To get the polyphony right, I think all tracks should be playing in the background at all times (depending on the scene/theme), with adjusted volumes - non-playing voices still being played but at volume 0, fading up and down at the right times... that's quite a chunk of memory we're talking about (certainly when looking at the Abbey example)
And even if there's another way to do it, playing them or not, all tracks should still be loaded in memory. The idea is nice, but I don't think the pc's are ready for it. Nor is the market: the focus is still on graphics; I'm afraid in most cases music and sounds get the leftovers of free memory, after graphics and actual game objects have had their share.
And
even if it would work, there's the question of the kind of music you can write like this: there's quite some limitations to creativity, and that simply doesn't sound very
Kirill to me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
You made an assumption concerning how polyphony development should be implemented, but your assumption is certainly wrong. It won’t work that way at all and it wastes memory needlessly.
There is another way that demands knowledge of the art of measures and repeatable loops as well as an upper musical script that calls the pieces in time, it is identical to animation scripts but with different media targets.
This is the musical equivalent of 3D intimations in contrast to the linearly pre-composed/ pre-rendered music/ bitmaps respectively.
That is why when the idea is researched properly it shall be quite feasible and an investment on the longer run.
I also disagree with you on creativity being limited.
In fact, I would still use Kirill’s music recorded on professional tracks, one per instrumental melody.
If you analyse the heartbeat track for example, you shall find it repeating ad infinitum. One measure only or two shall be sufficient to memorise what the whole track does but the upper script dictates when it should start, how long it should play and when it should stop. Beside that basic rhythm, an assortment of drum expressions like an intro, a couple of breaks and a final are also enough. Add to that the master instrumental theme that plays when the critical zone is breached and finally an ornamental theme for climax events. That is it and no memory consumption at all. In fact it might save memory and add more intelligence to the music.
The current technology is quite ready for it then.
However, it is not recommended that this effect be implemented by music amateurs, as it demands a lot of music sheet writing knowledge.
The way you have visualized the effect seems to be like an active real-time mixing operation, but the idea is far from that even though it includes such a feature.
If you watch a base guitar player very carefully, you might notice that the player uses two or three accords repeatedly. The idea is to record each of them only once and play them as many times as needed on the spot inside the game.
Even Kirill’s best music played over and over again may end up sounding monotonous, but applying DADZ effect would allow space for variations that break such monotonicity by using the same music but in different ways. A music composer only may begin to imagine the incredible possibilities after beginning experimentation and not before. The trick would be in composing fragments with each being some finite number of measures long that can replace each other in sequential order to give different meanings and feelings. This, plus the other rhythmic measures that blend in to add complexity and richness would act in a similar way to the randomly generated battlefields. Being random does not mean chaotic at all, and that is because there are rules to follow set by professionals. If a battlefield had a corner, then we may select randomly one of the corners from a set of corners to be implemented at that specific place. The rule here is that all members of the set of corners must be interchangeable and in agreement with the other pieces of the battle field in style and colour. The same should be applicable to music. It is not a chaotic concoction, but a professionally selected set of interchangeable components. On the other hand, just like graphics overlays are used to change the armour and weapon of the hero, real-time-created musical tracks may be overlaid to give similar results as in graphics.
Kind regards. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />
