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Everything posted by DarkeSword
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Alright here's the thing. The biggest (and basically only) issue for me with this submission is that it's a 10 and a half minute medley of songs from MM2. Your arrangements are conservative but expansive enough, and the performance and production is killer, but overall, the piece isn't cohesive. My suggestion to you would be to split this up into a couple of mixes. Your Air Man, Bubble Man, Crash Man, and Wily sections could all stand by themselves as individual pieces and I feel like this would work out better in the long run. Right now the only thing the medley says to me is "HEY REMEMBER THAT GAME MEGAMAN 2? HERE ARE SOME SONGS FROM IT!" The novelty of hearing a bunch of songs from a video game has long worn off for me, IMO; I'd rather hear some strong, cohesive individual pieces. NO, resub as many mixes
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*NO* Phantasy Star 4 'Inert (Will to Move)'
DarkeSword replied to DragonAvenger's topic in Judges Decisions
I must be the only one not hearing the rhythm issues here. I mean it sounds loose rhythmically, but I feel like that's really part of the charm. The arrangement and sound design in this piece is fantastic, IMO. I really love that big string sound and those really expansive pads. Gorgeous. Reminds me a bit of Enigma at points. YES -
*NO* Final Fantasy 'Requiem for a Dying World' *RESUB*
DarkeSword replied to Emunator's topic in Judges Decisions
I too laughed. WHEN YOU GET CAUGHT BETWEEN THE WORLD AND NEW YORK CIIIIIIITY~Really rocks out a lot. Violin gets kind of fakey/thin but it's serviceable until around 2:40 when it gets lost in the rhythm guitars. :\ Xylophone/mallet percussion around 1:48 is a really weird choice for a rock tune; makes the whole thing sound plinky. I agree with other crits Js have made about strings and part-writing issues. I did like the vox sample though. Needs a little work. NO -
OCR02971 - *YES* Super Mario 64 'Prog Mario'
DarkeSword replied to Liontamer's topic in Judges Decisions
Really creative arrangement. I'm a sucker for irregular and compound time signatures. A great way of expanding a pretty basic source tune. I don't think the supposed production issues are really a dealbreaker like the other judges do; sounds great to me. YES -
OCR02649 - *YES* Mega Man 2 & 6 'The Root of All Things'
DarkeSword replied to DragonAvenger's topic in Judges Decisions
Weird note choices at :55. Bell is kind of piercing. The soundscape has a really "fakey" feel to it. Those pan-flutes are not a great sample. It works though; good arrangement. Nice energy. I think it's fine. YES -
Done done done.
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Are you sure you want the underscore? Spaces are allowed in usernames.
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Done and done.
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Dawn is my favorite track from Einhander (after Thermosphere). I've listened to it at least a million times. I agree with Deia and Andrew; this needs a lot more personalization. It sounds more like an extended mix of the game track than a remix with your own ideas added. I could see this in an Einhander remake; it's that similar. Try to personalize a bit more; be more daring with your sound design and choices. This kind of meticulous re-creation of the source indicates a lot of talent on your part, but it's not quite what we're looking for on OC ReMix. NO, resub
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OCR02638 - *YES* Mega Man 4 'Foiling Dr. Wily'
DarkeSword replied to OceansAndrew's topic in Judges Decisions
There's a really wicked energy in this piece that I dig. Chip stuff is solid with the right amount of effects. Great treatment of the source; I agree with halc, the chorus is hot. Non-chip synths are really hot too. Solid stuff, Doctor. YES -
OCR02583 - *YES* Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Marblelous Garden'
DarkeSword replied to Liontamer's topic in Judges Decisions
Pretty conservative but very organic feel. My first thought when this mix started was "wow, great percussion." The sparseness of the soundscape feels appropriate here. Very intimate sound, great performances all around. Extremely tight playing and fantastic interplay between the parts. Incredible. YES -
*NO* Street Fighter Alpha 2 'A$$ Woo Ping'
DarkeSword replied to OceansAndrew's topic in Judges Decisions
Sticking with the NO voters here. Sweet effects and production, but I think the source needs to be more prominent. Not much else to say. NO, resub -
Congrats to our newest judge, WillRock!
DarkeSword replied to DragonAvenger's topic in General Discussion
caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake -
Well that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that when you're voting, use the criteria that the competition lays out. Example: in the versus style tournaments, one of the biggest criteria is, "How well does this piece incorporate BOTH themes?" An entry can have good arrangement, production, instrumentation, etc., but really only use one of the themes. That's important to consider when voting. Also a competition can be set up when the PRIMARY criteria is just arrangement. Maybe it's an arrangement competition and the runner doesn't care as much about production. Voters should respect that and tailor their votes accordingly. I mean, look, the criteria could very well just be, "Pick the song you like the most." In that case, genre preferences are just fine. How else would you pick what you like the most? That rule is not really about eliminating genre-bias, but making sure that voters understand and take into account what the competition is really about.
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Previous FF6 Kickstarter *cancelled* BUT new one in the works!!
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Announcements
I think you shouldn't make assumptions about SE's intentions. Outrage isn't really going to accomplish anything. -
Your sig is too tall. The height limit for graphics in your sig is 250px. Please resize accordingly.
