music | Gardens of Equestria

Manehattan Update #39: Stable 16 & Appleloosa Valley Music Trailers!

Audio, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas, GoE: Smuggler's Run, GoE: This Coming Storm, Music, Work-In-Progress 8 Responses »

Apr 212016

Happy Thursday everypony!

Novel Idea here with your usual Manehattan Update. As promised, we have the next two new music trailers. Though the Smuggler’s Run Theme remains firmly ensconced at the top of my favorites list, he definitely knocked it out of the park with both of these pieces. The best part about working with Corvus is that I can give him this really abstract idea of what I’m looking for in level music (or just show him what I have done for the level itself) and he can just whip up music that matches it more perfectly than I imagined.

Stable 16 is inspired by the ill-fated Stable 24 in Fallout: Equestria with one very specific difference: there’s much more than just monsters in the depths of this Stable. I wanted haunting, eerie music where you were sure something was about to jump out at you…because it will…oh it will. I remember when I first walked through the level in-game after my first design pass. Hell, it creeped me out and I designed the damn thing! Corvus nailed it. So if you haven’t heard it, hit the link below to check out the new music trailer for Stable 16!

Next we have the worldspace music for Appleloosa Valley itself. You’ll be hearing this a lot as you wander through the expanse of Appleloosa Valley, journeying to Stable 16, New Appleloosa, Topaz Lake, the Rock Farm and more. I wanted something that gave a feel of fresh wide-open spaces, a place where you still have that frontier feel that New Appleloosa gave you, but a bit wider. I wanted something that felt a bit like Firefly’s frontier worlds. The Wasteland is here, but it isn’t in the soil. Remember, Appleloosa Valley was never hit by a megaspell through the protection of the Rock Farm’s defense grid and the unexpected help from the nearby Lucky 38. We also wanted something a bit more iconic and memorable than the basic New Vegas Wasteland theme, but wouldn’t be too distracting from the gameplay. (It’s a hard balance). But now, sit back and relax and listen to the wonderful strumming of the Appleloosa Valley theme.

That’s all for this week folks, nice and short. Next week, you’ll be getting the last two of the musical score trailers.

But did you know that the week after that is the one year anniversary of the Manehattan Project? That’s right. On May 7, 2015, we unveiled Gardens of Equestria to the world with a full website, a remastered edition of Fallout: Equestria audiobook (the only complete version of the audiobook available at the time) and the GoE Teaser Trailer.

Wow…it’s hard to believe we’ve come so far since then.

So on May 5, 2016, we’re going to have some really cool and really special for you. A few really cool somethings to celebrate this special anniversary. It’ll blow your mind. Hell, another cool idea just came to me as I was writing this and we’ll be doing that too!

You’ll definitely want to be here on May 5. Because it’s going to be awesome.

Manehattan Update #38: New Music Trailers!

Audio, GoE: Smuggler's Run, GoE: This Coming Storm, Music, Work-In-Progress No Responses »

Apr 142016

Happy Thursday everypony!

Sorry about the last couple weeks. We’ve been hard at work on a multitude of projects, but some of them are secrets and some of them aren’t quite ready enough to show you. After all, we only want to provide the best for you!

It’s in that vein that I am so very proud to present to you the latest in our series of trailers and the beginning of our music relaunch!

Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but in Fallout: New Vegas, the music tends to be on the subtle side. In fact, in many places, it’s barely noticeable at all. Thankfully, Fallout 4 has taken a different approach (My favorite in-game music has to be the one in the Switchboard and the Railroad HQ) and that’s the approach we want. Music is an integral component of any gaming experience. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…some of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had were to epic scores. Such as my all-time favorite, the finale to Mass Effect 2.

But we wanted to give you a better picture of just where you’ll be hearing this music in GoE. So we’ve designed a new series of trailers highlighting some of the awesome areas awaiting you in This Coming Storm. Blue Nova, our Creative Asset Director, took charge and created some cool subtle visualizer effects to the Manehattan Shield along with setting up the slideshow. Exterior shots were done with the help of the wonderful Nevada Skies mod (which we strongly recommend no matter what!).

Music, as always, is by our incomparable and irreplaceable Music & Audio Director, Corvus. Level design and trailer design is by Novel Idea.

Now let’s get to it already!

Don’t worry, we’ve got more on the way! We’ll be releasing two of these a week for the new couple of weeks. After that, you’ll get a special preview of the enormous Overmare’s Quarters of Stable 207, a massive living space for you and all your companions (and the second player home in GoE!)

Not only that, but we may have something even cooler for you either next week or the week after. A special treat. But it’s a surprise, so I can’t tell you more. 😉

That’s it for this week folks! Have an awesome day and we’ll see you next week!

