zircon

Is there a reason why you want a hardware synth? They're more expensive and less powerful than software synths, as well as less versatile and of course harder to use (can't just render them offline.)

There's usually no harm in grabbing an Iron Buckler too early on if you're experiencing tons of harass. It increases your EHP considerably.

Actually, Tepid already gave me an updated version that addressed my complaints.

If you want to stopwatch; 0:06 - 0:25: Chords from the original. Yes some of them are altered but in terms of theory they're the same fundamental chords. 0:25 - 0:44: Same as 0:06-0:25 with added bass. 0:44 - 1:23: Chords + source melody.. obvious. 1:23 - 1:32: Original stuff similar to source chords 1:33 - 1:42: Chords 1:43 - 2:21: Melody + variations 2:21 - 2:58: Solo over chords. 2:59 - 3:22: Ending w/ melody. Total is 202 seconds. Explicit source usage (melody only) is 39 + 38 + 23 = 100 seconds, which is barely under 50%. However, I've always thought that if an original has a distinctive chord progression, using just the chords does constitute arrangement. That's how I voted on Hot Pink. I'm pretty sure Monstrous Turtles doesn't even have 50% source usage if you don't count any of my chord usage. If this were a case where the mix is like 20% melody and 80% original/chords I would lean the other way, but it's already practically 50/50 with the melody alone, and I feel like the chord variations are extremely creative and interpretive given the distinctiveness of the original progression.

I actually like the overall flavor of this - the mix of intense breaks with acid synths and a high level of energy. However, the production definitely needs some work overall, and there are some choices in the arrangement that I think are somewhat questionable. Some concerns: * The whole thing is overcompressed. This is especially apparent in sections like 1:47 and there's no way we can post this as-is. * All of the instruments including the drums need some EQ rolloff in the low-end - you can hear how much bass energy there is throughout the song, but it's causing a lot of pumping. * The transition at :27-28 is really weak and doesn't connect much to the section before or after. * Some of the synths are too low, which causes them to be muddy simply by virtue of the fact that they're playing low notes, for example the syncopated stabs at 1:15. * The balance is way off. At 1:47 the bass is far louder than the lead elements - you can barely hear anything. * The section at 2:54 has clashing notes. * The interpretation is solid, but somewhat repetitive, as it's pretty much just the same pattern over and over again with some chord changes in the background. I would have liked to hear more changes to the melody and more original material in the lead(s). Definitely a good effort, but at the very least the production needs to be seriously polished before we can talk about passing this. NO Jimmy, you need to clean out your ears.... even if you like the idea of this, the production is a definite NO

Better question is... why? It's not as if I'm ever writing some part so complex that I NEED to input multiple forms of automation at once.

It really isn't that hard. You just wait until the life bar is really low and THEN attack. You can also keep starting your animation by right clicking and then hitting "S" or "H" to stop it (but only doing so if you don't think you'll get the last hit.) The hardest part of last-hitting is learning the animations for your hero. Some heroes - like Corrupted Discipline or Magebane - attack very fast, with fast projectiles (or if melee, no projectile.) Others, like Nymphora or Pyromancer, are very slow so you have to really anticipate.

To be honest I hardly ever assign stuff on my keyboard to MIDI CCs, with the exception of the modwheel.

We teach, but it would be a good idea to also do some reading if you really want to play and not totally suck. Character guides on the HoN forums are ideal ("Premium Guides" section) or just ask us here. Read some guides or watch tutorials for HoN basics like runes, XP, denying etc. Won't take long but it's worth the effort. Also, it's really a lot better if you have a mic.

Congrats dude! Seems like you're getting known for doing this airline stuff; where is it all coming through, anyway?

What? How is that objective at all? Off the top of my head, Indian music actually has a far more rigid melodic structure than Western music... I still disagree with this pretty wholeheartedly. For example, nobody in the academic world would dispute Stockhausen's status as extremely innovative (in the normal sense of the word) yet he almost exclusively focused on concepts like chance music and manipulation of sound. Music is not just notes and rhythms, it is also timbres, so by definition anyone who is creating new timbres is being musically innovative.

This is way off.. those guys don't have a monopoly on all the advances in sampling, synthesis, processing, programming and "mangling" that have occurred over the last 50 years.

I'm definitely going to get it, but might wait until Christmas - I recently purchased Komplete 6 and some assorted small stuff (MPC samples, Ultra Analog.) But yeah, it looks great.

It's basically impossible to be truly innovative in music, at least in the sense of doing something that nobody has done before. I would argue that if we're going to talk about innovation, we should discuss artists or composers who skillfully craft unusual music that is outside of any given pop or academic trends, but that is also enjoyable and appreciable by the general public. I once went to an electronic music concert at Peabody (where our own DrumUltimA had a piece performed) and while a lot of the music was certainly nothing I had ever heard before, it was also painful to listen to and excrutiatingly boring. On the other hand, the other day tefnek showed me this; And I would call that innovative. It sounds like Pendulum and older Prodigy mixed with Beastie Boys - drum n' bass rap. I just haven't heard anything like it, and I think it's extremely well-done. While I'm sure other people have mixed DNB and rap, I give credit to the people who have done it well for the first time.

I never really ran into mana problems; Geometer's +10 Int seems like all you'd need, plus a bottle and your Bracer. I also never bothered with HotBL in the game where I dominated as Disciple, again because Bracer/Geometer's add sufficient strength and mobility. Those with Bottle and Headdress gave me excellent regen and staying power.

