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Gordy Haab's Star Wars Squadrons?


Yannick

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So, apparently someone leaked 4 themes from the soundtrack of the incoming game Star Wars Squadrons. Haven't listened to it since has been already removed, but we have the names. An intro for both the Rebels and the Imperiales, and two others called "Kickoff Base" and "Frigate Attack High".

 

If anyone listened to it and wants to share their thoughts, let us now!

 

Also, someone in comments said Haab is the composer. Not sure if that has been confirmed but good to know if true.

 

Source: 

 

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Gordy Haab said months ago that he composed the score for Star Wars: Squadrons. They used the Skywalker Symphony this time around due to the lower budget, instead of the LSO.

 

Also the cues weren't really "leaked" persay... There is a technical alpha going on right now, so many people are able to play the game.

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Good to know it's Haab though, I was hoping for that to be the case. I asked Ian Frazier (the game's producer) on Twitter about it, but he said the soundtrack will be discussed "at a later date". I assume they just want to finalize more of the music before revealing it. At least he confirmed that the soundtrack will be multi-layered and dynamic, adapting to the action on screen, like classic iMUSE.

 

By the way, I think the alpha didn't have music in it. At least none of the numerous gameplay videos I've seen of it had music. So it would still qualify as a leak.

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12 hours ago, Not Mr. Big said:

JFO has some really nice dramatic moments (the Order 66 flashback)

 

But that was Williams' score for Revenge of the Sith. It's the OST track Anakin's Betrayal.

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8 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

This thing still exists?

 

Yeah they still primarily do video game scores on occasion. The last ones I'm aware of were for expansions for SWTOR as well as Halo 2: Anniversary in 2014. I'm not sure what they've been up in the last ~5 years though, other than Squadrons.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The one thing in the universe that could make me any bit interested in this entire game would be a reprise of the Rogue Squadron theme:

 

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3 hours ago, Holko said:

The one thing in the universe that could make me any bit interested in this entire game would be a reprise of the Rogue Squadron theme

 

I prefer the live orchestra version:

 

 

I wonder if they've recorded more of the soundtrack while they were at it. 

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I recently remembered it existed and the main titles immediately brought me back to the loooong forgotten past, such a kickass piece. Too bad it won't really run on my laptop easily.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/15/2020 at 12:18 PM, Manakin Skywalker said:

You know, I own Rogue Squadron, but I've never played the game or heard any of the music before for some reason. It's the only SW video game score I've never listened to, but it's actually really good!

 

Relevant, sort of: https://clyp.it/gjnijnnq EDIT: should add that I didn't do jack to mix this yet so it's still pretty raw.

 

I began remaking one of my favorite songs off the soundtrack to test out some new instruments I've acquired. I think it would be a neat idea to go through and remake the entire soundtrack, though that would take a lot of time to do as I have a day job that keeps me plenty busy and a kid.

 

The Rogue Squadron soundtrack is excellent for what it is. IMO the ones for Rogue Squadron II and III don't quite hit the mark for me, but there are still some absolute gems sprinkled throughout. I think Chris Huelsbeck at least should come back and record another Star Wars game. Would have been a perfect fit for Squadrons.

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4 hours ago, TheAvengerButton said:

 

Relevant, sort of: https://clyp.it/gjnijnnq EDIT: should add that I didn't do jack to mix this yet so it's still pretty raw.

 

I began remaking one of my favorite songs off the soundtrack to test out some new instruments I've acquired. I think it would be a neat idea to go through and remake the entire soundtrack, though that would take a lot of time to do as I have a day job that keeps me plenty busy and a kid.

 

The Rogue Squadron soundtrack is excellent for what it is. IMO the ones for Rogue Squadron II and III don't quite hit the mark for me, but there are still some absolute gems sprinkled throughout. I think Chris Huelsbeck at least should come back and record another Star Wars game. Would have been a perfect fit for Squadrons.

 

Nice!

 

Hey do you (or anyone else here) by any chance have the MIDI files? I've been trying to extract them from the PC version but have had no luck thus far.

