hello everyone! i was recently reading a review about this game and something struck me... hard... the in game music while good, is very limited. then i thought... "wow! i have music software... i'm sure there are musicians among us... why not use this to the games advantage?!" i mean, while my compositions are a little limited i still know that we could put some great new things into this game... we could even have a competition for best musical production? the producers get a lot of new music options... we get to listen... and the writer(s) of the winning piece(s) get a prize (maybe a free month of play or something)? just an idea...

oh... here is the review that i mentioned... it has a lot of good points in it and is worth the 10 min to read...

http://pc.ign.com/articles/579/579297p1.html

i hope this is helpful!

that review is dated from January 12, 2005. Alot has changed in this time, though many of the points are still valid. Also, I don't think the reviewer interacted with the community much, and I doubt he gave it the time to get into PvP, otherwise the lasting appeal score would have been much higher ;)

As for the music, I agree completely that VO has some of the worst music/sound of any game I've played =( Can you please give an option to turn off the repetitive beeping? Maybe have the point in the center of the cross hair blink when you hit something instead? I already turned off the music long ago in favor of my own mp3 collection ;)

Some people have liked the music enough to request copies (see 3rd link). Go figure.

Anyway, here's an old thread regarding user-created music:

http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/3908#52350

Some helpful loop info:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/13849#174759

A little history:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/11380#134331

well don't get me wrong... i actually like the music i but i think it would be fun for Guild to host something to try to get some more good stuff in the game... it's a perfect solution as far as i can see...

players create music- guild gets whole pile of new stuff to work with FREE (except awards given)- player get to enjoy more diversity in game- and higher customer service is always good for a company no matter who you are!

i see wins all around!!!

mind you that i didn't write the article and am aware of it's date... i just thought it worth reading... i love the game! as soon as i've got cash i'm going to invest.

also thanks for the links but i had a tough time trying to get through them. i will try in depth a little later but for now i want to focus on the true point that i'm trying to make.

lets see a competition hosted by the makers of the game to get some fresh tones in here.

it's a great strategy for cheaply getting the game to where i'm sure you all really want it. this also applies in other areas outside of music... you are already using the same infrastructure that i mentioned by having a forum... free market analysis basically... well, when guild wants to start really advertising the game (note, idea is taken from a closed post -- { http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/15857 }they can spark the visual artist to create stuff too... i would be happy to go to town on my photoshop to produce posters for the game (you can see people already doing similar here -- { http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/9/15769 } that can be put on to other peoples sites to help spread the word. there a ton of people who feel that way. so, i'm supply suggesting that Guild keeps in mind that they have a lot of free resources at there feet.

I think I understand what you want now.

i see it like this... done in these forums...

each player may submit (x number) pieces of music. piece must be at least (x amount of time) and no greater than (x amount of time). the media file must be (x type of media {ex. MP3}). piece must belong to participant.

all music submitted becomes partial property of guild and may be used by guild in vendetta online and vendetta online merchandise as guild sees fit. ({***opportunity***} i.e. game soundtrack! more $$$ for guild) (insert more legal stuff... blah... blah... and ofcourse blah)

winner will receive (x award {game time?})
runner ups will receive honorable mention and may have music put in game!

then if you wanted to keep this up... do themes... this months theme "drifting" "hostile" "combat" "alone" or something like that. i mean, does it make sense to you. i like the idea. the only thing that i don't know about is music hosting... so that would be on them to figure out.

While I love the music, the lack of variety causes it to get old quickly. I think saints shadow idea of player contributed music is good, but that it should be up to more than just the devs, especially if its a contest. Player voting would be great, and I like the idea of having monthly themes.

wow! i didn't even think about that! player voting is a fantastic idea! so... how long do you think it will be before someone gets onto this to let us know?

I'd make the music without the contest. Does anyone know of an .mp3 to .ogg converter? Cheap or free would be pleasant.

true... but it's a good way to get more people active... in many ways... more people on the forum... more interaction... a little healthy competition that cost the developers next to nothing (actually saves them money if you think about the investment they may have made {i know it excludes you, and myself for that matter... but we are just two people... compared to a sea of diversity and ideas???)

anyway, this software should do it... there is a free trial but mine is up and i'm actually in the negative financially right now... so i have no idea what the full product is capable of... i only used the trial twice and that was to convert to mp3.... so.... anyway... here is the link....

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

happy composing!

edit... the wave pad is a nice product too! again, free trial... enjoy!

