TIE Fighter Soundtrack

[Kusi81]

here's an updated version of the song: Ode To Tie

 

SPECIAL THANKS TO LASERSCHWERT!!! :-)

 

http://soundcloud.com/kusi81/ode-to-tie-v7-2-composed-by

[Laserschwert]

Wow, great job!

 

The step from EWQLSO Silver to Gold is really apparent... also, EWSLSO's reverb sounds sooo good... no need for further reverbs :-)

[MusicallyInspired]

I CAN'T STAND it when Star Wars games just take the lazy route and rip the movie soundtracks. I really appreciate the few games that actually had original scores. Quite a slap in the face to the composers who wrote them by "updating" them and using the movie scores instead.

[Laserschwert]

By the way, here's my latest version of the main theme: http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp/TIE_Intro_EWQLSO_2.mp3

[MusicallyInspired]

Very nice. I just purchased GPO4 myself from the Sonar website. They had a sale on it for Sonar X1 owners. Looking forward to a jump in quality from the Edirol Orchestral plugin I've been using. And if that track is any indication I'm going to be quite happy.

[Kusi81]

By the way, here's my latest version of the main theme: http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp/TIE_Intro_EWQLSO_2.mp3

 

 

I'm impressed about the brass section (trumpets, trombones and so go on) I've a few questions about them:

 

1. Which samples did you use?

2. Do you use the "Template" tracks from the midi for each instruments? I mean do you use the trumpet track with trumpetssamples or do you make a mix?

 

[Laserschwert]

Well, I've used tons of samples... different legatos, staccatos, some crescendos... and yes, I've used trumpet samples on the turmpet track, trombone samples on the trombone track, and so on.

 

The only thing where I've just mixed intruments are the string tracks, which each of them getting 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and double basses.

 

By now I even bought the two additional mic positions (close and surround), which improves the sounds a lot! Unfortunately my harddrive is too slow to stream all these samples, so I guess I'm gonna get a SSD for them.

 

I felt the above version of the theme was still a bit too muddy, so here's a version with slightly louder "close mics" on the brass tracks (trumpets, trombones, horns...) to make them sound a bit sharper:

http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp/TIE_Intro_EWQLSO_3.mp3

[Kusi81]

sounds nice!

 

Did you buy only the close mics of the brass section?

 

How do mixed the string section? sounds cool!!!! Like to the Large Ensemble-Samples:thmbup1:

[Laserschwert]

Nah, you can only purchase the extra mics for all instruments together.

 

The string section isn't mixed in a special way, I've just thrown all the string instruments in there:

 

 

I've used two instances of PLAY on each string track (the manual advises to use several instances of PLAY, to be more processor and memory friendly). The first thing I do is setting all "long" notes to channel 15 (so that they get all the legato/sustain instruments, as you can see on the left - the first instance of PLAY on that track). Then I set all "short" notes to channel 16, so they play as the staccatos/marcatos/short instruments on the right (the second instance of PLAY).

 

As you can see on the left I've added another 18-violins instrument ("Lyrical") to channel 14 and a "Run Simulator" to channel 13 since some cues just need some different string sounds here and there.

 

That's basically all the "mixing" I've done to the strings, just using their basic settings.

[Kusi81]

Thanks for the informations. I used on PLAY! instance per instrument channel, that works very well But it's interesting to see how other people works

 

I noticed that some of the single tone velocities are to high. The result was the trumpets and trombones played too loud and it didn't sound like a real brass instrument. You didn't hear the difference between trumpets and trombones. Now the listening experience is much better, but now I know why you bought an additional mic position: the brass section is more in the background now.

 

I thinking about also buying the additional mic positions....

[Reid]

Heyo. I've been lurking this thread (and only this thread) since shortly after it started last year. I finally got around to registering for this forum for the sole purpose of asking if this project ever advanced any further. That last pass at the intro is really, really good. After 18 years, I still find myself humming Peter McConnell's score for TIE Fighter a lot. Gotta love those heroic Imperial leitmotifs.

 

As well as this project was going, I hope it was not abandoned. You were doing absolutely great work.

 

Keep up the good work on behalf of the Empire!

 

--Reid.

[Laserschwert]

Funny... I've re-started working on this (from scratch) the day you posted that. Let's hope I'll finish it this time around

[Reid]

Funny... I've re-started working on this (from scratch) the day you posted that.

 

Well, that can mean only one thing, and one thing only: it's definitely, absolutely, positively, 100%, no doubt about it, undeniably, no ifs ands or buts about it, most certainly, beyond any certainty to any conviction that I've ever held to anything in my entire life, clearly a genuine, bonnefied sign, is what it is.

 

...or maybe it's just a coincidence.

 

Either way, best of luck! I look forward to (hopefully) hearing some new tracks. You can do it!

 

--Reid.

[Laserschwert]

All right, I've replaced all tracks in the first post with new versions (except for the Introduction), and added a few more. I think I've finally found some good ways to do these, so they are probably the final versions. As soon as the rest of the tracks is done, I think I'll tackle the Introduction track again, to make it sound as good as the new tracks.

