Something has been bugging me for some time now. After playing several games in the sc2beta, I always felt that something was lacking. I didn't feel as attached or close to my units... like I didn't know them.
I think it has to do with the new unit voices, when they respond to you clicking on them or telling them to do something. Right now, if you played a sound wave for me of a zergling, then of a baneling, then of an infestor, I really wouldn't be able to tell you which was which. They all seem a little quieter, and less distinct.
I believe that we all took the voice director's ingenious work from SC1 and SCBW for granted. For a race like the Zerg, where everything just makes snarling noises with no discernable language, it must be incredibly difficult to create unit voices that are both distinguishable for the player, and fit the unit's personality. But they managed to do it. Please, take a walk down memory lane with me and listen to these incredibly well designed unit voices:
The "crunchy" zerglings
The "trumpeting" overlords
The "buzzing" drones
The "alien" queen
My point is, each unit sounds VERY different, and VERY distinguishable so that when you click on a unit, you know right away what you clicked on. In a race where nothing really has a language to identify itself easily (such as "ghost reporting" or "golaith online"), the way the creatures snarl becomes very important. And boy, did the sound designer from SC1 hit the bull's eye.
Now listen to some of the zerg units from Starcraft 2, and try to (honestly) tell me, can you distinguish between each unit easily?
Compare especially the new drone to the old drone, the new overlord to the old overlord, the infestor to the defiler (or the piercing queen from sc1). The new voices just sound really... similar.. and boring. They don't sound "alien" enough. Listen to the sc1 queen again and try to tell me that sound belongs to anything else besides the zerg queen. It's just so well done.
I know that the quality of sound (particularly attack and death sound effects) has been discussed several times, but i think the sound problem extends well beyond that. For you zerg players, just listen to the sounds you hear when you start up an sc2beta game vs an scbw game. Doesn't it sound really quiet, and kind of detached? Do you feel like you're really "feeling" your units? Haha, I probably sound really weird right now.
Anyways, the problem is probably most apparent for Zerg but even the voices of Protoss and Terran units seem to be lacking a bit. Compare the new zealot to the old zealot. The old zealot just seems way more bad-ass. Also , remember how the old high templar and dark templars used to sound? They were really distinguishable and unique. The new high templar and new dark templar all sound kind of like EVERY other voice in the protoss army. Seriously, listen:
Old high templar:
New high templar:
Holy crap, i miss the old high templar =[
This problem really extends to terrans as well, but not as much as it does Z and P. Sorry about such a long post, but I really hope blizzard doesn't overlook this. The sad thing is , I think they won't re-work the voices. It seems like they put a good amount of work into the voices... One can only hope
On March 21 2010 10:50 theqat wrote: There is a content patch coming, along with two expansions. It's possible some voice work will get replaced. I think it's a long shot though
Nonetheless, with years of experience, we'll get used to the sounds
Well I can see them changing up the attack sound effects and stuff (which will already be a huge improvement), but I honestly cant see them re-doing voices. That kind of stuff requires voice actors to come in and stuff.
this is a good comparison. ive taken 2 classes in sound design at my school and IMO the sc1 sounds seem to better on so many levels. although i can tell the difference between the sc2 units... you're right, they lack variety. really the only one that stands out from the rest is the ultra, but it sounds like they just mixed a few different animal noises and added some form of reverb onto it. and also BW sounds for the units are much shorter and to the point, some of the sc2 are a bit longer. and please tell me that zergling doesnt fart my god lol. /// the best comparison though has got to be the high templar, the new one sounds so weak, i forgot how awesome the old high templar was.
The terran voices aren't too bad (though inferior), but once you get to zerg... ughhh. Gross.
Yeah.. and its because terran voices are "easier" to do. They're more natural for voice actors. It takes some real effort to make zerg and protoss though (zerg more than protoss i bet)
Actually I thought the SC2 zerg voices you posted were very similar for 1 unit and distinct from the others (the drone is obviously the worst and the Ultralisk the best in terms of SC2 differentiation from what you posted) but I agree that overall the difference is more subtle than it was in SC1. However, the only real test will be to listen to 1000+ hours of SC2 voices then do the comparison. I bet unfamiliarity plays a big role.
However, you seriously deserve props for effort in this post. Very nice to have all the videos. And the point is definitely taken that SC1 voices were more obvious in their distinction.
The only protoss voice I like is the new immortal, he sounds like a badass. I agree many of the voices just sound weaker than they did in SCI....the ghost, zealot, and high templar are the most noticeable to me.
