Planets should get their own music

[GeoStorm81]

It would be really cool if each planet had its own soundtrack or at least a motif or a variant of the original (such as adding chimes for Eeloo or whooshing sounds for Jool). It would give each planet a lot more character and make rover drives a little less tedious! I know it'd be pretty hard, but somewhere in the future it could be added hopefully.

[AstroWolfie]

that is very cool! I would like to see this in the game.

[Kerbal123_Furry]

YES!

We need more environmental sounds and planet‘s own music to render the "base mood".

[intelliCom]

This is actually a really good idea. Jool would almost certainly have the heaviest, deepest sound. Think large booming drums, tuba, bass. I'd also suggest that whatever instruments are used for Jool itself should be reused for Jool's moons, maybe adding a new instrument here and there.

To take this idea even further, the heavier sounds should be present when Jool is in the sky. If it is not in the sky, then such sounds are either muted or absent entirely.

[Kerbal123_Furry]

Also on Kerbin, music will lighter, played by guitar like Timber Hearth in Outer wilds?

As on Eve, music could be like the nether in Minecraft(eg Concrete Halls, Dead Voxel), deep, low, just like its atmosphere.

Maybe even have some music for special events? Such as aerobraking near kerbin, driving a plane on laythe, or visiting your colonies?

 

[Jen X-1]

I doubt this will be a thing, but for those of you who’ve played Little Big Planet, you might know that the music was interactive.

So as the player progresses through a level, different tracks in the song would play. In the first wilderness level, there would at first be like a harp and a glockenspiel or something, but as the sack person walks into the icy cave, the bass track fades in. Then the icicles start falling while enemies approach, and there’s now a choir and strings playing.

So a possibility is for music similar to this being implemented in KSP2. And I think Simple Rockets 2 has something like that too, where different tracks will play depending on what’s happening to the craft, like flying low above the terrain will make the music seem a bit more stressful. I have no clue whether the OST will include interactive music, but either way, I know Howard Mostrom’s the right guy for the job, and what I’ve heard so far sounds wonderful.

[Nazalassa]

Procedural music!

[salaminho]

Great idea! In that scenario the hellish landscapes of Charr will probably have a heavy metal vibe.

[Wubslin]

 

 

[intelliCom]

1 hour ago, Wubslin said:

 

 

Gustav Holst's planets suite was actually based on the planets as gods and concepts instead of physical locations. Honestly, I don't believe using them as representations of the physical places works anyway. People only do it because it's well-known

[Wubslin]

6 hours ago, intelliCom said:

Gustav Holst's planets suite was actually based on the planets as gods and concepts instead of physical locations. Honestly, I don't believe using them as representations of the physical places works anyway. People only do it because it's well-known

I dunno, that particular piece is about as magnificent as the planet itself is. And have you heard Mars?

[Bej Kerman]

1 minute ago, Wubslin said:

And have you heard Mars?

A bit overdramatic for a planet whose environment isn't much tougher on equipment than the Saharan desert, I feel.

[Nazalassa]

Maybe having small sections of midi music, with different feels, etc. and the game decides which one to play and can dynamically apply "modifiers" so that, for example, a music gets more and more fast as you accelerate towards an escape trajectory...

[intelliCom]

15 hours ago, Nazalassa said:

Maybe having small sections of midi music, with different feels, etc. and the game decides which one to play and can dynamically apply "modifiers" so that, for example, a music gets more and more fast as you accelerate towards an escape trajectory...

I like the idea, but unfortunately change in tempo doesn't always work well, especially when it happens all the time. Also, trying to have music working with how your spacecraft is moving would be quite technical and unreliable, given how unpredictable player input could be. The player could decide to immediately flip their ship 180 degrees mid-burn. Also... MIDI? Like, Doom MIDI? Skrillex-Scary-Monsters-and-Nice-Sprites-as-a-MIDI kind of MIDI?

It's a modern video game. They'd obviously use proper compositions. I'm certainly for dynamic music, but don't fragment that dynamic music into too many conditions and situations.

18 hours ago, Wubslin said:

I dunno, that particular piece is about as magnificent as the planet itself is. And have you heard Mars?

Ah, yes. Mars. A warlike theme for an extremely dead, desolate, quiet and cold planet. How fitting.

I will say again: the planets suite was made for the planets as Gods of their own theming, not as celestial bodies.

Also, Jupiter in that suite doesn't demonstrate Jupiter's whiplash-inducing wind speeds... or crushing air pressure... or brutal gravity... or its extreme radiation belts. If Gustav Holst's 'Jupiter' is an accurate depiction of Jupiter as a place, I'd probably want to go there for a holiday, gliding on its clouds wearing tourist clothes as if I were gliding at Rio de Janeiro.

You know what? Let's do this for all the planets. I'm feeling real petty today and this'll be a fun exercise.

= All Planets in the Gustav Holst Suite Briefly Compared to Celestial Bodies of the Same Name =
Keep in mind that I do like Gustav Holst's planets suite; it played a big part in shaping the film soundtracks of today, and Holst's masterful skill is nothing to sniff at. This is exclusively focusing on the suite's relevance to space.
Gustav Holst himself did not want this association, and I believe the original, mythology-centric association should be the accepted one.

