.MID the way id did - Doom 2 Soundtrack Replacement [RELEASED]

[Mr. Freeze]

Here's the first draft of my two songs. They are unfinished, but as is they'd only need a few more bars to be complete I think. Let me know how they sound. 

midtwid.rar

[Robo_Cola]

18 minutes ago, Mr. Freeze said:

Here's the first draft of my two songs. They are unfinished, but as is they'd only need a few more bars to be complete I think. Let me know how they sound. 

midtwid.rar

Very tight two tracks!  First one reminds me of Sex Type Thing or another grunge song from years past.

[Mr. Freeze]

It's based off Crackerman actually!

[Robo_Cola]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Freeze said:

It's based off Crackerman actually!

Damn I was close lol, just recently listened to that album again too.

[Doomkid]

These are all excellent submissions. Exactly what my ears were hoping to hear!

 

old file removed

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by Doomkid

[Robo_Cola]

37 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

These are all excellent submissions. Exactly what my ears were hoping to hear!

 

Here are all 10 submitted MIDIs so far. I think it's coming together very well:

 

midtwid_10.zip

Excellent progress!

 

Side note, I fixed up the MIDI I gave you a little bit after you gave me the edited version (thanks again!).  I adjusted some of the instruments (replaced that weird metal pad with piano) and panning.. think it fits better.  Almost done on another track as well.

 

ThisOnesForDaisyFinal.zip

Edited October 20, 2020 by STILES

[Mr. Freeze]

Glad you like them Doomkid! Any feedback, things that should be changed etc? 

[Lippeth]

An idea for map 05. I plan to tighten up and balance a few things, but it needs another perspective.

Coliformication.zip

 

Alternate titles: Hotel Coliform Bacteria; R.O.C.K in the S.E.W.E.R.

 

I'm really overthinking it...

[Doomkid]

On 10/21/2020 at 1:24 AM, Mr. Freeze said:

Glad you like them Doomkid! Any feedback, things that should be changed etc? 

Honestly if you continue developing them in the same vein and just make it to that ~2 minute (or more) mark, I think these would be totally satisfactory. Right in the style I was hoping for.

 

1 minute ago, Lippeth said:

An idea for map 05. I plan to tighten up and balance a few things, but it needs another perspective.

Coliformication.zip

 

Alternate titles: Hotel Coliform Bacteria; R.O.C.K in the S.E.W.E.R.

 

I'm really overthinking it...

Overthink away, no matter what name you decide on this is a great Map05 style MIDI. The little percussive instruments that get used throughout like the cuica are sort of funny, but not in a bad way. It's adds a certain charm to the song. I like it!

[Cammy]

Alright, feedback time:

 

On 10/20/2020 at 1:28 AM, STILES said:

ThisOnesForDaisyFinal.zip

I notice this one got its tempo increased from its MP3 days. I kind of miss the old, slower tempo - the sense of drive and focus was very clean. Notes happen so quickly in the faster tempo that the song feels like it's in a hurry to get done. The panning is a good addition, but I think the intensity of it should be dialed back. The Saw Wave is panned so hard that it only comes out of your left ear, which once you notice it becomes hard to unhear - especially since it's driving the riff you hear through the whole song, and because the piano from the right ear rarely shows up to fill in the sound gap. I'd recommend changing the saw wave pan to around 40 and the piano pan to around 80. For future reference I'd recommend panning minor instruments more strongly than major ones, and trying to balance panning such that neither ear is neglected for long.

I do really enjoy what you have here though. The riff is simple but sticks in your head and keeps you going, and the fact it's played with a saw wave makes it stick out from the guitar crowd. The low voice oohs in the background are the unspoken heroes here and were a fantastic choice. They make the sound so much deeper and more resonant, it's wonderful.

 

On 10/19/2020 at 9:56 PM, Mr. Freeze said:

midtwid.rar

These are pretty clean so far, just need some extra time in the oven as Doomkid said.

For midtwid, I'd recommend expanding more on the solo section on the end than the riff in the beginning; I think you could take the little guitar pattern from bars 19-20, give it some twists and pulls, and make a pretty solid second riff out of it to build on for the rest of the song. The upbeat energy of the first riff is invigorating but could get exhausting to listen to if it was repeated as often as Bobby Prince likes to repeat riffs. I also think this one could benefit from a slight, maybe 5-10 BPM boost to tempo?

