Saturnine Tenshi Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) [in Dishonored it] can be hard to work out where guards are based on them talking, but you get Dark Vision pretty quick so not a huge issue. Yeah, I have subtitles turned on for that reason. I have such trouble actually hearing what NPCs are saying in most games. Edited October 22, 2012 by TheMightyEthan added quote for context Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 I always turn on subtitles for every game that supports them. Even putting aside the fact that many games have atrocious sound balancing, the fact that the player can move around freely means that sometimes important conversations get triggered when the player is too far away to hear them clearly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Pretty much. Not to mention it's so much better imho to not have to turn the volume way the fuck up especially if you live with others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 I use headphones in most games, especially where positional data is good, so mainly FPS n stealth type games. I'll put on speakers for RPGs n what not. I do have subtitles too, I'm sure I've mentioned before, but it's still nice to be able to hear folks, subtitles should mainly be a back-up. Just seems working out the voice channel is something devs struggle with a lot of the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Yeah, I almost always where headphones too. I used to only use them when I didn't want to disturb other people, but now it's gotten to where I can't stand the lower sound quality of speakers, not to mention the surround sound aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) I dislike subtitles immensely; in most types of games I find they ruin immersion. I wrote an article for my student paper (which I might adapt onto a PXoD when I got time) talking about how settings can really change any game drastically- one of my examples was Skyrim. When I turned Skyrim's subtitles off, I enjoyed the game about 100x more. It no longer became moving from a to b, collecting facts displayed onscreen by a character, then going from b to c to somehow enact these facts; I ended up having to actually pay attention. I ironically took a lot more info in without the subtitles and enjoyed it more. But I suppose it's less of an issue in Skyrim because all of the important dialogue is mano y mano with very little background noise, so there's not much to miss. In Dishonored I had it off. If I overheard something which sounded interesting/ important I used my Garrett-like-eye to zoom in on the convo, then you get the volume bumped up. Directional mic style. Then you also feel like a badass thieving eavesdropper. Which helped me feel immerses. I love how like Thief this game is so much of the time. Edit: end of a long day at work and my language is so broken. Also should probably say that I use really good headphones fairly loud, so I usually don't have any difficulty hearing or discerning dialogue. Edited October 20, 2012 by kenshi_ryden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Heat Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Ethan summed up my feelings pretty nicely. I noticed I keep missing pretty much all the player quips in Borderlands 2 because it's all being drowned out by gunfire or sound effects. That shit is irritating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 After what Kenshi said I've been thinking about it more while playing Dishonored and I realized that I used to be like him where it would distract me and lessen my immersion, but I've trained myself to where I only look at the subtitles if I actually can't hear what's being said, otherwise I keep my eyes off them. I don't even have to think about it any more. Once you get to that state it's the best of both worlds because they don't detract from immersion but they're still there when you can't hear what's being said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangelove Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I always have subtitles on. I feel that id miss something without them. And I dont even really read them either. Ive gotten to the point where Ill hear something, then through my peripheral vision Ill see if the letter count matches the word Ive heard. If it doesnt match, then I actually focus and read the subtitles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I like to see subtitles, possibly because I write, so I like getting an occasional look at the lines to see how it's phrased and perhaps how it was meant to flow and such. I can't speak for Skyrim but I don't think the subtitles would affect my immersion all that much. If Oblivion is anything to go by, it's all 'zoom-in to frame the person centrally, have them talk some boring crap with bad voice-acting (and doesn't this person sound like that other person over there?)' then you just follow the marker on your map to wherever it is they said to go. From what I've seen, Skyrim doesn't seem much different; it's all very static. Not that I mean to diminish Kenshi's own experience, obviously. Different strokes... I think, when a game has really decent production behind it, something like subtitles becomes insignificant as there are other factors that pull you in. Take some of the more recent RPGs like the Mass Effect games, The Witcher 2 or Deus Ex: Human Revolution as examples. All with good voice-acting, interesting use of framing/shots and effort put into body language (and some have quality sound design, too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 For me, it's more an issue of those peripheral conversations where you'll hear NPCs going on from afar or amid the din of background noise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Is this thread broken for anyone else? For me, the first post says "Yeah, I have subtitles turned on for that reason. [...]" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 It's a thread created from another discussion on a different thread. Hence the broken first post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Added a quote for context. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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