Loc Talon

That's mostly due to the lack of recording equipment and the fact that I only had a dynamic mic to record the vocals(you should use a condensor mic). I had to make do with what I had. The screams that you hear towards the end aren't even screams at all, just recording tricks. It's like...a high pitched yawn, with a lot of high-end equalization and reverb thrown behind it to make it sound louder and forceful, that what it really is. I've played around with protools before. It is a nice protools and, as you said, alot of professional studioes use it. Alot of that has to do with compatibility, as well though. The ability to take recorded works from one studio to another and not have to worry about the sound files not being recognized is a huge benefit. But, I do love some protools. It makes the process alot simpler. I just don't have two grand to throw down on the program and the propriety equiment required to get the full benefit of it. That is my next investment though, that's really all I lack for my studio and it would be nice to have.

Nice. The flange through out the composition kind of holds it all together through the transitions and I liked the interlude with the use of delay in there as well. Were you using an alternate picking technique for the main rift? I think it would sound that much better to throw some more instruments on top of it, definately some percussion. I might be able to help you with the processed instruments, if you give me a bit more detail on what you're refering to in that sense.

Learning a DAW was actually one of the more easier things for me to pick up. It was just a matter of making like...A thirty second to a minute sound file and just going wild with the different editing options and features, to see how they manipulated the sound itself.

Sony Acid Pro 7.0. It's not protools or cubase, but it gets the job done. I also have quite a few pre-amps and external interfaces that I run the signal through, before going into the computer, to help regulate the recording quality of the signal itself. Really, all I use Acid for is capturing the end signal and do very little editing(outside of final mixing and production) with the program itself.

I also think it has to do with fear of experimentation or exploration.

Absolutelly. I'm a firm believer that diversity equals longevity. If you look back through the history of music and take a good look at the most notable musicians and bands, that have withstood the test of time. Even as far back to the Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart periods, they all had diversity. And that diversity has allowed their music to carry on through the ages. I think that if someone constricts themselves to one specific genre or style of music, they are only building walls around their musical creativity and freedoms.

That's awesome! That's the exact element I was going for with that project. I wanted to create some tunes that were a throw-back to the early 90's grunge era, but mixing in more contemporary rock elements with it. Mind you, that is not the only elements that I draw inspiration from, just this current mix of songs that I've been working on. With each session, I try to incoporate different musical elements into the various compositions.

I appreciate the response. In regards to the quality issue. That is due to the fact that those were recorded before I made some recent investments. The vocals sound flattened because, at the time of those recordings, I only had an AKG dynamic mic to record through. The guitars sound a little muffled, because...I only had one mic to mic my amp with. Those were recorded like...Three years ago. I just haven't gotten around to re-recording them yet. I've since gotten some significant equipment upgrades, including a condensor mic for the vocals. But, even with those recordings, I had some decent equipment(for the guitars at least) My set up is a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier through a Mesa 4x12 standard straight cab and a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser. But, at the time of those recordings, I didn't have the greatest recording equipment. The fact that I was forced to use my computer's on-board sound card as my recording input(with no pre-amps or periphrials) also added to the downgraded recording quality. At the time, I was forced to make do with the resources I had. ! I should have some more up-to-date recordings up soon, with two new songs. I still need to tweak some levels and cut out some clipping, as well as play with the sound balance and frequencies some. But, needless to say, they are MUCH better quality than those were. Eventually, I plan to completelly re-record those four songs, I just wanted to have -something- to put on the site and felt the music was more important than the quality or available equipment. You said that you're a musician as well? Do you have any tunes I could check out? Always love hearing new stuff! =D

So... I thought I would share somre art with you guys. My passion, if you will. That is, MUSIC! I consider myself a professional amature, I do hope to one day make a decent living of my tunes. High hopes, right? So, I present to the community some original tunes by yours truly. All songs were composed and performed by me. Yes, that is me playing the bass, drums, guitar, and singing, in all four songs. All songs were also completelly recorded, mixed, mastered and produced my me in my living room and...one of my bathrooms. ! Seriously..Bathrooms have great acoustics, and the price is just right. So, check them out at... http://myspace.com/altermatum ...and be sure to leave comments! Lemme know what you think!

