Daethar

Yes, that does look awesome.

Indeed, several people have cleared a lot of things up that I was initially confused about. Liontamer, especially, has addressed ideas for future releases that specifically placate any suggestions I had. Thanks for the helpful responses

I don't think tracks should be left out, just perhaps not all bonus extra courtesy special edition features should be in the official torrent. Though, I am definitely pleased that OCR started requiring artwork to be included. Also, for a couple of the projects, the homepage offers a couple different torrent flavors. Should OCR always host the catch-all version? Why?

Fair enough. I'm sorry if I come across that way to you, it's simply how I try to present my thoughts online. The site will go on without me posting, the mixers will go on without my input, and I know that. I will still download the projects (I fully enjoyed listening to mp3 version of Missingno). I don't presume people should care what I have to say. But I saw something that bothered me a bit, not in a way that I was offended, but in a sort of OCD sense, and figured that perhaps someone (besides myself and Calatia from the review thread) might want to discuss the potential problems behind it. I spent a bit of extra time trying to sort things out for burning cds, and figured that if some precautions were taken in the future, other people might be saved time and effort in sorting stuff out. And, I do admit, I had not read the project guidelines page Level 99 linked later. I figured that kind of info was kept secret, only known to moderators and judges and such. 1. Excellent points 2. Even though I used Missingno as the example, I do realize it's happened before, and so that's why I wanted to discuss the whole thing in general. Because this is not really a review of the album, I didn't think it fair to clutter that thread. 3. I do like the things you suggest for going forward.

Ok, I understand what you mean then.

Ah, see, I admit I wasn't exactly sure if the same thing happened to audio that does with video. I kinda figured mp3 -> FLAC wouldn't introduce more artifacts, but I wasn't sure.

So the concerns I had above are non-issues in the future? Ok. I suppose, then, I have no further grounds for argument. Only a suggestion that consistency be taken into regard in the future. I don't really know what to say to this, other than that I get the sense you didn't really 'get' what I was saying, much like Rozovian and Neblix. Just because the music on this site is free, I can't make suggestions? I can't try to constructively criticize someone's work unless I pay for the right to do so? Absurd.

I know. This is actually the most reasonable response I have heard regarding this. I understand that, but I personally think they should have been left out of the torrent, and just available on the site. Alternatively, since the tracks are already lossy, there is nothing more lost by "upconverting" to FLAC. Just for consistency's sake? This also prevents future artifacts when, say, copying the files, or burning to a data cd to transfer the files, right? Several of the (FLAC) tracks on disc 2 do not play well with cd burners. I understand this, yes. I do realize mistakes get made, and I remember a similar thing happening back with Chrono Symphonic. I'm not sure how to avoid these mistakes, to be honest. ... From your tone and wording, and neblix's, as opposed to Protodome and Level 99 right above, I would regard that as a "poor attitude". Inflated sense of entitlement? I didn't even bother with FLAC versions until redownloading every album after I got a new computer (with plenty of HDD space), and this was well after the Tales project. Why didn't I want the FLAC versions at first? I figured, aside from the space, it was a less conventional format. Why did I change my mind? Well, I knew my media player (winamp) could handle FLAC, and it seemed silly to think that there was any problem with downloading albums in that format. Oh, wait... Yes, in a certain respect. I assume that it isn't required an album be in FLAC format at all. Similarly, OCR only lists mp3 format of individual mixes. Is it so terrible an idea that official OCR torrents be similarly regulated? Also, please don't think I don't appreciate the albums. There is no shortage of examples of tracks I love but do not get allowed on OCR outside the album. This is exactly what I'm talking about. I would hope, if you were project lead, and then did something crazy like re-encoding everything to lowest possible bitrate, or converting everything to midi or something, OCR would refuse to list your project on the main site. Indeed, maybe you shouldn't release FLACs at all (In the torrent posted on ocremix.org. If not all tracks are in that format.) Some of the projects have an mp3-only or FLAC-only torrent on their homepage. Perhaps mp3-only should be considered for OCR. ---edit--- Level 99, thank for the link. "In order for a project to be considered complete, there are a number of requirements. The following need to be complete: Music (in WAV format)" Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have the pokemon album at all than it be scrapped because some WAV's were missing, but that is the first requirement in the list. "When the album project is complete, contact the OCR project staff about arranging a release date, arranging torrent distribution, and selecting debut tracks. There is typically at least a two month wait between album completion and album release. 1 month is used for album evaluation, to make sure it meets our quality and arrangement standards, and 1 month is used for project release prep." Since I don't know the exact "quality and arrangement" standards for an album, that's why I chose to start this thread, and propose a couple of revisions.

I think this is a very poor attitude to take. Also contradictory to the position the site takes toward individual remixes, and removed tracks. OCR doesn't keep removed mixes in the torrents just because "you can choose not to download it". In fact, I prefer to deselect one of the formats in the torrent, so I don't have each track twice on my HDD. It seems unnecessary. I wouldn't have thought, after spending so much time working on the actual music, so little disregard would be given to the release. If it's just something extra and "You can choose not to download it." is the attitude, why not just have the links on the site and not included with the torrent? If an album was missing tracks in mp3 format, would that be acceptable?

