Sir_NutS

I'll probably give this a shot, I need to think about what songs could be interesting to remix.

Hey guys,
I've been working on a game for the last 2 years and we're in need of at least one more composer. Before I lose your interest, you can check out a video of the game in action at the link below:
If I had to quickly sum things up, I'd say it's like...
-a virtual world come to life, with a character driven story
-entirely hand drawn 2D animation
-gameplay that evokes platformers like Mega Man Zero and Kirby Superstar...
-but also fighting games like SF: Third Strike, Marvel 3, and Guilty Gear.
-with a heavy emphasis on a team of playable characters that are entirely unique from one another.
If you'd like to learn a bit more about the story and characters, you can check out my patreon over here: https://www.patreon.com/hybridmink?ty=h
----------------------------------------------------
You might notice the music in the background of the video above. It was composed by Rozen, who's on board for composing some of the more epic and dramatic pieces in the game. We're also working with the Cynic Project who's posted a couple mixes on OCR before. He's handling the more electronic and trance pieces.
However, at least half of Rudra's music needs to rock. Something along the lines of Mega Man and Sonic with some punk and metal mixed in. After speaking with both artists, we decided that we basically need a guitarist.
While I definitely have some people in mind, I've found over the past couple years that it's better to reach out to a community that I love and actually find people that really want to work with you. So I of course turn to OCR, the site that's provided a substantial chunk of my music collection for the past 15 years. If you are interested at all, please let me know by replying in this thread or simply emailing me at:
hybridmink (at) gmail (dot) com
I'd love to talk to anyone interested, though I'd just ask that you provide a couple examples of your previous work. Full disclosure, we are planning on having a kickstarter in August. The goal is to have at least one more track (on top of what Rozen and Cynic Alex are working on) ready for the trailer. Thanks for reading this far and I hope to hear from you soon! If you have any questions about the game, characters, or scope, don't hesitate to ask.
-Nick

I'll probably give this a shot, I need to think about what songs could be interesting to remix.

Yeah, SRD was an alias I used for a while to try different styles without people telling me to "go back to trance".  It got a little out of hand after a while, and when I joined the staff I felt it was wrong to keep the ruse going any longer.

Just in case anyone wonders, I didn't use SRD to circunvent PRC rules, I was participating regularly as both srd and sn, but I never selected a song for the other alias to remix if I won a round.  I simply skipped the next round if I ever won.  After a while, stuff I was doing as srd seeped into sn so it was really pointless since both were very close in style by the end.  Sorry for the shenanigans, but srd did help me broaden my styles to the point where I'm not the trance guy anymore.

I'll probably give this a shot, I need to think about what songs could be interesting to remix.

Yeah, SRD was an alias I used for a while to try different styles without people telling me to "go back to trance".  It got a little out of hand after a while, and when I joined the staff I felt it was wrong to keep the ruse going any longer.

Just in case anyone wonders, I didn't use SRD to circunvent PRC rules, I was participating regularly as both srd and sn, but I never selected a song for the other alias to remix if I won a round.  I simply skipped the next round if I ever won.  After a while, stuff I was doing as srd seeped into sn so it was really pointless since both were very close in style by the end.  Sorry for the shenanigans, but srd did help me broaden my styles to the point where I'm not the trance guy anymore.

Yeah, SRD was an alias I used for a while to try different styles without people telling me to "go back to trance".  It got a little out of hand after a while, and when I joined the staff I felt it was wrong to keep the ruse going any longer.

Just in case anyone wonders, I didn't use SRD to circunvent PRC rules, I was participating regularly as both srd and sn, but I never selected a song for the other alias to remix if I won a round.  I simply skipped the next round if I ever won.  After a while, stuff I was doing as srd seeped into sn so it was really pointless since both were very close in style by the end.  Sorry for the shenanigans, but srd did help me broaden my styles to the point where I'm not the trance guy anymore.

I'll probably give this a shot, I need to think about what songs could be interesting to remix.

Now that we've switched over to Invision for our forum software, we're going to start making more use of the tools it provides.
One thing that I've always wanted to have for competitions was a calendar on the site where we can list relevant competition dates. Invision has a pretty great calendar application, so I've set one up.
http://ocremix.org/community/calendar/2-competitions/
If you're a competition runner, you can now add your event dates (such as start and stop date/times for mixing and voting stages, due dates, etc.) to the calendar. Right now I have it set up so that any event submitted to the competitions calendar requires a moderator approval. I'll be checking my moderator control panel regularly for stuff to approve, but if you don't see your event pop up after about a day, contact me and I'll see what I can do.
We might eventually put together a user group of the regular competition runners that can bypass moderation, but since this is new I want to keep an eye on things so that it doesn't get crazy.
If you have any questions, let me know.

First, source amount seems enough, the original is recognizable here.  I have a few issues with this track that put it below the bar, mixing and structure.  The drums are powerful, well spaced in the stereo spectrum, and interestingly programmed, however they are too loud, taking way too much attention from the overall mix.  The overall ambiance feels muddied because it's too drowned in reverb, which is affecting the low end quite a bit, and the low end is quite busy already.  The instrument quality is not bad overall, and could work but needs better humanization.  Most of the instruments feel very static and unnatural.  I'm not a fan of the percussion element that appears at 1:19 and on.  It's very distracting and doesn't fit very well with the rest of the percussion, and it doesn't fit where it appears later on either.   Second is structure.  Lead melodies take the backstage to percussion elements and arpeggiated staccato strings.  Segments such as 1:20 should feel like a climax but they don't.  Transitions are often abrupt and lack much needed buildup in energy towards a main section (2:25 as a good example).  I also think that the section after 3:03 feels a bit unnecessary.  The build up to this moment was great, and would've made for a perfect ending where you trail off the bass and maybe a final note in your choir instrument, but I don't see the point in extending the song for this section.  Although I think structure could be better, it's not enough for me to reject this.  But what definitely needs improvement are the transitions.

