Atmosphere (I hope Justin Bell reads this)

[EdwinOdesseiron]

I am really a fan of the music and the atmosphere it creates in the Deadfire. Had some unforgettable moments in the archipelago that came close to classics like Baldurs Gate. Hats off, sir.

However, after playing Baldurs Gate again I noticed how changing music during the night into a darker, more mysterious tone really adds to the game and enriches the atmospheric palette of different locations.

Please, Obsidian, give this talented man more time and resources for that in the next Pillars of Eternity.
Apart from the night themes I also missed background shouting and more voices in the city (& also short lines like a "Greetings" or "Huh?" for generic NPC when you talk to them), to make it feel more alive and busy (or I did not notice them?). Those little things really add up to the atmosphere and I think that is a big part of games like PoE.

Creating an unforgettable experience through music and pieces of various environmental sound is an art and can make a difference between a good game and a classic that you will still think about years later.

Edited September 3, 2018 by EdwinOdesseiron

[Manveru123]

After 130 hours spent playing Deadfire, the only memorable audio-related things for me are shanties and the music that is played when you board an enemy ship. I don't even remember any other, to the point that I recently disabled audio completely and just run Spotify. After 130 hours man! IMO Deadfire's music is one of the worst things about this game.

[dukeisaac]

I am also not very impressed about Deadfire's audio. I by far preferred POE audio (post-WM).

 

Perhaps so more atmospheric pieces could be added ?

[InsaneCommander]

I like the music but the shanties are the best part imo. That said, I'm all in favor of adding more!

[Lord Brunitius]

Very good soundtrack and sound effects, both poe and poe2

[house2fly]

*pounding table like angry toddler* Boss! Music! Boss! Music!

[AndreaColombo]

I'm all for more music and more ambience, but TBH I loved the Deadfire soundtrack and I love how they actually bothered with environmental audio, seeing as it ceased to be a big deal for whatever reason.

[dukeisaac]

I'm all for more music and more ambience, but TBH I loved the Deadfire soundtrack and I love how they actually bothered with environmental audio, seeing as it ceased to be a big deal for whatever reason.

Fair point. I guess I don't notice it as much as the rest.

 

Certain areas are a bit silent... Fort Deadlight in particular.

 

Over time and patching, maybe !

[Taevyr]

The soundtrack may not be the most memorable, but the quality of the environmental and ambient music is a perfect fit with the game's atmosphere. But I'm all for adding more noticable themes for boss battles or key story sequences.

[Justin Bell]

@EdwinOdesseiron thanks for your kind words words and your support!

 

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

 

Also, @house2fly, if we played The Watcher Prevails only during boss fights, would that be a step in the right direction?

[Manveru123]

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

 

 

Nope. It had multiple tracks.

[Manveru123]

I am also not very impressed about Deadfire's audio. I by far preferred POE audio (post-WM).

 

 

Definetly. POE1 had some epic tracks. Everything in Deadfire is just.. not interesting in comparison.

[EdwinOdesseiron]

@EdwinOdesseiron thanks for your kind words words and your support!

 

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

 

Also, @house2fly, if we played The Watcher Prevails only during boss fights, would that be a step in the right direction?

Wow, that was quick!

To your question: Yes and no. There were certainly different music "pairs" for day/night, but some of them repeated in other areas.

 

Examples for outdoor:

- Cloakwood forest (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=1615s

- Night in the cloakwood: (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=1813s

----------------

- Exploring the plains (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=633s

- Night on the plains (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=770s

 

Examples for cities:

- Daytime in the slums (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=591s

- At night in the slums (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=675s

----------------

- Waukeens Promenade (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=475s

- Waukeens Promenade (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfMVPS9GtdU

 

In the last example with Waukeens Promenade there was no music at all in the night, only ambient sound if I remember correctly. Sometimes even silence does the job it seems. Or they just ran out of time, but I dig it. Silence before the storm.

 

PS: Sorry for making those links unclickable but having multiple YouTube videos messed with the timestamps.

Edited September 2, 2018 by EdwinOdesseiron

[house2fly]

@EdwinOdesseiron thanks for your kind words words and your support!

 

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

 

Also, @house2fly, if we played The Watcher Prevails only during boss fights, would that be a step in the right direction?

Watcher Prevails is awesome, so it definitely would. Out of curiosity, is the track Rise Again Rise Again used anywhere? It's on the soundtrack but I don't recall ever hearing it in the game. It would make a pretty good boss track also

[Justin Bell]

 

@EdwinOdesseiron thanks for your kind words words and your support!

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

Also, @house2fly, if we played The Watcher Prevails only during boss fights, would that be a step in the right direction?

 

Wow, that was quick!

To your question: Yes and no. There were certainly different music "pairs" for day/night, but some of them repeated in other areas.

Examples for outdoor:

- Cloackwood forest (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=1615s

- Night in the cloakwood: (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=1813s

----------------

- Exploring the plains (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=633s

- Night on the plains (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=770s

Examples for cities:

- Daytime in the slums (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=591s

- At night in the slums (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=3965s

----------------

- Waukeens Promenade (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=475s

- Waukeens Promenade (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfMVPS9GtdU

In the last example with Waukeens Promenade there was no music at all in the night, only ambient sound if I remember correctly. Sometimes even silence does the job it seems. Or they just ran out of time, but I dig it. Silence before the storm.

