Willing to pay for a voice pack DLC.

[Sannom]

My opinion on the VO so far in PoE : I'm apparently not alone in thinking that the voice over is distracting when the text also includes a description of the character's movements and expression, but I love it in the party-banter.

[Psychevore]

As much as I love the fully voiced Bioware games, I find myself almost completely ignoring it in this game.

 

I read like a million times faster, and when everything else isn't voiced, I get into a reading mindset and the voice acting becomes annoying.

[sparklecat]

 

Voice acting can add up, that's for sure.  The thing to also consider is that you'd have to include the designer/audio designer/QA/programmer time as well as the voice acting costs.  That's what really gets you.  If enough folks are vocal (heh... see that?) about more VO, we might be able to consider it for future projects!  

 

Adding more into PoE now would be risky I think.  It's amazing what will add bugs to the game!  Something as simple as adding new VO could create a ton of new bugs  It would be awesome though.

 

Please don't. The costs are not worth the returns, by a long shot. Don't even think about it.

 

 

Seconded.  IMO, the move towards fully-voiced dialogue was a large part of what ruined RPG gaming, since I gather it really limits how late into production you can continue editing dialogue, or for that matter how much you can change after the game's out if there's an error or you just decide "this isn't clear enough to players, let's rewrite that."  It also makes modding stand out like a sore thumb.  Going back to partially-voiced is a wonderful thing.

[anameforobsidian]

I would actually be okay with reduced VO.  The rando actors (especially Calisca) weren't great.  Most of the party members were good.

[illathid]

I'll but any content Obsidian puts out, probably a few times actually.

 

I'm curious though, when did Obsidian "promise" that there would be no DLC for PoE? The only thing I recall them saying is that they wouldn't do DLC in place of a proper expansion. That still leaves the possibility of putting out an expansion and DLC. And for purely cosmetic stuff like VO, etc. done after development is complete, I don't see the harm.

Edited April 14, 2015 by illathid

[Valsuelm]

My opinion on the VO so far in PoE : I'm apparently not alone in thinking that the voice over is distracting when the text also includes a description of the character's movements and expression, but I love it in the party-banter.

 

Pretty much this.

 

Party banter? Awesome, bring it on.

 

NPCs orating most of what they're saying? No thank you. A little is good as was done in the IE games. PoE has more than a little, and it's distracting.

[yaggaz]

I like this game a lot, but I wouldn't mind having even more voice acting and would be willing to purchase a voice pack DLC if you could provide one. Some people just like to read, but I like to listen to the voice acting, followed by reading afterwards.

 

Please consider a voice pack DLC that adds even more voice acting, thank you!

 

Only if the voice acting is the same quality as Baldur's gate 2 and not Neverwinter Nights 2.

[yaggaz]

This is a great conversation, VO is something folks are very passionate about.  Early on in the Kickstarter we got lots of feedback from people saying they'd rather we spend money on the game rather than VO.   When were deciding how much VO to record for PoE, the IE games were our frame of reference in terms of overall scope.  The scope of PoE's VO is comparable to the IE games.

 

I should qualify what I said earlier.  We like VO at Obsidian, love it in fact.   It's one of the things that we do really well and that we're known for.  That said we wouldn't spend money on adding VO if the result of doing so prevented us from making a good game.  The game comes first and foremost, above everything else.  

 

I can't speak for the owners of Obsidian or the production staff on Pillars.  I'll go out on a limb though and say is that a voice pack DLC is unlikely at this point.  I don't mean to disappoint anyone who is in favor of one, but the cost and risk of doing something like that is pretty high. 

 

Now, if the modding community came together to make a mod that added more VO, that would be pretty awesome.  Look at Skywind?  Those guys managed to put together full voice acting for their mod.  If they can do it for Morrowind, someone surely can for PoE.

 

Thank you for the kind, respectful level headed response you gave here.  It's refreshing, and something your forum moderators could learn a lot from.

