Rayman: Revenge of the Dark

[Adsolution]

1. "The Shutter Cave: White Particular Nonsense" - 0:00
2. "The Shutter Cave: Lulling me Loudly" - 3:54
3. "The Shutter Cave: Antiphysics" - 7:15
4. "Dream Forest Depths: Occluded Woods" - 8:01
5. "The Billowing Dunes: Meet the Town" - 12:39
6. "Windmill Hills: Roving (redux)" - 13:53
7. "The Darklands: Bend, Break and Swing!" - 16:01
8. Update Info - 19:52

[Rayfist]

Already whored out the comments section. My job here is done.

[Robotic Teensie]

Alright, I ran the stresstest! The problem was indeed not combining the archives.
The average fps was about 3...
Now, I know that this laptop is not very good... it doesn't even have a video card (it has Intel HD integrated graphics) and yes, I know integrated graphics suck.
I know this was just a stresstest, and that the engine has been rebuilt since the test was released... but... do you think the final version of the game will perform better?
I mean, with this laptop (provided I use low graphics settings) I can run modern games like Half-Life 2 or StarCraft 2, with acceptable FPS. Those games are perfectly playable, so surely ROTD should be playable as well? I'm not expecting epic HD features, but with low graphics the FPS really should be much higher in the final product.
Again, I know this was just a stresstest, but I do hope that the finished game will be more friendly to lower end computers. It doesn't have to run on really old systems or smartphones but like I said, this laptop CAN run other games just fine. Except for Minecraft. Grr...

If you're reading this on a Mac, you're an idiot.

Well spoken

[Adsolution]

Well you see, CryEngine is extremely powerful to begin with. Far, far, FAR more powerful than Source (Half-Life 2). Even at its basic requirements you need something pretty decent to it on. If I were to estimate, I think I might be able to get your 3 FPS up to a 10-15 FPS mark, but that would literally make it look so bad to the point of being unplayable. The different graphics levels currently aren't optimised too well, but in the end, 'high' will be more performance heavy than it is already, and 'low' will give you better framerates than it does currently, and it might push your 3 FPS up to 5-7.

[Robotic Teensie]

Hmm, ok. In that case I'll play ROTD on the desktop PC - it's better than this laptop.

It's good to hear the engine is powerful - your game looks really professional. I wasn't able to explore the area much in the stresstest due to all the lag, but what I saw was beautiful. I'm definitely looking forward to the next test

[Rulez]

FUCK YES SHUTTER CAVE.

SKRILLEX.

1. "The Shutter Cave: White Particular Nonsense" - this track sounds okay, I like the organ, the melody sounds an afwul lot like a hilarious Polish song. The ending though creeped the hell out of me. For an unknown reason I think the name even suits this track. Also 1:24 is a honourable mention.
2. "The Shutter Cave: Lulling me Loudly" - oooh. This one is very nice. It gives me that feeling I'm in the Fairy Council. I do wonder where this track will be used, as it starts out really nicely and peacefully and yet evolves into something far more... hm, I could say nefarious as it sounds (by the end) far more disturbing/distorted. I kind of like this track though. It's eerie and makes you wonder.
3. "The Shutter Cave: Antiphysics" - Aha! This one is pretty damn sweet! It reminds me somehow of those generator rooms from Rayman Revolution, but not music-wise; it makes me just feel like I'm in one of those. It's short but, again, really sweet! O AND IT SEEMS SKRILLEX IS IN THE SHUTTER CAVE HAW HAW HAW.
4. "Dream Forest Depths: Occluded Woods" - not my type of music, really, but it nicely suits a forets. Reminds me of the Clearleaf Forest and the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire (trust me, I fucking hate that level [I sometimes say what the tracks remind me of because it's really awesome that your music is indeed Raymanish/Raymanian sounding and can bring back some nostalgia]).
5. "The Billowing Dunes: Meet the Town" - ha, this one sounds somehow silly and yet very fitting. And why in the hell did I expect the Pink Panther theme to appear there? I like the way it progresses and soon even starts to remind me of Paper Mario. Arguably, this is my favorite song from this soundtrack part \o3o/
6. "Windmill Hills: Roving (redux)" - this is a fine one as well. I really, really like 15:17-15:30 and the ending is nice as well. I don't have much to say about this one, let's continew.
7. "The Darklands: Bend, Break and Swing!" - nice little intro part there. You feel like the heat of battle or some other kind of dangerous event is slowly rising and you know, this really is it. It's getting more and more dangerous and risky, and you can hear it in the music alone. It's pretty epic, and the whole idea of the stage and music reminds me of The End of the World from Kingdom Hearts. Also nice little electric guitar part the ending is pretty cool as well BUT WILL IT BLEND? I mean LOOP? I'm asking cause if this looped it just wouldn't sound right what with the great finale turning into the slow, rising beginning. I guess you already have the answer though.
8. Update Info - ko.

