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MIDI'S VERSUS MP3S
Posts
NicoB
3071
NicoB
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CloseWhich would you prefer in an RPG Maker game and why? Midi music files, which are decent quality music but use little space and has faster downloads, or MP3 music files, which are much higher quality music but use more space and has longer downloads.
I'm very particular about my music. If it's a good midi, that's fine, but truthfully, I'd much rather listen to the actual MP3 song than to a usually poorer quality rendition. If that means longer download times and more space, so be it. I'll play it, delete it when I'm done, and download it again later if I decide I want another go. And if the game has MP3s I enjoy, I'll add them to my itunes so I can listen to them on the go. :)
I'm very particular about my music. If it's a good midi, that's fine, but truthfully, I'd much rather listen to the actual MP3 song than to a usually poorer quality rendition. If that means longer download times and more space, so be it. I'll play it, delete it when I'm done, and download it again later if I decide I want another go. And if the game has MP3s I enjoy, I'll add them to my itunes so I can listen to them on the go. :)
In an RPGmaker game... most MIDIs will do the trick just fine, unless the composer has some high-end audio rig and needs it to be in digital audio formats. (In which case, they should still keep the MP3 sizes relatively small. Like 1MB per minute maximum.)
demondestiny
889
It depends. If the MP3 music is from the one soundtrack and not ten different ones then it is ok but i prefer midi's.
G-Flex
0
I've always considered MIDI rather limited and archaic in terms of a distribution format; you never even know how it's going to sound on the user's computer. Besides, download time for a game isn't as much of an issue these days, I guess.
MOD tracks are nice (smaller filesize than, say, MP3, without the equivalent audio compression artifacts and with consistent quality), but of course you can't use those with RPG Maker as far as I know.
MOD tracks are nice (smaller filesize than, say, MP3, without the equivalent audio compression artifacts and with consistent quality), but of course you can't use those with RPG Maker as far as I know.
Both are terrible. MOD, IT, XM, ect. beat the shit out of MIDI in almost every way and OGG sounds better than MP3 at lower bitrates which helps when half your game's file size is its sound track. Combine OGG with some editing/cutting and you can have audio tracks that are both small and don't sound like a cat in a blender.
Being a smartass aside, I'd choose MP3 over MIDI any day of the week. I'm not strapped for bandwith and I've got more disk space than what I know what to do with. I have no reason why I wouldn't choose MP3.
Being a smartass aside, I'd choose MP3 over MIDI any day of the week. I'm not strapped for bandwith and I've got more disk space than what I know what to do with. I have no reason why I wouldn't choose MP3.
author=GreatRedSpirit link=topic=2790.msg52974#msg52974 date=1230616707
Both are terrible. MOD, IT, XM, ect. beat the shit out of MIDI in almost every way and OGG sounds better than MP3 at lower bitrates which helps when half your game's file size is its sound track. Combine OGG with some editing/cutting and you can have audio tracks that are both small and don't sound like a cat in a blender.
I've actually never experimented with any of those files types, like editing or creating my songs from scratch. It's mainly because I don't know where I can get a program or tool to make them.
For traditional "RPG SOUNDTRACK TYPE MUSIC" I've always found that MIDIs work totally fine, and I see no need to use MP3s for that kind of thing.
However...
Kind of like the Martin Scorsese of RM, I am one of the first and one of the few game makers to use non-diegetic pop/rock music ("Real Music") as a score in RM games, which poses unique problems. For this purpose MP3s are indispensable. Fortunately, people's hard-drives are getting bigger and their connections are getting faster so this is hopefully less and less of an issue.
However...
Kind of like the Martin Scorsese of RM, I am one of the first and one of the few game makers to use non-diegetic pop/rock music ("Real Music") as a score in RM games, which poses unique problems. For this purpose MP3s are indispensable. Fortunately, people's hard-drives are getting bigger and their connections are getting faster so this is hopefully less and less of an issue.
Shinan
4314
author=Max McGee link=topic=2790.msg52978#msg52978 date=1230617703You're not exactly the first. I wouldn't say one of few either. I remember myself using Pet Shop Boys' "Go West" in my very first game ages ago. Most games have used commercial tracks for ages. Even if you don't count using other soundtracks, pop music has had its place in RPGMaker games since waybackwhen.
Kind of like the Martin Scorsese of RM, I am one of the first and one of the few game makers to use non-diegetic pop/rock music ("Real Music") as a score in RM games, which poses unique problems. For this purpose MP3s are indispensable. Fortunately, people's hard-drives are getting bigger and their connections are getting faster so this is hopefully less and less of an issue.
Of course if you're talking about using exclusively pop music as a soundtrack then you might be one of few.
Personally I don't really mind either midi or MP3. But I don't really like mixing them up too much. The break between bliblops and "proper quality" is so huge. It's a bit like using low-res graphics in a high-res game and then suddenly have a couple of scenes really high-res.
G-Flex
0
The thing with MIDI is that, strictly speaking, you don't know if it's going to sound like "blipblops" or what. Sure, most MIDI synthesis on modern computers sounds roughly the same, but you can't count on it. It's fine for composing the music, but you're still essentially distributing sheet music and expecting the user's computer to make it sound the way you want it to sound; besides, you can't exactly apply the sort of effects you want a lot of the time.
