Very late reply onto a fairly old mod (to "longing my john til i silv 'er"):

Sort of. Last I tested it (which was ages ago), it worked as a "default soundtrack," though not as a separate soundtrack. This was the second OST mod I ever made, and it's based off of the first OST mod I made, which was... very flawed in its fundamental construction. If I were to make this OST work as it should with the Soundtrack Menu, I would need to overhaul this mod in how it's constructed - which is something I wish to do, but I don't have nearly enough time to fit it in with work and other projects.

Maybe one day in the far future I'll do it, but right now, this is what it is.

Hey I know this mod's fairly old but does this work with soundtrack menu? I really like this specific one's tracklist

Alright, I'll keep that in mind, then...

To Dr Logan:

That was my original intention with the mod, but unfortunately, the music during the Ascent doesn't work that way in the base game. Instead of having different version of the Ascent music for each floor, it instead uses one base track and puts a different music layer over it depending on what floor you're on (actually one of the few times the new DLC uses layers instead of transitioning to a different version of the song, and of course it's in a place that absolutely does not help me). While I'm aware of all the Vault music, none of it layers like that... definitely not well, anyway. So, I just chose the best loop out of them all and just put it in for the base music while making all the other layers silent tracks... bland, but it's the best I could do. As such, this'll be another job for the .lua file. Can't guarantee it in the next update though.

Also, just an idea, but what if you used different versions of the Vault theme for the Ascent?
For example, there's versions of the song with different levels of distortion, and there's a version where the distortion just straight up stops, which would be great for the final floor, right?
Not only would it make things more interesting, I think it would probably it all slightly more impactful... At least, that's what I hope.


Doesn't have to be that way, though.
Just an interesting idea I have to share, and a good one if you can make it work.

Don't overwork yourself, though. That's never any good.

(2/2)

Putting that into the mod will probably take longer, since I will have to redo inputting the Overwatch and soldier voice clips for the second version (a detail I don't have to do, but I want to do regardless), but I'll probably do that when the time comes. I'll probably either package it with the lua stuff or do it soon after the lua stuff, because I've put that off for too long now. Same goes for adjusting the final encounter's volume again. It'd be an easy fix, but I need to actually put in some .lua while I'm at it.

To Dr. Logan:

(1/2)

I chose Lightning Dog and Rabid Lightning for that segment originally because out of all the songs in the Alyx Soundtrack - or really out of all of Half Life - those two songs struck out to me as being the closest to a TV-static song... if that makes sense. Sure, they weren't chaotic, but I thought that was okay since they still have this sense of lingering dread and 'subdued intensity', as oxymoronic as that sounds.

... however, I never really thought about the "vault combat" music, and now upon thinking about it... considering that song comes up at one of Alyx's most climactic points in the game, and that it retains a fair amount of the electronic elements while having more noticeable intensity... it probably would be a better and more thematic choice.

Also, you did a good job with the volume for the boss immediately after said fight, and now I can play without having my concentration destroyed, though the only flaw with it now is that it feels...
...SLIGHTLY too quiet?
Like, yeah, it isn't drowned out by the noise, but I feel like my own volume is too low, even though it isn't...

...Alright, SO, it took me a while to get to the end of the "Ascent" again, and I finally realized that...
...What I thought was Vault Combat, was actually Lightning Dog and Rabid Lightening. Which I just discovered.
I never checked what the song was because I wanted to hear it for myself, and automatically assumed it was the first part of Vault Combat.
And that's why I was confused as to why the drums never started.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is I don't think either Lightning song works that well for D-"Sir Static."
They're not as hectic, and they're drowned out by other noises.
My belief is that I believe Vault Combat would work WONDERS for "Static," and here's how I picture it working out:
First phase uses the tense electronic segment in the song first, perhaps with a volume bump if it's too quiet, then the second phase immediately transitions into the awesome drums segment.
Simple, yet effective, and kinda thematic...

To Dr. Logan:

Eon Trap has been added in. It may possibly still contrast with Gehenna a bit right now, and that's because I'm forced to start the song in the middle (with the starting drum riffs) if I want the sole loop to sound good without an intro. This will be rectified in the next update with the new .lua file.

... and I suppose it is in a way. Never thought of it like that before. Quite neat for sure.

...Hey, now I think about it, it's like a mix of the two songs...
...Huh, ain't that neat-o...?

Alright, listening to it now...

...Aaaand yep, Eon Trap sounds like a pretty good choice.
It's got that otherworldly feel, and with sick drum beats and synths, while also not straying to far from Sector Sweep or Nepal Monastery.
Just gotta get a proper loop going I think, and we're set.

