[Jamesfff]

Any update on the tree sprite I posted on in comment #266?

[LeoD]

Jamesfff, on 21 May 2014 - 04:44 PM, said:

Any update on the tree sprite I posted on in comment #266?

Could it be your installation is messed up? This is what I see:

[Hendricks266]

I think he's asking if anyone made a model for it yet, which will be "no" indefinitely until it happens. When it's done, you'll see it.

[LeoD]

Hendricks266, on 22 May 2014 - 12:52 PM, said:

I think he's asking if anyone made a model for it yet, which will be "no" indefinitely until it happens.

http://svn.eduke32.c...s/3656_tree.md3
It's the wrong tree sprite in Jamesfff's screenshot, isn't it?

[Jamesfff]

Interesting situation - my screenshot was made using an altered map file that substituted sprite 3655, which has no model yet, for sprite 3656, which does have a model. I think I must at some point have opened and then accidentally saved that map without the DukeDC art files loaded, but for some reason (I don't remember exactly what happened) did the texture fixes manually, and must have put the wrong sprite there. It is still an DukeDC sprite (i have confirmed that with bastART) and still needs a model, though.

[LeoD]

Jamesfff, on 22 May 2014 - 05:57 PM, said:

It is still an DukeDC sprite (i have confirmed that with bastART) and still needs a model, though.

Completeness basically means processing the tiles which are actually used in the main game. The same applies to the main HRP, and probably NW/VACA HRPs as well. This tree is not used in any of the DC episode's maps (though in a few maps using DC's tiles014.art) and therefore has never been on any to-do list. Someone may come up with a model in the future but this one surely has no priority compared to the other HRPs which are not yet complete in the aforementioned sense.

[OpenMaw]

Spiker, on 27 April 2014 - 01:00 AM, said:

In the final version I shrinked his muscles

Hey Spiker, or anyone for that matter, got the source files for Bill Clinton?

[Mark]

A few pages back he said to PM him if you want the source model.

[NightFright]

BTW, in order to contribute something new:

I have had second thoughts about the soundtrack provided with the DukeDC HRP. After all, it's not original and copying from other games mostly. We could just go back to the standard episode 3 soundtrack, but it's not what I am aiming for.

I have been in contact with James "Jimmy" Paddock. Many of you probably know him as a very skilled MIDI composer for various Doom megawads. So I was asking him if he was interested in providing all-new music for Duke It Out in DC, which would be his first project for a non-Doom game actually. Here is what he wrote:

Quote

Hi NightFright,

Howdy, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for considering me! That is indeed an interesting project proposition - it seems awfully parallel to Plutonia what with it being one of a collection of commercial addons which had no "new" music, whereas its partner(s) did. I suppose such a project could also be compared to my Harmony MIDI Pack, which was written entirely by me with the intent to replace the soundtrack of the game with something more fitting. It's been a while since I released that, and it was the last MIDI "pack" that I wrote - so I guess another one couldn't hurt.

So yes, I might just take you up on this - it should prove to be an interesting exercise for me, as I think I'll try to imitate Lee Jackson's style as best I can, and maybe even adhere to his EMIDI specifications for these tracks. Been a while since I did anything in another style, other than the one I seem to have gained from listening to far too much progressive metal.

I'm not too familiar with the maps themselves, but I have played Duke DC before - many many moons ago. I have however recently sat through and co-commentated a streamthrough of the whole set (the secret map included) with Alfonzo and Tarnsman via TwitchTV, so I think I can rewatch all of the video recordings to refresh my memory. I suppose it would be preferable if I actually could play the maps again at my own pace/leisure. Maybe I can get my brother to gift me Megaton Edition, or something.

Thanks again for the PM! Have to say I'm mighty interested in doing something like this again.

Cheers,
- Jimmy

This conversation happened a while ago already (November 2013), though, so I am currently trying to actually determine whether he is willing to start with this any time soon now. Knowing Jimmy's work, I am quite confident he is able to provide new tracks that capture the atmosphere of the DC levels in a unique way.

