158 replies to this topic

[algroth]

 

Personally I don't mind the narrator at all, actually I rather like her tone and delivery. But if there is something I'd like to see removed, it's the "He says" unwritten lines that follow the gods' dialogues. I find it jarring and unnecessary myself.

The thing is, though, that there are other people who play this game. That you don't mind the narration doesn't mean that many people wouldn't benefit from and enjoy the option to turn it off.

I said the above to state my opinion about the narrator, not to argue against there being an option for turning the narrator's voice off. More to the point, though, I was going on a bit of a tangent myself, as you are about full voice-over (and which I generally disagree with too - I think it added a lot of immersion to the game and was by and large very well performed - and whilst I see the value of leaving much to one's imagination, I also believe there is great value in a performance as a means of delivery for those lines), and was actually addressing my one gripe about the narration which are the unscripted "they say" lines that follow each of the gods' dialogues.

 

So, more on this minor gripe of mine since I was writing from my phone in bed yesterday... I'm struggling to figure why they felt the need to add these lines into the voice-over and not to the text itself, this feels like a last-minute addition perhaps driven by a feeling that the enunciator of said lines wasn't clear enough? Though it's strange, because not only does the writing present each character pretty clearly, but the identity of the enunciator is further corroborated by the very distinct voice performances for each and a solid visual aid, whereby the enunciator is always in colour against an otherwise monochrome illustration. It is especially jarring too because unlike any other piece of dialogue or narration in the game, these moments are unique in the game inasmuch as they are the only situations where we have voiceover but no written text - so why not add said text if the devs felt the need to further clarify the enunciators and so on? This is a weird choice all around, not to mention a superfluous addition, and which feels distinctly out of place with the decisions taken throughout the game regarding text and voicing otherwise.

[InsaneCommander]

If the mod doesn't work, it's not of any use.

 

If the mod is causing problems then disabling the narrator is not as simple as it seems.

 

I don't mind listening to the narrator, but if I did I wouldn't risk using that mod either.

[Multihog]

 

 

Personally I don't mind the narrator at all, actually I rather like her tone and delivery. But if there is something I'd like to see removed, it's the "He says" unwritten lines that follow the gods' dialogues. I find it jarring and unnecessary myself.

The thing is, though, that there are other people who play this game. That you don't mind the narration doesn't mean that many people wouldn't benefit from and enjoy the option to turn it off.

I said the above to state my opinion about the narrator, not to argue against there being an option for turning the narrator's voice off. More to the point, though, I was going on a bit of a tangent myself, as you are about full voice-over (and which I generally disagree with too - I think it added a lot of immersion to the game and was by and large very well performed - and whilst I see the value of leaving much to one's imagination, I also believe there is great value in a performance as a means of delivery for those lines), and was actually addressing my one gripe about the narration which are the unscripted "they say" lines that follow each of the gods' dialogues.

Oh yes, I also appreciate great delivery. Absolutely. 

 

It's just that I don't feel like voice acting adds much to this type of game, which could be described more aptly as book-like rather than movie-like. I don't feel it complements that type of design very well. You're just looking at a text box anyway, which doesn't really leave much room to connect with the voice. Also, you'll probably want to read faster than the voice acting plays out because you most likely aren't accustomed to reading at a snail's pace, unless you're a slow reader. 

 

In contrast, for a fully 3D game with facial animations and cinematic camera angles, it's absolutely crucial, and convincing delivery is everything.

Edited by Multihog, 19 September 2018 - 09:15 AM.

[Achilles]

If the mod doesn't work, it's not of any use.

If the mod is causing problems then disabling the narrator is not as simple as it seems.

I don't mind listening to the narrator, but if I did I wouldn't risk using that mod either.

My understanding of the existing mod is that they replaced the existing sound files with null placeholders. Another approach would be to edit all the relevant conversation files to set each and every one of the VO values to false. So yeah, it is complicated.

[Wormerine]

The problem with the narrator is extremely simple. She reads the text very slowly, a lot slower than I read, so I would rather read the text myself to get along with the game. But reading the text while the narrator is also reading that same text aloud, lagging behind me, is extraordinarily jarring. It has nothing to do with the quality of the narrative performance.

While I can understand someone not liking the performance (though personally, I disagree) this is the weirded argument to be made, and I see it pop up over and over again.

Of course you can read it faster. Reading is faster, than reading aloud. Sure, she takes extra time, as she builds a scene, and creates atmosphere, but that is a weirdest criticism of voicacting I can think of. She is performing, not being a google translate "read" function.

[Gfted1]

Can you skip VO/text with <space bar>?

[Ethics Gradient]

My understanding of the existing mod is that they replaced the existing sound files with null placeholders. Another approach would be to edit all the relevant conversation files to set each and every one of the VO values to false. So yeah, it is complicated.

Editing every single conversation bundle where the narrator speaks would be a doable, but ugly mod.  

 

However, somewhere in the Deadfire install is something like:

StreamingAssets/Audio/[platform]/Voices/English\(US\)/narrator

 

Just rename the directory to narrator2 or i_hate_quality_VO or whatever, and without placeholders or much additional effort, the bulk of narration should disappear.  There is still a bit of split narration where a different character is the active speaker, and the narrator chimes in at the beginning or end, but that is a different matter.  Those are single files with two different voices in them.  The author of the mod on nexus apparently identified and edited each of those files manually to trim off the narration.

