It's time to add voice acting to raids.

[Jeeqbit]

The reason they have given is that the text could need to be changed all the way up to release and for scenes that they decide to voice act, they have to be certain it won't change so they choose these scenes carefully. There is also a possibility of them being changed in the future (for example, text changes that explain why the characters are now coming with you as trusts when they didn't used to).

There are games that have no trouble with this, but SE has localization teams to consider and they don't want to be giving work to voice actors unless it's final.

[Raoabolic]

but SE has localization teams to consider and they don't want to be giving work to voice actors unless it's final.

Gotta add more larboard in the script~!

[MoofiaBossVal]

The reason they have given is that the text could need to be changed all the way up to release and for scenes that they decide to voice act, they have to be certain it won't change so they choose these scenes carefully.

To a degree the issue of voice acting wouldn’t always really be a budgeting issue but really more or a logistical and availability issue. Seeing as they would need to have VA across multiple languages and equally would want to have the same VA for a given character across all those languages. Sure, it would be nice though.

Meanwhile, WoW raids are changed all the way up to release and are fully voiced in over a dozen different languages.

[Zabuza]

If we had VA it would give away the big reveal and ruin the surprise this patch…

They already did that with a certain scene long ago which they decided to voice at the very beginning of the raid and then we literally never heard his voice again. Also very jarring.

To a degree the issue of voice acting wouldn’t always really be a budgeting issue but really more or a logistical and availability issue. Seeing as they would need to have VA across multiple languages and equally would want to have the same VA for a given character across all those languages. Sure, it would be nice though.

The reason they have given is that the text could need to be changed all the way up to release and for scenes that they decide to voice act, they have to be certain it won't change so they choose these scenes carefully. There is also a possibility of them being changed in the future (for example, text changes that explain why the characters are now coming with you as trusts when they didn't used to).

There are games that have no trouble with this, but SE has localization teams to consider and they don't want to be giving work to voice actors unless it's final.

Yet there are games as you said, that have no trouble with this. And you are also telling me that they don't know the story for the entirety of the raid until the very last moment, yet for MSQ they know at least 33% of the cutscenes that far in advance to put VA all over it? Since they use hardly any voice acting in raids whatsoever, and what is there is only in scarce few fights. Clearly they have been taking the story seriously in these raids, yet they're not voiced. I would've really appreciated hearing voice acting for certain scenes.

Meanwhile, WoW raids are changed all the way up to release and are fully voiced in over a dozen different languages.

And that's from a game that doesn't even have story lauded as its greatest strength.

[Jeeqbit]

Yet there are games as you said, that have no trouble with this. And you are also telling me that they don't know the story for the entirety of the raid until the very last moment, yet for MSQ they know at least 33% of the cutscenes that far in advance to put VA all over it?

I think they just see voice acting as annoying and inconvenient because they keep modifying the text and fix errors and coordinate those fixes across languages, so to make it easier for themselves they just do it for major scenes in the MSQ.

I would like if they voiced a lot more of the game but this is the impression I have got from interviews (which were a very long time ago so my memory might be fuzzy) and the insight we have been given into the localization.

[anna-steele]

Meanwhile, WoW raids are changed all the way up to release and are fully voiced in over a dozen different languages.

their raids have to be tip top. its the only thing their game really has to offer.