New GFZ1 Track...

CobaltBW said:

IIRC, my Act 2 is what prompted Nev3r to start working on the future map replacement for ERZ2. So, if anything, it was kind of the other way around. :p

They were largely changed with the pretense of "ERZ needs to sound less repetitive and more like Sonic music". I also disliked the old ERZ songs because they were poorly mixed, but that's more of a technical grievance than anything. The rhythm and tempo of new ERZ1 is actually not far off from the original, but it sounds a lot different due to the choice of instruments and the mood swings of each different section, with portions of the song being more distant and spacey, others sounding more busy and electronic. I'd say it's more of an alternate take on the moon station environment, rather than being exclusively meant for the remake. ERZ1 was also composed as a direct contrast to the new ERZ2 music, which takes the rock element of old ERZ and amplifies it two-fold.

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Giving it another look, I think I was more thinking about Act 2 in terms of being a bit mismatched. For the record, I absolutely adore both tracks, especially Act 1’s, but at the same time Act 2’s soundtrack kinda feels like a party is going on while what I’m actually doing is slowly jumping across disappearing blocks or carefully clambering along the outside of an elevator. I definitely see the contrast you were going for but as-is ERZ2 just isn’t action-packed enough of a stage for the music it gets lol. Act 1 I think actually fits perfectly and it definitely feels at home for the final stage of a Sonic game. Gave me some strong Metallic Madness and Egg Carrier vibes.

I just really miss the old ERZ melody. It's barely there in the new arrangements.

This new OST just works.

I love practically all the tracks. ERZ isnt my personal favourite but it works.

It's a very enjoyable soundtrack, my gripes with it can be put aside cause I just know someone's gonna come with a mod replacing the soundtrack with the old one, it's inevitable lol. When I feel like listening to either of them, I'll know I'll have options so it's not big a deal, although having an option for switchable soundtracks (old and new) in the game would be a wonderful addition.

I guess this might be a good place to drop opinions on the soundtrack.

2.2's soundtrack is a wonderful update as a whole but one track I have a minor gripe with is ACZ1. ACZ1 is overall a good track but I personally think the electric guitar is rather out of place with the environment presented here. I know there's already acoustic sections to the track but I think maybe replacing the electric guitar with an acoustic one might be a better choice.

I also have to say ERZ1 and 2 feel out of place in the current ERZ but hopefully the level rework will remedy that.

I love the new OST! I've always liked the songs, but I never found them terribly fitting to the Sonic series; they always seemed to vibe the era they came from a bit, that whole "90s western-developed PC game" sound. The new versions really do make it feel like they belong in a Sonic game and that's sooo good.

THAT SAID, I do really miss the second halves of both GFZ songs, as they honestly were amongst my favorite parts of the songs. While I think the arrangements are the best yet, I'd love to hear a version that retains them too. Maybe the current version plays in the first loop, and then in the second loop we get the original resolve? That'd be some extra work, of course, but it'd also be a great best of both worlds imo.

I just want to say that I'm absolutely loving every single new composition in this game. Every level has its own identity and the music is just an absolute bop. I love listening to every single one! I know that the thought of the old srb2 soundtrack will still be burned in my brain because of nostalgia but I don't let that get in my way of the new ost in the slightest.


Everything we have now is beautiful :')


I know some people might have their criticisms but everything just feels so.. official? I don't know how to describe it but everything is just SO good that I could almost believe this came from an official publication if I didn't know it was from STJR. Fantastic work to everyone who worked on the soundtrack!

I like most zones' music better so far, especially the boss music. Also happy to see more songs for the special stages.

The only exception is Egg Rock. Both it's main melody and atmosphere are completely drowned out by constant noise. It used to sound more Sonic-Adventury and had an awesomely defined build-up. It's not "terrible" now, but it's more generic, like it'd be right at home in Sonic Forces or Runners.

azoo said:

THAT SAID, I do really miss the second halves of both GFZ songs, as they honestly were amongst my favorite parts of the songs.

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There's actually a variant of GFZ1 in the game that does this, you can hear it in CTF's Lime Forest.

(Unfortunately I'm dumb and screwed up the looppoint, but it should be patched in the next update)

The soundtrack blew me away, frankly. I do miss some of the old songs, but I have also already made a habit of listening to them in music players, so for my own purposes those songs haven't necessarily gone anywhere.

