MindWanderer

I worked out a couple of measures of the melody of my Toxic Caves idea before the compo started, just to juggle ideas. I think you'll find it... interesting, in the light of this comment.

Let's just say I'm glad I have no opponent. Definitely not going as well as I'd like; I chose an ambitious genre that I'm not that familiar with. I'm pretty sure one of Darkesword's Loopy mixes would beat me this week.

Since Rexy dinged me on even balance of sources in my Week 2 mix, here's the breakdown: 0:02 - 0:23: Mega Water S, A part 0:23 - 0:30: Mega Water S, A part over Marble Zone, B part 0:30 - 0:59: Marble Zone, A part 1:06 - 1:35: Mega Water S, B part 1:35 - 2:40: Marble Zone, A part 2:40 - 3:13: Mega Water S, B part 3:13 - 3:33: Mega Water S, B part over Marble Zone, A part That works out to 110 seconds of Mega Water S, 121 seconds of Marble Zone, but of those, 27 seconds of Marble Zone are played as counterpoint, so that works out to pretty darn close to a 1:1 ratio.

When I saw this posted, I thought, "Really? More Flash Man? And with lots of SFX? Ugh. Well, I'll listen anyway." And wow, this kicks ass. Some of it is just a little too liberal for my tastes, but overall this was really amazing. Best use of 8-bit SFX I've ever heard, great arrangement, great instrumentation, great job keeping a short loop fresh each time it comes around. I've only just started to play with synth effects myself, and now mixes like this one are my goal. Well, maybe without the SFX. I don't think I could ever make myself do that.

So on the one hand, I have Theory of N as my opponent, choosing a fairly complex source that I'm not sure what to do with. On the other hand, I have an unspecified number of squirrels as unexpected saboteurs. So if my sciurine allies can keep up their work all week, I may actually pull off a win. Unfortunately I'm sure T of N can make something in an hour that will be better than what takes me the whole week, so they'd better not slack off.

Good call. Yes indeed.

Yep, MiniErhu is one of my favorite VSTi's.The members of the Genesis Unit are named after the protagonists of Journey to the West, an ancient and well-known piece of Chinese fantasy literature and the source of many other modern media, from the cartoon Magic Monkey to the game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. The "S" in Mega Water S is for his model, Sha Wujing. Who was more of an evil/reformed spirit who happened to be trapped in a river bed, and not so much a water spirit himself. In most English adaptations, he's based on sand rather than water. Although I really didn't have a solid vision before starting the piece, I came to be inspired by the notion of Sha Wujing, trapped and asleep in the river until he was freed by the monk Xuanzang. Speaking of which, my entry this week was very much based on a narrative I had in my head. Which I will now relate. When listening, see if you can follow along with the imagery: Through a series of events, Amy Rose has found herself hunting for Mega Water S in his undersea lair. Expecting a dank cave, she is surprised to find a vaulted marble chamber, with sunlight barely filtering through the water above. As she steps into the chamber, music begins to play, and an elegant, mysterious figure begins to dance. Enamored by the dashing stranger, Amy dances along, oblivious to his cruel nature. His dancing holds her enraptured as his robotic army masses just outside the grand hall. Gradually, Amy becomes aware of the threat and tries to break free. Each time she changes direction, the stranger moves to block her; each time she spins, his mocking movements place him squarely in her way. At last, Amy shakes free the enrapturing effects on her and squares off, ready to fight against Mega Water S and his robots.

OK, here's a shot at improvements. Two options with different interpolation methods. If you like either of them, let me know and I'll do the rest the same way. If you don't, tell me which you prefer and I'll work on improving them in that direction. Fullsize original, opaque version for comparison:

Submission is in! One whole extra day to figure out what the heck I'm doing with Green Grove Zone.

I was shocked when I realized that there were Mega Man Robot Masters missing from the avatar list. Profiles: Sprites: Given that the sprite for Hyper Storm H didn't come out so well (because he's HUGE), I won't be offended if only the profile pics end up in the list. Sadly, it won't be in time for 4B2C, but oh well. Next time. LT: None of those came out well, including the profiles. The first 2 sprites seem sharp enough, but need to be brightened. There's a lot of messyness and degradation with the other 4. Perhaps link to a page with the sprite sheets and ask others to give it a go.

Results are in. Only four people voted, and the votes were almost 100% consistent. There will be no new episode right now. Not only has interest significantly waned, but most of the regular contestants and myself are doing the grueling 4B2C compo right now, and most likely the WCRG is coming up right after that. So maybe late summer/early fall for the return.

Yeah, mixes were up a day late, so the voting time was also extended. I only have three votes right now, so yours makes a difference!

Mine is coming along reasonably well. Production still isn't nearly where I'd like it to be, but it's an improvement over my previous efforts, due in part to some advice from a hedgehog who will remain nameless. It'll be a fun listen, I think.

