zircon

To the lovely and talented Mrs. Aversa... a very happy 24th birthday! and now, to go actually say this in person as for the last hour I've been locked in the studio finishing a project in crunchtime... be right there honey!

www.impactsoundworks.com/products/instrumental/shreddage btw

He left the forums long before the friends feature was even implemented... Also we only know vague details about his identity, but it is almost a sure thing that Gray Alexander wasn't his real name.

Yet a lot of the critiques levied - not all, perhaps - are more rooted in nostalgia and conservatism. You can build an argument around almost any viewpoint, but that doesn't mean the basis for the argument isn't still a lust for "the old way", and that blind lust or loyalty was what the author of the article was warning against. It's a perfectly valid warning. Again, the climate of the industry right now discourages innovation unless you're a tiny developer, and even tiny developers can have a very hard time on that front (you still need to obtain funding.) If the situation were reversed, we might be having a different discussion.

Well, for one thing, FF12 was one of the most expensive games of all time to produce (meaning even though sales were good, expenses may have evened it out - we don't know) and it did get a LOT of negative feedback for the changed combat system. Why do you think Square went back to a more traditional system for FF13? Why do you think nearly all RPGs coming out of Japan still use those traditional mechanics? If the market (and critics) were rewarding innovation, we'd see more things changed up more often. This is "objectively verifiable" too. Likewise, how do you know that Heavy Rain will sell enough to make up for its expenses? Or ME2? How do you know what the producers of these games will do for followups? It's easy to find countless articles on and interviews with larger game developers who will tell you that playing it safe is rewarded far more than innovation in the game industry. Yes, once in awhile a small indie game company can do something unusual like Braid and turn a nice profit, but bigger firms like EA, Microsoft Game Studios, etc.? No. When the costs of making a blockbuster game can get to upwards of $50 million (and they do), the pressure is on to do something tried and true, not to be daring. Square tried it with FF12 and the fan backlash was significant. A better example might be FF13 itself though - while it returned to a more traditional battle system, it changed up exploration and game progression, and as a result its sales AND fan reception are both suffering. Seems like a pretty consistent message from many fans; try to change and we'll reject it.

You probably haven't heard of APB because it's not out yet. It's by the same guys who did Crackdown.

Unless you're literally just using the easy morph controls on FM8, which offer only limited editing capability, I don't understand how you could possibly recommend an FM synth to a newcomer to synthesis. It's incredibly convoluted and hard to understand, and there are a million ways to make a 'bad' sound (only a few ratios really 'work' and you need to memorize them along with learning mod matrix values, mod/carrier waveform sounds etc.) This makes no sense. He said he has ADD and you're recommending the most difficult kind of synthesis out there on an advanced synth? Just get Synth1 and learn it, you will be much faster and get better results.

Anyone interested? It's normally $500 new, I will sell it for $450, shipping included. Best deal you will get on this, I guarantee. It was bought as part of a group buy for my students @ Drexel but we ended up with an extra copy. http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/producer/komplete-6/ If you're not familiar, Komplete 6 is a cross-platform collection of high-end music production tools, namely the sampler Kontakt 4, guitar effects processor Guitar Rig 4, and synths FM8, Massive and Absynth 5 (among other things.)

It's one of the most popular softsynths ever, in terms of sales and critical reviews; it's just that good! I've used ACE and Synth Squad and honestly the only reason I can imagine why you'd think this is because the default Zebra osc is (a) in the 'soft' analog mode (rather than crisp, which is brighter) and ( quiet, not to mention © the best Zebra filters are in the XMF modules not the default VCF, which I think most people try first. Try Zebra using XMF LP filters and/or the LP Vintage/2 mode... it sounds easily as good as ACE if not better. However I wouldn't recommend ANY of the synths above to someone who is just starting out. Subtractive synthesis is such a crucial skill if you want to be able to tweak anything. FM8 and Z3ta are not good synths to learn on at all, and Zebra is a bit tricky too. Synth1 is free AND sounds absolutely fantastic. This guy has been posting tons of threads asking for musical and production advice so just giving him more high-end gear isn't gonna help.. he needs to learn. But the sounds you referenced in that DT mp3 are simple. I could make that lead in 5 seconds (couple saw oscs with VERY tight detuning, ~1-3 cents, perhaps mild chorus, reverb, LP filter with env depth linked to velo, etc.) It's actually much MORE work, time and money to buy a powerful synth and try to find that sound in its presets. That's why I'm saying just learn subtractive synthesis. It's such a pleasure being able to dial in any sound I want on basically any synth. It also gives you total control over editing a sound, so you're not stuck scratching your head at why a particular patch sounds good.

