The Curse of Monkey Island (Mega Monkey edition soundtrack!)

sinus · 12-11-2009, 08:19 AM

Hello fellow adventurers,

after some really long fiddling around, I'm proud to present you a two-and-a-half hour monster I named ...

-> Mega Monkey edition

This "release" should leave nothing to be desired. All the tunes in the best possible quality.

If you got a question, remarks or death threats, don't hesitate!

And now, if you like, have fun!

ThunderPeel2001 · 12-11-2009, 08:56 AM

Nice! Thanks!

ThunderPeel2001 · 12-11-2009, 08:58 AM

Also: What did you do to the "19th Anniversary Edition" to make it better?

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinus

All the tunes in the best possible quality.

I beg to differ

(I'm currently working on it)

sinus · 12-11-2009, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThunderPeel2001

Also: What did you do to the "19th Anniversary Edition" to make it better?

better than what?

better than the MT-32 version: no, different.
better than the Amiga version: no, different.
better than the version at soundtracks.mixnmojo.com/scummbar: yes

That's just a CD audio rip - differs from the rest in ...

- quality (EAC, FLAC)
- completeness
- added PC speaker version
- nice artwork ;-)
- eco-friendly download

sinus · 12-11-2009, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

I beg to differ

(I'm currently working on it)

I repeat: "All the tunes in the best possible quality".
What's wrong about that?

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinus

I repeat: "All the tunes in the best possible quality".
What's wrong about that?

Because I have them at better quality... did you check those links?

sinus · 12-11-2009, 10:35 AM

Better than your old ones?

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 10:36 AM

That's what I meant when saying "better"

Just download those four clips I've linked to with each word of "I beg to differ".

sinus · 12-11-2009, 10:45 AM

Yeah, but you wrote

"I beg to differ"

to my claim that I provide the music in the best quality possible. I assume you don't want to say that my files are crap.(?)

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 10:50 AM

Not at all! They are better than my LucasArtsSoundtracks-version. But they are not in the "best possible quality", as I have a FLAC-rip right here that's even better than your version. I'm still editing it to replace the soundtrack on my site.

("I beg to differ" bedeutet lediglich "Da bin ich anderer Meinung"... die Qualität deiner Files ist klasse, keine Frage, besser hätte ich das auch nicht machen können... aber ich habe jemanden im Netz gefunden, der es irgendwie geschafft hat, die Musik nochmal weitaus besser zu rippen... keine Ahnung wie, aber sie klingen eher nach CD-Qualität als unser 22KHz-Kram)

sinus · 12-11-2009, 11:19 AM

Now I'm at home, listened closely with my 'phones and at my first sight (or listen) they do appear to be better. I assume they took the same files but ran them through some filters to fresh them up.

But I hope they're not from wqcr's torrent. These files were "remastered" to sound boomy and then in some places, quality problems (like some digital crackle) only got worse!

(The percussion in "row boat" is really harsh, btw)

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 11:20 AM

They ARE from WQCR... and to me they sound a lot better, although the bass is indeed a bit too strong.

sinus · 12-11-2009, 11:22 AM

And of course: Why didn't you announce your renewals?

All these precious hours.

Where is the petition form for an official release????!!!!

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 11:23 AM

Hey, I didn't know you were working on something

sinus · 12-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

They ARE from WQCR... and to me they sound a lot better, although the bass is indeed a bit too strong.

Then please listen to Minnie's tune. Awful.

In my version I had the principle to not touch the original quality. I favor "flat" instead of "boomy".

sinus · 12-11-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

Hey, I didn't know you were working on something

Of course!

No, you knew, you just wanted to annoy me!

Laserschwert · 12-11-2009, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinus

Then please listen to Minnie's tune. Awful.

I assume that my sound setup is to cheap to hear the problems, I can hear only minimal hissing in the strings. Still, I think it's incredible what quality he got out of those files.

ThunderPeel2001 · 12-11-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

They ARE from WQCR... and to me they sound a lot better, although the bass is indeed a bit too strong.

Got to say that I prefer Sinus's versions myself. The WQCR are so bass heavy as to be annoying and just seem to distort the originals. Sinus's versions are feel more "balanced" to me. Still, it's nice to have the option.

sinus · 12-11-2009, 06:18 PM

"balanced", yeah that's what I mean, "flat" is more an option for equalizers - youknowwhaddamean! ^^

The general problem with the source files is, the pieces differ very much in quality and sound level from the beginning. Some sound clear, some muffled (like Choose your weapon). Some sound flat, some warm. It was hard enough (for me) to level them in loudness/volume, I don't dare to imagine how much weeks it could take to adjust them soundwise, so that they all sound same. The approach by Ondřej is interesting but I think it could have been done more cautiously. And as some pieces lack sound information (drop-outs) and others some kind of distortion (the hiss) it would be very hard/impossible to realize. The hiss (treble sound) for example was just amplified during the process of "remastering" as was the percussion in "row boat".

