The Silent Treatment

flash525 · July 2015

Specifically that of our characters and bridge crew. Surely there aren't that many mutes in the 25th century?

I'm putting out the request that for Season #11, we are provided with voice-over options for our characters. I'm not asking for anything fancy, only to hear a voice when our characters (and bridge officers) are speaking; obviously the voices of our bridge officers would be for basic alerts such as beaming down to a planet, or approaching a red alert etc.

Maybe then you can further expand upon this by adding voice-over packs to the c-store (and maybe go even further, and add generic trek actors/actresses voice-overs within lock boxes)? It goes without saying that this request wouldn't change the play-style of the game, but it would add to the dynamic and the atmosphere in addition to adding that little bit of attachment to our characters and officers.

Food for thought.

vegeta50024 · July 2015

I think the idea is not right for this game. A predefined voice would potentially hurt since not everyone would like the voice that they would choose to represent the character. A certain Disney owned scifi franchise that takes place a long time in a galaxy far far away has 4 classes for each faction and each of those has a male and female voice, so you're looking at 16 different voice actors just for that. No matter what you choose for race, that voice is set to the class.

We can't do the same for STO due to how many different species there are. Besides, think of how much more we have to have downloaded if we started bloating it with voices.

rattler2 · July 2015

They chose not to give player characters and BOffs voices because we all probably have an idea of what we want our characters and BOffs to sound like. Suddenly giving them voices would break that little bit of unique immersion that we have with our crews.

For example, someone might be imagining the voice of Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly) for a character, and then BOOM! Voice totally changed due to being given a voice actor.

hunteralpha84 · July 2015

Man Kaylee was sexy as hell.

adamkafei · July 2015

It would be nice as long as it's opt-in. I think it would be better to bring back boff interaction like there was in the early arcs though.

kthang · July 2015

adamkafei wrote: »

It would be nice as long as it's opt-in. I think it would be better to bring back boff interaction like there was in the early arcs though.

^^ This. Options are always good. Those that want to imagine their character speaking in elvish can do that, the rest of us can choose to have the basic voice of Helga or Helmut the ex East German weightlifter voice-overs. Kinda' like Arnold. :-p

mustrumridcully0 · July 2015

If they had done so from the start, it would probably have worked, but if they add it now, many players will find their charaters speaking in a voice they never associated with that character.

It is quite unfortunate, because it's always jarring when the NPCs talk and my character just gets written line. But it might be more jarring if he or she sounded like some stranger.

walligig · July 2015

Adding a voice over to your bridge officers would be nearly impossible at this point for several reasons. Reason one, anytime you have an interaction with one of your officers the game calls on either a Boff seat on your ship or an away team slot on the ground, The officer who happens to be filling that slot is the one you interact with. Reason two is the amount customization would mean Cryptic would have to hire several different voice actors to cover a ton of different races for both genders to say the exact same lines. The only way I could see this working is if they locked in everybody's boffs to Elisa Flores, T'Vrell, Zarva, Kolez, and whatever the Klingon and Romulan equivalents are. Of course many people would object to that, probably myself included.

One thing I would like to see eventually done though is a finished voiceover of the story missions. The Cardassian Arch (and I think maybe the Breen Arch) is going to be completely redone anyways so I am not counting that, but the Klingon missions could really use it. There are several missions that have a halfway voiceover that is not complete. It would be nice if at some point it was finished.

gradii · July 2015

rattler2 wrote: »

They chose not to give player characters and BOffs voices because we all probably have an idea of what we want our characters and BOffs to sound like. Suddenly giving them voices would break that little bit of unique immersion that we have with our crews.

For example, someone might be imagining the voice of Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly) for a character, and then BOOM! Voice totally changed due to being given a voice actor.

There is a reason one of the most famous protagonists in video game history never talks.
(except with a tiny bit of text choices)

latest?cb=20140901154212

hypl · July 2015

Bridge officer voices are already in the game, with tons of accents and race options for both genders, so that's taken care of. It's just a matter of hooking them back up, which actually might be more of a nightmare than it sounds.

However, are you willing to throw lots of money at Cryptic for character voiceovers? Because that's what it's going to take. Give Cryptic a lot of money, and they'll probably do it.

svindal777 · July 2015

rattler2 wrote: »

For example, someone might be imagining the voice of Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly) for a character, and then BOOM!

You got Peg Bundy.

jrichard1979 · July 2015

svindal777 wrote: »

rattler2 wrote: »

For example, someone might be imagining the voice of Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly) for a character, and then BOOM!

You got Peg Bundy.

I would be happy with Leela for my character's voice.

ltminns · July 2015

jrichard1979 wrote: »

You got Peg Bundy.

It could be worse. It could be 'The Nanny'.

bergins · July 2015

hypl wrote: »

Bridge officer voices are already in the game, with tons of accents and race options for both genders, so that's taken care of. It's just a matter of hooking them back up, which actually might be more of a nightmare than it sounds.

