The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

No offense to the people who worked on the voice overs, but PLEASE tell me how to turn them off.

Using the "-T 0" command line option (set voice volume to 0) turns off the voices. Add this to your shortcut/link/batch file/script/whatever you're starting UQM with after the name of the UQM executable. Alternatively, use the launcher program mentioned in an earlier thread.

Yeah, is it me, or do all the voiceovers sound like they were done by someone who has just had a labotomy ?

They sound like they were read by someone who intended them to be heard by a 4 year old kid.

I thought the same thing, but not about all of them. The Thraddash, for instance, sound great! I am using the -T 0 option along with fullscreen, though.

Opinions on this subject seem to vary a lot. Personally, I think some of the voices are great (Thraddash, both Ur-Quan, Ilwrath, Hayes, Druuge) while some are downright annoying (but probably supposed to be that way) (Pkunk, Utwig, Orz). Most are reasonable, but hardly impressive.

By the way, the game seems to work without the speech files if you turn off the speech. The speech package seems to be optional now, so I guess you can just uninstall the voices if you want to get rid of them. Saves some disk space.

THE ORZ, MAKE THEM STOP, MAKE THEM STOP!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I must say.. that was indeed quite a suprise to hear that... I didn't know they were making such changes to the game. I though it was a direct translation, but apperantly not! ah suprises. never know when they'll ..uh.. suprise you. ::)

It's technically a port of the 3DO version of sc2. That's where the audio files come from.

I find it very weird that they would even bother porting the 3DO stuff. Most people knew and loved the PC version. Plus, I didn't know a single person foolish enough to get a 3DO. I also don't see a single benefit to the 3DO game over the PC one. I personally don't like the voices or different scaling method in combat and the original MOD music rocked. Maybe I'm too much of a purist.

Or maybe you haven't read through enough of the board?  ;)

The code for the PC version has mostly (or totally) been lost, whereas the code for the 3DO remains. (Do correct me if I'm wrong whilst trying to be attain a superior tone of voice).

EDIT : no, I was right and can remain smug

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/info.html#faq

Take THAT, Mr. I don't know all the facts but I'm gonna complain anyway!

;)

It's called checkmate, my friend.

Well, everyone's gotta learn sometime.  I'd know, I'm the most oblivious newb in the world when it comes to joining new forums or boards.

Actually I find the voices (for the most part) to be rather entertaining.  The Pkunk and Spathi are good (sure they've got annoying voices but that's the whole idea).

If you want boring voices, just go visit the slylandro.  It's like their budget ran out and they took you're average joe from the office to do the speech.  You'd think that gas bags would have ... well more of a ghostly sound.

Just my 2 cents worth though.
Smoo

I sometimes wonder if the SC2 enhanced version had come out on a more mainstream console, say the Playstation, maybe everyone wouldn't be so quick to dislike all of the game's improvements.  It is something like a director's cut after all.

As far as I can tell, this is nostalgia at work. Most 3DO users I've heard express an opinion about the voices seem to think they're absolutely terrific, while the PC users mostly seem to find them sacrilegious. People just want things to be the way they had them back in the good old days. In my case, this means that I like the voices when they sound like the way I tried to read them out loud myself. :)

I have to say, SC3 seemed to have higher caliber voice work in general. But that's just me. I still hate SC3 with a bleeding red pashion.

Star Control 3 had a bigger budget than the 3D0 Star Control II remake, I'm sure.  That comes through in the puppetering they added to SC3 and the 3D (sort of) battle modes.

It's also important to note that a lot of the voices in the 3D0 version were done by team members and not by professional voice actors.  I think the Spathi, Orz and the VUX were terrifically done in SC3, so perhaps the only good part about the game is the voice acting.  But understand that a 3D0 re-make would have a much lower budget than, say, a new game for the PC released by Accolade.

For SC2, I only ones who have the possibility to make me go stark, raving *frumple* are the Orz (Which, by the way, always sound like they're hitting on me when they say "hello"), the Pkunk, and the Slylandro.
 
I like the Spathi, the Humans, the Thraddash, the Ur-quan, the Illwrath and the Arilu.  The others are fine.
 
For SC 3*, I dislike: Humans, Syreen, Spathi, Clairconctlar, DakTakBakPaks, And just about everyone else.  The only ones I liked were the K'Tang and Orz.
 
 
*Yes, SC 3 exists.  It was a good game, but once you've played SC 2...

I actually dig that English/Scottish accent that the Yehat has.
LOL, it was totally unexpected, but it just fits them so well  ;D  ;)

English/Scottish?!!  That accent is Scottish in every way, shape, and form!  Don't offend my Scottish heritage by associating me with those darned English...!  Haven't you ever seen Braveheart?  Just imagine a Yehat saying "You can take away me life, but ye can't take away me freedom!"  Hehe.  I could just see a brigade of Yehat playing bagpipes, painting their faces blue, and charging into battle with their wings-a-blazin'!

Its not the sound of the voices that suck.
Its the cornball experssions they use, they raise and deepen their voices way too often, they just make the aliens sound like idiots or 4 year olds.

I.e Hayes: "STRUGGLING down here on earth,  BENEATH the slave shield"
What kind of person talks like that ?
Should be more like "

"Struggling down here on earth, beneath the slave shield."

(you have to read those 2 sentances aloud to see the differnece"

While I know SC2 was supposed to be a humouros game, taking away the seriousness in the aliens speech kills something for me in the game..

The best way to describe it is.
They sound like they are news presenters.

I.e they sound like they are talking AT you, making a speech, Instead of talking TO you.

I like how Commander Hayes speaks a little bit quicker, so I don't have to wait for hours when he's explaining all the different alien races and goings-on in the galaxy.  I just skip over all the really slow-conversation aliens, because I don't have that kind of time to listen to them drone on.

I agree with Novus on this. It's the same thing as the question bout which intro-ending you want to see. It all depends on what you played originally.