Since others are giving some of their personal feedback, I'll share some too:

- Greenflower. I like the old melody, I get the nostalgia. But I was ready for a new version of the song. Holy crap, did I get what I wanted. Both acts are on point. This no longer feels like a Doom engine fan level; this feels like the first level in a Sonic game that came out of nowhere and blew everyone away.

- THZ2 was always a bit on the short side. Wouldn't mind if it were longer. Maybe even a really basic tweak, like have the current composition play twice but some sections have switched places in the second go-around, just so my subconscious recognizes the music is still going but doesn't immediately go "and it's looped." That has a subtle effect on my playing that's... really hard to articulate?

- Deep Sea 1 is, like, one of my favourite things ever right now? Who did this? Do they know they picked a soundfont and composition that sounds like some of the best songs in Sonic 06 (Flame Core in particular I think)? I freaking love this. I especially love the chorus, and how it progresses over the course of the piece. It's tranquility and solitude and does, in fact, sound somehow subterranean.
- Deep Sea 2 now stands out because of DS1, since it does not use the new variation and is based on the original form of the melody. Me, personally, I have always loved Deep Sea's original melody. But it does stand out, that's unmistakable! Does it stand out in the right way, like "welcome to act 2, it's not the same as the first?" I dunno!

- Castle Eggman oh my god oh my god. I loved the original Castle Eggman and I was initially sad to hear new sounds, but no, it turns out what I loved was the composition, and that's still there but it's been given new life. Act 1 is positively epic, its tone primes me to take in as much information as I can both aurally and visually, as in it literally provokes awe. That's perfect for the stage.
- Act 2 took me a few plays of the stage to really get into, it's not as "awesome" as Act 1 is but instead it trades off by being far more replayable, compartmentalizable, catchy (parts of Act 2 have been stuck in my head, consistently, since 2.2 came out). It shows you a different side of the piece, which come to think of it is appropriate since Act 2 literally shows you a different side of Eggman's castle than Act 1 does. This dynamic sounds about right for what the original Act 2 did, but now it's, like. ...better. Easier to notice, like "in the middle of playing the level" easier to notice. It does what it needs to do and does so proudly.

- Arid Canyon, yeah I'm one of those who kinda prefers the old one, but also I am willing to make myself get used to the new one since "the old one" existed purely in an Act 1 context whereas the new one was evidently made for the finished stage. I do think Act 1 has lost its melody a little thanks to changing up the rhythm every few bars or so, buuut hey, it does make it feel improvisational, like a nutjob playing a guitar out in the middle of the canyon. It sets a distinct mood. And I do definitely prefer the new post-chorus vamps, holy crap, those go a long way towards giving the stage a good identity. And that harmonica! Oh god! Okay never mind I love the new one more now.
- Then Act 2, like CE's second act, has *also* been stuck in my head. It's such a different mood, I did not expect it at all, and I loved having a musical reason to take a slower stroll through the level. The ragtime chorus is the single greatest thing in human history. ....that's hyperbole.

- Red Volcano. See, people are calling the mood "prehistoric," and okay I get why, but I wanna propose a better angle: Sonic CD. The new Red Volcano looks and feels like it took great influence from Sonic CD. I. Adore. This. I loved the stage as it was; now I have more of it to look through, with cool grooves and Collision Chaos-esque sounds and Sonic Adventure-esque saxophone melodies to keep me going. This level feels like Sonic Adventure.

- Egg Rock. Okay. Maybe I had nostalgic reasons for loving the old ones. I did really freaking love the idea of the original songs-- a Sonic Adventure-like college rock guitar solo for a final level? That's dope! But look. Just. *Look*.
The very, very start of Act 1? Specifically the first few keyboard notes. Please. I beg you, STJr. I beg you from the bottom of my heart. Just... swap those first few notes with the very start of the old Act 1. The old keyboard noise, you are right to question whether it works in a full song, but the *mood* it set when you *first get* to Egg Rock Zone and suddenly there's this really high-quality synth playing a forboding chord sequence directly into your ears? That's an incredible feeling. That sets Egg Rock up as a legendary stage, which it very much freaking *is*. Please bring that back. It can then cut right into the new keyboard playing the actual rhythm. Because the entire rest of the new song is actually really good, when you let it be.
- And then Act 2 takes the new song and bakes it into understated beauty? I swear there's moments of the Metal Sonic music in there, and there is *definitely* the SRB2 theme song too. I love that. Even the old Act 2 was a more ambient melodic variant of Act 1, and so I like that the new one takes the ambience and runs with it. I like trying to figure out the mood of the stage?