I think most of the problems in this track stem from the mix.  Try to make the instruments stand out more and reduce the drums.  They are very cool, it's true, but you also want the arrangement to shine.  Work on having more clarity in your sections.  Perhaps a choir alone isn't ideal to carry the lead melody, try a single instrument and let the choir help it along.  Work on your transitions, try to make your climaxes/choruses stronger than your bridges and verses. 

For now I have to say NO, but this track could work with a balanced mix and some small improvements in the transitions and structure.

Great arrangement here - solid, nice changes in pace and emotion. No problems. I also think you've done well with your mixing, everything has a decent amount of separation and space.
As for instrument quality I can see where the others are having problems. I'm not an orchestral expert in any way, but some parts to me felt like they had a MIDI feel to them in the way notes transitioned from one part to the next. The attacks of some notes also felt abrupt compared to how hand played instruments normally sound.
I'm not sure how much this is attributed to your sequencing or the overall quality of your samples, especially for things like your brass. I do acknowledge however, that we do not require artists to use expensive sample packs, quite the opposite - we fully support those who have to make do with cheaper packs or even free sounds. The problem you face is, the lesser the quality of your samples, the more work you have to do by hand in the sequencer to make things feel realistic, especially if you're wanting to go full orchestral.
Tough one because I don't feel I can penalise you on sample quality alone, but I feel there is space here for some sequencing improvement to bring more of an humanised element to the mix. By all means however, if you're got some alternative sample packs there, experiment with them to see if they give this more life.
NO

I really enjoyed listening to this, even though it felt a bit long, it was powerful and with plenty of interpretation, I love tracks that focus on bringing out new things via arrangement.  Nice Work.

Does sex count?
 
More seriously, games like Europa Universalis get better and better the more you play them. At first, I was really bad but learned a lot and got to appreciate all the aspects the game has to offer. And now I'm just okay at it.

Ouch, those levels.  Right off the bat the arpeggio is very resonant around 1.5khz , you may want to make it less peaky.  It's not only the arpeggios as throughout the mix it was a very common ocurrence to hear nasty peaks around the mid-highs.  The overall mix feels too loud and overcompressed, to the point where I noticed some distortion going in the last busy section before the end,  The pads need to be eq'd separately from the bass as they're obscuring it in the busy sections.
I liked the arrangement though.  Transitions weren't that great but I liked the feel and energy of the track, little details like the bending synth in the break around 2:20 gave this a lot more personality. The piano chords in the background helped give it a darker feel than the original and I liked that you tried to infuse some more melodic content into the track than what was in the original.

This is a good start but the production issues are glaring and need fixing.

NO (Resubmit)

Great and clean production.  Listening now, I think the track could've used a higher tempo, but it's got plenty of energy as it is.  The transition at 02:30 seemed to break the flow a little, but overall there's not much to nitpick here.  Source usage seems plenty to me, as well as original material added to arrangement.  Solid Track with very clean aesthetics.
YES

Would hold hands on a flying carpet with him.

YES

I concur, the levels are breaking this. The arrangement is fun, and the progression makes sense and has a cool flow, but the levels being all over the place are holding it back. The overall volume should be revised, make sure there is no distortion caused by things being too loud. You should also try to obtain a better balance by reviewing the levels of each track. To do this, I recommend prioritizing each track, muting them all, and then unmuting them one by one following your priorities. Adjust the volume for each track you unmute as you go to try and put everything in its rightful place. When this is done, you should fine-tune the frequency usage of every track by EQ'ing them appropriately, which should help build a cleaner soundscape.
This has good potential, please keep at it!
NO (resubmit)

I loved the video AND the song, lots of personality in this song.  Kudos.

Well, first of all, thanks a lot for sharing this!
We also did a video with this where we covered the intro in a symphonic then funky fashion.
Check it out if you want.
 

Be an annoying bastard, that's how.  His LP spinning attack is safe on block and doesn't look like it, so you can bait out lots of replies that will allow for full counters after you block.

Apologies for the lack of QA that apparently transpires in OCR staff in general. We'll get that fixed soon!

Really awesome.

Hey everyone! I'm hanging out at ArenaNet -- the developers of Guild Wars 2 -- today, and I will be on Guild Chat on their Twitch channel at 12pm PST. We'll be talking about their game-within-a-game Super Adventure Box, and my music's inclusion into the game will likely come up as well.
I'll be repping OCR there too, so if you can, stop by and check it out!

I can mostly see the issues that the No's are bringing up but I don't think they bring the track below the bar for me. The arrangement is emotive and personalized and overall has a great concept that really brings it together.
All that being said, if it comes down to another pass this track could definitely be that much better, so good luck either way and I hope to hear this on the front page!
YES

OverClocked University: Spring Break DJ Set
GET IT HERE, CHUMS! https://t.co/UStHNTaeop 
 
The sun is shining, the waves are crashing, and there is an umbrella in your drink. It’s gotta be spring break! Get down with the latest OCU release, “OverClocked University: Spring Break DJ Set”. It’s sunny, it’s synthy, and every track is completely crossfaded to have a continuous playing time, so the party never stops. 
Featuring fully-licensed music from:
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Bravely Default Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Final Fantasy V Mario Kart Wii NiGHTS… into Dreams Pokemon Black/White The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Street Fighter 2 Tales of Innocence Undertale Xenogears
Available soon from OverClocked Records!