 

Spoiler

• "Mercury, the Winged Messenger" is whimsical and flightful. A heavily cratered planet made of iron sure strikes the "whimsical" nature.
• "Venus, Bringer of Peace" sounds peaceful, kind, loving. I'm not sure what's so peaceful or kind or loving about 400 degree temperatures, volcanic activity, Venusian days lasting hundreds of Earth days, and 94 atmospheres of pressure.
• Earth is not present, as it would not be considered a planet under the mythological definition.
• "Mars, Bringer of War" is quite heavy, booming, and violent. Despite its strength, its orderly; almost militaristic. Unless we're talking about an army of craters, rocks, and hills, I fail to see the relation.
• "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" is quite adventurous, something I'd expect to hear in Lord of the Rings. Venturing into Jupiter, you'd certainly have an adventure in pain with the aforementioned wind speeds, air pressure, and gravity. If you avoid the atmosphere, then you're getting bombarded by lifespan-reducing radiation. Pick your poison.
• "Saturn, Bringer of Old Age" is probably the only case where a relation to space would be present. Its beginning is eerie. Peaceful, sure, but more cold than kind. (I might have bias here since it was used for the intro of Alien) That being said, Saturn itself doesn't really have much relation to how this sounds, unfortunately. Besides, the track later turns into a far less space-related symphony, becoming grand like Jupiter was.
• "Uranus, the Magician" starts mischievous and becomes grand. Given its name, I'm primed to imagine a magic show. I guess if you flew a spacecraft into its atmosphere, it sure would disappear.
• "Neptune, the Mystic". Wise, suspenseful, but with a clear sense of good will. Descending into its atmosphere would be suspenseful as you experience more and more turbulence... then the suspense would turn to panic as your spacecraft gets thrown around in the harsh winds like a dog with a toy.

I'm sorry, but Gustav Holst's suite does not represent the planets as physical places. I wish there were a proper album that does depict space in its true harshness and brutality, so whenever someone says that Gustav Holst's The Planets is about the celestial bodies, I can refer them to said album so they hopefully change their mind.

All that being said, I don't mind the use of the Planets Suite for representing humanity's progress in spaceflight. Jupiter would be great for the launch/landing of Apollo 11. (Yes, a Saturn V rocket, but that starts too eerie.)

Edited November 28, 2022 by intelliCom

[Wubslin]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:16 AM, intelliCom said:

"Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" is quite adventurous, something I'd expect to hear in Lord of the Rings. Venturing into Jupiter, you'd certainly have an adventure in pain with the aforementioned wind speeds, air pressure, and gravity.

According to my precise calculations, please go outside. 

[Minmus Taster]

I really love the idea of planets getting themes but I doubt it will happen in stock for at least a bit. There was a mod for the first game that did this to an extent and it's incredible, just imagine what KSP2 could do if it did something like this at some point. Additionally moons could get something like a small tune, like if you go to Mun you'd hear a bit a Kerbins music but with some new stuff to mix into the new theme (because trying to make a theme for everything down to asteroid moons would be insane).

I'd Imagine Kerbin having a soft-familiar tone until you go to Minmus or go into a distant orbit where it gets distorted and fractured until it's just a sad backround tun mixing into the music for solar orbit which would be a cold unfamiliar tune that gives you a sense of the distances your traveling, like the spaced out notes you hear in the soundtrack for Interstellar. Speaking of interstellar I'd imagine that that would just be a drone to communicate the complete void the player is currently inside.

[whatsEJstandfor]

I refuse to believe that jollity is a word. Miss me with that nonsense, Holst

[Nazalassa]

33 minutes ago, Minmus Taster said:

There was a mod for the first game that did this to an extent and it's incredible

I'm interested, which one is it?

[Minmus Taster]

1 hour ago, Nazalassa said:

I'm interested, which one is it?

 

[poopslayer78]

5 hours ago, Minmus Taster said:

I really love the idea of planets getting themes but I doubt it will happen in stock for at least a bit.

I don't know... there is at least one dedicated composer for KSP2 (can't remember where this was confirmed, but I believe it's been mentioned briefly in a feature video and somewhere on the forums).  With a dedicated composer, it seems feasible that KSP2 could have unique/themed music for each celestial body.  Even if tracks aren't tied to locations, I think it's safe to expect multiple high-quality soundtracks with this game.

[intelliCom]

8 hours ago, Wubslin said:

According to my precise calculations, please go outside. 

Gustav Holst's Planets Suite does not work in representing the celestial bodies. I rest my case.

[Catto]

lapat should have like rainforest music, like birds chirping and bongos

[Minmus Taster]

8 hours ago, Catto said:

lapat should have like rainforest music, like birds chirping and bongos

I doubt Lapat is gonna have anything in common with a rainforest considering what we have seen of it, wouldn't make sense to have just another Kerbin, that would be too easy. It's probably a desert-like planet given this shot of it from the air;

I imagine it having a theme with some elements of Kerbins theme (like made with similar instruments) but with a different vibe, perhaps something somber considering it's probably in the second system which is theorized to be an older one.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Minmus Taster

[Catto]

1 hour ago, Minmus Taster said:

I doubt Lapat is gonna have anything in common with a rainforest considering what we have seen of it, wouldn't make sense to have just another Kerbin, that would be too easy. It's probably a desert-like planet given this shot of it from the air;

I imagine it having a theme with some elements of Kerbins theme (like made with similar instruments) but with a different vibe, perhaps something somber considering it's probably in the second system which is theorized to be an older one.

Oh nononnoo

if it's a desert planet it needs like, middle eastern music

[darthgently]

2 hours ago, Minmus Taster said:

I doubt Lapat is gonna have anything in common with a rainforest considering what we have seen of it, wouldn't make sense to have just another Kerbin, that would be too easy. It's probably a desert-like planet given this shot of it from the air;

I imagine it having a theme with some elements of Kerbins theme (like made with similar instruments) but with a different vibe, perhaps something somber considering it's probably in the second system which is theorized to be an older one.

I thought Lapat was supposed to be younger than Kerbin.  Not sure where I got that.  Like maybe there is cellular life in the oceans, but nothing on land phase

Maybe I'm thinking of the other that stays with "G"

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by darthgently