It makes me wonder how much money it costs to do voiced dialogue. Could they have spent two or three times as much without problem? Or is the amount of voiced dialogue already hideously expensive?

It's a lot easier to fix these things if it isn't voiced. 10 pages of non-voiced dialogue must be easier to do than 1 page of voiced dialogue, given the audio studio, scheduling, costs, and other arrangements voicing adds. Fully voicing everything is kind of a mixed sword. That said, it would seem like part of the solution would be to have generic dialogue voiced every game, then recylce as much of it as you can in the next game, adding to it. They don't seem to do that though.

Edit: That's not to say they couldn't have had the current system be better, but it would have to be more than just adding more voice.

Have you even played Oblivion or Morrowind?

It looks great if you've never see a system that worked, but we already know Bethesda can do better.

Not in the DB, but I am the Archmage. They seem to use EVERY line of dialogue about the College now, from the very first stuff, to the the latest and everything inbetween. I am sure the other groups are probably the same as well, so it really doesn't make sense, especially when there's no knowledge of time passing -- are you really a "new" member of something 6 months or a year later after you are their leader?

To say nothing of they'll going on about this sort of thing, but don't seem to be impressed I'm the Dragonborn. Weird crap.

Part of the problem is dialogue isn't phased out. A lot of it is petty when you are supposedly a figure of legend. It's used too much, making any people with lots of variety (like guards) get old quick. Lastly, a large portion of the dialogue is waaaay too specific, making it easy for it to sound strange.

The problem with TES games is that they're designed so that the entire world revolves around the player. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's our game. We want to be important. However, it limits storytelling and the dialogue is a reflection of this. Obviously the dialogue is tailored to reflect the recent quests you've finished. It doesn't take long to finish off a lot of quests, so it all starts to collide. Eventually continuity is broken. Dead people are referred to as if living. Guild mates don't realize I'm the new boss. Someone suddenly comments about something that happened a year ago, etc.

I just don't see how the devs couldn't record a LOT more audio. Why not record 10 variations on an arrow to the knee? Was it a time issue? A space issue?

Why does someone have to tell me where they work for all eternity?

My guess is there just wasn't enough time and money. At some point you have to focus on more important issues.

I don't think it is so much an issue of recording dialogue, so much as an issue of proper writing and direction of dialogue. I mean, I can't be the only one who thinks that it is hilariously bad that they have several cases of NPCs with entirely different voices, saying the exact same lines. Or voice actors who are known to have a decent amount of vocal range, apparently being directed to use the exact same voice for entirely different NPCs.

If you use your imagination, maybe you'll figure out that, there maybe somebody out there in the world that may know more about you than you think. Besides how they even know DB killed the emperor?

+1

Smells like justification for a broken system to me...

Only way it's going to work in sand box situation is if the npc's didn't start a dialogue with you once the quest is over. Other wise it'll just be linear story line with choices of how you want it to end.

What? What you just said has absolutely nothing to do with what I said.

Another example would be the guy who owns the archery shop in Solitude.
(Modified dialogue, but still the general outline)
"Do you have any arrows that can take down a dragon?"
"..."
"Sir-"
"Don't insult my intelligence you nordic ass hair!"
"Dragons have been around for... quite some time..."
"And I suppose you want a bow that fires troll dung and dispenses leg of goat?!"
"Sir... they're was real... You can see for yoursel-"
"Your typical Solitude wench is like the city itself. Stormy exterior... but ah the charms that lie within."

Really? You expect factions to gain reputation without spreading some sort of propaganda good luck to ya? What you want to join is faceless crime faction.

It's partly an issue of recording dialogue. But I agree what they chose to record has a number of oddities. I don't know why they have so many voice actors using the exact same lines for things, when instead they could have made things more varied. Why all the different guards have the same lines, why the Jarls often have the same lines (such as when you are made Thane)...I don't know why'd they do that.

Part of it is recording though. An NPC that talks about their history and gives personal information, is cutting away at the amount of generic dialogue including the other dialogue that NPC could have about things.

No, I expect the local gum-shoe with an arrow in the knee to not know the inner workings of the assassin's guild intimately.

I expect the people of Whiterun to realise that I am the Leader of the Compainions, and not call me "Bobby the Mead Errand Boy".

The Dark Brotherhood is a faceless crime faction. You seem a bit unclear on how some of the principles of assissination work. For one, you don't hand out bumper stickers with your name and face advertising what you do to every random citizen -- especially the law enforcement.

Edit: I'd also expect that if a figure with an absolutely legendary power against a mythical enemy that is rauaging the lands comes walking through the front gate, the average guard would be more likely to be reverant or speechless rather than make petty insults about my status in the Companions or some random skill. Instead what should be the biggest part of the main character's reputation is almost never talked about by anyone ever.

You gotta give Bethesda some leeway here. What you`re asking is a monumental task. Even greater than voicing a major movie dialogue.

In movie dialogue you have a scripted one way conversation, there`s no need for alternatives because the viewer simply watches the story, but in a game, the viewer is also the Player which means Bethesda have to make 2,3,4 even 10 X the dialogue options of a single large movie.

Now of course, for it to be perfect for us, Bethesda would need triple the voice cast or more (for variety) then get them all saying their lines and not just the lines for quests, but those really boring one-off lines multiple times in multiple ways. They would need to say at least 100+ random lines (just for the guards alone!) so that you won`t notice them repeating, That`s what it would take. It would actually take hundreds if not thousands of man-hours and cost a LOT of money. It`s a garguantuan task.

I`m not saying I don`t want it (and I hope they do it), but I really think we`re asking a lot here.

So you want a police officer to do just patrol duties and not the investigation? Or are you feeling so self conscious now that your the leader of a crime faction, you need only somebody like the Thalmors or the Blades to know about you?

Is that why they come after you with various contracts in their inventory? Real works of pro they are at being faceless.

Edit: Anyway this is getting too off topic.

There's no reason for random guard pvssyr to not be different for each voice actor though. There's some basic stuff like that, as well as the nature of what they decided to record, and how and what the guards say verses what they could have done, which could use work and wouldn't require more VA resources.

Or they can group the current selections to only be played after certain circumstances are met, then reduce or eliminate the ones that don't make sense:

For example:

It's fine for the guards in whiterun to ask me if I fetch mead for the companions when I start their quest line. However, once it is complete I should not hear that line ever again.

I imagine they've been cursed to be idiots, like the Thalmor. Potent magic at work.

I don't live in a city. I'm rural folk. When I pass somebody in the street, I talk to them. It is quite natural for people to speak as they pass you in this game because they haven't any city as large as todays metropolis in the Elder Scrolls. They didn't happen in the real world till technology allowed better sewer and transport networks. People didn't come on mass from all round and combine as strangers like they do now. Citys were as social as the smallest village until very recently. So recent in fact that I still remember them being like that in my childhood.

What is unnatural is what the people say in the game. I don't tend to hold a detail conversation or tell my lifestory to strangers... Oh hang on, I do. But that's because I'm old so that doesn't count. But anyway, a few more "top of the morning to you"" and "Well bugger me sideways, it's a dragon" would fit in much better. The conversations feel forced in Sykrim, as they did in Oblivion. Morrowind had it, but the conversations were short, so were less annoying for the most part.

It's on topic, because it is idiotic that EVERY RANDOM GUARD can figure out who the leader of the DB is no matter what.

Two better ways though could have gone, imho:
"I hear the Dark Brotherhood has a new, terrifying leader!" -- with each VA having a totally different line about the DB. Another might say "I heard from a guard in Dragonsbridge that the former leader of the Dark Brotherhood has been replaced".
or
They never comment on it at all.

I don't think were asking too much, as they had a working system in Oblivion.

They can, and have, done better.

Although it would be nice if NPCs had more variety in dialogue, i do think that even less could be used more effectively. It would be kind of cool if NPCs just acknowledged you with a smile, a scowl, a nod or a simple "hello" and went on their way rather than launching into their single line of dialogue.