Chapter X : Flight of the Phoenix

The Incunabula of Midnight Chapter I : Star-Crossed Lovers Chapter II : Ballad of Forbidden Passions Chapter III : Birth of the Misbegotten Chapter IV : Vagabond's Legacy Chapter V : A Melancholy Passage Chapter VI : Epiphany of Vengeance Chapter VII : Homecoming of the Forsaken Chapter VIII : Dawn of Destiny Chapter XI : Contest of Fate

The Elder The Elder Rise of a Legend To Enter unto Exile A Disenchanted Return

Prelude The Four Tribes For we do not know how long the Four Tribes had roamed Eorzea before the Conflicts- nor do we harness knowledge of the lands from which they came. Only the Elders of the past held the knowledge of our origins; A chronicle of our history that they would take with them to their graves. The Four Tribes were defined as rival mercenary groups of Duskwight Elezen, that roamed the lands in everlasting strife. They vied for domination over the lands, obtaining new technologies from rival Tribes and, ultimately, acquisition of contracts from the various city-states scattered throughout the region. The Four Tribes fought each other, in a ceaseless battle, to hold advantage over these aspects for ages. The Twilight The Eventides The Nightfall The Darksky The Garlean Invasion Decent of the Four

I have to agree with Kashemia on this. Every game has a certain aspect that they favor and flaming FFXIV because they favor crafting doesn't make sense to me, it's just different. WoW favored PvE aspects. Dungeons, Raids, Quests, etc. When it first released, there weren't even battlegrounds or any real PvP content, it just evolved into that field over almost six years of development. You're not going to get very far in WoW, in terms of game progression, if you don't like PvE. Aion favored PvP. Can't reference as much on this game, because I stopped playing it after I realized that it was a heavily PvP influenced game. Not being a huge fan of PvP(outside of Duels for Rp purposes), I left because it simply wasn't the game for me. XIV seems to be favoring crafting and community economy. But, they also have some pretty strong ideas, in my opinion, in terms of PvE content. It seems to me like they are simply wanting to encourage players to experiment with all the various class types. One of the BIG things that I love, in this regard, is that every item in the game has a purpose and that a player can become entirely self-sufficient. Craft your own armor, make your own ammunition, make your own food/potions, etc. etc. This is something that I really enjoy about the game that you could not do in WoW.

Satisiun... That comic was...EPIC! Pure win.

Thank you for clearing that up for me. That was all I was looking for, is clarificatin as to what was being referenced when the term "clipping" was used in that context. Because, the "clipping" that I am familiar with is something totally different. Oh no. I was not, by any means, trying to insinuate that you didn't know what you were talking about. I suppose I could have worded my response a bit better, in that regard. I was merely stating that clipping -is- a system to keep down resources. Admittedly, the context that is being taken in this discussion is a reference that I'm unfamiliar with. Learn something new everyday, I guess! But, no. I was not trying to insult your intelligence at all. Sorry if it came off that way. I guess, "clipping" is one of those terms that has several different meanings. "Clipping" in sound recording is when the frequencies of the recorded sounds peak the 0 db threshold, for example. I could not have said this better myself. I especially liked the Mom analogy. ! And yes, I do wish that one of the more relevant issues were picked out for debate.

Once again, I will state what I have already mentioned several times in this thread. Jumping is something that I would -like- to see implemented. I have also stated that I would rather them fix one of the fourteen bugs and issues I find with the game right now, like adding a recipe book or a more organized inventory system or a more streamlined UI(something that doesn't require you to access a menu to stand), before they focus on jumping. I have, in no way, referenced that I feel that this should be an immediate implementation and I have already proclaimed what you feel that I need to "put into perspective", more than one time, in this thread. The fact is, that my suggestion that they add jumping was picked out of a list of fourteen other issues, and quite franky, was the most insigificant "issue" on the list. I wouldn't even consider it an "issue", just something that I think they should consider adding in the future. If you would like to make references to where my perspective may or may not lie, I would suggest that you should take a look at my -full- perspective, rather than a singular piece that was plucked out of the over all picture. I will conceed to this point. A fine point you made there, madam. Touché! Same to Siben, who also made this point. =)

