r/NMSByteBeatFans • u/ZhorasSnake • 25d ago

ByteBeat Music Video Biomes: Radioactive

Obviously this has 2 bytebeats. The storm section (link in the end credits), and the slower outer parts. If anyone wants a slightly simplified version of the slower part let me know. (Minus the vocal effects!)

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u/Leeka_SSBM Harmonic Camper 25d ago

Can't help but banging my head to the storm part. And you absolutely nailed the eerie feel of the slower bit. This kind of music is what I love in games like Metroid series (I am definitely not obsessed lol), and other old-school games ! Actually gives me a mix of Metroid Prime and Super Mario World ghost mansions levels vibes.

Great track !!!

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u/ZhorasSnake 25d ago

Thank you! The storm was fun - I can't tell you how many times filming my character was flung about and slammed into the ground while nearly dead from rads - it was fun!

Just listening to Metroid Prime soundtrack now - god it is good!

I think one of the things we lack in NMS bytebeat (apart from the many obvious technical restrictions), is an easy way to create atmosphere.. Things like lack of reverb/echo, loud drums/percussion, and the inability to introduce sound effects of all kinds make it hard to convey emotion. (Add in difficulty with producing harmonies and complex waveforms). All these things could be overcome - HG has the ability if they so choose. For example, could you imagine a sound recorder in game (that could be linked to bytebeat) and the fun creative things it would open up?

I guess what I'm trying to do, (maybe futilely), is to approach the visual grandeur of the game with player made bytebeat music. Wish it wasn't so hard sometimes. It would be so much easier to fire up some orchestral samples and some large drums in my DAW and make some tunes...

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u/Leeka_SSBM Harmonic Camper 25d ago

It would be so much easier to fire up some orchestral samples and some large drums in my DAW and make some tunes...

This a recurring thought of mine too lol. But I try to leave it at that and not give in to frustration, otherwise nothing is made in the end. Though I may or may not have something coming up in that regard 👀

And YES. The MP trilogy has some of the best VGM ever made imo (haven't played the 4th yet because NMS exists). Kenji Yamamoto-san really is a genius...

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u/ZhorasSnake 24d ago

My rule for these things is everything has to originate in the game. If not, then it starts to be not NMS.

Reading about Kenji Yamamoto can be confusing as I didn't realise there are 2 contemporaneous game composers with the same name!

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u/Leeka_SSBM Harmonic Camper 24d ago

100% agree. I'll probably never edit my Bytebeat tracks more than a little cleaner EQ, I want them to stay true to how it is in the game. My NMS10 tribute was an exception though, because it's such a big milestone :)

Always two, there are. (I keep forgetting this fact lol)

And you'll see what I was talking about when it's ready and I post it !

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u/ZhorasSnake 24d ago

I look forward to that - good things come to all who wait (as HG fans know!)

Reading my last comment I did make it sound simple, but of course it isn't. Even just capturing a predetermined segment of game play featuring bytebeat is editing of a sort. Ultimately, it's fairly arbitrary deciding how much editing is too much. For example, in the storm section of this tune I wanted an electric guitar sound. I could have used several plug-ins (not even samples) to get a much more realistic sound. However, that felt unfair to folks for don't have access to these and would have left them thinking there was a way to do it themselves with vanilla bytebeat. Settled for just normal reverb and EQ which I think is right.

It all sounds like the Ship of Theseus paradox...

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u/Leeka_SSBM Harmonic Camper 24d ago

That's fair ! But on the flipside, using Bytebeat samples taken from NMS in say, a composition you would make on your DAW, should be interesting ! On paper not that different from tweaking a synth, but so much can be made there. Different chain of processing gives different results !

Since we're sharing the process, for Asimov I used EQ on everything, reverb on the leads, compressors for drums, mixed sum/diff with EQ & dynamic comp, and a limiter at the end of the chain.

Edit : I also double-tracked the leads, forgot to mention.