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Mega Man: The Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011


DarkeSword
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Wow, kinda psyched about the response to our piece!! Even Ben liked it, through all of his white-boy-dance-music-addiction (seriously, that dude got down to DJCutman at MAG, shame you all couldn't watch in *stunned* silence as I did). Lots of great work to be proud of this round, knucks all around, especially to my super handsome teammates, Supe and Rozo. This comp has been a blast, and I've enjoyed observing myself and others improve immensely (as well as making a few new friends :) ). I'll try to post some reviews later, until then, keep it real d00dz

Also, grats to everyone who 6-source'd up for this round 8-) (yeah, I'm talking to you Gario; maybe next time we meet in person, we'll have more interaction than an interview and you rolling your eyes and saying "oh, you're that guy..." :grin: )

pH

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seriously, that dude got down to DJCutman at MAG, shame you all couldn't watch in *stunned* silence as I did.

I was

so wasted

oh, also: if anyone is interested, I put all four of my entries into convenient "mini-album" format with artwork and all that. so if you want high-quality (320 kbps) versions of my tracks, get em free here

http://bbriggs.halc9bit.com/album/snake-man-vs-the-world

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Magnus Divinicus Chiptunicus – Caught this one on NewGrounds before Darke put the songs up. Really love it, too. Great blending of all of the themes, and you did it using the Wily Machine source as the backbone to make it sound like a final battle between Wily and your team’s three robot masters was in progress (and then WTF Schala shows up). Probably my #1 vote this round. Excellent work.

In the Reading of this title, you hereby agree that all your base are belong to Wily – I really liked this one, but it was bothering me the whole week because this song hasn’t gotten a single vote. Not even a #3 spot. Sure everyone was quick to complement the production, but still, no votes. Was it because Block Rockmen Beats were positioned such that it would be very difficult for the team to lose? Nah, that couldn’t be it. Then, thinking back to other criticisms that WillRock’s received throughout the various compos, I realized something. WillRock’s really good at bringing out the hidden character of a source and making it explode. Kind of like the samurai class in Final Fantasy Tactics. He starts with a simple katana (or source music), and makes a big fiery dragon come out. The problem is that he has to focus on one source to really make this happen.

Example: Showdown. I absolutely love this one, but I remember at the time that it was first unveiled that people criticized it for underusing Flash Man. And they were right. Flash Man was a very small part of the mix, but it didn’t matter. The song rocked. It took Tornado Man to a whole new level.

With four different source themes, it gets really tricky. The song has several different movements it goes through, but each one kind of feels incomplete. I still really liked it overall, but my guess is to why it hasn’t gotten any votes is because it doesn’t feel as cohesive as songs where you’ve had fewer sources to work with or focused more heavily on one song over another.

Anyhow, an unnecessarily long title gets an unnecessarily long review. Still really fun track to listen to, and probably going to be in my top 3.

EDIT: Rexy did vote for this song, but it may very well change (and likely will). Sorry Rexy, I've gotten used to ignoring your votes until after voting closes.

Sweet Wet Nectar – Fun arrangement to listen to, and very well-executed. I think I just realized that I’m a bit put off by live instruments in remixes (it was unconscious) because, as an inevitable consequence of using them, they just don’t sound as crisp as mouse-only arrangements. Anyhow, the point is that this song is so enjoyable that it definitely overcame that handicap. I’m thinking this one is #2. Great job!

From the East – Man, I reeeeeeally wish you would finish this one. It started so well that it made it all the more painful that I knew it was going to end halfway through. Both parts are well done enough, but it’s basically like two songs that were hastily stitched together at the last minute. Please please PLEASE finish this one!! (also @Main Finger, you have to finish “I didn't have time to make this song The Song”)

Amp – Fun song. Very dramatic, too, and jumps all over the place. You definitely nailed it with this one, and I wish I had another spot to give to you. You’ve gotten tons of votes so far, so my #3 vote wouldn’t made all that much of a difference anyhow. Great stuff again. Nice work!

