Plutonia MIDI Pack project (/idgames link available)

Jimmy · March 13, 2013

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It's ready!

Download Plutonia MIDI Pack Final release

/idgames mirror

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We haven't had a musical project here for a while, so how about this?

It's something I've wanted to do for some time, and was brought up recently when I joined in with Tarnsman streaming his playthrough of Plutonia 2.

One thing that separates the two halves of Final Doom quite greatly in my opinion is that TNT composed many original tracks for it, and this added greatly to its originality and charm, even if some of the MIDIs were really short and/or just not that great. So, what if Dario and Milo Casali were musicians themselves, or what if they had other musicians - perhaps TNT's music team, or even Bobby Prince himself - on board with the project to provide an original soundtrack to the maps?

But hold up, Jimmy! Doesn't Plutonia's lack of original music contribute to its atmosphere, its classic feel, and its charm? Well, yes, of course it does. It's simply that the completionist in me is really interested to see what sort of music I (and anyone else interested) could create for the express purpose of giving Plutonia an original, good-quality, fitting soundtrack of its own. :) And we have some very talented musicians here, so it would also mean 32+ new, good-quality tracks for the community to use elsewhere.

The idea here is for anyone who is musically-inclined and at all interested to post in this thread which Plutonia Experiment map they'd like to compose something original for. You can claim however many maps you'd like, but this won't necessarily exclude others from doing tracks for the same map.

The final product will be a sort of "MIDI album" - a zipped archive of MIDIs, named and credited to their respective creators, complete with a TXT file and, most importantly, a WAD that can be loaded to replace the music. MP3 renders may also be done at the end of it.

One final suggestion is that, while there'll be quality control, we keep this fun and easy-going. I wonder if we can get sufficient interest to generate the right amount of tracks within 32 days. This would of course mean working quite fast, but this project needn't necessarily be an intense contest, nor should you really work your butt off. It's certainly not going to be a collection of 32 6-minute epics. :P In fact, I've put forth some guidelines which should give you an idea of the nature of this project.

Guidelines:

The tracks must fit their respective maps as though they were written for that map specifically back when Plutonia was being created. This is paramount.
Be sure to play the map(s) you claim first, to get inspiration. Perhaps imitate the style of TeamTNT or Bobby Prince and go for classic-sounding, Doomy MIDIs. If necessary, load up the map, turn the music off, and just hum to yourself as you play it, then get any ideas you get down into a dictaphone, onto paper or into a MIDI editor.
Give your music track a name. Doesn't have to be terribly original, but I must ask that your track not be untitled.
You are allowed to simply remix the track used in the original map.
You are allowed to collaborate with other musicians on any particular track.
You are allowed to submit old (but yet-unused!) MIDIs of your own to the project.
Instrument choices are important. No random helicopters or applause, please. (Unless you use them in an ingenuitive way that actually enhances the track.)
Tracks shouldn't be too long or too short. Try to find a middle ground. The original Doom's songs never lasted more than 5 minutes. Some of them, meanwhile, lasted less than sixty seconds - perhaps a minute should be the minimum length of your track.
Keep controller event count sensible. Unless you're using a MIDI editor which completely bloats your tracks, this should be fairly simple to adhere to, but it's here for technical reasons - Vanilla Doom has a 96kb limit on MIDI files, and won't play them if they exceed that. Be sure to prune any unnecessary controller events, or hand the tracks to me if your editor doesn't do that easily.

