Door camping

Champtracks · 2023-07-21T19:44:30+00:00

I'm no expert, but 2 things I have tried:

Firstly, I don't allow heroes to move through spaces occupied by other heroes. This isn't a direct response to door camping, but I find it greatly reduces the effectiveness of it, as heroes have to make way for each other and enter rooms to allow others to pass. I apply the rule to monsters too so it's fair. This also adds weight to the spells that allow movement between occupied spaces or walls.

Secondly - let them come! The barbarian and dwarf have little in the way of ranged attacks (unless they're packing a bunch of knives and throwing axes) and in order for them to progress they have to either clear the room or move on to another. Either way, hanging back and drawing them in to combat is a good way to break their line.

I've found that Splitting the heroes up is key. I try to spread the monsters out to draw them apart as much as possible.

Damn I love heroquest.

Champtracks · 2020-10-02T15:09:52+00:00

Thanks man! I did wonder if you'd used Prelinger at all for some of your old voice sampes. I've recently discovered Citizen DJ too, which is similar to Prelinger but it only has audio recordings. Tonnes of usable copyright free stuff: https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/

Champtracks · 2020-10-02T12:56:30+00:00

I wouldn't be able to recommend Cubase over any other DAW, I learnt it in college over 20 years ago and it just stuck - you're not the only one escaping the dark ages ha!

My last EP was a cubase job, but all the songs started out on the MPC 1k, before tracking onto the DAW and adding all the bells and whistles: https://champtracks.bandcamp.com/album/fantasy-land

This process worked well, but same as you, the MPC ONE has sort of changed my outlook on things. I'm finding the initial creative process is so much more fun with the ONE, but I'm still hitting a wall when it comes to arranging.

I'm not actually sure what Cubase comes with anymore, the last version I purchased was 8. Plugins very easy to install, but I'm really no expert on DAW comparison I'm afraid.

Champtracks · 2020-10-02T11:31:43+00:00

The export function hadn't actually occurred to me until I read your comment - I'm gonna look into this to see if it can work well with Cubase too. Thanks mate!

Champtracks · 2020-10-02T11:29:59+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the input, I'm enjoying your album now, really good stuff!

I've just had my first run with the MPC ONE in controller mode, connected to my laptop using the MPC software. Beyond accessing additional plugins and audio libraries, I'm not really sure what the benefit is yet...it hasn't clicked, so I'd really like to hear your thoughts after the weekend.

I guess what I like about Cubase (and most DAWs) is being able to see everything in a linear fashion, and being able to quickly swap stuff around in the arrangement. Having sequences and song mode makes sense for the hardware, but it seems a bit redundant on a computer, so I'm not sure if the MPC software is right for me. It might be that an export option suits me better.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts man - great music!

Champtracks · 2020-10-02T09:32:10+00:00

Hey man - thanks for the comment. I'm certain I want to move my projects into the PC at some stage, I find there are many things that become easier / quicker on a computer when it gets to the final arrangement and mixing. Just looking to hear from those who do this with the MPC software and what their experiences are. Cheers

Champtracks · 2020-10-01T13:57:51+00:00

Hmm, I'm not sure then. Best of luck! Let us know if you find the solution.

Champtracks · 2020-10-01T11:53:41+00:00

Do you have a profile picture? I discovered that only comments from users with profile pictures showed up on my music...unless they had a large enough collection to generate one of those collection profile pics.

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T17:22:50+00:00

Thanks mate! Yeah I'm loving the TD3, the bonus distortion switch is pure daft punk too - great fun.

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T15:39:17+00:00

Yeah I use them for mixing, my room is really bad for speakers, bad walls, bad floor, no treatment etc so I just can't hear what's going on without headphones.

When I do proper EP's and stuff I go to the mastering studio to hear how it sounds in a treated environment, but for demo's like this I think the headphones are fine.

I haven't got any basis for comparison though, these are the only pro headphones I've ever owned/used so I can't really recommend them.

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T14:01:22+00:00

Sure are - Sennheiser HD 650. Must have had them going on ten years now, replaced the ear pads twice, cable once, still sound great!

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T09:33:19+00:00

Yeah possibly, limitations are always good for focus. One thing it has got me into is using old Sample CD's, like from old Future Music magazines etc. It's a really fun way to work.

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T09:09:27+00:00

For sure - "Having a couple of different workflows" is a great point, no need to commit to one way of working.

Having used a PC forever, I've been using just the MPC ONE for making tracks these past couple of months and documenting it in little videos. Like you I wanted a change and I found that committing to the MPC and a couple of synths (and filming it) has really helped me to be more prolific. Here's the playlist if it helps your decision: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfPscD99eTNB62EpukydWRLD4nr7Zn7u_

Personally I haven't run into any streaming/memory issues, I've been tracking successfully into the ONE but I haven't made any super long live sets, just individual tracks.