I agree with GreatRedSpirit. MIDI isn't really intended for distribution, and there are better compression schemes than MP3 (although LAME VBR MP3 isn't too bad). Ogg Vorbis is good at low bitrates, is pretty good at high bitrates as well, is completely free, and AAC is pretty good too.
I agree with GreatRedSpirit. MIDI isn't really intended for distribution, and there are better compression schemes than MP3 (although LAME VBR MP3 isn't too bad). Ogg Vorbis is good at low bitrates, is pretty good at high bitrates as well, is completely free, and AAC is pretty good too.
You're not exactly the first. I wouldn't say one of few either. I remember myself using Pet Shop Boys' "Go West" in my very first game ages ago. Most games have used commercial tracks for ages. Even if you don't count using other soundtracks, pop music has had its place in RPGMaker games since waybackwhen.
Of course if you're talking about using exclusively pop music as a soundtrack then you might be one of few.
Personally I don't really mind either midi or MP3. But I don't really like mixing them up too much. The break between bliblops and "proper quality" is so huge. It's a bit like using low-res graphics in a high-res game and then suddenly have a couple of scenes really high-res.
Not a lot of people do it and I have been around a really long time. Before it was possible to use real band music I was using Mdis of it. We're talking like the year 2000 here. Oh and god, by pop, I don't mean, like POP, pop...
vomits.
I just mean modern music. In case anyone was misunderstanding.
The break between bliblops and "proper quality" is so huge.
Not if you are using very high quality midis, but there are admittedly few of those!
G-Flex
0
Even a high-quality MIDI uses whichever instrument generation mechanism exists on the user's sound card, though, so no matter how well you compose the thing, the guy's General MIDI Violin is going to still sound like a General MIDI Violin.
MIDI's are becoming harder and harder to find these days. That combined with the ease of downloading larger files make me prefer MP3's any day of the week.
Reives
1087
author=G-Flex link=topic=2790.msg53097#msg53097 date=1230703610Midi sounds vary from computer to computer depending on their soundcard, so that's another problem.
Even a high-quality MIDI uses whichever instrument generation mechanism exists on the user's sound card, though, so no matter how well you compose the thing, the guy's General MIDI Violin is going to still sound like a General MIDI Violin.
I'm guessing by MP3 here it implies OGGs as well. It kinda depends on the game type and graphics etc. imo - sometimes mp3 music can be over-epic for the medium. Although that does depend on the actual composition beyond just sound type/quality too.
G-Flex
0
The thing is that, even if music is composed using very basic MIDI, recording it to an MP3/vorbis/whatever still provides an advantage: You can apply whatever effects you want, and control exactly what it sounds like. It's not as if MP3s are limited to any specific style of music, or anything like that; it can be as chiptuney as you want.
AeroGP
64
ADX is compressed, has comparable quality to MP3, and it loops almost perfectly, but the songs that would gain the greatest advantage from it (songs with intros and distinct parts) reach 10 MBs on average when converted. Worth it if you're really anal about looping like I am, but otherwise you'd best look into LOGG for the next best thing.
S. F. LaValle
1069
author=Reives link=topic=2790.msg53174#msg53174 date=1230761157
It kinda depends on the game type and graphics etc. imo - sometimes mp3 music can be over-epic for the medium.
This is exactly why I am hesitant to promote unabashed mp3-age of RM games. If I'm playing a game graphically comparable to SNES or 2D PSX games, then I'd want a soundtrack that fits that. Sure, PSX games could stream music, but none of your bigger RPG's did. Using full-blown movie scores or pop music (depending on the type of game, but I'd venture to say most) has a negative effect on depth (to me).
But as a fun fact, those using RMXP or RMVX, your midis will sound the same on everyone's computer because the dls synth library is included with your game distributions.
Midis are always ok for me. My opinion is to tread lightly when using mp3/ogg.
G-Flex
0
author=S. F. LaValle link=topic=2790.msg54493#msg54493 date=1231374989author=Reives link=topic=2790.msg53174#msg53174 date=1230761157
It kinda depends on the game type and graphics etc. imo - sometimes mp3 music can be over-epic for the medium.
This is exactly why I am hesitant to promote unabashed mp3-age of RM games. If I'm playing a game graphically comparable to SNES or 2D PSX games, then I'd want a soundtrack that fits that. Sure, PSX games could stream music, but none of your bigger RPG's did.
As I've said already, an MP3 doesn't ever *need* to sound different from an equivalent MIDI. Using digital audio recording gives you MORE freedom to make something sound like it's coming from an SNES or any other sound hardware, since you can use whichever tools you want. Hell, you could probably compose something for the SNES itself and use it if you found the right software.
S. F. LaValle
1069
author=G-Flex link=topic=2790.msg54529#msg54529 date=1231387748
As I've said already, an MP3 doesn't ever *need* to sound different from an equivalent MIDI. Using digital audio recording gives you MORE freedom to make something sound like it's coming from an SNES or any other sound hardware, since you can use whichever tools you want. Hell, you could probably compose something for the SNES itself and use it if you found the right software.
Yes, you're right. I just have this fear that I'm going to download a game, play it, think it's actually pretty cool, and then have my ears assaulted by Celine Dion or something =)
Hitting your point home even further, my plan is to do exactly that; compose SNES-style songs, effects and all, and use looping OGG's with my game.
