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  #1  
Old Feb 26, 2011, 09:43 AM
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Jormungand Jormungand is offline
 
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FAQ:

Q: What is this?
A: A fan arrangement album focusing on a variety of VGM composers. With a twist...

Q: When will it be released?
A: Going to invoke the Blizzard mantra and say, "When it's done!" Ideally, Summer 2012.

Q: How long will it be?
A: Mega Man XA will have 24 tracks.

Q: What does this have to do with Mega Man?
A: I can't reveal that yet. It's a surprise!

Q: Is the list of composers on the album page complete?
A: No.

Q: How will it be released?
A: I plan to have it available both in mp3 form as well as youtube. I am open to other suggestions.

Q: Will there be a preview?
A: At first I thought I'd like to release the album at once, but since I'm taking so long, perhaps listeners would like a demo? Post your thoughts here.

Q: Anything else you want to share?
Closer to release I will be in need of a cover artist. I may also need people to mirror and help promote the album.

Last edited by Jormungand; Mar 4, 2012 at 10:01 AM.
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  #2  
Old Sep 13, 2011, 07:03 AM
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Well, I'm always open to help you out any way I possibly can with TheDoujinChannel. This project of yours surely intrigues me. =)
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  #3  
Old Mar 4, 2012, 09:58 AM
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FAQ updated.

Is there anyone here that is a skilled 16-bit pixel artist, or knows someone with such skills? I'd like to start getting concepts for an album cover.
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  #4  
Old Jul 6, 2012, 08:35 AM
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Album release target: August 31. Wish me luck!

Also, still looking for a skilled 16-bit pixel artist. I may have to start coming deviantart or possibly OCR.
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  #5  
Old Jul 6, 2012, 08:53 AM
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Yea, I have some photoshop skillz, does that count lol? Joking, joking...
Sure man, good luck, may you meet the planned release date and may the tunes rock
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  #6  
Old Aug 10, 2012, 05:01 AM
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Small update: so far, everything is right on schedule. I am working on getting some cover art done.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Efendija View Post
Sure man, good luck, may you meet the planned release date and may the tunes rock
Thanks! And I hope they rock.

Random question... what's everyone's favorite tune from Mega Man 5? What, you think that sounds like a suspicious question? >.>;; No it doesn't! ...just answer the question.
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  #7  
Old Aug 10, 2012, 05:11 AM
Chris Chris is offline
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Can't wait to cover this one, Joe!
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  #8  
Old Aug 10, 2012, 06:00 AM
GoldfishX GoldfishX is offline
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I dare you to release this the same day those 25th anniversary rock/techno arrangements come out! Make it a 3-way dance!

Favorite Megaman 5 tune is Chargeman, followed VERY closely by Darkman (aka Protoman stage).

Last edited by GoldfishX; Aug 10, 2012 at 09:24 AM.
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  #9  
Old Aug 26, 2012, 08:21 PM
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Update: I won't finish this by the 31st. However, things are still progressing nicely. I don't think it will take that much longer. Plus, the cover art is in-progress, and it's amazing.

This is certainly one of the more challenging projects I've ever worked on, the main reason for which will be clear once I've released it. On the other hand, I'm very pleased with how the arrangements sound so far, and I hope the community will enjoy it when it's done.

Enough talk, back to the sequencer I go!
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  #10  
Old Jul 21, 2013, 01:27 PM
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I've set a really real release date this time: August 30!

In the immortal words of Square Enix... "Please look forward to it."
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  #11  
Old Jul 21, 2013, 03:24 PM
GoldfishX GoldfishX is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jormungand View Post

In the immortal words of Square Enix... "Please look forward to it."
I think EVERY Japanese producer/director says this, when they have something coming out. lol
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  #12  
Old Aug 14, 2013, 07:50 AM
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I'd like to preview Mega Man XA and finally reveal what it's all about! Have a look at the awesome cover art by The Coop:



That about sums it up!

Mega Man XA is an alternative retelling of the original Mega Man X--somewhat of a "reboot", if you will. The entirely fictional game contains the same basic characters and premise of the original, but with a different plot. This album is the imagined "original soundtrack" to Mega Man XA, featuring the music of several video game music composers arranged by myself into a Mega Man X "style". An essential part of this was my use of the Mega Man X soundfont by Dave Harris. With instruments pulled straight from the original MMX, I aimed to create an authentic-sounding soundtrack using a wide variety of VGM tunes. While the instrumentation and arrangement stay true to the MMX style, I definitely cheated in terms of hardware: my work for MMXA goes beyond the 8-channel limit of the Super Nintendo to provide a "fuller" sound.

A word about the arrangements, which you'll be able to hear in full in two weeks: some are very arranged, and others will almost sound like transcriptions and stay extremely faithful to their sources. Again, my goal for this project was to create an "original soundtrack"--something suitable to be heard in an alternative MMX. So it really should be thought of that way, instead of an "arranged album". The tracks here loop and fade-out, and there's a full selection of music needed to fill (most) parts of a Mega Man game: intro and ending cutscenes, stage themes, boss battles, etc. That said, allow me to present a sneak preview of the soundtrack, a short jingle created for the fictional game's title screen:

Mega Man XA - Title

I'll provide a complete list of who-composed-what on release day, but for now you might try not to look at the composer list and guess for yourself each track's source.

