Music/Soundtrack

[i950]

So far, I believe the music for Pioneer is a few MIDI tracks of public domain classical music pieces. How much interest is there in developing this further?

I have some basic editing software and I know how to use it. Is there anyone else who is musically inclined who would like to contribute? Also, is there a good starting point to start overhauling the music? I'm not sure what exactly everyone has in mind as far as the atmosphere/tone the game should be putting across. I will make a few atmospheric/classical type tunes and begin with that.

[robn]

Actually we have several original compositions as well. Listen to the stuff in data/music.

That said, we do not have much other than ambient music. We need some good general situational stuff, and perhaps a few per-faction or per-system tracks.

There's also been talk of a kind of "componentised" music, where we assemble tracks from fragments according to what's happen around the player. That's much harder to achieve.

But you do what you like and feel comfortable with. Even a bit more "spacey" music wouldn't hurt. Have fun!

[i950]

Great! I've now listened to all of the tracks in the current build. I would love to remaster some of them if I can get my hands on the original MIDIs, if you guys think it's worth it.

I will be using links to my SoundCloud account to share if that's okay. I don't know any other good way to post tracks on the forum, so if anyone else knows a better way, I'm open to suggestions.

My goal right now is to replace all of the public domain classical music with music that fits the game better. That said, if there's anything anyone wants done sooner rather than later, I can change directions. I'll be taking your advice and work on the situation-based tunes.

Here's a quick test of the SoundCloud link. If there's anything wrong, please let me know!

Thanks

[Tichy]

Before removing pieces from the pioneer soundtrack, I ask for a public consultation! :D
There are songs that I absolutely love!

[i950]

No worries Tichy! If they want, people can let me know which ones they really like and I won't try to replace them. I won't actually change anything until there's a consensus from everyone that the replacements should be made. I'm not even sure how to influence the files that go into the next release yet, so it will probably be up to you guys to include the tracks I make.

I'll be posting a few of the tracks I've made later today. I'd like to make it clear that I don't want to make changes to the game without input from people here. I assumed you guys would let me know what's good and what isn't, but I just wanted to make sure. I'll post the SoundCloud links soon, and then I hope you guys can give me input on what can work for the project. Of course, these will be very early tracks, so don't expect Hans Zimmer quite yet!

As always, if anyone else has done a bit of work on the soundtrack already or has something to contribute, I'm open to working with them! I don't have a whole lot of experience mixing for a project yet, so I'm still learning.

[i950]

Here's a few tracks I put together really quickly. Bear in mind they will still need a lot of work before putting them in the game.

The first track is a slow piece best suited to a menu screen. It's the first iteration, so it still needs tweaking, but the basic idea is there.

The next track is a short announcement track for a player death or loss scenario. It also needs a lot of work, but it was good practice for the shorter tracks. Not everything will be a long song-type track, a few will be a short riff like this.

What I will be doing now that I have a better idea of the culture in the game is creating suites for each faction. Each suite will consist of a main theme song for now. If things go well, I'll add some situational tracks to each suite based off the main theme.

• The Solar Federation will have a very regal and pomp & circumstance sort of theme. Lots of trumpets and drums etc.
• The Confederation of Independent Worlds suite will be similar to the S.F. suite, but with a more classical feel. I'm not very certain about their culture, so input is welcome!
• The Haber Corporation theme will be more streamlined and sleek. Their theme will be a blend of elevator music and soft, synthesized, "spacey" music.
• The Tolan Kingdom suite will be more tribal, robust music. I don't want to overdo it, but there will probably be a fair amount of drums and xylophone-like tunes.
• The Feudal Four theme will be more of a renaissance music suite. A few flutes, maybe, but I still want to keep them "spacey" feeling.
• I'm not quite sure what to do for the Independent Worlds, so any suggestions there would be super.

As always, if you have anything to add track-wise or suggestion-wise, you're welcome to let me know. I don't want to hijack the culture of the factions by getting their music wrong, so feel free to correct me if you feel the music for a faction should sound differently.

[Ray]

I would love to contribute some sounds / music (mostly ambient and space) as time will let me.
I'm new in Pioneer and curious if I add new sounds / music files - how do I tell game where and how to use it - with script ?

Here are some of my works:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JulianRayMusic

[i950]

Ray, have you read the readme in the music directory? I am no good at writing code myself, but I believe there was some information on how to implement the tracks there.

I really like what you have on your YouTube channel! I have very little experience with this sort of thing, so feel free to give me some suggestions. This is the first time I've composed for a project like this.

Everyone, here is what I've started for the faction suites; they're just rough drafts so far. FYI: these are links to the SoundCloud website, as usual.

Solar Federation Theme
I rather like this one. Granted, it still needs work, but it's my favorite so far.

Haber Corporation Theme
This one may be a bit too energetic for the mood i was trying to get across, so I might tweak it. This track also had some sort of equalizer problem when I converted it to OGG. I'm pretty sure of how to fix it. For those wondering, it shows up at 1:02 with the higher pitched notes, then repeats whenever that same riff comes up. They are simply much louder than I meant them to be.

Let me know what you think. I'm still working on the C.I.W. and the Feudal Four theme's rough draft. I'll continue working on these to make them more presentable. New iterations will replace older versions on the website, so if you check the same url later there may be a newer version of the track playing.

[nozmajner]

Three noise guys found us in a weekend! :)
I'm looking forward hearing your work in the game.
I don't know about sound and music handling in the game, since I'm working on visuals. Might be a good idea asking around around on IRC, usually you can find a developer there more quickly. (i950 beat me on this a few minutes :D)

@i950: My thoughts about factions:
I think SolFed might go well with a kind of proud, a bit jazzy, bluesy feel.
CIW might have some underdog touches, they were separatist from the SolFed, and now they are independent and at a cold war with them, so I would think their taste is a bit different.
Haber: Elevator music :D Perfectly matches in my opinion.
Independents might go well with some kind of bluegrass, country feel, but I'm not sure.

I think the two tracks you made are nice. Maybe a little bit sterile now, but they are work in progress after all. :)
The second one may be a bit menacing for those occasions, but I'm not sure.

@Ray: I like those tracks of yours too.

[Ray]

Ray, have you read the readme in the music directory?

Thanks for pointing me to readme - now I see how it works!

I've just listened out all the sounds / music from 'data' folder...
Some sounds have a very low level and need to be normalized. I don't think it was made intentionally. So, I'm curious how do I tell the game which sound play with which level (loudness)?