DarkeSword

tonight

tonight

Round 2 match-ups are up.

We have a logo.

Sigs are coming soon. They'll be customized down to the squad, not the remixer.

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, I've adjusted the schedule for the competition a little bit. I've added two Breaks to the competition, each occurring after a Boss Battle round. In the last compo I ran, the SFRG, some competitors expressed some fatigue at going full bore for the 9 weeks of the competition. Also, certain mechanics of the competition depend on the outcome of the boss battles, so we can't actually push forward with the competition until voting is complete. During the week-long breaks, I think it would be good for people to revisit tracks from the previous four rounds and do some reviews and give constructive feedback, especially for tracks on from opposing teams.

Folks, I've adjusted the schedule for the competition a little bit. I've added two Breaks to the competition, each occurring after a Boss Battle round. In the last compo I ran, the SFRG, some competitors expressed some fatigue at going full bore for the 9 weeks of the competition. Also, certain mechanics of the competition depend on the outcome of the boss battles, so we can't actually push forward with the competition until voting is complete. During the week-long breaks, I think it would be good for people to revisit tracks from the previous four rounds and do some reviews and give constructive feedback, especially for tracks on from opposing teams.

We have a logo.

Sigs are coming soon. They'll be customized down to the squad, not the remixer.

We have a logo.

Sigs are coming soon. They'll be customized down to the squad, not the remixer.

Fully agree with DS and Gario on this. Definitely the form; it helps a lot if you just pick A as your first source, B as your second source. And of course you can just use a part of that source's melody, no need to do the full line. My Megaman track "Never Gonna Give (Up The Funk)" is a good example of that; it uses a part of Cyber Maze Core for A in the verse, another part for the bridge, a part of Gravity Beetle for the chorus, and another part of Cyber Maze Core for the solo. You can even get away with playing the 2 leads at the same time frequently.
For me, having a loose idea about form and some 8/16 bar blocks that have the source material in it so I can shove them around in my DAW is a great idea to crystallize that form. Those can be pretty basic blocks, with just some drums, bass and snippets of the leads of both the sources. It's a great way to mix and match the sources and try out ideas because you quickly get a feel for what flows well and what doesn't.
A variation of Gario's rhythm and beat patterns is that you can frequently re-use an arp, a bassline or some short melodic figures quite easily. Especially if you have some of those basic blocks, it can be a quick way to fill our your arrangement more and to include more reference to the source.
Oh, and for the folks that worry about music theory because of all the scales, intervals, tonics mentioned: I don't know a lot of music theory, but I've learned to trust my ears and feeling and my taste. If the theoretical and technical side of things is not your strongest suit, don't forget that you have team mates to bounce your ideas off and get quick feedback. Just trust yourself and let your team mates help you out in the things you're still learning. And yes, how to combine sources can definitely be one of those things. I'm more than happy to help out my team mates with this at least

On an interesting aside, Darkesword is right, first and foremost: if you merge sources, think not about absolute pitch (e.g. What notes are being played), but more about relative pitch (e.g. what scale degrees are being played). I'm glad he pointed that out, as it can help make the intimidating process of merging sources far more manageable.
As someone who wants really great music to come from this, I can give just a few more ideas on how to handle your sources:
Give a precursory thought about form. There's no need to get into too much detail, or give more than a minute of thought on it, but if you have some idea that you're going to make a short ABA track it can help generate ideas when you'll use what source, which alleviates writer's block. A nice trick I personally use, for example, is using sonata form when mixing four or more sources at once (such as my older track 'Magnus Divinicus Chiptunicus'); AB C AB (that's Sonata form: Exposition 'AB', Development 'C', Recapitulation 'AB') gives you a lot of room to use very different ideas while still having a cohesive sounding piece. That's a personal trick of mine, but you can use many more established forms to keep your track from becoming two sources stacked next to each other. For people who are not used to mixing sources together, this will help keep you on track.
Shape ("Contour") is more important than getting the exact intervals correct. Rarely can you get a theme to match with another sources harmonies without changing some of the intervals notably, so don't be afraid to change the size of the intervals for important themes if it helps harmonize it better with whatever music you have underlying it. As long as you don't change the shape of the theme, it will still be recognizable.
Rhythm and beat pattern is a powerful motive in its own right. If a source has an iconic beat pattern (say, MM2 Wily 1's famous '2 gallop + three 8th note' pattern), people will make the connection between the sources no matter what notes or shapes you make with them. As far as submittable material it'll give you a funny look on the panel claiming it as source, but using rhythms as compositional glue to keep it grounded in more original sections can really help make something sound cohesive.
There are all sorts of smaller tricks to the trade, here, but these should help on a more general level. I'm hoping this turns out to be a great compo, with lots of solid music and growth for people here.

