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  1. #1
    Shahkulu101's Avatar Senior Member
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    Syndicate's Ambient Music

    So Syndicate brought ambient music back - sort of. It plays infrequently on rooftops for very short amounts of time, presumably because the sound designers so desperately want us to hear the "sounds of the world" (The Witcher 3 has constant ambient music btw, and you can hear the lively sounds of the world just fine) or because they want spite the fans who consider it integral to the series. "Yeahhhh...give them a little ambient music just to tease them muhahahahaha!" The last assumption was a joke, btw... but what if it's true

    (Seriously just bloody put it in every game and have it play in the open world all the time Godzio damn it!)

    Anyhooo, that's not the point of this thread, I want to give my opinion on the ambient music because my ego is so inflated I feel you need to know, and am interested to hear other peoples thoughts regarding it. In general, I quite like it, it's different to what we've had in the past, but the music is slow and solemnly beautiful, it's more calming nature contrasts well with the soundtrack overall which features some (delightfully) bombastic tracks. The instrumental music is some of my favourite in the series and I love listening to it, but I stress instrumental for a reason. Almost all of them feel marred by the overbearing vocals that begin about halfway through each song, interrupting the gorgeous music and taking me out of my jam zone - like someone coming up and spurting tomato sauce on a slice of delicious birthday cake I'm trying to savour. So I really wish either the vocals were more subtle, or not there at all. Despite that, because of the quality of the music itself, I'd say the ambient music is pretty damn good, some moments of certain tracks are up there with my favourites in the series.

    Here's a playlist of all the ambient tracks (I think, let me know if I've missed some) if you need it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...qe55licgDVAOsM

    And I've embedded my personal favourite.


    0:28 <3

    EDIT: Oh God I've put an apostrophe where it wasn't needed in the title can a MOD please fix this grave mistake.
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  2. #2
    I-Like-Pie45's Avatar Senior Member
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    ambient music is unnecessary

    music doesn't play for you in the real world when you're walking around, so why should it do so for you in a video game
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  3. #3
    Shahkulu101's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by I-Like-Pie45 Go to original post
    ambient music is unnecessary

    music doesn't play for you in the real world when you're walking around, so why should it do so for you in a video game
    Because video games aren't the real world, some games use music to heighten the tension during certain moments - maybe it's an action scene, an escape scene or what have you. Point being, they use music to add something to the experience, enhance it. With ambient music its no different, tracks play to add something - atmosphere - to the feeling of freely exploring the world.

    Should there be no epic music booming in the background when Nathan Drake is shooting guys on top of a moving train whilst a helicopter is trying to blow him up because "music doesn't play for you in the real world"?

    I thought not, Mr Bear. Now sit down and eat your salmon.
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  4. #4
    cawatrooper9's Avatar AC Forum Moderator
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    Originally Posted by I-Like-Pie45 Go to original post
    ambient music is unnecessary

    music doesn't play for you in the real world when you're walking around, so why should it do so for you in a video game
    I agree, to an extent. Movies have soundtracks and scores too, though- non diegetic sound.

    Whether or not it's necessary for the games- well, I think it's the developer's artistic decision- and while I appreciate that we as fans are passionate about the games, I think this is an issue people are far too hung up on.


    That being said, I liked what Syndicate had to offer- even (nay, especially) the vocal sections.
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  5. #5
    Shahkulu101's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by cawatrooper9 Go to original post
    I agree, to an extent. Movies have soundtracks and scores too, though- non diegetic sound.

    Whether or not it's necessary for the games- well, I think it's the developer's artistic decision- and while I appreciate that we as fans are passionate about the games, I think this is an issue people are far too hung up on.


    That being said, I liked what Syndicate had to offer- even (nay, especially) the vocal sections.
    I wouldn't be hung up on it, if ambient music wasn't so bloody good every time it's in the games. You might be right, that we're blowing it out of proportion, but hey who's anybody to say how important an element of the game should be to someone. Everybody's different.

    And the AC games are unique in how much the ambient music adds to the games, I'd say, or there wouldn't be a lot of people that love it and clamour for it to be featured in every game. I'd say AC2 might have been so highly-rated largely because of how beautifully atmospheric its ambient music is. There's no way to definitely prove that, but for me at least, ambient music can significantly affect the 'feel' of the game despite it's subtlety.
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  6. #6
    I-Like-Pie45's Avatar Senior Member
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    ambient music hurts immersion, it ruined naughty dog games as well as red dead redemption as well as the latest gta game - in old gta games the music only played where it made sense like in clubs and cars but now its playing in missions which hurts immersion
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  7. #7
    I think it depends on the person whether it hurts immersion. A great song can actually help me get immersed in a game.

    The thing with AC games is that there is so much generic side content to grind through to get all the collectibles that I would have thought some nice music would help break the monotony. Just my point of view, though. Others may disagree, which is fine.

    Also, that song that the OP posted was really nice, in my opinion. But yeah, it only plays when you are on top of a building.
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  8. #8
    thewhitestig's Avatar Member
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    Ambient music was one of the highlights for me in AC II. It really made you soak the atmosphere of 15th/16th century Florence and Venice. I enjoy ambient music very much, especially when done right. Honestly, when I first heard ambient music in Syndicate it immediately reminded me of AC II, and it felt good, really good.
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  9. #9
    cawatrooper9's Avatar AC Forum Moderator
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    Having started a recent playthrough, I'll admit that ACII has some pretty darn good ambient music.

    However, do any other games, really (other than possibly Syndicate?)

    ACI's was okay, I guess, but very forgettable.

    ACB's, in my opinion, was awful. I hated the heavy handed organ music.

    ACR's was actually pretty decent, I suppose.

    ACIII/ACL/ACIV/ACU/ACRo- Didn't even have any, did they?

    So, I guess I just don't see how this is a staple of the series...
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  10. #10
    Shahkulu101's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by cawatrooper9 Go to original post
    Having started a recent playthrough, I'll admit that ACII has some pretty darn good ambient music.

    However, do any other games, really (other than possibly Syndicate?)

    ACI's was okay, I guess, but very forgettable.

    ACB's, in my opinion, was awful. I hated the heavy handed organ music.

    ACR's was actually pretty decent, I suppose.

    ACIII/ACL/ACIV/ACU/ACRo- Didn't even have any, did they?

    So, I guess I just don't see how this is a staple of the series...
    ACB didn't have my favourite but I still really liked it.
    ACR's I absolutely loved, captures the city perfectly.
    AC4 did have ambient music after 3 chose not to - again I enjoyed it - especially the Havana tracks.
    ACU didn't, unfortunately.
    Rogue did, it was pretty nice, but quite forgettable.

    So the majority do have it, there are only a few exceptions. And I guess it's seen as a staple, because all the early game had it - and a lot of what they do is considered the heart of the series.
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