I like some of the music in VO. Most station sectors seem tranquil, but there is definitely something missing. I figure, if someone wants to write more music, then let 'em at it. Can't go wrong with free stuff. Yarrr!

there's http://cdex.sf.net ,which AFAIR could decode mp3 and encode to ogg. But I haven't used it for a few years not sure if the decoding part was dropped.

or http://audacity.sf.net which is an audio editor which supports both as in and output

another way is oggdropxpd http://www.rarewares.org/ogg.html and decode the files with winamps disk writer plugin.

so... i see support for the idea but i would really love a mods opinion on the subject... does anyone know how to get this to there attention? or do we just wait?

oh whistler, how is your music coming? did you get a program to rewrite the format for you? i'd really love to hear some of your work if that is possible... you are all welcome to see my pathetic attempts at techno via my myspace... lol!
it is...
http://www.myspace.com/chromaticcomposition
.... i'm actually an improve pianist so i;m afraid that my other stuff isn't as good... once i get this software that i really want i'm gonna start pumping out some much better stuff... lol!

Whistler is a guide, this game's name for a moderator.

As for the suggestion, legal blah blah is not so blah blah unless $300 an hour is blah blah, just to legitmize paperwork and such. Also, there's always the risk off people wanting to be compensated with MONEY (hint hint, not game time or credits), and thus legal issues, even if they signed something to give it up. They don't need to win, they just need to take up resources.

As for music and stuff, last I heard they had a guy who made the new soun effects for rockets and engines. he had some nice stuff for VO that i got to hear (Kudos DJ).

wow... that's a complete bubble burst er...
so you mean to say that these guys had to shell out $300 an hour just to do the whole "USER AGREEMENT AND SOFTWARE LICENSE" and other fun documents that may be found in the game? that really sucks... i actually have a friend who is a lawyer, i think i want to talk to him a little about this. anyway, i had got the idea for a contest based on ACIDplanet and the contest that they offer such as this one...

http://www.acidplanet.com/contests/amethystium/

this is the legal blah blah that they used which would cut down on having to get a lawyer to write it because you already have a prototype to work out your own from....

http://www.acidplanet.com/myplanet/usersubagreement.asp

personally i wouldn't care about being compensated even with a prize for being first... i just want a reason to get music in the game quickly and cheaply... (and the chance to have someone listen to my own music... but that's much more personal)... it's just a damned shame that i'm sure there are a lot of musicians here that can contribute and there is a potential to have them do it...

on a side note... is there a list of guides/ mods so that others won't feel as embarrassed about looking past one like i did? lol!

I went away for the weekend and have not had a chance to do any Vendetta-specific music. I have and use Reason now that I have kids and can't have racks of keyboards and modules sitting out. While I do have compositions made already, most of them would be extremely annoying if they were looped as the current VO music is. I need to have a closer listen to the better examples of in-game music we have already. Thanks for the lead on the converter.

As for me being a moderator, it's no big deal. I'm just here trying to keep things civil, giving background details where I think they're needed, nudging threads into useful directions, etc..

I do bring hot issues to the immediate attention of the developers when the need arises, otherwise I leave them to peruse the Suggestions forum at their leisure (incarnate does read the forum - just not frequently). In this case, I know that sound/music is not where they feel the focus needs to be right now. They are working on a lot of the bigger issues (see the News for examples) that need to be addressed right away. When they are ready to address music again, I will be certain to remind them of this thread. I hope you are still around to take credit.

lol! yah, racks of equipment and kids aren't usually a good idea. what is Reason? i've never herd of it (no pun intended). do they have a web site? i use Acid xpress, sibelius, some m-audio stuff and record producer to do my stuff... most recently just the acid but i hope to do more soon.

i completely understand about the developers having lots of other things to look at... i didn't realize until after i started the thread that they were only like four guys working together (to that i have to tip my hat)... none the less... i think that the game will benefit in the future by attention to such details as music (one of the last things that most people think about)... i also understand that my idea may not be a feasible one for the company but i do hope it helps when the time comes. i do hope to be around then as well... i love the game and would really like to see it take flight. if i can be any help down the road i'm be more than happy to help...

Reason is a software rack system that allows you to use as many of it's synth, sampler, vocoder, processor, mixer, drum machine, sequencer, etc. modules as your computer can handle. You can use multiples of each, and they can all be separate or patched however you like. All you need is some sort of controller and off you go. It's truly amazing. The interface actually allows you to look at the back of each device and patch them together. It does require some familiarity with real devices, and it won't make you sound good if you don't know anything about music.

http://www.propellerheads.se/

hmmmm... interesting stuff... i don't use any external devices except my keyboard and a mic... both use usb ports and it's really simple... i have no talent with mixers or anything like that... most of my musical ability is in improve and a little theory... i mean i do know a thing or two but just not on the more modern level... lol! i have figured out a decent system though.... i just use a plethora of in computer stuff to eventually get the product that i want... it takes a lot longer when i really want to do something good but it's worth it when i get motivated. i just put a funky beat together using like five different programs... FUN FUN FUN!!! but thanks for the lead and info anyway! if you get some music out that you'd like to share i'd love to hear some of it! i'm kind of a music junkie... lol! thus my insistence on the topic!

One thing that would be cool is to assign each sector in a system the music of an entry. So you have to go there to hear it.