Extent of voicing in BG2

[berelinde]

This is the situation. I haven't heard from the voice actor that did BG1 Gavin in over six months. At this point, I'm not sure if I can find him again, so I have to consider alternatives.

 

It's customary for BG2 NPCs to have more extensive voicing than BG1 NPCs. They usually have the first lines of their talks voiced. Since it's possible that I won't be able to get the same voice actor for BG2, would you rather leave it at just the soundset for BG2, or would you rather I looked for a new voice actor to record the soundset and the first lines of the talks?

 

If I were following my own preferences, I'd as soon leave it at just the soundset. Voicing adds substantially to the size of the mod, and since I can't get the BioWare voice actors to record lines for me for free, it would only be Gavin's lines voiced, anyway. So I'd just go with what's already recorded and leave it at that, but I do want to know what you guys think.

[Eleima]

I'm a big fan of voicing, so I'd love to see an extended soundset. However!... However, I'm now accustomed to the BG1 voice, and it just wouldn't feel right if you got another actor to voice the BG2 lines, no more how closely his voice matched the other guy's. Therefore, I'm voting "If you can manage to get the same voice actor for BG2, great, otherwise, just the selection sounds is fine.". After all, we're not in it for the voicing, we're in it for the writing! (even though voicing is great and requires a lot of work too, bot trying to demean anyone's work)

 

Good luck, Berelinde!!!

[Shaitan]

I like some voicing, but the dept of the NPC is much more important. I voted for choice number 2.

[Ankhesenpaaten]

I love voicing even if it's another actor. I'll love Gavin no matter what but voicing just adds so much more for me.

[yarpen]

Voicing in BG1 and BG2 is quite different, so maybe new voice?

[berelinde]

We'll see how it goes. BG2 isn't like NWN2. If a sound tag is present, but there's no WAV file, it's no big deal, the game just ignores it. In other words, it might be possible to do both: offer the mod with just the basics, voiced by the original VA, and then offer a supplemental "sound package" that has the extra lines voiced, kind of like BG1 NPC's "music pack."

[BigRob]

That actually sounds like a good solution if you have the mind to do the work involved. It would preserve the purity of the voicing for those who can't bear to have Gavin sound otherwise, and still allow those who like a little extra voicing to set the scene to get their fix.

[berelinde]

It isn't any more work than making it fully voiced. If the player installs the optional sound pack, the sounds are present, if not, they aren't.

 

But yeah, it looks like this is probably the best option. I'll be holding off on looking for a voice actor until the talks are actually written, but if things keep going at their present pace, that won't be to long.

[KIrving]

I voted for new voicing if you can't get the original back. I'm somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd choices in the poll. I'm not keen on abundant voicing but I'm also not keen on an npc in BG2 with silent lovetalks. Hope that makes sense.

Also keep in mind that, for some players, Gavin may be a new treat in BG2. They may not be familiar with BG1 Gavin.

The optional sound package seems like a good solution.

[berelinde]

The good news is that I heard from the original voice actor. I don't want to scare him away with the prospect of a huge time commitment, yet, but it just might happen that I don't have to find a new one.

[Ankhesenpaaten]

The good news is that I heard from the original voice actor. I don't want to scare him away with the prospect of a huge time commitment, yet, but it just might happen that I don't have to find a new one.

 

 

Great news! Just please please don't let him delay the release. Being purely a selfish being I want Gavin ASAP. Like yesterday. Nay, like last year!

 

I know I can always add the extra voicing version later. (Hint hint!) Hint???

[berelinde]

It won't delay the release. Since I'd do it as a separate download, so I probably won't start the recording sessions until after the mod is in testing. Originally, I was going to wait until I had the ToB part done and release the whole thing together, but I'm starting to think that I might release the SoA part first. Added incentive to get back to writing.

[berelinde]

Good news! I talked again with the voice actor I got to do BG1 Gavin and he's willing to do the extra voicing for BG2 Gavin. Since he volunteered before I even asked, I'm confident that we'll be able to work something out. So it's likely that the first lines of banters and dialogues will be voiced, after all.