================= ==SMWC IDOL ROUND 1== ================= Judging by Supertails ==Submission 1== Song: Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs - Faldera Volcano Author: Lunar Wurmple Quality - 5.5/10 There are some nice things here, but the port needs some work. The lead starting at :9 would've sounded better with @1 instead, and a low @4 or @6 should've been used instead of the @7. Additionally, the lead chords sound an octave too low compared to the original. Rather than @2, the channel coming in later would sound better with a brief @3. The instrument starting at 1:06 would also have benefited from being more high in pitch. Lastly, boosting the octave for the piano channels while increasing the volume could help to make them stand out more. Overall, some parts like the percussion are well done, but the overall port is rough around the edges and a little difficult to listen to due to some octave and instrument choice problems. Listening to both the MIDI and MP3 again helps to determine these areas a little more. Complexity - 3/4 A bit repetitive in places, but uses all eight channels and has a decent length. Using more complex ADSR to polish the song would've boosted the rating. Not all the channels have much to them though. Functionality - 5/6 Does not use the v0 fix, but has the header. Cutoff is minimal and reduced to channels without very many notes. OVERALL: 13.5/20 ==Submission 2== Song: Sonic CD - Metallic Madness (Good Future) Author: Slash Man Quality - 10/10 This is downright amazing and correspond surprisingly well to SMW's instruments, most notably the orchestra hit. Aside from some very minor suggestions, like increasing the vibrato for the strings toward the end of the song and making the section at :46 a little less awkward (it almost sounds like the original uses an orchestra hit chord) there's really no suggestions I can provide and the suggestions are so minor they don't really dent the score. The flute distortion is fantastic as is the use of marimba toward the end. This is an extremely pleasant song to listen to thanks to the aforementioned instrument choice, sounding especially harmonious around :55. Even the orchestra hit is accurate to the original without being overly jarring. The pitch bend work here is fantastic as well. Complexity - 4/4 Uses all eight channels, is quite lengthy, and features numerous ADSR and instrument changes. Though quite a bit could be looped, there's a ton here, and a lot of care and effort was put into each segment of the song. Functionality - 5.5/6 Uses the echo fix, echo buffer, and echo command within limits. Two minor bits are a couple lines like this one: e8^re16r8e8^16^re8^re8^r e8^re16r8e8^16^re8^re8^r that could've been label looped, and the ] bracket without a 1, which messes up on some addmusic versions. OVERALL: 19.5/20 ==Submission 3== Song: Final Fantasy VI - The Day After Author: Nameless Quality - 7/10 There are a few issues but this sounds pretty nice overall. First, the port lacks any sort of speaker changes, while the original puts the repetitive harpsicord sample on the right speaker along with the harp on the left, along with with later instruments. The harpsicord sample sounds a bit off, mainly because it doesn't fade out in segments like the original. The instrument choice for :17 is a bit iffy and may have sounded better with @5 or a different instrument. Additionally the @6 in the song may have been better if it was swapped for @0, especially toward the end. It would make the sudden notes easier to notice. Apart from the repetitive channel, which couldn't have been improved much, this is a nice song to listen to. The section around the middle sounds a little awkward, but the later portion is nice, especially the harmony toward the end. A bit more work on instruments would have boosted the score even more. Complexity - 3/4 Six channels and not terribly complex ADSR. Length is decent but not huge and lots of areas were looped. FFVI has more difficult songs, but this one shows sufficient effort. Functionality - 5/6 This port uses the proper header and echo, but does not use the v0 echo fix. Cutoff is minimal and reduced to one channel. OVERALL: 15/20 ==Submission 4== Song: Michael Jackson - Thriller Author: ThinkOneMoreTime Quality - 6.5/10 Quality is hard to judge for this one, given that it's a port of, well, you know. The strings in the intro of the port are a bit light and could have had more attack compared to the original. Using some gradual ADSR could've helped the bass as well, though the percussion is pretty good. Rather than the flute, something a bit stronger may have been appropriate over the vocals. The strings not being as loud or full is also evident at :50, and :53 misses a short note for the lead. Other than that though, given what it's trying to replicate, this isn't bad at all. Aside from the orchestra hits, nothing comes off as especially jarring and the song is overall pleasant to listen to. As mentioned, a bit more work on making the strings full would've helped it sound nice and do the original more justice. Complexity - 2.5/4 Rather than the whole song, this is just a loop of part of it, and though it runs over a minute, there isn't a whole lot in the TXT. It also only has six channels. Going for more of the song and including some more ADSR tricks would have boosted this category. Functionality - 5/6 The header and proper echo is accounted for, though it doesn't use the v0 echo fix. Cutoff is very minimal with only one channel conflicting with sound effects. OVERALL: 14/20 ==Submission 