Larian Studios
Posted By: JustChris A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 04:20 PM
While I applaud Larian’s effort to redo the game’s vocals, I find myself nonetheless agreeing with those who find the new DK voice to be extremely irritating. First, let me be honest and state that I disliked the last DK voice, but now I find myself begging for its return. I’ve been buying games for years at an average rate of about two per month and I’ve only ever returned two titles – and those titles were completely bug ridden; BD sorely tempts me to return it to my local EB and, for the first time in my gaming history, it's not because the title is buggy.

Comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges, I think one would be hard pressedto find a commercial grade RPG with a primary character that had more annoying VO work. Sure, some will say that all opinions are subjective and that one opinion is no better than another. While this may be true to some limited degree, the real world impact here is that a number of people (of those who ACTUALLY have the final release in hand) are coming to the same conclusion with the DK’s voice.

It’s no great leap of logic to realize that most forum posters are Divinity franchise fans and that for every person here that voices their distaste for the DK’s voice there are probably a hundred (or more) purchasers of BD who feel the same way.

To switch gears a bit, and in conclusion, I call on Larian to amaze us once more by showing BD owners that they do indeed listen to objective criticisms. I realize that the DK’s voiceovers can’t be attempted a third time, but please do the next best thing and put together a large, optional “patch” that would supply the old DK vocal files and swap them out with the files that the new DK vocals use. Thank you, in advance, for your time in reading this.

Posted By: Plowking Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 04:26 PM
I don't imagine it's likely that there'll be a patch to change the voice, but if there isn't already an option to turn the voice off then maybe a patch to enable that option would help? Or if you like all the other voices maybe a patch to just disable the DK voice.

I thought the DK was meant to be annoying and get on your nerves? All the more reason to unlock that soul-forge! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

I haven't got the game yet so I don't know about the voice at present.
Posted By: AlrikFassbauer Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 05:05 PM
Pleas - how do they taste ?

(Sorry, couldn't resist. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" /> )
Posted By: Laeraneth Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 05:15 PM
I've seen plenty of people complain about the new DK voice even more than the old one (I thought the demo one was quite good actually. It seems bad to start with, but the dry detachment of it kinda grew on me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

But, to get to the point. Larian said that they'd redone all the voicework, yes? So surely, there must be all the old soundfiles sitting somewhere in Larian's offices. Including the original DK.

Maybe, just MAYBE, it would be possible to have a patch to switch to the old voice for him for those who really don't like the new one?

Sure, it'll probably be a pretty sizable download, but as all the work is presumably already done, all it would need is the patch to put the files back where they should be.

No doubt it's not even nearly that simple <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> but hey, thought I'd put the idea in peoples (and developers maybe <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />) minds.

*crosses fingers, hoping to get <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> tomorrow morning and find out what this new DK voice is like*
Posted By: Fain Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 05:24 PM
I like the new voice much more. The guy doesn't even speak that much.
Posted By: Greyclouds Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 05:48 PM
In the demo you could disable all voices by turning the "Voice" volume down to zero.

While I do not have the retail game myself, I would believe that there is an option to do this in the final version. Me? I would personally turn down the voice volume as soon as I started. I like my RPG's textual and my women... well... (the word is not textual, I'll tell you that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />)
Posted By: Buliwyf Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 06:40 PM
at this point I would rather fixes/balances be put in then a voice
Posted By: JustChris Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 06:40 PM
@ Plowking

I’d prefer my DK to sound delectably sinister with a sprinkling of sadism in his voice. If Larian was angling for “annoying”, then they should have soul-forged the protagonist character to an imp instead. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

@ Laeraneth

If Larian redid “all” of the voiceovers as you suggest, then they obviously used some of the same actors again as many of the characters sound exactly the same as they did in the demo – Fergus springs to mind. The ghost near the start and the first imp you run into with Fergus were definitely redone (the ghost no longer has a funky effect coupled to the voice, though surprisingly the first Imp has a sound effect applied now whereas he didn’t before). The DK is the only one that really bothers me. Considering that he (presumably) has the most spoken lines in the game, you’d think that the DK would have the best voice acting backing him up.

As to the DK’s voice, it sounds like someone working too hard to strain their vocal cords and shove their lines out of their mouth. It would be like me with a joe-average midtone voice trying to do a deep, rock-the-house, booming voice. Sure I could do it, but I’d sound utterly fake while doing it.