-NI

The Manehattan Project Update #22: The Array

Audiobook, Gardens of Equestria: Dances of Light and Shadow, GoE: This Coming Storm, Music No Responses »

Nov 192015

So I decided to get out a quick update to you folks this week, despite my claims last week. But I’ll try to make this short…er. Come on, it’s me. I’m not known for being incredibly concise, after all.

Gardens of Equestria: Dances of Light and Shadow

While I have plenty of experience working with other characters from other worlds, I usually pick a character who isn’t very well defined or fleshed out. While we’ve seen some of their thought processes and reactions, we don’t really know the person. I have to say, as I’m attempting to parallel the original Fallout: Equestria as much as possible (despite the fact that this Littlepip and company are not the same as the ones we know in Equestria), it’s a very difficult task.

For example, let’s take Littlepip. Littlepip goes through an enormous amount of changes in Fallout: Equestria (obviously) and I’m not talking about physical. I’m talking about psychological, emotional, relational and more. The filly two stepped out of Stable 2 is a far cry removed from the one who assaulted Old Appleloosa. That one is very different from the one who ventured into the Manehattan Ministry of Morale hub. Or the one who entered Fillydelphia. You get the idea. Character development is a challenging thing, especially with already created characters.

Nevertheless, I am doing my best and it’s going quite well. I’m quite a bit ahead of the curve. I’m currently at 37,873 words. Here’s the full stats:

I should mention that I’m not done with my work today. I’ve been aiming for 2,200 words per day.

And as usual, with almost all of my stories, I have a general goal to make a novella or short story and it always gets a hell of a lot larger. Hell, right now, we’re finally facing the mysterious and sinister Induction Array beneath Appleloosa Valley, which plays a major part in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of “This Coming Storm.”

Updates On The Way

And what about “This Coming Storm” you ask? Well, I’m happy to say that after some struggles, we’re back in the full swing of production on the scripting side of things. My work on level design continues unabated (okay, somewhat abated due to finishing Legacy of the Void), but it’s going well. I’m looking forward to actually getting to get into this myself.

Things are happening! Yay!

In addition, we’ll be soon re-releasing all of our GoE music in a newer form. Got some fun plans there too, but I don’t want to give too much away.

Finally, one last update: I have personally done the last pass on “Fallout: Equestria (The Manehattan Edition).” I know there were still some flubs and errors in Version 3 and we want to make sure that you have the best possible reading experience. As someone who’s listened to hundreds (probably thousands) of hours of audiobooks, mainly through Audible, I want us to get as close to that level of quality as possible. We should have this out in the next couple of weeks. We’ll be updating the YouTube ones automatically and we’ll be also revising our Audiobook page. I know that most of you have likely already finished, but if you’re looking for another round, we’ll have it for you.

That’s it for today. We’ll be posting our usual three chapters of Version 3 up on YouTube right now, so feel free to check them out!

-Novel Idea

The Manehattan Project Update #15: Super Preview Day!

Uncategorized No Responses »

Sep 172015

Good afternoon fillies and colts!

Novel Idea here. I know we’ve had some quiet weeks in the last couple months. Well today, we’re going to make up for that. And then some!

Today I am very proud reveal remastered editions of the Smuggler’s Run theme and brand new music from the Mysterious Cave level, the Appleloosa Valley worldspace and finally, The Rock Farm, Sector X!

Please remember that all of these are in development so they may change before release.

In addition, I have some gorgeous new screenshots for you from Appleloosa Valley! With the help of the Nexus Mod Authors, it’s finally shaping up to be something really cool. Here’s a few shots of some various areas, including the Rock Farm and the Overlook.

I hope you enjoyed this special preview. We’re also releasing the next three chapters of the Fallout: Equestria (The Manehattan Edition) audiobook on YouTube today!

Have a great day and stay safe out there folks!

-Novel Idea

The Manehattan Project Update #9: Welcome to GoE.com Version 2.0!

Annoucements, Audiobook, Behind the Forth Wall, GoE: Racing Apotheosis, GoE: This Coming Storm, New Screenshots, Recruitment, Work-In-Progress No Responses »

Jul 232015

—From the Desk of Novel Idea—

[[WARNING: FOURTH WALL BREACH DETECTED]]

You’ll have to excuse the broken fourth wall. I’ve spent all week slaving away on GoE.com V2.0 and have not gotten nearly amount of sleep I should have, so I haven’t gotten to fixing it. But today, all that effort has finally born fruit.

Fillies and colts, welcome to Gardens of Equestria Version 2.0!

