NPC's and ambiance gripes.

[Efaicia.3672]

Is it just me, or does it grind on anyone else's nerves when NPC's are constantly yelling at me? Like... it's the main reason I get annoyed and logout after only a few minutes on any of the expac 4 maps. I mean, when I needed the info (early on) and had to hurry for quests and updates, it wasn't as annoying (it still grated on me), but why must it continue once we've finished the story?  That and the reset to the maps. Let me enjoy the ambiance, quit forcing me into actions and slapping me in the face with events. I get that most people mute the game and blast music or w/e.. but I use sound cues to help me with gameplay as well (mob attacks) so muting hinders me. 

 

At any rate, I'm distracted with another game with a lovely and relaxing sound ambiance and am finding it more and more difficult to play the newest expansions because of the constant NPC chatter and map resets. It makes it impossible to get lost in what I'm doing and forces me (psychology) down a specific path. Which really annoys me, so I leave. My gaming friends are after me to play more gw2, and I've really been thinking about why I get so impatient so quickly with the new expansions. This is what I've concluded. I sincerely hope the Janthir Wilds expac eases up on the NPC chatter and lets me just enjoy the damned game.

Edited July 6 by Efaicia.3672

[Lion.6590]

Under sound options, you can disable dialog volume there.

NPC chatter, as long it isn't repetitive, is very important to give a sense of immersion.

[Zera.9435]

16 hours ago, Lion.6590 said:

Under sound options, you can disable dialog volume there.

NPC chatter, as long it isn't repetitive, is very important to give a sense of immersion.

Immersion is good and all, but when EVERY NPC in the map can shout directly into your earpiece like you're some kind of errand boy it gets very annoying, especially when you can't even disable the chat bubble that hovers on your character and obstructs your view.

[Omega.6801]

I also miss the quaint days in that place of refuge that was not a den of iniquity.

[Futa.4375]

This is something I am very worried about regarding JW, the NPCs are extremely annoying and talk way too much for nothing in SotO with no way to shut them up. I'd rather they shut up and have my character be called a "he" again that listen to the same useless spam all day, everyday.

And all the talking before the metas, who thought this was a good idea? We're supposed to repeat this "content" dozens of times.

Enough with the comms spam, enough with the whispers, it doesn't make the maps better, on the contrary. SotO maps are among the least immersive.

Edited July 7 by Futa.4375

[Obfuscate.6430]

The NPC 'chatter', or announcements, should not interrupt story dialogue - an issue that was prevalent in the SoTo expansion unfortunately. 
They allowed NPC dialogue to carry across the map to help indicate a meta was happening but at the cost of interrupting closer ambient and story dialogue. It was made worse by the NPC being able to literally use the whisper channel - not to mention the dialogue bubbles which can not be disabled that frequently blocked the view.

I like ambient NPC chatter when it doesn't trigger EVERY time I walk within it's range. (den of iniquity/ if modremoth can attack here/quality armor/CITIZENS)  Maybe they can change it to a value like once every 5 times a player steps on the trigger spot. 
I don't think NPC dialogue should broadcast across the map; a text announcement should be adequate. 

Edited July 8 by Obfuscate.6430

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

7 hours ago, Omega.6801 said:

I also miss the quaint days in that place of refuge that was not a den of iniquity.

i'm afraid that by ogden's hammer, that never existed.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

No, it doesn't bother me at all. I just can ignore it.

[Blur.3465]

100% agree.

I wrote about this before.
Immersion is a huge thing for me. NPC chatter as of late got unbearable. I'm tired of hearing the terrible sound from comm box, or random whispers, or NPCs screaming that meta is coming.
Let me ENJOY the ambience of the zones without this.

I remember AFKing in Echovald -- I turned up my volume so I could listen to the ambience and take a nap with that. BOOM, meta started and I jumped from bed after hearing loud chatter. Like kitten.
Sure you can turn the NPC chat OFF, but that's really not the solution. ANet should just return to the roots of how the meta events were handled back in the past. No need for NPCs to constantly talk across the entire map. 
Chat bubbles are also pretty insane as they take half of your screen. 

Some people don't care about that, as mentioned -- they'll play some music and not really care about immersion; as can be seen in some of the comments here.
Won't affect anyone negatively if NPC chatter is reduced to a minimum. 
I loved roaming core Tyria and then having a random NPC run to me asking for help -- it made me curious to know what kind of event awaited. 
Right now, I couldn't care less because everything feels and sounds chaotic. Too much noise, too many voices. Let my ears rest q.q

I think SotO maps are the worst when it comes to immersion breaking. I'm not even visiting them anymore unless a daily demands it.

[meerfunkuhtron.9725]

I'm curious as to why your commentary on the chatter has like a handful of confused faces. I cannot think of any game that yells at you as much as the new maps do, so I'm having a hard time imagining that the level of noise in SotO is somehow normal to some.

In any case, for me, absolutely yes. If they were doing it for immersion purposes, then it's doing the opposite. The NPCs literally interrupt each other, making it impossible for me to actually pay attention to what any of them have said or are trying to say. It's the least immersive experience and it's actually just more jarring than anything. Like Blur has said above, people who don't care much about this won't be negatively affected. For those of us who do care, it would be wonderful if NPC chatter were brought back to their older forms.

[Buzzbugs.1236]

Imagine exploring the far reaches of the Janthir "Wilds"

Peace and quiet and ambience.. then suddenly KSHHHH! "Commander! It's TAIMI, I figured out a solution to the X Y Z thingy-ma-bob, bla bla bla! IF WE JUST tap into the ley lines we can ETC ETC ETC"

11 minutes ago, meerfunkuhtron.9725 said:

I'm curious as to why your commentary on the chatter has like a handful of confused faces.

Welcome to GW2 forums.

 

Edited July 8 by Buzzbugs.1236

[meerfunkuhtron.9725]

10 hours ago, Buzzbugs.1236 said:

Imagine exploring the far reaches of the Janthir "Wilds"

Peace and quiet and ambience.. then suddenly KSHHHH! "Commander! It's TAIMI, I figured out a solution to the X Y Z thingy-ma-bob, bla bla bla! IF WE JUST tap into the ley lines we can ETC ETC ETC"

Yeah, I just...
 
The choice between just exploring or active participation is the part that gets completely muddled by these random call-outs. When that was used more in PoF, it at least felt like it fit well with the premise of the storyline. We were given a heads up, and we also went to specific locations in order to catch up with Taimi, which meant that it didn't come out of nowhere and involved a more conscious decision. For me, that works well because we're given the choice between just exploring the maps or to continue with the storyline (wherein it then feels completely appropriate for NPCs to jump in as we went through story beats).
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to explain this to you per se but just wanted to expand more on why this has been irksome at best. Especially based on previous comments about why core Tyria maps have felt so much better. Those maps gave us more freedom to do what we want without the constant pressure to do something else. I just hope Anet understands this and scrap these SotO changes moving forward.

[Gop.8713]

Turning off in-world bubbles doesn't affect npcs . . ?

[anninke.7469]

5 hours ago, Gop.8713 said:

Turning off in-world bubbles doesn't affect npcs . . ?

Sadly no, it doesn't. 

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

Being able to mute NPCs would be hype.