As I've stated earlier, necessity is not an all encompassing dictator when it comes to game design. Some things are implemented with no "purpose" or "need" at all. Emotes, for example. Serve no purpose to gameplay what so ever. The abundance of character customization that XIV offers, although nice, adds nothing to the overall gameplay. Many games have Player Housing, which serve no purpose to overall gameplay. Most customization options serve no purpose to game play. Pure aesthetics. In short, every element that is implemented into a game does not have to serve a specific purpose. Some elements are provided for purely aesthetic reason or "just cause". I'm still not sure what you are refering to when you say "clipping". As I mentioned earlier, all clipping is, is a method used to cut down on system resources. In the Beta, right now, if you look one way...And then you immediately turn around to look behind you, you'll see players, NPCs, and other elements start to appear. -That- is clipping. While you are looking one direction, the game is omiting several elements that you cannot visually see at certain times, so that your system does not have to remember every single blade of grass that populates the world. Clipping is merely a method that determines which elements of the 3D environment are not needed for the given camera angle or view point and crops those from the rendering process.

Just for clarification, the CE gives the helm and the standard gives the goggles. The goggles will provide an skill point boost, by increaseing the amount you get from various things. The helm will lessen the "Weakened" debuff that you get after you are KO'd. From my understanding, the goggles get the experience increase so that the ones who didn't get the CE will not be -too- far behind those that did and will be able to catch up easier. Another important note regarding pre-order items... You have to register the items BEFORE you create your character. Once you obtain the "reqard code" you will register it to your Square Enix Account and then all characters that you create, after the code is registered, will receive the item. Any characters that are created before hand will not get the item. Judging from past experience, regarding pre-order and bonus item codes, you'll get the code somewhere in the packaging.

This would be all great...In theory. But, again, I point out the fact that there is -already- jumping in XIV. Again, I make the reference to the Pugilist's Seismic Shock...You literally jump six feet into the air. The trailer that shows the Miqo'te leaping up onto, what looks like, a stage coach...easily 10 feet tall. This alone completelly shows that there it no reason for our characters not to be able to jump, lore wise... I would also like to say, I find that last part to be a poor argument in general. "You don't need this to RP?" an argument that I have heard time and time again, in reference to RPing in MMOs....The answer is..."Why do you need MMOs to RP?" The truth is that we don't NEED any of the things provided in MMOs to "effectively" RP. But, there are certainly aspects that make it -easier-. Why do we NEED a car to get somewhere? When we can just walk? Because, it makes it easier. Why do we NEED the internet and computers for information? When we have libraries? Because it makes it easier. The whole "You don't need X to RP" argument just makes no sense to me. Because, in truth, we don't need the entire MMO to "effectively RP". Hell, why don't we just toss XIV and all other MMOs to the way side and just stick to chat room and forum RP? I can't speak for everyone, but I RP in MMOs for visual representation and aesthetics. If need is a factor, then we might as well take out emotes, extensive character customization, the slew of empty and abandoned locations, and the many other elements that expand on immersion and make RP easier in MMOs. Because, we don't -need- them to RP. It is not a matter of whether we need it or not. It's a matter of convenience and expansion on immersion. I certainly do not mean any offense by this and I hope you don't take it as a personal attack, because that is not my intention. My intention is a rebutle on the argument as a whole, because I've heard it SO many times and I just find it absurd. As I stated above, if that's the case and point, we don't -need- the entire game to RP. Literally, there isn't one element in the game that we have to have to RP. But, there are elements that make things easier and more convenient to portray. This, I completelly agree with 100%. =D

