FLMC - Fruity Loops Music Competition 7: Super Metroid [VOTING]

[Gollgagh]

We have thee votes already. Very encouraging.

I got lazy with the voting banner:

code: http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/32/flmc7wh3.png

add to the beginning.

[Gollgagh]

Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, it's

Voting time!

Please PM all of your votes to me, Gollgagh. Voting ends on September 30, 11:59 PM EST.

Here are the entries:

Bundeslang - Red Item

MP3 file | Zipped FLP file

Rocketsniper - Untitled

MP3 file | Zipped project file

sosadagr8 - projectmetroid

MP3 file | Zipped project file

Smenelian - Smenelian Brinstar

MP3 file | Zipped project file

DDRKirby(ISQ) - 3xOSC Supersaw

MP3 file | Zipped project file

Choose an entry for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. 1st will recieve 4 points, 2nd will recieve 2, 3rd will recieve 1.

Votes should look something like this:

==========================

First place:

~person 1 - Super untstroid~

olol this mix wurz purty awsome cuz of the BOOMBOOM and the sweet synhts!

Second place:

~person 2 - Super Metroid mix 2007~

this wurz purty gud too but it didn't have enough UNTS

Third place:

~person 3 - Zoomers R us~

kekekek nice name but work more on the song next time kthx

==========================

If you would rather not have your vote posted in the thread, simply say so. Otherwise, all votes will be posted.

I reiterate: Please PM all of your votes to me, Gollgagh. Voting ends on September 30, 11:59 PM EST.

[RocketSniper]

These reviews are going to be a bit (well okay, extremely) harsh, so read at your own risk. I'm doing my own, too for thoughts governing that song...

Bundeslang: The intro's okay. Nothing fancy, but nothing horribly out of place until FX07_14 kicks in. It's out of tune, even with itself, and is much more of a special effect to be used sparingly than a melody line - I ended up muting it for the rest of the review. Pattern seven is a transitory string line that doesn't stick around long enough to really do too much. It comes in, meshes poorly with pattern six, and leaves. After that, the song picks up a lot. I like pattern 38-46 much more than anything before it. Next, you cut the theme and flip to something else... which ends up cutting back to what you flipped from? It's something like a musical double take for me. I'm kinda looking at something for a while, it doesn't register, I glance away then I notice something is off and I glance back just long enough for it to leave. oh well. In any case, the next section needing attention is when pattern fourteen kicks in fo reals. The background stuff starts going, but there's very little going on musically to capture my attention (I'm musically ADD, if you can't tell). The melody cuts in and the strings cut out - the strings haven't been building enough to warrant a break like this, so it seems a bit out of place. Also, pattern 16 gets displaced during it's tenth measure of existence, causing the 'time signature' change mentioned by Zephyr. The melody cuts out again, and we're left with the bass that you've built up to with three repetitions. the song kinda winds down and is over. I liked the ending - the removal of parts until the lead is the only thing left (except a sweep sound effect) works well here.

aww crap, I have class. I'll get the others when I get back.

Smnelian - intro's not a real attention getter, but it works. FL bell preset doesn't seem to fit its part. The slayer's used decently, though the base material doesn't give you too much to work with here. AUTO Easy Wah is an interesting transition instrument. Nice use of choir Aah. at 25-33, the 'lead' instrument (pattern 9) seems a little out of place - up until then, the mix has been very laid back, but that synth was an extremely energetic lead. Mini-breakdown at 33's an interesting break from the beginning portion. 45 loses a LOT of energy for the transition. 'Lead' seems to be used not for energy, but for a sort of electric feel here. It works pretty well with the rest, though I'd advise some sort of tempo, instrument, or lead change through this area to get the feeling of more energy collecting for the sort of climax at 65. The cut back to the intro here was pretty sudden - the transition wasn't very smooth. Maybe find some way of keeping 'lead' going? Chorus plays again, already seen and done, and... wait, it's the breakdown again. ahh crap. Looks like you just doubled the song at 73. This works for an indefinite track, such as if we were re-writing this song for introduction back into the game, but not for a normal length song.

sosadgr8 - The sound is interesting, but it looks very, very much like a midi rip. While this is technically acceptable, it usually keeps you from inserting your own skills, and relies much more on the original to carry your work. To fix the broken speaker effect this song seems to be producing, try turning down everything a little bit. while this may sound like it'll take too long, or is counter-productive, the sheer number of instruments going off makes this song (especially the beginning) difficult to get the volume right on. Very funky. Then it cuts to a random theme. It sort of works, but nothing signals the transition until it hits, so I'm a bit musically startled each time it happens. Instruments work pretty well together, but the percussion got very repetitive. It never cut out or changed by enough to really mention.