And then I could comment on the new Metal Sonic music or the final boss music, but frankly the ER2 will probably apply to those. I'll probably come to love all of the music with time. Aerial Garden took me a bit of time to get used to, as I'm another one of those who found the original version to be my Favourite (it's a very Malcolm Brown composition, isn't it? Homestuck felt awfully familiar at times because of growing up with Mystic Realm), but like. Yeah, I am getting used to it. I find it better with headphones.

But the comments I made about the start of ER1? I stand by those. Just that one little change, man. I'm telling you. World of difference.

Good job on the soundtrack altogether. It's just one of many incredible feats that 2.2 has brought to the public spotlight.

- Deep Sea 1 is, like, one of my favourite things ever right now? Who did this? Do they know they picked a soundfont and composition that sounds like some of the best songs in Sonic 06 (Flame Core in particular I think)? I freaking love this. I especially love the chorus, and how it progresses over the course of the piece. It's tranquility and solitude and does, in fact, sound somehow subterranean.

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Shane wrote it and I mixed in a few pads here and there. The irony is that this track was never meant to be a serious proposal for the level; Shane described it as a "joke track" he made in a few hours to make Deep Sea Zone sound like Ecco the Dolphin. But it was a unanimous favorite among the dev team, so it ended up making its way into the first act.

While I was listening to Egg Rock 1 something came to me and I decided to rearrange the progression of the music track (though it's a quick and dirty job with audacity) and think I got something that flows better than before. Here's the edit.

CobaltBW said:

Shane described it as a "joke track" he made in a few hours to make Deep Sea Zone sound like Ecco the Dolphin.

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So I'm not crazy and it's totally intentional that DSZ reminds me of Ecco? Cool! DSZ always had an interesting ambiance to it but the old versions sounded kinda boring. The new remix is much easier to listen to.

Yeah every song in this OST is a banger.

I'll actually be pretty sad if the music going forward gets seriously changed lol. Eggrock, BOTH 1 and 2, are outright jams and ER2 is actually some of my favorite final level music now.

I will say, GuyWithThePie made a suggestion that Eggrock 2 would have the bit ending at 1:30 during the song *directly* link into 2:10, the bit that plays the original melody. I get the song was padded out a bit so it wouldn't be as repetitive, but I honestly SUPER agree with that suggestion. It would make the payoff of the tension from 1:30 feel WAY better.

Chopping off a whole 30 seconds of music is kind of drastic, but if something can be done *after* that, or w/e to maintain the length, but keep *that* progression, it'd make Eggrock 2 a much more memorable theme, and have it pump you up more than it already does.

Other than that I uhhhh don't think I have any complaints. At all. Every single remix knocks it out of the park, especially since I've been hearing the GFZ and Techno Hill themes since I was 14, Deep Sea always put me to sleep and now it feels as mystical as it deserves to be, and even though some people've brought up Arid Canyon... Yeah no the changes to that are super welcome. It feels MORE western now, somehow.

Oh and every single new song, especially for the special stage music, is 10/10. Special Stage 2 is one of my personal favorites. Something about going from Special Stage 1's cheery remix of a forgotten classic, into an 80's synth call to adventure wells something up deep inside. This weekend the music got me to feel like a kid again and that's... kinda incredible.

Shoutouts to the team. Youve made SRB2 as a *product* feel like a whole, nearly finished, PROFESSIONAL piece of work. Can't wait to keep playing and unlocking all the nonsense that's still hidden away.


EDIT:


@ Happyalm - Dude that rearrangement actually works really well. I already liked Eggrock 1 even though some people found it dicey; this DOES sound a lot better!! Good edit.

I'd be 100% ok with that being the official arrangement for next patch if the composer can get it arranged that way w/o the audio cuts, haha. Definitely feels like it flows much better.

I love the soundtrack, but some people will be bothered by how different a lot of songs are. Hell, even though I love the new ERZ, I gotta admit I'm going to miss the guitar solos. :P

Chimera said:

I already liked Eggrock 1 even though some people found it dicey; this DOES sound a lot better!! Good edit.

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I personally prefer this ERZ1,
the intro is brilliantly done with the bass drum and clavinet synth groove.
The original imo was too cheesy and I was never a fan of the guitar tone and bends.