5== Song: Touhou Phantasm Romance - Youmu Konpaku's Theme Author: omegazeroINFI Quality - 6/10 Ambitious considering how heavy and synth-driven the original is, but it's got some noticable issues. The piano in the beginning of the song sounds an octave too high compared to the original. I also question the use of distortion guitar at :18 for separate channels: it makes sense for the longer one that holds, but for the other channel that varies more, using a distorted string would help differentiate a bit more and make the "heavy" sound in the original more prominent. The strings starting at :36 need to be a lot louder, have more attack, and sustain rather than fading out. You may have wanted to try a different instrument altogether for them. The short distortion guitar notes that appear during that time are also too low. The bass also sounds a bit too high and off in places. Percussion is done well though. Because of the dual distortion guitars, issues with the strings, and bass, this one's a bit hard to listen to. The original sounded heavy, yet effective in areas, and while this one often sounds heavy, it's not always in a good way. Some more focus on instruments and better ADSR manipulation would've pushed this one further. Complexity - 4/4 Over a minute and a half in length, eight channels, and plenty of ADSR commands. Considering the source material as well, this is pretty difficult song to port. Functionality - 5/6 Uses the header, delay, etc. Port could've been looped a touch more in later channels. A problem that prevents the track from being played in certain addmusics is the brackets, some that just end with ]. Simply including ]1 would have prevented it from having compatibility issues. OVERALL: 15/20 ==Submission 6== Song: Donkey Kong Country 3 - Pokey Pipes Author: Blind Devil Quality - 9.5/10 It's hard to believe this could be achieved using only SMW instruments. The ambience and instrument choice is outstanding, sounding nearly identical despite the lack of samples. This makes the first set of marimba notes, which are an octave too high, a rather glaring oversight. This is surprising considering they're at the correct octave later in the port. Additoinally, the bass starting at :45 doesn't have quite enough attack compared to the original. Other than that though, this is as close as it gets to the original on the accuracy front. This is also a slower, eerie theme, and is very nice to listen to. The ambienece really adds some much-needed touches, and the ADSR manipulates the instruments in all sorts of ways. Complexity - 4/4 A long song with very little that repeats and all eight channels. The absurd amount of ADSR here shows serious effort was put into the port. Functionality - 5.5/6 Echo buffer and echo delay are here. Instrument cutoff was pretty minimal, though when testing, some sfx, such as jumping, occasionally messed up. OVERALL: 19/20 ==Submission 7== Song: Goemon's Great Adventure - Ryugu Castle Author: S.N.N. Quality - 9/10 For a pretty long and epic N64 song, getting this into SMW was ambitious, and the result is quite nice indeed. There are a couple parts that sound a bit different than the original though.. First, the lead uses a nice combination of @0 and @6, but it sounds a little sharp. Using a distorted @1 would probably have sounded better. At :16, the shamisen chords in the original seem lower and not as loud as the original, which persists through the rest of the song. This is also noticable at 1:02, when the shamisen is louder in the original, but the @2 dominates it here. Given the big difference in samples, this turned out quite accurate with SMW samples. The track is very upbeat and well worth listening too. Aside from the lead, which sounds a little sharp, and the @2 which dominates a bit, the instruments are very even without becoming grating. This is helped quite a bit by effective bass and percussion. Complexity - 3.5/4 Over a minute in length, eight channels, (though two play rarely) quite a bit of ADSR, frequent instrument switches and pitch bends demonstrate a serious amount of effort. The area is only hurt a bit by the shamisen chords, which end up being simplistic compared to the original. Functionality - 6/6 Echo fix, header, and everything else is accounted for. As mentioned, two channels are played very little, and these are wisely chosen for the sound effects ones, making cutoff minimal. Port was made as small as possible. OVERALL: 18.5/20 ==Submission 8== Song: Kirby Super Star - Taking Over the Halberd Author: Moose Quality - 9/10 Overall this is some pretty great stuff - it's surprising how well a song from Kirby Super Star sounds with SMW instruments. There are just a couple quirks. At :5, strings are used for the BG melody, and are used again starting at :11. In the original, it actually switches from flutes to strings, so @0 for the beginning part would have worked better. Additionally, the string at :42 and again at :56 sounds a little too quiet compared to the original and gets dominated by background instruments. Other than that, the percussion, bass, background channels, and everything else come together extremely well, matching the original. For a Kirby song, this one is upbeat and tense, but good instrument choice without anything sounding grating or dominating goes a long way here. With the exception of the strings in some areas, you can hear pretty much everything. Complexity - 3.5/4 Some tricky percussion, quite a bit of ADSR, and several instrument switches in a track that runs for a fair bit of time. It has six channels and has some