DDRKirby - The project broke meh. Everyone complained, you warned us, but here it is. I can't see what's going on in the project at all. Sounds great, but is... well, short. Starts to go somewhere, but then just stops.

RocketSniper - intro is super-generic crappy techno. Not too sure what's going on here. We're assaulted with fairly random stuff until about 20 when the lead for a while kicks in. Though it's spread into different channels, the whole deal repeats far too many times without any sort of break in-between. Gets old pretty fast. Transition at about 50 is iffy - needs some sort of warning before-hand. Maybe break the lead apart somehow? Transition at 58's iffy as well, it's quite a bit too soon after the other one for a transition like this. Needs a carry-over instrument of some kind, maybe? Lead at ~63 needs to change. At first it's far too quiet, but ends up being a decent volume. Good filter pass, on the drums. ~72 has a nice reference to earlier in the song, just it's in 4/4 instead of 7/4 now. ~84, once again I'm lost. Pulls back together nicely at ~109. Song continues until it stops. End is once again an abrupt transition.

Also, Bonus track from FL version 5

[DDRKirby(ISQ)]

Also, Bonus track from FL version 5

This track wins over us all.

[Gollgagh]

My dear audience, we have one week left of voting, then it's over!

I need six (6) more votes from you all. If you have a little extra time, please give these a listen and send me a vote.

[Lemonectric]

Why exactly do you need six more votes?

Also, I sent in my vote a while ago. Yeah. Go me.

[Gollgagh]

It's a solid number, it gives me something to shoot for.

[RocketSniper]

Bump for "It's three days later, get those votes in!"

[Gollgagh]

I need votes.

You guys have three-ish more days to get your votes in.

If I don't get any votes in the next 24 hours, I'm gonna start harassing people.

[Zephyr]

I could vote twice if you like

[RocketSniper]

Next FLMC, we need to enact a couple of policies...

People that submit a song need to vote, or their song is disqualified (and/or loses ten points automatically)

People cannot vote for their own song.

Well, something like those, anyway.

[Gollgagh]

Well, I've gotten 6 votes so far.

I suppose that's okay, but I'd like at least a couple more.

We have one day (one hour, and 43 minutes) left of voting.

I could vote twice if you like

Nah, but if you could get someone else to vote, that'd be swell.

[Lemonectric]

Next FLMC, we need to enact a couple of policies...

People that submit a song need to vote, or their song is disqualified (and/or loses ten points automatically)

People cannot vote for their own song.

First place vote - 3 points

Second place vote - 2 points

Third place vote - 1 point

Entrants get 3 points for voting, to make up for the fact that they can't vote for themselves. Technically, you're voting for yourself and someone else for first place.

It works for PRC. All the entrants usually vote.

[RocketSniper]

First place vote - 3 points

Second place vote - 2 points

Third place vote - 1 point

Entrants get 3 points for voting, to make up for the fact that they can't vote for themselves. Technically, you're voting for yourself and someone else for first place.

It works for PRC. All the entrants usually vote.

Actually, that does make more sense... we don't want the people that just don't have free time (or suddenly run into a wall of work) and can't vote to not be eligible to win. In any case, our voting system needs to change a bit.

Edit: Bump for results, too.

[Dyne]

That system sounds like a very good idea. Though I think as a safety, you should give entrants a one-day window at the end of voting if they haven't actually voted. Send them a kind of form letter, asking them to vote. If you don't get a response within 24 hours, then they auto-drop. Simple as that. It might sound unfair, but so is not voting.

[Gollgagh]

Bump for results, too.

I'm a little busy right now, but I'll have them counted up by tomorrow evening at the latest.

[Gollgagh]

Aaaaaand folks, we have a winner:

Smenelian

The points were awarded as follows:

Smenelian: 19

Rocketsniper: 11

Sosadagr8: 10

Bundeslang: 6

DDRKirby(ISQ): 3

People's votes:

1rst

RocketSniper

Nice stuff with the second half indeed. oppressive and fast paced.

