Combined soundtracks of five different sound devices for Dune 2 (The Building of a Dynasty) by Westwood Studios.
There are many supported devices that share a common sound standard; for example the Sound Blaster, Pro Audio Spectrum, and AdLib Gold all refer back to the AdLib version of the soundtrack, so in that case I only used non-redundant devices. That leaves us with only five unique versions of the soundtrack:
* PC Speaker (1981), 1 square-wave channel.
* Tandy 1000 (1984), 3 square-wave channels and 1 noise channel.
* AdLib (1987), Frequency Modulation (FM) sound generation, 9 voices in melodic mode.
* Roland MT-32 (1987), Linear Arithmetic (LA) sound generation, 8 melodic and 1 rhythm channels.
* Roland SC-55 (1991), Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) sound generation, 24 voices.
I find that the combined tracks brings out the best of all versions.
For example, the raw-ness and more audible personality of the AdLib version compensates for the sluggish-ness of the MT-32. However, the SC-55 brings a new depth to the AdLib due to more realistic instruments and stereo panning. The PC Speaker and Tandy recordings are more simple, yet they still serve to underline certain melodies.
So this is a process where I carefully overlay, mix, and align recordings from different audio devices. Very often tracks need to be stretched and realigned for the tempo to match, as drifting occurs a LOT. I think the device that has the most unequal tempo is the MT-32 and I'm not certain why. The Sound Canvas has this issue too, but it was definitely varying a lot less within one track.
There are two songs where the AdLib recording has additional contemplative segments not found in the other versions. In those instances I matched the compatible parts and returned to AdLib-only music for the moments missing on other devices. As such, AdLib was my reference track for this project for multiple reasons including the more regular tempo and the percussions having almost immediate attack making sound alignment easy.
Some notes :
* The PC Speaker soundtrack does not feature music for the "Wander" themes, and only a few notes for the "Battle" themes. Its inclusion was distracting for these six tracks so it was omitted.
* Ending credits only have recordings from AdLib, MT-32 and SC-55. There is apparently no music if you reach the end of the game with a PC Speaker or a Tandy 1000.
* The "Faithful Warriors" wander theme has an additional hidden outro usually not heard in-game except if you're in the pause menu.
This combined 5-device mix is part of the Dune Dynasty project:
github.com/gameflorist/dunedy...
You can download this combined soundtrack on FED2k here:
(coming soon!)
Music by:
* Music was composed by Frank Klepacki (initially on the Roland SC-55)
* Music was arranged by Paul Mudra (AdLib) and Dwight Okahara (MT-32)
Recordings by:
* PC Speaker: Gerald Buttinger (@gameflorist) - forum.dune2k.com/files/file/1...
* Tandy 3-voice: Gerald Buttinger @gameflorist
* AdLib: Jiseng So @JisengSo - www.dropbox.com/s/4btii6xkelh...
* Roland MT-32: Jesse Reid @Gobalopper - forum.dune2k.com/files/file/1...
* Roland SC-55: Ronald Blankendaal @rcblanke - www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?...
Visuals by:
Either captured by myself or found on the Internet. Too many references to list.
Some images showcase additional Fremen, Sardaukar and Mercenary campaigns not included in the base game.
May our mod community for Dune II never die!
Special thanks:
Gerald Buttinger for his work on the Dune Dynasty project, and approaching me about my mixed soundtracks of Dune and Dune II.
Stéphane Picq for his enthusiasm about my Dune mix, and giving me confidence about the validity of crazy projects like these.
Song titles for the wander/battle themes (and a few others) come from Frank Klepacki's own website:
www.frankklepacki.com/ost/vg/...
INTRO
00:00 - Westwood Studios Logo
00:09 - Introduction
02:44 - Main Menu
CHOOSE YOUR HOUSE
03:47 - Mentat (Atreides) "The Council"
04:36 - Mentat (Ordos) "Disturbed Thoughts"
06:45 - Mentat (Harkonnen)
07:47 - Map Screen
WANDER THEMES
08:30 - The Building of a Dynasty
12:39 - Dark Technology
15:49 - Rulers of Arrakis
17:23 - Desert of Doom
19:15 - Faithful Warriors
22:07 - Spice Melange
25:08 - The Prophecy (1)
28:05 - The Prophecy (2)
29:54 - For Those Fallen
INTERMISSION
32:00 - Win Theme (A)
32:24 - Win Theme (O)
33:14 - Win Theme (H)
33:59 - Emperor Theme
34:28 - Defeat (A)
34:34 - Defeat (O)
34:41 - Defeat (H)
BATTLE THEMES
34:48 - Into the Heat
35:51 - Epic War
37:19 - Humans Fall
38:23 - Adrenaline Rush
39:24 - Only the Strongest Survives
40:31 - Marching Towards the End
ENDING
41:35 - Ending (A)
42:09 - Ending (O)
42:48 - Ending (H)
43:33 - Credits Theme
8 май 2024