 

As far as low-effort hacks go, renaming a single directory isn't too complicated.  However, since it is outside the mod framework, expect the narration to be restored every time Steam or GOG processes an update.

[Doppelschwert]

This might be a bit of a radical idea, but you actually can turn off your speakers or take off your headphones during the narrated segment as a work around.

 

(Don't get me wrong, I actually like the narration).

[Multihog]

This might be a bit of a radical idea, but you actually can turn off your speakers or take off your headphones during the narrated segment as a work around.

 

(Don't get me wrong, I actually like the narration).

And hear the fan of my PC and other background noise and not hear the music or ambient sounds of the game.

[tinysalamander]

This might be a bit of a radical idea, but you actually can turn off your speakers or take off your headphones during the narrated segment as a work around.

 

(Don't get me wrong, I actually like the narration).

 

Turning on and off speakers (while guessing how much time narration will take in case it's between the lines) is surely not the most enjoyable thing to do.

[asnjas]

Theres not an option because its not necessary nor is it important. There doesnt have to be an option for every freakin thing. You wont like everything.

I dont like this thing, that thing,a specific voice actor, the color red, ship combat, male npcs, two story buildings, can we pls have a option to turn them off.

Jesus chr. Sometimes i feel so bad for obsidian having to listen to people complain and nitpick to hell and back aboit 2 wonderfully enjoyable games.

[Tigranes]

Yeah. I hate the narrator and I think the VA there is horrible, but I'm not really going to sit here demanding that they add a mute button. What's the point of constantly asking devs to add a button for every single thing? I'd rather they focused on the big issues.

[uuuhhii]

can turn off all the voice right

then it make sense they didn't put in specific option to turn off some voice

[xzar_monty]

 

The problem with the narrator is extremely simple. She reads the text very slowly, a lot slower than I read, so I would rather read the text myself to get along with the game. But reading the text while the narrator is also reading that same text aloud, lagging behind me, is extraordinarily jarring. It has nothing to do with the quality of the narrative performance.

While I can understand someone not liking the performance (though personally, I disagree) this is the weirded argument to be made, and I see it pop up over and over again.

Of course you can read it faster. Reading is faster, than reading aloud. Sure, she takes extra time, as she builds a scene, and creates atmosphere, but that is a weirdest criticism of voicacting I can think of. She is performing, not being a google translate "read" function.

 

 

How is this a weird criticism? I am genuinely very curious. It's a perfectly legitimate and logical criticism concerning a fault in the game.

 

It is an excellent idea to go through all the text presented in the narration. You have, essentially, two choices:

1) Listen to the narrator,

2) Read the text yourself at your own pace.

 

If you choose #2, which I want to do, the narrator is a constant pain in the butt while you read. She also takes a *huge* amount of extra time that provides absolutely no extra value whatsoever.

 

So, how is this a weird criticism?

[Verde]

It's like watching a PowerPoint presentation where the presenters read from flash cards that have the exact same info as the presentation. Thanks but I can read!

[xzar_monty]

It's precisely that. A very good analogy. Given how obvious the error is, I'm actually surprised they made it. It's a very bad call.

[Teacher]

Personally I don't mind the narrator at all, actually I rather like her tone and delivery. But if there is something I'd like to see removed, it's the "He says" unwritten lines that follow the gods' dialogues. I find it jarring and unnecessary myself.

 

That's pretty much my only issue with it... I progress the dialogue right when the narrator goes "she s..." since that bit is not usually in the text.

 

It would be a neat feature to have individual voice slider for the narrator like D:OS2, but I would rate this way down on the priority list for improvements/new content personally. I mean it makes sense to spend the time to isolate narration and create a separate slider for it in D:OS2 where the narrator reads freakin everything. But in PoE2, voiced narration doesn't even remotely have the same presence to demand immediate action.

 

...in my opinion.

[Achilles]

It's precisely that. A very good analogy. Given how obvious the error is, I'm actually surprised they made it. It's a very bad call.

You do realize that, if you’re going to be even the tiniest bit consistent, that’s a valid argument for every line of dialogue in the whole game? In which case they’ve already provided a solution via the aforementioned volume slider. Problem solved!

[Verde]

It's precisely that. A very good analogy. Given how obvious the error is, I'm actually surprised they made it. It's a very bad call.

You do realize that, if you’re going to be even the tiniest bit consistent, that’s a valid argument for every line of dialogue in the whole game? In which case they’ve already provided a solution via the aforementioned volume slider. Problem solved!

I was referring more how the narrator speaks- slow and matter a fact like a presentation. What you're saying is true except people may prefer to hear char voices and not the boring narrator's.

Is there a way to allow dialogue to flow without having to press 1. Continue? That would make the VOs more bearable.

Edited by Verde, 20 September 2018 - 05:43 AM.

[Achilles]

If the argument is, “I can read faster than the VA can speak, and the existence of VO screws up my reading” then *all* of the VO is a problem. If you just don’t like the narrator, that’s fine, but then just say that.