[Hendricks266]

Ideally, your music selections could be split out as NightFright's DC Music Pack, which would be a separate option somewhere in the startup window. But there's no need to rip it out yet.

[NightFright]

Well, when Jimmy is finished, the time to do that might finally have arrived. I was actually a bit surprised (and shocked) that over at the Steam forums, people were complaining about "wrong" music tracks for DukeDC coming with the Megaton edition. Apparently many people are using the DC HRP and are used to these custom selections.

If there is a way to finally make the new music optional, I won't object. By that time, I will rather call it "Jimmy's DC Music Pack", btw - because that's more what it will be, then. ^^

[OpenMaw]

If he does do that I recommend he tries to work in a few motifs/themes that are evocative of DC or US history. Yankee doodle, hail to the chief. etc...

I just whipped up this little sample as a test. I'm no Lee Jackson/BP/Musically Inspired, but it's just an idea he might want to play with.

 Hell to the Chief.zip (1.59K)
Number of downloads: 339


Mine is a bit on the nose, but the idea would be to weave in certain themes evocative of Washington DC/American history/politics with some classic Duke sounds.

[Hendricks266]

NightFright, on 26 August 2014 - 04:18 AM, said:

Well, when Jimmy is finished, the time to do that might finally have arrived.

I think you misunderstand. The DCHRP should not have any custom music tracks. Your pack and your composer guy's pack would both be separate.

[NightFright]

That's what I was talking about, too. It made people believe that these tracks actually had been part of the addon in the first place, which isn't true. While they may fit quite well, they aren't imitating or recreating something that had been there before, so I guess it goes against the idea of the HRP in general. Besides that, the OGG tracks are bloating the pack quite a bit.

I'd do it right away, but just compiling a new release without any new features seems kinda pointless. On the other hand, I dunno what else could still be added since all DC tiles have actually been replaced by now. That's why I wrote waiting for the "Jimmy pack" would be a good idea, then you could detach the OGG music from DC HRP and let players decide whether they prefer my custom selection or Jimmy's tracks. I am a fan of choices and variations, so that seems to the way to go in the (hopefully near) future.

*EDIT August 28*
Didn't have anything better to do, so I thought I can get to it anyway. DukeDC HRP v1.62 has separated the actual HRP from the OGG music, offering the custom soundtrack as an optional download from now on. This also cuts HRP size in half, which is a positive side effect.
This is also an advantage whenever Jimmy finishes his own musical interpretation since you won't have to download the actual HRP again for this, and you will have a comfortable choice whether to ignore custom music completely, or use either my own selections or Jimmy's composition (which should be the best once they are done).

[darkprince227]

Personally, I think making the music pack and the pack itself separate is a good idea, like you said, it cuts down on size

Not everybody likes the custom music, personally, I think it's cool. It makes Brown Water much more interesting since I'm a huge Indy fan, and the
X-Files theme for Duke Files?

Whatever the case, keep everything up

[NightFright]

Epic bump, man...

[Micky C]

Looks at your last post: "edit 28th August". Thought that's not too bad. Looked at the year...

[NightFright]

The only thing that will probably still happen for this project is a new (optional) music pack with music by Jimmy Paddock, as I have indicated earlier on. Other than that, this HRP is pretty much complete and may only see some polishing at some point, but for that, someone would need to have the motivation and dedication to do so. Considering general HRP activity lately, you can pretty much forget about that. So, realistically, there couldn't possibly be any *real* news about the project until a new post is coming from me.

[NightFright]

News update:

DukeDC HRP v1.63 available
This is only a minor maintenance release which has its maphacks removed. These are part of the Duke3D HRP by now and have become redundant as a part of the DC HRP in the meantime.

DukeDC Music Pack v1.1 available
Includes new recordings of all MIDI tracks ("Hero", "The Rain" "The X-Files Trance Remix", "Robocop 3 Militaristic Remix" and "Ominous") with a better soundfount (Don Allen's "Timbres of Heaven" v3.2).

Get both from the Download section of the HRP website.