SC2 Unit sounds are pretty bad especially Zerg! It's true they all sound the same and more than that they are boring as hell. If Blizzard doesn't fix this I hope someone mods it with the old sounds and that you can play on ladder with that.
While SC2 does a lot of things right, it fails hard in the sound department compared to SC1.
Interesting post. After a good listen to both generations of SC I think you have a good point. I'm pretty sure the zerg sounds are not done by actors and they are just distorted sneezes and grunts (and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually said a word but just warped it a lot to make it sound "zerglish", sort of like the SC1 probe Easter egg sounds were "hello" or "what's your name")
On the other hand, isn't it possible the sounds just don't seem as distinctive because we've been playing SC for 10 years and SC2 for only a month?
As for changes, it brings up a question I've had in the back of my mind for a while: Just how many changes can we expect in resale 1.0? Is beta only about power balance, or can we expect improvement in other aspects of the game [effects, animations, maps, etc.]?
Most of the sound fx are subpar and weak. See also: lings and mutas hatching, the tank siege noise, infantry stimming, all attack sound fx from zerg, etc.
Heck, even clicking on the buildings and listening to their unique noises is better in SC1. Especially the Terran and Zerg ones.
WOW, i didnt realize how much better sc1 unit sounds were. I guess playing so much SC2 made me forget even though i played bw avidly until i recieved a beta key.... well if this continues when the game is released, ill probably just replace the sounds with the old bw ones or something. Plus i'm sure people will also make sounds for us to dl and replace and stuff. SC2 is probably gonna be easily moddable in many ways
I agree with the OP T_T I think sound is so important, and it sucks in SC2...
Too bad they said they're mostly done with voices/sounds...
On March 21 2010 11:51 pzea469 wrote: well if this continues when the game is released, ill probably just replace the sounds with the old bw ones or something. Plus i'm sure people will also make sounds for us to dl and replace and stuff. SC2 is probably gonna be easily moddable in many ways
Same here. I wish they used the old sounds for units that stayed the same, they're just so perfect.
You are very right. I think the sounds are one of the main weak points of the game as of now.
Probably the most dramatic difference is the SC1 DT vs SC2 DT, and the SC2 archon is facepalmingly bad (maybe that's why they made it so useless? haha). Zerg and protoss sounds in general pretty much suck. I do like the terran sounds, though. The units all have pretty good personalities. I don't mind the change from the sc1 ghost to sc2 ghost like a lot of people have complained about. The sc2 ghost sounds like a punk/loner type ("solo operative, right...?"), which is quite parallel to the lore. One thing that's a little weird is the siege tank voice doesn't match the portrait very well.
On March 21 2010 11:38 Exquisito wrote: On the other hand, isn't it possible the sounds just don't seem as distinctive because we've been playing SC for 10 years and SC2 for only a month?
Part of the problem is that the vintage techniques used for sc1 and mixing techniques yielded massively different and characteristic sounds (Drone, Mutalisk, Defiler...), but in sc2 they're using the exact same method for virtually every single sound effect. They have differences but they still mesh together far, far too much and are overall extremely weak and uninspiring. The attack sounds for the Zerg are by far the worst sounds in the entire game, though. That's when you can actually hear them. I for one have the hardest goddamn time hearing the Mutalisk attack sound any more than this faint squishy sounding noise.
The Protoss voice acting is also notably bad.
If worse comes to worse I guess I'll mix my own sfx out of the masters of sfx - vintage RPG's.
Hearing the new Zerg sounds makes me sad. How could they mess up so bad on the sounds. Why do they make all of the units sound weaker and dull. They can't even get growls right.
I agree. The Terran Thor, BC, and Raven all need better voices. The Protoss also sound less Protossy, they sound more human like. I think putting on more effects on the Protoss would improve their voices.In addition, most of the Zerg voices needs work.
Well, yeah, never noticed the zergling were farting (so is the infestor). Sigh.
All these sounds are so bad that I can't refrain myself from thinking they are placeholders. I mean, they all sound the same, this is not blizzard standard.
Maybe it's just me but I get the feeling that SC2 Protoss voices feature less of their native language compared to English. I remember in some thread someone posted the BW VO's of various Protoss units and I remember thinking... oh yeah they actually speak Protoss, nice.
While I agree 100% with the OP, and I can't help but feel Blizz just went through wayyyy less effort than with Starcraft 1 as far as voices go, the zergling is clearly noticeable. What other zerg unit farts every so often?
