Lurker > Solfadore

Dear Crow

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

While I'm shamelessly bumping the topic here, I'd really like to thank you, Maria (and Liquid, too, obviously) for giving me the motivation and opportunity to actually finish a few musical projects I had left hanging for a while! I just finished, recorded and uploaded a piano rendition of Dear You from Higurashi that I had been working on for... quite some time!

(Link:

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

The comments to the article are quite fascinating.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Crow Purge.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Haven't played Last Specter yet, but I would suggest maybe starting with that one? Unwound Future is the 3rd game in the first trilogy, while Last Specter is a prequel. While playing the first two games isn't absolutely necessary to understand the plot, you could miss quite a bit if you're not familiar with some of the recurring characters.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: saveus_Maria | #191
on that note I'd also prefer if this topic didn't purge, that way I have it as a reminder to work on the game in my free time.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

What's this about paramore twitter boobs now?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Phoenix Wright > Layton > 999 >> Ghost Trick > Hotel Dusk. All of them are good, although the first three are a tier above the last two, IMO. You can't go wrong with Phoenix Wright, btw (the first three games anyway).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I think Season 1 overall was better than what we've seen so far, if only because it seemed more like a coherent whole rather than chunks of various plots put together. Some individual scenes in S2 are ridiculously good (Arya/Tywin, I'm looking at you. Also some Tyrion stuff), but on the whole, it's a bit messy.

On the other hand, ACoK is much harder to adapt than AGoT, so I don't hold it against the writers, who continue to astound me with the quality of the show.

I agree with whoever said Arya was S2's MVP, btw. I really hope Maisie Williams gets nominated for an Emmy (even if she won't win, just the nom would be great).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: Iubaris | #103
Just wait until the episode titled "Battle of the Blackwater." I think that's next, actually.

Title's just 'Blackwater'. And it's episode #9.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

So I heard there was this game called Crow Town.


(Maria, remember that you were the one who wanted to keep it within a two week limit. If you want to take more time to make something that you feel is better, nobody'll mind.)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

1. Dragonite
2. Lapras
3. Charizard
4. Serperior
5. Typhlosion
6. Electivire
7. Scizor
8. Milotic
9. Misdreavus
10. Snivy

Misdreavus absolutely doesn't belong there, but aside from that, this is pretty accurate. All of the other 9 would make my top 25, at the very least.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Meanwhile, absolutely yes for D'Artagnan.

As far as Alexandre Dumas is concerned, though, d'Artagnan's got nothing on Monte-Cristo/Dantès.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I'm fine either way, but I'd rather you take all the time you need and we get the finished product. :)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Crow Town.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Emil from ToS2 is pretty bad, but I don't know if he qualifies for 'worst of all time'. IIRC, the protagonist from School Days would also be in the run.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Could you offer a choice of alternate music for some zones? I.e. have 2-3 songs for the same zone and the player can just switch between those if they want?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Here you go: http://soundcloud.com/solfadore/downhill

I'm not a huge fan of how it turned out, tbh. Feels a bit... empty. Oh well.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Hopefully, I should be done with Downhill tonight. If not, I'll just send another version of what I currently have with appropriate sound quality.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: blindhobo13 | #011
I had a ~3000 word paper due on Tuesday.

I still only have 146 words. I'm so stupid.

I had about two weeks to start and finish three papers, amounting to about 17,000 words. Had 200+ footnotes between the three of them. You'll be fine.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: saveus_Maria | #165
do it however you feel most comfortable. I don't care as long as it sounds good!

Well, in the end, my question was pointless. Downhill in Modplug sounds absolutely horrendous (i.e. it's a disaster and ear torture). I'll stick to Anvil for this one, and since Anvil is rather, ah... limited when it comes to chiptunes, it'll have to be piano. I'll try and see if I can't get some square in this, but I doubt it'll do much good.

Or I could try something a bit weird which might work. >_>

...

