Friday Facts #406 - Space Age Music

[Gemma]

This is a very cool project. The biggest piece of music I have associated with Factorio in my head until now is Gloria Coates' Symphony no. 4. I really love Gloria Coates, RIP.

[Azzinoth]

It sounds too epic and not similar to the original Factorio soundtrack for me. It reminds me more of star wars. The original factorio soundtrack just doesn't sound like an orchestra. It also fits better into the background. Just listen to it again.

[giantmechahamham]

Orchestral tracks are... meh... for me. I'm just not a classical composition person.

That's not to say they can't be great, and these obviously are. I mean like super-high-quality.

The synth-heavy tracks are AMAZING. My first reaction to the Fulgora video was to download it. I want to listen to that on repeat. And I probably will be doing just that, assuming I survive long enough to purchase the expansion. It is absolutely my jam.

I tend to play games with the sound off because I get frequent migraines. The synth music here is going to be good enough that I keep it on.

[Thujoan]

The first few seconds of the last music file gives me heavy simcity 4 vibes, specifically some rush hour expansion tracks. I REALLY like it.

I think either "gridlock" or "bumper to bumper"

You're right, I think the melody of the whole first 4 minutes reminds me of SC4, its almost uncanny. It and Factorio have exceedingly rare styles of music.

[sethbreloom94]

Kinda split on the Fulgora music- love the idea, but the music kept rubbing me the wrong way and I didn't know why.
I was for unique instruments to match each planet since before it was announced. For Fulgora, I was expecting something like one of these:

• Life Goes On (Goodbye Deponia)
• Aridia (Ratchet and Clank)

The Fulgora OST is similar to both, but I didn't like it. Then it grew on me. Then I didn't like it again. Then I did like it again.
I think it might be the sound mixing- some of the instruments are just too loud compared to the baseline, making it harder to serve as background music. What do you think?

[aka13]

It sounds too epic and not similar to the original Factorio soundtrack for me. It reminds me more of star wars. The original factorio soundtrack just doesn't sound like an orchestra. It also fits better into the background. Just listen to it again.

I am also a bit worried, that it is too intensive for Freeplay, but be honest, we both know, you and I have already long ago turned off the music either way. For the initial impression it will be epic, and for long-term, even if it is too epic, will be turned off at one point or the other .

[BEEFE]

Coming back to this, man the electric crackling on Fulgora (from the lightning charging the lightning rods) is way too loud for something that plays nearly constantly. That sound effect could stand to have its volume reduced by like 3/4, though worst case scenario I could just edit the file on my end.

[cab]

<imo>
I guess I won't be first, but it's a far cry from being an ambiance and being fit to be in a what essentially is a puzzle game — it drags too much attention

It is a fitting theme for a trailer, but not for a game
</imo>

[Tesse11ation]

I'll be honest, out of all the new tracks I've heard, Fulgora so far is my favorite. I know a lot of people in this thread are complaining about it and saying it's the worst track, but they're presenting their opinion as objective fact and not subjectively.

Whatever you do, please don't cut the Fulgora track. I love it just the way it is, if you guys at Wube want to keep iterating on it to improve the technical aspects of the track, go for it, but please just don't scrap it completely. I think it nails the vibe.

I can say personally that while I really do like orchestral music, my favorite genre is in fact electronic music like EDM/dubstep/synthwave, among other sub-genres. I think with some more powerful percussion and bass lines the Fulgora track could really go hard, which might be too much for some Factorio players, but I personally like music I can really bang my head to. "High octane" as a friend of mine puts it. Something that really gets your blood pumping. And who knows, you might need to get your blood pumping on Fulgora since a single lightning strike on your head could cause cardiac arrest.

Keep up the good work!

EDIT: As an aside, I would REALLY like it if the music for space platforms and travel had some nice retro-future synth notes to really sell the idea that this is SPAAAAACE! Especially during the flight of the platform itself where the tempo could pick up a bit, and you could throw some drum and bass in there, just to really sell the idea that you're moving through space now.

[petrathekat]

Hello, I agree that the piece teased at the end is for a watery world, for a few reasons. I can definitely imagine flowing down a bubbling brook to a big lake to the ocean.

Firstly, it seems that the other two teased worlds are love letters to new worldgen technology. Both new planets use their new-and-improved cliffs and elevation tech, and they have areas where it's easy to build and areas where it's hard. They've even showed off rivers! I think it makes sense to have little continents or plateaus with winding rivers separating them -- the success of Freight Forwarding hints me this way too.

Secondly -- this might just be a conspiracy theory -- the start of the music reminds me a lot of the Moldau:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6kqu2mk-Kw

This is a famous Czech classical music piece about the path the Moldau river (called Vltava in Czech) takes through Czechia. Given Wube and Petr are both Czech, I could imagine Petr taking inspiration from this piece.

But maybe I'm being a nerd Any thoughts?

