http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spi...17899_full.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by zetastrike
This is, without a doubt , one of the best VGM tracks ever composed.
Also, Welcome to the Machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CFx...5Y1KxWOfWnc2SY
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http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spi...17899_full.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by zetastrike
This is, without a doubt , one of the best VGM tracks ever composed.
Also, Welcome to the Machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CFx...5Y1KxWOfWnc2SY
This intro is one of more favorites in my life. Only who had one sega cd knows about im telling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TK5DSSbbTQ
Qsound.
PS: See from beginning to end
The Sega CD Ecco soundtrack is great! I really enjoy the first three stages!
Stage 1 - Medusa Bay (Sega CD):
Stage 2 - Undercaves (Sega CD):
Stage 3 - The Vents (Sega CD):
As music, devoid of the context, I like the Sega CD score and the Genesis one more or less equally (even though they scratch completely different itches), and the Genesis versions, from a technical perspective are FAAAAAR more interesting. But in the context of the game, and the venues, and the story, etc, the Sega CD soundtrack works a bazilllllllllion times better, and thus, gets my vote overall for the preferred soundtrack.
For comparison's sake, here are the same three tracks from the Genesis version:
Stage 1: Medusa Bay (Genesis):
Stage 2: Undercaves (Genesis):
Stage 3: The Vents (Genesis):
So.....which ones do you like better? And why?
I just wiped my little 11" Acer Netbook because it was too weak and sluggish to handle Windows 7. In its place I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS with the default Unity GUI (am about to start exploring other GUIs). Other than the fact that I can't get ANY of the mail client programs to configure, it's going pretty well. It's definitely faster than it was with Windows (though completely contrary to expectations, it seems LESS stable)!
What say we commemorate this momentous occasion with a piece of music written by......NOBODY (well, as close as it got to that back in the early 80's.) This is a quasi-random music generator. The programmer composed several short clips, and then the computer randomly (or nearly randomly) decides when to bring in which, and bring it back out. If I'm not very much mistaken, in addition to this, I do think there were some truly randomized elements, such as the note choices in the solo.
Most of you know what piece I'm talking about already, but here you are: "Theme of the Grid" from BallBlazer. There were other versions of the game, but this track would be heard in just this way on the Atari 5200, the Atari 800 series of computers (both which have POKEY as their internal sound chip), and the Atari 7800 (which uses TIA as its internal chip, but had POKEY in-cart.
Enjoy!
I think I prefer the sound of the C64 version:
Slower tempo, but the sounds are more full.
I cannot say with certitude which version of the Ecco sound track I like the most.
The darker, creepier FM Track or the more mellow and moody CD one. I think I prefer the CD one actually which is unusual for me as I am extremely partial to chiptune.
Thanks for uploading an Atari 8 bit song I think it might be the first one on this entire thread.
Another thing this thread is lacking is some classic PC game music.
I used to play this game with midi but the cd version is pretty damn nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH53ViG45gs
That theme is so gloomy, I remember playing this game years ago and this went right through my bones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUL0qrD4YAE
I like the SC-55 version best but it is hard to find on youtube. The good old FM one will do of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8bDjBmg4OM&index=6&list=PLBDE257B6B8FCBFE 3
j_factor - I do really like the C64 version too! I think I like the bass better on the C64, but I think I like the lead voice better on the Atari systems (even though it's a more plain voice.) Overall, I'm not entire sure which one I prefer - leaning towards the Ataris (not the punk band). ;-)
Also, while I would suspect the C64 version is also randomly generated like the Atari etc version is, I don't know that for sure. If the C64 version is not randomized like the Ataris, then that would make me DEFINITELY choose the Atari version.
As far as the tempo difference, that's not a system difference, but a region difference. The Atari track I shared is NTSC. The C64 track you shared is PAL. Here's a PAL version of the Atari version, where the voices are the same as my earlier Atari video, but the tempo is the same as your C64 one:
I can't quite decide which tempo I like better. I think I'm leaning towards the PAL version. I would be curious to know whether the PAL or NTSC tempos are the one in accord with "authorial intent". Anybody out there know?