I think I'm going to need a bit more detail on this ???? zone, Maria. Is it some kind of special/bonus area that's just a tad out of place with the rest of the game (similar to Donkey Kong Country Returns' Golden Temple, for instance)? Or is it "simply" an upbeat zone that flows seamlessly with the other areas? I'm thinking of getting a bit creative here with the rhythm and essentially looping the piece twice:
> Once fast-paced and upbeat - pretty much what I've uploaded already on soundcloud
> Once much softer - vaguely similar in tone to the end of September Stream

Obviously, the softer touch might not fit with what you had in mind for the area, in which case I'll think of something else. Which is why I'd like to know what ???? zone is all about.

I like the idea of starting chiptune-style and slowly working the piano in, ending the piece with 100% piano and a softer touch, but it might be hard to pull off effectively - especially since my tools are limited. If I don't like the result, I'll just stick to piano.

Any thoughts or impressions?

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: saveus_Maria | #135
**Downhill - ???? Zone

Was going to ask you about this, but then forgot. Does that "????" mean you haven't figured out if you'll include it, or if so, where? Or did you actually think of something and just don't want to spill it?

In any event, if you do decide to include it, how do you want me to remix it? Full chiptune? Or do we go with the 'half-piano, half-chiptune' thing we discussed earlier? Or even full piano? Starts with chiptune but then grows into piano as time passes (though in that case, it'll turn back to chiptune once it loops)?

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Et moi qui croyais que le français gagnerait haut la main ce concours de charme...

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

These Tywin-Arya scenes are just such a great addition to the series.

Best episode of the season so far.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Cleaner (and downloadable) version of September Stream available here: http://soundcloud.com/solfadore/september-stream-final

Also, Maria, check your PMs!

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

What the hell are you talking about? This is awesome! Really atmospheric (this just has to be the last zone before the final boss). The chords/accompaniment, especially, are top notch.

--> The high notes at 0:15-0:16 and 0:22-0:23 (i.e. the last note in the triplet) are brilliant.
--> Really good rhythm all around. You've got a knack for rhythm and tension that I lack badly.
--> Re: the lead. Just a thought, but could you try suspending/extending the note you've got at 0:30 until 0:33 (i.e. the last 'E' in your G E D E bit and cutting the "C E A..." part), and maybe fill the blank with additional percussions - for instance with a different drum beat that would start from 0:27 when your lead comes in? I'm not sure what you think, but I get the feeling it could give the piece even more energy! Either way, it's really good!

The song has a "mountain/peak" feeling, IMO.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Well, here we go: Jungle Stream chiptunized (and sped up)!

I must've spent hours trying to make this work - haven't even done the 3rd part of the song yet but it'll have to do for now. I'll record September Stream tomorrow and I'll move to Downhill afterwards. I might try to add the 3rd part once I'm done with the other pieces, but I doubt I'll have the time until the 15th, making this the likely final version of Jungle Stream. Please let me know if this gets annoying on too many repeats; I've kind of grown numb to the song! >_>

http://soundcloud.com/solfadore/jungle-stream-v2

I shamelessly stole the drum beats from a helpful tutorial online (I take no credit for that). I am somewhat pleased, though, with the little Pixie tune that starts at 0:24. Took me forever to get just right, but I think the result is pretty catchy. Anyway, enjoy!

EDIT: It is downloadable, btw.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: saveus_Maria | #135
** = This needs to be fixed and made available for download. Specifically, the levels of these tracks are very low for some reason.

Reason being that I've yet to find a decent MIDI to MP3 converter. I won't have that problem using modplug.

(And modplug's actually pretty awesome! I'm still getting my bearings around it, but it's simpler than it seemed at first glance!)

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I'm still waiting on your take on September Stream (aka whether or not you'd like to include the piano piece as is) before really reworking things through. As I said, I don't think I'll be able to chiptunize the piece while keeping the original feel - I'll have to settle on adapting Jungle Stream on modplug. So basically:

---> If you'd rather have only chiptunes, I'll really try to get Jungle Stream working well, and will upload a downloadable version once it's done.
---> If you'd like to include Sept Stream, I'll record a cleaner version and will make it available to download (while still remixing Jungle Stream on modplug).

Still working on Downhill.

