Hexen RAVEN MIDI Pack II - Breathing Life Into "Deathkings"

[Jimmy]

 

Old MIDI Pack project threads:
Plutonia MIDI Pack / Get it from /idgames
Revolution! MIDI Pack / Get it from /idgames
Rebirth MIDI Pack / Get it from /idgames
RAVEN MIDI Pack / Get it from /idgames

Time once more to embark on a journey into an imperiled world of medieval dark fantasy - this time to score an all-new soundtrack for Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel!

 

This expansion set for Hexen adds three new hub episodes and a cluster of deathmatch-only levels. It either shipped with a rearrangement of Hexen's stock music... or played no music at all if you were using the 1.0 version of the HEXDD.WAD iwad. Sorely lacking on at least two fronts!

 

Once again, Kevin Schilder is the mind responsible for the foreboding tones heard throughout the game. These tracks are quite a far cry from the more rock-oriented and uptempo tunes of Heretic, with the earlier game's frantic guitars, smooth synths, and catchy refrains being notably absent here. Hexen's soundtrack creates a sense of all-encompassing darkness and deep existential dread - it paints a grisly portrait of a world engulfed in shadows, filled with dastardly hazardous terrain, and populated by creeping undead horrors. What it lacks in familiar structure it more than makes up for in pure atmosphere. Its unsound structures, potent percussion, lumbering bass lines, shrill strings, and hellish choirs will transport you straight to the dystopic, hexed world of Cronos.

 

With that suitably dark picture in mind, let's pool our efforts and create a completely new soundtrack - fit for a Deathking!

 

28 new tracks will need to be written.
All the new levels' slots are up for grabs, and I've included two slots for the TITLE and STORY screens. (No INTER because Hexen has no intermission screens.)

 

How to join:

• Observe the Completion Report below.
• Claim a slot, or up to three at once - your slot(s) will be listed as "claimed/track unfinished".
• Claiming does not mean you are inextricably bound to that slot - you may drop out or move your claim at any time!
• Start writing!
• Once your piece is finished and submitted I will offer you any critical feedback needed.
• Once your piece is finalised, your slot will be listed as "completed".
• Completed tracks may still move around to form the final order.

 

Guidelines:

• Imitate Kevin Schilder's style as best you can! Closely study the existing Hexen tracks and expose your ears to his compositional tricks and motives.
• Tracks must fit the map you're writing for, and integrate well into Hexen's existing soundtrack.
• Track length must fall within 2:00-5:00. Hexen's music is more substantial than Heretic's by a long shot. These tracks were clearly written bearing in mind the extensive time that could be spent by players solving the game's puzzles, and also the revisiting of levels within the hub system.
• Name your tracks. Untitled tracks will not be accepted!
• Collaboration with other composers is encouraged!
• Remixes of the existing tracks are permitted, but not encouraged. Originality is what we're after here.
• Brand-new tracks only this time around! I won't be accepting tracks that have been resting on your hard drive for months beforehand, going unused. Let's all be on an even footing going into this project!

 

The final product:

• An "album" of MIDI files in a zipped, instant download.
• A WAD file compilation that will allow the tracks to play in-game.
• A new resource for the community! All tracks will be reusable per the permissions in the text file!

 

Completion Report:

LEGEND:
 [   ] = empty, claimable slot
 [ ~ ] = slot claimed / track unfinished
 [ x ] = completed slot

OVERALL PROGRESS:   11/28   [[ xxxxxxxxxxx----------------- ]]

---

Hub 1: Blight (3/7 done)

 [ ~ ]  M1: Ruined Village              -- "To Heal a Poisoned Land" [Darman Macray]
 [ ~ ]  M2: Blight (hub)                -- "Follow Your Path" [TheEvilGrin]
 [ ~ ]  M3: Badlands                    -- CLAIMED [dial-up]
 [ x ]  M4: Brackenwood                 -- "Drachenmeister" [Jimmy]
 [ ~ ]  M5: Catacomb                    -- CLAIMED [pcorf]
 [ x ]  M6: Sump                        -- "Deviated Artery" [Lippeth]
 [ x ]  M7: Pyre (secret map)           -- "Withheld Offering" [Lippeth]

