Rebirth MIDI Pack - COMPLETE.

[Bucket]

Ah, yes, I remember cleaning out a lot of junk controller events in one of your songs. Over 100KB for a song that should've barely taken up 20KB. Not a huge deal, aside from setting pitch bend range (which defaults to 2 semitones). It can ruin every song that comes after it in the WAD unless you set it back. TNT2 had that problem.

 

Anyway, it seems like Aria Maestosa fits the bill for what I need. It's no Cakewalk Pro 6, but it'll do.

[Varis Alpha]

i remember hearing that problem back then, but i couldn't for the life of me figure out how to properly edit things. editing them with Sekaiju screwed things up in a way that made all events such as pitch-bending and CC controllers just stop working. i haven't heard the same issues in the recent projects i've contributed to, such as this, so i don't know what to make of this. if such issues still persist, i'd like to hear about them, and a way to fix them on my own so they don't screw things up again.

[Jimmy]

On 1/18/2019 at 7:24 PM, Bucket said:

What's the latest on this project?

 

Good to see you here again, Bucket! Currently just the one slot is open - MAP17, and the project is three tracks away from completion.

[Tristan]

90%!

[dial-up]

On 1/19/2019 at 12:24 AM, Bucket said:

What's a good editor for MacOS?

 

@Bucket

I use Logic Pro for all audio work including MIDI files and I highly recommend it.

[Bucket]

On 1/19/2019 at 7:03 AM, Viscra Maelstrom said:

i remember hearing that problem back then, but i couldn't for the life of me figure out how to properly edit things. editing them with Sekaiju screwed things up in a way that made all events such as pitch-bending and CC controllers just stop working. i haven't heard the same issues in the recent projects i've contributed to, such as this, so i don't know what to make of this. if such issues still persist, i'd like to hear about them, and a way to fix them on my own so they don't screw things up again.

AFAIK Doom doesn't reset controller events between levels. That includes things like pitch bend range, vibrato, and NRPNs (which are usually unique to various MIDI drivers anyway, but still). There are really only two options: (1) inform people if you're going to use things like full-octave pitch bend so they can set the events properly in their own songs or (2) don't use them in the first place.

 

Another question: OSX really lays the reverb on thick with their default MIDI synth. Any way to turn it off?

[dial-up]

On 1/23/2019 at 7:29 AM, Bucket said:

Another question: OSX really lays the reverb on thick with their default MIDI synth. Any way to turn it off?

 

I use QMIDI to play MIDI files on Mac. It has a mixer which you can use to adjust reverb, as well as volume, pan, and other stuff.

 

With that said, my understanding is that if a MIDI file doesn't have a reverb control change (CC 91) setting the value to zero on each channel, I think many MIDI players will set reverb to a default value of 100.

[NaZa]

Progress log: MAP13 relinquished because I have no time, but MAP26 is coming along ever so nicely. Should be ready come Sunday.

[Jimmy]

MAP13 slot re-opened, anyone willing to take it? Might pounce on it myself if no one claims within a day or two.

[therektafire]

I might try to make a song for it, I've never played Rebirth and certainly not the map in question before so I would need to play it first to be able to get a feel for the atmosphere and what the song should be like (assuming that the point of this project is to make songs that fit the maps as closely as possible)

[therektafire]

Just got around to playing MAP13 today, not all the way through with it yet but I have a pretty good idea of what the song is going to be like. Let's just say it may or may not contain a liberal amount of those trap-like fast high hat rolls to really convey to the player the chaingunner annoyances they'll face in it :)

[NaZa]

MAP26 relinquished because I'm slothful, which is a deadly sin in itself, but incredibly unrealiable. I hate myself for single-handedly causing gaps in projects like this. 

[Jimmy]

I've claimed MAP17's slot. 26 will remain open. 13 has gone to @therektafire. Those are the last three tracks to finish!

[therektafire]

22 hours ago, NaZa said:

MAP26 relinquished because I'm slothful, which is a deadly sin in itself, but incredibly unrealiable. I hate myself for single-handedly causing gaps in projects like this. 

oof I know how you feel about that since I was the same with 4800 hell knights, it would have been way better if dexiaz had helped lead that than me, I was just thinking "oh hey it would be really cool to lead a community project" but I, having issues with longer term commitments such as CPs like I do, essentially just got bored of working on my map and the hub and when the original deadline came up I basically just gave up on the idea of completing either entirely........... so yeah, if you wanted an explanation about why the project took so long to even get an alpha out that's pretty much it. Not particularly proud of that explanation but oh well, it is what it is I guess

[Varis Alpha]

i'm gonna take a stab at map26. i should have some free time this weekend to come up with something.

[Jimmy]

@Viscra Maelstrom Have @ it!

[Varis Alpha]

alright @Jimmy, i came up with something that i feel should fit the map pretty well. it's a bit on the simpler side in terms of structure, but i think it works here.

 

Seething Hatred (3:54)

[Jimmy]

@Viscra Maelstrom Thanks for the submission! A good start but still needs a bit of work, I think, I'm not fully sold on it yet.

 

Nice buildup at the beginning, particularly on the heavy percussion in the intro, and the thrumming bass that comes in.

 

The starting melody on the overdrive guitar at 0:33 is a little too "simple" for me. I like the call-and-response between it and the distortion guitar but that first note with how singular and long it is just feels like a bit of an anti-climax after half a minute of dramatic buildup. I'd see if you can figure out a way of making that intro feel more "dynamic", like it's continuing the flow of the buildup that came before it rather, than slowing the pace of the song down at all.

