Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Jimmy

RAVEN MIDI Pack II - Breathing Life Into "Deathkings"

Recommended Posts

Inspired by Lut's list in the last project's thread, here's the instrument usage list for the Hexen OST:

 

Orchestral

001 - Acoustic grand piano - IIIII III

002 - Bright acoustic piano - I

004 - Honky-tonk piano - I

009 - Celesta - III

010 - Glockenspiel - I

012 - Vibraphone - IIII

013 - Marimba - IIIII IIII

014 - Xylophone - III

015 - Tubular bells - III

020 - Church organ - II

033 - Acoustic bass - IIIII IIIII IIIII I

041 - Violin - I

045 - Tremolo strings - I

046 - Pizzicato strings - IIII

047 - Orchestral harp - IIIII IIIII IIIII

048 - Timpani - IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIII

049 - String Ensemble 1 - IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII

050 - String Ensemble 2 - IIIII I

053 - Choir (ahh) - IIIII IIIII IIIII III
054 - Choir (ooh) - II

056 - Orchestra hit - I

059 - Tuba - I

061 - French horn - I

062 - Brass section - I

074 - Flute - I

113 - Tinkle bell - I

118 - Melodic tom - II
 

Band

005 - Electric piano 1 - I

027 - Electric guitar (jazz) - I

028 - Electric guitar (clean) - I

029 - Electric guitar (muted) - IIIII II

031 - Distortion guitar - IIIII I

034 - Electric bass (finger) - IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII II
036 - Fretless bass - I

038 - Slap bass 2 - II

 

001 - Drums (standard kit) - IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII II

 

Synth

052 - Synth strings 2 - II

055 - Synth voice - IIIII I

063 - Synth brass 1 - I

064 - Synth brass 2 - II

090 - Pad 2 (warm) - IIIII II

091 - Pad 3 (polysynth) - I

093 - Pad 5 (bowed) - I

095 - Pad 7 (halo) - I

096 - Pad 8 (sweep) - I

097 - FX1 (rain) - I

099 - FX3 (crystal) - I

100 - FX4 (atmosphere) - III

101 - FX5 (brightness) - I

102 - FX6 (goblins) - I

104 - FX8 (sci-fi) - I

119 - Synth drum - I
 

World/Misc

076 - Pan flute - I

077 - Blown bottle - I

107 - Shamisen - II

109 - Kalimba - II

117 - Taiko drum - III

128 - Gunshot - I

 

 

As you can see, a lot more variety than Heretic's soundtrack, with many one-off instruments. Worth pointing out though that the standard drum kit is present in all 37 MIDIs, and string ensemble 1 is only absent from 2 tracks and one of those uses string ensemble 2 instead.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm no good at music myself and I appreciate the work you guys do here (Being a big fan of Plutonia's midi pack), but @Jimmy would you mind if I post these midi projects on the Steam community hub to get more exposure? I think a lot of people would love to hear the music that all you talented artists have produced over the years for these games.

Share this post


Link to post

My midi is essentially done, but my lack of confidence is saying it should get some feedback before actually considering it so.

It's not paced like the deathmatching that might take place in the map, but otherwise I feel it fits the map fine.

Above, Below & Beyond - V1.zip

 

Share this post


Link to post

An idea for the Treasury, plus an update of Malefic Voyage to raise the volume and tighten a few things. I don't predict any more changes.

 

The Treasury idea is still in progress and there are a few places I'm unsure about, but I'm putting it up for feedback while I take a break from it. The main idea is there but I'll need to tighten up some transitions and phrases. I beat my head against the wall for ideas and this is what came out so far.

LippethMIDI.zip

 

I also beat my head against the wall for the intro, and worked on Treasury instead. For the intro I'm thinking something along the lines of CHESS.mid for a general vibe. It should be a little darker and more hopeless than Hexen, less bombastic overall, but still both harrowing and inviting. I'm open to input on the direction.