This has been my arguement the whole time. As I have said, repeatedly, I am not speaking from a game mechanic point of view or giving it a definative "purpose" in the game. I am speaking in regards to aesthetic, from an RP stand point, from an immersion stand point, from a realism stand point.(yes, I'm using the realism argument again, I think I've provided more than enough valid points for this argument). From these stand points, we can jump IRL, our characters should be able to jump in-game. -Unless-, they provide some sort of official Lore as to why we cannot. I am still not completelly sure why everything in the game has to have some definative "purpose", "benefit" or have anything to do with the game play...If that is the case...Emotes should not be in the game. The ability to sit should not be in the game. The slew of completelly empty caves(no mobs, no quarry points)...should not be in the game. 90% of the NPCs in Limsa Lominsa, should not be in the game. I can keep going, but I will stop there for the sake of length. My point is, not everything in a game has to have a "purpose". SE has already implemented elements that have no "purpose" and have clearly thrown in purely for the sake of immersion and RP. Even the Quests(not Guildleves) have no -real- purpose to the game, other than advancing the storyline, which adds to immersion. I just finished the second story quest and it was nothing but cutscenes and dialogue. No fighting. No skill ups. No experience points. No unlocks. All you get for completing it is Gil. Not that I have an issue with this, but as far as the overall game mechanics is concerned, it serves no real purpose. To that end, it is something that I would merely like to see implemented at some point, along with the other seven "RP Cons" that I listed on page three. Is it something that is going to prevent me from paying for the game? Not in the slightest. I also included seven "Game Mechanic Cons" in that same post. Isolated, those Cons mentioned are not game breakers, in and of themselves. But, collectively, for me, they will determine if I continue to play the game for an extended amount of time, if left unchecked, after release. For whatever reason, the fact that I mentioned "I would like to see them add a jump button, rather than our character be forever glued to the terrain" is what everyone picked up on, out of the fourteen Cons that I had mentioned.

Some valid points you bring up here. However...Jumping in video games is not some new mechanic that requires as much thought process as everyone seems to assume. SE have openly stated that they have taken several pointers in their game design from Age of Conan, WoW, Diablo, and Warhammer. All of which(with the exception of Diablo) have keybound jumping. I would also like to point out, that many games that involve jumping had little to no areas that required jumping to get to. On release, WoW had one location that you -had- to jump, and that was the Wailing Caverns. Generally, a jumping action is just an added aesthetic. My argument is not for game mechanics...Just implementation of certain actions that help to contribute and expand on immersion. Common actions that we would be able to perform, if we -were- our characters, living a day in the life on Eorzea. We would be able to swim. We would be able to jump. We would be able screw up somewhere, lose our footing maybe, and fall off a cliff without a magical "safety net" erected around every pitfall. These are minor features that, if added, would simply add the immersion of the game, whether they have any "purpose" or not. As for invisible walls...There's already one erected around and throughout the entire continent. See that cliff? Invisible wall. Small embankment? Invisible wall. See the coastline? Invisible wall. Bridge? Invisible wall. I'm not a fan of invisible walls either...Because they detract from immersion. But, I would MUCH rather them take out the crap ton of walls that they already have and minimize their usage for the sheer purpoe of keeping players out of areas they don't want them in, which also begs the question of "why are those areas are in the game to begin with?" In short...Adding a jump command is not some daunting task, game developers have proven this for several years now(Both in MMOs and in console games). It is not a new concept and is not as difficult to implement as it may seem.

That is completelly correct. Not to mention the fact that 50-60 lbs is really not that heavy to begin with and, as you pointed out, it would feel even less when distributed through out your body.

Oh no, of course not. This I agree with completelly. I was merely listing those as additional examples of occasions or situations in real-life that we would use jumping.

Someone else made the "heavy armor" argument earlier. The thing with that is, most armor and weaponry is really not that heavy at all. As I refrenced earlier, the armor that medieval Knights wore in most parts of the world between the 14th and 16th century only weighed between 60 and 70 lbs, that's a full set of plate armor. The "Heavy Armor" myth started from jousting sport armor, which was significantly heavier than field armor, because manueverability wasn't as big of an issue as it was in open warfare. In that regard, DDO had an interesting mechanic that took into consideration the type of armor that you wore. Someone wearing cloth or leather would be much more mobile(i.e. able to jump higher/farther and move quicker) than someone wearing plate. Just a thought. I'm not quite sure where the "Jumping over things taller than you" came from, as no one really mentioned anything(in this thread) quite that extreme. But, although extreme, it is not impossible. Watching the summer olympics is a clear sign of that. Though, I cannot speak for everyone else, personally, I wouldn't expect to be able to jump to the point of that extremity. But, I would expect a means to get over a two-three foot wall, as opposed to running all the way around. With that said, again, I would like to point out the Pugilist ability "Seismic Shock", where the character does, in fact, leap a good six-seven feet in the air and this can be performed while wearing a full metal suit of armor.