Intro - Ryderofthelines

I gladly present, Intro, a heavily music synced high speed track, started back in October-ish time
Massive thanks to:
Raf for recording and some editing
Conun for kramual inspiration
Dap for kramual help

Please turn the volume up and view in full screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhHXPcDJSao&feature=youtu.be

that was lovely

That was so cool. Awesome concept done really, really well.

loved it. Watching again now!

I'm glad you made this track. I've watched it several times by now. To me, it's the closest thing to a dance in Line Rider, so far. I'm also happy you played around with the concept of one main horizontal line. It's an idea I had that I wasn't sure how to execute.

We're entering an unexplored territory of highly synced tracks, and as we continue experimenting, we ought to talk about the details, so when I (and a musician/choreo friend) return with (constructive) criticism that may seem like ripping the track to shreds, please don't be discouraged

That was a bloody ripper of a track

I actually kind of had a similar idea with this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_xfhCWFVN0, but I'm pretty sure i wouldn't have been able to pull it off as well as you did.

it's a wow man,i really like it, the concept of staying with the horizontal line, and the wavy parts made me wonder what the shape of the song stretched out would look like in comparison.

really well done, certainly make me want to do a sync track, looks fun when they are finished.

Oh, the possibilities. I just get so excited about all sorts of ideas that I've had with regards to track-syncing. It looks so cool when executed well. Really amazing stuff and a great milestone in LR history in my opinion. Tracks like WOT and this are going to inspire people to do more of this (I hope!). I want mooaaaar!

I'm making a synced track aswell and there's 10 seconds of... exactly this ._.
nevertheless, some movements were really awesome like the mindfuck wave at about 1:11

Rabid actually previously inspired me to make a sync track which I'm already well along the way through. This inspired me so much.

I'm so honoured to have helped you, you did an exceptional job with the kramual section. Really, I could not have possibly done it better myself.

I'm excited to be doing this, and also even more excited about the foundation you have helped lay for what could be the future of this game. I might send you the frame-by-frame schedule I've written up for my idea so far, you probably have lots of ideas I could use for help.

On a side not, VERY technical stuff in there stood out which I didn't expect at all from you. Especially how much control you have of his rotation, and the manuals you threw in there. This kind of technique is something I, personally, find very enjoyable to see in a track presented in this way.

That was really sweggy

Summoning wrote:that was lovely

<3

Opal Rider wrote:That was so cool. Awesome concept done really, really well.

Thank you!

Conundrumer wrote:I'm glad you made this track. I've watched it several times by now. To me, it's the closest thing to a dance in Line Rider, so far. I'm also happy you played around with the concept of one main horizontal line. It's an idea I had that I wasn't sure how to execute.

We're entering an unexplored territory of highly synced tracks, and as we continue experimenting, we ought to talk about the details, so when I (and a musician/choreo friend) return with (constructive) criticism that may seem like ripping the track to shreds, please don't be discouraged

I take that as a huge compliment and look forward to hearing how poorly I did (seriously looking forward to your comment)

Yobanjojoe wrote:That was a bloody ripper of a track

I actually kind of had a similar idea with this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_xfhCWFVN0, but I'm pretty sure i wouldn't have been able to pull it off as well as you did.

Thanks, and sure you can! If even I can, anyone can.

Getthim wrote:it's a wow man,i really like it, the concept of staying with the horizontal line, and the wavy parts made me wonder what the shape of the song stretched out would look like in comparison.

really well done, certainly make me want to do a sync track, looks fun when they are finished.

I thoroughly enjoy syncing tracks, It makes it more entertaining for me!

Z_N-Freak wrote:I want mooaaaar!

You ask and you shall recieve.

Pawel3 wrote:I'm making a synced track aswell and there's 10 seconds of... exactly this ._.
nevertheless, some movements were really awesome like the mindfuck wave at about 1:11

I look forward to it! And yes those were my favorite moments too!

Dapianokid wrote:Rabid actually previously inspired me to make a sync track which I'm already well along the way through. This inspired me so much.

I'm so honoured to have helped you, you did an exceptional job with the kramual section. Really, I could not have possibly done it better myself.

I'm excited to be doing this, and also even more excited about the foundation you have helped lay for what could be the future of this game. I might send you the frame-by-frame schedule I've written up for my idea so far, you probably have lots of ideas I could use for help.

On a side not, VERY technical stuff in there stood out which I didn't expect at all from you. Especially how much control you have of his rotation, and the manuals you threw in there. This kind of technique is something I, personally, find very enjoyable to see in a track presented in this way.

I'm glad it inspired you, love to see that! And oh shush you could've done better, and the rotation was key in this track, thanks for the compliments!

gaoyubao wrote:That was really sweggy

sweg

you have such sweck

I could tell how precisely planned this rotation was. IMO this was far more skilled than I can do :3

Awesome concept done awesomely well. The perfect blend of artistry and high-level execution. Despite its simplicity, this is arguably one of my favorite tracks I've seen in a long time.

Also I have no idea when kramual stuff got so popular, tbh I really don't see the appeal of it

It's really cool how you did this, the massive X line really gave a sweet effect to the track and some of the moves you made were very well done.

I'm sure Conun will say enough about what could be better about this track, but I'd like to say a few things as well.
- You should've used the X line much more. It was cool but other than Bosh landing on it every now and then it was just there. I liked the misdirection at 1:26, but I was honestly waiting for those things to happen since the start Could've used some more of that. Also, you could've used the line as granuals as well, and maybe landed on it in such a way that it created a one-lined kramual? Just thinking out loud here, but I feel like the X line had much more potential.
- In addition, after the drop it lacked tension and coherence. It was mostly just some doodling with syncs every now and then. Try to listen to the bigger picture of the song instead of the loose parts of it. It's the general feel the song gives you want to sync tracks to (at least, in this case) and not the separate moments (although syncing to those moments can give a powerful extra which in turn adds to the syncing to the bigger picture). Becoming better at this takes practice, so please keep experimenting with this kind of stuff

That said, I love how you express your creativity and the fact that you came up with an idea like this deserves my respect (as if you didn't have it already). This track was an absolute joy to watch. Glad to have you in the clan.

Rafael wrote:It's really cool how you did this, the massive X line really gave a sweet effect to the track and some of the moves you made were very well done.

I'm sure Conun will say enough about what could be better about this track, but I'd like to say a few things as well.
- You should've used the X line much more. It was cool but other than Bosh landing on it every now and then it was just there. I liked the misdirection at 1:26, but I was honestly waiting for those things to happen since the start Could've used some more of that. Also, you could've used the line as granuals as well, and maybe landed on it in such a way that it created a one-lined kramual? Just thinking out loud here, but I feel like the X line had much more potential.
- In addition, after the drop it lacked tension and coherence. It was mostly just some doodling with syncs every now and then. Try to listen to the bigger picture of the song instead of the loose parts of it. It's the general feel the song gives you want to sync tracks to (at least, in this case) and not the separate moments (although syncing to those moments can give a powerful extra which in turn adds to the syncing to the bigger picture). Becoming better at this takes practice, so please keep experimenting with this kind of stuff

That said, I love how you express your creativity and the fact that you came up with an idea like this deserves my respect (as if you didn't have it already). This track was an absolutely joy to watch. Glad to have you in the clan.

Hey guys! I'm... the "friend" that Conundrumer mentioned! He suggested I create an account and implied that I might have interesting criticism since I am not really a part of this community, as in I do not have an extensive background in Line Rider. Sorry beforehand... I am an asshole 8^) Also, :rabid: ???????

I agree with a lot of Rafael's points already, but I guess I want to possibly state them a little differently or provide a different perspective and possibly add my own points as well.

Most of the beats seemed liked they hit on time, but they didn't match the feel of the song, which is where the bigger picture would come in. Considering the feeling conveyed by the song at the times where you want to match the hits of the song would help people really feel like the animation is in sync with the music, more than just by rhythm.
Even though looking at the bigger picture is important, details are obviously still important. Maybe a better way to look at details is by phrasing, as opposed to just the beats.

Additionally, I think it is super smooth! Which is good and bad in a way. It's so smooth that it doesn't feel like he's moving sometimes when nothing is around him, which matches when the music is less active, which can be good or bad depending on opinion. But also, sometimes, it's so smooth that it adds to the fact that the hits aren't as heavy when I think they were meant to be.

But in general, this is quite awesome and I have no idea how you people make these things :')

I love to hear these comments thanks guys! I hope to improve! and excpect more music synchronized stuff from me in the future!

The track so dandy

It made me smile.

I just kept waiting for the bass in the song to see what would happen next. Everything just seemed so natural.

Makes me proud

So many awesome ideas in LR lately. Love it.

Thanks everyone!

Bush wrote:Makes me proud

That made me proud

Somehow I missed this. Really fun and impressive concept which you executed in stellar fashion. Props. I'm excited to see more from you.

SO YOU THOUGHT THIS TRACK WAS GOOD WAIT TILL I'M DONE WITH IT LET'S RIP THIS THING TO SHREDS

actually jk let's start with the stuff that's awesome
1) the idea for the start. the falling and then slowly changing the angle of the line on the bass drum hits - brilliant!
2) one long horizontal line for the rest of the track, and playing around with it. this is what makes this track so celebrated and memorable.
3) a good understanding that not everything has to sync exactly, and the song is more of a starting point for a good sync than a hard and fast rule.
4) fearlessness of high speeds and the mindset that highspeed does not have to be intense (blue champion was the first track to realize this but I hadn't seen it in a long time until this track)
5) fearlessness of minimalism. You're not afraid to have 2-3 seconds where nothing happens, if it matches the music. I've seen thousands of tracks where there is great intense stuff where the music is intense, but then they just can't keep things minimal when the music calls for it (Gone and Eden 2 to name a couple off the top of my head) because it feels like a second with nothing happening is an eon. This track doesn't have stuff as intense as those tracks but most would probably agree (if I'm right?) that the syncing is better on this track.
5) lack of a stall. fits the music and leaves us all hanging, which is great.
6) the editing is excellent - the zoom level is bold and really works, and the lack of titles and credits is also really striking and really makes the whole thing mesmerising.

Okay now time to rip it to shreds! JK but here is a big thing that bugged me:
The song is clearly divided into sections. 0:00-0:21 (just guitar), 0:21-0:38 (bass drum hits), 0:38-0:59 (main beat), 0:59-1:17 (breakdown section), 1:17-1:38 (vocals), 1:38-2:01 (outro). Why doesn;t the track follow these sections? Maybe this was intentional, to avoid the omnitrack vibe, but there are clear sections of the track that just don't line up with the music. The fall at 0:07-0:32, flippy section 0:33-0:59, the integration section / secondary line 0:59-1:21, the kramual section 1:21-1:28, the halfway-between-flippy-and-integration 1:28-1:38, and precisely synced section 1:38-2:01 (which actually lines up) It's my opinion that this track would have been tons better if the sections in the music lined up with the sections in the track, at least more so.