 

@Alper002 I really like it, especially the synth vox and piano phrases. My own personal feedback would be to add some more percussion where there's only bass and maybe some quiet, higher pitched strings for atmosphere and movement. The same goes for the Harp section at the end. A full on drum groove could be cool somewhere as well.

 

@TheEvilGrin The intro is cool, but maybe a little too hopeful sounding for the first hub. The long violin and choir ahs are a bit abrasive, and the snare pattern sounds a little too military. The second half reminds me more of Wolfenstein 3D than Hexen. If you want long string sounds I would recommend using Strings rather than Violin, Schilder only used the violin sound for Guardian of Steel iirc and it's really just there to be low and scary sounding. Don't be afraid to listen to the Hexen soundtrack for reference and inspiration, I keep the folder open and am always checking for little "Schilderisms" while making a song.

Share this post


Link to post

Thanks for the feedback, Lippeth!

I've now made some changes to the midi, and applying the feedback definitely did definitely make it better to my ears! There's now a little bit more percussion and high-pitched strings throughout the whole thing.

The midi became a bit longer, but that was simply because I didn't want to go with the high-pitch strings immediately in the ending harp section. A drum groove somewhere would've been cool for sure, but I didn't feel there was a natural place for me to put it, so there isn't any.

 

Above, Below & Beyond - V2.zip

I think I can call the midi done for now, and I'm considering claiming some more midis.

Before that, though, I think I want to be sure that I've got a solid idea to start on them with.

Share this post


Link to post

@LippethYou're right about that violin being a bit violent, it did sound weird on my software but since the soundfonts are different I thought this was actually what Schilder used. I did use the soundtrack as a reference too and I realised  lot of stuff I had not noticed before and try to put it to good use.... thanks for the feedback !

Share this post


Link to post

I'm really loving these tracks, @Lippeth and @Alper002! Thanks a bunch for your contributions so far.

 

@TheEvilGrin, I think Lippeth said everything I wanted to say! I'd love for this to be expanded upon into a very dark and sombre-sounding track.

Share this post


Link to post

That has Schilder written all over it, very nice. Nothing wrong with it that I can hear!

Share this post


Link to post
On 8/28/2020 at 7:30 PM, Jimmy said:

I've included two slots for the TITLE and STORY screens. (No INTER because Hexen has no intermission screens.)

Well, I'd like to clarify this, Hexen has actually 5 different non-MAP themes.

 

TITLE - plays at title screen (same as Doom, Heretic)

STORY - I guess you mean the one which plays between hubs

ENDING1 - The first ending sequence screen

ENDING2 - The second ending sequence screen PLUS load-up screen when you launch game

ENDING3 - The third ending sequence screen PLUS intermission screen (at least in DOS version, when you enter a portal, "ETHEREAL TRAVEL" sign will appear and this music is played. However, on faster computers, the next level is loaded very quickly, so that this music is played less than a second and is barely noticeable).

Share this post


Link to post

The Ready Room now has a dedicated midi!

Mutually Assured Squishage - V1.zip

...Certain parts do really fit Hexen, but some parts I'm kinda iffy about. Either way, I like how it turned out.

 

Also, I think I want to claim Ice Hold. I really want to try making something like guardian of ice, at least in mood and sound.

Share this post


Link to post

I've started work on my midi and the song it will have a few different sections in it and will aim for 3 to 5 minutes in length. I have been busy with other things but with Pcorf he always completes something and if he cannot he'll let you know. Hopefully by next week it will be complete.

Share this post


Link to post

I worked pretty hard on my track but need you guys' help : Do you have any idea about something "dark" I could listen to for inspiration ? I'm struggling with finding some of those passages in the HeXen soundtrack (weird, I always thought they were everywhere). Maybe I am looking for something "too dark" ?

I thought of "Shadow Wood" and "Darkmere" but they're not as dark as I thought

Share this post


Link to post

Slowly working on my song but feel rather uninspired. But hopefully it turns out good. I don't think I'll get it complete this week though.

