Deadfire will have FULL Voice over. It's ON!

[Jaget80]

I Honestly would have been happy with full VO on main characters and companions.

 

This is really awsome.

[Progressive_Stupidity]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't seen a downfall of the rpg genre, I've just seen a "different" rise...

 

Planescape Torment and Baldurs Gate 2 are definitely over hyped and not in any way better than rpg's today, just different. One misconception among nostalgic rpg-enthusiasts (well Crpg era gamers to be more precise) is that there is less handholding, more difficulty, more strategy and more freedom in IE games than we have now - of course, this isn't true but there's always that gamer's definition of what freedom "should" be. What writing "should" be like or what topics it would touch on. The rpg's especially the 3 person made indie games which I have played easily match the quality of an old IE game but the length may be shorter.

 

Point being, writing hasn't degressed in game, there's only so much you can do when adding full VO, that's a given. Technology still hasn't caught up to where devs can do all and of course budget is another factor.

 

This was definitely a smart move for Obsidian, it will definitely heighten sales on consoles which I believe to be one of the main decisions behind this choice. Especially since console sales for Pillars 1 was deathly abysmal (very VERY shockingly poor).

 

As someone who loves to read, I read a bit too much om screen as it is, at home or at work, on paper too. So this is welcoming for me as my eyes will hurt less. "This is one of those things where everyone wins".

Baldur's Gate 1/2 are great examples of nostalgia at work. People criticize modern Bioware's writing heavily, often rightly so...but many of these same people seem to think that they used to be much better at it. Baldur's Gate has all the same tropes as Mass Effect or Dragon Age, executed to pretty much the same level of quality. Planescape: Torment meanwhile was a truly different game experience, which is rare in any age, regardless of quality.

 

 

As someone who started their RPG journey with Arcanum, I spent YEARS hearing about how Baldur's Gate 2 was, quite simply, the ​best RPG that had ever been with the most fantastic EVERYTHING. The story was the best, the companions were unparalleled in depth, the soundtrack was incredible... and then I played it and I was just baffled. 'This learning disabled hamster dude is the famous Minsc? Will this joke really hold up longer than a few hours?' (It didn't). Almost every aspect of the game is cheesy and dated and the combat is a mess. I'm not going to go as far as to say it's ​a bad ​game​ but there is some severe nostalgia at work there. I'm probably guilty of the same with Arcanum, but I feel like at least the setting has remained unique this entire time.

[baldurs_gate_2]

Well, only english voice over i guess. You can not play the game with german text and english voice, so you have to mute all VO, makes it useless for me.

[The Sharmat]

Well, only english voice over i guess. You can not play the game with german text and english voice, so you have to mute all VO, makes it useless for me.

I'm willing to be there's a way to set that up. I did the reverse with Gothic and it wasn't really meant to be moddable. POE 2 is.

[Valmy]

Well they did it. I just hope it is good.

[PatrioticChief]

This is freaking awesome! Plus one Obsidian!

[Archaven]

Talking about Matt Mercer.. i think he did a great job with Eder and Aloth. I couldn't recognize they were both voiced by the same person. But if not mistaken there are other game world NPCs that he voiced as well? For example Wymund. I can spot his voice and there's similarity in it which put me off a little.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Archaven

[The Sharmat]

Well they did it. I just hope it is good.

If the stream someone linked earlier in the thread is indicative of the overall quality, I'm well satisfied.

[jf8350143]

Well, only english voice over i guess. You can not play the game with german text and english voice, so you have to mute all VO, makes it useless for me.

You can play the game with German text(and any other localisation for that matter) and English voice, what are you talking about？

[VincentNZ]

That is a surprise. Nothing that makes me totally exciting, but a nice touch. I too was rather impressed with the VO of the first game and thought it was very well acted out.

[baldurs_gate_2]

 

Well, only english voice over i guess. You can not play the game with german text and english voice, so you have to mute all VO, makes it useless for me.

You can play the game with German text(and any other localisation for that matter) and English voice, what are you talking about？

 

What i mean was, i don't want to hear english and read german. I want to read german and hear german voice over. I don't want to read in english. So i have to mute the english voice over, because there is no german one. Like in the first pillars.

Edited April 15, 2018 by baldurs_gate_2

[rogue7259]

Want! Game! Now! 

[Karkarov]

Baldur's Gate is no literary masterpiece but the writing is usually full of personality, charm and wit, whereas Dragon Age is pretty flat and unmemorable in comparison, and generally rather oblivious of its own preposterousness.

