Apr 24, 2024

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition - tired_darkspawn

Greetings, Pathfinders!

Last week we told you how we record the voices for our characters. For part II of our segment “Finding Your Voice”, we’ve sat down with Tom Wayland, our voice director from 3Beep studio and the voice of Lann, and asked him to tell you about himself and his job.

How did you become an actor and a director? Could you tell us a little about your professional journey?

When I was a kid, a friend named Jonathan and I used to make recordings on cassette tapes of our own "radio station". We pretended to be goofy DJs, made fake commercials, did fake songs, improvised fake interviews and trivia contests. I guess that's kinda where it all really started. By the time I got to high school, I was acting in all the plays and musicals at school and performing in regional productions throughout Northern NJ. By the time I was a senior in high school, I had starred in several shows, so the teacher in charge of the theatrical productions asked me if I wanted to direct. And I did. The show was called Moose Murders. It was a campy murder mystery infamous for an extremely short run on Broadway in the 70s. Perfect for a high school production.

I ended up going to New York University and majoring in acting. While there, I started some bands and had a decent degree of success at that. So clearly my destiny was not to be an award-winning actor—but be a rock star instead. Which totally makes sense. I kept acting and performing at NYU and professionally in NYC, but focusing most of my energy on music—playing drums in a metal band and singing for some rock bands, having some degree of success with both.

But after a few years of rock stardom, the bands split up, and I needed to get a job. Having picked up some recording experience making records with my bands, I talked my way into a job at Central Park Media. They were a small anime distributor in NYC, and I was hired to produce DVDs. By the end of the year, I was in charge of producing all of their English Language productions, and by the next year, I was directing them.

This is where I met my business partner Tim Werenko, who started at CPM about a year after I did. I was still doing some theater as an actor at this time. After a while, I left CPM and started my own company, producing and directing English-language versions of foreign animation. Now that I was independent, it would no longer be a conflict of interest for me to audition for voice roles in productions with the many studios I employed while I was at CPM. Around the same time, I was snatched up by 4Kids in NYC to be a voice director for them, getting to transition from working on niche straight to DVD shows to nationally televised programs. Eventually, I made my way to DuArt (with Tim Werenko), directing Pokémon and pretty much everything else that came through there. Over the last 20+ years, I've directed and acted in thousands of episodes over hundreds of different series and video games. I rarely act on camera anymore, as I just don't have the time. But I still find time to rock as I have a gig or two each month, singing and playing bass.

Tell us a little about your work. What do you do as a voice director?

In a nutshell, I direct the voice talent. Letting the characters know what's happening in each scene, who they're talking to, how they're feeling, etc. There are technical aspects to it, especially if you're doing ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement – the process of recording dialogue in a studio after filming to replace the initially recorded lines on set) and recording to picture, which I do a fair amount of. But I direct a lot of prelay (preliminary voice recording, which then serves as a reference for the animation) and games that are not constrained by a pre-existing video. The actors don't often get to see the scripts beforehand, so being able to set the scenes for them is important. I don't want to micromanage the talent too much. You have to let your actors act. So you just let them know everything their characters know and let them use their instincts to act accordingly in character.

How did the global pandemic affect your work? Did you have to change your processes a lot? Maybe you had to record more of the actors remotely?

This changed everything for everyone. But I must say, we adapted to remote work almost immediately. We closed the studio in NYC on a Friday and were up and running remote sessions the next week. The road was a little bumpy at first as we were trying to find the right remote programs to suit our needs and because the actors had to learn the ins and outs of setting up a really good home studio. Here's a tip for all of you out there—it doesn't matter how great and expensive your mic is if you don't put it somewhere QUIET. A really sensitive high-end mic will just highlight all of the imperfections in your recording space. But people adjusted and the work kept flowing.

Remote recording is now commonplace in the industry. There are definitely some drawbacks, as it makes the mixer's job a bit tougher. Instead of having every actor in the same booth on the same mic, now you might have 10 different actors on 10 different mics in 10 different spaces. They might all have pro setups, but they're still different from each other, and the mixer needs to massage the tracks to make it seem like everyone's in the same place.

One of the main perks—it really opens up the talent pool. You can work with just about anyone, anywhere. This is definitely coming in handy with our/your next game Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader as I'm recording talent in the UK from my house in New Jersey.

Can you recall any fun or interesting cases that occurred while working on Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous?

