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Looking for an old MIDI that used to be on Sonic HQ.

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Moogle!, Nov 15, 2022.

  1. Moogle!

    Moogle!

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    Was just titled South Island. Never figured out what it was from, if it was even from the actual sonic Series, but it was catchy all the same and I would like to hear it again. I seemed to remember not being able to pull it out of archive.org the last time I tried it, so I was wondering if anyone here had it.
     
  2. Snowbound

    Snowbound

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    Was it a midi version of the South Island theme from the ova:I wasn’t around in the Sonic HQ days so I can’t help u find it, but I thought it would help to try and get some more details.
     
  3. Moogle!

    Moogle!

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    Sadly this is not it. I remember opening the MIDI up in a text editor once just to see if it said anything. I don't remember what it said, but it was written in like 93 or 94.
     
  4. saxman

    saxman

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    I don't think I've ever heard of that one. I looked at my collection of MIDI sequences from my pre-Sonic-hacking website, and I don't have that.

    You might have luck with other fan sites that hosted MIDI sequences. There were a bunch of them in the late '90s and early 2000s as I recall.

    Also, '93 or '94... that's REALLY old. I didn't even know what the internet was back then. Are you 100% sure about that timeframe? The oldest Sonic MIDI files I knew of were done by Jeff Reed, Jarel Jones, and John Weeks.
     
  5. Moogle!

    Moogle!

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    That was the date written in the MIDI itself. I decided to take another stab at Archive.org. It was added on 12-31-1999. I think it may have indeed an original composition that was just stored on the website itself.
    https://web.archive.org/web/2003040...isplay.php/addtop.19991201/addbottom.20000201
     
  6. Mr. Ksoft

    Mr. Ksoft

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    Well, I can help here. I have 100k+ MIDIs from various archives, downloads from when I was a kid, etc... sure enough, I have the file that was on that old HQ link (south-island.mid)

    You'll be disappointed to know that it's nothing original or anything. It's just a mislabeled MIDI of "The Summer is Magic" by Playahitty:

     
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  7. _Sidle

    _Sidle

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    Found it very easily on Sonic HQ Archive under "Other" [+]

    EDIT:Ninja'd
     
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  8. saxman

    saxman

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    Well, that explains the year. I was going to say, I don't remember any MIDI files going *that* far back, but then again, who really knows for sure.
     
  9. Mr. Ksoft

    Mr. Ksoft

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    Yeah, there are definitely really old MIDI files floating around on the web from the very early days (starting around 1991 with Windows 3.0 Multimedia Extensions bringing MID/RMI files to a wider audience - I see very few files earlier than that), mostly spread on shareware CD-ROMs and BBS's before eventually finding their way to random websites with completely wrong names due to a variety of reasons - the biggest culprit probably being non-descriptive, meaningless 8.3-format filenames.

    Then again, I'm not surprised so many are eternally left mislabeled - I have a crap ton I have pulled out of old Sonic fangames, but the use of MIDIs diminished years before wide access to music via streaming or Youtube, so it was a lot less likely for people to correlate songs or accidentally discover the origins. My personal mission to identify them will likely never be over... :|
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2022
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  10. Moogle!

    Moogle!

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    Holy shit, you guys are awesome. :psyduck: Very happy to have the MIDI, and its cool to learn of the original source. Hearing it again is nice
    especially after getting mildly depressed looking at the old SHQ and other websites.

    Thanks again everyone.
     
  11. saxman

    saxman

    Oldbie Tech Member
    Clarification: I meant Sonic MIDI files specifically. But point taken otherwise. It doesn't surprise me there were a heavy number of them, especially with BBS activity from that time period. I know I have downloaded several that were done in the early '90s. As I seem to recall, there's a Heart of Rock And Roll MIDI sequence that I'm fairly sure is from the early '90s.
     
  12. Mr. Ksoft

    Mr. Ksoft

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    Ah, I didn't catch you meant Sonic MIDIs specifically :) On that topic, the earliest one I know of is a rather poor rendition of Green Hill Zone dated 1992/11/07, found on an Amiga public domain CD from 1994 (suggesting it had been floating around for a few years). Then there is a large gap, with the next one I know of being a MIDI of "They Call Me Sonic" from the Arcade label disc, dated 1996/10/29. There are most certainly more between those two dates out there that I probably just can't find in all my file mess, or (more likely) I have copies with later date stamps.
     
  13. JaxTH

    JaxTH

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    Jack shit.
    I'm gonna highjack this and ask if anyone has EspioKaos' full MIDI collection?

    I did at one point but I've lost everything.
     
  14. saxman

    saxman

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    I suppose there's a good chance Mr. Ksoft has them. Alternatively, I also had a bunch of them listed on my old website:

    https://web.archive.org/web/19990218193631/http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Alley/6250/midi.html

    Some links may or may not work. Maybe try various snapshots.

    Wow, that is quite old! I don't know if I've ever heard that Green Hill rendition or not. My earliest introduction to MIDI sequences were largely through Jeff Reed's uploads, who also made the original version of Sonic Doom.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2022
  15. Prototype

    Prototype

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    This thread is so nostalgic. I used to spend hours trawling the early interwebs for MIDI files. It was so fun, and so mind-blowing at the time that you could even do it.

    That branched off into discovering .kar files, which were just midi files with lyrics attached for karaoke, which was definitely the pre-broadband/p2p way to enjoy music on a crappy old PC. I remember using a midi/karaoke player called VanBasco's Karaoke Player specifically because it had a piano note viewer, you could disable/enable certain tracks and slow down the tempo, change the key.

    It was instrumental in learning certain songs on piano, so my whole musical education history is kinda tied up in trawling for MIDI files online.

    ...I might pop over to VGMusic.com and relive some memories. Brb.
     
  16. HEDGESMFG

    HEDGESMFG

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    Dear god, those last 3 names take me back. 1998 internet was so wild and odd compared to what it is now.
     
  17. shilz

    shilz

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    After looking at it, I don't think it's that bad an interpretation, a few off notes and odd tempo aside. Pretty impressive when maybe all you have to go off of is hardware. everything seems to be close to where it should be, it's just that none of the instruments are set (at least not in any modern way) so everything is played through a piano... which obviously can't handle bass, or hard synth sounds, or really most anything Green Hill Zone is made of.
     
  18. GameMusic

    GameMusic

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    This is Vector of Sonic HQ

    GT Koopa notified MoFo's Discord about the topic

    http://archive.sonichq.net/music/midis/south-island.mid

    Under the other category

    http://archive.sonichq.net/newsite/music/console.php

    Awesome music

    This music was among those that I put in the page embeds and forum posts because I cared more about doing novel stuff and spreading cool music than being professional

    No idea what it actually is

    But it was among those on the geocities site I think

    If so Edan Koch must have added this before 1998 when I got there
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2022
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  19. saxman

    saxman

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    Following up on the EspioKaos thing... I had no clue he and John Weeks were the same person! Even on my old website, I evidently did not know this.

    Anyway, I was looking at some totally unrelated things on archive.org, and I stumbled upon this: Espio's Page (archive.org)

    Not sure if that helps or not.
     
  20. Aesculapius Piranha

    Aesculapius Piranha

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    I remember picking up a knuckles.mid that sounded like something that would play at a sports event (very heavy on the brass).
    Could never find the source.

    Thanks for the nostalgia, friends.