Well, our perception is certainly skewed, the Protoss being the best example. Objectively, protoss voices sound far more identical and less iconic in Sc1 then in Sc2. I still hate the new DT, but really, they all sounded extremely loud and angry and distorted, all save the archon and arbiter. The Sc2 voices are far more nuanced and distinct.
But in that same regard, the Zerg are also objectively less distinctive, especially the drone and zergling. The drone and zergling in Sc2...ESPECIALLY the zergling, need a huge rework.
I really dislike when people claim that complaints about SC2 sounds are due to nostalgia for the original game. There are many fundamental artistic choices that are simply off in the new voices and sounds. Besides, there is nothing wrong with learning what you like in a game, and then applying that same taste to its sequel. When i was new to Starcraft back in like 99 i loved the sounds and they really gave character to the units. I dont feel that way about SC2 sounds at all. They are embarrassingly bad in my opinion. Im shocked that Blizzard thought this was good enough. Not even the compression levels are set right. Some sounds are really loud and others are drowned out with no rhyme or reason. The only thing we can hope for is that we can add in our own sounds and have it not be considered a "hack".
"I believe that we all took the voice director's ingenious work from SC1 and SCBW for granted."
Unfortunately, Bill Roper is not longer at Blizzard, and that ought to explain both the low overall quality from the sound department, aswell as the stale feel of SC2, esp Zerg. Damn, with him at the helm, he would NEVER have implemented the ...roach...
I think what is most disturbing is the SC1 sound effects (everything from Unit responses to the attacks) much better aid the player I think to such an extent that it will become the norm to import the SC1 sounds. From both a player and spectator perspective, the game can be hard to read at times and I think if more emphasis was put on distinguishable sounds it could give the game much better clarity, especially in large battles.
I can see someone jumping on the SC2 scene, visiting a site like this and the first tutorial he will read will instruct him to download this .zip file right here containing the SC1 sounds with an explanation on why these sounds will better aid you in game and the SC2 sounds wont cut it.
Then the issue will be raised with Blizzard and will they see this as legal... but I might be jumping the gun here.
While I agree to some extent with the sentiments expressed in this thread, Blizzard is sadly unlikely to do much:
Q. Are the voices and effects present in the beta finalized, or are they subject to change?
A. We are mostly done with the voice and effects. However, based on feedback we are taking a look at a few of the attack and hit sound effects to ensure they have the right "umph" to be noticeable during frantic gameplay.
Of course, Blizzard is notorious for changing their minds and voices do not take that long to change. So perhaps they might change them. At the very least, they are changing the sound of the Zerg Queen:
Q. Do you agree with players about the zerg voice, or are you happy with it?
A. We are looking at pulling some different takes for the zerg Queen that change the personality of her voice (a little bit).
Idk, the zerg drones, infestors, and lings sound a lot alike, but the overlord sound is distinct given a little time. It does have that nasty, grimy, puky sound I suppose. The ultra doesn't sound that bad, it's distinguishable, but not like the BW ultra. The marine sounds pretty good. And BCs, IT'S A TRAP is golden.
I think all this hate on sc2 sounds is partially due to nostalgia coming from sc1, but honestly, from an objective, unbiased point of view, the new sound effects suck.
Here's my argument: they lack INTENSITY. Everything was bass-heavy and very loud in sc1. A big battle was fun because you heard all sorts of noises, like storms going off, dragoons dying, zerglings clawing, hydras spitting, zealots stabbing, etc etc... and it was so intense I would get so caught up in the battle that I would stare at it in awe and forget to macro, even to this day.
All the sounds in sc2 sound like they not only recorded sub-par sounds to begin with, but then took those sub-par copies and cut out the bass and filtered them through an echo chamber, making them all sound very airy and quiet. Zealots no longer sound manly, and zerglings hitting my buildings no longer sets off my alarms. When I heard carriers deploying intercepters I would automatically think 'Oh Im fucked' but now i don't even hear them. The list goes on, and it would take more than 1 post to list them all.
It has gotten to the point that I turn off sound when I play sc2 (especially because the zerg's "we require more MINERALZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" is so damn annoying), and just play music from itunes, which has NEVER happened ONCE when I played sc1. Long story short, the sounds have to go, every element of the game should be adding to its entertainment value, not detract from it. If I were to put a number on entertainment value, I would say gameplay adds 40 graphics adds 30 ladder system adds another 10 and sound subtracts fucking -10000. That is how bad it is, so overall the experience of playing sc2 in terms of the excitement it generates is nowhere near sc1
I'm having a hard time distinguishing the new zergling and drone... They sound so similar! The new ultralisk is just horrible. I loved the Brood War Ultralisk...much more menacing.