This day has been months in the works. I’ve designed an all-new series of special logos, artwork and much more for this new site. But there are a couple things you should know.

First of all, we flipped the switch on this new site around midnight last night. As such, there’s a system called DNS servers (which you may or may not be familiar with) that are occasionally kicking folks back to the old site. If you see the old design, just click the back button or try again later. Any of these issues should be resolved by Saturday.

Second, there’s still a bit of fine-tuning left in the site, specifically on the graphics on the new Locations page. Don’t worry, I’ll be fixing that within the next day or two.

But most importantly, if you’re interested in seeing what’s next for GoE and the Manehattan Project and want to keep appraised of what’s going on, head over to our brand-new forums and register! Drop by the general discussion page and introduce yourself!

While I’ve posted in the forums about our new features, I’ll also give you them right here!

We’re just getting started here, so mind the dust. Please, take a look around and don’t be shy.

Here’s some of the highlights of the new features of our revised website:

That’s right folks, we’re also releasing the MP3 version of Fallout: Equestria (The Manehattan Edition) today along with the first three parts of Fallout: Equestria on YouTube!

So keep a close eye on things. Because we’ve got much more in store!

We also have a lot more announcements, including some new team member and some final casting decisions. But we’ll be exploring that next week. If you’re interested in getting to know a little bit more about the folks behind The Manehattan Project, check out our staff page!

-Novel Idea

Gardens of Equestria: Smuggler’s Run Now Available for Fallout: New Vegas!

Audio, Fallout 4, General, GoE: Racing Apotheosis, GoE: Smuggler's Run, GoE: This Coming Storm, Music, New Story Mod!, Questlines and Story 5 Responses »

Jun 172015

—From the Terminal of Novel Idea—

The Manehattan Project is proud to announce the unique preview experience of “Gardens of Equestria: Smuggler’s Run!”

Last night, there were sounds of explosions and minigun fire in the hills to the northwest of Goodsprings. Residents of the quiet town reported seeing something like a Steel Ranger slowly plodding through the foothills to the south. None of them have dared to investigate…but something definitely happened.

Discover the truth in the hills of Goodsprings and uncover the beginnings of something much greater in this special preview of the upcoming story-driven experience “Gardens of Equestria: This Coming Storm!”

Here at The Manehattan Project studio, we’ve been hard at work on this special project. It is our gift to you in celebration of the revelation Stable-Tec’s “Fallout 4” post-apocalyptic simulation experience. While we’re not fully ready to release our plans for Stable-Tec’s latest installment of the Fallout franchise, we are happy to announce that aside from releasing this new story-driven experience, we’re also releasing the new titles of Gardens of Equestria projects!

Prologue – Fallout: New Pegasus

Gardens of Equestria: Smuggler’s Run

Part 1 – Fallout: New Pegasus

Gardens of Equestria: This Coming Storm

Part 2 – Fallout 4

Gardens of Equestria: Racing Apotheosis

That’s right folks, you’re not only getting one story-driven experience from the Manehattan Project, you’re getting two! We’re already working on what we’ll be doing in Racing Apotheosis with the all new Creation Engine. We can wait to show you what we have in store for you. It promises to be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before from Stable-Tec!

But we didn’t want to make you wait any longer. It was time to put our bits where our mouths are. So check out the list below to see just some of what we have in store for you in “Smuggler’s Run!”

A hidden safehouse deep in the hills outside Goodsprings holds many secrets and few answers.
Locate some of the most advanced weaponry the Ministry of Wartime Technology ever developed and wield these fearsome weapons through your travels throughout the Mojave Wasteland!
Three unique sets of armor, each with their own special trait, await you.
Find a way into the depths of the safehouse and discover a virtual treasure trove for those skilled enough to get to it.
The distortions in reality have already started. Nuka-Cola has become Sparkle-Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla has become Sunset Shimmer Sarsaparilla! And the changes aren’t limited to just the Safehouse.
Many other items have changed as well, but you’ll have to discover the extent of the changes yourself. Who knows how far they have spread?
Know that for every lock, there exists a key for those with keen eyes and nimble fingers.
Custom music by Corvus Productions, made specially for Smuggler’s Run. (We’ll be releasing this for download on our SoundCloud site at a future date).

But why read all about it when you can experience it yourself? Head on over to NexusMods.com and to the new “Gardens of Equestria: Smuggler’s Run” site and download it today! Don’t forget to leave us your comments either here or on the Nexus to let us know what you think!

Until next week folks, have fun and stay safe out there (preferably using one of The Manehattan Project’s unique weapons!)

-Novel Idea