Video audio output is usually a pretty straightforward thing, though Doom Eternal & # 39; s The OST 59 track found itself troubled in controversy as the game's creator and publisher Bethesda debated the quality and composition of a large portion of the figure.
The story begins last month, with the release of the album (after some delay) only for fans to begin to wonder why so many of the tracks sound "flat" compared to the brutal sounding collision on the game's powerful line. Designer Mick Gordon quickly cut himself off from this:
His insulting words about the soundtrack of the game tracked back to January, when he commented on the fan's YouTube cover: "Fun Fact: All those decisions of" stupid time signature "are the result of a sales person marketing the track together without any musical knowledge.
Fan complaints have erupted for several weeks, stemming from a "direct and personal attack" on the soundtrack by singer Chad Mossholder, the person featured on the track that fans have complained about.
It comes to the protection of Mossholder, and the whole process behind the creation of the soundtrack, id & # 39; s Marty Stratton, lead designer on Eternal Judgment, today wrote a long a statement on Reddit explaining the id side of the story, and giving their reasons why Gordon's contribution to the soundtrack is limited.
It's a shocking report, claiming that the audio release should have been delayed many times due to Gordon's failure to deliver his music on time, that Gordon and Mosoldold had agreed to work with the sound recorder to ensure more tracks could be included, and that while Gordon was concerned that Mossholder was called "his composer", he was actually included "as a painter. contributor "to help fans distinguish between tracks submitted by Gordon and those performed in-house.
Here is the role that covers some of the most important things:
At E3 last year, we announced that the OST would be included with the game version of DOOM Eternal Collector & # 39; s Edition (CE). At that time we didn't have Mick under the OST contract and due to the constant problems getting the music we needed for the game, we didn't want to inconvenience that time. After discussions with Mick in January of this year, we reached a general agreement on Mick's goals to deliver OST in early March – in time to meet consumer commitments for installing digital OST with DoOM Eternal CE upon launch. The terms of the OST agreement with Mick were similar to the DoOM (2016) agreement in that they required him to deliver at least 12 tracks, but add bonus payouts on time delivery. The agreement also gives him complete creative control of what he presents.
On February 24, Mick tried to communicate that he and his team were going well on contract terms but there was more work involved than expected, with much content being required, and that while developing, it was taking longer than expected. He apologized and asked to “actually” be given another four weeks for the compilation. He also said that overtime would allow him to provide more than 30 tracks and a performance time of more than two hours – which includes all the music from the game, arranged in audio format and since he felt it would be good to represent the school in the best possible way.
Mick's request was approved, allowing for a much longer extension of about six weeks – with a new final deadline in mid-April. In that connection, we noted our understanding of him who needed more time to make sure the OST met his quality bar, and even submitted a delivery bonus payment on time to coincide with the new days so he could get full compensation, which he would do. In early March, we announced via Twitter that the OST component in DOOM Eternal CE is delayed and will no longer be available as originally intended.
It is important to note now that we are not only disappointed to introduce OST at the launch of CE, we need to keep in mind consumer protection laws in many countries that allow consumers to seek full refunds on a product if the product is not shipped or about its availability date announced. However, delivery in mid-April would have allowed us to meet our customer commitment while also allowing Mick the time he requested.
When we arrived in April, we grew increasingly worried that Mick was bringing OST to us on time. Personally I asked our Lead Audio Designer at id, Chad, to start working on the types of track ids – a back up system if Mick can't deliver on time. To complete this, Chad will need to capture all the music as Mick has delivered the show, organized the pieces together into tracks, and edited those tracks in complete OST.
It is important to understand that there is a difference between music mixed into a game and music mixed into the OST. Several people have noticed this difference when looking at waveforms but don't understand why there is a difference. When the track looks "subtle" or like a bar, where the heavier ups and downs of the dynamic list are cut, how does this get the music from Mick to be included in the game – in pieces previously mixed and pre-compressed by him. Those pieces of music are not released and then they go into our audio system and are integrated in real time as you play the game.
Alternatively, when mixing and optimizing OST, Mick starts with his source material (which we can access) and re-mixes the OST to make sure the top and index gaps are not cut – as can be seen in his 12 OST tracks. All of this is worth noting because Chad had mixed and pre-pressed game pieces from Mick to work with in editing the track versions. He simply edited the same music you hear in the game to create a wider OST – even though some edits required a slight adjustment of the volume to prevent further cuts.
Stratton closes his post saying that the id will not cooperate with Gordon Doom Eternal & # 39; s an upcoming DLC, while wishing him well but:
As for the future, we are now in a position to move forward and will not work with Mick on the DLC we currently have in production. As I mentioned, his music is amazing, he is an extraordinary talent, and I hope he receives many awards for his contribution to DoOM's End of the Year.
I'm as disappointed as anyone is now, but as we have so many times before, we adapt to changing circumstances and follow completely different and talented artists in the industry with whom to work. Our team thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful collaboration and we know that Mick will continue to entertain fans for many years to come.
How much confusion.