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@Manakin Skywalker

 

From what I understand it's generally impossible to extract any sort of information out of Rogue Squadron midi or otherwise, PC or N64 due to the nature of the game's assembly. 

 

You may have already done your research, but in case you haven't:

 

http://satd.sk/pages/rs/ this page has a lot of useful information about RS's development and assembly information. It's just a tough nut to crack. The page unfortunately doesn't seem to have a lot of information about music, but I think it provides a great deal of understanding for why no one has really made an effort to get anything out of this game. There are a lot of tools on there that can be used but to my knowledge no one has used them to try to grab midi information. Which means...

 

...all of the soundtrack rips that you hear online are recorded stereo mix style with the program running, so they are only as high quality as that process allows. It's such a shame because the soundtrack is great. I did my transcribing by ear for my orchestration and it's not perfect. 

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  • 1 month later...

Although it hasn't been officially announced yet, an official Star Wars: Squadrons album is appearing on multiple foreign websites once the clock hits midnight. So it looks like at midnight tonight they are releasing the album digitally.

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6 minutes ago, TheAvengerButton said:

No FLAC listings yet that I can find.

 

The ones I found were FLAC. I imagine it will be on the exact same platforms that JFO was, 7Digital being my go-to for lossless game scores.

 

I actually got ahold of the FLAC version from someone this morning and am currently downloading it. I'll be purchasing it myself when it becomes available in the US tonight.

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I forgot about the time thing >.<. Don't judge me I just woke up at 3 in the afternoon.

 

I'm really digging that we are starting to get a lot more access to Star Wars scores lately. Wouldn't it be nice if they did this to legacy soundtracks so that I can have some sweet Mark Griskey KOTOR 2 in quality that isn't 128kbps.

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On 8/4/2020 at 9:09 PM, Cerebral Cortex said:

 

It sounds like a computer trying to do the closest approximation to new Williams music. On a technical level, it always sounds pretty damn close, but I never get any sort of emotional weight to it. The heart is missing. 

I agree. And it’s almost like they prohibit him from adapting or using JW’s themes in full? It’s the most frustrating part of listening to his scores, there are so many times you think it’s going to erupt into one of the legacy motifs but it turns into this knock-off boiler plate JW-ism.

 

Ya he sounds like JW but there no weight. Everything sounds like DVD main title screen music. 
 

Really hope they let the guy loose to really flex his muscles, because I think he has the potential to really give us something. 

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4 minutes ago, The Float said:

I agree. And it’s almost like they prohibit him from adapting or using JW’s themes in full? It’s the most frustrating part of listening to his scores, there are so many times you think it’s going to erupt into one of the legacy motifs but it turns into this knock-off boiler plate JW-ism.

 

Ya he sounds like JW but there no weight. Everything sounds like DVD main title screen music. 
 

Really hope they let the guy loose to really flex his muscles, because I think he has the potential to really give us something. 

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I want to see what Gordy can do when scoring music to picture. Freely scoring for a game and scoring to a locked picture is a totally different process, and I imagine if he had the opportunity to write for a movie/TV his music would sound a lot different. Imagine if JW himself had to score a video game; I imagine the result would be somewhat similar.

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The German 7Digital site already has this:
https://de.7digital.com/artist/gordy-haab/release/star-wars-squadrons-original-video-game-soundtrack-13133194

 

I bought it, but can't download it yet, as it is still marked as "pre-order" (although it's already past midnight here). Previews are working though.

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On 8/15/2020 at 7:17 AM, Laserschwert said:

I prefer the live orchestra version:

 

 

I wonder if they've recorded more of the soundtrack while they were at it. 

 

I was about to say I know the game was basically done, they just couldn't release it. The description of the video says that too. I'm sure if they bothered to do the main title and were planning on doing the rest of the score, it would have been recorded. 

 

Never knew they planned on recording the music live, though.

 

As for the soundtrack. I'm starting to listen now. A lot of it sounds like midi.....

 

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7 minutes ago, SilverTrumpet said:

As for the soundtrack. I'm starting to listen now. A lot of it sounds like midi.....