Ninja Brad said:

ERZ1: the guitar feels, muffled?

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I agree with that, personally I'd prefer if it was just that funk without the VST guitar, lol.

Lets see, because I have a loathing hatred for myself, I Decided to listen to each song back to back with its 2.2 variant, and will throw out opinions, because I can

GFZ 1 and 2: I think I prefer both of the 2.2 versions over the prior variants, however, I definately like GFZ2 moreso, the kick to the song feels more fitting.

DSZ 1: Ok, I could see why someone might like the original, but to me, it felt like elevator music, this new version in 2.2 feels more like an actual goddang song, and I approve
DSZ2: wait.. Apply what I said to act one, Apply it to act 2 as well

CEZ1: The worst part of the 2.2 of this song, IMO, is the intro itself, but once the song starts proper, it picks up very well. If i needed another issue with it, it feels like a climactic final stage theme, but, well, CEZ isn't the final stage, overall, i feel like it takes the old base, and actual makes a good song out of it
CEZ2: the 2.2, feels alittle softer then act 1, is a tad odd to me, and the intro again feels like the most off part, overall this is still better then what came before it, and is a definite upgrade.

ACZ1: Wow, the stark difference in quality, the original feels like i'm listening to someone's cheap midi of a song, and then the 2.2 feels like a real godarn song, which, if it hasn't been clear, is how I feel in general up to this point (To be clear, i'm listening to both songs, typing my feelings, then moving on)
ACZ2: Hmmmm.. I don't hate it, but I wonder if its alittle to...i dont music, so..soft? for the goshdarned cart sections, but again, its fine, just not my cup of tea.

RVZ: There is nothing wrong with this song persay, the 2.2 version so to speak, but with this one, i can definately prefer the old version, changes i'd say, maybe shorten that intro slightly, and maybe speed it up alittle, but as a composition set apart from the song, it sounds great.

ERZ1: This is one stage where the Intro feels bad, and the guitar feels, muffled? I dunno, i feel like it could be kicked up a little bit. The song feels like its holding back, but man, it needs to stop. As a whole, I still think its better thne the old version, but It needs something.
ERZ2: Thanks, I hate it...No, I hate the original, I hate the 2.2 version, but much less so, its a tolerable song that i can enjoy, but it feels ill fitting for where its placed in the game, I dont feel urgancy or finality coming from it, but this is basically the last normal stage of the game.

ERZ3/BCZ1: I don't know who did the 2.2 song, But I would like to know who I thank for throwing the old song into the nearest trash can, and giving us this wonderful track instead, the 2.2 song is great, and was wonderful to listen to while I was grinding this track, to beat it with one of the unlockable characters.

As a whole, I think the 2.2 tracks are better, and I feel like for more people are complaining out of a position of having heard these songs for years. A few tweaks, but Cobalt, you did good on the tracks, and I'm glad to have listened to them

After a few more listens while emblem hunting, I've come to like Deep Sea and Aerial Garden a lot more, but I'm still a bit ehhh about Arid Canyon. Even though the old song sounds like a cheap midi, it did have very nice instruments soundfonts and very catchy parts, act 2 needs more action, but that's about it really, Arid Canyon aside, I've come to like the whole other bunch of songs off the new soundtrack!

SamVision said:

dont even get me started on Arid Canyon Zone.

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I loved the improvement of Arid Canyon Zone. It got the love it DESPERATELY needed. I loved the original composition, but I always wished it went out more, because it felt like it was holding back through the entirety of the track. There is a lot more flair to the track, and that is much appreciated, especially with all the other tracks in this game. Act 2 felt a little bit of a slow aspect to it, but... honestly, in terms of the setting, it felt fitting. in act 1, you're travelling what seems to be some wild west setting, actually out in the wild, traversing the steep slopes of the canyon, until you stumble upon civilization!... or at least a representation of it, judging by the houses and structures sprinkled here and there, and the large emphasis being put on the mines. I still think it fits, I just love Arid Canyon in general.

SamVision said:

is terrible.



No offense to the artists involved, but this new "version" of the track not only sounds completely different, it is also utterly inferior to the previous version. The original was a nice soothing melodious piece that felt like an appropriately chill introduction to the game. This new version seems to have taken a much worse approach and sounds like a mess. Even the indev version on youtube sounds better.

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I personally love the remastered tracks of SRB2 ! But I perfectly understand your opinion.