TIE Fighter Soundtrack

Laserschwert · 02-28-2011, 01:41 PM

UPDATE June 17th 2012:

Major overhaul of all tracks! The complete soundtrack can be found HERE.

Well, "complete" minus in-flight music. But I guess Kusi81's work on this will be more than sufficient to accompany my soundtrack

Complete downloads:
tfmp3.zip (MP3)
tfflac.zip (FLAC)

Snugglecakes · 02-28-2011, 04:09 PM

Oh wow this brings back memories. Wish the original sounded this good!

daltysmilth · 02-28-2011, 08:49 PM

I'd still like to hear an X-Wing soundtrack as well.

Laserschwert · 02-28-2011, 10:12 PM

Wasn't that mostly John Williams themes MIDIfied?

daltysmilth · 02-28-2011, 10:57 PM

His themes were used, but there's still a significant amount of original music, as evidenced here:

YouTube Video

Laserschwert · 02-28-2011, 11:19 PM

Ah okay... but TIE comes first for me. Still have to figure out how to assembly the iMuse snippets. The file FLIGHT.OVL contains a table with all the pieces, but I can't make out, how they're supposed to be put together.

Snugglecakes · 03-01-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

Ah okay... but TIE comes first for me.

Me too, still in my top 10 games of all time. And I don't even like action games. It had a sort of depth to it that was absent from X-wing, can't explain it.

Laserschwert · 03-01-2011, 09:49 AM

If I remember correctly the missions were a little more complicated in TIE, with sub-goals and stuff like that. But it's been ages since I played it... I didn't even remember, that the CD-version of TIE allowed a resolution of 640x480. Gotta play it again.

daltysmilth · 03-01-2011, 12:09 PM

The later CD ROM versions of both TIE Fighter *and* X-Wing featured an update to the graphics engine so the graphics matched those of X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter. That version also had the music for the cutscenes in a folder on the disc in .WAV format if that makes things any easier for you. Also the in mission music was replaced in both games with music from the movie soundtracks in Redbook audio.

Laserschwert · 03-01-2011, 12:55 PM

Yeah, I have both versions of "X-Wing 95" and "TIE Fighter 95", but the WAV-files sound like crap... not only bitrate wise, also the synths used are horrible (at least compared to what I'm aiming at).

Also, as you've mentioned, the in-flight music is pure movie score, so it doesn't help me here.

Snugglecakes · 03-01-2011, 05:12 PM

I just spent 30 minutes looking for my TIE Fighter CD. No luck. I'm slightly worried.

Kusi81 · 03-04-2011, 07:56 AM

great music!!!! :-) hope to see more of this! thank you very much!

Kusi81 · 04-10-2011, 08:18 AM

This is my first remix-project and here's the result of it - I hope you're enjoying it. It contains a medley from the in-flight music of Tie Fighter

Title: Ode To Tie
Length: 12:50

new Link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RQM53M43

Edited!
-> I've done some revisions

Laserschwert · 04-10-2011, 08:46 AM

Sounds great! Do you have a MIDI file of your remix? Or was it mixed after recording it to wave? Also, does it use all parts of the inflight-music?

Kusi81 · 04-10-2011, 08:58 AM

I've found several midi files in the Internet of the in-flight music. These are about six midi files of in flight music. There were more, but I didn't used them because these doesn't fit in my medley. I've start with one file to remix, then take the seond, and so go on. I've done this with eight files.

Here's a link for the midi's: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8THM5YFZ

These are all files I've found.

Laserschwert · 04-11-2011, 05:08 AM

Ah okay, I already have those. I think I'll tackle the in-flight music last though.

BTW, I've replaced all the tracks in the first post with new versions, now using Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 and the free Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra, while mixing everything in Reaper.

***s-island*** · 04-11-2011, 05:33 AM

The SSO has the string section as separate samples. Did you split up and re-arrange the string ensemble tracks into their violin, viola, cello, and double bass elements?

Laserschwert · 04-11-2011, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s-island

The SSO has the string section as separate samples. Did you split up and re-arrange the string ensemble tracks into their violin, viola, cello, and double bass elements?

The only manual splits I did in the strings was between legato and staccato notes (and I've only used the staccato ones from SSO, while using the rest from GPO). Still, all seperate string types (1st and 2nd violin, viola, cello, bass) are grouped as "ensembles", with each one using only their own range of notes. But of course, this isn't as detailed as doing manual splits for these as well.