---edit--- Liontamer's post (http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?p=758754#post758754) definitely addresses everything discussed in this thread so far. ---original for posterity's sake--- This was posted in the review thread for the latest album release, "Pokémon: The Missingno Tracks". Since I wanted to discuss this further, but not in relation to that specific album, here we are. This is troubling to me. Is there some set of guidelines for accepting an album to be posted on the site, similar to how individual mixes are judged? I mean, why include a FLAC folder if any of the tracks are going to be missing from it? Is including FLAC formats just a gesture of goodwill to the listeners, an "extra", and it's up to the downloader to figure out all the inconsistencies in the torrent and files? In the video game industry, it seems to have become a standard practice to release a game with glaring problems and bugs, sometimes even crippling issues, just to make some release date. I don't think the same should be allowed here, especially considering how much thought and deliberation goes into allowing individual songs to be admitted. I know, in respect to quality, albums are not judged like single mixes. However, would it be unacceptable to require a certain degree of quality in how it is released? I propose that some more stringent guidelines should be implemented for the torrents on ocremix.org's album section. Like how the albums are perfectly fine with tracks that may not individually meet OCR judge's standards, allow the project websites to deal with additional formats and links however they wish. But to have missing tracks, unburnable files, corrupted files, old versions, etc. seems just sloppy. And users who don't browse the forums may never learn of corrections. At the very least, if you can't preserve the whole of a project into another format, don't bother including it in the torrent. Anyone wondering if it is available in FLAC can go check the project website and find that, yes, some tracks are. Then it won't seem like the actual release was incomplete. As things stand now, I am going to start ignoring the torrents altogether, just like when the album art wasn't included. If I have to pick and choose and listen and research each song to figure out what is going on, I really don't save much time downloading the torrent.

So, is the mp3 still outdated? Since we don't have the complete album in FLAC format, must we mix and match the two? Are there any others that are outdated in either version? I realize the wavs might not exist any more for some of the tracks to turn into true lossless FLAC, but wouldn't it be better to have a FLAC file converted from the mp3s in the "FLAC" folder? I usually pick only the FLAC folder when downloading the torrent, so I don't have redundant files, under the (reasonable) assumption that every track will be present within. I'd like to add my disappointment to how this was released, but I suppose it's too late to fix the torrent now.

Also keep in mind that wikipedia is not official in any way. Usually its just some person word-for-word pulling something from a fan site or official site.

Tira NAMCO 2005 Tira, a 17 year old girl with unknown origins. The secret behind her birth may be a secret of the organization of assassins who raised her, but perhaps even they do not know. Whatever the case, she was taken in as a child to a group of assassins called the “Birds of Passage”, and they worked to shape the history of Europe from behind the scenes. Tira became accustomed to killing, to the point where she needed murder just for the stimulation it provided her. Tira always stayed cheerful through her ghastly assignments, as if she enjoyed them, but this was simply a way to hide her true feelings. The coming of Soul Edge back into the world cut her ties with these killers. The leader dead, Tira was set free from their influence, and was taken in by a normal family. Soon, events unfolded further, and she killed the kind people before she even knew what was happening. After this, she knew she needed a life of killing. Tira, using her ring blade to leave bloody remains of those she came across, eventually met up with a massacre to rival her own: that of Nightmare, the set of armor possessed by the evil Soul Edge. Tira pledged loyalty to the sword, for in her mind she had found a kindred spirit to her own. Tira comes into the fourth installment of the Soul Edge series, Soul Calibur III, at this point. Her motives are dark: to destroy the pure sword Soul Calibur, and to find a new host for the evil Soul Edge to inhabit so that it can once again be among the living. She uses a ring blade, named Aisel Nedrossel, and calls her discipline the “Dance of Death”. She is commonly seen in the company of ravens, whispered to be dark 'watchers' under the control of Soul Edge, a good example being the opening cinematic for the game. Her scantily clad design is said by the developers to appeal to mid-level players, the play style supposedly being harder than Zasalamel, but not as complicated as Setsuka, the two other new members to the Soul Calibur cast. Masumi Asano is credited as the voice actor for the Japanese version of SCIII, but no documentation on her English counterpart at the moment. Her weapon, while very far-fetched in the mostly realistic score of SC weapons, adds a new twist to things, and is fun to watch. Sources: 'Project Soul' Offical Site Internet Movie Database – Soul Calibur III Appearances: Soul Calibur III (2005) – PS2

Well. You guys did clear up things quite a bit. And yes, CS is longer than one CD, I did check this out (I like to do a little research so I don't sound like a complete moron more than I have to.)edit: the preceding text in parenthesis should be changed to the following- I have the eyesight of a cave salamander, and the brain capacity of one to boot. But but but, and I know this will likely just get me corrected more, let me say a few things. edit: whole section removed because of my stupidity Now, here is something you might want to consider. Those songs you told me were "Special Audition" and not "Special Edition"... let me post the file name and tag for ya: File:SE - Determined (PLBenjaminZ).mp3 Title:SE - Determined (PLBenjaminZ) see those little thingies that say SE? That quite tricked me. And I had this huge, huge, post ready that would've made Webster get bored but, while looking for a quote, I found Compy's little nice explanation of the Special Edition. Ok. Let's all point at the me and laugh. Eagerly awaiting the SE. Then I can scrap the expensive printable CDs that I made and remake 'em. Patience is a virtue, and here I messed up. I would like to know about Special Edition album art though: possibility or no?