Oh yes. The romances. Specifically, the (spoiler alert!!!) surprise 3 way with the player, Regongar, and Octavia in Kingmaker. One minute everyone's hanging out at the pub, relaxing after their harrowing ordeal—Octavia and Regongar are having their silly bickering back and forth as they basically have had this brother/sister relationship—and then all of a sudden sweet little Octavia is like "let's all get it on!" Then comes the awkward morning after scene. Followed by the "Why don't the 3 of us all get married! You're the king—you can do whatever you want!" This was made extra funny and awkward since Octavia is played by the brilliant Aly Rosenfeld, who is kind of like my little sister. I've worked with her and mentored her in this business ever since she got into voiceover after college. So we had a lot of fun on that. And it was somehow topped in Wrath of the Righteous, where Aly plays Queen Galfrey - who is also a romanceable character. We're recording her putting the moves on the player, and then suddenly we remember (spoiler alert!!!) that Galfrey is actually over 100 years old! So we start recording outtakes of her playing the queen as if the youth spell fizzles halfway through. It's like the morning after scene from Futurama after Fry has sex with his own grandmother. That one won an Emmy!

Do you have a favorite character in Pathfinder that you particularly enjoyed directing?

I loved Jubilost in Kingmaker. Abe Goldfarb was great. Really funny and obnoxious. In Wrath, it was probably Areelu. She was played by Mary O'Brady who is absolutely one of my favorite actors to work with. Sexy and calculating and mysterious all at once. She really understood the material and really bonded with the character.

Do you have any favorite lines and moments in Pathfinder that you voiced as an actor?

I played Lann in Wrath of the Righteous, and I really loved his sarcasm towards many of the other characters. And also the way he'd throw snark at everyone one moment, and then the next get deadly serious with the player with his whole "I'll lay my life down for what's right" vibe. I liked his (spoiler alert!!!) death scene. Very well written.

Do you have any advice for aspiring voice actors regarding how to end up in a video game?

Yes. You can end up in a game the same way you get any professional work. LEARN ACTING. Don't just seek to be a voice actor—be an actor. Learning to express emotions and create realistic characters and find truth in the material is the same if you're in a play, a film, or voicing someone in a game. Don't think you can buy a mic and take a 1-hour online class with a "pro" and suddenly you're ready. If really wanting to do a thing actually qualified you for that thing—I would be on the Yankees. It takes real training. Days and weeks and months of it. Take classes. Work with directors and coaches who will give you honest criticism. Get on stage. Get in front of a camera. Act. So if you want to get work in a video game—be a good actor. If you want more work—be a better actor.

Do you play any video games yourself? If yes, could you name a couple?

I've played plenty of games in my day. My favorite game ever is probably Bioshock. So immersive. Amazing design, marvelous acting, and a great story with some good twists. And genuinely frightening at times. I also really loved the first two Batman Arkham games. Fluid combat and amazing voice work from Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Joker singing on Batman's voicemail at the end of Arkham City—haunting and heartbreaking. Some other favorites—Mass Effect 2 and Assassin's Creed Black Flag (love that ship combat). Right now, I have Call of Duty (Modern Warfare III) so I'll be getting into that soon.

Did you see the fan art and plush toys of Lann our players have created? How does it feel to bring to life a character that people will romance?

Lann is a fine choice for a romantic partner. He'll make you laugh, and he'll love you forever. Plus, he kicks ass from long range with his bow attacks! I have seen some of the art and plushies, and I'm glad I got to help create a character that people have enjoyed so much.

Do you want to say anything to our players? Maybe Lann’s fans in particular?

Thanks for playing and fighting the good fight! And always know good old Lann's got your back. Even if you decide to become a disgusting swarm of insects… but maybe don't. This group only needs one weird-looking monster man. And you know, the unspeakable evil is bad for your complexion. Take the high road, and I'll cook you up some of my famous Lanncakes. Which is also what I call my butt.

If another studio that works on video games decides to get in touch with you, what is the best way to contact you?

We'd love to work on your game! And your game will thank you for it. You can reach me and my partner Tim at 3Beep at info@3beep.net. Or just show up at Tim's house. He loves that. Just kidding—that would be bad. The email works just fine.

***

Well, we hope it was a fun and entertaining read for you, Pathfinders! And by the way, if you want us to interview some of our devs, ask the Community Managers on Reddit or Discord! We love to hear from our players!

Love, Owlcats

Apr 24, 2024

Introducing the Frontier!