The sounds in beta seem to be really really low, like all the units have strep throat or something. I hope this gets fixed.
I don't know if all these people recommending that Blizzard magically re-acquire 10 year old personnel to attack this issue are being facetious or not. This kind of feedback does not help at all. More actionable feedback would be along the lines of specifically identifying problem areas and proposing steps to fix them.
I know this has been done and repeated in plenty of posts, but I'll add to it for the sake of contribution. Combat effects should have high attack and brevity so as not to mesh together. Voices and effects of various units should be distinct from those of other units. Some ways to accomplish this:
-Have voice actors exaggerate. Think of the Vulture pilot... he's a raucous asshole, and the voice actor goes out of his way to make him sound even more unpleasant. No raucous asshole in real life would talk like that even half of the time... the voice actor acts in extremes. -Keep lines with words terse. Ditch long lines like "Victory is the only truth that matters!" in favor of lines with half as many syllables. 5 syllables should be the cap for most. -Vary pitch, timbre, filters, or all three significantly for Zerg "voices" -Ditch subtlety. We don't need to hear chirping birds or the crisp enunciation of words. We need a high attack, near instant confirmation that when we're selecting the correct units in our lightning fast string of orders to various unit types. -More liberal application of filters should be fine. I don't care if I can barely make out what my Archon is saying. He's a bloody alien anyways.
EDIT: The note on bass on the previous page is a good point too. I remember pissing off my neighbors on a few occasions just by playing Brood War without headphones. After talking to them it seemed all they were really hearing was mad bass rumbling.
First: Holy shit the zergling farts like fifty times. WTF I don't want my zerglings farting. Anyways I agree with posts above. Game sounds shouldn't be subtle. Maybe if you want to be subtle in the "extra sounds" when you click on a unit 17 times, that's ok. But otherwise, wtf are you doing, I want to know which unit i'm clicking on
On March 21 2010 13:40 rotinegg wrote: Here's my argument: they lack INTENSITY. Everything was bass-heavy and very loud in sc1. A big battle was fun because you heard all sorts of noises, like storms going off, dragoons dying, zerglings clawing, hydras spitting, zealots stabbing, etc etc... and it was so intense I would get so caught up in the battle that I would stare at it in awe and forget to macro, even to this day.
Zealots no longer sound manly, and zerglings hitting my buildings no longer sets off my alarms. When I heard carriers deploying intercepters I would automatically think 'Oh Im fucked' but now i don't even hear them. The list goes on, and it would take more than 1 post to list them all.
Long story short, the sounds have to go, every element of the game should be adding to its entertainment value, not detract from it. If I were to put a number on entertainment value, I would say gameplay adds 40 graphics adds 30 ladder system adds another 10 and sound subtracts fucking -10000. That is how bad it is, so overall the experience of playing sc2 in terms of the excitement it generates is nowhere near sc1
QFT. No intensity in most of the SC2 unit sounds. This intensity really got my heart rate up, upped my APM (however low it was), and I would say might be the #1 thing outside of game design itself that made the game last so long.
SC2 graphics are great, but if the sounds don't change, it will be a much less atmospheric game to play. Blizzard is the one that decided to make SC2. They are the ones saying they want it to be an e-sport. They are the ones who say the fans have a say. Hopefully the SC2 sound designers and engineers can swallow their pride and listen to our valid feedback.
Sound in general was a lot louder and more intense in SC1 than SC2. The sound in SC2 is just a lot quieter overall. The Hydralisk is a good example: very loud in the original, but in the sequel all you really hear from them are very subtle hissing noises.
The Ultralisk is also a big disappointment. When you made an Ultralisk in SC1, they would ROAR! They roared when they were made, they roared every time you selected them, and they roared every time they attacked. It might have been redundant, but it sounded incredibly powerful and fitting for such a large creature. Then you have the SC2 Ultralisk, which again just does subtle hissing noises like the Hydralisk, and doesn't roar at all when they attack.