I think I can guess what your third one is, so it doesn't really matter.

My ideas aren't gelling as well as I'd hoped, so long auditory break to do some reviews. Prison of Needles: For its length, it takes a long time to get going--it's a third over before either source starts. I can hear Prison Lane, but it's pretty quiet and there isn't much of it. Try to spread your frequencies out a bit more--Prison Lane is all in the high bass range, and it gets buried under the mid range melody, and there's no high at all. Checkmate: Very nice work! Probably the best production I've heard out of you. Good setup from traditional re-instrumentation to interpretation to original work back to interpretation, and then the pacing is pretty much perfect from then on, too. The last verse did get a little muddy, but that's my only complaint, other than the fact that Prison Lane is second fiddle here again. Chrome: Two tough sources to try to integrate here. Try to get some more melody in there next time--there's a lot of this aharmonious ambient sound, which is nice for original work, but as a remix it doesn't quite do the job. And then there's the lack of ending. Keep working on it, though! Spin Like Turbo Man: Nice use of the Toxic Caves bass line, but the Turbo Man melody is a bit hard to pin down. It's recognizable, but I wouldn't have picked it up if I wasn't listening for it specifically. Great original content, just too much of it. And I have to agree with Mirby on this one, each section is a bit longer than it has to be, IMHO. TurboTox: Great arrangement, but God, the instrumentation! A little too much use of the whole spectrum--really low lows, downright painful highs, and I'm not a fan of the "wandering" panning. Awesome solo, though! Good use and interpretation of the whole Toxic Caves. I couldn't pick out more than a hint of Turbo Man, though. Quicker than Marbles: There's that wandering panning again.... The Marble Zone part is the start of a good remix of it alone, but the transition between sources is really awkward, they just sound crossfaded together, and the ending is equally abrupt. The Waking of Sha Wujing: I really need to work on the very low end, it always sounds good to me at first, but everyone else did a much better job in that department. I definitely need practice on EQ and balance. This is my first time working with electric guitar soundfonts and I guess it shows. But I'm proud of how I made use of both themes in their entirety and integrated them together, though some of the transitions are a little weak--oddly, most the transitions are taken almost verbatim from Aquatic Base, they just sound better against its ambient background. SoulAquas: Nice harmonies on the low end. Definitely going to try for that myself in the upcoming rounds. Aquatic Base is so minimalistic that when you arrange it at all liberally, it instantly becomes unrecognizable, and I think that happened here. Not a fan of that ending, it feels like you kind of ran out of ideas. Overall a really lovely piece, though, I look forward to hearing more like it. I appreciate the chance to go up against you, and hope to do it again!

Nice. Better bring your "A" game, Cash & Change. I got an idea for this one as soon as you chose it, and it's a good one.

Sooner rather than later please. The more time to work on this during the weekend--especially a weekend when my wife is out of town--the better.@Mr. L: At least you know how to EQ at all. It's still a big mystery to me, for the most part. Submitted.

That lead synth is pretty wimpy up against the powerful instruments. Beef that sucker up! The original content doesn't really go along with the rest of the song very well. It's very cool in and of itself, and if it came from a different game and was supposed to be a mashup, it would be great, but as it is, it's too much for this piece.

Yeah, this one has been done a lot. Star Salzman's "Duck Blur" has been on my playlist for years. The strings at the beginning sound a bit muffled to my admittedly untrained ears. I think they're missing some of the highs. The flute sounds sound cut short after the french horns come in. Probably competing for that middle range, as AngelsDen said. Trumpet is a bit piercing. The french horn at 0:48 isn't strong enough to carry the melody. It sounds as if you just forgot to include a melody line in this section. Similarly, the guitar needs something (probably EQ) to keep from drowning. Overall the orchestration is coming along nicely, though.

I take it back. Should have been in bed and asleep 5 minutes ago, but I think this is as good as it's gonna get. The fact that I had no idea what to do with Aquatic Base will be painfully obvious, methinks.

I could certainly use the time as well, I'm scrambling to finish right now... but spending that time on next week's mix is probably just as good.

Sorry, I get off work at 7:00 PM PDT, so it's a while before I can get to my computer (thus, the usual 10PM deadline). Mixes are up.

Now you just have to find an issue where the heroes get trapped in a giant pinball machine.My phone did something weird this morning: When my alarm went off, my usual ringtone ("Block Clear" from Castlevania III, incidentally) was accompanied by Darkesword's dulcet tones. My browser wasn't even open, and when I did open it, Soundcloud wasn't even one of the running tabs. I guess my phone really likes Toxic Caves.

Cosmic Sounds sent me a broken link, and it wouldn't be much fun with just two entries. The posting of the mixes will be tomorrow.

Um... in my case... yes?Also, sad there are no Wily Wars avatars here. I think I'll submit some after the summer compo madness.