Share this post


Link to post

it took a bit more time to work on this than the Heretic ones i made. i scrapped the first draft because it wasn't very Hexen-y, and did a do-over. here's what i came up with for Cloaca. https://www.dropbox.com/s/cvsqr2fepc5d4tk/stalkers.mid?dl=1

 

the first half of it ended up into a variation of the Crypts/Darkmere theme. this wasn't unintentional... but i completely forgot that Cloaca uses the Crypts theme normally. the second half is more original, though it might be a bit less Hexen-y as a result. i tried my best to match the dark and foreboding atmosphere of the game, though criticism to improve it any is welcome.

 

On 9/4/2020 at 3:08 PM, Lippeth said:

@Viscra Maelstrom I'm open to collaborate on any of my slots if you want more. I'm still working on Sump and have already scrapped one idea for it.

i'm unsure how well that would work, as i'm using FL Studio to create my MIDIs, and importing any MIDIs kind of messes up certain event changes in the process. it works when i'm working from my project template i created years ago, but if i were to import someone else's MIDI it would muck things up.

Share this post


Link to post

@Viscra Maelstrom Understandable, I thought I'd offer because I claimed a second set of three just before you had a chance to claim yours.

 

As for your Cloaca track, I like it a lot! I can hear the Crypts influence, especially on the hanging notes between beats. The first half makes the Cloaca feel more mysterious, and something that I actually want to explore, which is very cool. My personal feedback (take with a grain of salt) would be to replace Echo Drops with Choir. It's not that it sounds bad, but the way it's held like a pad might sound even more Hexen-like. The hi-hat could move around a little more rhythmically so the beat isn't so held down. Again, it sounds great the way it is, but for Hexen it feels like it should jump off the beat occasionally, at least during the back beat. The very last three high string notes are maybe too emotional for what the song is overall, and I'm not a particular fan of the pitch down at the end, it should sound fine to just let the notes stop, Schilder does that a lot. I'm by no means an expert, but those are my very biased nit-picks to a great track.

 

Here's an idea for Sump

Deviated Artery.zip

 

This damned song about did me in, and this is the fourth rewrite, but it's finally somewhat cohesive. I'll go back and even a few things out, but posting here gives me better perspective, and I'm definitely open to feedback.

 

@TheEvilGrin For inspiration I love Bernard Herrmann's Jason And The Argonauts film score. Not all of it is appropriate but there are a lot of great ideas in there. Anything by Graham Plowman is great as well, he does H.P Lovecraft inspired music, though it can be quite dark and ambient, even for Hexen. I'd most recommend At The Mountains of Madness.

 

Edited by Lippeth

Share this post


Link to post

@Lippeth don't worry, you're not being biased at all. Hexen's style of music is a bit more difficult for me to imitate than Heretic's, so any criticism is very helpful! i've listened to your tracks and you've got the Schilderian style down-pat, so i'd be happy to get advice from you.

 

the reason i used the Echo instrument is because it's basically just Choir Aah, but with a lot more reverb, which i felt was fitting for a sewer infested with Stalkers. i would like to keep it, even though it's not a very Hexen-y choice in terms of usage in the soundtrack. i did change the other points you had though, making the hi-hat a bit more diverse in the first part, changing the last three string notes to hopefully be a bit more foreboding, and removed the pitch down entirely at the end and made it one bar longer. i can't think of much else to change about it, so i'm calling it tentatively finished.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cvsqr2fepc5d4tk/Stalkers.mid?dl=1

Share this post


Link to post

Looking forward to this! Deathkings really deserves something new. It always felt weird for an expansion that it didn't have any original content other than the maps.

Share this post


Link to post

Considering the quality of this, I hope it's just a matter of time before people grow the balls to take on the big boys. Doom 1 and 2 are lurking in the shadows.

 

Anyway, amazing work so far, guys!

Share this post


Link to post
11 minutes ago, NightFright said:

Considering the quality of this, I hope it's just a matter of time before people grow the balls to take on the big boys. Doom 1 and 2 are lurking in the shadows.

 

Are you proposing a midi pack to redo the doom 1 & 2 soundtracks?

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×