Music in Phoenix Point!

What do you all think of the PS1 renditions of the X-com music?

Personally, I love them (I first played X-Com on the PS1), and have that version of the soundtrack on my PC.

If the music was simply a remaster of the soundtrack for UFO: Enemy Unknown, I would be eternally satisfied. Even better would be a remake of the music by a symphony orchestra since the original music does “suffer” from those 90s synth sounds, and they do sound a bit too “plastic-y”. But tracks like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp_tdLizEdo&t=3s really capture the essence of the dread atmosphere that was UFO: Enemy Unknown, and that I still miss to this date.

The BattleScape soundtrack is really great and I think 80/90s synth-sound is still perfect for dark, low-key ambient music. I don’t really like the rest of UFO: Enemy Unknowns soundtrack, it sounds cheap and doesn’t fit X-Coms atmosphere IMO.

For example:

TFTDs soundtrack on the other hand is much more consistent and mature. Every single track supports the overall atmosphere of dread and menace…

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I like PS1 soundtrack! I would even risk to say it’s better than PC version :slight_smile:

I always liked the fact that EU Geoscape have few variations of music. They are similar yet different and it’s so cool. PP could have something like its own few variations of Geoscape music, too!

@Lobsterman You’re right: it never quite fit to the theme but back then this music was so great! It was real intro inviting to the game with its dynamic and almost joyful tune. I love it even today :grinning:

Thanks to a GOG sale I recently bought XCOM Apocalypse and I’ve been listening to the game soundtrack quite a lot. It was also from Broomhall, and it has a few nice X-Files vibes to it, among other things.

A few tracks have a nice feel, similar to what Simeon Dotkov did with the music for the backer build.

I am pretty confident that John Broomhall will be able to make a very fine game soundtrack that even might contain elements or musical citations along the lines of It Follows, X-Files, Xenonauts (which also had a nice and eerie feel)… and so on. I’m really looking forward to what Joh’s going to come up with. Who knows, maybe we’ll get Dotkov’s tracks as a kind of “inofficial bonus tracks” or “fan made” music, avoiding any contractual conflicts of interest.

Edit:

So, I just recorded the sound without playing anything to get as much of the pure music as possible, and I’m quite surprised how long and varied the soundtrack is. Unfortunately there’s always wind whistling in the background, but it also gives it an interesting touch.

The “calm” music consists of a ~27 minutes loop with about 8 or 9 “segments” that are each between 2:30 and 4:30 minutes long.

And I noticed that there are a few moments that strongly remind me of the Dungeon Keeper 1/2 soundtracks.

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Good old OPL FM soundcard bleeps and bloops, in contrast to PCM wavetable cards :wink:

Xenonauts does a pretty good job at that, too. The style is different, but still creates a good atmosphere, using “horror” and synth music with a slight touch of John Carpenter (The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13 etc.), Chris Carter (X-Files) and Russel Shaw (Syndicate Wars).

(Timestamps for the different songs are in the descriptions):

Xenonauts OST part 1

Xenonauts OST part 2

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I like Xenonauts music! It has its own style and that’s a good thing.
Unfortunately X-Com Apocalypse music was always too bland for me… There was even dynamic transitions in missions, but poorly implemented and too techno-styled… I like one track in this soundtrack though: “Alone in Mega-Primus”.

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