Taking a break from soundtrack CD's, of which I have 2 'virtually complete' ones which need minor alterations I haven't the patience to deal with at the moment, I played Eco Quest II with my brother. Started it with the Roland MT-32 first time we played it, never got that far. Stopped at the copy protection.
This time I played with the Roland Sound Canvas, assuming it would be that score, which it is. As Tom said about Laura Bow II, the SC-55 is much more natural, which is pretty important for pan flutes, shakuhachis and blown bottles etc.
I'm sure it was composed for General MIDI, too, but MT-32 support was pretty good, too. I worked on the soundtrack before I had a Sound Canvas, though, and haven't done much with it since having a Sound Canvas.
Ah.. I'd love to hear your 'Sierra Soundtracks Volume' version of the 'Tree Hollow'.
Dan Kehler being the composer, I think it would be fair to say he always put a reasonable amount of effort into his MT-32 versions of SC-55 soundtracks (although not every SC track can be balanced for the MT-32, as LSL6's music shows, with real highs and lows for the MT score).
I'm definitely interested in hearing the complete score, Alistair. I haven't played through the game yet and I would like to hear its entire soundtrack. If the MT-32 version has some custom sounds not found in the SC-55 version, then my preference is the MT-32. Otherwise, SC-55 is fine.
I really like the game's music. I feel there's a LOT of good stuff.
The MT-32 "General MIDI patch bank" has custom sounds, but they're really just GM sounds on the MT-32, mainly MT-32 default patches, with new (crappy, IMO) sounds like 'Muted Gt.' being thrown in because the MT-32 doesn't have one.
Tracks like 'Mohawk Bat' would sound bad on the MT, I would imagine, though I've never heard that on a MT-32 admittedly (and there's no other rock pieces in EQ2). I recorded the full GM score today, will do the MT score on the weekend- I want to do a CD of this game's music before I go back to Uni (a lot of instrument choices I'd take from the MT-32 in digital mixes).
Trust me, for MIDI listening, the GM score would be nicer. Might lack a few SFX though.
was really disappointed in EQ2's soundtrack when I first heard it. There are some nice songs in EQ2, but in general, I didn't find it anywhere near as nice as EQ1's. But I've yet to hear the complete soundtrack...
Eco Quest 1 was a better soundtrack. But it's one of the all-time best Sierra scores! For what it's worth, I really enjoyed EQ2's score. Not rocky like EQ1's, much more melodic and beautiful. And there's MUCH more beautiful pieces than in EQ1, which is what I felt that soundtrack lacked.
I think for me, too, Eco Quest 2 was a much better game than its' predecessor. So the music means a lot more to me. Which is one of the reasons I generally prefer Sierra's SC-55 scores, the games are usually better- King's Quest 6 is the best example of that (good SC score, awesome game).
I'll try and edit the complete SC-55 score tomorrow, if it's possible to do it in a day. Otherwise in the next few days. I want to record some assorted digital pieces as well.
My favourite piece from the game is on this site, 'The Black Jaguar'. Awesome piece. Lots of good stuff on Tom's MIDI page actually.
Regards,
- Alistair