Stay tuned for more DC-related releases, potentially still within this year!

[Lunick]

NightFright, on 04 October 2016 - 04:27 AM, said:

DukeDC Music Pack v1.1 available
Includes new recordings of all MIDI tracks ("Hero", "The Rain" "The X-Files Trance Remix", "Robocop 3 Militaristic Remix" and "Ominous") with a better soundfount (Don Allen's "Timbres of Heaven" v3.2).

I dunno, I feel like the instruments came through better with whatever the old soundfont was compared to these new oggs.

[NightFright]

It's kind of a tradeoff. Some parts are clearer and sound more emphasized/less synthetic while other parts move to the background. It may be a good idea to make a backup of your original music pack copy before you upgrade, so you can decide for yourself which version you prefer.

Anyway, I am working on an all-new DC music pack release in cooperation with James "Jimmy" Paddock which will feature totally original music (never heard before in any game), specifically composed for this addon. It was supposed to be finished by the end of this year, but right now it's hard to say if the deadline can be met. I gave Jimmy some ideas about the levels the music is meant for, now it's about what he will come up with.

[Lunick]

I can definitely hear that there is more clarity with some stuff but the emphasis seems to have shifted on some instruments and now overshadows others.

Jimmy does some really good music although I will definitely miss some of the iconic midis like the X-Files remix and The Rain

[NightFright]

The old music packs will not disappear under any circumstances. They will remain available just like the old music packs for the HRP. I am aware that many of you got used to the tracks I have chosen, so it may be difficult to switch to something completely else (even though I am convinced Jimmy's music will beat my selections easily).

In the meantime, I have brought back the download links for DC music pack v1.0 in case someone wants to stick to the old sound (and forgot to make a backup).

[NightFright]

Refresh releases are on the HRP website!

DukeDC HRP v1.64
> Fix for badly aligned title screen (#2493)

DukeDC Music Pack v1.12
> Added disclaimer on menu screen (#2456) about the fact that you are using a custom soundtrack

See previews below for Music Pack ingame disclaimer. This will show in any case (independantly of HRP usage and 8-/32-bit rendering modes).

[NightFright]

Triple post alert (it's for a good cause)!

As you probably know by now, I have been working with James "Jimmy" Paddock to create an all-new custom soundtrack for DukeDC. We had planned to release it in 2016 still, but even though Jimmy (barely) managed to deliver in time, it was too late for a release before 2017. Anyway, this gave him some time to improve his work further - and without teasing too much, I can say the final result is amazing. Some tracks pay some nice tributes to the selections I had made in the previous/current version of the soundtrack (e.g. the X-Files remix for "Nuked Files" or the theme from Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis for "Brown Water"), but most of the songs are completely original and new. It may take a bit to get used to it, but after a little while, it feels as if it has always been meant to sound like that.

I know you all want to listen to it already, but you have to be patient just a little bit longer until we have figured out the best way to convert the MIDIs to OGG format (soundfont usage vs custom synthesizer solution, looping points etc). I am confident to provide a release within January (or February at the very latest). Once published on the HRP website, the tracks will also be available on Jimmy's website for free, even though it was a commissioned work which I had to pay for.

PS: Of course, the MIDIs will also be included with the release.

[Mateos]

Great news, thank you very much

Is there a TODO left for DC HRP?

[NightFright]

Nope, the HRP itself is finished. Maybe some textures could be redone or more spec maps added, but there are no assets missing. For all I know, this music pack may be my last release ever for DukeDC. As sad as it is.

[MusicallyInspired]

Can always do an SC-55 version.

[NightFright]

I will send you the MIDI files once we are sure everything is 100% final. I dunno what kind of tools Jimmy will use for his MP3 version and how that will sound, though.

[darkprince227]

I checked a very old to-do list and it said the ending cutscene was the only thing not done yet as well as some unused textures.

In any case, I'm definately having the music pack with the mod. Like I said somewhere before, I LOVE the X-Files theme and the Fate of Atlantis music in Brown Water makes it that much more interesting.