And yet ANOTHER example of this is the Mutalisk. Mutalisks in SC2 actually do make a roaring noise when they attack, but you'll notice that it's a lot quieter in SC2 than the original. I don't know what Blizzard is going for here, but this strange new direction for the sound isn't good at all, and it's not just a matter of nostalgia either; even from an objective standpoint, many of these voices and sounds are just flat out bad. I'm really hoping that Blizzard doesn't rush the beta out the door, because even if the game is fun, there's a lot of small problems that don't cripple the game, but make for a less immersive and enjoyable gaming experience.
LOL omg the fart noises from the zergling and infestor. Never knew.
Yeah all the Zerg sounds definitely sound too similar. I also don't like how happy and positive the announcer is for Terran. Upgrade, complete! instead of being monotone and serious. Nitpicking maybe but it adds a lot to the mood of the game. I also do not like how adolescent and wimpy the new Ghost sounds.
And it still sounds like a lot of effects are lacking from the Protoss. They sound way too human and have far fewer native Protoss language quotes it seems.
The zerg advisor (queen? voice) is notoriously bad/annoying. And I totally agree, that all the zerg sounds seem to be the same sound effects with their pitch tweaked, sped up, polarized, or whatever. They need to basically just try to emulate the scbw sounds and just spice em up a bit.
And I totally agree with the OP's sentiments about lings being 'crunchy', drones being 'buzzy', etc in SCBW. They had a goal when they made that game, they took a basic premise like; "OK this unit is buzzing around like a busy little worker bee, let's try and capture that feeling with sounds for this guy".
Also, Hydra definitely sounds 'slithery'/serpentlike, and mutas make a screeching sound when moving and a shattering sound when attacking, which wasn't mentioned in the op.
I just hope Blizzard reads threads like this and comes to their senses. Starting to think they don't really care about the sounds and are more concerned with trying to make it a successful e-sport which I don't mind but strong sounds make it way more entertaining to watch as a spectator.
And why do ultra attacks sound like SCISSORS???? wheres that ROAR we're expecting?
I also hate how the HT is so much harder to see because of how incredibly dull it looks. No more blue trails signifying its presence, it's just a zealot with a cape now.
I've actually just accepted the minerawlzzzzzzzzz...Not loving it but it doesn't irk me anymore at least. Grandma zerg knows best.
That video from the first page really brought the problem home to me. Must have taken a while to make, but does very well illustrate the extensive problem.
This is Beta... Haven't ppl played game beta's before? They are unpolished versions of the game. I played WC3 beta and it did not even have hero abilities. Some sounds were also fixed.
IMO Zerg always had the worst voice and it can't be helped, you can't understand them x_x
Overall they sound a lot less masculine (in tone and word choice) and decisive. The beginning of the sound file isn't as immediately recognizable, you don't instantly know what you selected from the sound of it. Why do they always sound like they're questioning my orders? Why do they panic when they're in a firefight?
"WE CAN'T HOLD 'EM I'M TAKING FIRE SHIT I SIGNED UP TO FIGHT THE GALACTIC BATTLE FOR THE SURVIVAL OF MY RACE BUT IM REALLY FUCKING NERVOUS RIGHT NOW BRO, ARE U SURE ABOUT THIS LOL?"
These guys are taking orders from the supreme allied high commander of the universe charged with commanding the most important battles in the race's history and sound like they are just shooting the shit and saying whatever's on their mind, or else questioning your orders with 20 second long responses in the middle of a huge fire fight.
the sc1 sounds were 100 times better, and im not just saying that because im used to the sc1 sounds, been playing sc2 for a month now and my opinion didnt change at all :S
On March 21 2010 13:47 Jonoman92 wrote: Good point, I never noticed how difficult the zerg sounds are to differentiate compared to how they were i sc1.
And we require more minerlzzzz is terribad.
YES, YES THIS OMG I HATE THAT SOUND seriously i was gonna be a zerg user from the vods and so then i heard that sound and no way man t.t cant listen to that shit
I immediately noticed the difference in the sounds between the two games, and I have to say I was just disgusting at how shitty the sc2 unit sounds were with all 3 races. They lack creativity, variety, and emotion. I can barely tell the difference between a sc2 stalker, dark templar, and high templar,(btw it pained me deeply at how hard they butchered the dt and ht voices among with others). and for me, being a zerg player, was completely disappointed the units... it's just so boring. I was just thinking of playing the game with mute, because I can't stand that god awful zerg advisor. But I'm glad at least they kept the toss advisor and probe sounds the same from what I can tell, also the zealot doesn't sound as intimidating anymore. I love the sc1 sounds so much that I even put it to where whenever I receive an IM from AIM I get the sound of a hydralisk being born, yeah it's nerdy but I love it and it makes me hard.