The album will be released in mp3 format and on YouTube. There will be a Bandcamp distribution as well (for free, of course) so you can download different audio formats if you'd like. Liner notes will accompany the album and will be accessible from the web. Furthermore, The Coop has created back cover art as well as "booklet" pages which go into detail about each track's source. These will be uploaded to vgmdb.

This was a challenging, but fun project. It's a great way to end the summer for me as I transition into the new school year, where most of my free time for the next two weeks will be spent setting up my classroom for my incoming 1st graders. Music has been a welcome distraction!

I hope this will be a nice start to everyone's Fall, and I hope Mega Man fans as well as fans of the featured composers will find something to enjoy.
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  #13  
Old Aug 29, 2013, 03:17 PM
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So...Joe...Are we all set for a release for this Album, tomorrow, than? I really would like to hear how well this arrangement of yours has turned out!
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  #14  
Old Aug 29, 2013, 06:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Blazer View Post
So...Joe...Are we all set for a release for this Album, tomorrow, than? I really would like to hear how well this arrangement of yours has turned out!
Regrettably I will have to push it to Monday. I feel bad about that. I've spent the vast majority of this week either in inservice training or setting up my classroom. I haven't had either the time nor energy to work on the last bits of the album in the evenings. However... I can focus on MMXA over the weekend. Fortunately I'm just at the polishing stage.

Thank you for your continued interest.
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  #15  
Old Aug 29, 2013, 06:47 PM
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And thank you for your response! It truly is appreciated, my fellow friend. And please...take your time. No rush at all. Also, no need to feel bad about pushing back an Album that you worked soo hard on. Things happen. I am willing to wait an extra couple of days for your glorious Album to arrive. Should be promising!!! xD Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day.
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  #16  
Old Sep 2, 2013, 05:11 PM
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I've never revised so much on a project before!

I'm going to push this back another week, as there are still 3 tracks I'm just not satisfied with. It's possible I've been listening re-listening to them so much that I'm starting to hear things that aren't there...

So, new release date: Sept. 8. I apologize for the continued delays.
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  #17  
Old Sep 8, 2013, 04:31 PM
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Mega Man XA is released!

http://jschwebke.bandcamp.com/album/mega-man-xa

Mp3 downloads and YouTube playlist coming later this week.

As you listen, challenge yourself to guess the sources. Please let me know what you think! Tell me your favorite track!

Last edited by Jormungand; Sep 8, 2013 at 04:38 PM.
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  #18  
Old Sep 9, 2013, 10:23 AM
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Brilliant execution of a brilliant idea. Soaring Dragon would have to be my favourite track. Just love that arrangement of Sakimoto's arrangement of Namiki's Mushihimesama theme (which was already gold anyway)!
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  #19  
Old Sep 9, 2013, 04:20 PM
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Thanks for your support jdk! I like Soaring Dragon too.

I've now added an mp3 zip file download (all tracks and liner notes + cover art) to my website.
http://music.projectvgm.net/mmxa.html

Bandcamp puts a monthly download limit on free albums, so in case that limit gets reached, please download directly from my website. Or if you just have to have lossless files, I'll get a torrent online.
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  #20  
Old Sep 11, 2013, 04:04 PM
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OMG!! You've arranged "Battle in the Forest of the Witch" by Masaharu Iwata. Which is ONE of my favorite songs from Odin Sphere, thank you very much!! XD Your arrangement of it stays very true to it's original source! Ahh...such good taste in VGM you have, Joe. The rest of the songs are great, aswell! The quality is sooo crisp and clear!! Way to go, Joe, on a job very well done, my friend. I look forward on seeing more from you, ok?
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  #21  
Old Sep 14, 2013, 10:34 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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I love the album! Thanks for all the hard work you put into it. It really shows. The Soma Bringer arrangement for the credits theme is a great touch.
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  #22  
Old Sep 15, 2013, 12:53 AM
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Listening to this now, sounds great! Glad the soundfont came in handy. I will give this a bit of pimping on twitter/facebook.
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  #23  
Old Sep 19, 2013, 04:02 AM
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Any chance of getting a list of which songs are from which games? I'm not sure how to work it out from looking at the album page.
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  #24  
Old Sep 19, 2013, 06:34 AM
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Isn't that information in the liner notes (textfile)?
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  #25  
Old Sep 19, 2013, 08:49 AM
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I meant on vgmdb. It isn't possible to discern from looking on here. I could add it if I'm at liberty to...
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  #26  
Old Sep 19, 2013, 09:09 AM
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The "products represented" list is in a neat order
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  #27  
Old Sep 19, 2013, 04:15 PM
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The info is in the booklet art, pages 2 and 3. I suppose I could add it to the vgmdb notes too.

EDIT: Oops! I totally forgot to upload the album art to vgmdb. Will do that this weekend.
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  #28  
Old Sep 21, 2013, 04:29 PM
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Vgmdb is currently blocking my upload of a booklet insert, size 704 kb. Is there an upload limit? I could upload the jewel case back cover fine...
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  #29  
Old Sep 21, 2013, 05:52 PM
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There's a size limit, but 700 kb is way under that limit.
Though, there's also a limit in size of the picture too i think, like 6000 or 8000 px long, i am not sure, maybe that's it.
That or the file format is not supported.
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  #30  
Old Sep 21, 2013, 06:51 PM
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It's a 6000 x 3000 .png
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