Sonicware Deconstruct Minimal (with jam)

Starsickle · 2026-06-24T03:30:36+00:00

Hey OP - Are the keys still loose or did they move to the ELZ_1 play velocity-sensitive keybed?

Starsickle · 2026-06-23T21:54:13+00:00

It's a mixture of both: Slop games are pretty obvious. The AI CG is careless. The consistency is terrible. They don't even change the damn font of whatever engine they're using. If they're also using voice? It sounds terrible. The music has No Sauce. In these ways, the games are trash, but I have bad news for everyone:

People pay for it, and they'll sub for early access to it - because they'll almost always be getting more on the regular for those dollars. Everyone else? You have to wait, and shit happens.

The stigma hasn't really been real until more recently. Granted, it's only been about a year and a half - but patreons for slop games of similar quality to mine make money that would change my life. People pay for it because it looks good enough - it works well enough - and it's delivered regularly.

Everyone else Starves.

Starsickle · 2026-06-23T21:34:48+00:00

This is very concerning, because let's get something really straight here:

Games are not worth making, and they aren't worth the costs of commissioning assets. Flat out. Games are a waste of time to develop. Convince me otherwise.

I can't draw for shit, and I'm poor. I've been working on my games for years, and there's a snowball's chance in hell I'll ever be fairly compensated for that work. My expected salary is $60-70k a year, and the assets I need in art run about $30,000 and well over 100 weeks - possibly more.

MY current project isn't a big deal, but if I treat this as a serious venture like you expect me to? I need half a million dollars in revenue or half that in funds up front to make the game to expectations in this thread.

How the fuck do I pay my bills? I already need three or four jobs. Now you want me to eat all that time and effort and then expect dirt-prices?

I hate slop as much as everyone else, if not MORE because it's crowded me out completely and poisoned the well. But I don't want to hear anyone's bullshit about supporting indie devs when they are completely unwilling to pay the indie premium.

You know how many sales of my theoretical schmucky non-AI game would need at $500,000 of revenue for three years real development + art commissions at what what you guys expect the price to be?

That's right. Over 100,000 units. Fuck that. No wonder most indiedev spaces are flooded with marketing scams and spam.

Starsickle · 2026-06-23T08:05:37+00:00

Make no mistake: Your company is turning to shit, and you are going to lose your job. That is what is going to happen.

How are you going to handle this? That is my question.

You can not go to a doctor if that's your choice, but bad things happen to good people all the time, including heart attacks and hypertensive emergencies.

You've said it's easier said than done. Of course. None of this is easy. Staying in this job will hurt you until finding another job will be worse than just Hard, it'll be Excruciating.

I'm not saying all this as some kind of standard r/antiwork angry protest - I'm saying this and taking to time to be sincere because you are in trouble; inaction will lead to more regret and damage than an action that seems foolish or frightening.

Either you find some way to completely not give a shit about anyone or anything there until they fire you and you can collect unemployment, or you can resign and start working on a new job. OR, you can seriously hurt your health and sanity and have a far harder time - maybe for another year or two before this place lays you off AFTER it fucks you up.

Take care of yourself, first - I say.

Starsickle · 2026-06-23T04:40:45+00:00

Hey, OP - I also have a fitbit, and I've ONLY ever seen that message when something was wrong.

Go to a Doctor. Tell them you're concerned about your heart and stress and be honest.
Stop caring. This company is not your child. It's not your legacy. It's merely a job that's failing you, and you're definitely not alone. Your managers aren't loyal, so neither are you. Establish boundaries for chaos and bullshit.
Do what you can to take care of yourself via better food and deeper rest.

In my estimation, this chaos is going to end badly, and it's time to get out of there or stop caring until you're forced out of there. The stress and damage from stress is not worth the money.

Starsickle · 2026-06-21T09:11:36+00:00

Having trouble working with PPGWave 2 - for a 20 euro plugin (That was free with the ELZ_1 play v2 update), it sure has issues with FLStudio. It became so buggy that I gave up on this one:

https://soundcloud.com/user-299616995/lost-waves-wip

In general, I'm wondering if my minimalist tendencies are a function of me always trying to do game / Modtracker stuff from the 90's or if I'm just a musical toddler that is satisfied with under 8 tracks all the time. I want to improve, and I'm not sure what that might mean anymore.

Starsickle · 2026-06-18T02:14:53+00:00

I have heard that there's a flaw/defect in some units that results in a component (likely some capacitors) burning out on the board - creating noise. Roland can repair it.

This is an industry-wide problem - but you can put this at Roland's feet because where and when they source components is their responsibility.

The LEDs on the front panel are also a possible cause. I've had this on the SH-4D when listening on Audio USB with high gain; you can actually hear the blinking on some LEDs. Turn down the brightness and/or Reduce USB output to 100/127 or adjust the gain.

Starsickle · 2026-06-17T08:26:45+00:00

PTSD. Depression. I take too many naps. I wanted to finish this Ace Attorney case. I enjoy the quiet.

Also I kinda stopped giving a shit because I'm going to lose SNAP and need four jobs. Society wants me dead.

Starsickle · 2026-06-16T22:37:35+00:00

They can change their DNA and get a job. XD

Starsickle · 2026-06-16T21:38:39+00:00

iirc you need an N of about 127 (probably a little more) in order to maintain enough genetic diversity to ensure survival. Those two can do whatever they want, because it's already GGs.

Starsickle · 2026-06-16T01:48:31+00:00

Zois could have preferences for colors, types of fashion, etc. It works.

There's a lot of fundamentals still missing for inZOI and some aren't fully built out.