Hub 2: Constable's Gate (1/6 done)

 [ ~ ]  M1: Constable's Gate (hub)      -- CLAIMED [dial-up]
 [ x ]  M2: Market Place                -- "Coroner" [Jimmy & Lippeth]
 [ ~ ]  M3: Ordeal                      -- CLAIMED [mrgrimsdale]
 [ ~ ]  M4: Locus Requiescat            -- CLAIMED [Mikolah]
 [ ~ ]  M5: Treasury                    -- CLAIMED [Lippeth]
 [ ~ ]  M6: Armory (secret map)         -- CLAIMED [Xaser]

Hub 3: Nave (3/7 done)

 [ ~ ]  M1: Nave (hub)                  -- "Sinister Sanctuary" [Darman Macray]
 [ x ]  M2: Chantry                     -- "Enchanter" [Jimmy]
 [ ~ ]  M3: Dark Watch                  -- "Under Dark Watch" [Darman Macray]
 [ x ]  M4: Cloaca                      -- "Stalkers" [Varis Alpha]
 [ x ]  M5: Abattoir                    -- "You're Made Out of Meat" [Lippeth]
 [ ~ ]  M6: Ice Hold (secret map)       -- "Trial by Ice" [Bloo]
 [ ~ ]  M7: Dark Citadel (boss)         -- "Reckoning of the Dark Citadel" [Darman Macray]

Hub 4: Transit (DM-only) (2/6 done)

 [ x ]  M1: Transit (hub)               -- "Mutually Assured Squishage" [Alper002]
 [ x ]  M2: Over 'n' Under              -- "Above, Below & Beyond" [Alper002]
 [ ~ ]  M3: Deathfog                    -- CLAIMED [mrgrimsdale]
 [ ~ ]  M4: Castle of Pain              -- CLAIMED [Gothic]
 [ ~ ]  M5: Sewer Pit                   -- CLAIMED [Speedy]
 [ ~ ]  M6: The Rose                    -- CLAIMED [ClumsyDoomer]

Other tracks: (2/2 done)

 [ x ]  HEXEN:                          -- "Eventide" [Lippeth]
 [ x ]  HUB:                            -- "Malefic Voyage" [Lippeth]

Unassigned tracks:

   "From the Ranks of Corruption" [Darman Macray]
   "Three Heroes Emerge" [Darman Macray]
   "Fetters of Fortune" [Lippeth]
   "Coroner" [Jimmy]

Abandoned/unfinished tracks:
(Won't be included in final release.)

   -

 

Edited March 22 by Jimmy

[Not Jabba]

Hell yeah!

[Tristan]

I spun the wheel three times

1-1, 2-4, 3-1 please!

[Alter]

Yes please! The original raven midi pack was a godsend and this one will be even more so.

[Gez]

Excellent! Again, if you want some insight into Schilder's creation process for Hexen, you can watch these vids:
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[pcorf]

I will claim the slot for Hub 1, M5 Catacomb.

[D4NUK1]

I don't know how to make music but i hope the best for this to come as i can play it and hear it :0

[Lila Feuer]

So cool! Deathkings was decent, best of luck to everyone involved in the project.

[Doomkid]

God I wish I had musical chops beyond “accidentally creating a cool beat and riff from time to time”. These MIDI projects always impress me so much.. Cannot wait to hear what comes out of this!

[Rainne]

I've been playing through Deathkings lately. I've learned that if you use `idmus` in the GZDoom console, it will remember your choice for that map even if you leave/return later; which is better than nothing, but this project will be even betterer!

[Devalaous]

ha, nice! My joke came real! So Hexen itself has unique music for everything then?