@ Greyclouds

If you truly prefer your RPGs “textual”, wouldn’t you have to find a way to turn off the visuals as well? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

(Has flashbacks to true text based games like Zork and Adventure in Colossal Cave)
Posted By: Centurion Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 06:42 PM
I must admit I preferred the old Death Knight voice to the one in the final version, but the other voices that were in the demo are improved -

~Cent~
Posted By: Killbomb Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 07:50 PM
I've noticed that the new DK sounds a lot like Serious Sam. Too bad they couldn't get the guy that did Alastor's or Lucifer's voice in Painkiller. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Tovi Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 08:53 PM
I'm so freaking curious now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Won't someone please post a sample of the DK's new voice as it is heard in the English version of Beyond Divinity, thank you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Barta Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:10 PM
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I'm so freaking curious now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Won't someone please post a sample of the DK's new voice as it is heard in the English version of Beyond Divinity, thank you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Raze gave samples of the new voice in another thread. I will look after it later.
I listen to one sample and i think that the new voice is irritating, the first one was smooth.

Now i am happy to see that the people who complained loudly about the DK's voice are not satisfied with the new voice.

In french (sorry) : c'est bien fait pour eux ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shhh.gif" alt="" />

Barta

EDIT : The samples of the voice are in the post of Raze
Worst voice I ever heard in a game

EDIT 2 : I have made a big error these samples are not the new voice but the old one ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />
I keep them in my post for the people who did not play the demo.
Posted By: kay26 Please try and play further - 30/04/04 09:16 PM
Yes,just like you i was irritated by the new voice to the point of not wanting to play the game, and its actually not the voice itself but the tone, he speaks like he's super angry and ready to shred anyone to pieces even when he says trivial things BUT, if you play further you'll notice the tone of the death knight changes for the better...a lot better, and thats when i noticed it was not the voice that was so annoying but the stupid tone of his speech. Game is great, im having lots of fun with it, its not divine divinity but its a very good game in its own right.
Posted By: Tovi Re: Please try and play further - 30/04/04 09:21 PM
Barta -> In the thread you suggested Raze only refers to an old topic that was created to show modified versions of the Death Knights voice from the demo. But I want the actual, original, unmodified voice samples from the full.
Posted By: Killbomb Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:21 PM
Barta: The samples in that thread are the DK voice from the demo with modifications. There aren't any samples of the "official" new DK voice. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


EDIT: Yeah, what Tovi said. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Morbo Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:22 PM
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EDIT : The samples of the voice are in the post of Raze


Arent't those fan created voices?

They also seem to be 3 weeks old (before the release of <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" />) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/think.gif" alt="" />

I will preserve my judgement till the game arrives in the mail.
Posted By: Barta Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:27 PM
@ Tovi and Killbomb and Morbo

I am really sorry and i am the most stupid woman in the world !
I thought that these samples were the new voice !
Posted By: Tovi Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:38 PM
lol! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> No need to apologize. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

But I will repeat my request: Will someone who has the full version please post a sample of the ingame voice of the DK?
Posted By: StrangeCat Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:38 PM
you have to be a child to complain about the work someone did for you in an attempt to make that work better. Grin and be happy they even made the effort to change and make there game better. I am sure there will be a mod that will allow you to change the voice. and that's all I say folks Sayonara///
Posted By: Buliwyf Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:38 PM
half of the problem with the game as a friend also pointed out is the dynamics in each voice.


why does one imp or guard have a echo/cave verbal sound...where the next guy sounds like he's standing outside without the echo?

there are inconsistencies
Posted By: Morbo Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:44 PM
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@ Tovi and Killbomb and Morbo


Seems we are triplets seperated at birth see how our minds think alike.

@ Tovi and Killbomb: So what are your plans to take over the world. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Tovi Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:50 PM
Actually, I was planning on building a few robots that would spawn an army of robots, for the eventual destruction of the human race.

Let's face it, the human race has failed. 2 million years, and what have we accomplished? That little light in the refridgerator that turns on when you open it? I don't think so... Time to die, humans!
Posted By: Barta Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:51 PM
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Seems we are triplets seperated at birth see how our minds think alike.

Are you "The triplets of Belleville " ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Killbomb Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 09:51 PM
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Actually, I was planning on building a few robots that would spawn an army of robots, for the eventual destruction of the human race.

Let's face it, the human race has failed. 2 million years, and what have we accomplished? That little light in the refridgerator that turns on when you open it? I don't think so... Time to die, humans!


