zircon

So, in other words, your answer to my question "I guess your opinion is the only one that matters?" was "Yes, I'm the only one who decides whether a game is good or bad." Sorry, but by every objective measure, FF13 was a good game. It's unreasonable to say that critics don't matter (ALL critics, as MC aggregates and weights them), the general public doesn't matter, and sales don't matter. Your argument that "well, nobody knows what a good RPG is anymore" is inane.

So if critical reviews are good, popular reception is good, and it sells a lot... what other metrics are there? Is it just that everyone else's opinion doesn't count except yours? Twilight is a bad comparison. If you look at Metacritic, the movies had both low critical scores and even low user scores. That is a case where it's making money without being good - not the case with FFXIII. "Sizable amount" of people not liking FFXIII is not accurate as the majority of people did in fact like it, along with the majority of reviewers.

CraigsList for fast local cash, eBay for a better deal. He could also try posting them on KVRAudio, Gearslutz, or these forums, but then shipping would come into play.

Objectively speaking, FFXIII didn't do horribly. Its score on Metacritic (both reviewer AND user) is about the same as Final Fantasy Tactics, about 84%. It sold millions of copies. On the other hand, FFXIV has about a 49%.

Again, really, to be fair... they wrote up a whole postmortem talking about all the stuff they did wrong with FFXIII (as well as what they did right.) They had already realized they made certain mistakes even within the development process that were not possible to correct (toward the end.)

For all the absurd fanboy rage, FF13 has a pretty solid rating on Metacritic, both from aggregate critic ratings AND user reviews. So, besides selling well, it was also a critical and popular success. Try reading Square's own postmortem on the game. They admitted that they did international testing too late in the process to really integrate player feedback, eg. about the linearity of it. They also said they lacked a cohesive vision until the demo of the game was out. So, they have a pretty good (and honest) idea of what they did wrong and how to correct it. It's nice to see that in a developer, and bodes well for future titles.

For those of you who missed the "Making Music: From Hobby to Profession" panel (Thursday, 6pm... yeah, not the best timeslot) the video is up on YouTube in 4 parts! http://zirconmusic.com/tutorials/videos/ Enjoy!

Don't forget "WELLLLL...." in the pool! Oh yeah, somehow I was on a magic elevator Sunday morning. Hopped on at floor 22, went up to 27, then went straight down to the lobby with NO STOPS. WTF?

Yep, they're moving it next year AFAIK. Still, the elevators weren't any slower than last year, food wasn't any harder to get, and there were only more dealers to see, more games to play and more friends to hang out with. Compared to Otakon, which barely has any breathing room, even this latest mag was still very comfortable in size. Parking was the worst of it.

Damn, that was best MAGfest yet! There's never enough time to do everything and see everyone, but this year was the closest.

We're heading out the door in about an hour! If you're going to be at MAGfest today, check out "Making Music: From Hobby to Profession" at 6pm, Panel 3. I'll be on there with Jill (pixietricks), Will Roget (busta) and Big Giant Circles (who's that guy?)

There's no solution in your DAW. IF you have the Kontakt version you can delete the "Release Trigger" (RT) groups and/or reduce the release time on the samples. Those are your only options, really.

Actually, you answered your own question there at the end - those have been so heavily remixed that there is less motivation to do a remix project for them. What more could a remix project offer that we haven't already seen? That's the question that has to constantly be asked of any would-be project director, and it's considerably harder to answer for the thoroughly-remixed, massively-popular OSTs.

Really depends, if I have to work fast I can write stuff in just a few hours. Remixes, my best time for a fully-produced mix like Kindred or Time to Oil Up is a few days. I've worked for months on some originals. For me, it's all about how invested I am in the piece (or how looming the deadline is.)

Sale is still going on for another 26 hours or so! Remember, if you get in now, you get a $15 voucher good on future purchases. So, you could pick up Impact: Steel for $24 or Koto Nation for $39 then put the $15 voucher toward Acoustic Revolutions and get that nearly for free!