There generally aren't many good synth "sample libraries"... you're hearing actual synths, not samples. The first synth sound that comes in during Pull Me Under is a simple subtractive patch. You are better off simply learning the basics of subtractive synthesis (there are countless online tutorials) and using a basic VST like Synth1 with lots of public presets available.

NJ, you're being argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. The point of the article, which you continue to ignore, was not to say "old is always bad, new is always good" but to emphasize that video game development is already risky and extremely expensive, and by being extremely vocal in complaining about new mechanics, gamers are only discouraging future innovation. The OP article, Vivi and myself have put forth our own opinions on why we think various new mechanics are indeed an improvement, but again, nobody has called anyone else objectively "wrong" for liking old mechanics. That has nothing to do with the article and to twist it into a debate like that is silly (and yes, I do think the side-debate about ME1 vs. ME2 is off-topic.) We're all gamers and we all want to see games continue to get better. Retro/classic games will always be made, as evidenced by things like HD Remix, Sonic 4, MM9 + 10, FF4: The After Years and countless others. Loudly rejecting attempts at innovation will discourage innovation, and it's worse when some of the criticism is due to pure conservatism.

Yeah loudness really has nothing to do with recording or working at 24/96. If your stuff isn't loud compared to your reference material, it's your mixing/mastering ability that is the problem, possibly influenced by some of your gear and source material.

Nowhere in the article did he - or anyone else in this thread - say it was wrong to like mechanics for older games. The original author's point in fact is best summed up by his own closing paragraph: Game development is expensive and risky. It is much safer to stick with tried and true conventions rather than innovate. The author points out that many extremely vocal gamers are not helping things by rabidly (and sometimes baselessly) attacking developers who (try to) change things up. That won't encourage innovation and the progression of the medium, or games in general.

Liz; Yeah, I understand what you're saying overall, but I don't think it really invalidates my point. You're obviously a big fan of 8-bit music, but many people would say that the sound quality is terrible and the writing is gimmicky. They would be right - you simply couldn't do the kind of lush ambiences and film score-esque textures that you can with modern tools, so they had to write given the limitations. Whether that was GOOD or BAD is subjective, but the fact that the limitations forced a particular style is not. Likewise, it wasn't a choice for pen and paper RPGs to be turn-based with heavy numerical emphasis, nor was it a choice for early computer/console RPGs. I think you might benefit from reading what I actually wrote. This is something where citations aren't really necessary. The original post revolves around an article saying that new games are ditching old mechanics, and some people are complaining about this because they like the old mechanics. I'm making the point that a lot of these old mechanics only existed because they were the only option(s) available for any number of reasons, and so it makes little sense to say we shouldn't try new things when we have the ability to. My secondary point is that it's odd that people have become actually attached to old mechanics; it's akin to being attached to a password system over a battery save.

I can't give you citations, but it's self-evident from the way the games were designed. For example, FF1 uses recolored sprites and has few animations. It's also a huge game, both in terms of memory size and actual gameplay content. Given the NES' limitations it stands to reason that they were simply unable to, say, animate a ton of monsters, have a real-time battle system, AI for your party, etc. By simplifying the battle system to a turn-based, largely textual approach they could still present the entire adventure, with lots of monsters, spells and treasure, while staying within the system limitations. It's actually even MORE evident if you look at the history of RPGs before the computer gaming era. Adding numerical elements (basic score keeping, dice rolls) was necessary to quantify any kind of game, and if you read up on Wikipedia you'll see that games had used various numerical elements for centuries prior to D&D. If my army attacks your army, it's too vague to say I won - how much did I win by? What was the result? How many of your pieces/soldiers died? How can we determine who "wins" to begin with? And so on. Turn-based systems were logically a necessity for any game with numerical quantification as well. It would make no sense for a board game or pen and paper RPG to take place in real-time for a number of logistical reasons, not the least of which is the inability for humans to make all the calculations and dice rolls every second. A turn-based system neatly solves all those logistical problems. But many of those problems disappear when entering the realm of computers and consoles. So, you can look at it from the historical angle too, and STILL see that a lot of the mechanics (heavy numerical emphasis, turn-based systems) were carryovers from physical games which required those limitations. Really, I can't speak highly enough about Demon's Souls as a game that is truly elegant in integrating challenging, exciting real-time combat with rich customization while not sacrificing any depth whatsoever. When did I say no one should like it? Or anything about "should" or "shouldn't"? I just said that it was weird that so many people have become attached to mechanics that arose solely because more advanced mechanics weren't possible. I would say the same thing of chiptunes or General MIDI soundfonts from 1992, 8-bit graphics, the way people like tape or vinyl hiss, or a million other things. You said earlier that it was "important info" whether the designers were being intentionally limiting or doing so because of the system limitations, but from your perspective... why would it be? All the composers who wrote for the NES and other early systems were most definitely NOT being intentionally limiting, but that didn't stop an entire subculture from being formed around that sound.