2nd

KirbyISQ

Short but that enough. Could be an intro for a club mix.

3rd

Smenelian.

Got a hard time between this and project metroid. the last part of the mix made by smenelian caught my ear so that's why.

First Place:

~Rocketsniper - Untitled~

Pretty awesome. Loved the insane percussion. Arrangement was great. Yeah.

Second Place:

~Smenelian - Smenelian Brinstar~

You definitely have 0:58 to 1:20 going for you. It was the coolest thing I've ever heard anyone do to that song. 2:10 severely reminded me of Metroid Prime Hunters. Never liked that game, but I love how that little piece sounds.

Third Place:

~sosadagr8 - projectmetroid~

Interesting. Arrangement was pretty cool, and especially unique at the beginning.

The results are in-

1st- Smenelian-Smenelian Brinstar

2nd- Sosadagr8-Project Metroid

3rd- RocketSniper-untitled

You'll find my write-ups in a post on the thread.

Thanks for organizing the competition I'm learning tons.

Votes from Bundeslang:

1st - Bundeslang (it's allowed to vote for yourself). Because he's the only one I don't see as a concurrent.

2nd - Smenelian - Nice beginning, I really like this. There are some weird notes around 1:15, but it's not killing the song. At the moment I was thinking (2:04) 'This needs more variation' some variation came, very good. But that's the only part. But sure a nice debute (if I'm correct you didn't before), I really liked the voice.

3rd - Sosadagr8 - Good start, nice sampling. I like the way you switched from the intro to Brinstar (Brinstar again). I don't like the after middle section part, which continued to the end.

4th - DDRKirby(ISQ) - Awesome beginning. I like the song, it's just...to short. I want more of this.

5th - RocketSniper - This starts a bit funny, I don't like the weird samples after the beginning, but the song is going well. There's a good balance in it. Some parts, like the part from 1:11-1:18 are a bit too 'silency', but I like the part after that. Good song, but I don't like all samples, some even hurts.

Not a bad FLMC.

(BTW: A double of voters is a bit heigh. I know from previous editions not many people vote for this, the last round only had 3 voters (and 3 songs))

Thought I'd chime in with my thoughts. I'm at work, so I can't spend a ton of time on this, but it looked like fun, so "what the hey?" says I.

First place:

~sosadagr8 - projectmetroid~

Pretty cool interpretation of the Crateria theme. Could've used better syncopation between the melody and the beat, but a cool idea nonetheless.

Second place:

~Smenelian - Smenelian Brinstar~

Pretty straightforward interpretation, which is cool; I can be something of a purist when it comes to VGM arrangements. Interesting choice of synths, though unfortunately not to my liking. Noticed some dissonance in the backing chords vs the melody, also not a fan.

Third place:

~DDRKirby(ISQ) - 3xOSC Supersaw~

I like this quite a bit...but it's too freakin' short.

Well, there you have it. Hooray for community participation! (I'm such a lurker).

I don't have access to FL at the moment so I'm going off of the mp3s only.

I'm not making these terribly detailed because I'm sick.

1st place-FLMC7_Smenelian_Brinstar

2nd place-RocketSniper_FLMC7_Untitled

3rd place-projectmetroid

lolzor award-DDRKirbyISQ_flmc7_3xOscSupersaw

win-Jazzeh

Bundeslang-FLMC7-RedItem_Master

Hooray for drum loop. You're playing around with a bunch of stuff, which is good, as you'll learn more that way. I said this last time probably, but learn to use the 3xOsc and make phat sounds, and then everything will be hella good. Also be wary of the fx you use and where/when you use them. Usually FX are used either...well, to provide some special effect at a breakdown, or to accentuate some transition in your song. So don't overuse them. They aren't melodic instruments. On that note, the next thing you need to work on is the melodic structure and content of your song. Get to know the basic elements of what makes a full mix - Bass, Pads/harmony, Lead, Drums, etc.

projectmetroid

I like the way this starts out, it's groovy...but then I don't really like how the mix essentially stays the same even through 0:26-0:47. The same drum loop and elements just get stale by then. Then it seems like you're trying to take off in some other direction when you bring the brinstar theme in, but it still doesn't really go anywhere, and man, that drum loop has been there forever now. It -is- possible to make a great song with minimal variation in drum patterns, but in this case it doesn't really work since there's not enough going on in terms of other melodic elements, so the drums really kind of stick out as being repetetive and stale. The mix overall stays very thin throughout, I would have liked to see some kind of changeup to something more driven. Gimme something, whether it be a phat bass patch, a distorted 303 synth, a blasting chorus with lead + pads + bass + drums, or a breakdown with only strings, or -something- other than the same drums + different melodies for over 3 minutes. Still, I liked the first 20 seconds.