[Jimmy]

Yeah, there's essentially only one instance in the whole soundtrack of Hexen where a piece of music is reused - the track for Hub 2's "Shadow Wood" is later used in Hub 4's "Effluvium".

[Devalaous]

Just looked at the music list myself, and there was two unused pieces, one of which found a home here in Deathkings. Guess I might need a patch to replace that one track with one of the cut ones.

But anyway, I have high hopes for this pack, especially with Eris taking the opening music slot :p NO PRESSURE

 

I have yet to beat Hexen, so it'll be a looong time before I get to play this pack.

[TheEvilGrin]

I claim the E1-Hub "Blight" track

[VanaheimRanger]

Damn!  We're moving right along, here!  I'm glad all you awesome musicians keep pounding out these really cool projects :)

[Xaser]

Fuggit, I'll actually claim something for this one. Gimme Armory -- I've got a couple of ideas churning for that shifting metal nightmare. ;P

[Lippeth]

I'd like to claim the title, story, and Treasury.

 

Regarding volume: Hexen has a noticeably quieter soundtrack than Doom or Heretic. Should we follow that model or make it as loud as its contemporaries?

 

And as far as length for the title and story, I'm assuming these should be shorter, but let me know if that's not the case for the story screen. I actually have a vague idea of how they should go, but in my mind they're not very long.

[Jimmy]

The volume is an interesting question. My intuition is saying that a slightly diminished overall volume should be aimed for, in keeping with the stripped-back instrumentation that came with Hexen's new musical direction, there was definitely also a noticeable dip in overall volume, so for maximum authenticity we should try to emulate that. I do anticipate that after all the tracks are submitted, I may need to go over all the submissions and level everything about.

 

I suppose an exception to the length rule I outlined should be made for the TITLE and STORY themes because the originals were so short - 0:12 for the title, 0:47 for the story. The goal is ultimately that the tracks should be of a serviceable length for the intended slot, and also for any potential future use in a similar case.

[dial-up]

Hello! Count me in for H1M3 and H2M1.

[Darman Macray]

I've always loved this wad.

 

I'd like to take a whack at H3M3 and H3M7 :)

[Lippeth]

An idea for the story screen. I can change anything or even start from scratch if it's not the right vibe. I still plan to revisit it and make a few changes after taking an ear break before moving on to the next one.

Malefic Voyage.zip

 

[Redneckerz]

Great.

Now i have to draft two reviews discussing the tracks.

 

:P

 

Zen Miditation here we go.

[Jimmy]

@Lippeth Fabulous stuff. Just the right amount of delightfully twisted Schilder-esque chromaticism. Added!

[Alper002]

I don't have a lot of experience, but I gotta start somewhere...

Claiming "Over 'n' Under" from the deathmatch hub.

[Jimmy]

I myself am claiming Brackenwood, Market Place and Chantry.

[mrgrimsdale]

You kept that quiet, Jimmy! ; ) I'll take Ordeal please. And maybe Deathfog, if you have a shortfall of composers. I suspect you will have enough takers though, so maybe just pencil me in for the second one, I don't want to be greedy. Looking forward to deep diving into existential dread once again. Musically, I mean. :) 

[Devalaous]

Im curious what will come out of the Transit slot. Its just a 'get ready and choose your arena' spot, so im hardly expecting an atmospheric magnum opus x3

On the other hand... 'come on already, lets fight!' 'nah bro lemme hear this tune on repeat a bit longer'

[Jimmy]

I may also make an exception to the length rule for that one. A single octagonal room does not need a 5-minute epic. :P

Edited August 30, 2020 by Jimmy

[Xyzzу]

Spoiler

"THE READY ROOM DEMANDS AN 11-MINUTE EPIC! THE READY ROOM DEMANDS LOVE, NOT WAR!"

 

[RottingZombie]

I am loving plutonia music pack and look forward to this!

 

Any chance you guys could do Darkening II someday?