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Daethar

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Posts posted by Daethar

  1. 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?

  2. Sorry, dude. I normally wouldn't say anything but I'm all hopped up on Red Bull and I just always think people crabbing about .FLAC sound snooty. Coulda just said, "Hey, guys! Love all the free music! I noticed something with the .FLACs - why are some missing in some projects? Anyone got any insights?" as opposed to "This is troubling me," "would it be unacceptable to require a certain degree of quality in how it is released?" and "I propose..."

    YOU PROPOSE

    snootykins

    Thank you for being "troubled" while framing the issues as "OCR doesn't give a shit about the album releases." :lol: I agreed with Mustin that was just the wrong way to start off, assuming bad intent.

    Even though the original post read VERY DOUCHILY (which I'm making up), and I'm the one responsible for putting together the torrents of everything since album #7, this very directly is about my work. I'm treating this thread as a post-mortem of the Pokemanz package creation itself, so I'll address this as thoroughly as I can. :-)

    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.

    rest of post

    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.

  3. You can if you want, but it's kind of like taking a 300x300 picture then stretching it to 1000x1000 in Photoshop just to match the resolution of the rest of your album. Doing that just makes a small file needlessly huge and just feels more messy.

    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.

  4. Oops forgot to mention the WAV thing was added recently, sorry about the confusion.

    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.

    nonsense

    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.

  5. As we're talking about The Missingno Tracks then it's already been explained.

    I know.

    The project has been in the works so long, with so many different remixers and various project leaders, that mixers weren't around to supply a .WAV or project files were lost or even deleted, various things. Rather than simply release an MP3 version and get all kinds of "cut me some FLAC bro wtf i wan lossless" and have to explain WHY not all the tracks have FLACs case by case, it was easier just to bundle it all together with a choice.

    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?

    As for the corruption thing, all the tracks have been fine on my machine.

    Several of the (FLAC) tracks on disc 2 do not play well with cd burners.

    As for the incorrect version thing, said two versions were incredibly similar. He posted some mp3s as WIPs then the final thing in .WAV. Don't tell me it's not stupidly easy to think "oh, that MUST be the one I converted to mp3" after a quick listen.

    Yes okay, things messed up. Remember that this isn't a bunch of guys in the same room, heck even the same city, it's a project arranged and sorted from all over the world.

    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.

    ...

    Who here has a poor attitude?

    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".

    In defense of those who have had hard drive crashes or file corruptions or otherwise lost their project file(s) when their works have been almost complete and no high-quality render had been made, I say: screw you and your inflated sense of entitlement.

    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...

    They're part of the community, they're part of the projects, they're us. OCR is walking a line between quality and community, and for all the complaints that we're so elitist and exclusivist, you're saying we should be more so?

    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.

    And nobody says you have to listen the whole album anyway. Hey maybe we shouldn't release FLACs at all? Hey, I'm a project lead, that's actually within my power. 96kbps, here we come! On that note, maybe ALL OF OCREMIX SHOULD BE IN THE LOWEST COMMON BITRATE!

    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.

  6. You can choose not to download it.

    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?

  7. ---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.

    I really like OverClocked ReMix, but there have been problems with some of their big releases. You would think that with all the time they have to prepare these projects that it wouldn't be an issue, but in some of their latest releases some tracks aren't in .flac, some .flac files don't decompress correctly, and in this case an incorrect version of the remix was used in the final release.

    From what I've seen in the project threads the person in charge asks for .wav files from the people working on remixes (at least for the final submission), so why do only some tracks come in .flac and others don't? I understand lossy for the day-to-day remixes, but you would think for the big releases they would have everything in .flac and not just some.

    I'm not trying to complain, it's free and the remixes are usually very good. It's just a shame that in the final stages leading up to release is when they seem to drop the ball.

    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.

  8. it turns out the FLAC of Drowning Blue is already the correct updated version, so there's no need to replace it

    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.

  9. Tira

    NAMCO

    2005

    ocr4_mascot132.jpg

    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

  10. 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?

  11. Now I got the special edition songs from the website, but I wanted the ISO for the cds I would burn.

    Alas, when I started the torrent, there were no ISOs, only flac and mp3.

    Soo.....help?

    edit: and the songs are all teeny tiny. I expect that's from compression, but that's exactly why I would want the larger ISOs with full CD quality. But why 3 cds? They almost all fit on one, and with SE on the third cd...it seems a waste. I guess I'll just put it with the second CD, but then the album art doesn't match and arrggghhh. I always like extra songs, this SE thing is cool, but maybe a bit more support for these 4 extras?

  12. Agreed, Watkinzez you are a biography machine.

    Mine is a bit to-the-letter of wiki for my taste... I will work on it for the other two bios.

    Also, there was mention of using the Chrono Compendium for the CT character bios, and I think that should be taken under advisement. As much as I love CT, and would love to take on the CT chars, the only thing stopping me from doing the bios all right now overnight was looking over at the Chrono Compendium's work. It's more complete than I could hope for on a draft, polished, etc. So, although the characters are very popular, they have been covered, and quite well. More than wiki, because some wikis are simply too broad, like on EWJ up there.