The thing is, DirectGuitar doesn't have 8x round robins, double tracking or 'fast mute' articulations which are essential for rock/metal playing. If you want to do pop/jazz stuff, then yeah, DirectGuitar is nice - but if you just compare the rock/metal rhythm demos out of the box, no other library (with the possible exception of ProminyLPC) sounds as good as Shreddage for rhythm stuff. Most libraries have only 2 RRs - down and up - which sounds ultra-mechanical, and they're usually not edited well for fast playing. Almost nobody does double-tracking and nobody does fast palm mutes which are key for 140-150bpm+ stuff. However, it's true that you do need good amp sim sounds... which is why Shreddage also comes with an assortment of amp sim presets It might be my library, so I'm not the most objective person, but I have dozens of emails from fairly well-known producers, keyboardists and composers saying Shreddage beats everything else for what it's designed to do - rock and metal rhythm. My recommendation would be to get Shreddage (and soon, Shreddage X) for this kind of playing and then if you want leads, get Evolution Electric Guitar, which is on sale now. I have much respect for EEG as it sounds killer for lead playing and has a really nice strumming script, though again, their focus is not rock/metal rhythm so they don't have the other things I mentioned.

Cleaned up a bit of derailing. Anyway, souldragon777 (and any others interested), if you do feel like you have something to offer, you're more than welcome to send a resume to admin@impactsoundworks.com. I know these are tough economic times and many people apply to as many jobs as possible. But I'm looking for creative, self-motivated people here. If you are particularly good at marketing, for example, show me what you've done in that area. We're a (very) small company though growing fast, so if we are going to add anyone for part-time remote work, it needs to be clear that we're going to get something out of it. In short, tech support was our only immediate opening, but if you can make a strong case for yourself being useful in some other area, feel free to let us know. Just take a little bit to familiarize yourself with what we do, first

Yeah just to expand on my email in more detail, I've generally found Win7 Pro 64 to be far more stable and reliable than Xp64. It uses more RAM, but when you have 12gb it doesn't really matter. The multicore processing is better overall, and most importantly, new drivers/software are all for Win7. Kontakt 4 didn't install properly for me on XP64 and it took several calls to find an NI rep who would help me. Officially, they don't support Xp64 at all, which is a big problem. I also had more issues with Spectrasonics plugins on XP64. On the other hand, I can think of only one plugin that behaves a bit weird in 7-64, which is ArtsAcoustic Reverb in FL. It's very laggy for some reason when the UI is open, a problem that apparently happens in other DAWs too. Go figure. Short answer: 7 all the way, IMO.

Wow, didn't think I'd get so much interest! Thanks guys! I've found someone for this but I'm going to keep the thread open as I might need more help later...

I'm looking for someone to help run the customer service/tech support end of Impact Soundworks. Basically, we get a handful of tech support emails per week (usually no more than 10), the vast majority of which are very easy to respond to. Typically, it's people who need their download links re-activated, or have a compatibility question, or something else already answered by our FAQ. I've been doing it myself for years but I'd rather devote my time to working on new libraries and developing ISW as a whole. Here's what the job would entail: * Checking the tech support email once every 24-48 hours. * Responding to any emails that you know the answer to. * For certain emails, logging into the ISW secure e-Junkie account to reactivate download links. * Forwarding me any emails that you DON'T know the answer to. Responding to a single email should take no more than 5 minutes, and as I said, we typically don't get more than 10 emails a week, even during busy times, and often a lot less. What I need from you: * Assurance that you can do this for at least a few months. * Ability to check the tech support mail every 24-48 hours or so. * Secure connection. This is a must. No logging into our secure email/account from a Starbucks, please! What you'll get: * Training. Not that you'll need much; like I said, most questions are really simple. * $75/month. Not bad for a couple hours of extra work per month (and potentially less.) Sent straight to your PayPal account on the day of your choice, automated, with any PP fees covered. * Alternatively, at your request, twice that much in ISW products (so $150 in ISW libraries per month.) * Assurance that if our volume of tech support emails starts rising and stays high, you'll get paid more to compensate. Plus, if you're interested in doing more for the company, I'm sure I can find more work for you, such as helping out with promotion, advertising, web stuff, etc. Example Tech Support Emails Q. "My hard drive crashed and I need new download links." A. Check our email for their name/email, which will pull up their transaction ID. Go to our eJunkie account, type it in and click "Reactivate." Q. "The RAR is corrupt." A. Verify that they are only extracting the first downloaded RAR; all other files extract automatically. If this isn't the problem, tell them to check the file sizes on our FAQ page - they most likely have an incomplete download and need their links reactivated. Q. "How do I open these files?" A. WinRAR on PC, UnRARX on Mac. Q. "The library is showing up as a demo." A. You need the full version of Kontakt to use our libraries. However, Kontakt is a really good value, allows you to use libraries from other indie devs, etc. Q. "Do you have tips for using Shreddage?" A. Check the product manual PDF for tips and tricks. You can also read up on threads in our official forums. Q. "Do you do EDU discounts?" A. Yes, 20% off, but you must provide a scan of your student or faculty ID. That's 95% of it right there.