[Shadow_Arms]

1st VA that i recognized in this game was Patrick "KAPTIN BLUDDFLAGG AND DIO BRANDO" Seitz, also Female Noble reminds me of Saber/Arthuria in F/SN English dub

 

and Calisca's voice tone reminded me of cass in New Vegas

[yaggaz]

Please ignore this thread Obsidian. No offense to the OP at all, but that DLC would cost a literal fortune. VO is very expensive and not completely needed in a game like this imo.

 

Spend your resources in better ways Obsidian. Like more content, bug fixes, and a second game please.

 

How about we ignore you too? Everybody has the right to post here.

[WDeranged]

I think the amount of voice acting is about right...if I was being nit picky about balance I'd say that some characters have too much and others haven't got enough.

[Atheosis]

This is a great conversation, VO is something folks are very passionate about.  Early on in the Kickstarter we got lots of feedback from people saying they'd rather we spend money on the game rather than VO.   When were deciding how much VO to record for PoE, the IE games were our frame of reference in terms of overall scope.  The scope of PoE's VO is comparable to the IE games.

 

I should qualify what I said earlier.  We like VO at Obsidian, love it in fact.   It's one of the things that we do really well and that we're known for.  That said we wouldn't spend money on adding VO if the result of doing so prevented us from making a good game.  The game comes first and foremost, above everything else.  

 

I can't speak for the owners of Obsidian or the production staff on Pillars.  I'll go out on a limb though and say is that a voice pack DLC is unlikely at this point.  I don't mean to disappoint anyone who is in favor of one, but the cost and risk of doing something like that is pretty high. 

 

Now, if the modding community came together to make a mod that added more VO, that would be pretty awesome.  Look at Skywind?  Those guys managed to put together full voice acting for their mod.  If they can do it for Morrowind, someone surely can for PoE.

 

Please no.  You guys got it right the first time.  Focus on actual content instead of catering to people who lack the ability to imagine voices when they read.

[Dagg]

I'd pay $10 to finish out the missing bits and maybe $15 total if it added full narration from Michael Kramer.  ehh.. maybe $20 if they got Kramer and he did the expansion.

[Bryy]

I'd pay $10 to finish out the missing bits and maybe $15 total if it added full narration from Michael Kramer.  ehh.. maybe $20 if they got Kramer and he did the expansion.

This entire thread is a lesson in just how much people don't understand about how things are made.

 

I mean, look at the Skullgirls DLC thread on NeoGAF for some real horror posts.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

Seems like it would be pretty easy to add a toggle, or write a simple mod, to disable VO. But many of us love it, along with the excellent writing... when it's well done, of course. I've found that fan enjoyment of VO can be even more subjective than toward the story writing itself, oddly.

[Bryy]

Seems like it would be pretty easy to add a toggle, or write a simple mod, to disable VO. But many of us love it, along with the excellent writing... when it's well done, of course. I've found that fan enjoyment of VO can be even more subjective than toward the story writing itself, oddly.

I'll just leave this here.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

Your point? I was just saying we shouldn't remove voice acting because a few folks find it immersion breaking.

 

Technically, movies are also immersion breaking for those who prefer the book version. But they're both great avenues for creative expression in their own right.

 

I turn off the music in every game I play, because it does nothing for me. Some people want to turn off voice acting or audio altogether. But options are good.

[Valsuelm]

 

Seems like it would be pretty easy to add a toggle, or write a simple mod, to disable VO. But many of us love it, along with the excellent writing... when it's well done, of course. I've found that fan enjoyment of VO can be even more subjective than toward the story writing itself, oddly.

I'll just leave this here.

 

 

Link primary sources, not secondary.

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/the-little-fighting-game-that-could/1100-4587/

 

I hope the extra money raised went into staff salaries, because they're not making all that much on that budget.

[luzarius]

 

 

Seems like it would be pretty easy to add a toggle, or write a simple mod, to disable VO. But many of us love it, along with the excellent writing... when it's well done, of course. I've found that fan enjoyment of VO can be even more subjective than toward the story writing itself, oddly.

I'll just leave this here.

 

 

Link primary sources, not secondary.

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/the-little-fighting-game-that-could/1100-4587/

 

I hope the extra money raised went into staff salaries, because they're not making all that much on that budget.