What? Are you telling us that there are all those voice files already in game, unused? Cuz that's a lot of wasted bandwidth every time someone downloads the game. If that's not what you're telling us, them if isn't really "in place," is it?

hypl wrote: »

However, are you willing to throw lots of money at Cryptic for character voiceovers? Because that's what it's going to take. Give Cryptic a lot of money, and they'll probably do it.

No, I can't agree that they would. If Cryptic were to add BOff VOs, they'd need to hire the same set of actors every new season to do new mission interacts, or stop using them altogether. Which do you think they'll do, even if you throw $$$ at them? Let's look at how long it took for them to update a ship for people who did throw a lot of money at them. Yeah, bye-bye BOff interactions...

gulberat · July 2015

I suspect I'm the only dork that reads my toon's lines out loud (even though I don't have a great voice for any of them). Because yes, it does look ridiculous when the NPC's talk and "you" don't...but reading their lines at least reduces the level of ridiculous a few pegs.

bernatk · July 2015

vegeta50024 wrote: »

I think the idea is not right for this game. A predefined voice would potentially hurt since not everyone would like the voice that they would choose to represent the character. A certain Disney owned scifi franchise that takes place a long time in a galaxy far far away has 4 classes for each faction and each of those has a male and female voice, so you're looking at 16 different voice actors just for that. No matter what you choose for race, that voice is set to the class.

We can't do the same for STO due to how many different species there are. Besides, think of how much more we have to have downloaded if we started bloating it with voices.

Voice actors? Obsolete! Look at the marvel of the modern science! Speaking computers!

http://tts.imtranslator.net/Wdh2

a3001 · July 2015

flash525 wrote: »

Specifically that of our characters and bridge crew. Surely there aren't that many mutes in the 25th century?

I'm putting out the request that for Season #11, we are provided with voice-over options for our characters. I'm not asking for anything fancy, only to hear a voice when our characters (and bridge officers) are speaking; obviously the voices of our bridge officers would be for basic alerts such as beaming down to a planet, or approaching a red alert etc.

Maybe then you can further expand upon this by adding voice-over packs to the c-store (and maybe go even further, and add generic trek actors/actresses voice-overs within lock boxes)? It goes without saying that this request wouldn't change the play-style of the game, but it would add to the dynamic and the atmosphere in addition to adding that little bit of attachment to our characters and officers.

Food for thought.

They tried that with Tovan Khev. Look where that got us...

adamkafei · July 2015

Dynasty warriors has a limited number of voice options but then put in a pitch setting. I'm sure it would be possible to implement something similar here. I'm sure Cryptic can apply distortions where needed for various races such as the Gorn.

Still, my greatest desires are to have more boff interaction during the missions to make them more interesting and to have some more open minded captain dialogue options, too many times they've had my captains saying things they'd never say.

markhawkman · July 2015

bergins wrote: »

hypl wrote: »

However, are you willing to throw lots of money at Cryptic for character voiceovers? Because that's what it's going to take. Give Cryptic a lot of money, and they'll probably do it.

No, I can't agree that they would. If Cryptic were to add BOff VOs, they'd need to hire the same set of actors every new season to do new mission interacts, or stop using them altogether. Which do you think they'll do, even if you throw $$$ at them? Let's look at how long it took for them to update a ship for people who did throw a lot of money at them. Yeah, bye-bye BOff interactions...

Yeah, that type of voice work is a massive undertaking just to have a dozen options. As if people would be happy with only a dozen options...

kittyflofy · July 2015

This will be a tremendous time consuming work.. ende, never gonna happen. Of course it will be cool, as other features, but again never gonna happen.

hypl · July 2015

bergins wrote: »

What? Are you telling us that there are all those voice files already in game, unused? Cuz that's a lot of wasted bandwidth every time someone downloads the game. If that's not what you're telling us, them if isn't really "in place," is it?

Yup, and the last I checked, they are STILL in the game. Cryptic removed files tied to exploration, but not these? Now why is that?

bergins wrote: »

No, I can't agree that they would. If Cryptic were to add BOff VOs, they'd need to hire the same set of actors every new season to do new mission interacts, or stop using them altogether. Which do you think they'll do, even if you throw $$$ at them? Let's look at how long it took for them to update a ship for people who did throw a lot of money at them. Yeah, bye-bye BOff interactions...

I didn't mean boff voiceovers, because that would be nuts. And they're not that important. I was referring to player character voiceovers. Cryptic seems to have this content already written and planned out over a long period of time, so when they bring in people to record lines, particularly those that may have scheduling conflicts, they record as much as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeri Ryan's lines in Broken Circle were recorded before DR came out.

Then there's how many types of voices you want to provide to players. More options for each gender would require more actors, which means more money is needed to pay for them. Considering the entitled demands players have these days, it would not be feasible to appeal to everyone. This I can understand at least. But I'll be honest. I'd be fine with just one male voice and one female voice as options, even if it isn't exactly how I envisioned my character would sound like. At this point I'll take anything to alleviate the awkward silence in those cutscenes. Sometimes I speak for my character too, though it sounds odd since my character is female...and I'm a guy that doesn't sound feminine.

picard51 · July 2015

vegeta50024 wrote: »

I think the idea is not right for this game. A predefined voice would potentially hurt since not everyone would like the voice that they would choose to represent the character. A certain Disney owned scifi franchise that takes place a long time in a galaxy far far away has 4 classes for each faction and each of those has a male and female voice, so you're looking at 16 different voice actors just for that. No matter what you choose for race, that voice is set to the class.