The only real solution would be a proper official 2 CD soundtrack release and: w/o all the SFX. But that's utopic. I hope they'll at least release the SoMI:SE soundtrack!

SyntheticGerbil · 12-11-2009, 11:23 PM

LucasArts hates soundtracks and giving things proper releases.

***s-island*** · 12-12-2009, 04:34 PM

The Dig and Grim Fandango got soundtrack releases.

**elTee** · 12-12-2009, 09:04 PM

So did Loom! Sort of...

Giant Graffiti · 12-12-2009, 09:16 PM

Yeah, but that was ten years ago.

***Thrik*** · 12-13-2009, 09:35 AM

Maybe LEC will do a CMI special edition that uses higher-res versions of the original art and all the music with less compression. That's pretty much what I want them to do with Grim Fandango too.

Grim Fandango in particular would be ideal for like the 360 thanks to its controls. It's almost like Schafer foresaw its second coming on consoles over a decade later.

sinus · 12-13-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrik

all the music with less compression.

I don't think so. SoMI:SE had 96kbps (!!!) xWMA.

***Thrik*** · 12-13-2009, 02:37 PM

Really? It didn't sound that bad when I played it. I guess 96kb/s goes further with WMA than it does with MP3. Surprising though, considering the remake was largely about fidelity (graphics and sound).

Well whatever the case, they can get better. If they do a MI2 special edition and it has the same glaring issues as MI1's then I'll be very disappointed. I actually really like the MI1 special edition but some of the technical and artistic oversights are hideous.

sinus · 12-13-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrik

I guess 96kb/s goes further with WMA than it does with MP3.

maybe. it's the low bitrates, the codecs and - even more important - the encoders (LAME ftw) can show their advantages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrik

ISurprising though, considering the remake was largely about fidelity (graphics and sound).

That was my thought too when seeing the audio files.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrik

Well whatever the case, they can get better.

Hope dies last.

sinus · 12-15-2009, 07:19 AM

Hey folks, I have a question about a certain piece of music in this game.
It's called "Out". You can see and hear it when opening the 2nd CMI music bundle file with ScummRev. This short variation of the LeChuck theme seems to appear in the sixth part. I included in my release as "When will he learn?" but it never came to my ears when playing the sixth part and before - and I did several times to find it!

Do you know more?

***Thrik*** · 12-15-2009, 07:26 AM

After the credits.

sinus · 12-15-2009, 07:39 AM

Hmmm, I checked that too. Will have to check again!

sinus · 12-15-2009, 04:08 PM

You're right!

Thanks very much!

SyntheticGerbil · 12-15-2009, 06:58 PM

Yes, I have all of those soundtracks, but they need more! So until they satisfy my fanboy desires, I stand by that they hate soundtracks and proper releases. (Even if they probably have released more soundtracks than a majority of western game companies.)

sinus · 12-17-2009, 08:11 AM

Made a little update thanks to Thrik's help and some other stuff I improved. If you already downloaded the big file, please use the separate update file if you want to have the new version. Just take its content and automatically replace it with the old stuff. The last three files in the "/music" folder (from "119 ...") of older date have to be erased manually.

Sk-F · 01-23-2010, 10:47 AM

OK guys, this is weird. You've been discussing on which soundtrack is better from those two, but I do have a third version which I believe is the best one! Please check this comparison and tell me what you think:

(I didn't know where to upload, so I uploaded them all on Rapidshare, I know it may be a pain in the ass to download them all w/o a RS account, but, well...)

Sinus's "Barbery coast" version:
http://rapidshare.com/files/33987813...t__sinus_.flac

Laserschwert's "Barbery coast" version:
http://rapidshare.com/files/33987874...erschwert_.mp3

The "Barbery coast" version I have:
http://rapidshare.com/files/33988025...v1__Sk-F_.flac

I don't know guys, I believe mine sounds way more natural, less "compressed". But let me upload another comparison, this time between sinus's and mine:

Sinus's "Firing the cannon":
http://rapidshare.com/files/33988385...n__sinus_.flac

The one I have:
http://rapidshare.com/files/33988273...on__Sk-F_.flac

Laserschwert · 01-23-2010, 11:49 AM

It's the same one as mine. Mine does sound a bit different, as I've converted it to MP3. However, I do have the FLAC-files here, and they're even named like yours ("Barbers V1").

sinus · 01-25-2010, 04:48 AM

yeah, you should have mentioned you took them from WQCR's torrent.

Sk-F · 01-25-2010, 02:08 PM

Actually, I never said they were mine

I Just didn't remember where I got them from and wanted to share the discovery with you all. Looks like the mystery is solved, though.

Anson93 · 02-09-2011, 02:56 AM

Neither of your torrents seem to have seeders. Is there another way i can get a hold of the Mega Monkey edition? It seems like the most extensive one out there.

sinus · 02-10-2011, 07:50 AM

thanks for letting me know. i seed it myself from home and from work. seems my machine at work is off. (i'm on vacation right now)

i'll send you a direct download link.