to be fair the novelty would wear off fairly quickly but it's good for a laugh
Elite / Frontier The Music of Elite
- Thread starter Steve O B Have
- Start date
to be fair the novelty would wear off fairly quickly but it's good for a laugh
True, we'd all be jabbing the speed up button after we'd watched the docking sequence a few times...
One other thing, they've got to keep the theme from the opening sequence of Frontier, just update it with real instruments!
I definitely think some form of dynamic Classical/Electronic Ambient hybrid music is the way to go with any new Elite game.
Here's what i'm thinking: We have all those Classical pieces (played by a full, real orchestra): Blue Danube, Frontier Theme, etc.. Then we have a bunch of themed pieces for the different kinds of activities you can do in your typical Elite game, in the same way you might have different themes in a Movie Soundtrack (Main Title Theme, Protagonist Theme, Antagonist Theme, Fight Theme, etc...). So we'd have Docking Music, Landing (ie not at a station) Music, Launch Music, Battle Music, Space Station Music (different for each kind of station - Orbital/Ground/Underground etc.), Mining Music, Hyperspace Music, Thargoid Music (!) Fuel Scooping Music, and so on and so forth.
All this music can be played by at will by the player, but then we have a endlessly dynamic and somewhat randomised soundtrack - the various themes being played at the appropriate times, as well little snippets of them floating in and out of the main background music, which could consist of some very ambient music - the kind you barely even notice is there - very minimalistic, with the occasional bit of Eno or Jarre influenced soundscapes thrown in for good measure.
It needs to be nicely executed too, so we don't have the case where we hear the docking music only to be suddenly cut off because we've accelerated time - it should all nicely blend in and out, almost to the extent where you don't even realise that one theme has ended and another has begun. Like a movie soundtrack, basically !
And there you go, jobs a good 'un !
Here's what i'm thinking: We have all those Classical pieces (played by a full, real orchestra): Blue Danube, Frontier Theme, etc.. Then we have a bunch of themed pieces for the different kinds of activities you can do in your typical Elite game, in the same way you might have different themes in a Movie Soundtrack (Main Title Theme, Protagonist Theme, Antagonist Theme, Fight Theme, etc...). So we'd have Docking Music, Landing (ie not at a station) Music, Launch Music, Battle Music, Space Station Music (different for each kind of station - Orbital/Ground/Underground etc.), Mining Music, Hyperspace Music, Thargoid Music (!) Fuel Scooping Music, and so on and so forth.
All this music can be played by at will by the player, but then we have a endlessly dynamic and somewhat randomised soundtrack - the various themes being played at the appropriate times, as well little snippets of them floating in and out of the main background music, which could consist of some very ambient music - the kind you barely even notice is there - very minimalistic, with the occasional bit of Eno or Jarre influenced soundscapes thrown in for good measure.
It needs to be nicely executed too, so we don't have the case where we hear the docking music only to be suddenly cut off because we've accelerated time - it should all nicely blend in and out, almost to the extent where you don't even realise that one theme has ended and another has begun. Like a movie soundtrack, basically !
And there you go, jobs a good 'un !
Agreed 100%, that would add a ton of atmosphere to the game and make us less likely to just turn the music off altogether.
Oh yes indeedy - even actually licence a bit of Jarre - Equinoxe playing away in the background would just be far too cool
(Might be a little lost on the younger generation tho - *sigh* I think that's the first time I've admitted that LOL)
I hate to swear on this forum but I think that the x-btf/xtension/x2/x3 series of games had very good ambient music which changed depending on the situation.
I normally turn music off in games if I have a choice cause I feel the games that I normally play (simulation) are more realistic without music.
If Elite IV had ambient music that rivalled X2 etc then I would at least give the music a go at first, but chances are that it would get turned off at some point.
I played FFE for a while with no game music, but my mp3's playing in the background, it was like driving a car somewhere with the radion on. Maybe DB could have a feature in Elite IV where you could play your own mp3's or listen to in game music or just SFX or nothing etc.
I normally turn music off in games if I have a choice cause I feel the games that I normally play (simulation) are more realistic without music.
If Elite IV had ambient music that rivalled X2 etc then I would at least give the music a go at first, but chances are that it would get turned off at some point.
I played FFE for a while with no game music, but my mp3's playing in the background, it was like driving a car somewhere with the radion on. Maybe DB could have a feature in Elite IV where you could play your own mp3's or listen to in game music or just SFX or nothing etc.
So a bit like Grand Theft Auto 3. In that you had many radio stations to choose from, or you could put mp3s in a certain game folder and they'd be available as an additional radio station.
I know "Radio" wouldn't work in space, but if Elite 4 had a similar feature, with different stations relating to where you are, then that would be pretty cool.
^^^ yeah I agree too - would certainly beat playing with your iPod on.
Yep, a directory where you could put MP3's or a way of using your current software so you could select a album of your choice.
That would be a great feature.
I agree 100%. An ambient kind of soundtrack would be the absolute best, maybe dynamically changing depending on if you are in a starport, flying over a green planet or if you're somewhere extremely desolate. Alpha Centauri (the strategy game) had a soundtrack that really added to the atmosphere of the game.
edit: developers, are you hearing us? We want the base of the soundtrack to be ambient/soundscapey!
edit: developers, are you hearing us? We want the base of the soundtrack to be ambient/soundscapey!
I still want to hear The Blue Danube when I'm docking. Maybe someone could make an ambient/soundscapey version of thatWe want the base of the soundtrack to be ambient/soundscapey!
I still want to hear The Blue Danube when I'm docking. Maybe someone could make an ambient/soundscapey version of that
Nah, I want the original version for that. It fits so well.
I don't mind and I like regular soundtracky music, I just mean that when you're orbiting a gas giant or laying mining equipment on the dark side of a desolate moon, something moody and slightly creepy fits better than an explosive action theme. But I have to say the Elite 2 soundtrack fit really well when you just assassinated someone and hyperspaced away.