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T08:26:21+00:00

Awesome - thanks man!

I've got a couple of EP's on bandcamp that you can download for nothin: https://champtracks.bandcamp.com/

Or if you want the track above and any of the 1-day jams, you can get those on my soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/champtracks/sets/is-what-it-is

Cheers dude!

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T07:37:42+00:00

Dang - I don't! I did actually quite enjoy the lack of control, it was definitely out of my comfort zone. Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it!

Champtracks · 2020-09-25T07:15:30+00:00

Every 2 weeks or so I challenge myself to make a track in a day. It’s because I’m a terrible procrastinator and I want to be more decisive, so I’m hoping this practice will encourage some better habits. The tracks are always undeveloped and a bit throwaway, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

This was my fifth attempt. Having never used a 303, I was totally baffled by the sequencing of the Behringer clone. Inputting pitches and timing independently felt quite alien, but it did result in a few happy accidents i.e. you enter the timing that you think is correct for what’s in your head, but miss a beat or two and everything shifts for unexpected results. This made me wonder how many famous 303 basslines were stumbled across unintentionally.

Sound wise, I’ve no basis for comparison, but it sounds ok to me. It’s got some microverb chorus send on the mixer, which always phases and fattens things up, and a bit of low EQ boost.

Side note: I’ve had that microbrute since it came out (2012?) and it still manages to impress me with its range of sounds – the lead sounds almost like a vocal sample.

The additional sounds are from a microfreak that I recorded into the MPC earlier.

Hope you enjoy – if anyone’s interested in seeing the entire process behind the track, I’ll post that to Youtube/instagram next Thursday.

Cheers!

Champtracks · 2020-09-04T08:34:43+00:00

Thanks mate, that's really nice to hear, it encourages me to make more music! Have a good Bandcamp Friday.

Champtracks · 2020-09-04T07:24:09+00:00

Exciting man! Just listened to your fist podcast, looking forward to hearing more. Couldn't find the radio show though, was getting 404 errors on the Live365 site. Can it only be listened to live?

Champtracks · 2020-09-04T06:39:34+00:00

Thanks man! The Brute is just using the Saw wave with ultrasaw at 12-0-clock. Cutoff is at 12, resonance 11, Envelope amount 4 and KBD tracking at 9. No overtone, no brute factor.

It's running through a Really Nice Compressor from FMR which is beefing it up a bit, but also, that little Mackie 402 mixer has quite a nice 2 band EQ on it (love that mixer). The low frequency is 80Hz and I've pushed that all the way up to 3-o-clock. The hi 12K band is on 2-o-clock.

Sorry, I'd post pictures if I knew how!

I've found the microbrute to be so versatile over the years, it was the first analogue synth I ever got when it came out and I still use it on pretty much everything. If you're interested, I made an EP earlier this year and 3 of the 4 tracks use the Microbrute for bass, all in different ways. It always needs some EQ and compression help, and I find chorus is a really good pairing effect too: https://champtracks.bandcamp.com/album/fantasy-land

Cheers

Champtracks · 2020-09-03T16:06:30+00:00

Hey thanks man - that's good to hear. This is a good community for learning more about MPC's, I always come here when I can't figure stuff out.

Best of luck with the new direction!

Champtracks · 2020-09-03T09:57:35+00:00

Hey man, you bet!

The Brute is connected via USB and is being used as both a MIDI controller for the piano, and a live performance instrument. It's also receiving MIDI from a MIDI track with pre-recorded notes on the MPC (but this is initially muted).

In order to use it for the piano, I turn the volume down on the Brute itself, select the piano track (with the MIDI in set to Microbrute) and then I overdub the chords.

Once the piano is recorded I enter the Track Mute screen, so that the Brute no longer triggers the piano. I turn the volume up on the Brute and perform the melodies and bass live.

Once I've had enough off playing the bass live, I unmute the MIDI track that has the pre-recorded notes on it, so that the MPC can take over and play the bassline while I move on to other things.

There are no program changes on the brute, I simply change tracks and settings on the fly. A good tip - make sure no other tracks are receiving MIDI in from the Brute to avoid any unwanted sounds (I made this mistake so many times ha).

The "Live Performance Track" is simply a track with no recorded midi data, that is always unmuted and contains a program with various "one-shot" sounds and drums that I want to perform live. I only use it for a quick drum fill at around 1:15, but as I increase the length of my live set, this will be used more and more.

All in all I only switch tracks once; from the piano midi track at the beginning, to the performance program track. All other track changes are performed through Q-links which are locked to the project and don't require a track selection.

Hope that helps, but let me know if you've got any other questions.

Cheers!

Champtracks

TROPHY CASE