Honestly the reason why we got into all that number-crunching to begin with was because the technology didn't exist for anything else. Turn-based, numerical battle systems were developed because it just wasn't possible to create the sort of experience that early RPG designers actually wanted the players to have. They weren't setting out to make turn-based, number-heavy RPGs because those were the most fun, but because that is all they could do for games of the scale they were imagining. 20 years later and we're still seeing games with archaic mechanics that, at the time they were developed, were essentially placeholders for something cooler. It's bizzarre that people have gotten attached to those mechanics, if you think about it.

I have to say that *overall* I agree with the original article. I hate some of these carryovers from old games that 'tax' you for no reason. Demon's Souls is a perfect example of how you can have a game with extreme difficulty (rivaling many NES games) and deep customization (rivaling many modern RPGs), but also remain highly streamlined and accessible. ME1 somehow managed to mess everything up, in my opinion. The combat was tedious and boring. The rigid class structure meant I couldn't try out different ways of playing with starting a new game entirely. The stat/inventory management was a giant pain but ultimately didn't even change the way combat played out, which for me was just basic shoot - hide - shoot - hide or occasionally "rush with shotgun." No REAL depth at all. I couldn't get through more than 4 or 5 hours of it. Before you say I'm not a hardcore gamer or whatever, again let me remind you I'm a huge fan of Demon's Souls. I've played and/or beaten most 'hardcore'/old-school RPGs like FFT, Disgaea 1 & 2, Phantom Brave, Etrian Odyssey etc., games with a huge focus on stat management. I just think ME1 messed it up. Unfortunately, it sounds like ME2 managed to mess it up even more.

Definitely. Now that I'm using Regen items, I can't imagine NOT using them. The Adj. shield and regen ring basically means I rarely have to use healing items now, and I can keep Protection up on myself pretty frequently. Beat the Dragon God too, now (I'm soul level ~52-53 or so, probably a bit over-levelled from dying so much and farming up new items.)

YES, beat Flamelurker! Soul level 44. The Regenerator Ring and Protection spells make it more manageable. Also, what I wasn't getting in earlier attempts is that I had to try to run in a circle around him (while keeping him targeted) and eat some hits from time to time. I wasn't doing that before and was trying too hard to just dodge, which meant I wasn't doing any damage. Crescent Falchion +1 and Purple Flame were my only fire res and I was OK. Edit: And then I went through 4-2, died like 6 times, but beat Old Hero on my first shot. Pretty easy fight all things considered... regen items > him. I'm close to a Meat Cleaver now - Mirdan Hammer +3 and I have the Swollen Demon Soul, I just need to farm up more Shards of Hardstone. It's really tedious. I get at most 1 per run at the Phalanx Archstone.

Just breezed through 4-1. I had ventured there a few times before to level up (on Pure Black tendency its nuts) and only died a single time throughout the whole level, counting the boss. Adjundicator is a joke, much easier than 1-2, 2-1 or 2-2. Also I didn't know the Crescent Falchion regenerated HP, and I didn't have a Regenerator Ring before. Now that I have both, I can cast spells indefinitely and last much longer... so I think I'll have an easier time with Flamelurker. Maybe. I think I'm going to go for a Meat Cleaver next. I didn't even know the boss demon souls actually did anything besides give you.. souls, so that's one thing I'm glad I checked a guide for.