I really wish I could put on those rose tinted glasses so many in these forums wear when it comes to Baldur's Gate.  I really do.  Yes, it was a great RPG at the time, I loved it at the time in fact, especially BG2.  But claiming it's writing was full of personality, charm, and wit?  No, it wasn't.  It was serviceable, but nothing special. 

 

It certainly was not "significantly better written" than any of the Dragon Age games except maybe the second one.  Also it was going for an epic fantasy feel, it takes place on the sword coast of forgotten realms, and your dad was the god of murder.  Don't mistake a couple Daryl, Daryl, and my other brother Daryl jokes for a "Princess Bride" theme.

 

I loved the show Thundercats when I was a kid.  That doesn't mean that as an adult I can't go back and notice how bad the writing was, and point out the stupid things like how they were literally from Plant Wayoutback.  It is okay to admit flaws in things you thought were great when you were younger.

 

Yet so many Obsidian fans refuse to look at Baldur's Gate, or god forbid Planescape Torment, with anything remotely resembling a critical eye.

[algroth]

 

Baldur's Gate is no literary masterpiece but the writing is usually full of personality, charm and wit, whereas Dragon Age is pretty flat and unmemorable in comparison, and generally rather oblivious of its own preposterousness.

I really wish I could put on those rose tinted glasses so many in these forums wear when it comes to Baldur's Gate.  I really do.  Yes, it was a great RPG at the time, I loved it at the time in fact, especially BG2.  But claiming it's writing was full of personality, charm, and wit?  No, it wasn't.  It was serviceable, but nothing special. 

 

It certainly was not "significantly better written" than any of the Dragon Age games except maybe the second one.  Also it was going for an epic fantasy feel, it takes place on the sword coast of forgotten realms, and your dad was the god of murder.  Don't mistake a couple Daryl, Daryl, and my other brother Daryl jokes for a "Princess Bride" theme.

 

I loved the show Thundercats when I was a kid.  That doesn't mean that as an adult I can't go back and notice how bad the writing was, and point out the stupid things like how they were literally from Plant Wayoutback.  It is okay to admit flaws in things you thought were great when you were younger.

 

Yet so many Obsidian fans refuse to look at Baldur's Gate, or god forbid Planescape Torment, with anything remotely resembling a critical eye.

 

Well, you've seen me play it recently, so you know I'm not just relying on my memory here. But yes, I do think the writing is infused with its own voice and full of little flairs and touches that make most colour encounters quite distinct and memorable. Likewise the tone is pretty notably different from Dragon Age throughout - it's not "just a couple of Daryl, Daryl and brother Daryl" jokes when about half of the companions essentially play up a particular comedy routine or trope inversion, be it the quixotic hero in Minsc or the tiny halfling with delusions of paladinhood in Mazzy or the compulsive yarn-spinner in Jan or else. Even at its darkest the game hardly reaches the depths of a Planescape: Torment or a Pillars of Eternity, and is still pretty infused with a feeling of adventure first and foremost. It's hard not to see here a clear distinction from the far more earnest and self-important tone wielded in Dragon Age.

 

With regards to Planescape: Torment, I reckon we are on completely opposite sides about it but still I do not see it as a perfect game and have openly criticized it several times. Yet again I played it most recently only a couple of months back, and it holds up spectacularly as a game that is to this day virtually unchallenged when it comes to sheer narrative and thematic ambition, and the success of this very same. It is brilliant, but I have always recognized it as a tale of two sides because there are aspects that are definitely creaky and underdeveloped and which I've felt has always made it the game that was most readily in a position to be expanded upon or changed amidst the IE games, provided the changes were properly curated and so on - specifically speaking of the writing I don't think any Torment fan would deny that the Curst and beyond segments of the game are pretty barebones and perfunctory outside a few encounters here or there, or that certain areas of the setting were not as deeply explored as one could have.

