seanstar

Been away a while, probably will go away for a while again after this, but I just wanted to share a little bit of holiday cheer that's been on my backburner for over 2 years. Not OCR-level by any stretch- shit samples, most riffs pulled directly from the game, etc., but still upbeat and cheery enough to maybe make someone smile. It was only really intended to get the notes down so I could crunch it out on my synthesizer on authentic chiptune waveforms (ETA on that finished product is probably another 2-3 years...) Anyway, take a listen if you like: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/spkelly/mixes/SantaHat.mp3

That is one of the strangest mixes I've heard on OCR in a good while. Nice work! I'm just glad that I finally have a Mac HW/SW combination sufficient to get back into the old DOS games I came to love on my dad's 486. Keen 4 was always my favorite of the series (I think it was all the drugged-up flora and fauna) and 'man sieht sich galaxie' got me back into the games for the first time in a decade. It's great to see another mix that really lives up to the feel of that game!

Yeh, Rol is a toughie. I still hate him more than the others, regardless of difficulty level. Still, so long as I have a few levels under my belt and either a good melee weapon (Hu/Ra) or a few levels of Zonde-derivitive (Fo) I can get through in a few tries. I'd have to say the hardest boss of all time is the one at the very end of arcade Space Invaders. Anyone ever beat the game? Anyone? I rest my case (the one at the tail end of Galaga is also a bitch...)

Initial response to judges comments & review posts- Smeg, Vig, that's what I was about to submit!! (listening as file DLs...) First ~30 seconds: Nice start, everything works but perhaps the melody synth that might be trumpet but I can't really place. Go more or less realistic, not somewhere in the middle next time ... Next ~30: A scosh grainy, but I dig the bass. I've dealt with worse percussion myself, I'd say (perhaps counter to everyone else in the universe) what it needs more here is not quality samples but volumetric bringing out of what's already there, especially snare. ... Next ~15: DAMN! If that's what you meant by Red Nostalgia needing better guitar, I'm sorry, it ain't happening! (not that I haven't made a few improvements, but... yeh.) Wow. Yeh. The guitar solo is this mix. period. ... Next ~15: More goodness. Synths come in at about the right time to offset the drop of the initial "damn that's a sweet guitar" shock. ... hating dial-up connection... ... Next ~30 (at about 1:50 now): no more guitar?? waaahhhh Nice MegaMan Classic break, tho. Pity you got the idea thru judging before me, now I'll really need to submit Red Nostalgia within a couple days or it'll look like I've ripped it from you! ... Next ~30: Guitar! but... This is a 3-and-some minute mix with Zero in the title, so why haven't I heard him at all by 2:20?? ... definitely getting broadband in college. Even if I have to get special permissions and install the cables in the dorm myself... ... Next ~20: not much here I haven't heard previously, but all nice ... Next ~40: siren's a nice touch. Still more classic MegaMan than Zero. I want my Zero!!! ... And that'd be the end in 10 seconds. No Zero??? At all? You're no fun anymore! Two point review: + The Guitar!!! - misleading title... Congrats, and let's hear it for success of first mixes!

I agree with Liontamer here. The mix is just the direction I would have taken with the song myself (provided I could get any of my work past the judges here... ). Big, loud, heavy, mechanical, nice drum work, nice sub-bass beat, fitting reverb effects, but it takes virtually half the mix to actually get around to the first statement of the theme, and then dies out well before it completes the second. I'm tempted just to pop it into a digital editor and clip another iteration or two on myself. If the judges will let you, I think you really should make this mix a tad longer and if you're feeling creative, even add a non-fade-out ending. I'd certainly DL a revised version if it came up . - seanstar