The MIDI List:
http://jimmy.the-powerhouse.net/MIDI/Projects/In-Progress/Plutonia%20MIDI%20Pack/

^ All MIDIs will be reuploaded to a more permanent space here for ease of access. ^

Completion Report:

Overall progress: 35/35
Unassigned tracks: 6

[   ] = nothing written yet
[ ~ ] = something written, pending completion
[ x ] = MIDI written/finished (bar minor changes)

---

Episode 1 - Earth levels: (11/11)

 x  MAP01: Congo -- "Death Mask" [Lippeth]
 x  MAP02: Well of Souls -- "Trigger" [Mr. Freeze/Bucket]
 x  MAP03: Aztec -- "Jade Empire" [stewboy]
 x  MAP04: Caged -- "Claustrophobia" [ClumsyDoomer]
 x  MAP05: Ghost Town -- "Sepulchral" [Hellish Godzilla]
 x  MAP06: Baron's Lair -- "Plusfort" [Bucket]
 x  MAP07: Caughtyard -- "Seasons of Insanity" [Jimmy]
 x  MAP08: Realm -- "Tower of Fire" [Jimmy]
 x  MAP09: Abattoire -- "Plutocrat" [Bucket]
 x  MAP10: Onslaught -- "Always Watching" [Lippeth]
 x  MAP11: Hunted -- "Denied" [Doomkid92]

Episode 2 - Hellish levels: (9/9)

 x  MAP12: Speed -- "Blood Rush" [Eris Falling]
 x  MAP13: The Crypt -- "Untitled (MAPXX.mid)" [Mr. Freeze]
 x  MAP14: Genesis -- "Plugged In" [Bucket]
 x  MAP15: The Twilight -- "Plummeting" [Bucket]
 x  MAP16: The Omen -- "Run 'Em, Gun 'Em, Kill 'Em" [Jimmy]
 x  MAP17: Compound -- "Massacre Machine" [Lippeth]
 x  MAP18: Neurosphere -- "Fire Hive" [Jimmy]
 x  MAP19: NME -- "Lost in Place" [Lippeth]
 x  MAP20: The Death Domain -- "Death's Toll" [stewboy]

Episode 3 - Devil-hive levels: (10/10)

 x  MAP21: Slayer -- "Ascension of Satan" [Doomhuntress]
 x  MAP22: Impossible Mission -- "Stealth Mode" [Jimmy]
 x  MAP23: Tombstone -- "Plug Ugly" [Bucket]
 x  MAP24: The Final Frontier -- "Pluvious" [Bucket]
 x  MAP25: The Temple of Darkness -- "Contemplate" [Hellish Godzilla]
 x  MAP26: Bunker -- "Untitled (hosilfu.mid)" [yakfak]
 x  MAP27: Anti-Christ -- "Infimum" [Ribbiks]
 x  MAP28: The Sewers -- "Dead Plumber's Song" [ClumsyDoomer]
 x  MAP29: Odyssey of Noises -- "The Scarlet Citadel" [Hellish Godzilla]
 x  MAP30: The Gateway of Hell -- "Plurry" [Bucket]

Secret levels: (2/2)

 x  MAP31: Cyberden -- "Cry of Desperation" [Eris Falling]
 x  MAP32: Go 2 It -- "Plunge Saw" [Bucket]

Other tracks: (3/3)

 x  TITLE: "A Path Beyond" [Mr. Freeze]
 x  INTER: "Intersection" [Mr. Freeze]
 x  VICTORY: "Endless Suffer" [ClumsyDoomer]

Unassigned tracks:

    "D_MESSG2.mid" [yakfak]
    "Rise" [Doomhuntress]
    "Plucked and Hammered" [Bucket]
    "Stomper" [Hellish Godzilla]
    "The Flood of Mortal Ills" [Hellish Godzilla]
    "Evil Light" [Hellish Godzilla]

Abandoned tracks:

    "Escape" [Flamen0d] (also Bucket)
    "Pandaemon" [Hellish Godzilla]
    "Nihility's Edge" [Hellish Godzilla]

Notes for each map's track:
You may adhere to these, or disregard them to do something entirely new and different. :P