Bubble Man’s Requiem – Chiptunes again. I like. I don’t really have a lot to add to what’s been said, but this one is really fun. Again, I ran out of spots or else I would vote for this one. I’m guessing Rexy is hoping that you don’t stage another ninja comeback near the end of the voting, and this song is good enough that it may just be able to pull it off. Really fun tune, nice work!

When Robots Collide – I really liked the arrangement and the style here. Trumpet + rock? Yes! The sound just seemed a bit muffled for me, though. I think if it were cleaned up and made a bit crisper, I would have definitely voted for this one. Here’s hoping to see such a version. Great work, nonetheless!

Shinespark Glacier – I think someone said that this sounded like a Diddy Kong Racing level. I actually think it sounds more like a Metroid level (“shinespark” kind of helps the imagery, too). I also agree with what someone said earlier about using new synth sounds in this one. I really dig it. I think that there are some production issues (maybe the samples could be a little cleaner), but otherwise it’s a pretty solid arrangement and it’s great to see you come so far. Hope to see you in the GMRB and the GRMRB!!

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My comments:

  1. Magnus Divinicus Chiptunicus: Amazing production, and a very enjoyable piece. The combination of chiptunes with the background soundscape was excellent and memorable. My one gripe is that the Wily themes and Magnet Man were so dominant. I caught Schala's theme and a hint of Dust Man, but I'm not sure where Blizzard Man was. In any other round, that would probably have dropped a piece out of my top 3, but since everyone struggled with this, it gets a pass, and my #1 spot.
  2. Bubble Man's Requiem: Despite the unabashed dominance of Bubble Man's theme, this piece makes exemplary use of all 4 themes. It's like Wily Battle 10 and Bubble Man were the original pieces to be used, and Elec Man was used as a binding agent. Snake Man is a little forced, though--if you intend to submit this, it might be worth considering just taking it out. It's not bad, per se, and given that you had to use it, it's fine, but it's kind of unnecessary taken independently of the compo. On the other hand, once the production is cleaned up (the one thing keeping this out of my #1 slot), it might sound better.
  3. Amp: Q: What happens when a remixer who normally goes all over the place is asked to work with 4+ sources? A: Not a whole lot--this is clearly a pH piece, with all that means. However, a bit of schizophrenia is par for the course this time, so he's in his element, and this is perhaps his best submission of the compo. Good soundscape, solid use of all 5 themes, although Charge Man is in the forefront most of the time and Needle Man seems to be in the back seat. I'm not a fan of glitches, but there aren't many. Overall, a challenge accepted and met.
  4. Sweet Wet Nectar: Hornet Man and Splash Woman domimate, but all 4 themes can be clearly heard and work reasonably well together. I'm not a big fan of the synth samples used here, and that's probably the one thing that kept me from enjoying this more. Also a minor thing: the soundscape felt shallow and a bit busy; pulling something out to a lower register might have sounded better.
  5. In the Reading...: Classic Willrock, with the Air Man jams I've been waiting for this whole time, and the Rock of Halc, hard to go wrong. So why didn't I rank this higher? The opening and ending are pretty weak, IMHO, with an odd choice of instrumentation and some dissonance. It also suffers from a lack of coherence, with several awkward transitions. There's a lot about this piece that I liked, but it just didn't come together as a whole for me.

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The opening and ending are pretty weak, IMHO, with an odd choice of instrumentation and some dissonance.

While I'm perfectly happy with people having their own opinions on tracks, I am interested to know why you say there is dissonance in the intro and outro of the remix :)

I've had a look at the source file and found no dissonance in either parts so I'd like to call you out on that one :D

If you can explain what you mean, then i'm happy to hear it :P

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I was

so wasted

oh, also: if anyone is interested, I put all four of my entries into convenient "mini-album" format with artwork and all that. so if you want high-quality (320 kbps) versions of my tracks, get em free here

http://bbriggs.halc9bit.com/album/snake-man-vs-the-world

These sound great as lossless (FLAC). Is the bitrate capped out at 320 kbps even for the FLAC, or is there a difference in quality between the 320 kbps MP3 and the FLAC?