Now I'll go through the track step by step and comment on stuff:
0:00-0:20 - totally with you this part, syncing up with the bass, quite nice. very simple, very effective.
0:20-0:29 - felt like the first few syncs here were too close together, 0:28 was the first time I was like "ah yeah, now it looks right"
0:30-0:33 - this bit felt awkward. I could tell it was like "ahhh going too fast must get into straight line" but I think it could have been better handled starting back at 0:20, maybe just having the angle change more than what it did each time.
0:33-0:38 - then this part feels a little like killing time, haha. Like, not sure what to do until the beat gets going.
0:38-0:58 - this part was really nice, the flippies fit the music nicely without overdoing the amount of stuff happening. Buuuut some of it felt a little odd. I liked the parts when you had bass drum hits with longer lines that popped out of the main line, or tumbling on the main line itself, and short gravity spurts on the snare hits, and I think it would have been nice to keep that more consistent - not as in, do that for every beat (I like the sometimes-doing-it thing you have going) but, don't do stuff that's not on a beat, and don't do gravity spurts on a bass drum hit or single little lines on a snare hit. For example, at 0:37-0:40 I am actually not sure at all what you are syncing to, it seems kind of random. 0:40-0:47 is excellent IMO, doesn't sync with everything but it syncs with enough that we have a great mix of precision, variety, and unpredictability. I probably would have liked this section more if it had all stayed close to the line though and then later on we get the bigger heights - 0:48 feels somewhat sudden / out of place. I liked 0:49-0:52 (except 0:50 felt a little awkward, syncing a snare hit with a "bass drum" line) but then the big curves all of a sudden at 0:53 also seemed awkward, especially since that is the first time we've really seen them and nothing really happened in the music that was new. Save these things for later!
0:54-0:59 is really disappointing because it has this super cool ending to the section in the music that you could have done a lot with but what you did just seems lazy (and doesn't match the bass drum vs snare drum vibe you had going), and then he enters the pinch early on the sync.
I also want to say that the whole 0:33-0:58 section would have been better if you either did consistent integration around the line, OR didn't do it at all and saved it for a later section (IMO that would have been cooler because you have a super cool integration section coming up). What you had was like, you did some integration and then sorta forgot about it and stopped.
I really like the pinch at 0:59 because it allowed for the excellent sync at 1:01. But then what the hell was 1:02-1:06? First the coming down in the pinch, which would have looked beautiful synced with the next bass drum hits and set you up perfectly for the next section, was waaay early, and then there was a massive snare hit that nothing happened for at 1:05??? this could have been perfect to launch him up super high for the first time!
1:06-1:07 was pretty good but the integration started at 1:08 when the beat didn't actually kick in until 1:09 - the integration is super cool but why did it start early?
1:11-1:17 is really great, no complaints here. nice job.
Why didn't the kramual start at 1:18? It would have looked perfect! instead we have two seconds of... basically nothing happening? and then a kramual out of nowhere at 1:20. Kramual section was nice but I feel like you didn't have to whip him around as much as you were, and maybe it would have been better with the same bass/snare vibe you had going earlier on.
I do like 1:29-1:38 and I think it is the best synced section of the track, easily, but I didn't like the kramual switch out in the middle of the musical section. The kramual looks drastically different from the rest of the track, so I think it would have been much better to leave him in kramual for an entire section, or omit the kramual entirely. What section, if any, would look best I don't think is a judgment call I can make, but the kramual start 2 seconds after the section starts and ending halfway through just makes it feel quite out of place. If you were worried that the kramual position was boring if it was that long, let me tell you that repetition should not really be a concern when you are music syncing and you suddenly switch to a new section where bosh looks completely different and keep it there until the music changes. I doubt people would have said it got boring if he was doing kramual stuff for the whole ~20s section.
1:39-1:53 is BRILLIANT. this is what makes us forgive/forget all the weak moments earlier in the track, because this is super simple and precise and it just fits perfectly.
IMO 1:54-1:59 is slightly awkward, just because I wanted him to pop up at 1:54, again at 1:55, and then land on the line at 1:57. Maybe that's just me, but I felt like what I saw was slightly underwhelming and didn't match what you had earlier.
And then the slowly-unbalancing nose manual was... not sure. On the one hand it felt odd to me, not syncing, and the visibility of the line thickness changing was distracting, but on the other hand it has this really nice tension thing going where you really want it to resolve like the music did and it just... doesn't quite and holds it for a second longer. It almost justifies the earlier not-synced parts, haha.

WELL there's my review. Sorry it's 2 months late. Hope you find it helpful!

P.S. I know it was struggle to find a title but I do think this title is a bit awkward and maybe you could have come up with something better. Ah well.

rabid squirrel wrote:P.S. I know it was struggle to find a title but I do think this title is a bit awkward and maybe you could have come up with something better. Ah well.

I don't know if it helps, but the song is named "intro"

Yobanjojoe wrote:

rabid squirrel wrote:P.S. I know it was struggle to find a title but I do think this title is a bit awkward and maybe you could have come up with something better. Ah well.

I don't know if it helps, but the song is named "intro"

No I know, I just think it's a little awkward as it like, implies the track is an intro. the song is obvs an intro the the album and stuff.