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Folks, here's some advice related to combining two sources together that I wrote in a different thread.
 

Gentlemen, match-ups for Round 1 have been posted. Check the first post of this thread for information. Good luck, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Introduction
Past and future collide as two factions clash in the greatest musical battle the world has ever seen. Armored heroes meet metal warriors on the battlefield of wailing guitars, dirty drops, and soaring strings. Get ready, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Robots vs. Knights!
Current News
MUSIC FOR THE FINAL BATTLE IS UP! Round 9: One vs. One Final Battle
Team Robot           Team Knight Squad Artist Source vs Source Artist Squad Rush Squad Gario Ballade vs Wandering Travelers JohnStacy Armor Squad Rush Squad Starpheonix Enker vs Shield Knight GCJ Armor Squad Rush Squad Thirdkoopa Mercury vs Shovel Knight Jorito Relic Squad Tango Squad Chiwalker Uranus vs Polar Knight theshaggyfreak Shovel Squad Tango Squad Yami Pluto vs Plague Knight akalink Armor Squad Tango Squad Ronald Poe Mars vs Propeller Knight Anorax Shovel Squad Beat Squad Trism Saturn vs Spectre Knight PlanarianHugger Shovel Squad Beat Squad Xenonetix Punk vs King Knight Dewey Newt Relic Squad Beat Squad MegaDrive Venus vs Mole Knight Arrow Relic Squad Remixes are due Sunday, June 18th at 9 PM EDT.
All competitors will compose and produce remixes that combine both sources into one, cohesive piece of music. Collaboration with teammates is allowed, but the primary artists should be the competitors listed in the table above. All competitors are encouraged (but not required) to share WIPs with teammates in order to get constructive feedback. Good luck and happy mixing.
A lot of team discussion is happening on the OC ReMix Discord, be sure to make yourselves available.
As always, all participants (competitors and voters) are expected to adhere to the Competitions Code of Conduct.
Scoreboard
Battle Team Knight Team Robot Ballade vs Shovel Knight 2 0 Uranus vs Propeller Knight 0 2 Saturn vs Plague Knight 2 0 Enker vs Polar Knight 0 2 Pluto vs King Knight 0 2 Punk vs Shield Knight 2 0 Mercury vs Spectre Knight 0 2 Mars vs Mole Knight 0 0 Venus vs Wandering Travelers 0 2 Boss Battle vs Tinker Knight 0 9 Total 6 19 Teams
Team Knight
Artist Source Squad Anorax Propeller Knight Shovel Squad theshaggyfreak Polar Knight Shovel Squad PlanarianHugger Spectre Knight Shovel Squad akalink Plague Knight Armor Squad GCJ Shield Knight Armor Squad JohnStacy Wandering Travelers Armor Squad Jorito Shovel Knight Relic Squad Dewey Newt King Knight Relic Squad Arrow Mole Knight Relic Squad Team Robot
Artist Source Squad Gario Ballade Rush Squad Starpheonix Enker Rush Squad Thirdkoopa Mercury Rush Squad Chiwalker Uranus Tango Squad Yami Pluto Tango Squad Ronald Poe Mars Tango Squad Trism Saturn Beat Squad Xenonetix Punk Beat Squad MegaDrive Venus Beat Squad Releases
Round 1: Squad vs. Squad Block 1 Round 2: Squad vs. Squad Block 1 Round 3: Squad vs. Squad Block 1 Round 4: Boss Battle 1 Rounds 5-8: Block 2 Round 9: One vs. One Final Battle About
Robots vs. Knights (RvK) is a Team vs. Team competition. It’s a new format that I’ve been developing for a couple of months now, combining elements of the head-to-head battles of the Remix Battle tournaments (GRMRB, etc.) with the teamwork aspect of Gauntlet tournaments (WCRG, etc.). Here’s the full breakdown of how it’s going to work.