- MAP01: Congo - Uses "The Imp's Song". Should be a fittingly atmospheric opener.
- MAP02: Well of Souls - Uses "Dark Halls". Creepy and atmospheric, and the map has some fairly daunting dark halls of its own.
- MAP03: Aztec - Uses "On the Hunt", a faster track with a suspenseful opening chord. The map itself is very maze-like in places.
- MAP04: Caged - Uses "Kitchen Ace".
- MAP05: Ghost Town - Uses "Hiding the Secrets". An oddly upbeat track for a map named as such, but the map is actually a pretty hectic and action-packed hitscan fest.
- MAP06: Baron's Lair - Uses "Sign of Evil". A slow, ominous, melancholy track. The map is slightly puzzly in nature.
- MAP07: Caughtyard - Uses "Intermission from DOOM". It's, quite simply, the Dead Simple of Plutonia. Should be suitably action-packed.
- MAP08: Realm - Uses "The Demons from Adrian's Pen". The track is slow and mysterious, a bit like the map, which has a number of themes going on throughout it.
- MAP09: Abattoire - Uses "Deep Into the Code". A slow, fairly ominous guitar-driven track.
- MAP10: Onslaught - Uses "Demons on the Prey", a suspenseful and dramatic track. The map features small-ish courtyards with lots of powerful monsters.
- MAP11: Hunted - Uses "Sweet Little Dead Bunny", infamously. Should be deeply unsettling. The map is a labyrinth full of archviles.
- MAP12: Speed - Uses "Facing the Spider", a fast track - fitting with the map's name. The map is a wooden fortress full of blood and various traps.
- MAP13: The Crypt - Uses "Donna to the Rescue". The map features a lot of fairly cramped areas and traps and almost exclusive uses Plutonia textures.
- MAP14: Genesis - Uses "Nobody told me about id". A bloody and dark mainly-outdoors map.
- MAP15: The Twilight - Uses "Waltz of the Demons". This map is rather brutal and set in a metal gauntlet, similar to Caged, and the slow, creepy music juxtaposes this dramatically.
- MAP16: The Omen - Uses "Untitled" (D_E3M1). A fairly simple rocky outdoor map with lots of slime. The track is also fairly simple.
- MAP17: Compound - Uses "At Doom's Gate". A tight, nukage-filled facility with lots of hitscanners. The track fits the frantic gameplay.
- MAP18: Neurosphere - Uses "Demons of the Prey" (same as MAP10). A wide-open and intimidating, mainly circular map.
- MAP19: NME - Uses "Suspense". A dark and trap-filled map.
- MAP20: The Death Domain - Uses "Message for the Archvile", a slow, atmospheric track that fits the level quite nicely.
- MAP21: Slayer - Uses "Endgame". A very slaughtery reimagining of Circle of Death. The track is dramatic and powerful, with an orchestral opening and a guitar-driven ending.
- MAP22: Impossible Mission - Uses "The Dave D. Taylor Blues". Track is fairly laid-back and subtle but the map is distinctly harsh and unforgiving at times.
- MAP23: Tombstone - Uses "Bye Bye American Pie". The track features an odd rhythm, and the map, oddly, uses very few Plutonia textures. "Odd" might be fitting here.
- MAP24: The Final Frontier - Uses "In the Dark", a track which fits the large and dark nature of the map.
- MAP25: The Temple of Darkness - Uses "Adrian's Asleep", a fairly slow and subdued track.
- MAP26: Bunker - Uses "Message for the Archvile" (same as MAP20). This map mostly takes place underground and has lots of dark underhalls.
- MAP27: Anti-Christ - Uses "I Sawed the Demons", a fast-paced and action-packed track that fits the nature of the map.
- MAP28: The Sewers - Uses "The Demons from Adrian's Pen", (same as MAP08). The track is slow and mysterious, and the map large and imposing.
- MAP29: Odyssey of Noises - Uses "At Doom's Gate". Should fit the hectic, sandbox-style gameplay of the map, like D_E1M1 does in a strange sort of way.
- MAP30: The Gateway of Hell - Uses "The End of DOOM". Should be a climactic, dramatic piece fitting for the final battle.
- MAP31: Cyberden - Uses "Sign of Evil", same as MAP06. Should be something ominous that befits the setting of a courtyard full of imprisoned cyberdemons.
- MAP32: Go 2 It - Uses "Nobody told me about id", same as MAP14. Should fit the insane MAP01-slaughtermap-remake style of the map.