Also, more people need to put up links to lossless versions of their songs!!!

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These sound great as lossless (FLAC). Is the bitrate capped out at 320 kbps even for the FLAC, or is there a difference in quality between the 320 kbps MP3 and the FLAC?

Also, more people need to put up links to lossless versions of their songs!!!

FLAC is lossless; 320 kpbs mp3 isn't, though you can't really hear the difference. still, FLAC is technically higher quality

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While I'm perfectly happy with people having their own opinions on tracks, I am interested to know why you say there is dissonance in the intro and outro of the remix :)

I've had a look at the source file and found no dissonance in either parts so I'd like to call you out on that one :D

If you can explain what you mean, then i'm happy to hear it :P

Perhaps not technically dissonance, but when the two parts play together, they make some, to my ears, unpleasant harmonies. They probably technically aren't dissonant, but the unusual harmonies combined with the, frankly, obnoxious sample instrument made for a pretty unpleasant combination. They might have sounded smoother given prettier instruments, and the instruments might have sounded better if they were used in a more traditional combination, but as they were I couldn't go for it.

That's be best I can do with the language I know. Perhaps someone with a more technical background can put better words to what I'm trying to say.

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Wow.

Hey Darkesword, you have absolute power over how this match will end. This is easily the closest match in the competition, with nearly a three way tie. Not that it matters point-wise (as the first three places are awarded the same, this time), but it's still quite awesome how it turned out.

Nice way to end the compo, everyone. :-)

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Wow.

Hey Darkesword, you have absolute power over how this match will end. This is easily the closest match in the competition, with nearly a three way tie. Not that it matters point-wise (as the first three places are awarded the same, this time), but it's still quite awesome how it turned out.

Nice way to end the compo, everyone. :-)

I'm honored to be among such sexy musicians :D

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My second place vote wasn't Bubble Man's Requiem - it was for the Gentlemasters' entry. Not like it mattered with the positions, but just throwing that out there.

And I told you I wouldn't at all change my vote :)

Fix'd

Sorry, you confused me with all of your non-traditional track names :smile:

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Sweet Wet Nectar – Fun arrangement to listen to, and very well-executed. I think I just realized that I’m a bit put off by live instruments in remixes (it was unconscious) because, as an inevitable consequence of using them, they just don’t sound as crisp as mouse-only arrangements. Anyhow, the point is that this song is so enjoyable that it definitely overcame that handicap. I’m thinking this one is #2. Great job!

I will personally accept this compliment as I painstakingly adjusted pretty much every single note that was clicked in so that it would have a more natural start time and more realistic velocities.. apart from that the live guitar is the only live thing and there's barely any of it in there. :)!! I do play my keyboard parts live which you can hear at 2:00 -- all live keys there :-P Most of the stuff rexy and ben did was clicked >:]

And your comment of live vs. mouse seems to be more a gripe about the clean-ness of samples and production than the actual method of writing

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Hello all (again), congratulations on making it to the end! I really enjoyed lurking these past couple months and the amazing music your teams cooked up - no seriously, I'd say this was the highlight of my life for its duration, sad though that might sound, ahaha :lmassoff::cry:. I've also gained a huge appreciation for the music of the classic series and the games in of themselves because of this competition, so thanks a lot for mitigating that as well.

I'm more of a visual artist, but I am super super envious of people with musical chops (there is a lot of admiration mixed in the jealousy). Before this, I wasn't really familiar with OCR, to say nothing of its community, but I think I'd like to frequent this place more often from now on. I'll definitely be keeping track of future competitions. Thank you again! WCRG'11 was a fun ride:) Totally platonic hugs and kisses for all the gentlemen and the lady.

Now to get this album cover art done! Thirty-six Robot Masters is a lot to draw...

Yours,

An effervescent creep

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