UE Music

Would you buy a CD of UE's Music?

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • No

    Votes: 6 30.0%

  • Maybe

    Votes: 3 15.0%

  • Depends on the final Product

    Votes: 7 35.0%
  • Total voters
    20
N

Needaham45

Spaceman
I had this topic on the old forum, but apparently that one's going to slowly be phasing out, so I figured I'd open it up again here.

I wanna know what everyone thinks of the music in UE that you've heard so far (there's 2 samples of it on our downloads page). Let me know what you think of the style, the rhythm, the musical phrases, the melodies, the quality.. anything! The only way I can get better as a composer is by knowing how the music is recieved, and they only way I can learn that is from your comments.

Also, on the old forums I had a poll going. It's based on an idea we've been tossing around - a CD of the UE Soundtrack. If we were to make such a product, would you be interested in buying it? If you voted at the other forum, please vote again on this poll - it'll make tallying in the end easier.
 
I didn´t heard any UE music thmes, but i won´t buy a UE music CD, because hardly i buy music CDs. i preffer to *share* them ;)
 
I did listen to both of your music samples, but I'm sorry to say I didn't like them that much - I didn't keep them.

If I recall, they sounded like fairly ordinary stuff to me - it's just right for BGM in UE, since obviously that's what you're aiming for. I read a few posts in the old UE forum, and some people seemed to think that they fit the WC style just right. Unfortunately, I don't agree - perhaps I miss the sweeping arpeggios which Oldziey seemed to use a lot in WC3, or the grandeur of the Fat Man's epic pieces. Of course, I can't expect a fan-made game to compete with a commercial product, but it's just my two cents.
 
Originally posted by Wedge009
I read a few posts in the old UE forum, and some people seemed to think that they fit the WC style just right. Unfortunately, I don't agree - perhaps I miss the sweeping arpeggios which Oldziey seemed to use a lot in WC3
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Michael music is very good, remmember that you just listen to bits of it. The music is similar to WC1 and WC2 style, thats why it fits so great. Along with the WC1 era ships, it makes a nice atmosphere.
I do like WC3/4 music, but at sometimes it got quite repetitive.

Originally posted by Wedge009
Of course, I can't expect a fan-made game to compete with a commercial product, but it's just my two cents.
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AS far as i saw UE missions, id say they are far more interesting than SO missions. Not to mention Quarto's cutscenes...:)
 
I've spent the last couple of weeks playing Wing Commander 1 and addons and today playing WC2, these days I preffer michaels music, I can't help that, the battle themes just do a better job of getting my heart pumping having heard the originals so many times, including off CDs I burned.
As for WC3 and 4 the themes were fantastic and something which I feel UEs music is a long way off (we need a truly powerfull theme like WCIV had) but as was pointed out the standard music was far less inspired.

I seem to be in the minority on liking WCPs music, not as much as some of the others perhaps.
Whatever way you look at it, michaels music rips the techno from SO to shreads :p
 
Well... maybe it's just one of those things one has to listen to several times before one can appreciate it. As for the original WC music, I like all of them: WC1/2/3/4/P/SO/Priv... except perhaps Armada, but even that's quite okay. But, yeah, a stronger theme is perhaps what's needed. I'll pay more attention to the music if and when I get UE.

In any case, ace-1 seemed to like the music, and his opinion clearly has more weight in the music department than most.

[Oh yeah, perhaps the quality of the music could be lifted a little - I'm not talking about MP3 bitrates, I'm talking about the sound of the music itself. I know churning high quality music on a PC can be expensive, but I've been listening to a lot of VG remixes lately at VG Mix and OverClocked ReMix, and there's some very impressive stuff there, especially in the latter. In fact, George "The Fat Man" Sanger himself submitted a remix of his own work for the 7th Guest at OC ReMix... I wonder if he'd consider doing another for WC. IIRC, there was that surf song from a while ago...]
 
I deffinately agree with you about the how it actually sounds. Compositional work on a computer usually involves midis. I spent lots of time researching and trying to get my midi drivers and patches to sound the absolute best they could (I even bought a few items such as a synthesizer to upgrade the sound completely). The MP3's themselves are recordings of my computer's midi driver playing the songs, so the sound is going to be a little fake :( I'd love to get a real orchestra to play the stuff I'm writing, but it would be quite difficult (the music would not be easy to play at all... especially for the Horns and Trumpets). Besides, the cost of hiring an orchestra would be way to great. I want to keep everything the same so that all the music in UE sounds similar, but for UE2 I will try in investigate more ways to improve the quality of my midi stuff. Unfortionately, for now we need to keep that the way it is :(

About the Theme - It certainly is not as full as say WC3/4's theme. I was going for the sound of almost a military march with the theme... seemed to fit with the whole feel of the game. I am toying with the idea of a remix for UE2 - the musical ideas and phrases would be the same, just slightly different style and different scoring for the instruments. The end result would hopefully be making it sound more bombastic, inflated, and fanfarish rather than the simple millitary march that the current arrangement is.

It was interesting talking to Ace-1 about the music... he certainly knew what he was talking about and it was wonderful being able to discuss the more musical aspects of it.

