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Voice acting in BG2 EE

It seems so out of place. I feel like there is a huge contrast between the original characters and new characters and it breaks my immersion. In BG 1 EE I felt it was superb. I have only heard the characters in the black pits and Hexxat, although I have heard neera and dorn sound different in BG2 EE. Hexxats voice acting feels extremly sub par and listening to her say Ugh when she got hit made me want to remove all sound files associated with her and just read her dialouge.

What happened between the two games?

Comments

  • PurudayaPurudaya Member Posts: 816

    It seems so out of place. I feel like there is a huge contrast between the original characters and new characters and it breaks my immersion. In BG 1 EE I felt it was superb. I have only heard the characters in the black pits and Hexxat, although I have heard neera and dorn sound different in BG2 EE. Hexxats voice acting feels extremly sub par and listening to her say Ugh when she got hit made me want to remove all sound files associated with her and just read her dialouge.

    What happened between the two games?

    You might want to keep playing the Hexxat quest. The voice acting is intentionally bland at first and improves dramatically.

  • MasterHiggsIIIMasterHiggsIII Member Posts: 13
    Thank you Purudaya, I will press on and see
  • AyiekieAyiekie Member Posts: 975
    Wow, I pretty much find all the EE characters to be far better-acted than the originals. Well, everyone's opinion is different.
  • OcculusXOcculusX Member Posts: 99
    edited November 2013
    All of the voice actors that I've come across are fantastic. Did they get a hold of all the old voice actors? There is new spoken dialogue between Jaheira, Neera, and Hexxat.


    To be honest, with Clara; the only reason I kept her was because the concept behind a woman gathering artifacts for an unknown master sounded like an interesting premise. But her voice was so deadpan... I kinda feel sorry for that actress, those aren't fun parts to play. They don't highlight ones skills much at all, I really hope that she was used elsewhere too. From a game-design perspective, it was a brilliant move.

    When Hexxat (Clara) turned out to be Hexxat (the real one). I was singing a hallelujah chorus! Her voice is like a silky sexy shadow of death. She is great!

    In Neera's quest: I have to mention "Gul Daren", I think his name was?

    "Hey, those were the folks that were helping Neera!" Gul Daren: "Oh really? I had no idea!".

    He's one of the best voice actors that I've seen in a long time.
  • AndrewFoleyAndrewFoley Member Posts: 744
    edited November 2013
    OcculusX said:

    All of the voice actors that I've come across are fantastic. Did they get a hold of all the old voice actors? There is new spoken dialogue between Jaheira, Neera, and Hexxat.

    No, for a variety of reasons we couldn't use the original actors in the Enhanced Editions. I don't remember threading dialogue between Jaheira and the new characters; my guess is that was written by one of the Ossian Studios writers (they wrote nearly all the dialogue for the Neera and Black Pits 2 sections of the game) and the dialogue was then sliced together from pre-existing audio assets by Lead Audio Designer Nathan Willis.

  • PurudayaPurudaya Member Posts: 816
    edited November 2013
    Mark Meer as Rasaad was particularly good - not even a hint of Commander Shepherd in that delivery :) I just wish there was more of it (I have not played the romance though, which is where I imagine the bulk of the dialogue resides).
  • AndrewFoleyAndrewFoley Member Posts: 744
    Purudaya said:

    Mark Meer as Rasaad was particularly good - not even a hint of Commander Shepherd in that delivery :) I just wish there was more of it (I have not played the romance though, which is where I imagine the bulk of the dialogue resides).

    Mark is an awesome talent and a machine in the sound booth. Even after multiple playthroughs of pretty much every dialogue string, I still laugh at his portrayal of Voghiln in Black Pits 2. IIRC, the accent was his idea.

  • OcculusXOcculusX Member Posts: 99
    Hmm... it very well could have been my head that was adding Jaheira's tone to the dialogue. I accidentally re-triggered the dialogue between Jaheira and Hexxat. Jaheira's voice was not present in the dialogue.
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878
    I did not know Shepard's voice actor is also that of Rasaad. Makes me want to like Rasaad even more.
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    Illustair said:

    I did not know Shepard's voice actor is also that of Rasaad. Makes me want to like Rasaad even more.

    He's also Baeloth.
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878
    No wonder I like Baeloth!
  • AkihikoAkihiko Member Posts: 213
    I feel like Neera's voice actress improved from 1 to 2. I'm not sure what it is, I just feel like it's... more passionate, maybe? Not sure what word I'm looking for. :/
  • zenblackzenblack Member Posts: 108
    Hexxat's voice acting is worse than some modded voice acting which is saying something. Is there no quality assurance?
  • PurudayaPurudaya Member Posts: 816
    Illustair said:

    I did not know Shepard's voice actor is also that of Rasaad. Makes me want to like Rasaad even more.