 

The crystal melody at 1:23 is a nice straightforward break in things, however - the timing of it is perfect and honestly it kind of feels like the crux of the piece. A nice reprise of this melody at the very end of the track, too.

 

Starting at 0:58 the distortion and overdrive guitar seem to be slightly at odds with one another. Either have them play the same thing in unison (or an octave apart, whichever sounds better), or have one of the guitars (probably the distortion, as it seems to be serving less as a lead, and more as backing for the overdrive) accent certain rhythmic subdivisions, like say, a power chord that follows the rhythm of every crash cymbal in that passage. The same should probably be applied at 3:19 when these melodies are reprised.

 

Is there any way you can beef up the section at 1:40 so that it's not just quarter-note power chords for eight bars? Some mid-register synth strings would be nice here, especially when paired with the high strings that come in later.

 

Starting at 2:13 the chords are very unsure of themselves. Really recommend picking a specific set of chords and sticking to it. This gets worse at 3:03, especially with the big clashing chord at 3:15. It sounds like you want something like this:

 

Dm Eb Db Db

Dm F Db Db // The fourth chord here is the one at 2:27 and could also be an Eb7, a nice dominant chord to take us back home to the tonic Dm.

Dm Eb Db Db

Am F Db Db

 

The end of the track is pretty good though, everything builds to a nice climax, so no need to change much there.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Jimmy

[Varis Alpha]

thanks for the criticism @Jimmy! i've updated the track with your feedback taken into consideration. changes include changing the intro slightly, most of the clashing guitar bits being revamped, and synth strings added.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4phv9a8z2curhx7/seething hatred_2.mid?dl=0

[Jimmy]

Junction (3:35)

 

MAP17's track.

 

An old piece originally intended for Back to Saturn X, finally finished on-stream today. Might still expand this, not sure - I'm sure there's 4 full minutes' worth of material nestled in this somewhere.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Jimmy

[Jimmy]

@Viscra Maelstrom This is an improvement across the board for sure, thanks! There's still some funkiness with the chords around 2:24, though, and later on I think the overdrive guitar gets a bit confused at 3:13 (along with the crystal melody just before it, around 3:07). Any chance you can also move the synth strings to about 1:40 when that new riff comes in?

 

@therektafire How are things progressing with your track?

[Varis Alpha]

@Jimmy i've updated the track again. tweaked the guitar bits some more, now they sound pretty good to me. changed the crystal lead so it should sound less out of place when it appears again at the end, and synth strings now come in earlier as well. i think i made some other minor tweaks as well. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xzv6o82y4v459ou/seething hatred_3.mid?dl=0

[Jimmy]

A whole lot better now! Much, much appreciated. Will be happy to include this as-is.

 

We're one shy of victory, guys!

[Tristan]

Small update to Mystified. I've been listening to it a lot lately and felt that the drums were too loud so I've brought them down a bit. Also bar 88/89 changed from Cmaj to Caug since I did that in the remake and quite liked it.

[Jimmy]

@therektafire Been trying to reach out to you with regards to your track for MAP13, the last one that needs finishing for the project, but haven't heard anything from you since the 26th. If I don't hear from you in a week I will either give up the slot (if anyone looks keen to step in) or compose something myself.

[therektafire]

@Jimmy so i may or may not have just started working on my track today, I had about an hour a half to work on it and here is what I got so far in that time, it's still in the early stages and not done yet https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AShNC6Xir3n_jexqhb37wcdrt9XpkKXw

[Varis Alpha]

@Jimmy i decided to update Nether slightly, adding some echo channels for the square and dist guitar. it kind of bugged me as i was listening to it, so i decided to add it in. no other major changes aside from that. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3y299pey23xqd97/Nether (With You).mid?dl=0

[Jimmy]

@Viscra Maelstrom Thanks, consider it added!

 

@therektafire How's it going?

[therektafire]

I've made some pretty substantial progress, i'm basically done with the main song itself, I just need to make some minor adjustments, well and think of a name which i'm really bad at doing :D I streamed myself working on it earlier, here is the vod of that 

 

edit: oh yeah here is the newest version of the midi https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Q6CdyHmLxpbO8-l6iIgAiM9ReyK4t6ft

 

[Jimmy]

Hi @therektafire, thanks for the submission, sorry for the late response.

 

I think it needs a good deal of work, though. The melodies are passable on their own, but the incessant repetition is this track's biggest problem. Things pick up around the 1:20 mark, but it's very repetitive overall, sticking to the root of G for dear life. The key change from Gm to Fm in the middle, while welcome, is a direct transposition down to Fm for most of the instruments, but the guitar melody sticks to the key signature of Gm, resulting in the instruments not fully co-operating and sounding dissonant.

 

The drum track desperately needs to be varied up - it's 68 bars of exactly the same beat. Bring in the drums gradually, not just by layering the individual elements in varying ways, but with different beat patterns. Have the snare fall on the third beat of the bar instead of the 2nd and 4th. Use 8th-note ride bells instead of 16th-note hihats. Add some crash cymbals when new sections enter.

 

As you mentioned, you'll also need to think of a name - I can't accept untitled submissions.

 

Would you like to make these changes, or should I have at it?

Edited May 11, 2019 by Jimmy