For midtwid2 I would recommend a low, steady bass pedal that adheres to the root note of the key. The riff there is catchy, but I think it'd be brought out more by having a proper bassline that is not itself playing the riff.

 

1 hour ago, Lippeth said:

Coliformication.zip

This is superb - I love that when the organ and bassline combo first kick in you think you're just getting a remix of DOOM, only for the song to go in its own direction. The variety of instruments and chords and the way they're mixed and matched so cleanly makes this one rich, deep, and fun to listen to. Fantastic stuff.

About all I can think to adjust is the descending polysynth notes in bar 100, which feel stilted and uncomfortable to me - maybe they could be triplet quarter notes instead? I'd also personally either use the whistle slightly more or not at all, the fact it only ever shows up for one little fill makes it feel a little extraneous.

 

Excellent stuff all around though, thanks to all for contributing! I'm making good progress with map 20 and 32, they should be done before too long.

[Lippeth]

So add like, way more cuíca and whistles? Say no more!

 

Thanks for the feedback, @CammyBanana! It's actually pretty difficult for me to try and emulate the simplicity of BP's style without dragging or sounding boring, I always feel the need to add more and more unless I'm conscious about it. I still plan to add better movement here and there where I think it still drags, and I'll keep your rhythm idea in mind for those descending notes.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by Lippeth

[Cammy]

I'm right there with you! It becomes difficult after a while working on a riff to feel like it can sustain a piece on its own in the way Prince often makes it – even aside from that I catch myself trying to busy my tracks up just out of force of habit.
I think what ends up making projects like these interesting, though, is seeing the ways in which an existing style can play off one's own. Interaction is often better than strict imitation.

[Doomkid]

Been working on a new song - I like it overall, but it needs a bit more direction. The transitions between riffs are a little awkward, there's not enough variation, and it needs at least one solo which I've never been great at composing in midi format. The same troubles I always face in other words! Would be happy to take advice or even play hot potato with it if anyone is interested. Not 100% sure what slot it should be for yet either.

 

Wondering.zip

[Lippeth]

That's killer! There are a few harmonies that clash here and there, but all I hear that's missing are some unobtrusive countermelodies that would go behind the main themes for texture. Just little things that you're ear doesn't latch onto but makes the main melodies taste better. But the song has a great energy and I love the guitar riff that plays at transitions.

 

Do you mind if I take a crack at it? I won't add any new sections because you nailed the flow, just clean up a few little things and add some faint countermelodies. It'll be a few days because I'm out of town, but I'm heading back tomorrow and can start tomorrow evening. I still need to touch up my song but this sounds fun as well. But if my feedback gave you some new ideas I say run with it and don't let me interfere!

[Doomkid]

Sure, I welcome you to change it however you like - I'm really not precious about it, if you can think of spots where you think things should be added (or subtracted), that's fine by me. Or if you just want to add a little spice, that's fine too!

[Lippeth]

Awesome. I can add a solo as well, I just read that you intended to have one. I may need to extend a section, but that sounds really fun as well!

[Lippeth]

So I ended up getting into it tonight (my computers go wherever I go) and made changes until about halfway through the song. I accidentally changed quite a lot just from vibing with it, but I haven't touched the second half yet and the original guitars are now way louder until I get back into it. I'm posting the idea for feedback, which will help me know how to finish it, or play more hot potato if you or anyone else wants to take more swings at it.

Doomkid x Lippeth_Wondering_rough idea.zip

[Cammy]

Oh, I'm excited to see what becomes of this one. Excellent foundation from Doomkid, and Lippeth built on it in a superb way. I'm tempted to give it a tweak or two myself – I have a couple ideas to give the drumline in particular a little more oomph. Talking about a map slot for it, I think it's tough enough to hang with map 29.

 

I'm also nearly done with Map 20's theme, just need to iron out a few of its bridges and put it in MIDI form. It's a chunky 6-minute slab of a song, but Gotcha always takes me forever to remember how to navigate anyway. Should be up tomorrow.

Edited October 31, 2020 by CammyBanana
wording

[Cammy]

After chipping at it over the night, there are a couple sections of map 20 that are proving kind of troublesome. Might need to rearrange or make some cuts here and there, I'll let it stew a bit while I decide what to do with it. For now I'll focus on map 32, which is itself I'd say a little more than halfway done. Sorry about that.

[Doomkid]

No problem! There’s no deadline as of now so take however long you need by all means. Been away the last 2 days, can’t wait to get home and listen to Lippeths additions to the song!