Survival Machine - Berdol

1. Intro

Welcome all Survivors! It's time for another devlog from Survival Machine! Today's devlog, I'd like to dedicate almost entirely to our initial biome, the place where everything will begin for you, dear player.

Each biome, and we have three, is characterised by different terrain features, influencing the diversity and difficulty of moving from one point to another.

The Alpine biome has significantly more challenging terrain to explore. It is narrower but much higher, allowing for exploration upwards.

The Desert is our largest biome. It is abundant in sandy islands that conceal various secrets, and the path to them is often not obvious.

But lets leave those two biomes for another log, because today is all about Frontier.

2. Frontier

Before your eyes, there will be open areas full of trees and beautiful vistas. The starting biome is the perfect place to learn the rules of Survival Machine. It's here where you'll encounter our zombies for the first time, and it's in the Frontier where you'll take your first steps towards the great adventure.

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

Once an important gathering point for the local community, today, an abandoned ruin. But perhaps something inside has been preserved?

This is also where the twilight of human civilization is most visible. Abandoned cowboy saloons, once mighty drilling platforms, and quaint farms now stand forgotten and deserted. From a thriving civilization, only abandoned buildings reminiscent of the past lives of local residents remain.

Frontier have a simple, though varied terrain, with plenty of trees that can be used as building material for your base on the Machine. Most paths to POIs (Points of Interest) are straightforward, with threats visible from afar. Here, the difficulty level of zombies increases with distance from the road, meaning the closer to the road, the safer it is. Players can find many caves and secrets here (I’ll explain secrets later in the log).

3. World’s structure

Your adventure in each biome may never end; it all depends on your style of play and willingness to explore each of the worlds. The Machine and you leave the biome when you are ready. While driving forward you will simply return to previously visited areas after some time. It is your choice as a player to undertake a task of moving to the next biome or if you prefer to stay where you are, uncovering secrets, gathering resources, or simply exploring the world.

Even if you were eager to explore a certain location, but your Machine departed long ago and just the smoke from the running engine is visible, don't worry. You can also stop and control the speed of the machine to make sure you have as much time as you need to explore the world.

4. Replayability

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

Nice hunting spot just by the bridge…

Our world is changing some of its parts with each visit. Even if you've been to a certain area before, it doesn't mean you've seen everything. Do you think you know where the stone deposits are in this region because you've been here before? Sorry partner, not this time! Loots & Resources will appear in different parts of the world with each visit.

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

… but other time you’ll encounter an oil rig

The world we explore looks different each time, thanks to the system of randomly generated Points of Interest (POIs), which challenge players with various mechanics - from platforming and searching for routes to solving puzzles.

If the player has previously dealt with a roadblock, the next time they explore that area, they can focus strictly on searching for treasures or uncovering the secrets of that particular blockage.

5. Secrets

You can pass by them hundreds of times, bypass hidden caves, trapdoors, or levers and not have a clue about it. We've hidden them very well. That's why I emphasise so strongly that exploring our world is important. We put them there for you to have a thrill of discovery just like Lewis and Clark, famous explorers who reached the coast of the Pacific in the early XIX century.

Secrets aren't just a hidden chest, but the entire history of a place and sometimes an unexpected solution to get there. Secrets are also a random part of the world, so you might come across a secret once and not another time.

The better you know the world, the greater the chance of discovering secrets, and in them... oh wait, hold on. I can't tell you that. So dig deep, explore, discover and investigate!

6. Wrap up

That's all I've prepared for you this time. I hope you enjoyed our first biome. We put a lot of effort into making it the best introduction to the Survival Machine world possible. Rich in resources, open, easy to traverse, and interesting to explore—that's exactly what our Frontier is supposed to be. As always, we greatly value your feedback, so please let us know in the comments what you think!

Dzięki!
Berdol

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601330/Survival_Machine/

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Apr 24, 2024

Chronicles of Vaeltaja's 'Ghosts 'n Qualities' Update Coming on April 26th!

Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer - Vaeltaja

Good day, traveler!

Finally I can present the news that many have been waiting for some time now. The much desired 'Quest Journal' is finally arriving to Chronicles of Vaeltaja with the new update, but it is just a one part of the 'Ghosts 'n Qualities' update that changes the game's version number to 0.7. There's been some other features that have been requested from time to time and I wanted this update to be the one that finally brings them. But let's start with the 'Quest Journal', which brings couple of features of it's own.