Ribbiks · March 13, 2013

hmmm, okie doke. I think I'll make something.

Gez · March 13, 2013

Jimmy91 said:
- MAP32: Go 2 It - Should fit the insane MAP01-slaughtermap-remake style of the map.

Should also stay reasonably close from "Nobody told me about Id" since the "Go 4 It" and "Go @ It" tracks in PL2 and PRCP are variants of that song.

Well, I just feel it'd break a sort of continuity with the unofficial sequels.

PRIMEVAL · March 13, 2013

I might be able to contribute a song or two. Maybe more. :)

SyntherAugustus · March 13, 2013

I'm very interested, but if I were to contribute it'd be after I'm done working on a 12 min track I'm trying to finish.

Megamur · March 13, 2013

Oh, this sounds great! Plutonia always felt sort of cheap and unpolished for simply using recycled music like it did, so giving it a proper soundtrack will finally make it feel complete.

Of course, now the only problem is that TNT uses some recycled DOOM II music, and some of the new tracks get duplicated, resulting in less than 32 new songs for TNT. So unless some "fill-in" tracks are made for TNT too, the two Final DOOM halves will still be somewhat musically incongruous. Though, for now, Plutonia needs new music way more than TNT does. :)

Springy · March 13, 2013

Excellent idea Jimmy! I would contribute a track but I am not exactly literate with FL Studio and Ableton (which I have on here). I cannot wait for this, I hope StewBoy joins up too. Lastly, we should definitely have more community projects like this.

Doomkid · March 13, 2013

Jimmy, I'd love to write something for Hunted, I love making MIDI's and I always thought something could fit that map better! Something that truly reflects a vile-slaughterfest.

Archy · March 13, 2013

Map 11 should have that deceptively innocent sound to it. An example of this would be MM2's rendition of Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, though I don't think that particular piece would work well with "Hunted."

Jimmy · March 14, 2013

The interest here is very promising, thanks everybody for pitching in. :D Just to clarify, I will be working on something myself quite soon. :)

Doomkid: You're pencilled in for MAP11. ;)

Bucket · March 14, 2013

I'll make a track. Since I'm pretty unfamiliar with Plutonia, you can choose a map for me.

Jimmy · March 14, 2013

Bucket: How about for MAP09: Abattoire? It has a pretty consistent dark and bloody theme throughout. :)

PRIMEVAL · March 14, 2013

Surprise me with a map. I'm really only familiar with the first 5 or so maps, but I can work on any. I like surprises ;) lol

Jimmy · March 14, 2013

How about MAP23: Tombstone? See if you can make a song with an odd time signature like "Bye Bye American Pie". :P

PRIMEVAL · March 14, 2013

Jimmy91 said:
How about MAP23: Tombstone? See if you can make a song with an odd time signature like "Bye Bye American Pie". :P

I'll see what I can come up with X)

Bucket · March 15, 2013

OK then.

EDIT: Spent a few hours on this. It's not a masterpiece; I tried not to obsess over it like you said. If you want to give me another map, I can probably do a track next week.

http://speedy.sh/upRXp/plut09.mid
Title: "Plutocrat"
Time: 2:25
Size: 13.7 KB

Jimmy · March 17, 2013

Hehe, very nice indeed. :D It's got a nice blend of subtleness and more active melodies and a really nice chord progression towards the end. It also fits quite snugly in the "Doomy" category of MIDIs. :D Good job. ;) Just needs a name, now.

In terms of another map, how about MAP15? Has a consistently metal theme, unlike the majority of Plutonia's maps, so you might wish to experiment with something a bit different. :)

I'll start linking the files on the first post, and get a permanent project folder set up on my Powerhouse site.