[Laserschwert]

I've added the music of the 13 campaign cutscenes in the game. Apart from the inflight music there's only 7 more tracks to go (plus re-doing the introduction). There might be a couple of tracks that are not part of the extracted MIDIs, but appear only in-game instead. Until I find a way to extract those as well, they won't be included here.

 

Edit: Added the 7 missing tracks. I'm still not sure how to deal with the in-flight music... and actually Kusi81's "Ode to Tie" is already quite fantastic, apart from some minor hiccups here and there.

[Reid]

Wow, very nicely done. Some of those tracks sound just amazing.

 

Are you mixing all the instruments and levels individually for each track? Or do you have a setup that allows you to pass the MIDI tracks through and change them to a uniform sound without having to fiddle with each in a unique way?

 

--Reid.

[Laserschwert]

Nah, the "fire and forget" process is long gone for me. I do have some basic setups I can use, but I still have to split single notes to single instruments. As opposed to the way I did it early in this thread, I am now splitting different string lines to different instruments - violins, violas, celli and double bass, for example - and I don't think that can be automated. Furthermore I'm manually "drawing" the so called "mod wheel" graph (mimicking the function of the mod wheel on a MIDI keyboard), which basically defines the expressiveness of a single note (like starting loud, becoming softer in the middle, and slowly fading out at the end), which is sometimes different than just changing the volume of a note, since the instruments sound different depending on how loud the are played (and libraries like EWQLSO have these different sounds - depending on note volume - already programmed in, which is very cool). It's still not perfect, but the best I can do at the moment.

 

If there weren't any copyright problems (and with Star Wars there always are), I'd start a Kickstarter to fund an actual orchestral recording of this

[Laserschwert]

I've replaced the old intro music with a new version, that matches the sound of my newer files. So I guess with the exception of the inflight music this is pretty much it!

[Reid]

Bravo! It all sounds fantastic. The changes you made to the arrangement and mix of "Main Title and Introduction," which I really thoroughly enjoyed before, were superbly done. That track now (appropriately) stands above and beyond the rest. All the of the Coruscant parts, including "The Emperor's Theme," seem clearer and more robust now.

 

I'll never grow tired of hearing what I've always considered to be the main theme of TIE Fighter, which begins at 3:04--it's particularly exciting in the arrangement of this piece. I also really enjoy "Combat Chamber," which is based around this same leitmotif, but is arranged a little groovier.

 

Compliments on the album cover, too; it looks just right.

 

I really have to wonder why LucasArts has never released soundtracks for their Star Wars games that have original scores. I understand there's probably not much of a Western market for most Western videogame OSTs, as opposed to Japan, where game OSTs are expected, just like movie OSTs. But I'd think Star Wars game OSTs, especially if they were orchestrated, would be gobbled up by Star Wars fans worldwide--whether they'd played the games the soundtracks were from or not. I mean, it's Star Wars music for crying' out loud; there is definitely a market for that. At the very least, it seems like it would be a very easy cash-in for a company that is in no way, whatsoever, against very easy cash-ins.

 

Anyway, I'd totally support a Kickstarter to orchestrate some of these tracks. Say the money was raised solely to pay people for their time to arrange, conduct, play, and record the music. Then the music was given away online for free in digital form. I wonder then, what sort of reaction... sigh... no, I guess I know the answer but I don't want to admit it. D: Come on, Lucas Licensing, be a pal!

 

...weeeeird, all of a sudden, I feel tons of litigious eyes all over me.

 

Again, great work!

 

--Reid.

[Laserschwert]

With any SW music there's always the license problem, even for LucasArts themselves (as the rights to the SW music lie with Sony, I think). When they use the soundtracks in their games (even just snippets of John Williams' themes), they have to license it themselves, and those licenses only cover the usage in the game, and not any further (so not for a soundtrack release).

 

Of course, they could do it like EA did with the Harry Potter videogame scores, which were released (if only as downloads) with JW's themes edited out.

[Kusi81]

Woah, great arrangments Now the collection is almost complete. Should I upload my medley too?

 

I've bought Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass a few months ago and played around with this big packages. I hope to do a better mockup in the next six months

[Reid]

Woah, great arrangments Now the collection is almost complete. Should I upload my medley too?

 

Yeah, the more TIE Fighters, the merrier! Well, I mean, not for the rebel scum so much, but for us.

 

--Reid.

[Alexrd]

(as the rights to the SW music lie with Sony, I think).

 

Distribution rights, only.

[Laserschwert]

Woah, great arrangments Now the collection is almost complete. Should I upload my medley too?

 

I've bought Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass a few months ago and played around with this big packages. I hope to do a better mockup in the next six months

Please upload it ... there are still some hickups in your latest version on Soundcloud (X-4), but that one's already a couple of months old.

 

BTW, I caved in and bought "Hollywood Brass" as well, so you guys can expect another update on my tracks in the future. And besides replacing most of the "Symphonic Orchestra" brass with "Hollywood Brass", I'm polishing other aspects of the tracks as well. It'll all take a while though.

[Reid]

Sweet.

 

--Reid.