Sign-ups 18 people sign up. I’ll divide everyone into 2 teams of 9. I’ll be assigning people to their respective teams in order to ensure a balanced competition. Each team will be given a pool of sources to select from. Team members will decide how to assign sources themselves. I won’t be running a draft. Team Robots will be given a selection of sources from the Mega Man Game Boy games. Team Knights will be given a selection of sources from Shovel Knight. Each team will form 3 squads of 3 members each. The squad will be your group that you’ll rotate with throughout the competition, similar to the teams from gauntlet competitions. Squad-vs-Squad Battle 1 The first 3 rounds are squad-vs-squad battles. Each squad will decide their remixing order for the first three rounds and provide that to me. Each round, I’ll post 3 match-ups between squads on opposing teams. Each squad’s artist will submit a remix that uses their selected source and the opposing squad’s selected source. At the end of each round, artists send their remixes to me, I’ll put the tracks up, and people will vote. Each victory will earn points for the team. Boss Battle 1 The 4th round is a boss battle. I’ll post a boss theme source. All 6 squads will submit a remix that combines the boss theme with one of the squad’s sources. Any member of the squad can be the primary artist. The primary artist is not required to use their own personal source; they can use any of their squad’s 3 sources. At the end of the round, voters will select their 3 favorite remixes, unranked. The team that has the most selections at the end of the voting period will choose between two rewards: a chunk of points, or the right to counterpick in the next block of squad-vs-squad battles. Break 1 While votes are being collected for Boss Battle 1, we will take a week-long break, using the time to review remixes from past rounds. Squad-vs-Squad Battle 2 The next 3 rounds are squad-vs-squad battles. If a team has the right to counterpick, they’ll be provided the opposing team’s remixing orders first before determining their remixing orders. I will still determine the actual match-ups based on the updated remixing orders. The 3 rounds of squad-vs-squad battles are conducted as before. Boss Battle 2 The 8th round is another boss battle, conducted in the same way as the previous boss battle round. Break 2 While votes are being collected for Boss Battle 2, we will take a week-long break, using the time to review remixes from past rounds. One-vs-One Battle The 9th and final round is comprised of 9 one-on-one battles. If a team has earned the right to counterpick from the previous round, they’ll be allowed to determine the 9 match-ups; rematches of previous battles from the squad-vs-squad blocks are not allowed. If no team has counterpick, I’ll determine the match-ups. Each artist will be responsible for writing a remix that uses their selected source and their opponent’s source. At the end of the round, remixes will be submitted and voted on. The team with the most victories will earn a large chunk of points. The team with the most points at the end of the competition wins. Submissions and File Name Rules
Submission
All entries must be sent to me (DarkeSword) via PM on the forums. Please include your team name, squad name, and the round number in the subject line of your PM. I encode all MP3s myself, so please send me your submissions in 16bit, 44.1KHz WAV format. Don’t send MP3s.
Please do not use MediaFire, RapidShare, or any other ad-ridden public sharing site as a host for your entry. There are many better options you can and should be using to host your music. I recommend Dropbox or SoundCloud. Make sure your files are downloadable.
File Names
If you worked on the remix without the help of your teammates:
Team Robots - DarkeSword - Be Cool, Man (Ice Man vs. Polar Knight).wav If one team member helps you with your entry in a significant way and you want to give them credit, add their name as follows:
Team Robots - DarkeSword feat. Neblix - Be Cool, Man (Ice Man vs. Polar Knight).wav If more than one team members help you with your entry in a significant way and you want to give them credit, add their names as follows:
Team Robots - DarkeSword feat. Neblix, Liontamer - Be Cool, Man (Ice Man vs. Polar Knight).wav Notes
Make sure you’re using proper capitalization for team names and character names. Put spaces on both sides of the hyphens between Team Name, Artist, and Title. If your remix’s title has special punctuation that you can’t include in the file name (e.g. \ / : \* ? " < > |), please let me know in your submission PM so I can include the correct title in the tags. Please follow the file name format exactly; I use the file names to make sure that all the metadata is correct when I tag the MP3s. It’s a massive pain sitting there renaming, re-spacing, and reformatting so that everything works properly with mp3tag’s file-name-to-tag tools, and ultimately it means that when you all do it right, I can get the music up for voting way faster.
Voting Rules and Guidelines
Voting is conducted publicly in the Public Voting forum. Every week, a thread will be created for the most recently completed round of remixing. Because RvK has two different types of rounds (squad-vs-squad and boss battle), please make sure you read and follow the instructions in the voting thread.
Things to keep in mind when voting:
The most important thing to consider when voting is how well the remix incorporates and arranges both themes. Production and enjoyability should also be considered, but this is primarily an arrangement competition. Everyone is allowed (and encouraged) to vote, including competitors. Everyone must adhere to the Competitions Code of Conduct. FAQ
This is pretty interesting, but why are you doing this instead of just another Tournament or Gauntlet?
The philosophy behind RvK is to create an environment where more artists will be working together to help and learn from each other. I want to tap into the spirit of teamwork and collaboration in a bigger way this tournament. Rather than just having two friends working on tracks with you week to week, you’ll have eight other teammates that you can use as resources.
What do you mean by resources?
In the past, I’ve tried to limit the amount of collaboration allowed in competitions because I wanted to make sure that people were putting forth a concerted effort to grow as artists on their own. While we’ll still be adhering to the idea of a Primary Artist for each remix in RvK, some of the limitations will be relaxed. Artists will be able to get help from all 8 of their teammates. This includes production help, session instruments, and arrangement feedback. The Primary Artist will still be responsible for the bulk of the work that goes into a remix, but they’ll have a lot more help in getting that remix polished up.
How many remixes do I have to write?
You will be responsible for at least 3 remixes: 2 remixes from the squad-vs-squad battles, and 1 remix in the final battle. You may also be responsible for any of the boss battle remixes, but that will be up to your team.
Why can’t we choose our own teams?
I’m going to determine the teams based on skill level in order to ensure fairness across the board. I want both teams to have a healthy balance between novices and veterans.
Do we get to pick team names or squad names?
No. The two teams will be known as Team Robots and Team Knights. I will also be setting the squad names which will be revealed once we get the competition started.
I really want to be on Team Robots/Team Knights! Can you put me on that team?
I’ll consider your preference but I can’t guarantee anything.
Notes
Stardroid sprites used in Team Robot sigs were colorized by onyx801.