Kusi81 · 04-11-2011, 07:29 AM

Has Reaper an easier handling than Fruity Loops? How did you separate legato and staccato notes? Are they in separate tracks? I'm currently using FL Studio 10 and there are some complications inthere.

Laserschwert · 04-11-2011, 07:41 AM

Well, I can't compare Reaper to FL, since I've never used that one. Seperating notes is relatively easy in Reaper though, as you can set the MIDI-channel separately for each note (or a selection of notes, of course), so I don't have to split the track up into even more tracks. Then each track gets Garritan's ARIA player as a VSTi, which allows me do define which MIDI channel plays which samples. It's pretty straightforward.

Here's a screenshot of the ARIA player:

As you can see, all notes set to MIDI channel 15 will be playing the different "Lush" strings, whereas channel 16 will use the staccato ones. Channel 14 is also used for GPO's "auto legato" feature, which only works for monophonic notes (so no chords). "Auto legato" causes notes to flow into each other by removing the "attack" portion of an instrument sample. So every time theres a string line that's supposed to be played that way, I set it to channel 14.

This setup is of course only used for one of the two string tracks in the TIE-MIDIs, while the other tracks get their own ARIA player (with the string setup being the more elaborate one... the horns, for example, have only one instrument in the list).

Kusi81 · 04-11-2011, 07:49 AM

Sounds like the same in FL. But I think FL don't handle the notes correctly, sometimes the instruments sounds pretty strange. I'll try to remake a part of my medley with Reaper this evening. I'm currently working with EWQLSO Silver Edition and sometimes the instruments sounds in the standalone-application better than in FL Studio. Maybe I'll be more happy with it!

Thank you for the informations.

Laserschwert · 04-11-2011, 08:04 AM

I was always wondering how the TIE-MIDIs would sound with EWQLSO's samples. Right now I don't want to purchase another orchestral sample library, now that I already got GPO.

With GPO though I needed to add a LOT of effects to the master track (and also the individual tracks) like several reverbs, EQs and other stuff.

Kusi81 · 04-11-2011, 08:09 AM

yeah, I've also used the reverb-effect but currently not the EQ! I'm an absolute beginner in that topic and the Tie-In-Flight Midi's are for me like a huge playground to work with, I can sit in front of that over hours!!!

Laserschwert · 04-11-2011, 08:17 AM

The same here. I've read a lot about that stuff, but still don't have grasped it.

For reverb for example, it's good to have two separate ones: The first dealing with the so called "early reflections", which apparently just simulate the sound hitting the walls of the room first. This effect is different for each instrument group, as it suggest how deep the instrument is positioned in the room (so while panning deals with the left/right position, this effect deals with the front/back position). And then there's the big "tail" reverb, which just simulates the entire room. It could be different for each instrument as well, but I just put this one on the master effects track.

EQing is very difficult, and my ears aren't really trained for it anyway, so most of the time I have no clue what to adjust. Usually I just try to match the spectrum of a professionally mixed track.

Still, I'm not entirely happy with the result.

Kusi81 · 04-11-2011, 08:31 AM

hehe same like me - I'm also not happy with the result. The orchestral part sounds nice but no perfect. I'd like to make it more dynamicly or to add more percussion. The bass is okay.

Kusi81 · 05-31-2011, 04:25 PM

here's an updated version of the song: Ode To Tie

SPECIAL THANKS TO LASERSCHWERT!!! :-)

http://soundcloud.com/kusi81/ode-to-...-2-composed-by

Laserschwert · 05-31-2011, 05:07 PM

Wow, great job!

The step from EWQLSO Silver to Gold is really apparent... also, EWSLSO's reverb sounds sooo good... no need for further reverbs :-)

MusiclyInspired · 06-28-2011, 12:12 PM

I CAN'T STAND it when Star Wars games just take the lazy route and rip the movie soundtracks. I really appreciate the few games that actually had original scores. Quite a slap in the face to the composers who wrote them by "updating" them and using the movie scores instead.

Laserschwert · 06-28-2011, 06:15 PM

By the way, here's my latest version of the main theme: http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp...o_EWQLSO_2.mp3

Kusi81 · 07-01-2011, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

By the way, here's my latest version of the main theme: http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp...o_EWQLSO_2.mp3

I'm impressed about the brass section (trumpets, trombones and so go on) I've a few questions about them:

1. Which samples did you use?
2. Do you use the "Template" tracks from the midi for each instruments? I mean do you use the trumpet track with trumpetssamples or do you make a mix?