I'll also think more about which slots I'll be claiming myself. I have my eye on MAP17 for some reason. (Won't claim it just yet, though.)

Flamen0d · March 17, 2013

I'd like to try map01

Jimmy · March 17, 2013

Okay, you've been added. :) Can I see any samples of previous work you've done? Just curious. :P

Flamen0d · March 17, 2013

Well, in terms of doom MIDI's hardly anything. just this http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?skff91p76bmjun6 which was just a quick experiment to try and make a MIDI that sounded doom-ish. turned out pretty bad though. Lol on second thought maybe I'm not the best person for making the MIDI for map01.

Jimmy · March 17, 2013

Don't be discouraged. :) You can always change your slot, or ask for help or for a fellow musician to collaborate with you. ;) Your MIDI shows promise. There's a few "odd things" in it (not nearly as unforgivable as some of the horrible mistakes I made), but these can be ironed out easily. Learn from your mistakes and give it your best anyway. :)

Unless you're really not sure about contributing, I'll keep you in for now. Up to you, though. :P

yakfak · March 17, 2013

Can you pencil me in for MAP26? that's a favourite of mine...

I've made many MIDIs in my life, lost most of them, but here are a few recent things which are more pensive and funk inclined; 1 2 3

I can always throw together some hard rock twelve bar if that's what I decide the level demands, haha... let me know!

Jimmy · March 17, 2013

Sure. :)

Those MIDIs are... trippy as hell. o_O Interesting indeed, but I'm not sure they lend themselves to Doom all that much. In order to get something fitting for a Doom map, you'd probably have to go with something more traditional-rock-oriented, like you said.

Anyway, MAP26 is yours. :)

Bucket · March 17, 2013

Personally, I don't see a problem with expanding to other genres. There's a reason why Plutonia is its own IWAD. I would sooner take inspiration from TNT or other games entirely than Doom/Doom2. Even Bobby Prince ventured away from adapting heavy metal songs.

I would try to remain faithful firstly to the limitations of the MUS format and secondly to the feel of the level. All other bets are off.

darkreaver · March 17, 2013

Bucket said:
OK then.

EDIT: Spent a few hours on this. It's not a masterpiece; I tried not to obsess over it like you said. If you want to give me another map, I can probably do a track next week.

http://speedy.sh/upRXp/plut09.mid
Size: 13.7 kb

This was very cool, except for the chord progression at the end =) It was okay, but something more minor`ish would fit better imo.

Not that my opinion matters though ;)

I`d like to contribute to this, but I`m not sure I have the time! I`ll be back to let you know if I can throw something together.

Bucket · March 18, 2013

OK, here's MAP15. It took about 2.5 hours to make. I've also named the other song in the original post.
http://speedy.sh/sCaUS/plut15.mid

Title: "Plummeting"
Time: 1:52
Size: 13.0 KB

Jimmy · March 18, 2013

'Fraid there's something wrong with it. It's 35kb, and neither Cakewalk nor Media Player can play it.

Shin Godzilla · March 18, 2013

Maybe I'll take a crack at Map31. Not sure when I'll have my MIDI done up by, but hopefully by next weekend. I'll upload a sample or two in the morning, if I remember.

Bucket · March 18, 2013

Jimmy91 said:
'Fraid there's something wrong with it. It's 35kb, and neither Cakewalk nor Media Player can play it.

I double-checked the link and it plays fine for me. Maybe check your cache?

Shin Godzilla · March 18, 2013

As promised, here's a sample of what I'm working on for Map31. It's far from finished, which is why it ends rather abruptly. And I didn't mean for it to match the action of the level, but it seems to work out nicely that way - it starts to pick up around the time you'd normally hit the switch to release the first Cyberdemon, for example.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?cs5t58nb77qq8qs

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Plutonia MIDI Pack project (/idgames link available)

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