Exactly

Going fully voiced for Charname means that they have fewer options to revise their script, or add to it later when they need to. If everything requires a re-recording of dialog that's more money and another phone call each time, instead of the writer just loading up their word processor and getting it handled on the fly.

I mean what's the best we're likely to get if they go fully voiced? maybe SWTOR levels of variety if we're crazy lucky and rich, with like a single male and female voice for each major storyline? I'm certain they're not pulling down enough loot to compete at that level of video game "movie making." But we don't really need it for the BG feel. A couple dozen different barks in a couple dozen different voices is all we really need, and text for the rest.

Having the spotlight on some companions moreso than others, with more robust interjections and cutscenes for some is totally fine. They did that in BG2, and not all the companions had equal weight. The romanceable ones obviously had more going on, so Viconia, Jaheira and Aeire maybe had more to say over the course of the game. Certain show-stealers like Edwin and Minsc had some extra theatrics and more lines going on, as returning Fan Favs... but for the most part, unless you were performing a Companion quest, it wasn't like everyone had to read everyone else's lines for the basic script to still work.

This is what we had to work with in BG1/2 for sound sets... Each of the companion NPCs had a unique bark for each .wav slot, and there were half a dozen male/female barks to choose beyond those specifically for the Charname Protagonist.

Battle Cry
Becoming Leader
Tired
Bored
Badly Wounded
Selected 1
Selected 2
Selected 3
Action Acknowledgement 1
Action Acknowledgement 2
Action Acknowledgement 3
Being Hit
Dying
In Forest
In City
In Dungeon
Daytime
Nighttime
Rare Selected 1
Rare Selected 2
Rare Selected 3
Rare Selected 4
Reaction to Party Member Death

That's what we need, a couple dozen barks like those. A few dialogue highlights beyond that for initial introductions or when the story beats demand a more epic interjection, but text for most of the rest. They shouldn't be setting the expectations so high, where every Companion or NPC needs to be fully acted in a conversation scene for everything. At that point you might as well just watch a film. I'd rather they built it out in a way that lets their writers do the heavy lifting rather than the actors, so that it is more flexible and adaptive and easier to edit or expand later on.

Put another way, I hope they have some Companions in this game that aren't just totally developed Origin characters with elaborate voice acting scenes in every convo. I want some random mercs on a B-team roster, who won't make my largely voiceless protagonist seem so out of place by comparison. Hopefully with enough variety in their barks that the Protagonist might use them too at character creation if it fits with their idea for the character.

Right now we have 2 voice sets for each gender. I was hoping for something more like 12, and that was being conservative.

I'd like to see one Posh, one Gruff, one Nervous, Cocksure and Arrogant, Dumber than a bag of hammers etc... all the standard voice tropes. Then done up in various accents, some British, some American, some Australian, South African or Caribbean... some further afield or Euro fusion second language style for flare, whatever it takes to make Baldur's Gate feel a bit more cosmopolitan. Everyone liked Minsc for doing basically an Arnold impersonation, more like that.

"The stone's less worn here"

Right, sure it is
heheh


ps. of the 4 barks that play when selecting your voice during character creation, I don't think I've heard any of them sound off while actually playing. No "hells" or "tidy slots" that I've come across. They should just follow the list above for the main BG barks. Returning fans will find them instantly familiar, and if players don't like barks just let them mute it in the game options.

pps. Cackling Laugh

"No one is more worthy"

"We should not waist time like this"

Lol


Last edited by Black_Elk; 27/10/20 01:38 PM.