 

But this really brings me back to a massive pet-peeve I have with this ridiculous argument of "oh, it's only rose-tinted glasses at work". No. As a kid I loved the X-Men animated series, it really stuck in my head as a really interesting saga with lots of strange imagery to it and whatnot, I recall being in a state of wonder about the sentinels and Apocalypse and their design... Yet watching it as an adult I feel none of that effect on me, the animation feels pretty basic and unevocative whilst the storylines are far more cookie-cutter than I had an idealized memory of. The same thing has occured with a number of other shows and bits of media here and there. Not so with those with these two, I have continued playing the games since these times and have continually found them to be thoroughly brilliant, immersive, evocative and in Torment's case, thought-provoking. For Torment's case especially I find my appreciation for it only growing with each repeated playthrough. And I'm perfectly fine that others don't agree - but I don't try to blame their disagreement on some bullcrap argument or other like "they don't get it" or their insecurities of adulthood meaning they reject anything that they loved in their non-adult years or something like that. People sometimes disagree and their reasons for disagreement can be entirely valid, without having to chalk it down to "nostalgia" or whatever other cod psychology you want to read into those on the other side of the fence. That one's critical eye differs from yours doesn't mean their critical eye is somehow warped.

Edited April 15, 2018 by algroth

[Tarlonniel]

Also, some of us played those old titles for the first time as adults, not children. I was in my 20s when I discovered BioWare games; my family didn't have the money for them when I was a child. I still rank the Baldur's Gate series at or near the top of my all-time favorites.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Tarlonniel

[silverback1138]

While it's not a deal breaker if it isn't there, I'm actually really happy to hear that they're doing full VO for the game.  Makes me even more excited to play the game.

[tinysalamander]

I hope I'll be able to turn off narrator's voice over then. Those really get on my nerves in any game.

[Wormerine]

As someone who loves both Baldur’s Gates and Planescape I have plenty to complain about. I am much less nostalgic about Planescape as I played it fairy late.

 

Lack of character depth or choice on Baldur’s Gate side would be its downfall if it was what it is aiming for. Very poor combat of Planescape would be it’s downfall of it was what was praised.

 

Both games hold up extremely well. They have big issues - both are product of wild times, of very creative but inexperienced creators. Fallout 1&2 are a complete mess in so many ways, yet there is brilliance there.

 

No, you couldn’t just “remake” them today and have them be good products. That’s why I am so against Beamdog adding stuff them - after 20 years you can’t so that. If someone can’t connect with them today, that’s a shame, and that’s fine. Gaming went a long way since then. But there is sincerety and creativity in those games, which make them a worthy playthrough even today.

[algroth]

I hope I'll be able to turn off narrator's voice over then. Those really get on my nerves in any game.

This is a good point actually, since the title is misleading: the *dialogue* will be fully voiced, not the narration. So I think that outside a few key descrptions the likes of an act introductory scroll or the likes we won't see much of the descriptions being voiced.

[Knagur]

I hope I'll be able to turn off narrator's voice over then. Those really get on my nerves in any game.

I dont think you have to worry about a narrator telling your every step in the game, it is probably only between chapters any narration occurs 

[AndreaColombo]

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3807509&userid=17931&perpage=40&pagenumber=12#post483124914

 

 

Only the intro, end game, and major story scripted interactions get voiced narration. Ordinary conversations (even important ones) don't have voiced prose.

[tinysalamander]

Only the intro, end game, and major story scripted interactions get voiced narration. Ordinary conversations (even important ones) don't have voiced prose.

 

I wasn't really talking about voiced prose (only). I dislike narrators in general, anywhere, including “major scripted interactions”, as they break my immersion really hard for whatever reason.

[rjshae]

 

Only the intro, end game, and major story scripted interactions get voiced narration. Ordinary conversations (even important ones) don't have voiced prose.

 

I wasn't really talking about voiced prose (only). I dislike narrators in general, anywhere, including “major scripted interactions”, as they break my immersion really hard for whatever reason.

 

When done well, a good narration can add a lot to the story's tone and verisimilitude. It can make the plot feel like a tale told by a skilled bard. But I suppose not everybody will feel that way; it probably depends on your past experiences.

[Jayngo]

 

Only the intro, end game, and major story scripted interactions get voiced narration. Ordinary conversations (even important ones) don't have voiced prose.

 

I wasn't really talking about voiced prose (only). I dislike narrators in general, anywhere, including “major scripted interactions”, as they break my immersion really hard for whatever reason.

 

Interesting. I found the narrator in DoS 2 to be spectacular and a fresh welcome.

 

I would usually roleplay character voices in my head, along with any narrator bits, but I loved the narrator in DoS2. Wouldn't mind the same type of thing in Deadfire. It's like having a DM overseeing the whole thing...

[MrH]

Absolutely brilliant, I was hoping they'd do full VO but I wasn't expecting it. It's so, so important for me. Hype levels just increased massively.