Option To Change Zone Music In Ultima Thule

I really like "Close The Distance", but not when I'm going to be in the zone for a long time and it starts to become repetitive and unpleasant to listen to over and over because of the singing. Most zone music is soft and ambient and less intense and prominent than the music we did end up having in Ultima Thule.

It would be wonderful if we had the option to set the music to the ones we had during the MSQ, particularly the second one so players can enjoy the zone with the softer music while we enjoy the ambience and visuals of the otherwise wonderful zone. Ideally we would be able to choose between all three versions of the song, but I understand if we can't have the first one because it has significance tied to the story, but surely an instrumental in the form of the second version would be possible?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW77CgWGguk

Seconded.
I have nothing against the lyrics and I think they are great, but they feel like somewhat out of place when other zones have instrumental music while Ultima Thule is the only place with music + lyrics.

Agreed. Close In the Distance is super cool while MSQing but very annoying and repetitive when you have to spend any amount of time just being in the zone.

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Originally Posted by rance-sama

Seconded.
I have nothing against the lyrics and I think they are great, but they feel like somewhat out of place when other zones have instrumental music while Ultima Thule is the only place with music + lyrics.

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Not quite true - several other zones also have vocals in their BGM, although some it's just synthesized gibberish and not actual lyrics (and not a full song like Ultima Thule has with Close in the Distance):

Old Sharlayan (daytime): The Ewer Brimmeth has the last two parts of Flow's lyrics (sung by Amanda Achen)
The Crystarium (nighttime): Knowledge Never Sleeps likewise has the last two parts of Tomorrow and Tomorrow (also sung by Amanda Achen)
The Rak'tika Greatwood: Civilizations famously has a synthesized vox effect as 'lyrics' (that sounds like "LAHEEE!" at the start, which became a meme)
Mare Lamentorum: One Small Step seems to have lyrics/etherial chanting (I'm sure I hear "twisting, turning" and "transcending" in it, but it's probably another synthesized vox effect and not actual lyrics).

Also back in 1.0 every zone had it's BGM replaced with a spooky a capella version of Answers no matter where you were in it's final month of operation in the lead up to the Calamity (the version that plays during the Rising event every year isn't the same track incidentally).

I admit I love Close in the Distance, and am perfectly happy to have the full version playing "post Final Day" in Ultima Thule, but maybe a comprimise would be to have the song fade out for a bit before it repeats, thus rbeaking up the repeativeness, as it does suit the situation there, showing the newfound hope in a place that was the epitome of despair.

Yes, When you spend a long time there it can get a bit annoying, but it is not only the lyrics, the music itself is also different, now hat i dont spend a lot of time in Ultima Thule i dont mind it much.
However i think for ambient music it is a bit too much, maybe have a vesion without vocals after the MSQ is done.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Not quite true - several other zones also have vocals in their BGM

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Well yes, that is true, but the issue here that it's very intense and abrasive for repeat listening. The BGM for the Sharlayan Hamlet, at the of the quest where you had to find 8 NPCs during the MSQ, the BGM had no vocals, but it was abrasively obnoxious for background music. In the case of Close the Distance, it never settles down for a bit, it's constantly belting out lyrics without rest, which is exhausting to listen to.

I thought the song was great when it came up during the MSQ but now I want to jump off a cliff every time I hear that "whiiiisperrrss..." when I enter the zone. Anything with lyrics is going to get annoying after a while and the unfortunate side effect is that it diminishes what I used to look back on as a really cool moment in the MSQ.

In my opinion the right move would have been to save the version with lyrics for the MSQ and use the instrumental version for the zone music. If there were an option to switch back to that I'd do it in a heartbeat and never look back.

I knew this would be an issue when I first heard it. As good as it is, it just doesn't work here when you have to keep going back to farm this or that. It loses its impact when it's used again in another Endwalker quest. Sure, other zones have vocal tracks, but they also have a day/night cycle.

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Originally Posted by ShinyChariot

I really like "Close The Distance", but not when I'm going to be in the zone for a long time and it starts to become repetitive and unpleasant to listen to over and over because of the singing. Most zone music is soft and ambient and less intense and prominent than the music we did end up having in Ultima Thule.

It would be wonderful if we had the option to set the music to the ones we had during the MSQ, particularly the second one so players can enjoy the zone with the softer music while we enjoy the ambience and visuals of the otherwise wonderful zone. Ideally we would be able to choose between all three versions of the song, but I understand if we can't have the first one because it has significance tied to the story, but surely an instrumental in the form of the second version would be possible?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW77CgWGguk

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Do as I do, turn off the music and put yours on in the background.
I do this for everything and especially for Radz-at-Han zone, I find it unbearable.

Gold saucer too... And for provisioning, worse idea to put a jingle at EVERY provisioning... When you have 30 to give...

I'd stay in Ultima Thule all the time waiting for a dungeon or at home listening to it, but I guess it's a matter of taste. It just needs some light to be really cool to stay there.

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Originally Posted by Naoki34

Do as I do, turn off the music and put yours on in the background.
I do this for everything and especially for Radz-at-Han zone, I find it unbearable.

Gold saucer too... And for provisioning, worse idea to put a jingle at EVERY provisioning... When you have 30 to give...

I'd stay in Ultima Thule all the time waiting for a dungeon or at home listening to it, but I guess it's a matter of taste. It just needs some light to be really cool to stay there.

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I think turning off game sounds and putting your own music on is something most people are aware they can do in this situation, including myself. However, I still want some options for the music in that zone regardless because my experience in-game would be better if it accommodated my preferences instead of me having to change my in-game settings and finding other music externally. So I'm supposed to shut off game sounds, turn on Youtube, find a song I'd rather have, and then have to turn everything back to the way they were when I leave the zone? Some people want to enjoy the game as it presents itself, music and all, it's no different from any other content in the player experience. And sure, you can say "Then why not just enjoy the current music?" and I'd say, that's missing the point, the current music is especially hard to listen to over and over which isn't typical with most zone music. Just because it works for some people doesn't mean others can't ask for some quality of life options. Sometimes I don't want to tweak with the settings because it's great in most zones except Ultima Thule where it's particularly an inconvenience. People who already like how things are wouldn't be affected by any of these changes, so it would be nice if it didn't become a reason not to provide options because some people are fine with the way it is now. We all have tastes, yes. "Do as I do" might as well be "Like what I like" or "Play how I play".

Some options for people feeling uncomfortable would be wonderful.