Arcana

This is why you get paid the bucks for sound design and sample packs and I don't. Thanks guys, I'll get to working on it.

One thing to keep in mind when getting a laptop is to go for high resolution (not necessarily screen size; make sure you understand the difference). One of the reasons working on a desktop for music is more fun than a laptop is because of the available screen size, it's nice to be able to put your arrange window, your mixer, and some instruments or two on the screen at the same time. So do yourself a favour and get something with a really good resolution (IMO 1440x900 should be the absolute MINIMUM, any smaller and you actually will regret getting a laptop). Also, get warranty coverage for your laptop. I probably shouldn't have to tell you that but some people are cheap. If you're going to put down a few grand on a computer that you're going to move nine times a day, get at least 3 years coverage on it because it's not an issue of if it breaks, but when. Laptops are fragile, you can get the best consumer-grade laptop around and treat it like fine china. Something's going to break on it. If you are thinking of getting a USB controller (IMO again, a controller is worth it, they make music more fun), there are some ultra-portable ones out there like the Korg Nano series that are super compact. And YES do be aware of what sound card is in it. Try to look up the chipset for it and doublecheck that the drivers don't suck. More than likely you'll want to check if there's good ASIO drivers for the chipset.

I like this series too.

Your laptop will be powerful enough, though it depends largely on how many instruments you use in your tracks. (Even when people record audio a laptop will be powerful enough). While IBBIAZ might be correct to some extent (though I think "regret" is too strong a word... more like, "you will eventually covet more power") you will be able to make decent tracks on a beefy laptop. It just depends on how many plugins and effects you intend to use, how many samples you load, and how intense your tracks are in general. It's really just a value issue. A good laptop will run you $2000+ dollars, and you'll get few ports, no way to upgrade almost anything, and a small screen. The same $2000 will get you a pretty nice desktop that'll do what you need for years to come. But, I understand why you might want a laptop. Some people simply can't afford to be tethered to a desktop - they can't move it, they travel every week, they go home only to sleep. Why get a desktop if you can't be around to use it?

Best example from this site is probably on this song: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01344/ "Chasing the Phoenix" by GrayLightning. You hear the sound first at 1:56. It's a slightly slower version of the one in the Battlestar Galactica opening. Also, at the very end of that song, you'll hear the same crescendo from 5:11-5:19, drastically slowed down (and also with no adjustment for pitch). Any more suggestions for re-creating it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4UPJv08c1k#t=0m37s In that clip, behind the drums, there's a crescendo of some kind, arranged from what sounds to be strings and brass. I've heard it in various pieces, including in mixes on this site. What is this sound called, and are there samples (or good advice about the techniques to recreate this sound) of it?

Shhh, if you keep quiet no one will find out!

We can each find a little bit of GrayLightning inside of us.

Wait, I thought you were in on it.... ... the plot thickens.

Yep, Portal 2 is official as Dhsu posted. http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/03/05/april-cover-revealed.aspx

I believe that he used to live in Northern California, but since then he's apparently moved.

But having an IP address and an ISP means that we are able to potentially match it with anyone else who was a regular poster on OCR.

I occasionally use mine, but rarely. I have a ton of games I've bought but never played on it (Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts II, Xenosaga II, Suikoden Tactics). My PS2 is from launch day (October 26th in North America), It still works, but I've had to take it apart numerous times to fix the laser alignment that causes "Disc Read Errors".

Sounds like you should look at more Classical and Romantic-inspired pieces and break those pieces down structurally. Grab a bunch of classical and film scores and connect together the macro pieces.

It would be great if you covered chord progressions.

Funny how EA in a few years had managed to turn its image around and no longer be the "bad guy game publisher". I guess what it really takes is simply not being on the bottom. EA's been doing things like expanding its online games business (casual games especially) and taking a chance on some of the more innovative, experimental titles. Also, having a few solid developers (BioWare particularly) and their steady sports games has taken them under the radar compared to Activision. Ben Kuchera from Ars Technica had some information about what Activision wanted for future Call of Duty games, including

hahahaha Happy birthday pixietricks

Speaking of people I haven't seen in a while....

Hey, I beat Portal for the first time like two weeks ago. Maybe I'll try out some of this new stuff. I kind of got tired of some of the puzzles (especially the jumping ones) after 18 levels worth though.

Well I meant "making friends" in the vernacular sense, not in the vBulletin sense. I wonder as well if GrayLightning was simply an entire persona, as Israfel suggested. Perhaps he's someone's alter ego, or maybe some famous person's identity so he could interact with us and not have us get all weird when we find out his real self?

Reading this thread made me realise how many people called Gray 'their best friend on OCR'. Did one person seriously connect with that many people on such a regular basis? It's almost superhuman. He came up in a conversation Jade and I were having once so we posted visitor messages on the wall he'll proabably never see, but then LukeTheXJesse ran in there and peed all over it. http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=2120

'Fat' often comes by simply adding some reverb, boosting EQ in the mid-range, or by using two of the same oscillator and detuning them by a few cents. If you're feeling a little more adventurous you can experiment with delay and chorous/flanger. You can also gain "fat" sounds by using a stereo spreader, or by using two of the same synth, panning one left, and panning the other right. Lots of options! The best part of all of this is that you'll be able to make your own "magic" sounds too.

I would like to sell my Logic Pro 7 Academic edition for Mac. Included for free are the Apple Training Series books, "Logic Pro 7 and Logic Express 7" as well as "Advanced Logic Pro 7". In addition it has full printed manuals for all of the plugins as well as the entire user interface. If you're looking to get into music and own a Mac, this has got to be one of the best ways to get into it. Logic Pro 7 is extremely solid even though it's a bit older, and all of the documentation and books will get you up to speed with the software, saving you from having to struggle with resources online. Asking $60 for everything. PM me please!

There's a lot of room for different "product groups" to provide varying game experiences. The same company can (and does) release different games with different names to fit varying styles of gameplay. The problem of course is that there is a lower demand for deep, involving games now overall - for some reason people are less inclined to number crunch and micromanage nowadays. So there's a large trend toward the streamlining of games now. Simply, they sell better.