We JUST hit 60% today, the max discount level - and that's in addition to the $15 voucher you'll get, good on future purchases (doesn't expire.) So yea, we're CRAZY * $162 for all 6 libraries * $39 for Koto or Sitar Nation * $31 for Groove Bias * $24 for Impact: Steel

The more orchestral music I write and arrange, the more I appreciate the work and creativity that goes into mixes like this. RH deserves massive props for a well-executed, well-orchestrated and dynamic arrangement. The exposed solo strings were the weakest elements, but I know those are really hard to deal with since there are basically no good solo string sample libraries around. Overall, great movement and energy, which is an accomplishment given the length. On a side note, I had no idea Random Hero was JMR's brother. That's awesome.

MAJOR news: we're up to 81 participants (!!!) so that's 50% off everything and rising FAST, but also I'm now throwing in a $15 voucher for all group buy participants, good on future purchases. Madness! Sparta! Get in now before it's too late!

Been playing another game on Impossible as a Creative race... it does seem like virtually the only way to win at that level. Nonetheless, I'm going to keep experimenting. Supposedly, Sakkra is a pretty strong pick for production/war.

Here are some tips on MOO2, based on my own experience: 1. Start at an easy level, like "Easy" or "Normal" 2. Larger galaxies are generally easier. More opponents make the game harder. Some alien races are randomly generated to be very hostile and xenophobic, and if you're in a small or cramped galaxy you may be attacked before you can muster a defense. 3. Technology is key. Technology can make up for almost all racial penalties and differences in fleet size, production power, etc. 4. Diplomacy is very important early on, less so later. Offer gifts to the other races to make them like you, then enter into non-aggression pacts and trade/research treaties (where appropriate.) Alliances are generally not a good idea, since you might get sucked into wars. On the other hand, if a race REALLY loves you, you may be able to demand things of them (eg. declaring wars on other players.) By keeping the computers off you and fighting each other, you can amass untold power uninterrupted. 5. Don't enter into wars unless you have a significant technological advantage and the ability to defend your colonies (Missile Bases, mobile fleets, etc.) The computer players generally favor fleet-building and production, meaning they won't fall down easily. 6. Early on, the most important technologies are Automated Factory and Research Lab. These give all colonies natural production and research, even with no workers in those areas, and magnify the output of existing workers/scientists. There are more powerful version of these techs later, but if you don't get the basic level, you will fall way behind. 7. Expansion is key. Try to get as many planets within your empire as possible, as once they're all taken, you're capped off (though you can use Colony Bases and later, Artificial Planets, to improve your empire's population internally.) Race and ship design are minigames in and of themselves. Here are some tips on that. Good race picks: * Creative: Probably the best pick of all, allows you to research multiple technologies at once. This in turn basically gives you a diplomacy advantage, as you can give away useless/harmless techs. * Tolerant: Increases max population and eliminates the effect of pollution (which basically vastly increases the production of all your workers.) Not as good in the endgame, but should give you a massive advantage early and midgame. * Unification: Improves production and farming in all colonies. Obviously good, especially when paired with Tolerant. * Democracy: Improves income and research generation. Good race penalties (to balance out your bonuses without sacrificing much): * Ground Combat: Sacrificing ground combat is a non-issue. If your fleets are defeated you're in big trouble, and good technology will make your armies superior anyway. * Spying: If you're focusing on research, you will surely be spied on. However, if you're focusing on research, you'll also be getting lots of techs to improve your spies, so... * Ship Defense: Again, slightly reduced ship defense is not a big deal as tech can immediately override this penalty. Ship Design: * Always use Heavy Mount beam weapons, if you're using beams at all, and make sure you have a good computer. Beam weapons dissipate over time, so you need to get close to maximize effectiveness. * Battle Pods are good to have on any large ships, allowing them to pack on more technology. * Heavy Armor & Reinforced Hull are excellent armor/defensive specials. * "Emissions Guidance" missiles are very powerful. * Forget about bombs; they're useless. * Phasors are basically the best beam weapon, as they can be miniaturized repeatedly and loaded with modifications like Shield Piercing, Heavy Mount and Autofire. * Plasma Webs are incredibly powerful against large ships, such as the Guardian at Orion. * Early on, Frigates (smallest ship size) are effective as missile carriers w/ no computers. Later, you'll want to use larger ships for your missiles, and Titans or Doom Stars bristling with maxed-out specials/beam weapons.