PS: Sorry for making those links unclickable but having multiple YouTube videos messed with the timestamps.

 

 

Got it, thanks! Not sure how or if we can pull this off, but I'll look into it. Can't promise anything, but I'll try.

 

 

 

@EdwinOdesseiron thanks for your kind words words and your support!

Out of curiosity does Baldur's Gate have the same night time music everywhere?

Also, @house2fly, if we played The Watcher Prevails only during boss fights, would that be a step in the right direction?

Watcher Prevails is awesome, so it definitely would. Out of curiosity, is the track Rise Again Rise Again used anywhere? It's on the soundtrack but I don't recall ever hearing it in the game. It would make a pretty good boss track also

Hmmmmm, Rise Again Rise Again *should* play. Wonder what's going on. RE Watcher prevails I'll look into it! Can't make promises here either, but I'll investigate.

[Boeroer]

I play Deadfire (and PoE) mostly with headphones on. The music is great. Of course it hasn't the impact on the game like the music of Hotline Miami has (on Hotline Miami) - but it's a totally different type of game. In my opinion it's not beneficial if the music is too oppressive or gives you undying earworms all the time in an RPG (curse on you, PoE tavern music! ).

 

Shanties are a nice addition.

 

But it surely would be very nice to have alternative tracks (or just variations of themes) for day/night.

 

With some people here who only post that

a) music is bad

b) narrative is bad and

c) gameplay is bad (because of nerfs or whatnot)

I really wonder why they still stick around? Can't be so bad after all, eh?

Edited September 2, 2018 by Boeroer

[misterjimmy]

We need unique boss fight music. (´,_ゝ`)

[EdwinOdesseiron]

Awesome! Thanks for your time.
PS: To be fair, I think the two outdoor examples I brought up were used 80% or more for all outdoor maps in BG1.

[Starwars]

Count me in with the camp who thinks the nighttime music made a huge difference for the atmosphere in BG. I loved that everything felt a lot more... mysterious and threatening if you got somewhere during nighttime. 

Something to consider for future releases at least I think.

 

All in all, I think the sound design is amazing in Deadfire. I think I prefered the music in the first game but all the ambient stuff, sound effects and stuff like music for the taverns is really, really well done in Deadfire. Makes the whole place really come alive.

[AndreaColombo]

- Exploring the plains (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=633s

- Night on the plains (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wwo7gpC3I&t=770s

 

- Waukeens Promenade (Day): www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80tmfVcQCo&t=475s

- Waukeens Promenade (Night): www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfMVPS9GtdU

 

 

Man, these kick really hard in the nostalgias...!

 

 

It would indeed be amazing to have day/night tracks for cities/villages and wilderness areas.

 

And there is something about the BG/BG2 ambient sounds. Unfortunately I can't name it but damn, did every place feel alive—even Beregost or Nashkel. BG and Athkatla were simply thriving with activity—or such was the impression I got from the background noise. Each merchant had a catchy phrase in a funky accent that would fit so perfectly with the environment.

 

Sound design in the Infinity Engine games was truly A-grade (and they even supported EAX for environmental audio effects). Almost 20 years thereafter, people are still discovering unused sounds that have been lying around since the game's release in 1998, but were never heard due to bugs or engine limitations. There's a mod called Infinity Sounds coming out that restores all of them and, having tried the alpha, holy damn does it make a difference!

Edited September 2, 2018 by AndreaColombo

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

Most of the time Deadfire music stays quite neutral and balanced. Something more of a background with less of a music score added to it; not necessarily bad, but in most cases it doesn't add much personality, as well. It feels safe. 

 

To be honest, having multiple track alternating for different areas--towns, sea, wilderness, ship combat, night/day cycle, ect., ect. would be better overall. I mean the inns have it. You do have several shanties, too. Thanks god we can switch those off when we want :D.

 

Also, is mute narrator option too much to ask for? :D

[Manveru123]

With some people here who only post that

a) music is bad

b) narrative is bad and

c) gameplay is bad (because of nerfs or whatnot)

I really wonder why they still stick around? Can't be so bad after all, eh?

Lack of alternatives. No one else makes games like these anymore (though I heard some are coming).

[stefaini86]

About this topic, i noticed that some kind of "medioevality" has been missed during the development of pillars of eternity saga. I love these two games, to be clear, but i don't like biomes like beaches and sea and expecially pirate era. I prefer Woods, mountains,iron and the typical brutality of bg1. Instead i love games like these. I Hope that you'll take It like a personal opinion, Sorry for my english

[Justin Bell]

Awesome! Thanks for your time.

PS: To be fair, I think the two outdoor examples I brought up were used 80% or more for all outdoor maps in BG1.

Aha, yeah that's what I suspected. Let me think it through....

[Justin Bell]

One thing I think a lot of folks miss out on is the fact that ambient music is reactive, especially in Neketaka. If you ever want to hear what the "full" piece of music is for a given district, just idle in a conversation for 5 minutes and listen. It'll be very different than what you hear just exploring!