New Music

[WKFO]

Since I don't want to create a new forum post for every single music I will throw them all in here:

https://soundcloud.com/homeworld-kerbin/tombstone3 (ship-destroyed)

https://ufile.io/fq33k (docking/space station)

https://ufile.io/rk9u6 (space)

https://ufile.io/gnd9p (combat)

[Tichy]

I like the atmosphere. A little menacing, somehow. I liked it more on the beginning... then the interest faded. I didn't liked very much all the repetition of that "clap" sound. It stands out very much and makes the piece a little too repetitive. Maybe a regular beat could be less repetitive... or no beat at all and more layers of soundscapes.
Uhmm... I'm thinking of some Klaus Schulze pieces. Try listening to his albums Cyborg for more menacing ambient, or K.S. Blackdance and Green Desert by Tangerine Dream for some beats.

I'm not a musician, anyway... just an enthusiast.

[bszlrd]

Not bad, but to me something's missing and out of place. Can't comment more specifically, my working knowledge of music is quite thin.
It reminds me a bit to Final Fantasy music, especially from FF VII, from the stressful parts. Which isn't a problem in itself, but feels a bit out of place.

And I also agree with that clap track is quite distracting.

In general, the music side of Pioneer is quite neglected and a bit of a salad since most of us (if not all) are mostly on the listening side of things (as Tichy said).

And to be honest, it's quite rare when I don't turn off music in games as the first thing after installing. I tend to listen to my kind of music instead. Pioneer is no exception, I never actually listened to it's music. So I can't say much about your question regarding the whys of 8/16bit -ish feel.
I saw that quite a few is made by s20dan, maybe you could ping him on github to comment.

[WKFO]

OK, I might try again sometime later.
I don't think I can really save this one by modifications so...
TRASH BIN! *dumping sound*

Thanks for the feedback btw.

[bszlrd]

Thanks for going knee-deep into that less treaded side of Pioneer!

[bszlrd]

Why throwing it out? I think it's a nice piece, but needs a bit of polish. (sorry if I came trough too critical, wasn't my intention) Are you sure you want to ditch it already?

[laarmen]

Oh yeah, I totally agree on the FFVII vibe. From the first high notes I kept expecting Sephiroth to come by my office and slaughter everyone...

While a nice piece in itself, I can't see a situation in Pioneer where it would be suitable. The overall slow beat associated with the imperfect chords are remarkably efficient at conveying a diffuse sense of danger, which, well, we don't have.

Also, the current music is very lighthearted, with very few arrangement. Granted, that's not much of an argument.

[WKFO]

I tried not to ditch it, and I still might try not to ditch it (though I still dont believe I can make sth good out of it).
The menacing was unintentional, first of all. I just wanted a slow music to listen to while admiring the planet.
I removed the clap, as well, I will remove the drums at the start if this is what you were talking about.

And keep critisizing because this is how we can accomplish better things.

EDIT: News news news! (OK, it is nothing, don't get too excited)

I decided not to ditch it completely, but to heavily modify it. I swapped the "clap" sound with a much smoother percussion, removed the choir and the "Evil Drum of Doomsday". I removed some part that caused the song to repeat itself, it is much shorter now but hey, it might be progress!

Oh, I also accelerated it a little. So it is even shorter. (A little less than 3 mins.)

As I said it became shorter, but unless if it is a SAR mission (or a very short range courier) people don't spend much time near planets. I still think this piece mostly belongs to near-planet or bulletin board (yes, I literally said bulletin board).

Let's hope it won't give a "menacing" feel to anyone.

Here, still in progress: SEE THE POST BELOW

[WKFO]

I noticed the strings go crazy in the second version. I will take a look tomorrow (tomorrow as in middle east)

So I have taken a look. How I ended up: I CHANGED MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL SEE THE FIRST POST FOR URL
I would kindly ask for feedback again before I decide what to do next. More info about what I did so far is in video description.

[Tichy]

I felt a little guilty when I you said that you ditched the whole tune... I like this kind of music style, and I didn't wanted to put you down.
About this version, I think it's better. Usually, the menacing or sinister mood comes from minor chords and scales, from dissonances (e.g. the music from Gyorgy Ligeti in the 2001 a space odyssey soundtrack) and when a phrase ends in lower tones. Just for a silly example: search on youtube for Angel of death by Slayer, and the so called "Radio Disney Version".
What I'll try to change:
The attack of some instrument is quite abrupt. I'll try to make it smoother. eg. the synth that starts at 0:55
I still can't assimilate that martial drum beat... Did you tried to do a version without it?