Yeah the sound isn't really the strongest part of SC2. I liked it when the game told you when you were fighting enemies with a simple 'Your forces have engaged the enemy' rather than having your unit say something like 'We cannot hold.' 'Prismatic core failing.' Which causes you to go oh crap! and madly rush to check out whats happening and see 5 void rays and an army of zealot fighting 2 marines or something.
As strong as the BW sounds were, we can't simply replace SC2's sounds with them since SC2 features a bevy of new units. Essentially if the community wanted to make a sound replacement mod, they'd have to assemble a sound team and create the sounds from scratch. I wouldn't put it past our kickass community though.
I agree overall with you all about the less memorable units sounds. However, im reluctant to really feel that passionate about it because im sure 10 years of hearing the old sounds have made me pretty biased.
The only unit voice i truly officially hate is the new High Templar. Much much worse than old.
LOOOOOOOOL I didn't know sc2 zerglings farted lolol :p
THat said, I like actually like the terran voices en most of the toss's voices. (zealot is awesome... as long as he isn't getting attacked lol we cannot hold my ass there's 20 of you against 5lings wtf)
The new HT sounds extremely similar to roughly 1/4 of all the bosses in WoW. Seriously, listen to Algalon's voice and tell me it's not nearly identical. This is what happens when you get used to stuff like voicing being a secondary, polish-related consideration rather than integral to the game.
I also agree with basically everything that's been said in this thread about how sound effect quality seems to have suffered overall, particularly with respect to how "weak" the marine and siege tank attack sounds have become. Blizzard's creative direction in the post-WoW era has really suffered.
The High Templar, Dark Templar, Archon, and Zerg Announcer are the only voices I would say are genuinely bad from an objective standpoint.
My main problem with the voices is that a lot of them don't act as enthusiastic as the ones in SC1. Compare the SC1 siege tank with the SC2 siege tank and you'll definitely see the difference even though it appears to be the same voice actor. The Zealot is another good example. The voice itself is perfectly fine in SC2, but the acting is weaker. Just compare the SC1 "MY LIFE FOR AIUR" with the SC2 "MylifeforAiur" where it sounds like the SC2 zealot is rushing his phrase instead of emphasizing on every syllable.
I know it might sound less realistic, but I really think that Blizzard needs to increase on the "hamminess" of the acting, and by that I mean more enthusiasm and bombastic acting overall. Just look at the Thor. It's probably the only hammy voice in SC2, and guess what? It's also one of the most popular voices. The Protoss sound filters are also a lot weaker in SC2. They all sound "airy", which is fine in some cases, but I really don't want units like the carrier to sound airy. Everything about the carrier's voice should scream POWER, and I don't really get that feeling in this new one. Maybe it made some Protoss units hard to understand, but damn it sounded awesome. And I'm not just talking nostalgia here. Even when I first played the game, I still found the High Templar and Archon voices awesome despite the fact that they were sometimes hard to understand. So far the Immortal is the only voice that really carries any power.
It's a shame that Blizzard seems satisfied with their work right now, but I really feel that they can do better, and it's obvious that many others feel the same way just going by the multiple threads on it. It seems like every fansite and forum has a strong consensus that the sound could use improvement, so I hope Blizzard swallows their pride and improves on it. I wouldn't mind a delay either, it's not like I was expecting SC2 any earlier than the fall/winter anyway.
Some are saying that the toss voices aren't that bad, but i really think they need to be reworked. Not only do they need to sound a lot less human, but i would also like to hear a lot more of their native language. Hell, i wouldnt mind complete replacement of english into their native language. I'm also kind of hoping to have the option to go full toss language with english subtitles on the toss campaign.
Most (like 90%) of the unit sounds in-game are terrible. They are plain, anti-climatic, hard to distinguish between each other and don't serve any real purpose. I really hoped they were just placeholders for the beta, because Blizzard screwed that up big time.
I think of it this way, this is farther in the future of the starcraft universe and the dialects as well as the technology has evolved. This results in different voices, different sounds from units and so on. I think everyone is just too much into the anti-change and don't want to give up SC1. I do admit some of the zerg sounds are very underwhelming and a couple protoss voices as well but they /are/ still good.