Maxwar - I really enjoy those tracks, particularly the one from Dune II. I actually featured a different track from this game on Nerd Noise Radio once, long ago (can't remember what track it was). When it comes to FM vs MIDI vs CD, I can, and have gone each way on that for various tracks. Still, I think a slight majority of the time, I tend to go FM. I don't know whether I find it more of an asset, or an annoyance that so many PC games have basically three soundtracks (kinda [imperfectly] like having a Genesis, SNES, and Sega CD version for each game.) It is interesting, though, and a completely different paradigm than I'm used to as a primarily console gamer.
Confession: PC Music is an area I'm a lot less well versed on than console music since I didn't get a PC til 1998, and only dabbled in PC gaming. I REAAAAALLLY wish I had done as much PC gaming stuff as I had consoles though, because it seems like such a rich, and wonderful world! Thank goodness for things like DOSBOX, though I haven't really messed around much with that either....someday....someday! :-)
That being said, I definitely am not completely ignorant on it either, and have a few nice tracks of my own to share. :-)
This is a full soundtrack video, but it's the track that starts at 7:54 that I'm sharing this for.
It says it's playing on an OPL3, which I have no reason to doubt. But it still sounds like OPL2 music, so I'm thinking it was never optimized for the better card. Does anyone know of any PC game music that actually capitalizes on the extra capabilities of the OPL3, or heck, for that matter, the OPL4? I'd be very curious to hear it!
For comparison's sake, here's another version of the same track, this time [I believe] on CD-Audio, though it sounds so "midi-ish" that I could also believe that it's just running on a really advanced MIDI card.
And here's the AWE64 MIDI version of the Title Screen from Bad Toys 3D:
I know that most people who were asked to pick their favorite track from the Doom I and Doom II soundtracks would pick one of the heavier ones, and while some of those are pretty good, and definitely memorable, the one that I always seem to find myself going back to as my favorite is probably the least heavy and/or eerie track in the entire franchise. Put another way: the least "doom sounding" track from Doom (well, Doom II).
Here's "The Healer Stalks" - aka, Stages 2, 11, and 17 from Doom II. This is a very high-end MIDI version.
Here's a much lower-quality MIDI version:
And here's the FM version. This is one version where I DEFINITELY like the MIDI version better than the FM version, which is surprisingly weak, especially the percussion:
I don't think there was a CDDA version, but I did find an SNES version - though whether it was a fan-made version, an official version that was cancelled in production, an official version that was only released overseas, or we had an SNES version of Doom II that I just never knew about is unknown to me. I certainly don't hate it, but I'm not too crazy about it either ESPECIALLY in contrast to the MUCH BETTER PC version (I think I still like it better than the OPL2 FM version if for no other reason than on account of the FM version's super-weak percussion - factor that little bit out, and I'm not quite sure which version I would like least, probably SNES).
Again, I don't know whether I view the various versions of the same track on the PC a good thing on the grounds of diversity, or a bad thing on the grounds of lack of uniformity. But either way, it is a very different paradigm to me.
One more....
Oh, of course! *slaps forehead* I should have realized that. I didn't remember it being slower, but it's been many years since I played the C64 version.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay See Double You
As a general rule I prefer faster tempos, but there's definitely something to the slower tempo in this case. It's a tough call.Quote:
I can't quite decide which tempo I like better. I think I'm leaning towards the PAL version.
I'm quite sure it would be the NTSC version, since it was an American-developed game. The first version released was the Atari 5200, which apparently doesn't even have a PAL model.Quote:
I would be curious to know whether the PAL or NTSC tempos are the one in accord with "authorial intent". Anybody out there know?
Sometimes you just want something simple:
Although, it is worth noting that the triangle wave, which typically handles the bass on the NES is doing the melody here instead, so that makes this track a little unique, even for as simple and "aw-shucksy" as it is.
Cheers!
Some composers, like the Follin Bros have a very "them" sound. Most everything they do sounds like "them." They're fantastic, but not very diverse.
On the other hand, you have other composers who are absolute chameleons, who can sound like anything. For instance, these two tracks are done by the same person:
Which style of composer do you tend to like better (consistently awesome homogeny, or all-over-the-universeism)?
DISCUSS!
That SOR 3 The Poets track is awesome. Thanks for bringing it up Jay.
As for your question: "Which style of composer do you tend to like better (consistently awesome homogeny, or all-over-the-universeism)?". I gotta go with Yuzo, his body or work and diversity are hard to match. But man, the Follins are amazing too, i just which they had worked more on the Genesis. We only got the Time Trax title screen from Tim, right?