[General Battuta]

If you draw the voice actors from outside HLP, it's not as if they'd be working on some other campaign already.

Campaigns get modified a lot. Blue Planet, for instance, is currently being upgraded for 3.6.10.

Retroactive VA really hasn't been that bad so far.

[Mobius]

I see many weird comments here. People who pretend that all campaigns should be voice acted even before the release. Most community members know that voice acting is capable of delaying the release of a campaign by years, not even months. That's why Woomeister said that the new INFA1 should not be voice acted before the release, and I totally agree with him.

Also, most people around here don't know what it really takes to develop a campaign and how many changes can occur when development is reaching completion.

I'd like to reply to Mongoose:

I'm kind of getting a bit wary of the whole "everything must be voiced!" trend that seems to be popping up around here recently, and this is coming from someone who's (technically) the moderator of the voice acting subforum.  I've never had any trouble getting immersed in a good campaign that wasn't voiced, and I feel like jumping all over each and every new campaign coming down the pike only helps to promote the "I'll only play voiced campaigns" viewpoint that's disturbingly manifested itself at certain points in the past.  While good voicework can certainly benefit a campaign to a certain extent, the opposite can also be true of mediocre or downright bad work, and one has to weigh any potential gains against the large amount of man-hours and organizational headaches that naturally come with such projects.  I certainly think that high-profile projects like Silent Threat: Reborn and Diaspora practically require voice work, based on what they're specifically trying to achieve, but I don't see how that necessarily carries over to your garden-variety campaign release.

All of that being said, I voted for the last option.  Do what you will, since my original enjoyment (and/or frustration) of the campaign won't be affected either way by whether or not someone starts working on voicing it.

I agree, there's an exaggerated tendence nowadays - everyone feels like his campaign(or worse, single mission) should be voice acted. I, for one, believe that only well deserving campaigns should be voice acted.

The Procyon Insurgency is one of them. Although BP: AoA may be more popular at the moment, PI is without any doubt one of the best "conventional"(not character driven) campaigns in circulation. CP5670 did a superb job and I've always wondered why no one has ever volunteered to get PI voice acted. I was kind of frustrated, so I took the initiative. 

In other words, Mongoose, you have a point...but you may realize that PI should be voice acted as soon as AoA is done. 


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Back to business - thanks to Goober's Voice Acting Manager, I have safely created several .txt files containing all PI scripts. I've also modified the missions to use voice files. I'm a bit unsure about the second move because I may or may not have the latest mission files. If there are any patches in circulation, let me know...it's not the case to use the first released mission files for voice acting and nullify all subsequent bugfixes.

[Renegade Paladin]

I think it should.  I don't say that for all campaigns, but ones that include plot-advancing dialogue like PI does at some points really benefit from it.  I'd gladly volunteer my services for a voice acting effort. 

[CP5670]

Nice to see that there is still interest in this campaign. I'm still around here, if a little less active these days.

The poll here is a bit pointless, as most people would obviously like to have the voice acting. However, it has to be kept in mind that it would take a lot of work to pull it off properly.

I would want the voices and acting to be of a fairly good quality. I think bad voice acting is worse than having none at all (which is why I never understood why people use MS Sam ). There is also an additional issue of Vasudan voices playing a large role in PI. We only have that one Vasudan speech file that came with FS2, and it would be quite noticeable and sound silly if that one file was used on almost every voice. There have been attempts in the past to produce more Vasudan speech, but nobody managed to do much as far as I know.

A fair amount of additional playtesting would be needed even after the voices are finished, since they will change the timing on many multi-message conversations and associated game events. I can think of several places off the top of my head where it would take a lot of trial and error to get all the events lined up correctly again.

I don't really have the time or motivation to coordinate an effort like this anymore, although if someone else wants to seriously take it up, I can certainly help out with any questions that come up.

[Mobius]

How about this:

I'm a bit unsure about the second move because I may or may not have the latest mission files. If there are any patches in circulation, let me know...it's not the case to use the first released mission files for voice acting and nullify all subsequent bugfixes.

Did I miss anything?

[Goober5000]

I agree with Mongoose and Mobius.  Also...

I actually wish all campaigns included voice acting.  Granted I do recognize that it takes an extreme amount of time and effort to do.  However it is always easier IHMO to listen to dialogue than it is to read it when your dodging missiles and gunfire.

Please note, the amount of effort needed to voice act a campaign is many orders of magnitude larger than the amount of effort needed to hit the F4 key and read the message log for all the dialogue in that same campaign.

Not to single you out specifically, Aurora Paradox, but I really get annoyed at that attitude of entitlement that's become much more common lately.  (And not just in voice acting; the first thing a lot of people said when they heard of texture replacement was, "Why is a nameplate texture required?  Why doesn't it render the nameplate text on the fly?")

We only have that one Vasudan speech file that came with FS2, and it would be quite noticeable and sound silly if that one file was used on almost every voice.

People might be interested to know that as part of ST:R's development, we extracted all the Vasudan voice we could out of all the mixed Vasudan voice lines.

[Mongoose]

But as voice synth is no longer working in 3.6.10, (granted Microsoft Sam/Mary/Whoever aren't great). A voice-acted campaign is much more appreciated.