We can't do the same for STO due to how many different species there are. Besides, think of how much more we have to have downloaded if we started bloating it with voices.

Which is true but, as you said if you pick the class the voice is the same. Regardless of species. The only thing that has any effect is if you wear a helmet. That's it. So the argument that the species variety would mess that up is kinda redundant. The only thing you'd really have to do is add that hissing effect for Gorn and maybe make Caitians and Ferasans meow periodically.
I think it could be cool to get more voicing. It'd definitely reinforce the immersion. I mean, dammit I want my Cardassian first officer to make Garak-style wise cracks already!

gulberat · July 2015

picard51 wrote: »

I think it could be cool to get more voicing. It'd definitely reinforce the immersion. I mean, dammit I want my Cardassian first officer to make Garak-style wise cracks already!

Haha, I know what you mean...during "Dust to Dust," when Jhet'leya tried to play the offended girlfriend ("Harry, this is not the time!") to get out of answering questions and taking responsibility for her actions, I could so easily picture Berat crossing his arms, raising an eye ridge in disbelief, and saying in a very Garak-like tone, "Oh, I think this is very much the time, madam." He's not normally that snarky, but the occasion sure called for it.

hypl wrote: »

Sometimes I speak for my character too, though it sounds odd since my character is female...and I'm a guy that doesn't sound feminine.

Haha, that makes me feel better that I'm NOT the only one that does that.

markhawkman · July 2015

hypl wrote: »

bergins wrote: »

What? Are you telling us that there are all those voice files already in game, unused? Cuz that's a lot of wasted bandwidth every time someone downloads the game. If that's not what you're telling us, them if isn't really "in place," is it?

Yup, and the last I checked, they are STILL in the game. Cryptic removed files tied to exploration, but not these? Now why is that?

bergins wrote: »

No, I can't agree that they would. If Cryptic were to add BOff VOs, they'd need to hire the same set of actors every new season to do new mission interacts, or stop using them altogether. Which do you think they'll do, even if you throw $$$ at them? Let's look at how long it took for them to update a ship for people who did throw a lot of money at them. Yeah, bye-bye BOff interactions...

I didn't mean boff voiceovers, because that would be nuts. And they're not that important. I was referring to player character voiceovers. Cryptic seems to have this content already written and planned out over a long period of time, so when they bring in people to record lines, particularly those that may have scheduling conflicts, they record as much as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeri Ryan's lines in Broken Circle were recorded before DR came out.

Then there's how many types of voices you want to provide to players. More options for each gender would require more actors, which means more money is needed to pay for them. Considering the entitled demands players have these days, it would not be feasible to appeal to everyone. This I can understand at least. But I'll be honest. I'd be fine with just one male voice and one female voice as options, even if it isn't exactly how I envisioned my character would sound like. At this point I'll take anything to alleviate the awkward silence in those cutscenes. Sometimes I speak for my character too, though it sounds odd since my character is female...and I'm a guy that doesn't sound feminine.

More data is required to know how extensive this is.... also... when did they last add to this?

askray · July 2015

BOFF Voice overs as some people from beta will remember were in there and they didn't work a lot of the time. So it was never fully added. The captains voices was done so it didn't mess with what YOU thought your captain would sound like. This was a decision they made a long time ago and I doubt it'll ever change.

hawku001x · July 2015

How about an option to record your own VO's.

gulberat · July 2015

hawku001x wrote: »

How about an option to record your own VO's.

Haha, like that won't have problems...there's a reason we're not allowed to record VO's, as it's been brought up in the Foundry. Just imagine the inappropriate things people would say! Not to mention the bad acting.

Unfortunately as far as I can tell, speaking for my character during the cutscenes is as "close" as we are going to get.

walligig · July 2015

askray wrote: »

The captains voices was done so it didn't mess with what YOU thought your captain would sound like. This was a decision they made a long time ago and I doubt it'll ever change.

I have heard Cryptic say this before and honestly it just sounds like a PR excuse to cover up the fact that A) they didn't want to put the money in to hire a bunch of different actors to voice the captain, or

they didn't have the money to do so. Now granted it is a really good excuse and one that I am happy to go along with. Even in KOTOR 1 and 2 you character was silent and those are two of my favorite games so it doesn't bother me one bit.

svindal777 · July 2015

askray wrote: »

The captains voices was done so it didn't mess with what YOU thought your captain would sound like..

Could just imagine the constant threads about captain voices. My girlfriend... I mean female Orion's voice doesn't sound right. Can you go so and so to do voice overs?

nyxadrill · July 2015

There is a "sort of" voice over on the Breen boff. Ocassionally you'll hear him chunter something in Breen

I kinda imagine it might be a Breen expletive though lol

The Silent Treatment

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