Now, about the WC Music. My personal favorite would the the style and writing in WC1/2. The musical ideas and the orchestration is really musically amazing. I tried to model a lot of UE's orchestra and sound after it. WC3 and WC4 had good themes, and WC3's mission music wasn't too bad. Everything but the theme in WC4 and the ambient music in the last mission I didn't care for too much. WCP doesn't stick out in my mind as anything too special, and the techno in WCSO.... it killed me to hear that... I really like the orchestral style. I have nothing against techno music per se... just in the background of a WC game, it's not my personal favorite.
 
I think hiring an orchestra is a little over the top - if it was feasible, it'd be a nice thing, but I don't think it's necessary.

From what I've read at the sites I mentioned, it seems good brass samples are the hardest things to find. Also, it seems that most of the remixers don't like heavily MIDI-ised stuff, and use stuff like Fruity Loops, but some of them seem to be a bit elitist anyway, criticising any piece of work which doesn't have samples up to their standard.

Anyway, I wasn't saying your music was bad, just that I didn't feel they were exciting enough for me to want to keep. That piece of music from the 'older' UE, I liked, but that's just a remix, not an original.
 
MIDI is great for anything that should sound synthesized... but really when it comes to trying to replicate real instruments (like brass as you mentioned), it really just doesn't cut it for a professional product (however it was used up to WC3.. at least). Like I said, I'm going to investigate alternatives for UE2.

The music from the 'older' UE is interesting... totally different from what I've been doing, stylistically, thematically, and instrumentally. Basically a totally different concept for the game. I believe we still don't know who the composer is, but I would be interested in trading notes with them. 2 totally different things for the same idea... it's really quite interesting when you think about it.

And about my music - I know you didn't say it was bad. I can understand that you don't think it's exciting enough... everyone is entiled to thier own opinion (besides... I asked for them). I was just trying to explain more of what was behind it... I had no intention of argueing your opinion - just in case that's how it came across. I'm taking all the opinions I get and trying to remember them in the new pieces I'm writing... as I said in the first post, getting honest opinions is the only way I can get better as a composer. I'm not angry that you don't think it's exciting, I know you don't think it's bad, and I'm glad you were honest with me instead of keeping it to yourself. After all, we learn more from critism than we do from complements :)
 
Well... that's good then. :)

I didn't see the edits you made...
Originally posted by Needaham45
I was going for the sound of almost a military march with the theme...
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If I remembered it rightly, I think that's how it came across as well. So you succeeded there. :)

Originally posted by Needaham45
The end result would hopefully be making it sound more bombastic, inflated, and fanfarish rather than the simple millitary march that the current arrangement is.
Click to expand...
No doubt that sort of thing would be perfect for the opening theme.

Originally posted by Needaham45
...but really when it comes to trying to replicate real instruments (like brass as you mentioned), it really just doesn't cut it...
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Guitars too. :)
 
I just wanted to let you know... I woke up with some ideas this morning for the theme for UE2. I started writing some down... and I already think it'll blow the style for UE's theme away.

It's incredibly bombastic, lots of arpeggios... I really think it's gonna come out good :)

Unfortionately, before I can continue work on developing it, I gotta finish UE's music :D
 
I haven't, but I didn't run into Pedro yesterday, so if you sent it to him, I'll probably get it tonight.

Yeah, Ghost... his work is worth waiting for, but he does take the 'waiting' bit to extremes sometimes :p. Mind you, at this stage we're still waiting for one or two other things, so he's still got a bit of time.
 
:( ok, I hope Predro got the file. he give me a mail that can support large files, I send it but no Answers, still want to know if you UE team Like it , plz let me know, I'm not try to compite with the work of Needaham, I just wanted to give the game an aditional edge on the end
 
I don't mind working with other composers on the project, there are a few problems we would need to over come however:

1. Our styles must match well, otherwise to the gamer, it would sound very strange (I still haven't heard your music, so I don't know what kind of style it is just yet).

2. The way we create the sounds has to be similiar, again, or it will sound stange to the gamer (2 different midi drivers can be VERY different. This could easily be overcome by e-mailing midi files and having one person convert them to MP3 using thier midi driver).

3. Our instrumentation has to be similar if not exactly the same, or again it will sound strange.

Basically everything has to be very fluent between our pieces.

If we can overcome these problems, and the rest of the development team wants to have multiple composers, I don't mind. It would be interesting working with someone else.
 
Yeah I got them, I'm not going to be around much for the next couple of weeks, I'm off to uni on the 23rd and theres a really amazing girl I want to spend all the time I can with until she goes off to a different uni on the same day :( In any remaining time I'm trying to clear off my debt. So basically I aplogise now for delays in responses from me.

I recieved the track, it may be usefull for the end credits, the one piece which doesn't neccessarily have to match the rest of the game, however I want the others to listen to it before deciding so I'll upload it for all of them to hear first.
 
Cool, thz pedro, plz give the song a shot, I know yuo will like it, It sound like Cobal 60 "Propechsy", bur it got a lot of my own Style, I just made this song as a gift from me to you all UE team, I love working with you making the Kilrathi Voice Overs, and is you need help on UE2 you can count on my, I really apolozice for no recorden the las 2 or 3 lines, but I got really busy on my work (programing), but next time I will finish them all. Needaham you muic is real cool, it sonds like a convination of WC 1,2 and WC 3,4 styles I whish you can sem me the Midi file ok the main theam I will liket o play arround with it, just for fun :p,
 
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