300million and lots of worn out spacebars

[Naizgrel]

I read quest text I've never seen before, just like I watch dialogues I've never seen before. I don't find listening to quest text any more entertaining than reading it; just easier on the eyes after a long day at work.

 

So would you rather read something instead of hearing it ? If you had a long day at work, you would be too tired to read, thats why you listen and sit back and relax.

[Gungan]

So would you rather read something instead of hearing it ? If you had a long day at work, you would be too tired to read, thats why you listen and sit back and relax.

 

Except that I'm an avid reader, and your statement is blanatly false. I read to relax after work too, and many times I read because i'm tired of playing SWTOR. There is no better medium for telling a story than a book because you'll never get all the detail from a book into a screenplay.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Gungan

[labyrinth]

So would you rather read something instead of hearing it ? If you had a long day at work, you would be too tired to read, thats why you listen and sit back and relax.

 

For one thing, reading it is faster. I can think and comprehend faster than the VA can speak the dialogue.

 

That old RPG argument ties in here as well. You know, the immersion thing about reading and having an idea in your head about what he should be and sound like? Like how when you're reading a book you've never seen or read before, you have an image in your head about what it's like. As opposed to, say, reading a book after having seen the movie version of it.

[GRINnBARRETT]

Even though there are several things I would like added to this game to make me resub, I find it hard to criticize BW for the best thing in the game.

[ThiborF]

from what i've heard EA invested 80mill when bioware sold their souls to them and gave up producing quality games, lucas arts invested hundreds of millions before EA got involved.

 

the exact costs are irrelevant anyway, it still costs more to have voice actors rather than simple text

 

If the amount spent is irrelevant then why make it your seemingly star point in the subject line?

 

Does voice acting cost more? Certainly. I think few would argue that unless you're arguing their voice talent is young and doing it as things like an internship where they're getting paid little for it and hopes that their work will at best be recognized and at the least be solid enough to use as references on resumes.

 

But, I don't think that was the case with most or even all of the VOA in TOR so yes, it costs more from a development standpoint.

 

And VOA, like any other feature touted and heavily invested in by a company, will have both its appreciative fans and its critics.

 

You cite lack of content. Other MMOs have come before with as slow or slower content releases and done fine.

 

You cite added costs for future development. Whether that proves worth it falls to what the break-even/reasonable profit line is regarding number of subscriptions and whether that line is maintained/exceeded. MMOs 10 years ago might get by with a skeletal dev group and 25k subs being profitable still. Today, depending on the game, it might be 100k-200k minimum for that to happen. With the VOA of TOR, it might be 400k-500k or perhaps more ... or maybe a bit less. Hard to say.

 

Regardless of all that, I'm enjoying the VOA in TOR quite a bit. Do I use the space bar? Occasionally if it's something I've seen many times or repeated just recently on another character. I've been reading quest text in MMOs since Dec'02 and in computer RPGs for far far longer. It is a nice change of pace.

 

*shrug* As stated before though, it's not going to be what wins everyone over. And with that, it's similar to other types of entertainment media in what one person finds awesome and a principle reason for consuming more of the product, others find a turn off.

[labyrinth]

Here's the way I usually do it in this game though.

 

I don't skip the dialogue per se. I read the subtitles at the bottom while the dialogue is being voiced so I have an idea about what they sound like (emotion and everything). But as soon as I finish reading the dialogue myself, I space bar thru it to get things going. For the main story quests I do try to listen to the whole thing.

 

Works pretty well actually. I may not agree with having everything in the game voiced, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them. They are done very well.

[ThiborF]

Let's just say, there's a reason World of Warcraft is handing out free level 80's like candy. The levelling experience in that game is horrible. It's merely a chore that you want to get over as fast as possible since there's nothing but endgame. Reading quest text makes it feel like an outdated game compared to SWTOR.

 

The voiceovers are a major part of what makes this game excellent. Not only do you gain attachment to your character, but it feels like your journey starts right from level 1. I have even deleted and restarted characters (yes, still hardly using the spacebar at all even the second time) because I regretted some choices I made in the storyline.

 

I would disagree with you about WoW in that I found it from day 1 to be an excellent leveling experience. However, there is a growing contingent of MMO players that for whatever reason see the leveling process as at best a hurdle and at worst, an annoyance, and are stuck on the singular thought of, "The game begins at end-game" which to me is dumb sentiment to have. But, I think there would be at least a niche out there for a MMO like:

GEAR GRIND!

No levels. You login from day 1 at max abilities. You just have some class choices to make, an allotment of points to spend and BAM! just like choosing a role in Team Fortress, you're in the game at the same power as everyone else. And the only purpose of PvE content is to acquire better/different gear.

 

That wouldn't be the game for me as I'm an old school D&D player and I enjoy the leveling and exploring process. But, I also understand that not every game is going to be tailored to every person.