No, most people here defnitely don't use laptops for music production! I strongly recommend a desktop. They're cheaper, more powerful, easier to customize and expand, and support more hardware + peripherals. Plus, unless you really love traveling, wouldn't you want all your music gear in one spot? Your keyboard, audio interface, headphones/speakers, etc.? It's such a pain to carry that stuff around, you might as well get a desktop and anchor it in one place. Anyway, Prophet will probably chime in and tell you specific components you should get - he has built computers for other people on this website, so I recommend him. But basically, in terms of features, you need a fast, quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a good sound card or audio interface. Whether you go with an internal or external card/interface is up to you but basically you can't just settle for a SoundBlaster or Audigy or whatever, it needs to be a real audio interface with the proper drivers for music production. Luckily, you don't need the latest overclocked processors, "extreme" whatever, DDR3 RAM or any other nonsense. So, the components should be nice and cheap. $1000 will buy you a powerhouse computer easily better than what I'm using right now.

Again though, why should I be forced to resort to what is essentially cheesing or glitches? That really is very poor design, and for such an amazing game, it's inexcusable. I don't want to do anything like that. It defeats the purpose of playing the game, equivalent to using cheat codes or a Game Genie or whatever. Anyway, it seems like 4-1 might be a solid bet. The skeletons, archers and mantas are all no problem for me, even the red eyes katana ones, though I haven't killed Vanguard yet.

Yes I'm using Temple Knight. My stats are similar to that but I have obviously higher Magic/Int so I can use Water veil, and lower STR/Faith. I can't use Water Veil AND Enchant weapon because my Int isn't high enough, so that's out. I'm using a Winged Spear +2. I hit him for about 115 per light attack so really damage is not the problem, the problem is that he's so aggressive, I can't get in more than a few hits at a time before I get my ass kicked from his AOE attacks, guard breaks and so on. And remember I only have the MP to Enchant Weapon 3 times, so if I don't win in 3 minutes I'm fucked. What I'm thinking is that I probably need to skip this level entirely (yeah, awesome design - this is the second time I've had to do this) and just farm around until I can get a Moon Winged Spear or some other kind of innately magical weapon. I really hate that as a melee class I've NEEDED these things to win fights. For the Armor Spider I couldn't beat it until I had Water Veil and 5 more soul levels. For this, I need a magic weapon. It's stupid. Really stupid.

But just look at the video. There are a number of occasions where the guy has no stamina and low life and the boss just doesn't hit him. He was one hit away from death so many times that I would chalk his victory up to luck. If you're melee you HAVE to eat his attacks, and just hope that after you attack him you don't get guard broken/swiped. It's bullshit. Seriously, it's one thing to have a hard boss, it's another to have a boss where you literally are forced to take damage and quaff a ton of healing items. That is poor design, IMO. As for my stats, I think I have like 21 VIT, 22 END, 22 STR. I put enough into Magic and Intelligence to be able to use a single spell (Water Veil for the spider, and Enchant Weapon for this.)

I went in with the Purple Flame Shield and a Fire Resistance ring thinking it wouldn't be a problem. No. I got my ass kicked twice in a row. The first time I (somehow) managed to get him to about 30% but I blew through ALL my healing items. After an hour of farming I tried him again (Winged Spear +2 and Enchant Weapon) and he just ripped me apart. That's one thing that I have to say really, really sucks about this game. Melee blows ass. I started a Royalty character for fun and went through the entire first stage without dying once and generally just beating the hell out of everything with Soul Arrow. Is this a joke? Even if you get close to Flamelurker, I can only get a couple of hits off - at most - and I have to preserve most of my stamina in case he catches me with his attacks. He has such major AOE that I often get hit even if I was BEHIND him. Furthermore Enchant Weapon only lasts 60 seconds so at most I get like 5-6 attacks out of it before I have to recast, and I can only cast it 3 times total. The first time I fought him, I had nothing left by the time he was 30% and just took it up the ass for the remainder. I've been to his area four times now and while I helped someone else kill him (who looked like he had way better gear than me) I've never been able to summon anyone else. Fuck Flamelurker. Soul level 41 and I can't touch him.