[saerleiya]

About my laptop...
yeah, this is a laptop a dv6 pavilion from HP (they will disappear soon so they had special offers about computers). I use a AMD RADEON 6520G but i didn't had bad framerate last time i opened stresstest ( got 17 low, 13 medium and 9 high just not bad with that kind of PC ).

Really hope that it will need less capacities for the final release but you're still doing a great work Rayfan ^^...

About changing my graphic card : prefer not to have to buy a new laptop or i f you know how to change a card on a laptop without changing it entirely i'm listening

[Shrooblord]

"Lulling me Loudly" - any pun on "Killing me Softly" by any chance?

1. I loved the layeredness of the organ. There were a surprising amount of melodies to be discovered in what at first seems to sound like just some creepy mash of notes that can be best described as fog playing through an organ. There's either some really clever thinking behind this one, or some really nice musical 'feel' that just 'came to you' (that's usually how I make my own songs).
2. Soft and gentle. It did indeed sound a little like a lullaby. I liked its simple and calm sound.
3. What is this, dubstep in a Rayman game?! No, it's not really dubstep, but it is, er, interesting. I liked the experiment and I've seen things like this work nicely before, if used at the right time. I do wonder where in the game this will fit in.
4. This is almost trippy music, it's that laid-back. It's very atmospheric and mysterious and it indeed reminds of a damp forest, or a foggy jungle perhaps. I can see how this reminded Rulez of the SoSaF as in 10:17 suddenly the same kind of single note opens as it does in the SoSaF and the melody kind of follows the same path. What are those eerie chimes you used? Wind chimes? I hear that theme from the Fairy Council echo through in them as well, very nicely done. A little comment though; it could do with some more changes in chords. I can imagine people getting annoyed by the repetition - one of my friends already commented on one of my own pieces that he thought four similar bars were already repetitive.
For some reason this happens when certain chords are played in succession to each other a lot, while when others are played for a whole hour, nobody would notice. I'm not quite sure why this is, but it's something you may want to consider.
5. A playful track. I like the instrument used that plays the main melody near the end - what is it, some kind of fiddle? It sounds a bit like a type of instrument related to a trumpet, maybe?
6. Ah I recognise Land of the Livid Dead from Rayman 3 in this, no? The instruments play with each other in close relation. I like how you did that. It's a nice remake of a familiar theme.
7. It's got an ill-forboding intro, I'll give you that. What a way to build up suspense! May I ask how you made that low synth bass so 'rough'? It sounds fuzzy and yet clean, as in not distorted. It's got those chords in them that sound dramatic and tense and I think you'll be sucked right into the game at this point. When the guitar starts playing its lonely notes, things start to build up, tension rises and then a melody arises, I believe I've heard it before - is it the main theme for this game? I like what you did, but then, just when it got really exciting, it stopped; it could do with maybe just a couple of bars more near the end, but it's great as it is already.
8. The most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard. Just puttin' it out there.

===

I could use a workshop from you some time on how to make your sound feel more studio, if you know what I mean. You make the instruments sound so professional, and the best I can yet do - mind, I'm still learning - in Cubase is make a melody sound nice and change its volume or pan as the song progresses.

[Decidetto]

Woo, music!
Though I can't listen to it till Saturday. (Then I'm getting my own laptop (with Solid State Drive ). Hopefully it'll have enough power to run the stresstest decently )

[Adsolution]

2. "The Shutter Cave: Lulling me Loudly" - oooh. This one is very nice. It gives me that feeling I'm in the Fairy Council. I do wonder where this track will be used

Whereas White Particular Nonsense comes up as things begin to start to make no sense, this track comes in right as things go entirely off the wall and you lose track of any sort of direction, even up and down.

forets.

Yes.

Arguably, this is my favorite song from this soundtrack part \o3o/

Haha, you seem to really like those shorter, more upbeat tracks.

BUT WILL IT BLEND? I mean LOOP? I'm asking cause if this looped it just wouldn't sound right what with the great finale turning into the slow, rising beginning. I guess you already have the answer though.

Of course it will! Did you actually think I just loop the whole track over and over again? Nay, I chop it up into parts. Here, I'll upload the chopped up track so you can see how it's used in the game: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?566m4mmw257co23 - Also, there's your lossless version of that track.

"Lulling me Loudly" - any pun on "Killing me Softly" by any chance?

Hahah. yes. I figured it could use another pun, seeing as Rayman Origins already did it with Shooting me Softly.