[GnatB]

The voiceovers are a major part of what makes this game excellent. Not only do you gain attachment to your character, but it feels like your journey starts right from level 1. I have even deleted and restarted characters (yes, still hardly using the spacebar at all even the second time) because I regretted some choices I made in the storyline.

 

Except the voiceovers are irrelevant to all of that. Story does not require VO. Books are perfectly capable of telling great stories, and creating attachment to the characters. And almost none have VO. This game does a relatively good job of telling the story with or without the VO's.

 

Now, perhaps if the people making the cinematics were as good as framing/setting up the scenes as those in hollywood are, maybe the dialogs wouldn't be as boring... but then again, in movies, they typically don't bother with nitty gritty details like they do when telling you of your quest in this game.

 

So many people in the pro VO camp seem to think you somehow lose the story without the VO. You don't. Here's a shocker. Pick a movie where there's a book version. Odds are even if the book version was based on the movie and not the other way 'round, it'll still be better than the movie.

 

IMO the only time VO adds any value is in action sequences where it's likely your eyes are too busy watching the action to read the text. And that almost NEVER happens in this game. (Actually, I don't think it's EVER happened yet in any of the storylines I've done)

 

Summary: Could crank the speach volume down to 0 and notice no real difference. (except you'd probably get bored waiting for the next line of speach after reading the text even more so than when the volume is on, just like what currently happens when talking with most alien races)

 

edit: Which reminds me. Are all your conversations involving alien races speaking other languages completely devoid of story because you have to read the subtitles instead of listening to the VA? No? Didn't thnk so.

Edited May 11, 2012 by GnatB

[AERHAE]

Why are people still bringing up the $300 million rumor that was debunked years ago by the very person who started it? It's confirmed the budget was less than $100 million for the entire game.

You are wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic

Although BioWare has not disclosed development costs, industry leaders and financial analysts have estimated it to be between $150 million and $200 million. If accurate, this would make it the most expensive video game ever developed.[12][13] The game had 1 million subscribers within three days of its launch, making it the world's 'Fastest-Growing MMO

Please do a little research.

Also please do some Math.

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/EA

When the game launched just a few months ago we were setting at 29$ dollars a share.Today we are at half that.And we are not even 6 months into the game.

You need to know The good news here is that Dragon Age is not releasing.Bio Ware is moving all the Devs to TOR from Dragon Age Development.To be Honest this maybe good news for us all.

Lets get it right people.

[Ghaiana]

If anyone played the GW2 beta, it should have occurred to them how bad the VO's were there. It was just two people standing, doing nothing with some faint background, half the time the voices were gone or not synchronized. Here all the VO's are like little movies and you can really see the amount of work that went into the VO's. Anyway if anything is broke on my computer it's more my mouse from pointing the choices, but not my spacebar. I almost never touched it.

[Altinar]

If anyone played the GW2 beta, it should have occurred to them how bad the VO's were there. It was just two people standing, doing nothing with some faint background, half the time the voices were gone or not synchronized. Here all the VO's are like little movies and you can really see the amount of work that went into the VO's. Anyway if anything is broke on my computer it's more my mouse from pointing the choices, but not my spacebar. I almost never touched it.

 

Too bad that GW2's gameplay is completely different, and is receiving very positive feedback. And I'm preeeetty sure that you're playing the game far more often than you're sitting there admiring the "superb voice acting".

[Ghaiana]

Too bad that GW2's gameplay is completely different, and is receiving very positive feedback. And I'm preeeetty sure that you're playing the game far more often than you're sitting there admiring the "superb voice acting".

 

Why are you here anyway if you like GW2 sooo much better?

[Bluestone]

Wasted Money.

 

I don't mind them making the main story arc all exciting and dramatic but having to go through the cutscene conversations every mundane quest (and especially when you get up to the daily quests grind) is really annoying.

 

But I am not one of the people here for the story, I play MMOs for the game mechanics and combat and crafting etc, never the story.

[Altinar]

Why are you here anyway if you like GW2 sooo much better?

 

Because it's not out. Next brilliant response, please.

[TheMunny]

Why are you here anyway if you like GW2 sooo much better?

 

In a month and 1/2 you will be asking:

"Why did everyone go to GW2 and not stay here??"

 

Give ya a hint, it has NOTHING to do with VO's..

If VO's were game defining I would stick with single player games.......oops

[Ghaiana]

Because it's not out. Next brilliant response, please.

 

You accused me of playing GW2 a lot more than looking at the pretty VO's here. First you don't know a thing about me, and then again, how can I play GW2 more if it's not out?? But I knew you would reply this..

[Nyla]

Imo, VO are a great addition to MMOs. I don't deny some people don't like it or that it couldn't have been done better sometimes but I prefer VO and cutscenes to any other method to get quests I have encountered in other MMOs.