FLMC7_Smenelian_Brinstar

IMHO I would have liked the intro better if you started with NO drums at very beginning. But what you did was cool too. Guitarage, cool cool. Slayer I'm guessing? Impressive. At 0:45 that "wah" synth really hits the spot, nice automation on the filter. Good variation on the drums with the little fills here and there, I can tell you put work into that. Then at 1:20 we go into half-time, which fits the melodic content quite nicely. The mix at that moment seems a little empty though, I would have liked something else to keep things moving, even if it is in halftime. Maybe a nice percussion riff or something. I dunno. Then we go back to your chorus at ~2:20. That's okay, but maybe add something a little different the second time around so that I'm not listening to -exactly- the same thing, especially since your arrangement is kind of light, so you can afford to spruce it up by adding some other element there. Doesn't have to be anything big, just something noticable.

Overall, first half hit the spot, second half didn't really bring anything new to the table.

DDRKirbyISQ_flmc7_3xOscSupersaw

This was meant to be a big chorus-type pattern in the middle of an actual song. Sorta. I don't really like how it ends. But whatever. Massive 3xOsc supersaws are neat. Some mixing work needed. Sounds kind of muddy.

RocketSniper_FLMC7_Untitled

Neat intro, that works. But wait, the drum samples that come in--the kick + clap, need some processing because it screams at me "noob FL samples". Neat transition into the more breakbeat section at 0:30, though I didn't really appreciate the synth at 0:22. The little dink FX at 0:38 kinda works, but kinda doesn't. I bet you could do better than that if you tried. Okay I'm at 1:00 and we've got the same thing going for a while, esp the drumloop with the same processing going on this whole time, I could use some variation, maybe some bass, something. Okay, fine, at 1:10 it looks like we're going somewhere, though, im starting to not like those drums at all anymore. Okay, fine, drums disappear...arp synth is nice, that's cool. This is building and I'm waiting for some real big chorus-like section now........or not. Ok fine, that works too. The synth stutter thing at 2:10 doesn't work for me. The initial stutter/stop was fine, then when you jumped into the new synth pattern it was kind of a rough transition for me. This next part is kinda interesting, that's cool how the melody/countermelody interact, okay I'm digging that.

Overall I would have liked more variation in terms of the mix as a whole. Then again, I seem to be making that same comment for the other pieces too. Maybe I just don't like your guys' thin arranging style. Then again, my piece is kind of cluttered. oh well.

Jazzeh

win.

[RocketSniper]

Did you not get my votes?

I don't think it changes the results much (Might put me in third, actually), but it still counts...

[Gollgagh]

You didn't want them posted, if I recall correctly.

[RocketSniper]

oh... I meant to post the vote (like first second and third), but not the little blurbs that went with 'em, because I had already posted reviews in the thread

In any case, congrats to Smnelian for first place

[Bundeslang]

I see I, and everyone else, has some bonus points, otherwise I never could have more than 3 points (which I gave to myself). Congratulations to Smenelian, I liked your song the most. See you all next time, hopefully.

[Paladin]

Funny rule that. Abut being able to vote for yourself. lol.

[RocketSniper]

I see four extra votes for Smnelian, two for Bunde, and two for sosa.

Maybe they did count? Crap, I can't remember who I voted for.

[Smenelian]

Cool. Seems I made it somewhere on everyone's list (by the way, did my votes get counted?). I wasn't sure if I should have looped it or just cut it off after the first go around, because I ran out of time and couldn't come up with anything new. As everyone noticed, I decided to loop it.

I would prefer if the competitors didn't vote, but if hardly anyone votes to begin with, I suppose any vote is a good one.

[RocketSniper]

So when does 8 start? I'd like to get going with that