 

 

I don't know if it's the mix or what, but whatever orchestra he's using lately sounds a little artificial at moments, but it's apparently a live orchestra.

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1 minute ago, TheAvengerButton said:

 

I don't know if it's the mix or what, but whatever orchestra he's using lately sounds a little artificial at moments, but it's apparently a live orchestra.

 

That's what we were told, but it does sound more like a mix of both. There are parts that are very clearly real instruments, and then stuff that DOES sound like Rogue Squadron.

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51 minutes ago, TheAvengerButton said:

I don't know if it's the mix or what, but whatever orchestra he's using lately sounds a little artificial at moments, but it's apparently a live orchestra.

 

He uses a lot of virtual instruments in the cheaper scores, since it's much more expensive to record the full scores with the live orchestra. His score for Jedi Temple Challenge for example was mostly virtual instruments; the guy that said it was all live recordings was wrong.

 

The budget for this game was very low, especially considering they primarily used assets from the Battlefront games (ships, outfits, etc.) The game itself is only $40, while most triple-A games are $60-70, so I imagine they didn't have that big of a budget for the music, and weren't even able to contract the LSO.

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45 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

He uses a lot of virtual instruments in the cheaper scores, since it's much more expensive to record the full scores with the live orchestra. His score for Jedi Temple Challenge for example was mostly virtual instruments; the guy that said it was all live recordings was wrong.

 

The budget for this game was very low, especially considering they primarily used assets from the Battlefront games (ships, outfits, etc.) The game itself is only $40, while most triple-A games are $60-70, so I imagine they didn't have that big of a budget for the music, and weren't even able to contract the LSO.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. This sort of thing is the new normal for most scores and has been for a while. I don't expect every original Star Wars score to be able to have been recorded in LSO with a full live orchestra.

 

Also, to the above, I don't think Kiner's scores sound bad. The virtual instruments that permeated the average tv show episode were (IMO) pretty above average. Compare that to, say, the music composed for Resistance. And the live oechestrated stuff he did for the movie and the big important episodes were fantastic.

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2 minutes ago, TheAvengerButton said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. This sort of thing is the new normal for most scores and has been for a while. I don't expect every original Star Wars score to be able to have been recorded in LSO with a full live orchestra.

 

Also, to the above, I don't think Kiner's scores sound bad. The virtual instruments that permeated the average tv show episode were (IMO) pretty above average. Compare that to, say, the music composed for Resistance. And the live oechestrated stuff he did foe the movies and the big important episodes were fsntastic.

 

The live stuff was certainly pretty good IMO. Especially for the last arc of season 7.

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Well, gave it a listen. I was half joking before but I’m pretty sure now they prohibit Haab from using any of JW’s material. 
 

It sounds like a ...parody score. Emulating style with no substance. 

He has to want to use them right? I mean the only logical thing I can think of is that it’s a Disney/ Lucasfilm thing preventing him from doing it. 
 

I know the guy can do it. Very, very frustrating.  
 

What a dreadful missed opportunity here to showcase what could have been a real blended score of original and old ideas. 

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3 minutes ago, The Float said:

Well, gave it a listen. I was half joking before but I’m pretty sure now they prohibit Haab from using any of JW’s material. 
 

It sounds like a ...parody score. Emulating style with no substance. 

He has to want to use them right? I mean the only logical thing I can think of is that it’s a Disney/ Lucasfilm thing preventing him from doing it. 
 

I know the guy can do it. Very, very frustrating.  
 

What a dreadful missed opportunity here to showcase what could have been a real blended score of original and old ideas. 

 

I see this sentiment a lot. In your opinion does a Star Wars score always need to have things like The Force theme, Luke's theme, etc. to be a Star Wars score?

 

Personally, I think composers have to be careful with the JW material because they shouldn't use it too much out of context (though even JW himself will sometimes do the same, but the difference is he wrote those bars). An egregious example would be hearing Leia's theme pkay with Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels long before he met her in Season 2. Weirdly out of context and unnecessary. I can't imagine how characters that have nothing to do with the Force to be flying around to those familiar tones. Better to have original music when dealing with original characters and narrative.

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