I probably won't be entirely done until the 9th or the 10th, at the earliest, which is why I uploaded the early versions - so that you have an idea of what you'd be working with (final versions won't change much to the overall feel of each piece).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

It's more of a societal choice, really. Obviously, $2800 per semester is not the end of the world, and a good majority of the population will still be able to access university. Herein lies your problem, though. Should it be "a good majority", or "everyone, regardless of funds"? The thing with education is that it's the one tool that really gives everyone a chance at success. Without it, you're pretty much stuck with low-wage jobs unless you have some sort of incredible talent, or an incredible business sense (and even then). With it - provided you're good enough at it, know what you want and how to achieve it - you can aim pretty much anywhere.

So yeah, $2800/semester is not going to really hurt a lot of people. There are, however, some people *right now* that have a very hard time making ends meet (I personnally know a few of them, and they're living very, very soberly to afford education); a 75% hike will pretty much prevent them from achieving university education. A university system that is only available to the most well-of is not a good system. That is, at least, the position of people opposing the hike.

My position is a bit more nuanced - aka I think that 75% is way too much, both as a practical and a symbolic hike (at the end of the day, it's not going to help cut the debt much, so it's mainly an ideological policy designed to gain favour with non-students for the approaching provincial elections). On the other hand, I don't approve of a complete freeze on tuition either. I wish we could settle for some sort of middle ground.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Beatrice (Umineko)
Bernkastel (Umineko)
Petyr Baelish (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Tywin Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Damon Gant (Phoenix Wright)
Colonel Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Look, I love CG a lot and find it to be highly entertaining (definitely one of my favourite anime series - I prefer it over the stuff I've suggested), but it's not philosophical by any stretch of the imagination. One could try to analyze its general themes philosophically ("what is evil? Can someone achieve good through evil means? Can good be achieved through an evil system?"), but the series itself clearly doesn't do anything with it. It's entertaining, but certainly not "deeply philosophical".

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: Mozzezz | #039
Code Geass

No. You can call Geass a lot of things, but not deeply philosophical.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: Liquid Wind | #117
I also know a really good free piano VST so it'd be easy to get better sound quality on these.

I must know. I must know at once.

Maria, let me know if you want me to record a cleaner version of September Stream. I don't think we should change the whole feel of the soundtrack simply because I'm incapable of composing chiptunes, though. >_>

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Haibane Renmei (my personal favourite)
Bokurano (I'd read the manga, though, but the anime's alright, I guess)
Serial Experiments Lain (a bit on the weird side)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Warning: this is a work in progress. It's awfully repetitive and might, I suspect, grow to be quite annoying on too many repeats. The progression is not ideal either: the final part (from 0:50 onwards) seems to come a bit out of nowhere. I'll have to build up to it a bit. Thus, some of it will change before the final version. Either way, here's my third song, so that Maria can get some idea of what he'd work with. I think it could fit with one of the later levels or with a boss fight (if you fight, like, a super-happy bird or something).

Title is "Downhill".

http://soundcloud.com/solfadore/sample_03_downhill

EDIT: BTW, the sound quality is atrocious. Obviously, it'll be better by the time I'm done with the definitive pre-chiptune version.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: Liquid Wind | #114
kroe battl too

http://www.mediafire.com/?74rba7rsxi3uich

This is really good, Liquid! I like it a lot!

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Just watched the episode, expected a mixed bag given the reviews I read and was very pleasantly surprised! Now, non-book readers might've lost a bit here and there (due to the many plotlines ongoing at the same time), but as a book reader, that was an absolute delight! Probably my second favourite episode yet after What is Dead May Never Die. Arya/Tywin was a glorious addition, and I really liked Stannis/Davos too (Dillane and Cunningham are killing it!).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Dahlia Hawthorne (Phoenix Wright)
Damon Gant (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Wheatley (Portal 2)

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Instead of working on September Stream as intended, I've been trying to come up with a whole new composition (something a bit happier/faster than September Stream). It's a bit blander/simpler than the previous two, though, but easier to chiptunize as well. Should be done with the early MIDI version pre-chiptunization by Thursday.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: junk_funk | #030
Sosuke Aizen (Bleach) - No

Why?

