DEVS: Don't waste time with voice acting.

[Seif]

No voice acting at all please or at least language options to turn it off or into Japanese.

I don't know how anyone could want it given how utterly terrible the acting is in the cutscenes. It just makes the cutscenes feel really bad.

[Xatsh]

As other have said SE needs to just keep the Voice acting to main storyline or major quest, voice acting on everything is way to much drain on development money and time. Would rather get 3fold the content instead of limited content with all voice acting.

[Jinko]

I just agree with OP when stuff like Moogle and Ifrit fight intros are completely skipped over, that would be a waste of resources regardless.

I think most people watches those intros the first time right ?

In FFXI I was always rushed (as were others) to get through the CS to get onto the content at hand.

This does seem to be a problem, its probably why most people skip this stuff in MMO's and then you end up falling into a pattern.

[Jennestia]

I think most people watches those intros the first time right ?



This does seem to be a problem, its probably why most people skip this stuff in MMO's and then you end up falling into a pattern.

As well if I recall some games purposefully tell you how to do a certain thing/kill the boss right in their cutscene/monologue and people skip it then complain they can't figure out what to do or it's "bad design" that you have to "play around till you figure it out" lol.

[lackofwords]

This again? I agree with the OP, it is good enough atm, and should be used minimally; mainly tied to main story line.

The only practical use for voice acting for games is to help set context that could be lost in text. Such as tone of speech, accents, sarcasm, or sounds such as screams and groans. Even then, it sound be applied thoughtfully.

Other than that we are not watching a movie.
Such as watch endless scenes of people talking to each other (E.G. Xenosaga)
Or marvel at every day mundane conversations (E.G. Elder Scroll games)

We're playing a game, and these tools (sound, music, voice acting, and cutscene) help us to do is set the context of the environment we're playing in. To set up a character's personality by their tone of speech with voice acting (E.G. Fallout 1) or to set up the scene of combat in a cutscene (E.G. any boss fight cutscene).

Just take a look at the different purpose of voice acting in the game Heavy Rain to a game like Elder Scroll.

[MStowastiqVahlshdeh]

I absolutely love the voice acting, it is incredible and I want more of it!

And Simply adding a skip option for those who don't want to watch it or already saw it, perhaps a general skip cutscenes option in the main interface could also work.

[Jennestia]

Already can skip cutscenes, just not certain ones (like some Grand Company ones.)

[Hohenheim]

Sometimes some of you make me worry lol

[Biggs]

CHances are, with this stuff being a year away now, they already have whatever they are going to do in the works. Pretty sure they won't wait until the last minute to finish up the voice acting. Its fine for main cs's. I don't think there plan ever was to have everything voice acted.

[OJtheLIONKing]

I'm for voice acting in the cutscenes, and for the standard MMO things (i.e. greetings, farewells, etc but the actual dialogue is text). This is with the proviso that every thing that involves a cutscene is soloable. I really enjoy watching the cutscenes in this game as much as I did in FFXI, but when you're in a group there will be at least one person agitating to skip through everything even if it's everyone's first time, because some people are impatient. You have to question why such people play a series known for being cutscene heavy, but I digress.

Make all the prereq cutscene stuff for group things soloable, as the case has basically been, and you eliminate this problem. People who want to skip can skip, people who want to watch the cutscenes can watch them. Most importantly, with SWToR and WoW among many others lately having voice over in their cutscenes, it's become an expectation among the MMO gaming community. Regardless of what you personally want, one problem this game has historically had is being below expectations for a modern big budget MMO. The dev team has to make the effort to get it to those expectations, then exceed them, but it can't simply ignore them because it's more convenient to do so.