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Hi everyone. In the past couple of years, competitions have gotten kind of a shot in the arm here at OCR. With the advent of the tournament style competitions like GRMRB and WCRG, more and more people are taking part as remixers and voters. Because competitions obviously get people really fired up, there have been some issues having to do with fairness and sportsmanship that I and other competition organizers feel need to be addressed. I want to lay out a couple of basic guidelines that people should be following when participating in our competitions and tournaments as runners, competitors, or voters. Competitors As competitors, we should always remember that while winning is awesome, our competitions are more about making great music, improving as an artist, and to a certain extent, helping each other improve as well. To that end, here are some guidelines and rules to follow: Don’t fixate on voting patterns and behaviors. If people aren’t voting for your entry, that’s their decision. Don’t criticize voters because you disagree with how they are voting. It’s not your job to make sure people are voting “the right way.” Don’t campaign for votes or instigate vote-stacking/ballot-stuffing. Your entry to a competition should be all you need to garner votes. Don’t use your social media accounts to tell people to vote for you, and don’t contact people in private to make a case for your entry. On the flip side, do encourage people to visit OCR, listen to entries, and make their own decisions about the entries they want to vote for. Don’t badmouth or belittle your opponents. Good-natured ribbing and light trash talk can be a fun part of any competition, but avoid making snide remarks and acting indignant when things don’t go your way. This includes making comments about whether or not a remixer is posted to OCR or not. Competitions are for people of all skill levels. Respect the decisions of the competition runners. When you sign up for a competition, you’re agreeing to abide by the rules the runner lays out. It’s okay to bring up issues if you think they’re affecting fairness, but the runner always makes the final call. If there’s a really serious issue with how a competition is being run, we can look at it and take appropriate steps to rectify the situation. Voters Most competitions on OCR use some kind of voting system to determine winners, so they end up depending on a lot of people to vote. Voters also have a couple of things they need to keep in mind when participating. Follow the voting guidelines laid out by the competition runner. Most competitions will tell you what to consider when making your vote (things like arrangement value, production, etc.). As a voter, you should try to adhere to that, rather than just picking what you like for your own personal reasons (e.g. “I like rock music better than techno so I’m picking this one”). Don’t campaign for votes on a contestant’s behalf. Make your own vote and encourage people to visit OCR and make their own decisions. Runners If you want to run a competition, here are a few guidelines to follow: Have a clear, unique concept. This can be anything from focusing on a game series, requiring collaborations, combining source tunes, or doing original music. Competitions cannot, however, be thinly veiled requests, so avoid doing things like “make me a couple of remixes from this game, and I’ll choose the best one.” Stick to your concept. For example, if you’re doing a collaboration competition, you shouldn’t allow solo remixes just because a person couldn’t find a partner. If you’re doing a Mega Man tournament, you shouldn’t allow Castlevania remixes just because you like music from that series. You created a concept that people are buying into; don’t throw that away. Think hard about your format. Some competitions work better as weekly or monthly events, whereas others work better as tournaments or longer events; tournaments generally require a lot more commitment from people too. Don’t over-complicate things. Especially with tournaments, there’s a real danger of trying too hard to make things really elaborate. Keep things straightforward. Have a clear schedule, but be flexible. Weekly competitions are easier to manage, but longer tournaments can get crazy. Competitions are more fun when people are able to participate, so try to be accommodating. Generally speaking, don’t restrict anyone from entering your competition; competitions should be open to all people of any skill level. Restriction should only occur in cases where a person has repeatedly violated the Code of Conduct. For competitions that use voting, be clear to voters about the criteria you want them to use when evaluating entries. Minimize drama. Competitions are for fun, not for people to get angry with each other. If you see people behaving in an unsportsmanlike way or violating the Code of Conduct, call them out and put an end to it. If you need help keeping people in line, ask a moderator to step in. Most importantly: be fair, but firm. If you have an issue (deadline extension, suspicion of vote-stacking, etc.), get the people affected involved. Consider all sides of the issue before making a decision; if you’re having trouble, catch me on Discordand I can help you.
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The Dark Knight Rises - POTENTIAL SPOILERS
DarkeSword replied to Ethan Rex's topic in General Discussion
Editorial generally keeps a tight rein on what writers can and cannot redefine in comic books. Batman in particular has been following a pretty consistent line of development for a couple of years now. -
The Dark Knight Rises - POTENTIAL SPOILERS
DarkeSword replied to Ethan Rex's topic in General Discussion
Because it's Nolan's version of the Lazarus Pit. Nolan's Batman universe doesn't contain any elements of the supernatural (like Ra's constant resurrections), so he takes the concept of the Lazarus Pit, which has always been associated with Ra's al Ghul, and spins it into something more real. The movie never calls it the Lazarus Pit, but when you have a knowledge of Batman lore, it makes perfect sense. -
The Dark Knight Rises - POTENTIAL SPOILERS
DarkeSword replied to Ethan Rex's topic in General Discussion
They, as in the filmmakers, or he, as in Bane? Are you really mad at the bad guy for lying to you? He's the bad guy. Of course he lied about him being born in the Lazarus Pit. Everyone thought he was the child from the Lazarus Pit because that's the myth he himself perpetuated. Are you angry that he, the villain of the story, wasn't honest with you, the audience? That he didn't spoil the misdirection at the very start? Don't be ridiculous. -
Send me a sample of your work.
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Previous FF6 Kickstarter *cancelled* BUT new one in the works!!
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Announcements
Folks, let's try to avoid speculation and just wait until djpretzel has something to tell us.