You couldn't pay me enough to listen to that abysmal squawk-box. I have two eyes for a reason.  And like Goober said, the F4 key is always there if a few lines of dialogue come up too fast for one to read them in-mission.

I do agree that PI is one of the most high-profile campaign releases of the past year or two, and I'd certainly enjoy hearing a well-acted take on it.  But again, like Goober said, it's that attitude of entitlement that's been popping up more and more that's kind of starting to color my thoughts on the whole topic as a whole, which I know isn't really fair to the campaigns that really could benefit from it.  If someone is willing to take the time and effort to get something running and recruit some good talent, awesome.

[Wobble73]

But as voice synth is no longer working in 3.6.10, (granted Microsoft Sam/Mary/Whoever aren't great). A voice-acted campaign is much more appreciated.

You couldn't pay me enough to listen to that abysmal squawk-box. I have two eyes for a reason.  And like Goober said, the F4 key is always there if a few lines of dialogue come up too fast for one to read them in-mission.

But pressing F4 and pausing the action doesn't quite cut it either. It's breaks the immersion factor. If you really don't like the "squawk-box" as you say, can't you pretend that your wing-mates aren't native english speakers and they're transmissions are being translated automatically by your on-board ship's computer. I generally prefer to have MS Sam (actually MS Anna now I'm on Vista, which is quite a bit better, especially if you speed up the rate at which she reads it), along in some campaigns as it will inform me of when there is mission critical dialogue. I just use it as an audible cue as to when to look up to the top of the screen to read the mission dialogue.

[CP5670]

Did I miss anything?

There have been a few adjustments made to the missions after version 1.03, although they are all quite minor. As I said in the other thread, these will be incorporated into the next and final patch, which I'll probably finish up and release some time in the summer.

But pressing F4 and pausing the action doesn't quite cut it either. It's breaks the immersion factor. If you really don't like the "squawk-box" as you say, can't you pretend that your wing-mates aren't native english speakers and they're transmissions are being translated automatically by your on-board ship's computer. I generally prefer to have MS Sam (actually MS Anna now I'm on Vista, which is quite a bit better, especailly if you speed up the rate at which she reads it), along in some campaigns as it will inform me of when there is mission critical dialogue. I just use it as an audible cue as to when to look up to the top of the screen to read the mission dialogue.

PI has a generic beep on all messages to fulfill that purpose. I tried to make sure all the messages stayed around for several seconds and were readable, so you wouldn't need to go into the mission log screen that often.

I haven't heard the other voices, but MS Sam breaks the immersion more than anything else I can think of.

[Grizzly]

I haven't heard the other voices, but MS Sam breaks the immersion more than anything else I can think of.

It doesn't in JAD (The voice-acted version).

[Dilmah G]

I haven't heard the other voices, but MS Sam breaks the immersion more than anything else I can think of.

It doesn't in JAD (The voice-acted version).

It really just adds to the "LOL-Factor" in JAD

[FoxtrotTango]

I haven't heard the other voices, but MS Sam breaks the immersion more than anything else I can think of.

It doesn't in JAD (The voice-acted version).

It really just adds to the "LOL-Factor" in JAD

Especially when it attempts to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

[Goober5000]

That's DEM.

[FoxtrotTango]

That's DEM.

My point survives because it's still funny to hear.

[Topgun]

it should be voice acted, but not anytime soon. other mods should be higher priority.

[Mobius]

There have been a few adjustments made to the missions after version 1.03, although they are all quite minor. As I said in the other thread, these will be incorporated into the next and final patch, which I'll probably finish up and release some time in the summer.

Do any of the changes affect scripts(com briefs, briefs, messages, debriefs)?

[CP5670]

One or two of them might. I can put them up the updated files temporarily if you want, although I haven't really tested them at all.

[Aurora Paradox]

I agree with Mongoose and Mobius.  Also...

I actually wish all campaigns included voice acting.  Granted I do recognize that it takes an extreme amount of time and effort to do.  However it is always easier IHMO to listen to dialogue than it is to read it when your dodging missiles and gunfire.

Please note, the amount of effort needed to voice act a campaign is many orders of magnitude larger than the amount of effort needed to hit the F4 key and read the message log for all the dialogue in that same campaign.

Not to single you out specifically, Aurora Paradox, but I really get annoyed at that attitude of entitlement that's become much more common lately.  (And not just in voice acting; the first thing a lot of people said when they heard of texture replacement was, "Why is a nameplate texture required?  Why doesn't it render the nameplate text on the fly?")

We only have that one Vasudan speech file that came with FS2, and it would be quite noticeable and sound silly if that one file was used on almost every voice.

People might be interested to know that as part of ST:R's development, we extracted all the Vasudan voice we could out of all the mixed Vasudan voice lines.

I meant no offense.  You are right though I probably should have chosen my words better.  Not every campaign should or deserves to be voice acted.  Only those that are true gems should be.  I do recognize the amount of time it takes especially after seeing how much voice acting delayed STR.

[Mobius]

One or two of them might. I can put them up the updated files temporarily if you want, although I haven't really tested them at all.

At this point I'd rather wait for your upgrade.