomplish much. It's really not bad overall, but it's not very exciting either. Pyroclastic Tides (SuperiorX): Smooth and pleasant, nice soundscape, nice segue into the jazz. Not really my thing, but nice for what it is. I think you lucked out with AjumajoBelmont skilling out, though.

Technically yes, but... ... you probably won't win. If your opponent's mix used more of the sources but was just plain awful, you might win anyway, as it's just one factor to be considered.

It's too late. This thread is now officially about rhyming pancake-lizards. You'll have to burn it and start over.

If we really wanted to do a compo with two megateams, it could be done round-robin style, where eventually everyone on each team goes up against everyone on the other team. It would take forever, though--16 weeks if everyone went every week without breaks. It would have to be shorter time limits, like 2 days. Or it could be double- or triple- elimination style.

Well I don't... yet... someday... so in the meantime all I can do is comment. Speaking of which:Wow, Ghetto is really cleaning up in the vote so far, though there aren't many yet. I voted for Gario, myself, though it was a tough call. Ghetto's production quality was a bit better, and the arrangement was more unique, but I felt it was a little noodley, and the first half didn't mesh as well as it could with the second. My only complaint with Gario's was that there was some odd timing near the beginning. They were both very good, though, and this definitely could have gone either way.

I'm guessing antidiscrimination reasons, and yeah, there's a certain smack of guild/union similarity. Perhaps you don't, but there are several professional musicians that do, like Mega Ran and The Megas, who do actually have official permission from Capcom to do what they do and make money off it.I wonder if OCR will get any traffic from people trying to upload music so it can be streamed for the event?

@Darke: The brackets show Oni as having won the last round, but Gario seems to have beat pH. At least, that sure seems to be what's going on.

Hmm... Tough vote. I don't care for the sound clips, but both competitors use them so that's a wash. They're both a little meandering, too; Sir_NutS's entry is definitely more repetitive than I'd like. Main Finger has some smooth, smooth jazz, but the soundscape is a little hollow. My vote comes down in favor of Sir_NutS on the basis of production quality. Oh, and DusK's entry is awesome. One of my favorites so far. Odd sidenote: MPlayer has the unfortunate tendency to match remixer's names with the closest thing in their database when it comes to album cover art. DusK's resolves to Matt Dusk, with a dignified guy in a suit, but Sir_NutS gives me a naked guy with an accordion. Bugs the hell out of me. Second odd sidenote: We are now officially down to only SF2/SSF2 characters.

I'd guess they'll wait to see what comes out of it--how many "good" (in their ad guy's mind) tracks there are, with how many different artists/characters, etc. If they get just a couple they like, maybe trailer/music videos; if they get more, who knows? I just hope they use whole tracks and not snippets. Ten seconds of one of these would be kind of defeating the point.

Folks probably felt it was too close to call. I almost didn't vote myself. Honestly everyone deserves to move on this time.

That one's the best I've heard on this whole thread. Although Can't Touch This Battery was pretty darn good too.