Voiceover / storymode DLC

[whateverdhc]

First of all I just want to say I simply love the game

I've grinded through all the campaigns on Generallismo in Ironman mode, execpt invading the US (goddamn nukes )

I'd love to do more playthroughs, but I just think it gets a little boring after a while.
If only the cutscenes/mission briefings were voiced over in all the DLCs like in the original game.
And maybe a bit more storymode / historie, with voice actors.

I would definitly pay good money, for a DLC / patch that did just that and sink another 700+ hours into this fantastic game

Kind Regards
Dennis

[Tassadar]

Voiceover is expensive. Good voiceover is extremely expensive.

[Grondel]

Voiceover is expensive. Good voiceover is extremely expensive.

Currently voiceover is very cheap and good voiceover will be freely avaiable in less than a year. pretty sure i could get an excellent one that the human ear cannot discern from a native speaker if i was ready to invest some money.

i have full voiceover ready for the PC1 mod, but the bug that crashes the game is not fixed and i doubt that it ever will be. very sad.

sers,
Thomas

[Tassadar]

Currently voiceover is very cheap and good voiceover will be freely avaiable in less than a year. pretty sure i could get an excellent one that the human ear cannot discern from a native speaker if i was ready to invest some money.

i have full voiceover ready for the PC1 mod, but the bug that crashes the game is not fixed and i doubt that it ever will be. very sad.

If you are referring to help of AI, then yes, it has potential, but is a nightmare from a copyright perspective and not only in this field. I doubt game companies will suddenly switch to this due to all the blurry areas, possible impact of in-country, or even multi-country (EU for example) regulations. It will take much longer than a year or two.

Of course mod authors, who do not benefit commercially from their work, will be in a much more favorable position. Developers will stick with voice actors and they do not come as cheap, including all the necessary studio work, audio mixing etc. Sure, you have a lot of actors available, but it is not easy to find those that work, and then there's the question if you want just English only? Panzer Corps 2 DLC are small enough that the percentage cost of voiceover would simply be too large to make it worth, at least right now.

[Grondel]

I doubt game companies will suddenly switch to this due to all the blurry areas,...

2023 several thousand 2D/3D artists lost their job in the gaming industrie. It is just a lot cheaper to have 1 guy capable of utilizing AI tools doing the job of 10 people in half the time. It´s not AI that is taking the job, it´s the guy that is able to use the new tool.
Same will happen for voice and i expect complete cinematic movies done by AI within the next two years.

sers,
Thomas

[Patrick Ward]

I doubt game companies will suddenly switch to this due to all the blurry areas,...

2023 several thousand 2D/3D artists lost their job in the gaming industrie. It is just a lot cheaper to have 1 guy capable of utilizing AI tools doing the job of 10 people in half the time. It´s not AI that is taking the job, it´s the guy that is able to use the new tool.
Same will happen for voice and i expect complete cinematic movies done by AI within the next two years.

sers,
Thomas

Its over 10,000 in the last 18months.

I think you're over estimating the abilities of AI at the moment. Especially for the acurate, military history needs we have. Yes its party tricks look superficially good and are technically very impressive. But then look at the prompts they use. Look at how little control they've ultimately had over the contents of the image, how impossibly difficult it is to art direct.

Its not the tech bro using AI tools thats losing people their jobs. Its the people deciding that substandard AI art from someone with no art or game background, that can't be art directed, is good enough that they'll willingly sack hundreds of actually talented and experienced people.

And for the record, no. We've a company policy not to use AI for final assets. Its an insult to our players and our artists, not to mention a legal minefield given many of our games have professional versions.

Pat

[Grondel]

Its over 10,000 in the last 18months.

I think you're over estimating the abilities of AI at the moment. Especially for the acurate, military history needs we have. Yes its party tricks look superficially good and are technically very impressive. But then look at the prompts they use. Look at how little control they've ultimately had over the contents of the image, how impossibly difficult it is to art direct.

Its not the tech bro using AI tools thats losing people their jobs. Its the people deciding that substandard AI art from someone with no art or game background, that can't be art directed, is good enough that they'll willingly sack hundreds of actually talented and experienced people.

And for the record, no. We've a company policy not to use AI for final assets. Its an insult to our players and our artists, not to mention a legal minefield given many of our games have professional versions.

Pat

In the world we created in the last 100 years money will always beat ethics or quality. It is sad it´s that way, but that´s the reality of capitalism. Quality and ethics will probably survive in some niche corners, but in general it will be cheap and massproduced.
The same happened to evrything we use in our daylie life. I still have some tools from my greatgrandfather that he already got passed down from somewhre in the 1800s. Tools of that quality and with such a lifespan are no longer produced today.
Same for any electronic device. not build for a long life span. low quality and cheap production.

sers,
Thomas

[Patrick Ward]

Its over 10,000 in the last 18months.

I think you're over estimating the abilities of AI at the moment. Especially for the acurate, military history needs we have. Yes its party tricks look superficially good and are technically very impressive. But then look at the prompts they use. Look at how little control they've ultimately had over the contents of the image, how impossibly difficult it is to art direct.

Its not the tech bro using AI tools thats losing people their jobs. Its the people deciding that substandard AI art from someone with no art or game background, that can't be art directed, is good enough that they'll willingly sack hundreds of actually talented and experienced people.

And for the record, no. We've a company policy not to use AI for final assets. Its an insult to our players and our artists, not to mention a legal minefield given many of our games have professional versions.

Pat

In the world we created in the last 100 years money will always beat ethics or quality. It is sad it´s that way, but that´s the reality of capitalism. Quality and ethics will probably survive in some niche corners, but in general it will be cheap and massproduced.
The same happened to evrything we use in our daylie life. I still have some tools from my greatgrandfather that he already got passed down from somewhre in the 1800s. Tools of that quality and with such a lifespan are no longer produced today.
Same for any electronic device. not build for a long life span. low quality and cheap production.

sers,
Thomas

This is true and inevitable. We already use AI in Photoshop. It can't really be avoided. But we value the contributions our artists make. We're a team, with mixed opinions, skillsets and experience, and value that. And again we make niche games, we're not a AAA studio with shareholders and a huge payroll to maintain, so perhaps we can afford to do our own thing.

P

[Tassadar]

we're not a AAA studio with shareholders

I'd say that's the best advertisement for Slitherine I have seen so far anywhere.

[Bee1976]

And again we make niche games, we're not a AAA studio with shareholders and a huge payroll to maintain, so perhaps we can afford to do our own thing.

P

For me Slitherine is an AAA Publisher. I never bought a game i disliked or didnt enjoy. I know i know, niche games, but a lot of high quality niche games! Dont sell yourself under your value....i hope thats a useable phrase in english. And its not only about high quality games, its about communication (ok here exist some ups and downs...but tea time exists!), stuff like "tea time" is great!
Way better than all big companies i know.