Well, should they? They are after all sapient beings. Planet's under attack, meteors incoming, missiles launching, completed build orders. The list of information a player needs to play well is endless. Having a voice tell you things is superior to TA's wall of txt any day of the week and far more efficient. It does a lot to emphasize the importance of the Commander(s) above the rest of the armies too. So if the commanders were to talk who should voice them? Well, John Patrick Lowrie (The VA for the Kickstarter trailer and TA) for starters. Adding a mechanical sounding filter over his already imposing voice would easily make it sound robot like. But what if they got Peter Cullen and Frank Welker involved? Optimus Prime and Megatron from Transformers respectively. These guys are pretty much the voices of robots both good and evil for every generation of kids since the 80's. Now while PA was successful on Kickstarter, it still isn't a massive budget for a game of such a scope and is probably already stretched to breaking point. Getting Optimus Prime and Megatron probably wouldn't be feasible with what's left. But would you like to see a second Kickstarter drive simply to get the money together to get Peter Cullen and Frank Welker and maybe some other talent to provide voice packs for the Commanders in game? Would you donate? Who else would you like to see providing voices for Commanders the game? If I could pick anyone I'd have Jen Taylor who voiced Cortanna in the Halo games providing her ever sassy manner. Steve Downes who starred in Halo as Master Chief would also sound good voicing commander in my opinion. And while I'm dreaming, Arnie. DER IZ A MEETYOR INCOMINK. NYAKKK. YOR BERSS IZ UNDA ATTAK. Also at no point am I suggesting every unit in the game should talk, just the commanders.
My own feeling is that they shouldn’t talk. for 3 reasons: 1. There’s no reason why they’d speak any Human Languages. 2. If they did speak translations would be necessary for players outside English-speaking countries. This is bad enough with text, but with Audio its much harder and more expensive. 3. It humanises them, this means killing them feels more like murder (which could have genuine implications regarding the age rating for the game). And it also makes them less impressive/foreboding, the best villains are those that never speak. A silent efficient plotting killing machine will always get you fighting harder than someone who either idly chit-chats or provides some effort at 'rousing' speeches or 'intimidating' threats.
I don't want them to speak for two simple reasons: -it pulls away from the "i am the commander" feeling i have. especially since i don't speak while playing the game and my mouse is my communication. -they're efficient killing machines. they communicate by commands, not speech.
They shouldn't talk. It reminds me of Sins of a Solar Empire's ship voices. I cannot play that game with them on, it bothers me to no end. The Commander should just make the beeps and whirs that the TA commander made. That is significantly more mechanical in nature than a filtered human voice.
No. I don't see why it would be a good thing (I've played enough games with repetitive avatars giving status updates to know that it's generally a bad thing, very hard to do well). Unless there's a dungeon keeper style cursor so I can slap the hell out of anything that dares to talk :twisted:
At the very least they can internally monologue. I have absolutely no problem with Commanders talking. However this should only be a small soundbite that plays when you select your Commander before battle. Once in game, no Commanders shouldn't "talk" to you, or to the opponent IMO. I found one of the most effective robotic villains for me, Sovereign from Mass Effect, was no less menacing when he talked to you. His mode of speech and complete lack of human-like reasoning for what he was doing made him feel utterly alien and above such petty concerns that would trouble a human. I don't think that, just because it talks, that it's "Too Human"... what matters is what it says.
I disagree with all of you. I would completely support punny Commander snippets when issuing orders like they did in Demigod. In fact, I think Scathis should get right on top of this. "Annihilate THIS!"
I don't even think commanders should be sapient. If they were, they'd probably either 1. Go into hiding instead of fighting a war they'll never win, or 2. Try and negotiate peace. I think the trailer video makes a good point of them fighting a war for a purpose long forgotten, they are just robots that are mindlessly carrying out what they were built to do.
My opinion is that yes, commanders should talk, especially in cooperative or competitive games. Communication with allies can improve moral and coordination, and with enemies can humanize you and make you harder to fight, undermining their resolve. Outside that, expressing your thoughts out loud can make planning easier, and... Oh, you mean the unit? No. Why would you do that? You're the commander, after all. The only words that should come out the commander's mouth should be the ones you put there.
Seeing as there is a fair amount of overlap I think you guys should probably read through this as a primer; Regarding Unit 'Voices' Mike
If Commanders can speak, it is a result of their creators. This means their language will reflect the goals, shattered dreams, and ultimate programming flaws of a lost and dead civilization. If Commanders manage to exert their own will on top of their core imperatives and historical archives, so be it.
I vote "no" for voices. This includes the Commanders and all units. To me it would take away the feeling that they are robots. I want clonky, beeping, buzzing sounds like in TA and SupCom.