I'll see if I can put together some team banners. I'm still working out the look of the competition.

I'll see if I can put together some team banners. I'm still working out the look of the competition.

Your dedication to good metadata makes me cry tears of joy.

This thread is a general Q&A/detail thread for Final Fantasy V - The Fabled Warriors, OCR’s FF5 album series.
About
There are 5 albums in The Fabled Warriors: WIND, WATER, FIRE, EARTH, and DAWN. Each album is comprised of arrangements written as character themes of important characters in the game and the job classes made available by the respective crystals. The fifth album doesn’t correspond to a crystal, as there is no “Dawn” crystal in the game; instead it covers the additional job classes available in the Gameboy Advance re-release.
Schedule
WIND was released in September 2010. WATER was released in May 2016. FIRE is targeted for 2018. This is not a release date or a promise, just a goal. EARTH, and DAWN have no target dates. Tracklist
Character Description Source Style Artist(s) Faris The reckless and courageous pirate captain. Pirates Ahoy!   open Gilgamesh The eight-armed sword hunter. Battle on the Big Bridge An eight-member rock super-group called “The Eight Arms of Gilgamesh” collaborating to create a denser, more varied take on the source. Sixto Sounds, hakstok, OA Beastmaster “Trainers whose open hearts and strong wills allow them to capture and control enemy monsters.”   aggressive Sir_NutS Geomancer “Harnessing the power of their surroundings, they easily avoid pits and floors with damaging effects.” Cursed Earth heavy and rhythmic anosou Ninja “Stealthy fighters who excel at surprising enemies and can wield two weapons at once.” Intention of the Earth fast and mysterious OA Bard “Musicians whose dulcet tones soothe savage beasts…or kill them.”   melodic and lyrical RiverSound Ranger “Nature-loving archers who can call on local wildlife for aid.”   adventurous open The Prelude The classic prelude theme from all Final Fantasy games. The Prelude relaxing DarkeSword Signups are open. The Fabled Warriors runs on an audition-enrollment system. To sign up for a track, please provide a sample of your work that illustrates you’re able to compose and produce in the style required.
If you have a Final Fantasy V remix you’re already working on and want me to put on the project, chances are I won’t take it. The Fabled Warriors has a very specific concept, and I’m not looking for music that wasn’t written without the concept in mind. That said, I still encourage you to submit your remix to OCR, because there is always room for more FF5 remixes, whether they are on the project or not.
Feel free to ask any questions you have about the project.

This thread is a general Q&A/detail thread for Final Fantasy V - The Fabled Warriors, OCR’s FF5 album series.
About
There are 5 albums in The Fabled Warriors: WIND, WATER, FIRE, EARTH, and DAWN. Each album is comprised of arrangements written as character themes of important characters in the game and the job classes made available by the respective crystals. The fifth album doesn’t correspond to a crystal, as there is no “Dawn” crystal in the game; instead it covers the additional job classes available in the Gameboy Advance re-release.
Schedule
WIND was released in September 2010. WATER was released in May 2016. FIRE is targeted for 2018. This is not a release date or a promise, just a goal. EARTH, and DAWN have no target dates. Tracklist
Character Description Source Style Artist(s) Faris The reckless and courageous pirate captain. Pirates Ahoy!   open Gilgamesh The eight-armed sword hunter. Battle on the Big Bridge An eight-member rock super-group called “The Eight Arms of Gilgamesh” collaborating to create a denser, more varied take on the source. Sixto Sounds, hakstok, OA Beastmaster “Trainers whose open hearts and strong wills allow them to capture and control enemy monsters.”   aggressive Sir_NutS Geomancer “Harnessing the power of their surroundings, they easily avoid pits and floors with damaging effects.” Cursed Earth heavy and rhythmic anosou Ninja “Stealthy fighters who excel at surprising enemies and can wield two weapons at once.” Intention of the Earth fast and mysterious OA Bard “Musicians whose dulcet tones soothe savage beasts…or kill them.”   melodic and lyrical RiverSound Ranger “Nature-loving archers who can call on local wildlife for aid.”   adventurous open The Prelude The classic prelude theme from all Final Fantasy games. The Prelude relaxing DarkeSword Signups are open. The Fabled Warriors runs on an audition-enrollment system. To sign up for a track, please provide a sample of your work that illustrates you’re able to compose and produce in the style required.
If you have a Final Fantasy V remix you’re already working on and want me to put on the project, chances are I won’t take it. The Fabled Warriors has a very specific concept, and I’m not looking for music that wasn’t written without the concept in mind. That said, I still encourage you to submit your remix to OCR, because there is always room for more FF5 remixes, whether they are on the project or not.
Feel free to ask any questions you have about the project.