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Angelus (Buffy) - Yes
Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl) - No
Asch the Bloody (Tales of the Abyss) - No
Bad Girl (No More Heroes) - Yes
The Black Knight (Fire Emblem 9-10) - Yes
Boba Fett (Star Wars) - No
Coyote Starrk (Bleach) - Yes
Gin Ichimaru (Bleach) - Yes
Gollum (The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit) - Yes
Light Yagami (Death Note) - Yes
Mallorie 'Mal' Cobb (Inception) - Yes
Marik Ishtar (Yugioh) - Change to Yami Marik
Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh) - No
Sosuke Aizen (Bleach) - Yes
Tim (Braid) - Yes
Tom Nook (Animal Crossing) - No
Wheatley (Portal 2) - Yes
Zero (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors) - No

Why is Aizen even challenged?

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

That website seems pretty accurate, Cly. Tuition fees themselves are a little over 2k/year right now - to go up to ~3.7k/year by 2016/2017. Total university bills will depend on the university, but I guess the average will go from ~3k to ~4.7k/year (not semester).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Don't sell yourself short, Liquid. Original First Flight is okay as is, but your edit drastically improved it all around! The song's rhythm is ridiculously good now - which is something I would never have figured out on my own.

Haven't had the time to truly work on Sept/Jungle Stream yet due to job applications and interviews; hopefully, I should be able to resume this on Tuesday. I'll probably have to settle on Jungle Stream, though - I just don't think the original piano version would work well as a chiptune (left hand/accompaniment doesn't translate well).

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I'll have to go with my man Tyrion.

I'm completely fine with Jaime winning it all, though. Great final.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Togami's a mile ahead of everyone.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

In Dorne: Sons/daughters, then brothers/sisters. Which means if Joffrey has children, it's them first, then Myrcella and her children, then Tommen.

Outside Dorne: Sons, then brothers. Which means it's Joffrey, then his sons, then Tommen.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

From: UnluckyAssassin | #076
Light Yagami - No. Despite being a little conceited, he had good intentions originally, and his change over time could be considered due to the influence of the Death Note, making him in another of its victims

That's actually a pretty good argument, but I wouldn't say the Death Note by itself had any influence over him. It's a book, not the One Ring. He started out with good intentions (misguided as they were) and then turned heel over time, but that's not because of the Note. It's because of the *power* the Note granted him. There's a big nuance there. Light got drunk on power and started to abuse it because he saw himself as the god of the new world - and he abuses it from very early on. He became a villain because of his inherent flaws, not because of some external force. This is why I'd say he's definitely a villain.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Re: debated characters.

- Nook: not a villain. A bit amoral, perhaps, as he does force you into debt, but not enough to make him a villain. It's not like he's actively trying to collect it back either. Amoral =/= evil.
- Wheatley: seems like a villain to me (I nommed him), but I guess it could be debatable - technically, the real 'villain' was the mainframe, which simply corrupted GlaDOS/Wheatley into testing. What's you guys' call on it?
- Asch: Absolutely not a villain. He's an anti-hero and is just trying to do the right thing. Sure, he's a bit douchey on the side, but with good reason, and that still doesn't make him anywhere near villainous.
- Kaiba: As I said earlier, not a villain. He's a villain for one season and one episode. Starting from there, he's a straight anti-hero/rival.
- Bad Girl's a villain. Sure, she might not be so different from Travis, but Travis's not exactly a hero himself. Murdering people with baseball bats and taking pleasure/enjoyment from their suffering screams 'villain' to me.
- Gin's a villain. Sure, he was a good guy at heart, but going by the definition, he's more memorable as a villain. His heel/face turn came a few chapters before biting the dust. Spent 99.5% of the story as a villain.
- Zero from 999 is not a villain, for the reasons outlined earlier.
- Light's a villain for sure. Typical example of a villain protagonist.

- Black Knight from FE9-10, on the other hand, is much, much more debatable. I'm still unsure about whether or not I see him as a villain or just misguided. Overall, I'd say he is, but I'd leave that open for debate.

--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore