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/vr/ - Retro Games

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File: 25 KB, 250x288, Systemshock2box.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4921847 No.4921847 [Reply] [Original]

was Drum n' Bass a good choice of music for this game?

>> No.4921869

Is it ever not??

>> No.4921872

>>4921847
Would you have preferred generic ambient synth?

>> No.4922092

>>4921847
Is not Drum & Bass.

>> No.4922109

>>4922092
> be you
> never heard the soundtrack at all
> no idea what drum and bass is
it's drum'n'bass, genius.

>>4921847
seemed fine. soundtrack is great.

>> No.4922112

here's the full soundtrack for those virgin plebs here that were still sucking on their mommy's titties when it dropped (im pretty sure they haven't stop sucking on their mommy's titties - KEK):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvrdtlyUXPg

>> No.4922218

>>4921869
this

>> No.4922235

>>4921847
To be completely level with you, this game's OST felt too good even if it had no place to be. It is unironically the greatest OST of the three great FPS's that came out that era (half life, deus ex, ss2).

>> No.4922270

The issue with SS2's is not the music they chose, but the fact that it's not directly tied to the in-game action.

The intense fast-paced drum heavy segments are great for combat, but they can feel jarringly out of place when everything's tense and quiet.

Similarly, the slow bass heavy segments are great when everything's tense and quiet, but they can make what should be an intense fight seem calm to the point of being tedious.

The former problem happens more often than the latter, given that SS2 isn't the most combat heavy game.

The devs seem to have been aware of this, because for the most part, the music's tempo does seem to roughly correlate with the average pace of combat in the area - Medical 1 is fast paced and there's quite a lot of weak enemies around. Medical 2 is flooded and there are turrets slowing your progress, so the music is slower. ...But in both cases, there inevitably moments where it doesn't match up with the level design or the random monster spawning.

Deus Ex was smarter, having different but thematically linked music for stealth, combat, dialogue and failure in every area. I think they looked at SS2 and knew what the problem with the soundtrack was.

>> No.4922273

Always like the combination of DnB and the psionic monkeys.

>> No.4922282

>>4922112
>not sucking his mommy's titties
why would I stop?

>> No.4922427
File: 240 KB, 400x409, 1524401679985.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4922427

>>4922235
Deus Ex OST > SS1 OST > SS2 OST

Deus Ex and SS1 have more variety in their tracks, and Deus Ex has a ton of memorable tracks among that variety. SS2's is still good though.

>>4922270
I found this to be less of a problem in the first game. It still happens, especially in areas that use really quiet music. I could be talking out of my ass, but it feels like the music in SS1 helps set the tone, where the music in SS2 just tries to match the tone.

>> No.4922513

>>4922427
>I found this to be less of a problem in the first game

That's because SS1's music is dynamic! Even moreso than Deus Ex, in fact;

>System Shock 1’s soundtrack was far ahead of its time in many respects. One of the most obvious ways that this shows itself is in its procedural music system. The original game had a MIDI soundtrack, which would play through various soundcards in order to produce the game’s music. This is different than today’s game music, which is for the most part pre-recorded audio files playing back. Because the music was played back note-by-note through data on the soundcard, this opened many possibilities for how the game dealt with music. The music for each level is not contained in a single file, but instead each level’s music is built procedurally from different musical building blocks, controlled by parameters in the game. The core set of each level’s musical building blocks are named with a gameplay state (“W”alking, “P”eril, “C”ombat) and a section (“A”,”B”,”C”,…). “WA” can play into “WB”, unless the game state changes to peril, at which it may play into “PB”. This kind of interactive system provides both varying intensity, which mirrors the pacing of the gameplay, and linear sections, which give the music a sense of forward momentum and structure. This procedural music system is then made more interactive by having various layers which represent the various enemies that are overlaid on top of the core level music, based on the proximity of enemies of that type. These layers are used to represent these enemies across the entire soundtrack, giving each enemy type a theme of sorts! Very cool, stuff!

It works so smoothly and seamlessly that that it's often hard to spot the exact moments it changes, but it does.

>> No.4923131

>>4922112
no i just started sucking on your mom's tits instead

>>4922513
never knew that
cool

>> No.4923515

>>4922513
Are there any other games like this? I remember reading about one (random jazz soundtrack or something like that) several years ago, and I've never been able to find out anything about it...

>> No.4923568

>>4921847
Yeah, but it could have been at least a little more varied. Also, XERXES was uploaded to the UNN Rickenbacker by the Many shortly after the end of the events in Recreaction deck. I wonder how he would likely react to the Biomass of the Many rotting away after the Soldier destroyed their defense nods and brain?

>> No.4923596
File: 368 KB, 326x326, 1531816376681.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4923596

>>4921847
I wonder what would have happened if this game had been planned to be ported to both the PS1 and Dreamcast? the PS1 already has a mouse; just have the PS1 port be bundled with a special keyboard.

