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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Author Topic: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement  (Read 4043 times)

StianStark

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Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« on: February 04, 2021, 10:15:57 AM »

Hey everyone!

While composing music for games I almost always start developing ideas with the piano which often leads to quite elaborate piano arrangements of tracks before they get transferred over to orchestra and synths. Rifled through some projects today while doing backups and stumbled on my old Starsector main theme files ! The piano version I did for that seemed to turn out better than most, so thought I'd share it! (This track's orchestral version plays in the main menu when you start the game)

https://soundcloud.com/stianstark/starsector-piano-theme

I recall trying to achieve a kind of television series opening credits feel for this track. Don't know how well that turned out, but ... there it is!

Also, new stuff in the works on the music side so there's more on the way...
« Last Edit: February 13, 2021, 12:00:39 PM by Alex »
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Grievous69

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2021, 10:44:04 AM »

Also, new stuff in the works on the music side so there's more on the way...
Woooo this is amazing news.

EDIT: I smell a music type blog post next.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2021, 10:47:49 AM by Grievous69 »
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Thaago

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2021, 10:54:43 AM »

Cool!

I can see this working for opening credits... get some good shots of open space, wreckage, the protagonist's trusty hound doing salvage operations, and an empty gate. The piano arrangement sounds more desolate than the orchestral version to me.
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Nick XR

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2021, 11:23:31 AM »

This is fantastic, thanks for sharing!

TheDTYP

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2021, 12:33:41 PM »

Cool!

I can see this working for opening credits... get some good shots of open space, wreckage, the protagonist's trusty hound doing salvage operations, and an empty gate. The piano arrangement sounds more desolate than the orchestral version to me.


Wow, really? My mind went the complete opposite direction; this sounds like it would be a DOPE backdrop to the end credits (if Starsector is even a game that would have them).
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NikoTheGuyDude

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2021, 01:34:07 PM »

Wowwww that sounds good.
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Iriscoral

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2021, 10:33:24 PM »

Probably a little rude to ask, but do you have a sheet? I would like to try playing this on my piano.
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StianStark

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2021, 06:11:01 AM »

You're not the first to ask this, actually, so I might just have to whip up something! But right now I can't make any promises as to when exactly this might be.

Thanks for the interest and feedback, everyone!
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Gothars

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2021, 06:36:53 AM »

this sounds like it would be a DOPE backdrop to the end credits (if Starsector is even a game that would have them).

Yeah, the orchestral version at the start and the piano version at the end would work nicely. Although I would probably not even notice it's the same song without prior knowledge, they really sound very distinct.

Quote
Also, new stuff in the works on the music side so there's more on the way...

Anything you can tease?  :)
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StianStark

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2021, 09:39:47 AM »

Anything you can tease?  :)

Too dangerous, the overseer has eyes everywhere!  :-X
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pairedeciseaux

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2021, 11:31:30 AM »

Looking forward to hear more of the mellow Stian Stark sound in Starsector!

Beside some of the stuff announced for 0.95, more music was pretty high on my wish list, so I am a happy camper.  ;D
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FooF

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2021, 12:29:27 PM »

It took hearing the piano version for me to really appreciate just how long some of those suspended notes hold before being resolved or how they're resolved in such a subdued way (like a soft bass note). It adds a certain anxiety to the whole piece.
 
It does make for a good "credits" song, though. I haven't heard it in awhile so I might be way off, but the piano version gave me a "Westworld" theme vibe. What I hear out of the SS theme is something desolate (good word choice Thaago), dystopian, with a hint of hope but ultimately bleak. Fits the lore of the game pretty well, honestly.

I'd love to hear more.
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Thaago

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2021, 03:55:03 PM »

...

Wow, really? My mind went the complete opposite direction; this sounds like it would be a DOPE backdrop to the end credits (if Starsector is even a game that would have them).

Oh yeah, I could see it for end credits too!

Maybe its from playing the game too much, but the slow and deliberate pace of how the theme develops really speaks of the size of space to me. There's danger and excitement, but also emptiness, and the theme is going to take its own pace no matter what the listener has to say about it. ... maybe I'm reading too much into this...
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bakanisan

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2021, 10:32:16 AM »

Too bad I can't find it anymore. Did you perhaps remove it?
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Faiter119

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Re: Starsector music -- main theme piano arrangement
« Reply #14 on: February 13, 2021, 10:53:05 AM »

Seems the original link was removed somehow but I found it again https://soundcloud.com/stianstark/starsector-piano-theme. Very nice!
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