Please improve cinematics

Abdul

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2005

I think most people will agree that the cinematics in Guild Wars are awful: bad voice acting, cheesy dialog, recycled animations, and some of the longests stretches of non-interactivity in a computer game (heck, at least you can chat to friends while on a WoW bird flight). Players should not be forced to sit through these things because someone decided not to press skip.

A few ideas on how to fix this:
1) Remove them entirely, I am sure the majority of players will not miss them
2) Replace them with scripted ingame cutscenes (Half Life style)
3) Replace them with those pop-up ad style dialogs that are all over Cantha
4) Keep the cinematics, but move them to NPCs located in the mission starting zones, so people that are interested in them can still watch them without making 7 other people suffer

KurtTheBehemoth

Banned

Join Date: Dec 2005

tubbyville

Kurt's Royal Guardians

Mo/E

some good ideas,

It would seem more realistic if they merged the storyline actually into the playable game. Halflife was a perfect example of that. They did some of that in Factions with Mhenlo and Togo. I just want more content in the end though. Cinematics would be icing on the cake.

megalomaniac_mutant

megalomaniac_mutant

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2005

End of the Universe

My guild name not know you must.

I don't agree: Cinematics are great! Although the GW cinematics...I think Anet really should improve them in CH3...they ruin the so called "epic storyline". But i guess that without them, it would be even worse...I wonder if it is really THAT hard for Anet to make nice cinematics, with the quality of the Trailers.

Raziel665

Raziel665

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Apr 2005

Defenders of the Blackblade [DotB]

N/Mo

Wouldnt suggestion 2 make it worse and non-skipable?

I hated Half Life style scene's, since you had to wait for the NPC to be done telling you his lifestory before finnally opening a door trough wich you flee.

lord_shar

lord_shar

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jul 2005

near SF, CA

The lack of speech sync'd lip movement during cinematics always leaves me feeling short-changed... JMHO.

megalomaniac_mutant

megalomaniac_mutant

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2005

End of the Universe

My guild name not know you must.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raziel665
Wouldnt suggestion 2 make it worse and non-skipable?

I hated Half Life style scene's, since you had to wait for the NPC to be done telling you his lifestory before finnally opening a door trough wich you flee.
If you don't like the great Half Life storytelling, then dont play it!
Uhm...This is getting off-topic....:S

Nvwa Strider

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2006

R/

Tbh i find the movies very bad, but funny.

It just cracks me up if i see someone talking to a wall
See someone walk trough walls or bodies
Bone minions that attack everyone
and pet animals that just stand there eat worms while hell is going lose around them.

I accepted how the movies are. They really suck, but they are also funny and they are the typical gw cinematics.

I dont care if the movies arent skipped, i got plenty other things to do while they are busy.

wilebill

wilebill

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2005

Mt Vernon, Ohio

Band of the Hawk

W/Mo

We are stuck with the cut scenes, probably. I wish the money spent on them had been spent on other parts of the game.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

Toronto

Hopping

Mo/A

Suggest improvements, don't request.

Anet peeps are either too lazy or busy and can't be arsed.

You'll get used to it after a few more months of GW

Celios

Academy Page

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Black Crescent [BC]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abdul
4) Keep the cinematics, but move them to NPCs located in the mission starting zones, so people that are interested in them can still watch them without making 7 other people suffer
Bingo. Craptacular or spectacular, I try to go through every cinematic at least once just so the missions don't become an endless chain of "travel to X location and kill Y foe" assignments. However, once I've seen them, it's annoying as hell to have to rewatch the stuff just because one or two people will always refuse to skip. I loved being able to replay the intro cinematics for missions, but it's time to add an option to rewatch all the mid-mission movies you've "earned" as well.

Furthermore, I don't think there's a single person out there who doesn't believe the in-game engine cutscenes have to go. Sure it's cheap, but it also looks like absolute crap. Get some facial animation worked into the game or at the very least switch over to pre-rendered stuff in the future. As it stands, it's hard to take any of the storyline seriously if the cinematics consist of an audio recording played against an unmoving character, followed by a badly integrated emote.

Ventius Hozza

Ventius Hozza

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2005

London, UK

Powerpuff Boys [PUFF]

R/

I wish ANet would fix how in every cutscene, always one person is facing the other direction and is made to look like a right ejit. Can't be that hard to fix.

And, yeah good ideas from the thread, lip-syncing in general is a must... and also non-comical voices please! I want to believe this game not laugh at Master Togo with the helium-filled frog stuck in his throat.

Terra Xin

Terra Xin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Mar 2006

New Zealand

Me/R

I only have a problem with a few voice actors, but everything else you've stated I have to disagree with, I really like some of the cinematics, and this isn't the way to populate game progression

/notsigned

KurtBatz

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2006

Me/W

The lip sync isn't there, because the game ships to Japan/Korea and such and the mouth movement wouldn't match the words.

Hence you'd have to sync for every locale the game ships to.

That's my theory anyway

Miss Innocent

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jul 2005

I wander.

Mo/R

Minor Spoiler:
--------------------
The real reason Mhenlo let the Kurzicks believe he was dead: Danika's voice.

More seriously, I've just accepted that this is the world of Ventrilloquists.

I don't mind the way cutscenes are right now, not much, anyway. The ones I have the biggest issue with is the ones at Fort Aspenwood/Jade Quarrey, where you want to see it the first time (and are disappointed), and then have to watch it every time you have a leech, bot, or anyone who hasn't seen it before. I didn't come in with them, why do I have to wait on them to leave? It's not like we'll be playing together again anyway...

Mostly, the cutscenes are fine. They have room for improvement, but they don't suck.... like they could.

And I like the cheesiness.

Tyggen

Tyggen

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2006

Mo/Me

I don't mind the cutscenes that much, they're boring to watch once you've seen them once though. The only problem I have with them, is that half the cutscenes (especially in factions) have more bugs in them then Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.



***some people may consider this a minor spoiler for factions***


My favourite has to be Shiro tossing Vizu backwards like she's shot out of a cannon though...

boenan

boenan

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2006

Boston Area (Originally Arkansas)

R/

well..
the scripted in-game plot progression was really buggy and caused a lot of problems...
a great idea, but i HATE pop-ups.

Mars Dragonblade

Mars Dragonblade

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2006

Awesometon.

Ministry of Fate [MoF]

W/

An idea I agree with that was on another similar thread was another button should be put next to the Skip one that would allow you to bypass the cinematics without disturbing the other players while they watched it. Then, while they're watchin it you can sell all your loot or change builds etc until the cinematic is finished and you're all back in the party.

linh

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

Mo/

The biggest problem to me is some other things still involved in cutscene ( like Minion attack or die, enemies attack you while watching..etc that make it sometimes ridiculous). I don't have much problem with voice acting, lip synchronization or others.

tommarrow

tommarrow

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Dec 2005

Shyft Machine [MYTH]

E/

The problem with allowing people to skip the cut scene seperatly from the group is the cut scenes in the middle of the missions. Should the people that skip be allowed to continue fighting while the ones that want to watch the cut scene be left behind?

SpeedyKQ

SpeedyKQ

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2005

E/Me

I think they should get rid of cutscenes in the middle of missions. I'm sure they can design a decent storyline without them. Then make end-of-mission cutscenes an individual choice - if you don't want to watch them, you proceed along to the next town.

Start-of-mission cutscenes can be displayed when you first arrive in the mission town rather than when the mission starts. Again, watching them or not can be an individual choice.

If they took cutscenes out of Guild Wars all together, I'd miss them greatly. The game needs more storyline and immersion, not less. And yeah, the voice-acting could be worlds better. Way too over-acted and melodramatic.

Align

Align

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2005

Protectors of Awesome[AWE]

W/

Male voice acting sounds just right to me, but the female voice actor needs to be fired. I hate Saidra just for how she talks.

Mars Dragonblade

Mars Dragonblade

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2006

Awesometon.

Ministry of Fate [MoF]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by tommarrow
The problem with allowing people to skip the cut scene seperatly from the group is the cut scenes in the middle of the missions. Should the people that skip be allowed to continue fighting while the ones that want to watch the cut scene be left behind?
Easy way to sort it is that the monsters that spawn after the cutscene don't appear until the time it takes for the cutscene to finish normally expires. Then the one or two folk that can't be arsed watchin it don't get porked after they skip it. Or if they do appear and they aren't programmed to attack immediately then just stay out the way until the rest of the team's through. Second idea is kinda crappy, the first is the best suggestion to solve it I think. Any other suggestions?

EDIT: Better idea: why not just allow players to skip the cutscenes separately at the end of the missions, but in the middle of it keep it the way it is to avoid causing mayhem?

Bethany

Bethany

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2005

Cutscenes aren't the real problem, the terrible voice acting is. Many voices in GW make me cringe and cut off my speakers. What's more surprising is that there aren't that many dialogs and I just can't believe that the company that produces these voices can't find suitable, convincing talent. The Thief serie probably has the best voice-acting ever and the actors had to produce hundreds of lines (use DXIW Drone to extract the voices and you'll see the insane amount). Like I said in another thread, this is one area ANet needs to improve. Because they can.