There's either some really clever thinking behind this one, or some really nice musical 'feel' that just 'came to you' (that's usually how I make my own songs).

Probably a bit of both, though not entirely of both. As you can tell, it's almost like a chorale with non stop resolving cadences, suspension chords, troubled to sweet resolutions, it's all very religious, in such a plain way that it would never anger the Council of Trent or any anti-secular music groups of the middle ages. What a weird analogy.

What are those eerie chimes you used? Wind chimes?

They're actually sculpted synths. I believe it's the same one I used in Part 27's "Lead-Based Cavern."

A little comment though; it could do with some more changes in chords. I can imagine people getting annoyed by the repetition

Don't worry, the track doesn't last for a super long time, and it's actually used as sort of tutorial music for learning some of Rayman's moves, including the power received right in the first level: the power to hold you helicopter for an unlimited amount of time, as opposed to only a second.

5. A playful track. I like the instrument used that plays the main melody near the end - what is it, some kind of fiddle? It sounds a bit like a type of instrument related to a trumpet, maybe?

It's a shehnai, which is the Indian ancestor of the oboe. It's only about six to eight inches long, and it's much simpler in structure.

May I ask how you made that low synth bass so 'rough'? It sounds fuzzy and yet clean, as in not distorted.

If you're asking about what I think you're asking, I used an extremely heavy compresser with a tiny attack, to give it a really 'booming' sound, and I also cranked up some of the 8-10khz range a lot to really emphasise the drum's presence.

but then, just when it got really exciting, it stopped; it could do with maybe just a couple of bars more near the end

Remember, this is a soundtrack to a game, not a piece of music only for the sake of listening to a piece of music only. It may have dropped off there, but it loops how I described to Rulez. And don't worry, with me, where there's a drop off, there's usually another track that comes later to leave you with a satisfying ending.

I could use a workshop from you some time on how to make your sound feel more studio, if you know what I mean. You make the instruments sound so professional, and the best I can yet do - mind, I'm still learning - in Cubase is make a melody sound nice and change its volume or pan as the song progresses.

Hahah, I would really enjoy that, I like showing people things. And you seem like a quick learner, so I think it would work great. Just make sure your accent isn't horrid!

Woo, music!
Though I can't listen to it till Saturday. (Then I'm getting my own laptop (with Solid State Drive ). Hopefully it'll have enough power to run the stresstest decently )

What's the GPU?

Really hope that it will need less capacities for the final release

Well the release is 3-5 years away, so I think computers will definitely have time to catch up.

I'm not looking at you, fucking XPers.

About changing my graphic card : prefer not to have to buy a new laptop or i f you know how to change a card on a laptop without changing it entirely i'm listening

Of course you can, how do you think they build it? Just buy an M card; a laptop card.

[Decidetto]

What's the GPU?

It's an Nvidia with 2GB of VRAM, though I don't remember the exact type.

[Adsolution]

The VRAM tells virtually nothing about how it will perform.

However, a card that actually includes 2 GB of VRAM must be excellent! I'll take a wild guess at it being a GTX660m.

[Decidetto]

Phew

It being an M-version is something I remember, yes.
And it is not "shared" with the CPU, luckily.

[saerleiya]

A M card ? i'll check it out but i warn you : i'm definitely not a real computer user (my bad, a certain part of lazyness i guess ).

Second, it's my first laptop and even if i bought it only a year ago, i have a lot of things i like on it so i prefer not to touch it bafore having a new one (in 2 years or more i guess if this f****ng computer is not a piece a designed plastic ).

[TeensieKing]

Will there be random people around the world, like Teensies or nymphs in villages and forests? Will you be able to interact with them? Will they talk out of cutscenes if you talk to them or only a dialog box unless you're in an important cutscene like in some games?

Oh, and I see the Muse influence in your songs. Their song Uprising reminded me of some of yours. Or maybe even New Born. Do you think Music Mountain could have some instrumental cool music like Simple Plan? :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPoUJJlTy4M

[Decidetto]

Will there be random people around the world, like Teensies or nymphs in villages and forests? Will you be able to interact with them? Will they talk out of cutscenes if you talk to them or only a dialog box unless you're in an important cutscene like in some games?

As far as I remember, Rayman games don't have any random NPCs to talk to standing around, so I think having that kind of RPG element in this game would be out of place. But that's just my two cents.

[Spanex]

Yep, if they had something to say, they would usually do it by themselves.

[saerleiya]

Yes, non-linear scenario or interaction with characters are not a part of Rayman's games, it would break all their ambiance

[TeensieKing]

Oh, yeah lol for a moment there I forgot Rayman games don't have that

[Rayray1994]

There is just a little interaction with some characters like Clark in Rayman 2, or Tarayzan and the Hippy in Rayman 1.