    My thoughts, that is all. Besides, you will likely have a ton of corrections on FF/CT chars anyway, better to use the (I assume) already collective input of the Compendium.

    And I do have quite a bit of story for the DOOM man, but I am lax in my duties and typing it up is a bit...well it's not exactly action packed work.

  13. Earthworm Jim

    Shiny Entertainment/Virgin Interactive

    ocr4_mascot59.jpg

    Earthworm Jim was quite a new brand of hero, silly from the get-go. An ordinary earthworm, Jim lived day to day doing earthworm things, like eating dirt. Then, on one fateful day, a spacesuit (fully titled the ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit) dropped from the sky, falling onto Jim and transforming him into a large, strong, intelligent (at least by earthworm standards) super-hero. Armed with his trusy blaster, Jim quests to rescue Princess What's-Her-Name, who has been imprisoned by the evil Queen Slug-For-A-Butt. Jim also had a trusty sidekick, Peter Puppy, and together they battled enemies with such monikers as Bob the Killer Goldfish, Major Mucus, Evil the Cat, Psy-Crow and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head.

    The first game, titled Earthworm Jim, was quite innovative at the time. The animation in the game was very high quality, and the silly theme was unique. Earthworm Jim was bestowed a variety of different abilities, such as using his head as a whip to swing across gaps. Doug TenNapel is responsible for Jim's design, as well as most of the major characters in the game, and Jim's own voice. The music, however, was solely the work of Tommy Tallarico.

    Later along the road, an Earthworm Jim TV show and even comic series came to be.

    Sources:

    Earthworm Jim's Wiki

    Game Appearances:

    Earthworm Jim-1994

    SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive/Mega CD*, SNES, Game Gear, GBA, PC*

    Earthworm Jim 2-1995

    SEGA Genesis, SEGA Saturn, Playstation, SNES, PC

    Clay Fighter 63 1/3-1997

    Nintendo 64

    Earthworm Jim 3D-1999

    PC, Nintendo 64

    Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy-1999

    Game Boy Color

    *Platform supported a 'special edition' of the game, with better music, extended levels, etc.

  14. Still looking for people to help out?

    I'm willing to tackle the HUnewearl from PSO, as well as Earthworm Jim and Tira for now, and likely more later, if that is alright.

    Also, I have a few things to add to the DOOM marine, from the handy dandy iD Official Guide, if you do not mind.

  15. Okay, I've finally sat down to focus on writing. And now I realize why nobody wanted to do Guardia Castle.

    It's in F# Major. Six sharps. AUGH.

    *Checks his official piano score*

    hmmmmm....its not in F# as far as I can tell. And it only has one sharp. Maybe using a user-homebrewed-midi for a resource makes it difficult. I know that was the case when I once took a peek at Frog's Theme in midi, and it was almost ALL in occidentals.

    but if you are going for the midi arrangement, I think you may just have to buck up and deal with it?

    good luck, you can do it!

  16. While Doom is for the PC, it's latest incarnation, Doom III, is most certainly an XBOX title, making this the best 360 candidate.

    ~.C.S.~

    I feel that this is wrong, as a heavy PC gamer myself. Shoulda been akin to your Chrono Symphonic explanation, where Doom 3/III (which came out for PC first and was ported out later) is not fitting but the best representation of XBOX from the three.

    But it's alright, not many on the OC give PC proper credit instead of the XBOX. Onto the important stuff.

    Let me start by saying this project looks awesome. With so many Chrono Trigger remixes already on the site, and some damn good ones, it was a disappointment to see that some tracks were not covered, and also that it takes a few CDs to contain them all. This project is perfect for a CT enthusiast like me, and I salute you all.

    A suggestion for the dls of works from the site, I think you might want to consider giving out previews, like the guys from Dark Side of Phobos are doing. Give a 10-30 second clip, so people do not get the whole song, but still get a feel for what it will sound like. Of course, it's up to you, and I know there's been stuff voiced before about different projects being done differently.

    And on a final note, thanks for announcing the upcoming 10th anniversary of the best RPG to grace a console. Initially I wondered why you were putting a date so far in the year, when you guys look to be so close, but the explanation of what you have left to do and added significance of this date makes it all good.

    You should go about rounding up the serious CT fans and have a big project release/anniversary party on the 27th of September. Seriously.

    Alright, I'm out.

  17. Understood, Darangen.

    Looking back, I realize I stated the obvious, as well as that a project manager likely doesn't want to hear some know-it-all telling him what he already knows.

    As for your list of obstacles(?), it was more of the people handing in their projects I was focusing on, though I briefly forgot about the holidays (crazy).

    Looking back, I probably should've been less antagonistic. Patience might be recommended, Darangen, but it is hard when it is this close!

    Pair that with the misconception that final turn in indeed did mean the release was right around the corner...yeah that was my PoV.

    So, apology to any workers I irritated.

    No hard feelings taken, Darangen.

    Keep on trucking.

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