[varundevan]

Hello developers.
Suggestion to make space platform to be a different color.
The grey color blends right in with average color grade of rest of the items and it appears to be hard to have a mind map .

[Twisted_Code]

When you mentioned "Factorio motif" my brain jumped to that sound within about 20 seconds of scanning the next several words. Notably, the recollection finished before I had fully processed the word "tattooed" and "brain". Nevermind the more obvious hint about the splash screen.
… Of course, when steam says you have over 2400 hours into a game, you oughtn't be surprised if you know it's launch sequence by heart.
The music sounds superb by the way. Watching the videos showing everything come together brought tears to my eye, I'm neither joking nor was I expecting it.
The soundtrack only video, my guess is something either frozen or windy.

I have a critique about the last video you showed (not the soundtrack only clip, the one before that), but I may have to watch it a few more times to pinpoint the "issue". It was REALLY subtle. I'll edit this post if I come up with it, but with any luck it's either so negligible as to be irrelevant or you will catch it during your own polishing.
Edit: I think it might've been something about the tempo? It felt may be slightly too fast-paced, kinda like a boss theme (That track in particular reminded me of the Wall of Flesh's theme from Terraria), for a factory that's already set up and running. It's probably perfect when you start out on
that planet, but if my factory is at the point I could basically AFK and come back to thousands of science packs, it might be a bit much. But only by a slight margin.

[Pthigrivi]

Listened to these again today. My fave now is actually the mystery planet. I've decided this is the one thats full of "life".

[Samwhell]

So beautiful. I enjoy how the pizzicato violines sound like the cyclical tendrils a locomotive, or a complex thresher bound factory might sound. And then the slow, billowing, almost Star Trek (TOS) meets Lord of the Rings (Orthanc) cello/violin combo thrusts a sweeping gesture full of elbows and forearms out amongst the stars and gathers the tide of plasma back into the factory's bosom. Then it lunges out again, but we are left back with the whirring machinery, as it soldiers on, even as sleep takes us in the monotonous hypnosis of it's symmetric rythmosis.

So Beautiful.

[Dune]

I'm trying to catch up on the FF's, and just looking at this... notably the space music and couldn't help notice an oddity.

It's probably been mentioned, but the steam from the reactors is blowing towards the direction the ship is traveling. I know there is no friction in space, but the ship is moving. At least the steam should be being left behind as the ship moves forward even if the steam were to 'travel' of its own accord forward.

Truly though, the music is EPIC. The vulcanus soundtrack is reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings / Hobbit soundtrack.

[Khagan]

the steam from the reactors is blowing towards the direction the ship is traveling. I know there is no friction in space, but the ship is moving. At least the steam should be being left behind as the ship moves forward even if the steam were to 'travel' of its own accord forward.

That's not how inertia works. If the steam has any velocity w.r.t. the ship as it is emitted, it will keep that velocity. If not, it will (in the frame of the ship) just spread out evenly in all directions. There is nothing that will result in it 'being left behind'.

[sarge945]

the steam from the reactors is blowing towards the direction the ship is traveling. I know there is no friction in space, but the ship is moving. At least the steam should be being left behind as the ship moves forward even if the steam were to 'travel' of its own accord forward.

That's not how inertia works. If the steam has any velocity w.r.t. the ship as it is emitted, it will keep that velocity. If not, it will (in the frame of the ship) just spread out evenly in all directions. There is nothing that will result in it 'being left behind'.

Wouldn't it "be left behind" if the ship is accellerating, because it doesn't have the same accelleration force once it leaves the ship? I'm not really a physics person though.

On the actual topic of the music, not only does it sound great, but I noticed in the Demolisher video, the music seems to change when facing off against the worm, to a more tense theme. Factorio doesn't really have "combat tracks" in 1.1, so I feel that this might be a new feature, unless it was done as part of editing the video to make it more exciting. If it's in-game, the transition is pretty damn smooth and I love it for that reason. I wonder if this means we will get some combat tracks for Nauvis as well?

Maybe it's already been mentioned, I haven't had time to go back and read multiple pages of posts.

Also, I hope the Vulcanus footstep sounds and the "zap" sound when you enter a dust cloud get reworked. They are quite rough right now.

[Donion]

On the actual topic of the music, not only does it sound great, but I noticed in the Demolisher video, the music seems to change when facing off against the worm, to a more tense theme. Factorio doesn't really have "combat tracks" in 1.1, so I feel that this might be a new feature, unless it was done as part of editing the video to make it more exciting. If it's in-game, the transition is pretty damn smooth and I love it for that reason. I wonder if this means we will get some combat tracks for Nauvis as well?

Maybe it's already been mentioned, I haven't had time to go back and read multiple pages of posts.

Also, I hope the Vulcanus footstep sounds and the "zap" sound when you enter a dust cloud get reworked. They are quite rough right now.

It is mentioned in the FAQ section at the end of FFF#407. In short, no, there are no combat tracks or dynamic changes in music.

As far as I know those sound effects are placeholders.