    Really want your mind blown? The voice behind Lehtinan in the Copper Corronet is also Fry/The Professor/Zoidberg from futurama. The professor's voice TOTALLY comes out when he's confronted by Hendak.
  • ThrasymachusThrasymachus Member Posts: 903
    zenblack said:

    Hexxat's voice acting is worse than some modded voice acting which is saying something. Is there no quality assurance?

    To *which* 'Hexxat' voice are you referring?

  • PurudayaPurudaya Member Posts: 816
    zenblack said:

    Hexxat's voice acting is worse than some modded voice acting which is saying something. Is there no quality assurance?

    zenblack said:

    Hexxat's voice acting is worse than some modded voice acting which is saying something. Is there no quality assurance?

    Like the OP, you might just need to finish her opening quest...her voicework is supposed to be bland and uninspired before you get to the Tomb of Dragomir :)
  • FablewyndFablewynd Member Posts: 79

    OcculusX said:

    All of the voice actors that I've come across are fantastic. Did they get a hold of all the old voice actors? There is new spoken dialogue between Jaheira, Neera, and Hexxat.

    No, for a variety of reasons we couldn't use the original actors in the Enhanced Editions. I don't remember threading dialogue between Jaheira and the new characters; my guess is that was written by one of the Ossian Studios writers (they wrote nearly all the dialogue for the Neera and Black Pits 2 sections of the game) and the dialogue was then sliced together from pre-existing audio assets by Lead Audio Designer Nathan Willis.

    Really? You weren't even allowed to call up Jim Cummings or David Warner and get them to do some extra voice work for the banter?
  • PurudayaPurudaya Member Posts: 816
    Jim Cummings is pretty busy these days: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191906/

    There's also the issue of the fee, which was probably a big consideration considering the game's budget.
  • FablewyndFablewynd Member Posts: 79
    Of course, he's a big name in the VA world; his recent work in WoW was great, and certainly he would require a larger fee than the average VA, but I just wondered if there were more constraining reasons why they weren't allowed to hire the original actors.

    If BG3 was their ultimate goal, it goes without saying that fans would expect some characters to pop up again; I'd worry that not having the original actors, who really breathed life into the them, would be a bad thing. Of course, BG3 is a different animal, so there's nothing to say the constraints limiting them in the VA department would extend beyond the original games.
  • jhneohjhneoh Member Posts: 42
    edited November 2013
    Hexxat is supposed to sound like a stoner. Just keep playing.
  • SchneidendSchneidend Member Posts: 3,190
    zenblack said:

    Hexxat's voice acting is worse than some modded voice acting which is saying something. Is there no quality assurance?

    Play. And learn.
  • mforwwmforww Member Posts: 78
    I think the new voice acting has been great. Honestly, the voice acting has always been strong in BG.
  • MasterHiggsIIIMasterHiggsIII Member Posts: 13
    Well, thank you all for the responses I shall press through and see if it grows on me.

    Best
  • LuigirulesLuigirules Member Posts: 419
    I recall talking to Hexxat.

    I thought it was pretty clear she was under some sort of enchantment, with her singular drive to complete her quest, and her monotone voice.
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    edited November 2013
    Akihiko said:

    I feel like Neera's voice actress improved from 1 to 2. I'm not sure what it is, I just feel like it's... more passionate, maybe? Not sure what word I'm looking for. :/

    It sounds like Neera's voice actor gained a little XP between BGEE and BG2EE, but there are some parts where it's obvious she's reading the script rather than acting it out.

    As for Mark Meer's work, I cannot stand Rasaad's poorly rendered Middle Eastern accent and Baeloth's obnoxiously over-the-top ringmaster voice, but he does a good job of acting them out, if that makes any sense.

    Gord Marriot's talent and professionalism really shines through with Dorn. I feel his work really brings his character to life.

    Hexxat's "real" voice sounds a little contrived and stiff. I think I understand what the voice actor is trying to do in the context of Hexxat's character, but she needs to let up a bit.

    Some of the new non-joinable NPC voice acting is really bad, such as Quaid ("A fortnight!") from the beginning of Neera's quest. The recording quality is also inconsistent, e.g., the Monks in Hexxat's quest.

    I understand it's a budget issue and it can't be "fixed." The original trilogy simply had a lot more funding and, therefore, better talent than the enhanced editions--and it shows.

    My comments were intended as constructive criticism and I hope they're read in that context. I'm very much enjoying these enhanced editions and I'm looking forward to playing both old and new content alike.
    Post edited by Mortianna on
  • MasterHiggsIIIMasterHiggsIII Member Posts: 13
    I had my bass turned all the way off and it was making the new characters sound like their voices weren't coming from the game but some window I had opened in the background. Adjusting made them sound fine. Sorry.
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