To make sure all the music composed for Thrive is in one place, easily accessible and regularly updated, we have this topic on which new themes can be posted and a list of all music is kept. This thread can also be used for discussion about ideas for themes or requests for changes to current ones.
All approved submissions are added to this playlist:
Once a track is finished, it should be uploaded in .ogg format to the DevCenter (you need to login to see this): ThriveDevCenter
that way when the time comes to add the track to the game the file can be easily found.
I’ve had the early stages of this theme lurking in my files for a while, but today I decided to hammer it out to completion. This is, in effect, just a generic space stage theme for times of interstellar peace.
This has also been posted to the original dev forums, but I’ve replied here as well to start more activity.
Mostly we’d need generic background music for each stage of the game, each one giving a different feel. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they are: microbe, multicellular, aware, awakening, society, industrial and space. We’ve completed the microbe soundtrack already, but you could still compose something for it if you want and if we get a couple more we’ll update the list.
There are also numerous scenarios that could occur in-game in one of those stages. For example, in the industrial stage, different national policies or government types could have different themes (communism, democracy, etc.), and there could be combat and peace themes for each.
If you want a specific suggestion…hmm, we don’t yet have anything for the awakening stage or much for the society. These are the stages where a species stops evolving and begins developing the first primitive technologies, up to pre-industrial.
Here’s my first shot at a theme for this. If there are any adjustments that can be made, let me know. I’ve got a .wav file on hand and can supply a MIDI file and/or the original folder for Presonus Studio One if anyone else here wants to take a look at the guts of it.
If there’s any specific thing that needs a theme done, let me know. I think I’m done with audio editing for today, but I can get cracking tomorrow.
Sounds great! What exactly was the environment or stage you were intending this theme for?
Personally I think it needs more reverb in some places, especially on the piano (which could also do with some balancing and velocity adjustment, since the bass notes sound quite harsh compared to the rest). I love the strings at the end though.
I kinda pictured, after you’ve completed the objective to get to another solar system, touching down on an alien world and exploring its ecology.
With the first portion of the song I had been steering towards an aquatic feel, but I decided that it’s an area that’s already been well-covered by the other musicians, so I steered myself towards a more general thing.
Since my computer takes its sweet time rendering even the simplest videos, I think I’m going to send you the .wav file until I reach a final, post-on-youtube-able version.
EDIT: Here’s the new version. I think you were definitely right about the bass notes on the piano.
Oops, I missed the edit on your post the first time. Yeah, it sounds a lot better. Having it on Soundcloud also makes the stereo width wider, which was another of my (now irrelevant) reservations about the original. I’m not really sure there’s much else to add, but I’d let some other people have their say first.
I LOVE IT! Very spiritual, it sounds very atmospheric and I can easily visualize myself surrounded by huge mountains and below a nocturnal, beautiful starry sky.
PD: Now I follow you on soundcloud, It seems that you make EDM too, like me! Noice
Not really, but then again we don’t need them yet. We wouldn’t have anything to do with the files until we can actually put them in the game, and since we’re far from the stages where they’ll be added, it might take a while to get to that point.
For now, if you think a theme’s finished, upload it to YouTube, keep the .wav file, and I’ll add the video to the playlist.
Sorry for taking a while to reply here: I’m away at the moment and the sound system I have with me isn’t the best, so I’ll reserve judgement until I get back.
The strings, especially at the beginning, sound a little muddy, even overly dissonant. I’m not sure whether this could be fixed with EQ, less reverb, or just using fewer notes in the chords, but give it a try and see. I also don’t think the hi-hats fit the track that well - I suggest they either be removed or replaced. This would give some room in the treble for something else if you want to try. I really like the synthesizers, especially the width they have.
Alright, so I got some edits done. It’s been tough to work on music things on the road, but I should be able to do some better edits once I reach my destination.
Yep, vastly better. I love the new percussion, which fits a lot better than the hi-hats you had previously. At times I did think you could have been a bit more creative with individual drums’ panning, but then the synthesizer entered again and used up the full width so I don’t think it matters.