Apologies in advance for the epic post.
Here's something nobody asked for: An alternate soundtrack for "Operation Matriarchy" (2005). Link is below.
Those who are aware of the game probably know how it was released in a semi-finished state, without a soundtrack of its own.
You probably also know of the Devisraad mod (2007) which added a complete in-game music score and enhanced sound effects,
as well as rewritten in-game text that attempts to make narrative sense of the entire mess. A Herculean feat for a game that
(Devisraad and I both agree) most people consider a piece of sh**.
As of 2012, the Devisraad mod is being hosted here: http://www.devisraad.com/op-m/
The music used for the Devisraad mod was borrowed, with proper credit, from the (also obscure) game "Shadowgrounds" (2005).
The original score for "Shadowgrounds" was written by Ari Pulkkinen. It is a fast, hard, loud,
aggressive electro-rock score very well suited to the goofy, arcade-heavy action in "Operation Matriarchy."
Even though the borrowed "Shadowgrounds" soundtrack used in the Devisraad mod works extremely well for OM, to date the poor
game has not had a soundtrack to call its own. So I decided to make one. My other impetus for creating a new soundtrack
is because the in-yer-face Pulkkinen tracks from "Shadowgrounds" just aren't my style; as someone who has been making music
for about 20 years, I personally find them a little too demanding on my aging ears (though again, very appropriate for OM).
This alternate soundtrack, which took about 2 weeks to toss together, is of course very different in nature. Most of them
are low-key, polyrhythmic, minimalist electronic pieces, just to provide some atmosphere. They are also considerably lower
in volume as to not dominate over the in-game sound effects. (By necessity, the Devisraad mod does not allow individual control
of music volume versus effects volume--it is all tied together and controlled by one slider.) If you are looking for the
high-powered, in-your-face OM experience, this alternative soundtrack is not for you--stick with the music in the Devisraad mod instead.
However, if you are looking for a less aggressive, less demanding musical score that vaguely suggests the alien world of Velian
in a mid-2000, synthy, retro-kinda-way, then this may fit the bill. That is, if you are willing to wade into this mess at all.
My soundtrack requires the Devisraad mod to be installed first.
Scaryfun: Don't feel obligated to link to this. If you want to, that's fine, but I can keep it up on my faculty webspace
indefintely. Cheers!
"Operation Matriarchy" soundtrack link:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/w/k ... _MUSIC.rar