 

Does it cost more to have VO ? Of course, yes but everything as a cost. They could have made 10 planets instead of 17, they could have made them less detailed, they could have made only one style of armor per class, ... They chose this path, if you don't like it, fine, but don't change a game into another.

 

The worst mistake MMOs companies make is to try to please everyone and then make games that please no one.

LucasArts chose Bioware for a reason and they have decided it would have stories, VO, ... If you don't like that, go play another game that was made for your playstyle.

[Altinar]

You accused me of playing GW2 a lot more than looking at the pretty VO's here. First you don't know a thing about me, and then again, how can I play GW2 more if it's not out?? But I knew you would reply this..

 

What are you even talking about? I never accused you of anything, I said that anyone who plays an MMO (by example of when you're playing SWTOR when I said the game, not GW2) is spending far more time playing the game than admiring the "amazing voice acting" in conversations. And just to be snarky, I knew you would reply this... since, of course, I did ask for another brilliant response.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Altinar

[Jenzali]

Except the voiceovers are irrelevant to all of that. Story does not require VO. Books are perfectly capable of telling great stories, and creating attachment to the characters. And almost none have VO. This game does a relatively good job of telling the story with or without the VO's.

 

I consider it more like a piece of music. The notes are there on paper but can be interpreted by different musicians in a number of ways. Part of the story is listening to the voice actor's interpretation of the written script. Certainly it's "irrelevant" if you're solely judging the piece of music only by its compositional merits, but for everyone else (the people consuming the entertainment) the interpretation also adds to the storytelling.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Jenzali

[Gungan]

The worst mistake MMOs companies make is to try to please everyone and then make games that please no one.

LucasArts chose Bioware for a reason and they have decided it would have stories, VO, ... If you don't like that, go play another game that was made for your playstyle.

 

Do you even realize how ironic this statement is? That is exactly what BioWare did. They made an instanced single player game with no branching story lines with an uninteresting generic supporting cast, then threw on a weak tank and spank MMO endgame, and sideshow PVP.

 

They alienated both their single player fans who play for deep character driven branching stories, and MMO fans who play for persistent world adventures, varied and interesting dungeon crawling and meaningful PVP.

 

*Golfclap*

Edited May 11, 2012 by Gungan

[Ricktur]

anyone think voice acting was worth the money or was it a waste and has it just heavily restricted the game?

 

 

i do think voice acting was worth the money. its absolutely revolutionary and most AAA mmo titles WILL follow suit. the VO is absolutely the most stand out feature of this game and it was worth every penny.

 

BUT

 

it DID restrict the game. new content will take longer to come out because everything has to be voiced over by actors who must reprise their roles. . . and swtor has an all star cast. also, getting things like new companions is going to be a chore becaus they have to provide voice acting for that new companion from start to finish, so its sad to say, but we proly wont get any new companions to level from 1-50 ever, maybe 50-60 but surely not 1-50 EVER, which is sad.

 

so its a catch twenty two, just like anything else.

[Altinar]

i do think voice acting was worth the money. its absolutely revolutionary and most AAA mmo titles WILL follow suit. the VO is absolutely the most stand out feature of this game and it was worth every penny.

 

BUT

 

it DID restrict the game. new content will take longer to come out because everything has to be voiced over by actors who must reprise their roles. . . and swtor has an all star cast. also, getting things like new companions is going to be a chore becaus they have to provide voice acting for that new companion from start to finish, so its sad to say, but we proly wont get any new companions to level from 1-50 ever, maybe 50-60 but surely not 1-50 EVER, which is sad.

 

so its a catch twenty two, just like anything else.

 

Elder Scrolls MMO purports to have fully voiced characters as well, so we'll see if that's really the case when it comes out.

[Ricktur]

Elder Scrolls MMO purports to have fully voiced characters as well, so we'll see if that's really the case when it comes out.

 

this supports my point.

[Nyla]

Do you even realize how ironic this statement is? That is exactly what BioWare did. They made an instanced single player game with no branching story lines with an uninteresting generic supporting cast, then threw on a weak tank and spank MMO endgame, and sideshow PVP.

 

They alienated both their single player fans who play for deep character driven branching stories, and MMO fans who play for persistent world adventures, varied and interesting dungeon crawling and meaningful PVP.

 

*Golfclap*

 

I never said Bioware made all the right choices

 

As for the topic of VO, Bioware being Bioware, it's a normal and expected feature.

[Altinar]

this supports my point.

 

Your point that having full voice acting causes delays and concessions to be made for content? I said we'll see if it proves true when the game comes out for a reason; I meant that we'll see if Bioware's failures are a result of spending so much on voice acting, or if they're just plain terrible at making an MMO. You missed my point, in that I'm saying that Elder Scrolls has the same aims, but if it turns out to have vastly superior content it will prove that the failure is Bioware's fault alone, and not some catch 22 intrinsic to spending so much on voice acting. If anything, it's a wild card that could support your point or prove it completely wrong; we can't know until it comes out.