repeating areas, but it's clear that it's not an easy song and demonstrates quite a bit of effort. Functionality - 6/6 Uses the echo fix and proper buffer. With six channels, only one is cutoff by sfx. Thankfully, this channel plays very rarely. OVERALL: 18.5/20 ==Submission 9== Song: Awesome - Asteroids Author: Kipernal Quality - 9/10 The overall quality of this port is pretty breathtaking and comes with only a few small suggestions. A couple channels seem a bit too low, namely the distortion guitar at :17 and moreso with the string chords toward the end. The lead at :47 could also have pitched higher compared to the original. Bass and other instruments are pretty much spot-on. At first, this isn't necessarily the most pleasant song, though it's not meant to be. The distortion guitars are appropriate to the original and actually make effective use of a harsh instrument. Proper volume and pitch bends help make this an interesting track worth listening to. A couple changes, such as elevating the strings toward the end could have helped even more, but otherwise, this is a very high quality track. Complexity - 4/4 Well over two minutes in length, uses all 8 channels, and has an absurd amount of pitch bends and other commands, not to mention all the volume switches. One look at the TXT and the amount of effort put into this is clear. Functionality - 6/6 Meant for AddmusicM, but that's not a problem. Uses proper echo buffer and echo fix. Quite a bit of looping done as well. OVERALL: 19/20 ==Submission 10== Song: Rebecca Black - Friday Author: General Echidna Quality - 5/10 Gotta get down and judge this port. Which rank will it taaaaaaaaakkkeeeeee? Sorry. While it's quite difficult to compare a SMW port to a song like this, there are quite a few accuracy issues. For one thing, there are numerous synth pitch bends in the original that are completely absent here. The percussion is alright and actually pretty close to the original, even though it was absent in the SPC. At random times, string notes seem to come in and are dissonant with the rest of the song. The flute bit at :57 doesn't match the "Yeah!" in the original at all. I would think a pitch bend going up would work a lot better. The segment at :46 corresponding to "Weekend" doesn't work very well either. There are also some percussion notes that come in at random times and don't fit with the rest of the song. Lastly, the port doesn't appear to correctly loop at all. As for the listening quality, for what it's worth, this is far more pleasant than the original. The song actually ends up sounding a bit soft, which isn't a bad thing at all. The problem is it lacks some bells and whistles that would've made it closer to the original and also has portions in the pecussion and strings that end up being distracting. The lack of a proper loop also makes this song difficult to listen to. Complexity - 2/4 At over three minutes, this is a pretty huge song, despite repeating verses. It uses 8 channels, though not all of them are used at one time. While this is a complex song, it honestly feels like you just took it and added instruments, making little to no touches or changes from the MIDI. This is especially prevelant in line 627, which shows that there were two percussion channels in the MIDI allocated to channel 10 that were not split for the port. Functionality - 3/6 Uses proper header but does not use the echo fix. It's problematic when the main melody channel is cut off by sound effects - surely one or two channels could have been merged or the sound effect channels could have been moved. The ridiculous insert size comes with virtually no looping. When the port has lines and lines of <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 <@21b8@21b8>@24d+8<@21b8r16>@22f+16@22f+8@24d+8r8 something needs to be done. OVERALL: 10/20 ==Submission 11== Song: Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Ripple Field 2 Author: Masashi27 Quality - 8.5/10 On the accuracy front, some really nice stuff with some clever instrument and ADSR choice. The accuracy issues are pretty nitpicky here. One of the most notable issues is the string bend at :34-5, which fades out, unlike the original that sustains. The flute in the beginning and strings at :28, while good, have a weaker attack compared to those instruments in the original. Conversely, the lead starting at :12 is a bit too dominating when heard in-game. Percussion is mostly spot-on, though the @22 is too low compared to the original. Raising it an octave may have helped here. Additionally, the background synth starting at :12 would have been closer to the original if it used a distorted @0 rather than @6. Ripple Field 2 is, like a lot of Kirby songs, pleasant and nice to listen to. The port overall is able to blend the various channels and have a lot going on without sounding distracting or dissonant. As mentioned, there are some volume and attack issues for the leads that offset the track a bit, but the ADSR is overall quite well chosen. Complexity - 3.5/4 Only five channels and a song that has several repetitive segments, but the numerous instrument switches mid-channel and varied ADSR commands help quite a bit. Functionality - 5/6 Wisely, this port skips over channel 5, so it doesn't conflict with any sound effects. The port also uses the proper echo and header commmands. The actual port could have slightly smaller size with more label looping. For instance, the first segment of bass: g+8^16>g+16 c8^16c16c8c8r8 c16c16c16c16c16g+16g+16g16 c16c16c16c16g+16g+16 c8^16c16c8c8r8 c16c16c16c16c16g+16g16 c16c16c16c16