Wow, I really didn't find that original very interesting. This remix certainly does a good job adding some much-needed interest and depth. The pads and atmosphere here are really nice, but one thing I noticed even before 60 seconds in was the unbalanced mixing. The bass pad is too loud/resonant while the other elements (and in fact the overall volume) were too low. I loved the spacey vibe of the section around 1:35, but the overwhelming bass pad detracted from that. While we're talking about this section, I would suggest adding a bit of vibrato to some of those long lead notes to make them more interesting. While I would have voted YES conditional even these things considered, I felt there really wasn't a clear enough link to the source here either. This occurred to me even before reading the opinions of the other judges so I'm more confident now that it's the right call. Adding some more obvious links would really help... at the very least some simple sequences bringing in the original bassline! NO, resub

I recently had a dominating match as Disciple where my item build was Fortified Bracer, E.Marchers, Bottle, Shaman's Headdress, Geometer's Bane and Nullfire Blade (not in that order.) I think it worked out very well. I farmed Bane first and maxed Static Discharge before my nuke, which actually gave me insane ganking ability early on and allowed me to dominate Thunderbringer in lane. Nullfire Blade later to assist me with chasing, ganks and Hellbringer. Toward the end of the game I was basically just running around at nearly max-movespeed, Nullfiring heroes and destroying them quickly (nuke -> ult -> link -> attack) then running around and pushing while the enemy team tried to catch up.

AFAIK they didn't add any new VSL samples to Kontakt 4, just remapped the old ones. VSL has some great sounds but this is just a tiny subset of the full library. I've used the K2 VSL in a lot of my remixes and originals though, as the horns in particular are amazing. Also, pretty sure Akoustik and Elektrik are now in K4. Unfortunately K4 is really messed up. It won't load properly as a VST, or more accurately, the factory patches won't. http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3828811 Read and let me know if you've had the same problem.

There's definitely no rule against using sampled SFX - you just can't make a mix ONLY using sampled SFX.

I'm not sure I agree with these strong YES votes. This is a really simplistic, repetitive mix with basic percussion, reliance on drum loops (even if they're custom), and fairly thin sounds overall. The production level sounds like 2002-2003 OCR and not at all what we've been accepting lately. The arrangement is interpretive, but it actually loses energy from the original and IMO makes it less interesting in terms of the bass and rhythms (all straight rhythms, no swing.) This is solid, but below our bar. NO

Sometimes the people in this game amaze me. I join a game with about half of the people speaking French. Immediately one of our players pick Scout, then another randoms Pebbles. The other team shortly picks Tempest, Pestilence and Demented Shaman. I pick Jeraziah because I feel like we need a solid counter to some of those heroes, and our "team" fills out with Swiftblade and Puppet Master. As the game begins, within the first 5 minutes the bottom lane gets killed by Pandamonium and Pestilence (2x stun.) Pebbles (my lanemate) bitches at me for "not healing him", when in fact I tried to save him but the AOE on Pesti's stun caught me (Pesti's stun is practically the same radius as Jera's heal, not to mention the heal has a LONG cast time.) From that point on he basically trashtalks me nonstop after I die once or twice because we're in a two melee lane vs. a serious dual-stun and both of us are mana-intensive characters. The game really didn't get much better; as you might imagine, Pestilence, Tempest and Shaman is pretty much gg against our brilliant team of Scout, Puppet, Pebbles, Jeraziah and Swiftblade, but my whole team doesn't stop trashing me until the very end, when I started intentionally feeding to spite them (then ragequitting.) Some of the "amazing" plays we had include our Swiftblade repeatedly running in and spinning vs. Panda, who can flick him through his spin (which makes ME unable to heal him), Pebbles bitching that I didn't heal him when he ran in against 4 people (even though I did heal him, and he died anyway), etc. Probably the worst game I've played yet in terms of the people involved.

The main plot points of FF7 are pretty easy to pick up just by playing it once. Arguably the main difficulties that arise in understanding are due to poor localization. And again, I would still argue that some of the greatest stories require multiple readings/watchings to really understand. I think any literary critic would agree with me.

Most good stories require some post-analysis and interpretation. It's kind of the mark of a good story.

Good to see you submitting, JMR. Jill and I love the SMG soundtrack and it really holds a special place in our hearts, as corny as that sounds. This is a really nice arrangement here, with impressive sample usage and a relaxing atmosphere. 2:24 struck me as a little too quiet - can you boost that section more, possibly by adding just a little bit more master-track compression/brickwall limiting? As long as it doesn't cause the other sections to sound bad, I think it will help the overall balance. I also agree with Jimmy that the theremin-type synth has too much vibrato, but only because it is playing polyphonically at the end, and polyphonic vibrato usually doesn't sound good. If you toned it down at least in the ending section, that would be enough. Great job on this one. YES

Ha, I love titles like this. Also, is that my clap/snare sound you're using?! This is a pretty solid interpretation of French House with electro elements; having heard Tepid's progress over the years I'm impressed with how he's improved and branched out in genre. This is one he's particularly good at - the deep chords, unique addition of electric guitar, PHAT beats and gated synths are all awesome. That being said, there are a couple production faults nagging me. The synth leads are washed out with too much reverb and the bass seems way too loud. I would like to see these things tweaked before we post this. Arrangement is absolutely fine IMO. Very creative interpretation compared to the more straightforward takes on Gerude we usually hear. My only complaint here is the lack of an ending. C'mon, man! At least do some kind of final chord. YES (conditional) - please decrease the reverb on the synth leads a bit, decrease the FM8 volume slightly, and, preferably, come up with a bit more of an ending.