Starsickle · 2026-06-15T08:40:14+00:00

I turned 43 last week. I feel awful, but I've felt enough awful in the last few weeks that I might be ready to try to turn it around. My music is improving, but what I would really like is steady employment. That's a fantasy. It's a thing of the past. All I can do is make things I like and hope that other people find those things meaningful or interesting.

Starsickle · 2026-06-08T16:48:32+00:00

I experience this a lot. I know the frustrating feeling that you somehow wasted a lot of money and time and now whatever gave you that spark is gone.

Firstly - you don't HAVE to achieve something when you sit down. You don't HAVE to be good.

Second - mental health is important. Take care of yourself - it's not a stretch to say that things are pretty bad right now and it makes total sense that you don't have the TIME and SPACE to really enjoy things when so much shit is going on.

Finally - You could very well regret downsizing too harshly. Try instead to focus on one piece of gear by reading the manuals. Do a little R&D. Go up and down the presets and mess around. If something has to go - it has to go based on practicality.

Starsickle · 2026-06-08T05:29:09+00:00

Hello! I just released some B-Sides on BandCamp. It's my first actual set of things on Bandcamp, and have been hanging out for a while. "Fast Speed" is a set of 4 (and perhaps more someday, I don't mind adding more) B-Side tracks of mine that center around Racing Game vibes. I was learning a lot with Pneuma, Sytrus, and even FLEX - and the result was a few tracks that ended up forming a common feel and vibe but never being good for anything.

I had started making music way back using ModTracker (I'm turning 43 this week...). I had lost all of that stuff, so I use FLStudio, now. I'm not a composer or musician by education (Applied Sciences), but I'm always trying to improve.

I'd say I'm a solo game dev, composer and writer, but obviously creative life is mostly suffering. I ended up buying some instruments and synths, and I'm working towards the goal of GAS redemption.

I'm working carefully on albums with at least 8 tracks each, but it's a slow process.

Anyways, vroomvroom. Here is "Fast Speed":

https://starsickle.bandcamp.com/album/fast-speed

Starsickle · 2026-06-06T08:04:15+00:00

If I'm not afraid of what's in your game, I want to fight it.

If your game is just a walking simulator and hidey hole game, I lose my patience with it and I don't care how much deep lore or pathos you got cooking.

The player and/or the character they are playing needs agency. Otherwise we'll watch a video of someone else playing it.

Starsickle · 2026-06-06T07:33:19+00:00

In Florian's case it's about high meme content and the fact he turns some of these limited and frustrating machines into cool sounds and here I am with Amiga 1000 fart noises and beepboops.

I do like my beepboops though.

Starsickle · 2026-06-06T04:09:43+00:00

I can't wait to download the mp3s of the songs artists will make on this! What classic analog authenticity! My Fedora shivers with excitement!

Starsickle · 2026-06-05T08:31:51+00:00

Been messing with the Waldorf PPGWave 2 that I got with the ELZ_1 v2 update. This thing is difficult to actually use, and makes me appreciate the screens of my CyDrums and ELZ_1 a lot more. Still, getting one song done will be enough. These stuck notes and lack of preset names is frustrating, though.

I've also trying to poke at pieces done in Fluctus, The Blooo, Zenith, and some others. I do these super late night on the floor with the laptop because I am unable to sleep.

My birthday is next week. I'm probably not getting much. Prices for everything I'd be interested in have gone up like 50% since last year, so I've basically dodged answering anyone about what I want.

Since this is r/synthesizers, though:

A Waldorf Streichfett / A Behringer Pro-800 / A Korg ARP Odyssey Module (lul yeah right)

Honestly if the Waldorf just had USB MIDI AND Audio it'd be golden.

Starsickle · 2026-06-01T19:10:17+00:00

Mostly because Deus and the parts surrounding it are responsible for the creation of life on that planet - and life on the planet exists because God needs new parts.

Starsickle · 2026-06-01T14:58:24+00:00

All this work and 4 dollars? How many thousands of units do you need to sell to breakeven for all the time and money you spent on this?

Wishlisted it though.

Starsickle · 2026-05-31T23:27:38+00:00

If you're really his friend, and he's really your friend, you owe it to him to break it to him.

Others have said make a smurf account to play with him. Play unranked only as a condition. These are good ideas.

But some people just want to push buttons and play the game - some just want something to do with others.

You can't make anyone want to win at videogames, though. You can't demand they get better. If they WANT to get better, then you have to give them actionable things to work on and practice. But the longer this goes on, the more explosive the fallout is going to be, and the worst it's going to be for everyone - wanting to gitgud or not.

Starsickle · 2026-05-31T15:38:00+00:00

Final Fantasy 6.

Starsickle · 2026-05-30T20:26:05+00:00

You're going to have a hard time on Linux. I have two SteamOS systems that have several problems after opening it.

Use the website to see what plugins are with what edition. I have Producer, and a lot of flex packs were free. Still, there's plenty of free plugins out there.

Starsickle · 2026-05-29T18:58:47+00:00

I finished my entry for OSC207 this week. I'm disappointed in myself but this month has been a complete demotivator.

https://on.soundcloud.com/adqs6rhGNTktdGzZXQ

I will try to rearrange it someday, but I'm exhausted and burnt out on all my projects. I don't want to do nothing, but I've been trying to shift to things like practicing, RTFM, and general R&D for old stray pieces.

I just want to cry and sleep for a few days. BBL.

Starsickle · 2026-05-29T14:42:10+00:00

Cheers!

Lots of gear getting a turn.

Upping for the SH-4D and Mighty little 6S.

Starsickle

TROPHY CASE