To Geedram (and by extension, Dr. Logan):

Oh, that one. I think I can make it compatible with that mod, yeah. It'd go in tandem with making a custom .lua file for it, so I'll definitely be doing that.

Also, to address the potential replacement of Mausoleum's current song, Sector Sweep... after some thinking, I'm thinking "Eon Trap" from Ep. 2's OST might be a good one to take its place, as it's not quite as intense, but has some of the same general feel as Sector Sweep (in my humble opinion). This would make it a bit less contrasting from "Nepal Monastery" for Gehenna. Some second opinions on this potential solution would be appreciated.

this is the soundtrack menu
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1933285222

To Dr. Logan:

Soundtrack Menu? I'm not sure what you're referring to there. Mind being a bit more specific?

...I noticed that Soundtrack Menu got updated for Rep.
Could you do a version for it as well...?

Ah, I see.
Thank you, Spectre.

To Dr. Logan:

Relating to the Rain World Replacement Mod idea:
That's hard to determine at the moment. Will definitely not come this month, I can say that, because I have way too much to do in the real world right now. So, expect it maybe... late June, early-mid July at the latest? I just need a couple days set aside to do it without academics looming over my head.

As for the Hard Technology Rock, that's an issue that's probably not fixable. The intro and loop audio files themselves, when put back-to-back, will transition perfectly, and if this were any other intro/loop set, it'd sound perfectly fine. However, it delays and fades in like that after the intro due to how those two particular tracks were made to transition in-game. In other words, it's a direct programming/coding/game issue, not an audio issue.

...Here's another audio issue, by the way:
Hard Tech' Rock seems to start way too late after the chase has already begun, or it has an opening bit that is near inaudible to the point that I never hear it.
I'll have to check the song itself to see...

(P.S. when do you think you'll do the Rain World OST replacement? Cuz' now you got me excited for that...)

And your action in response is most appreciated.

(3/2, because I lied and the stupid character limit got to me.)

Frankly, I'm not surprised the 'Big Man' themes are probably too loud compared to the other tracks. I had to rip all the stinger files related to the Strider fight in Half Life: Alyx in order to make all of those mixes, and I noticed the audio files in Alyx play just about at full-blast. In retrospect, I probably should have taken note of that, but I was more caught up with actually stitching the mixes together at the time than anything else. I do apologize for blasting your eardrums like that. I'll probably post an update soon that'll reduce the volume of the current tracks (since that's quick and easy to do), though later I do plan on redoing those mixes altogether since they do not line up with one-another at the moment.

Thank you for bringing all that to my attention. Your criticism and review has been most appreciated.

(2/2)

As for the tracks during 'Sir Static' and 'Big Man'... I will certainly look into that. The two songs during the former fight were taken from the official Half Life: Alyx OST, which are mastered differently from actual Alyx audio files in-game. Granted, Lightning Dog / Rabid Lightning are quiet-ish songs in their own right, with the main instrument being a pulsing bass sound, but I'll have to compare it to some other songs to make sure the audio's as loud as them.

To Dr. Logan:

(1/2)

Yeah, Gehenna and Mausoleum have very contrasting tracks. As I've said, I may change it in the future if I find a better candidate, because I probably should aim for consistency between floors.

Again, I understand the gripes with Adrenaline Horror's placement, but I probably will not move it.

And I am aware of how abrupt the track for the "Ascent" is... once again an instance where an intro track was not used in the actual game files, thus screwing with how the song actually plays. The stinger I used for this track is loud the entire time, so without an intro, I have no choice but to make it abrupt. When I get a .lua going, that'll be a definite fix.

...And now that I've heard the themes past that, uh...
...for "The Static," as I will call it to avoid spoiling people, at first I didn't even hear the music, barely audible throughout.
And for "Big Boy" and his pals, and yes, that's I'm going to call it here, the music is SO LOUD, it's hard to focus, or even hear whats going on in the game.

A sound adjustment is probably needed.

...Oh, and during the, uh, "Ascent," the track seems to pop right in... Very suddenly. There's no slight increase in volume as the track mixes with the flash of light, no, it's just suddenly playing.
One small issue, I'm sure, but one that should be fixed nonetheless.

...And, uh...

...Adrenaline Horror's kinda growing on me...

...I-I just feel as if it's in the wrong place, y-y'know...?

