Jeremiah George, aka McTricky, has been around for the forum and offering music for games for years in his resource thread McTricky’s Music Mine. His songs have recommendations for where to use them, but many of them are so good that they’d make excellent additions to all sorts of scenes, from battles to chases to even overworld tunes that keep the player excited while searching for their next dungeon. And since each song is offered in a loopable Ogg format, it’s simple to add right into your game!

Battle Pack 1 contains 8 orchestral songs that are exciting without being overwhelming to listen to on repeat. Fuel the Fighting Flame mixes a toe-tapping beat with strong, sometimes almost sad, strings to keep the energy level up throughout the song, making it great for both battles and dramatic scenes where your hero needs to reach somewhere safe before an enemy army reaches their town. Shadows in Hell is a darker and drum heavy tune that could work well during an escape from a powerful foe’s castle, or while your heroes race against time to save a beloved companion from a terrible fate. Maniacal Prodigy adds in some quick piano keys to its solid beat to up the tension, making it a great fit for battles where something about the enemy is just slightly off.

Battle Pack 2 has 9 more BGMs to play around with, along with a bonus DLC. Battalion’s strong beat makes it a great option for the BGM while your heroes prepare to defend a village with some soldiers, and With Valor in Hand’s adventurous theme makes it perfect for either battles or dangerous trips that could end in shipwreck or worse. And if fantasy isn’t your thing, give your modern or scifi game’s club a fitting soundtrack with Explosive Attack, which blends fast pulses and smooth synth into a head-bobbing tune.

But music isn’t the only thing McTricky has shared with us! He’s recently released a RPG Maker Damage Calculator that could take a lot of the guesswork out of balancing battles. This Google Sheet is set up so all we as users need to do is plug in our numbers and skill formulas and we’ll see the results without needing to test them in an in-engine battle.

It does take some time to get used to it, but having the ability to see the full range of possible damage from min to max is such a timesaver. No more having to tweak and test the variance of a skill for ages to see the possibilities, with McTricky’s damage calculator you can just plug in the variance you want and get the answers right away. McTricky made sure to color-code and explain each part of the spreadsheet, so it’s easy to flip back and double-check which parts are meant to do what if you step away from battle balancing for a while.

So if you’ve been wanting some more orchestral songs for your battles or just want another way to help yourself balance your damage formulas and skills, make sure to check out McTricky’s Music Mine and his Damage Calculator threads!

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