Melodious Tron (Concertron)

[Durf]

Hey everyone! Been a while since I posted anything..

So I got this idea a while back; when Vertrex and I added speed and acceleration zones in sty+ct+ap.
Speed zone = sets your speed to a specified speed while in the zone.

The idea is to have a line of speed zones (different sizes and speeds) such that the cycle noise playing out the speaker would produce a tune; a melody.


(Don't bother trying it in-game, the hosting it is on right now isn't good enough to play the songs properly)

Initial testing didn't work quite as planned; there are still some minor kinks to work out here and there.
Good news is, even though I don't have a "lag-free" server to put this idea on, I was able to get a decent preview with the assistance provided by rad (Radiuks@forums).
Many thanks to him for providing the mp3 recordings.

Enough talk! Onto the preview!
-->some mp3s play at a slower rate than their youtube counterpart, listen closely
-->Warning! The mp3 previews are quiet, remember to turn your volume UP for mp3, DOWN for youtube.
-->To give you an idea of how long the maps are, the height is 200 units (from y=100 to y=-100)

First song: I'm sure you can recognize the tune
Map Preview
MP3 Preview
Youtube comparison (0:15 - 1:42 ONLY)

Second song: SMB 3 water theme
Map Preview
MP3 Preview
Youtube comparison (only need to listen for a minute or two)

...

[Durf]

Third song: Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
Map Preview
MP3 Preview
Youtube comparison

Fourth song: Tetris - song A
Map Preview
MP3 Preview
Youtube comparison


I've made a few other songs, but nothing really worth showing off (yet).
I took a few suggestions and these are the few I have yet to make:
-Harry Potter Theme
-Donkey Kong Country
-Kirby Gourmet Race
-Pacman
-FZero Big Blue
-Halo

Better yet, it is possible to make just about ANY song!
Here's how I make them:

1) I find a MIDI file with the target melody (a monophonic ringtone is perfect for the job)
2) I feed the MIDI file into a MIDI-to-TXT converter (online on my website somewhere)
3) I take some, most, or all of the outputted text into yet another tool I created. (not online)
It reads the data like tempo, BPM, and everything else needed to determine how fast the notes play.
Then finds the start and end time of each note, and which note is to be played.
Using all that info, zones are generated one after the other.
Size of each zone is determined by which note (cycle speed) is to be played, and for how long.

Overall the process to make a single map using these tools (provided you already found the midi) should take about 5 minutes max.

Here's the reason why I'm posting at all (besides sharing the awesomeness):
The hosting that the server is currently on isn't quite good enough for users to listen to the songs.
So basically I'm looking for anyone that is willing, and WANTS to host this idea.
2 things are required:
-a sty+ct+ap dedicated server (required for speed zones, map rotation and queueing)
-low ping (not home-hosted)

So if anyone wants, its basically ready to host.
I'm looking to get this idea off the ground before putting any further work into it.
If the idea has a dedicated host, then I can focus on those midi tools; making them public and more user friendly.


Comments, questions, and suggestions welcome (even if you don't have an interest in hosting it).
Hope you guys like the newest musical instrument! Your light cycle ;P

[blondie]

magi what is your opinion of this server?

[sinewav]

Good stuff Durf. A couple years ago, Wik edited a debug recording that played Mozart when played back. At least, that's how I remember it. I can't find the file, only the empty post. Was really cool.

magi what is your opinion of this server?

Way to spoil a thread of artistic expression with an unrelated, dick-headed response. You're a real pro, you know that? Someone please edit this shit out before he goes on his stupid "I was just asking an honest question" crap. Passive aggressive **** head.

[blondie]

you said it not me

just asking an honest question

[sinewav]

just asking an honest question

Sure you are, Bub. Suuuuuuure you are.

[Word]

That's a cool idea. Perhaps I linked to this before - we could do something like MTA.me with Armagetron (sound depending on color, used rubber, speed, overlaps with other walls etc.)

[Wik]

debug recording that played Mozart

It evolved into a really ugly online tool. The Mozart piece is still there and used as example tune (click "Cheat sheet").

[sinewav]

Jesus, Wik, that's fantastic. Time to start an Armagetron band. Guess I should install Arma one of these days so I can try this out...

[Durf]

Thanks guys! All comments / suggestions appreciated.

That MTE thing was really cool Word. Not sure how we can do that with tron exactly..scripts maybe.

And thank you Wik! For sharing that tool you made.
It made me realize how dumb I was; I could have made it output delayed commands for cycle speed like you did, rather than depend on speed zones (thus depending on sty+ct+ap).

...Who knows, after I make some changes it might work better. (more compatible too!)
Maybe this will get me to release the tools I used, so anyone can convert their favorite MIDIs.

Thanks again, feedback is always welcome.

[Lucifer]

Jesus, Wik, that's fantastic. Time to start an Armagetron band. Guess I should install Arma one of these days so I can try this out...

I'm looking at starting another server, but I haven't yet gotten into my cable modem to do some port mapping. But I have a full-time computer and a decent internet connection again.

Also, need to install arma myself.

[sinewav]

Also, need to install arma myself.

Look at this guy showing up out of nowhere.

[Lucifer]

Heh, yeah. Found my web comic can't generate itself because I stopped working on it in the middle of a small rewrite in the generation software.

Getting wifi to my laptop has put me back in "the chair", heh.

But it's National Novel Writing Month, so don't be surprised if I end up back in hiding...

[Phytotron]

So, just tangentially related:

The Polynomial
Proteus

for instances

[Durf]

Hey guys,

I've done some recent updates to Melodious Tron.
It's working much better, although it's still not ready for public use (currently no easy way to load and add songs)

Aside from changing from speed zones to delayed commands, I got songs to work nicely with single track songs (monophonic) as well as some multiple tracked songs (polyphonic)!

Here are some MP3 previews of what's working so far:
(Note, some take up to 10 seconds to start playing)
(I was recording with my cellphone up next to a bad speaker...but it'll have to do)

Monophonic songs:
Mario MP3 preview
Donkey Kong Country preview (incomplete song)
Kirby preview
Mortal Kombat preview