...I'm realizing now that I actually do enjoy the theme you choose for Mausoleum, and that it does kinda fit, but that the reason I didn't immediately approve of it, and still have this... Itch, with it, was because of contrast, I guess.
Contrast with the enemies, contrast with the aesthetics, and contrast with it's variant, Gehenna.

I DO see why you like it, though.
It's actually kinda catchy...

To Dr. Logan:

Well, I put it Nectarium for Dross because I, myself, thought it was oddly fitting for the area. Tranquil, but it works with all the muddy browns and greens in the area. Plus, I was curious what all the reversed instrumentation was in the latter half of the song, and got an interesting result for the mirror dimension of Dross. Well, those and I made a bunch of loops and intros in anticipation for Repentance, and this happened to be one of them (the intro with the beginning part of the song went to waste sadly, because Repentance team used almost no intros at all in the new soundtrack.)

Also, thanks for bringing that to my attention, that was listed originally, but the page did not save it when I went to update the mod to include Alyx's "Hacking".

By the by, this isn't really a complaint, more of a question:
Why is Nectarium the theme for Dross?
Such a tranquil theme, for a place filled with literal shit...

Like I said, it's not a complaint.
It's even oddly fitting, in it's own weird way.

I just want to know, though, why?

(2/2)

About Adrenaline Horror though... that's a tougher one. On one hand, I could change it to something from the Alyx OST (like the iconic Anticitizen for example), and that could achieve the intensity you may be looking for; however, I'm reluctant to do that since A) I made it a rule for myself to utilize the original HL OST and HL2 OSTs before I dug into Alyx, just to stay true to the source material, B) I took the time to actually edit that one down and remove the quiet parts so it didn't have any dips in intensity, and C) Kaon and Hard Fought are already taking up the main path boss themes, and they're just about on par with Adrenaline Horror in intensity. So I don't think I'm going to move that one for the foreseeable future unfortunately, unless I find some weird workaround. I'm sorry you don't find it intense enough for those fights.

I thank you for the criticism though, it's much appreciated!

To Dr. Logan:

(1/2)

I can understand your gripes about my choice of Mausoleum music. If I'm honest, I may(?) have had another choice or two in mind for the floor, but picked Sector Sweep over them because... well, I really like Sector Sweep as a track in general, and wanted to fit it into the game somewhere, but no other spot would really fit it or other spots that could've were already taken. I'll need to look at what other choices I have for Mausoleum, but if I find a more fitting candidate, then what I might do is do what a previous Antibirth OST replacement mod did and put in Sector Sweep as a second track along with Hunting Party in the Void. Only issue with that is that I need to have a .lua file to get that working, and I don't have the time to make it right this minute, so that'll probably be done over the summer.

...So I've played for a bit, so far, the only songs that I really didn't like the placement of were:
-Sector Sweep for Mausoleum
It just doesn't fit for me, it's too high energy, too... I don't know how else to say this, but... Upbeat? Too action-packed. It really just doesn't work for Mausoleum's aesthetics, at least for me.
-Adrenaline Horror for the alternate path bosses
Ironically, I feel like this song doesn't have enough energy to make fighting the alternate path bosses fun to fight, actually DE-motivating me to fight them. It would probably work better for the main path, where the bosses there are less hectic.

Other than those two, I have no other large complaints with the choice in soundtrack. Pretty good!

They used used hacked Game-Boys as instruments? I thought it was just regular chip-tune or something...

...Anyway, glad I could help you come up with ideas!

"And now I am craving a Rain World music replacement."

You may have just given me a new OST mod idea. Which'll probably come only when summer actually sets in, but one I'm definitely willing to look into.

Besides that, I'm glad you're enjoying the mod so far! And I can't say whether or not Rain World's OST was inspired by Half-Life's, since while both do sound similar in a fair few instances, Rain World is a lot more focused on the Lo-Fi ascetic of crunchy, 8-bit sounds a lot of times (I think James/Linda Primate actually use hacked Game Boys to make some of the instruments). But it might've been, who knows. It's an interesting point.

...Unrelated, though interesting, considering the genre and musical motifs, I am now realizing how similar Rain World's music is to Half Life's.
I wonder if that's a direct inspiration, or just a coincidence.

And now I am craving a Rain World music replacement.


Fuck.

...With the mod, I mean.

...Then again, I haven't played that much yet, so take my word with a grain of salt...

...Wow.
So far, playing with this mod, I feel like Half Life's soundtrack meshes inexplicably well with Isaac's setting and visuals.
Not completely sure why, but okay.

Happy listening, Science Team!

nice

This is actually very well done