SC1's Siege tank ARCLITE CANNON still makes my brain feel the psychological pressure of battle when I play PvT. Zealot PSI-BLADE was so sharp is SC1 you could feel it ripping through Terran armor and Zerg carapace.. now it's become dull and sounds like waving around a cheap toy-lightsaber.
I'm glad this thread was made, this has been on my mind since the first day I played SC2beta. Although there is small chance something will be done,,, hope dies last.
On March 22 2010 20:41 OverKillv7 wrote: I think everyone is just too much into the anti-change and don't want to give up SC1.
I'm so sick of this damn argument - it has NOTHING to do with anti-change/nostalgia. The reasons the current SC2 sounds aren't being excepted have been explained in detail in not just this thread but others too. Drop it already!
Blizzard better address this or people are going to drop SC2 after awhile instead of playing indefinitely. Sound design makes such a huge difference in atmosphere and how you feel while playing.
The attack sounds aren't anywhere near as sharp as BW attacks. They quickly become annoying, especially when you're attacking destructible rocks with zealots, just for example. They sound so dull, they remind me of how annoying the buzzing of fly is.
One thing that really bugs me is the marine death noise, that gurgled gasp. I seriously thought for months that that was some sort of zergling grunt. Also, the zergling attack sound is terrible, it sounds like they are mashing their feelers into pudding. I miss how every ling attack sounded like a punch in the face.
This is my first post, and my opinion on sound is strong enough to encourage myself to register and add my own (mostly concurring with everyone else) opinions.
I remember my first games in the beta being generally pleased with visual distinguishment (a bit less so for zerg units on creep, and terran infantry), something that I was particularly concerned about. When RTS games moved to 3-d, most of them failed hard in this aspect, but SC2 did a reasonable job, all things considered. Units still aren't quite as distinct as SC1, but doing so is a pretty tall order.
Unfortunately, I've been especially displeased with the sound effects, like most other posters in this thread. I remember playing Starcraft on the family computer in our living room and my parents making me put on headphones whenever I was in the game for longer than 5 minutes. The in-game sounds are explosive, sharp, quick, and evocative of a real intergalactic war. I agree wholeheartedly with those that have stated that unit responses for all races are far too long in duration, with zerg units being indistinguishable and protoss units sounding FAR too human. I don't WANT to understand what the protoss units are saying. Give them antiquated latin-esque phrases, and throw them through hundreds of filters. We WANT this.
I also agree with the general sentiment on battle sounds. They're far too passive and quiet to get my adrenaline pumping like the original Starcraft. The "thud" of a zergling, the "crash" of zealot blades, the "boom" of a seige tank... these sounds were horrifying and they were LOUD. They filled out the entire dynamic spectrum, whereas the sounds of SC2 sound whimpy, low-fi, and coated with too much reverb. Units dying also feels pretty anticlimactic. I care a lot less about my marines when they just keel-over instead of SCREAMING in an epic explosive pile as they did in SC1.
Since we're on the topic of sound, I will say that I'm pretty happy with the music in SC2. Each race's one musical track that they've got right now "feel" right, and are the right combination of melody and ambiance. I'm a huge music nerd, a musician myself, and in-game music matters a lot to me. I just hope that the other music that each race gets is just as fitting as what I've heard so far.
I do really hope somebody from Blizzard reads this and takes the opinions within it very seriously. Even as a person who hopes to play the game semi-competitively (currently unemployed... I claimed to be a musician, remember?), this is one of my largest concerns for the game. Sound. Definitely sound.
On March 22 2010 22:27 Lazix wrote: I'm so sick of this damn argument - it has NOTHING to do with anti-change/nostalgia.
I'm always confused by this argument too. How many people literally don't play games besides SC? You can tell if a game has bad sound or art pretty quickly.
SC1 even has more satisfying mining noises than SC2, especially SCVs and drones.
I couldn't quite put my finger on how I felt about the Zerg announcer until my brother said, "Yep, there's Starscream again telling me I need more minerals."
Agree completely in that the sound is too wc3ish, its washed out and rather dull. Love the music however. Just bored with the sound. Also agree that of the 3 races the zerg lost out the most. I can not tell the difference between the units when I click them in the middle of a game at all. If Im passively listening I can but its difficult. Man I miss the sound of the hydra's deep gutteral breathing...so freaking creepy. One unit that gets an A+ in my book though is the BC, its attack sounds devastating, its cannon firing is so awesome I research it just to hear it if I can get away with it in a ladder, and the unit acknowledgements are unique. Rest of the terran sounds fine to me, neither here nor there imo although the sieged tank sound is pretty wimpy. Random doesn't give me toss very often but they are sort of two sides to me. On the one side I like their attack sounds, on the other side their acknowledgements are for lack of a better word...wimpy. Frankly I wish they would give the zerg their old sounds back and the toss could really use new unit voicing, terran over all seem relatively fine to me.
The only Unit-Sound for Zerg that really stands out.... Is the Overlord crapping creep (and maybe the Queen injecting Larva)... Which for some weird reason make more noise than any other thing any Zerg unit does...
On March 23 2010 19:45 Velr wrote: Fun thing is...
The only Unit-Sound for Zerg that really stands out.... Is the Overlord crapping creep (and maybe the Queen injecting Larva)... Which for some weird reason make more noise than any other thing any Zerg unit does...
This is true, I think the Overlord generating creep is a little over the top. Blizz needs to get it right, make the sounds that truly matter to the player louder, and tone down the sounds that are less of a critical event. For example, if 12 zealots are in my base slashing at my hatchery, i better hear it like knives and forks clattering against plates (like in SC1)
This topic deals about the crapiness of SC2 sound. That topic deals about crappy sound not being heard from a distance.
Actually, i wrote this topic to address primarily the unit voices, not sound in general. Sound effects have been discussed at length in many previous threads.
agree completly with the op, also the sounds from units weapons and such arent at the lvl they were in SC:BW. When a sieged tank hits your unit in BW you basicly shit your pants compared to the sounds in SC2 where you barely notice it... i really hope theyve got new sounds for the release...
After hearing them, there really is a distinctly sharp pitch in all the voices of the original game that's absent in SC2. Pretty intriguing though I'm not sure how to fix this problem. Maybe just put the old voices into the new game? There's some low-res quality about it but I'm sure they can be remastered.
I have listened to the sounds, and some do need improvement. Ghost- Badass, but rather young. Mengsk must be filtering his ghost program again. Protoss- Indeed they sound too human. A example you guys might not like, but can agree with, is like the Elites from Halo. Once you understood them, (2 onwards) they stopped being as cool. Zerg- Nice vids, shuffle up the sounds, and see if any Starcraft fan can identify them XD.
I'll actually have to disagree. I I think that the voices are totally fine, sure some of the sc1 sounds are better but in my opinion some of the sc2 voices are better than their sc1 counterpart. I really like the new ghost and carrier for example and the old Ultra sounds like someone moving a sofa where as now they actually sound like the big ass creepy animals they are.
In SC2, only the Marauder has the SC1 rudeness to it. Pretty much everything else sounds toned down. I am almost offended by how wimpy the Zerglings sound - although roaches and hydras actually aren't bad.
Also, the SC2 attack sounds are REALLY quiet. Whether it's zealots, tanks, mutalisks, or carriers, in SC1 you could wear a blindfold and still tell pretty much how a battle is going. SC2 you really can't. This could be pretty easily changed, just by making attack sounds a lot louder compared to ambient stuff like harvesting and background music.
The rest are either OK or terrible. I hate how all the Zerg units all sound like the same thing but at a different pitch, they've lost any resemblance of character they once had in Starcraft.
overall what we want to say is that the voices in sc2 are pansified versions of the testosterone filled gut gripping voices of broodwar. when a zealot spoke in broodwar, i could imagine the dirt and scars on him. he was not a dude you would want to mess around with. the zerglings were also very intimidating when with that huge BAK BAK BAK sound they made when they attacked and the sound interceptors made when coming out of the carrier would just go over everything else in the battle field except for maybe the siege tank shots. all those things added the terror to each individual unit's role and identity.
the vulture had a less of a bang to in its attack but it illustrated its fast harrasing role, while the spider mine gave you that high tech terror feel. but i always felt that the siege tank voice and sounds was the epitome of the whole theme of starcraft unit voices. there was nothing better than "DELIGHTED TO SIR!!!" "READY TO ROLL OUT!!" and yes i had to type that in caps.
then you had the archon, which was also very intimidating. he had much shorter and more meaningful lines than the monologues of like 6+ words we hear from the protoss voices in sc2. POWER OVERWHELMING. WE BURRRRRRN.
I really think this thread says alot. Really well done. And 100% about taking SC1 unit voices/ alerts for granted. I love SC2... but as a whole its one of the weakest parts of the games. Thank you for making such a great post.
EPT