Sounds like a good idea to me... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: AlrikFassbauer Re: A rolling rant and an honest pea - 30/04/04 09:56 PM
Hm, Killbomb ... reminds me of a song by Chumbawamba ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/think.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Morbo Re: A rolling rant and an honest pea - 30/04/04 10:03 PM
No not robots haven't you heared that all robots eventually turn against theire masters. Better use fish to rule the world. because nobody ever expects the fish MUHAHAHAHA <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badsmile2.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: Barta Re: A rolling rant and an honest pea - 30/04/04 10:16 PM
No dogs will rule the world and the human beings will be their pets.

There is a movie made with the novella of Pierre Boulle called "The planet of the dogs" which explains how the dogs will rule the human race. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: JustChris Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 10:16 PM
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Actually, I was planning on building a few robots that would spawn an army of robots, for the eventual destruction of the human race.

Let's face it, the human race has failed. 2 million years, and what have we accomplished? That little light in the refridgerator that turns on when you open it? I don't think so... Time to die, humans!


Skynet is already waaaaaaaaaay ahead of you on that one. You’d better hurry to catch up as there is no consolation prize for being the second person to destroy the world.

As to the fish vs. giant robots debate, I’ve always been partial to “freekin’ zombie demons from outer space” for destroying the world. (Max Payne 1 to 2 running joke)

As to the more serious question of posting a voice clip , I might check into that when I get home - assuming that one can post attachments directly to the MB here? I don't have a webspace currently and I don't feel terribly inclined to sign up for a "free" one that will spam me with junk.
Posted By: Tovi Re: A rolling rant and an honest pea - 30/04/04 10:24 PM
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No not robots haven't you heared that all robots eventually turn against theire masters. Better use fish to rule the world. because nobody ever expects the fish MUHAHAHAHA <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badsmile2.gif" alt="" />


That's the entire point. I want them to wipe out the human race, me included. Afterwards, they can start a whole new civilisation.

Think about it, robots can adjust themselves to any size and shape. There are artificially intelligent ones, and workers. Both do their jobs perfectly, and they never complain. And since they can calculate stuff so fast, they evolve faster. etc. etc.

EDIT: All they really need is conciousness. Don't think I'm some crazy idiot who wants to replace the human race by chunks of metal. I want my robots to have a conciousness.
Anyway, back to the original topic: I can't see any problem with the DK's voice (but then, the first version sounded ok to me too). Whatever, if this is the worst thing to complain about, then the game's looking good to me... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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No not robots haven't you heared that all robots eventually turn against theire masters. Better use fish to rule the world. because nobody ever expects the fish MUHAHAHAHA <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badsmile2.gif" alt="" />


That's the entire point. I want them to wipe out the human race, me included. Afterwards, they can start a whole new civilisation.

Think about it, robots can adjust themselves to any size and shape. There are artificially intelligent ones, and workers. Both do their jobs perfectly, and they never complain. And since they can calculate stuff so fast, they evolve faster. etc. etc.

EDIT: All they really need is conciousness. Don't think I'm some crazy idiot who wants to replace the human race by chunks of metal. I want my robots to have a conciousness.


I just want to wipe out MOST of the human race; me not included.

and restart civilization. destroy computers so only the top masters have them. armed guards with both swords and small pistols, and make everyone else be back in the old dark ages, with us guarding them, makeing sure they don't destroy themselves or us. We'd help them, eventually.
everyone else in the dark ages.

sounds good to me.

maybe to good.

time to write a story! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" /> but it would be good.
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Seems we are triplets seperated at birth see how our minds think alike.

Are you "The triplets of Belleville " ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> LOVE that movie! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: AlrikFassbauer Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 11:53 PM
German title : "Das große Rennen von Belleville" ("The Great Race of Belleville").
Posted By: JustChris Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 30/04/04 11:54 PM

Ok, I've captured two small clips from the very start (the scene where the DK talks to you in the prison cell) and merged them together.

The wav I captured is about 2.33 MB

The alternate version, an mp3, is 217 KB

Seeing as someone hosted the originals, from the demo, I'm going to assume that posting about the final versions here won't be a problem. Does anybody want to host the file?



Posted By: Tovi Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 01/05/04 12:57 PM
I'll host it. Already sent you a PM about it.
Posted By: Greyclouds Re: A rolling rant and an honest plea - 01/05/04 01:12 PM
@Justchris: Ah, but aren't pictures worth a thousand words (or some such metaphor)? It's all textual in my mind <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
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