 

 

In regards to that fighting game, if they needed that much outsourcing then they shouldn't have made that game in the first place.

 

On a side note, quality voice acting can be found at any college.  $100.00 for four hours of recording is what I'd offer, then I'd grind the hell out of that college student until I got what I needed from them. You could literally stand outside of an advanced actors classroom and just fish for actors who need money while going to college. A lot of these students have talent and are willing to work for dirt cheap.

 

Then again, I'm not going to expect people to be as resourceful as me, cuz well, I'm a bad ass!

 

Edited April 15, 2015 by luzarius

[DocDoomII]

Looks like you are too badass to even know how to conjugate should properly.

 

 

 

Reading a bit more would serve you better than listening

Edited April 15, 2015 by DocDoomII

[Duchess of Kvetch]

OH SNAP GRAMMAR BURN. </sarcasm>

 

Seriously, why is this an argument or point of contention at all? Is it a slow drama day around here?

 

I will never understand the internet community's propensity for starting random fights with strangers, for no ostensible reason, even among circles where you'd think we had more in common to celebrate.

[TheUsernamelessOne]

OH SNAP GRAMMAR BURN. </sarcasm>

 

Seriously, why is this an argument or point of contention at all? Is it a slow drama day around here?

 

I will never understand the internet community's propensity for starting random fights with strangers, for no ostensible reason, even among circles where you'd think we had more in common to celebrate.

 

You don't want to fight over nothing? Them's fightin' words!!

 

Yeah, I agree pretty much. People on the internet are too often angry and loud but have nothing to say.

 

Unlike me, who is witty and charming and never obnoxious.

[Monte Carlo]

I will never understand the internet community's propensity for starting random fights with strangers.

 

It's easier, and more fun, than getting into bar fights.

[Tigranes]

I disagree, bar fights can be great fun, right until when the brain damage begins. 

 

Whether you like or hate VO, here's some concrete facts to consider regarding VO and game development:

 

1) VO is expensive. Very expensive. It's a big chunk of your budget. It's not something you add on a whim. 

2) VO changes your writing process. When you have VO, you need to finalise your writing early on so that you have time to process all the recordings. When you change the writing, you often don't have the $ to bring in the actors again. This means less flexibility in writing, and less ability to change your writing later on as you polish the game. This sometimes ends up with places where existing dialogue is weirdly spliced together ot mean something new, or where the writer would really like to change the scene but can't. 

3) A full-VO game means less writing. Expensive VO means in some cases you had RPGs where there was a hard limit on how many words you could have in your game. 

4) VO is hard to do well... and hard to just not be crap at it. There are very few games that have good VO all round. No, you can't have random people on the Internet voice your game. No, you can't have the developer's cousins do it. Even when you pay professionals and direct them, you often get barely tolerable VO - which is what you see in most games. 

[illathid]

I disagree, bar fights can be great fun, right until when the brain damage begins.

 

Whether you like or hate VO, here's some concrete facts to consider regarding VO and game development:

 

1) VO is expensive. Very expensive. It's a big chunk of your budget. It's not something you add on a whim.

2) VO changes your writing process. When you have VO, you need to finalise your writing early on so that you have time to process all the recordings. When you change the writing, you often don't have the $ to bring in the actors again. This means less flexibility in writing, and less ability to change your writing later on as you polish the game. This sometimes ends up with places where existing dialogue is weirdly spliced together ot mean something new, or where the writer would really like to change the scene but can't.

3) A full-VO game means less writing. Expensive VO means in some cases you had RPGs where there was a hard limit on how many words you could have in your game.

4) VO is hard to do well... and hard to just not be crap at it. There are very few games that have good VO all round. No, you can't have random people on the Internet voice your game. No, you can't have the developer's cousins do it. Even when you pay professionals and direct them, you often get barely tolerable VO - which is what you see in most games.

This is a good point. However, to play Devils advocate 2 and 3 wouldn't be an issue for a hypothetical VO DLC. Everything in the game is already written, so adding VO to it wouldn't effect the writing at all.