Round #3 - Poll #3

Vote for up to FOUR videos!

Four of these will be eliminated, the other four will move on to round 4!

Entries:

1. The Well-Tempered Manual
   
2. Cosmic Underworld
   
3. Mudskipper
   
4. Blue Champion
   
5. Archaeology
   
6. Forbidden
   
7. Serein
   
8. Breathtaking Silence
   

Rules:
- Watch all tracks before voting (if you've seen them before, a re-watch is recommended but not required)
- Please don't vote for yourself
Exception: You can vote for 'yourself' for large collabs (e.g. community scenery projects, clan projects, or LCC projects)
- No begging/bribing/duping or otherwise cheating
- We will not change your vote after you cast it - make sure it's accurate

Embedded videos:

Spoiler:

What I said about these in the last two rounds:

Spoiler:

My thoughts after watching this time:
The Well-Tempered Manual - I can't believe that some people criticized this track for having wobbly manuals (that's kind of the point lol). I think what makes this track work for me is the massive contrast between the quirk section and the manual sections. The quirk section reads to me as tongue-in-cheek commentary of quirk as a whole because of how the music gets chill and the track goes nuts, and then vice versa at the end of the section. And I always dig a self-aware track, man. Oh and the 45 degree manual section is another stroke of brilliance. √
Cosmic Underworld - I decided to throw this track my third (& last) vote just because I love the world STP created here. Unlike any other scenery track IMO. √
Mudskipper - I can see how people who are into XY tracks would love this track, just because boo and hedge are able to move Bosh through space in a way that's more fluid than any other XY I've seen. But in terms of appeal to people who don't make XY, this track doesn't really have anything to offer (besides the enjoyable music) X
Blue Champion - It's not just that he told us that the track wasn't finished in the opening titles, it's the way it stops right in the middle of a section. The ending of a track is one of the most important things to get right IMO because it leaves a lasting impression on the viewer, and this ending is worse than Multiverse. X
Forbidden - Okay yeah, it's very intense. But the lack of intention behind the structure of the sections and the transitions between them make this feel like a boredom killer, albeit by probably the most talented quirker of all time. But I'm always gonna vote for a track with a concept given care and attention by someone who is not as talented, over a track made out of boredom by a genius, any day. X
Serein - If I was a quirker I would probably enjoy this track, but it's just a bunch of lines knocking bosh around super quickly for my eyes. X
Breathtaking Silence - Okay, so this track is essentially a cosmic mic drop, but the scenery is really good man. And the track fits super well with the scenery. And the line art is off the charts. I'm not a fan of the several tracks combined into one because there's no real reason for it except to do several different scenery environments, which points toward the fact that it's pretty much about blowing your mind with the crazy amount of detail instead of having something to say artistically. But each minitrack's scenery is so well executed that I gotta vote for it. √

I just got a really nostalgic feeling of what I felt when I first watched Blue Champion and feel I have to vote for it because of that. Unfortunately, that left it a competition between Archaeology and Mudskipper for the last vote, went with neither, as they don't quite stack up to the others enough to justify choosing one over the other.

BC, BS, WTM

Also, BC has some of the best manuals of all time, especially considering they're all blue

Serein changed me for the better.

Oh my, this is the hardest poll yet. So many amazing tracks!

The Well-Tempered Manual - This track is so damn creative. It still inspires me, and changed the way I play Line Rider. You don't need fancy tricks to create something amazing. Yes yes yes.

Cosmic Underworld - Such a nostalgic feeling with this track, it got me into Muse. Absolutely love Cosmic Underworld, but it's definitely gotten old and, in an effort to look at this objectively, isn't as amazing as the other tracks in this poll. Would love to vote for it, but no.

Mudskipper - This just isn't my track. It bores me after one minute, and only catches my attention during Splash's part. Haven't voted for this track yet, and I'm not doing so now. No.

Blue Champion - I think I'm not exaggerating when I say that my life would've looked completely different without this track. I still love every second of Blue Champion and think it's one of the most underrated tracks of all time. IGGB's fling quirk and flanuals are just amazing. The ambition of Blue Champion still inspires me to this day. The structure of Blue Champion is actually pretty resemblant to The Well Temperered Manual, coming to think of it. Easy yes.

Archaeology - One of my favourite scenery tracks. So much fun and energy, I love the highspeed tumbling! The simplicity of Archaeology makes it so fresh and easy to watch. Fun fact: The fall in Supersonic Motion was inspired by the tumbling at 1:23.

Forbidden - Wow. This track is very powerful. I feel KW's anger and pain. I feel like Forbidden was made with an intention of saying 'Even though people don't like what I do anymore, this is what I do and am and fuck you if you don't like it'. The song choice really displays frustration, and the ending where Bosh gets molested really made me feel his anger. Am I the only one that feels like this?

Serein - Splash's best track IMO. Such an elegant track. As said in the youtube comments, this feels like Volatile with everything being a bit more complete.

Breathtaking Silence - Can't not vote for this. This track is the best scenery of all time in my opinion. It just never loses steam, the drawings are amazing, it's so energetic... Dat dinosaur. Seriously, which track can beat Breathtaking Silence? Yes!

So in the end, I'm torn between Archaeology, Forbidden and Serein.
After a lot of thinking I asked myself the question, 'which track belongs to the top 32 tracks of all time?'. I think Serein fits in there the best, because the pure elegance and style displayed in there is out of the world. Serein feels closest to perfection. Could've gone either way though. It's a shame to vote against any of these tracks!

Rafael wrote:objectively isn't as amazing as the other tracks in this poll.

I'm all for expressing opinions, but can you please not claim that these opinions are objective?

Rafael wrote:The fall in Supersonic Motion was inspired by the tumbling at 1:23.

Oh wow, I had no idea! I was super proud of that tumbling but only one person actually mentioned it in a comment so I assumed most people had missed it. Thanks for this!

rabid squirrel wrote:

Rafael wrote:objectively isn't as amazing as the other tracks in this poll.

I'm all for expressing opinions, but can you please not claim that these opinions are objective?

What I meant is that I tried to make my opinion more objective by removing the nostalgia factor from my judgement. Of course it's all subjective, lol.

blue champion is the best omni of all time, and will stay that way

Chuggers wrote:blue champion is the best omni of all time, and will stay that way

It's not gunna make it

damn this poll is edge-of-your-seat close over who will get spots #3 and #4

WTM, CU, A, BS for me.

WTM and BS are going places. CU and A are the most enjoyable tracks out of the rest imo. Scenery tracks that are well done and don't get old. For a lot of quirk tracks I find myself looking at them nowadays and be like yeah this got old, everybody is doing this type of stuff. It doesn't keep my attention so much anymore, especially for super fast stuff that is hard to follow. Mudskipper was hard to not vote for, since it's one of the most iconic XY tracks and really well done imo, but similarly to how good Serein is, it just doesn't grab my attention.

One thing I want to highlight is that CU has that beautiful editing at the start where the name becomes visible due to the dark tree and you see it backwards, but it's readable and well done. It's so cool
Archeology is just amazing for how highspeed it is and still manages to be super consistent with the scenery. It flies by but looks amazing, job well done and super enjoyable to watch. This among other things set these tracks apart from the rest for me.

Cheers,
Zeno

Breathtaking Silence and Well Tempered Manual move on, and in a record close 6-way battle for 3rd and 4th place, Forbidden and Cosmic Underworld emerge the winners, so they advance.