Do you prefer to play with or without music?

[scifista42]

In my mind, video needs audio and audio needs video (I can't even enjoy listening to music otherwise than during watching videos or playing games), so definitely with music (although I can stand playing games without sound occasionally).

[Jon]

rileymartin said:

Does that include universally acclaimed soundtracks like BTSX? It's a big reason to enjoy the wad.

I don't want to out any particular megawads, but I will say I've only played one map of BTSX so far. If I return to it I'll be sure to try listening.

[Cacowad]

I play without sounds, fight me.
On all seriousness, lately i'm playing doom while listening to podcasts and stuff, so music is almost always off and general sounds are muffled or even muted sometimes; you'll be surprised on how little it change when playing something casually.
Obviously this is not possible to do when playing something remotely difficult.

[Gez]

Definitely with music. There are some maps I play more to hear the music than because of the map in itself.

[Demon of the Well]

The great majority of the time, I play with the music on. I'm a firm believer in the notion that BGM selection can add a great deal to the mood and feel of a map. Usually, if it's not something I've played/heard a lot of before, and a given track is irritating me in some way, I'll IDMUS to something else rather than turning it off/down--having the music there is key to my 'rhythm' of play.

On occasion, though, with maps I'm very familiar with, I might mute the in-game music and listen to something from my own collection while playing instead, which is a nice change of pace. Somewhat ironic, too, in that most of the sort of music I prefer to listen to for the sake of listening generally translates rather poorly to midi/mus format, which I suppose is probably another reason why I've learned to appreciate Doom midi for its own sake.

[baja blast rd.]

Demon of the Well said:

and a given track is irritating me in some way, I'll IDMUS to something else rather than turning it off/down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkeJHNM8rE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkeJHNM8rE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkeJHNM8rE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkeJHNM8rE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkeJHNM8rE

[Doomkid]

I'm of the mind that threads with two simple choices like this should be a poll :) It's interesting to see the results by the numbers, though the majority definitely seem to prefer the music being on.

Technician said:

With. The music is iconic, it's like not playing Mario with the in-game Music.

Agreed. Like others, I'll only switch it off or IDMUS if it's particularly annoying.

As a side note to what Jon said, a lot of our local music gurus create pieces that I prefer to listen to on their own than as background music, as many of them are quite 'busy'. I absolutely don't mean that in a bad way, they're gorgeous, well constructed compositions that are great to listen to, I just prefer basic riffs, beats and melodies for background music. Hence the sound of the few MIDIs I've composed over the years and the choices I use for my maps.

Good thread!

[Torturephile]

iwad music is always played, love every track of it. pwad music not as much, so in case I don't like it, I just put some music on iTunes.

[Ryback]

Always without music. When I'm playing I want to immerse myself in the world of the level, and the music isn't a part of that.

[Batelli_1605]

Music, definitely music, how I am supposed to kick some ass without "At Doom's Gate" tune?

[MusicallyInspired]

Ryback said:

Always without music. When I'm playing I want to immerse myself in the world of the level, and the music isn't a part of that.

I mean, to each his own, but yes it is. They wouldn't have put it in at all if that was the case.

[Doominator2]

I pretty much leave the music it on. Except for Map 11 of Evilution, that song is just horrible.

[scalliano]

I have an Aubrey Hodges random jukebox on autoload most of the time.

[Aquanet]

As a genre, Doom music is so undemanding it's great. 2-3 motifs? Plenty!

[Jello]

I turn it off. Used to play with it on, but after 20 years of hearing MAP01 over and over again I got sick of it.

[esselfortium]

It depends on my mood. I'll usually have at least some sort of music on when I'm playing, though it's only sometimes the music that the wad came with. When I'm mapping, though, I always have other music on in the background, so I use -nomusic for ingame testing.

Jon said:

I don't want to out any particular megawads, but I will say I've only played one map of BTSX so far. If I return to it I'll be sure to try listening.

I'd guess that if you don't care for the kinds of music that's often used in wads nowadays, chances are you probably won't care for a lot of BTSX's music, either. It strays pretty far from Doom music's roots.