[DCG Retrowave]

I'd love to have a demo/prerelease WAD featuring the current MIDIs if possible for whenever I run a WAD on my Odamex server that uses the stock DOOM II music and isn't DOOM II :D

 

I can put one together myself and share it here if you guys would like that :D

[Doomkid]

Lippeth, this is a fantastic modification you've done - you really turned it into a piece with some direction and personality, which is just what I was hoping for! Really impressed with this, looking forward to CammyBanana's future alterations.

 

DCG Retrowave, feel free to make a compilation wad if you'd like, I think it would be great to gauge how the current songs fit with their proposed slots. I agree with the suggestion by CammyBanana for this WIP midi going in the Map29 slot, the buildup and payoff seems to warrant it.

 

edit: Hey @STILES, is there any particular map you'd like to use This One's For Daisy on? I think it could potentially suit several of the free slots but I'd like to put every song where the composers prefer whenever possible.

 

Also, here's all 13 submitted MIDIs: midtwid_13.zip

 

Great stuff so far, can't believe we're already 1/3rd of the way through.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Doomkid

[Lippeth]

Here's an updated map 05. It shouldn't drag anymore and I attempted to make all the fun instruments more subtle and consistent. Also gave those descending notes at the end a triplet feel, but in a different spot and then doubled down on the eighth notes.

Coliformication02.zip

 

I started making a rendition of "Snakes" by No Doubt. I'm not sure if it'll fit with anything here but it has that familiar Doom sound if I can angle it right.

 

I'm also still tweaking and getting more ideas for "Wondering", but got side tracked with No Doubt and the song I'm posting now. Just having fun with MIDI in general!

[DJVCardMaster]

Please take more grunge songs as stolen inspiration for this, this time.

[RottingZombie]

so far my favorite is dead skin mask~!

 

Edit: Nevermind, I just heard 29. Epic. Sounds like the final level in my dream run n gun platformer

Edited November 3, 2020 by RottingZombie

[Cammy]

Turns out it wasn't quite as high-maintenance as I though to finish 20. There are some parts I think could definitely use ironing out - I'm still trying to work out what exactly sounds good in MIDI form. Hopefully not too bad for a second time though, although admittedly rather loose on Princeliness.

 

Also threw in a slightly updated, though not quite final, version of Five Iron now that I know my way around Sekaiju at least a little better. The fact that it didn't loop properly in some players should be fixed now, but there's still one or two tracks that play a note at the very beginning of the song where they're not supposed to.

 

Map 32 is next. I'll go ahead and hold off on my update ideas to Wondering until Lippeth is done vibing with it, don't want to cause conflicting edits.

2 mids.zip

[Lippeth]

Very epic, @CammyBanana it sounds like you put your whole life into these tracks! The first one goes from 60's spy western set in Jamaica to a full on disco of death, then everywhere in between.

 

Five Iron sounds like straight up dub in the beginning, but made for video games. Very cool, lots of nice changes!

 

I'll get back into Wondering tomorrow and hopefully finish my ideas so you can do your thing.

[Lippeth]

Sorry for double posting, but here's a finished idea for Wondering. Slowed the tempo for a better groove, added a solo and whatnot. I have no idea if it will get old on repeat, but I tried to keep the really expressive stuff to a minimum while still feeling like a guitar solo. I can always dial it back if necessary. The transitions near the end are a little forced, but I'm not trying to change the world or anything.

 

@CammyBanana do your thing and don't worry about cutting anything out or redoing things entirely.

Doomkid_Lippeth-Wondering02.zip

Doomkid_Lippeth-Wondering03.zip - Refined the solo, a few things felt off.

Edited November 7, 2020 by Lippeth

[Doomkid]

I love the solo Lippeth, very nice! Also CammyBanana, I meant to say the other day that I really like your MIDIs as well. I know just saying "good job" to everyone isn't exactly useful feedback, but frankly I think the work you all are doing is right on-point for what I wanted.

[Cammy]

Sorry for the slow reply, thank you both so much!! Hearing you've enjoyed them so far is incredibly validating – I have to admit though, it's less a matter of putting my life into tracks and more that I feel like I will explode if I don't stuff everything I write with a million different ideas.

 

Been a busy month for me, and it will continue to be, but I'll get cracking on Wondering as soon as I get the chance. @Doomkid is there anything in particular you're still wanting to add to it, or are you fine with me definitively wrapping the song up?