New Features: Quest Journal and Codex

'Quest Journal' can be accessed from the menu or you can use Journal (formerly known as 'Guide's Handbook') from the inventory's 'Books & Scrolls' section and place it into the 'quick bar' to access it. This way you don't have to navigate the menu every time you want to open it.
There are own categories for available and completed quests and also sub-categories for the main and side quests. Each quest has a name.
'Quest Journal' has a 'Quest Tracker' that can be activated by choosing a quest from the Journal. 'Quest Tracker' will appear as a small info box on the right side of the screen and it tells you the current objective(s) of the activated quest. You can turn off the 'Quest Tracker' by deactivating the quest.
'Quest Journal' will keep track of every received quests and updates their description and objectives automatically. It also tells who gave the quest and the location where the quest was accepted.
'Quest Journal' has a 'Codex' which contains information about key bindings, character classes, stats and skills, but this is just the beginning. With the coming updates I will start to add some lore books that can be found around the kingdom. Those lore books will add 'Codex' entries which will tell more about the kingdom of Twin Falls and it's history. Each found 'Codex' entry will also give some experience points.

Re-Textured Twin Falls and Lake Road

Twin Falls' areas and Lake Road both get enhanced textures, but there's more to it than just a simple overhaul. After this update you won't be finding spruces from the Twin Falls Beach (except one) or Twin Falls Forest South. Spruces can still be found from the other areas in Twin Falls. Also the more exotic palm resembling tree can be only found in the Twin Falls Beach and Forest South. This change gives the Twin Falls' areas more distinct look and feel.

Because of the new spruce textures in Twin Falls, Lake Road's textures had to be improved too. There's also some colour changes to the trees, so Lake Road looks better than before. The update will also bring better tree sprites to both, Twin Falls and Lake Road.

These new textures and sprites will affect the battle backgrounds, which have been remade for Twin Falls' areas and Lake Road.

Additional graphical improvements contain the new Temple Guard sprites and new icons for 'Quest Journal' and crafting materials.

Re-Designed Crafting/Forging

Crafting/forging at the Blacksmith's shop, which opens after the player deals with the situation in Pramea, has gone through changes. Instead of just delivering some ore to Blacksmith and choosing an item, crafting now has it's own scene. In it you can see the list of items that can be forged and also the materials needed. This change will allow to improve crafting/forging and add new craftable items more easily in the future. But it doesn't end there: Blacksmith can also repair broken items you may come across while exploring, if you've got the right materials.

New Optional Dungeon

A one floor dungeon will be added to somewhere in one of the Twin Falls' areas, that will give some proper use for the 'Eye of an Oracle'. You will actually need the 'Eye of the Oracle' to get into the dungeon in the first place.

New Enemy: Ghost

With the new dungeon comes a new enemy: Ghost. The scariest thing about ghosts is that you can't normally see them when exploring dungeons, until you encounter one and the battle starts. But fortunately there is a way to make them visible: the 'Eye of an Oracle'. When you turn on the 'Eye of an Oracle', it will make all the ghosts near the player visible, but only for as long as it is turned on. Ghosts can also appear in other places than dungeons, so it might not be a good idea to take a stroll in the cemetery at night.

New Tool: Spirit Lantern

There's a way to protect yourself from ghosts and it is called 'Spirit Lantern'. Though it can't reveal ghosts like the 'Eye of an Oracle', it can protect the player from their attacks when turned on. If a ghost is encountered while the 'Spirit Lantern' is turned on, the ghost will vanish and a small amount of experience is granted to the party. But 'Spirit Lanterns' are not easy to come by.

Minimap Improvements

The square player icon in the minimap will be replaced with an arrow that will show the direction the party is facing. It's a small change but has a big impact and makes it easier to read the map and to navigate.

Other Changes, Improvements and Fixes

Most NPCs will get names.
Some of the dialog has been improved.
Certain side quests have been tweaked to work better, for example the 'Hermit Quest', which can be found in the Marsh of the Condemned, is re-designed and is called 'A Grudge For Resurrection'.
'Missing Scout' quest has now a proper ending, or at least the simplest solution has. There are couple of quests like this that will be extended in the future updates, but most of the side quests that can be found are already finished.
'Instant Movement' has been re-designed and it finally works properly in the settings menu.
Day/night cycle has more variety in the lighting, for example there's now evening period before the day turns into night.
Optimization.