MusiclyInspired · 06-30-2011, 01:21 PM

Very nice. I just purchased GPO4 myself from the Sonar website. They had a sale on it for Sonar X1 owners. Looking forward to a jump in quality from the Edirol Orchestral plugin I've been using. And if that track is any indication I'm going to be quite happy.

Laserschwert · 07-01-2011, 05:36 AM

Well, I've used tons of samples... different legatos, staccatos, some crescendos... and yes, I've used trumpet samples on the turmpet track, trombone samples on the trombone track, and so on.

The only thing where I've just mixed intruments are the string tracks, which each of them getting 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and double basses.

By now I even bought the two additional mic positions (close and surround), which improves the sounds a lot! Unfortunately my harddrive is too slow to stream all these samples, so I guess I'm gonna get a SSD for them.

I felt the above version of the theme was still a bit too muddy, so here's a version with slightly louder "close mics" on the brass tracks (trumpets, trombones, horns...) to make them sound a bit sharper:
http://soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/temp...o_EWQLSO_3.mp3

Kusi81 · 07-01-2011, 07:42 AM

sounds nice!

Did you buy only the close mics of the brass section?

How do mixed the string section? sounds cool!!!! Like to the Large Ensemble-Samples

Laserschwert · 07-01-2011, 01:15 PM

Nah, you can only purchase the extra mics for all instruments together.

The string section isn't mixed in a special way, I've just thrown all the string instruments in there:

I've used two instances of PLAY on each string track (the manual advises to use several instances of PLAY, to be more processor and memory friendly). The first thing I do is setting all "long" notes to channel 15 (so that they get all the legato/sustain instruments, as you can see on the left - the first instance of PLAY on that track). Then I set all "short" notes to channel 16, so they play as the staccatos/marcatos/short instruments on the right (the second instance of PLAY).

As you can see on the left I've added another 18-violins instrument ("Lyrical") to channel 14 and a "Run Simulator" to channel 13 since some cues just need some different string sounds here and there.

That's basically all the "mixing" I've done to the strings, just using their basic settings.

Kusi81 · 07-04-2011, 10:48 AM

Thanks for the informations. I used on PLAY! instance per instrument channel, that works very well

But it's interesting to see how other people works

I noticed that some of the single tone velocities are to high. The result was the trumpets and trombones played too loud and it didn't sound like a real brass instrument. You didn't hear the difference between trumpets and trombones. Now the listening experience is much better, but now I know why you bought an additional mic position: the brass section is more in the background now.

I thinking about also buying the additional mic positions....

Reid · 04-15-2012, 04:37 AM

Heyo. I've been lurking this thread (and only this thread) since shortly after it started last year. I finally got around to registering for this forum for the sole purpose of asking if this project ever advanced any further. That last pass at the intro is really, really good. After 18 years, I still find myself humming Peter McConnell's score for TIE Fighter a lot. Gotta love those heroic Imperial leitmotifs.

As well as this project was going, I hope it was not abandoned. You were doing absolutely great work.

Keep up the good work on behalf of the Empire!

--Reid.

Laserschwert · 04-16-2012, 07:51 PM

Funny... I've re-started working on this (from scratch) the day you posted that. Let's hope I'll finish it this time around

Reid · 04-17-2012, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

Funny... I've re-started working on this (from scratch) the day you posted that.

Well, that can mean only one thing, and one thing only: it's definitely, absolutely, positively, 100%, no doubt about it, undeniably, no ifs ands or buts about it, most certainly, beyond any certainty to any conviction that I've ever held to anything in my entire life, clearly a genuine, bonnefied sign, is what it is.

...or maybe it's just a coincidence.

Either way, best of luck! I look forward to (hopefully) hearing some new tracks. You can do it!

--Reid.

Laserschwert · 05-02-2012, 07:07 PM

All right, I've replaced all tracks in the first post with new versions (except for the Introduction), and added a few more. I think I've finally found some good ways to do these, so they are probably the final versions. As soon as the rest of the tracks is done, I think I'll tackle the Introduction track again, to make it sound as good as the new tracks.

Laserschwert · 05-05-2012, 09:24 PM

I've added the music of the 13 campaign cutscenes in the game. Apart from the inflight music there's only 7 more tracks to go (plus re-doing the introduction). There might be a couple of tracks that are not part of the extracted MIDIs, but appear only in-game instead. Until I find a way to extract those as well, they won't be included here.

Edit: Added the 7 missing tracks. I'm still not sure how to deal with the in-flight music... and actually Kusi81's "Ode to Tie" is already quite fantastic, apart from some minor hiccups here and there.