>> No.4923641

>>4923596
there was a dreamcast port planned

>> No.4923645

>>4923641
I know there was, but what if it were also planned for release on the PS1 as well?

>> No.4923652

>>4923645
it probably would have been a better selling game, I imagine the inventory would have to pause the gameworld though as using the analog sticks as a mouse would take much longer than using a mouse

>> No.4923661

>>4923652
They could have had a special edition of the ps1 release that came bundled with a special keyboard.

>> No.4923703

>>4921847
fuck no, especially not on the first level where you're in this hobo phase and you have to be sneaky while this shit blares in the background

can barely hear the audio logs on the default settings too

>> No.4923708

the first level of medical was really the only time the music felt jarring to me.
Rest of the game was fine.

>> No.4923713

>>4923703
Then please sell your copy of SS2 on Ebay Lukiegames or craigslist

>> No.4923718

>>4922513
Xwing and TIE fighter had that too made the game more helpful which helped with the oh shit moments

>> No.4923719

>>4923713
i'd do so with pleasure but i have a digital copy

>> No.4924384

>>4922513
It would also change as you stepped into particular rooms/regions.

It's like a cyberpunk jazz improv session.

SS2 felt like it only had two tracks. A massive disappointment.

>> No.4924396

>>4924384
That's because SS2 only had two tracks.
Med-sci 1 and Hydroponics.
Shameless plug for an artist I enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H00mIr59Dc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKa46RxoxAw

>> No.4924818

>>4924396
What about Operations and the UNN Rickenbacker?

>> No.4925104

>>4924384
i hate that one variant that plays when you step into the more industrial environments

it's just too cacophonic

>> No.4925912

BUMPING FOR LIFE

>> No.4925923

>>4921847
It was the 90s. So yeah probably. I played it with my own music and headphones though. It was 10 times scarier with industrial dark ambient.
>>4922092
U wot

>> No.4925953

>>4923515
Yes. Secret of Monkey Island 2 pionereed a complex dynamic music system that no game has really ever come close to touching just because of how much work is required to implement it and it just not being noticed or seen as adding much to the experience.

>> No.4925975

>>4922109
>Every electronic music I hear is d&b.

Ok kid.

>> No.4925989

>>4922109
again this fucking idiot from the flashcarts thread, I told you to kill yourself

>> No.4926012

>>4923703
thats a good point. i never thought about how they couldve spaced out the music better. like have some direction to the music to better evoke emotions. unfortunately the whole game tries to be scary at all times which works in some places but not overall. my point is the music shouldve been defined better when to be scary or not, because having spooky music and infinitely spawning enemies starts to feel lame after. thief did a better job at this.

>> No.4926034

>>4922235
>(half life, deus ex, ss2)
shit taste. the fps holy trinity is quake, douk3d and unreal

>> No.4926214

>>4924396
>That's because SS2 only had two tracks. Med-sci 1 and Hydroponics.
All that means is that you spent the majority of the game being a pussy.

>> No.4926310

>>4921847
I think this and its predecessor are best played with music off for the first time, or at least turned way the fuck down. Their soundtracks are so fuckin' boppin that the horror element can go away completely.

>> No.4926524

>>4926034
>douk3d
thats a funny way of spelling redneck rampage, particularly rides again

>> No.4926526

>>4926310
even with the music i was still horrified by it. 1 has the best jump scares by shodan

>> No.4926556

>>4926526
1 can still spook me with the music. The
>YABIBOOOIBIBOII
shit the cyborgs do still startle me

>> No.4926920

>>4921847
not too bad. At least there's plenty of ambient and its not all beats all the time. The music is well made, but I personally play without music for maximum spooky atmosphere.

>> No.4927479

>>4921872
>hating on ambient synth

>> No.4927546

>>4925975
At least it's not """""dubstep"""""

>> No.4927962
File: 160 KB, 1366x768, fugdis.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4927962

>>4923703
>enter Med/Sci for the first time
>acid techno starts blaring in the background
>Polito starts yammering about cyber modules
>Xerxes starts yammering about elevators
>have an audio log playing from Delacroix complaining about Xerxes playing Elvis
>SIIIIILENCE THE DISCORD in the background
>all at fucking once
That was definitely not pleasant with headphones

>> No.4927972

>>4927962
exactly. don't forget how some of the emails you get automatically play and if you run around like a headless chicken they keep cutting out and playing new ones.

>> No.4928448

>>4921847
I kind of wish they'd used an orchestral score like Alien Isolation.

>> No.4928539

>>4921847
i didnt think so when i first played it. it was my first system shock so i turned off the music as it didn't fit with what i expected. then i played system shock 1 and really liked the atmosphere of that fast paced music in an essentially horror game. i havent played ss2 again since because it was downright boring but i dont think the music is that bad a direction. i even listen to the ost occasionally, i think it rocks