Music from pre-alpha already got some very positive feedback and I know that devs are aware of it. I couldn’t help I love the effort took by Simeon Dotkov - I mentioned it in “My thoughts on backer build one” post but feel that this feature alone is worth separate thread.
I know that John Broomhall again takes the challenge of making soundtrack to PP as he did previously for X-com, and that’s great to know! BUT PLEASE consider to have Simeon Dotkov onboard as well. John and Simeon could make music for both tactical missions and geoscape and I’m sure game could only gain because of it.
In “My thoughts…” thread I stated what I think of music, let me quote this now:
/Music is perfect. I like how it reacts on the battlefield situations, changing its pace fluently. And by saying fluently I really mean it: many games tried to have dynamic soundtracks and many failed on that matter. It’s not an easy thing to do because dynamic music tends to be tedious fast. This is not happening in PP. My ears are not “attacked” by weird, stirred noises - because there are no such ones.I like dynamic alien music from pre-alpha, as much as atmospheric one: latter is simple enough to not be distractful and at the same time is interesting enough to not go unnoticeable. It perfectly blends in, fitting to the theme and providing chills:-)
There are not so many repetitions, too, so music feels fresh every time./
What I like about music from pre-alpha is, besides its quality, that it becomes dynamic when shooting happens but fluently get back to slower atmospheric state when shooting stops. It is definitely GREAT approach, all fresh and all better than in FXcom (where action music was played from the first encounter on the mission to the last turn of it). Please don’t change this.
Now you know I’m a bit of music geek. I can’t help I like soundtracks from the games, even more the ones which are good enough to listening out of game. But the most important thing is how good soundtrack may affect player and makes overall experience of playing particular game even greater.
If you have similar (or not) feelings, you can share them here
I remember UV saying something along the lines of JB having “exclusive” contract for the (ingame) music, so this may be harder to change than we think.
Too bad. It would be great to have Mr. Broomhall as main composer doing the most work, but also let Simeon do some cool new tracks, at least for some types of missions, or simply to be added to the pool of John’s tracks…
Oh well, maybe there is still a chance. In worst case scenario Simeon Dotkov could make “Music inspired by Phoenix Point game” or something like that. I would buy it instantly.
@Phoenix7786, maybe someone will rip it out of the game some day.
I completely agree with the OP about the music. The first time I heard the ‘Ki, ki, ki, ki… ma, ma, ma, ma…’ noises on one of the tracks, it gave me such incredible chills. Because it literally reminded me of the infamous chant from Friday the 13th, when you knew Jason was nearby. I half-expected a dude in a hockey mask with a battered machete to show up.
First of all, I’d like to hear Broomhall’s tunes.
Second, I don’t really like music from the demo. However, I don’t dislike it either. Its just “ok” for the demo.
Third, I’d love to hear ambient sound as well in the case I prefer to switch music off completely (which you normally don’t hear if music is on). In FXcom1 soundtrack was perfect, I always played with music. However in FXcom2 it is mediocre and so I switched it off - just to uncover all those sounds in the background you don’t normally hear -) It was cool.
I also don’t like the music from the demo. To be more specific: I don’t like the “action music” and how it dynamically replaces the otherwise very atmospheric ambient music.
I hope Broomhall doesn’t use dynamic music at all. In most cases it just kills immersion and atmosphere. For me music is one of the most important aspects for creating atmosphere in a game/movie.
The BattleScape soundtrack of X-Com and the whole soundtrack of TFTD were perfection:
IMO the most atmospheric game soundtrack ever: “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl”
I’m not a big fan of dynamic music, too, but I’ve tried to say that IMO in PP it works perfect: it isn’t tiring, fits in perfectly and quickly fades down to the ambience again.
I realise that making dynamic soundtrack is much more difficult because at least two melodic lines are needed instead of one. And it should fit with each other, otherwise gets tedious pretty fast.
Atmospheric, steady soundtrack in a horror game will always be better than mediocre dynamic one, but even ambience may have some dynamic notes, changes of tempo or few other surprises which makes music more memorable.
For me the ambient music fits in perfectly (I like the brooding 80s horror movie feeling), but the dynamic “action music” is too flashy and obtrusive - it kills the otherwise nice atmosphere.
Ambient music with subtle dynamic notes might work great, but at the moment the “action” music is just too much of a contrast.
I really think an atmospheric, steady soundtrack would be the best. X-Com and TFTD still create this eerie atmosphere and I think the steady ambient music plays a great part in it.
If “action music” will be included in the final game, I hope there will be an option like “enable/disable dynamic action music”. If turned off, the game should play just the ambient soundtrack.
I liked the dynamic music of the 2016 DOOM, though that particular type of music wouldn’t really fit in PP for the most part. Dynamic music really depends on how it’s done, but it can potentially ratchet up the tension/suspense without burning the player out and making them stop playing or just becoming numb to use music. Constantly having the music at an “eight” for example can just get to be too much, but keeping it at a 4-6 and then spiking to 8-10 can help prevent this burnout/numbness while still maintaining a constant (if generally low-key) level of suspense.
Great examples, the Alien title music still gives me the chills.
As for the (not so dark) atmospheric map/base/management music, I think Mass Effect with “Uncharted Worlds” did it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TICn16U-rI
Yes, Alien is still the most atmospheric movie I have ever seen (close second: Tarkowskijs “Stalker”). The soundtrack is just perfect.
“Uncharted Worlds” is great (and extremley relaxing) and it fits Mass Effects atmosphere. I am not sure, but for PP I would really love to see something like the soundtrack of TFTD. Every piece of the soundtrack was (to some degree) dark and brooding. Even the title for “victory” was dark and pessimistic [1]. I think such a universal pessimistic undertone would fit PPs narrative.
