I miss the old conversations

[ShadowKatt.6740]

So I started a new character, playing through core again, and it occured to me that we haven't had the cutscenes like we used to. We haven't had that since Scarlet's War. And I miss them. I liked when characters talked you could both see and hear them clearly as the dialogue went back and forth, as opposed to now where dialogue just....happens, and maybe you're facing the right direction, maybe the audio comes through clearly, or maybe one of the NPCs is stuck in a wall somewhere and you miss half of all the conversation altogether.
 

I really think this should have been kept, and while it wasn't, it should be brought back.

[kharmin.7683]

There were technical as well as financial reasons.  I agree, though.  I enjoyed them, too.

[Cyninja.2954]

I think opinions on this might go apart. Some players enjoyed the core system, others did not.

I for one never enjoyed being torn out of the game world into a quasi cinematic. The newer approach also allows for far more experience and things to go on and is far less static.

Not saying one is wrong for enjoying the older approach, it just wasn't for me personally.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Cyninja.2954

[Randulf.7614]

Well, the cutscenes were changed due to player feedback. Not sure I really understand what the op is saying about other static dialogues in LS1

[Eekasqueak.7850]

They were kinda awkward, I wasn't a fan. 

[DeanBB.4268]

At least you could hit skip if you'd already been through it. 

Personally, I liked the old system better.

[Farohna.6247]

I do not like these, I still find them a drag.  They were one of the least interesting things about the game when I started.  Being able to skip was nice, but the first time...ugggghhhh.

I like the current dialogues, I do like to be able to read them as well in case I'm zoning out.  I would rather have that the current style, but can appreciate someone preferring the old 

[Danikat.8537]

28 minutes ago, Cyninja.2954 said:

I think opinions on this might go apart. Some players enjoyed the core system, others did not.

I for one never enjoyed being torn out of the game world into a quasi cinematic. The newer approach also allows for far more experience and things to go on and is far less static.

Not saying one is wrong for enjoying the older approach, it just wasn't for me personally.

It's come up a few times and opinions are definitely split.

They worked better for my specific circumstances, but I think that's fairly unusual. I normally have to play with the sound turned off, so I can't hear the dialogue but I'm also dyslexic and read slowly. Having a cut scene where I know nothing's going to happen and I can just focus on what's being said works much better for me than hoping to catch a line in the chat box or a speech bubble while I'm in the middle of running or fighting.

Also when I can have the sound on I still find I miss a lot of what's being said because as someone else mentioned the dialogue is directional so unless you're facing the person speaking it can be very quiet and easily muffled by other noises. More than once I've found I only get 1/2 the conversation because we're running somewhere while talking and one of the NPCs insists on being behind my character no matter how I try to position myself. I especially don't like when a conversation happens during combat because then I have to give up on following it and hope there's time to stop afterwards to re-read it in the chat box, and hope I'm able to make sense of it and match it up to what was happening.

Having said that I do think the new format works better for when characters are doing something as well as talking (I'd just prefer it not to be combat). There's a few points in the personal story where you see characters reacting to something that happened but it doesn't really make sense because what you see is two of them standing there calmly having a chat, not whatever it is they're reacting to.

My personal preference would be to use a mix of both - use the personal story cut scene style if they're just talking (especially if there's a lot of discussion going on) and the new 'in world' conversation style when you need to also see what they're doing or what's happening around them, and stop having important conversations during combat when it's difficult to hear or read. But I don't know that anyone else would want that.

[Beleron.9347]

Those cutscenes worked best when you took all your clothes off first.

[kharmin.7683]

Oh myyy

[DeanBB.4268]

53 minutes ago, Beleron.9347 said:

Those cutscenes worked best when you took all your clothes off first.

Um, was that you, the player, or your character in-game...? 😮

[Farohna.6247]

1 hour ago, DeanBB.4268 said:

Um, was that you, the player, or your character in-game...? 😮

Yes.

[Vain.3805]

I miss them too.  I have to make sure my character is in the right spot before the dialog starts or I won't hear it because positional audio.

[Sobx.1758]

As long as there's a "skip" button!

[MATIC.9542]

Never liked the old cinematics, doesn't help that the acting was worse then.

I like it better now that i can organize inventory or builds while npcs are talking to me in the actual game world.

[Elricht Kaltwind.8796]

I really agree. The way that the mouths and faces were animated during the dialogue was so great. I've always missed those little cutscenes ever since they retired that format.

[TwistedAlga.4235]

I don't mind the cutscenes, I find them quite nice and I like them too. 

I really hated when they changed after the core story at LW1 - LW2 I believe, our PC did not speak at all, only using, ''Press F to talk in text'' while npcs were talking. 😠

I do like what we have now, our PC talks, sometimes shows emotes even while they're talking, 🙂 

[Arianth Moonlight.6453]

yeah... I miss Logan taking the main spot right when my character rescues his long-lost sister... 🙄

[fatihso.7258]

Players didn't want those duo talking cutscenes so they are no longer added. 

[Majic.4801]

The biggest problem with the old dialog scenes was a lack of dynamism. The format of characters standing on opposite sides of the screen in front of a black background talking and occasionally gesturing isn't exactly gripping, cutting-edge cinema.

Even the simplest of things like showing the world in the background or moving characters around on the screen instead of swapping them in and out of stationary positions would have been a vast improvement.

Indeed, that might have even proven preferable to the current regime of multiple characters shouting incomprehensibly over each other while drowned out by combat or stuck inside a wall somewhere out of sight, leaving important plot points and mechanics effectively unexplained and players wondering what the hell is going on.

Yet for all their chaotic incoherence, the lost-in-a-riot in-world dialogs of today may arguably constitute a step up from the wooden freshman drama club deliveries of old. But frankly, that ain't saying much.

Here's to a bold, bright future where just about any change on this front would be an improvement.  😏

[Venus Doom.1536]

On 10/16/2023 at 7:01 PM, DeanBB.4268 said:

At least you could hit skip if you'd already been through it. 

Personally, I liked the old system better.

This is why the old system is better. If they somehow implement skips to the new system, I would like it better. Playing through story on another character when I just want to get to somewhere is a huge pain when the characters just keep talking for ages.

[knives.6345]

Just me wanting an option to skip all cutscenes and dialogs. 😐 

[Sakiri.4809]

The only thing I don't like about the current system is having to tab out to change songs or videos while the NPCs are talking their mouths off before my quest will update. -_-

[quake.9023]

meh

[Morvran.8265]

People hated it at launch so Anet stopped doing it. I'm not a huge fan either but at least back then we could skip some of the boring dialogue thanks to this. Nowadays Anet forces us to listen because they are just so proud of their work..