Voice acting of DOW2 [Archive]

Midgetus

15th Apr 08, 5:38 PM

As much as I want to hit the OP for hinting that any fictional universe (even one as bleak and dark as WH40k) is somehow 'more serious in tone' than the Second World War, I must agree with his hope that the voice acting (and scripting) in DoW2 will live up to or exceed both DoW and CoH. Frankly, I can't see Relic taking a step backwards, but I am slightly concerned as to how the dark humor, blatant over-the-topness, and general epic character of w40k can be conveyed through unit voices. I don't think the sort of humor that works for a world war two game will work in DoW. Aside from the IG, who are essentially the faceless soviet conscripts of the 40k universe, none of the factions should really be presented as being 'human.' In the way that the soldiers in CoH complain, joke, and otherwise use humanlike expressions. Part of the humor of 40k is just how exaggerated everything is, and hearing a Space Marine chaplain joking about the wine he 'liberated' from a deserted hive city would kind of break the immersion. This isn't to say that only Guard should have chatter, just that I would prefer if the chatter was appropriate to each race. It's challenging to add humor this way, but I think the end result will be better.

DarkFireLord

15th Apr 08, 5:42 PM

Voice actors that need to be hired:

1)Dark Eldar guys (especially Scourges)

2)SINDRI!

3)Gabriel Angelos

4)Third chaos lord (can't remember name)

dont forget:

1) Orks actors did a great work overall ''still remember the MegaArmored Nobz in WA, Ork: If youz tha biggest and tha strongest, Why do we lose boss??. i laughted my ass off''

2) Khorne Bezerkers, they sound like some serious maniatical psycho killers, you need to be a good voice actor to give that feeling to the peepz.

3) Ok the third chaos lord was amazing truly, although he sounded more like a thousand sons Sorceror, but the true chaos lord is still Lord Bale, the agresiveness in his voice really belongs to chaos.

4) IG did a good job too, but remember in WA they hired really good actors, cause every new unit had a good voice.

apart from that i'm 110% behind you, I allso loved the darkness in the DE but they still sounded too much like wispering, ''Please not the whip'' lol, and SINDRIIIII what can i say every time his voice was changed i moded his voice back ;), the same goes for Gabriel, i still love his confident voice, he gives me the feeling he is so overconvident that he could take a whole army all by himself, ''walk softly, and carry a big gun'' or ''today the enemy shall know fear'' :).

Greets,
DFL

The_nuketrooper

15th Apr 08, 6:19 PM

DoW voicing is in the same time passionate and brutal - from the GM sarge shouting "More men,send in more men ! " to zerks "Kill,KILL!" and GK "They will DIE this day" - that makes it so great . Well some (eldar)sound rather cheesy sometimes or outright gay (cultists aside -they are supposed to sound like that and works well for them) while orks are uber hillarious - that makes the voicing of DoW so great. I hope they will stick to this ... i would be severely disappointed if it becomes something like C&C3

Verdius

15th Apr 08, 6:53 PM

I personally can't think of a single IG unit who didn't get a good line or voice for it. "Where are those damn techpriests?", or "Get on that multi-laser!.", or "Where is that artillery?!". Oh boy, love playing them just to hear their frantic yet courages voices.

I can also never forget, "Chaos Rapters, ready to kill!" oh my skin crawled the first time I heard that.

I don't know, the general in game voice acting was all done pretty damn well if you ask me.

The cutscnes however.... eh... Except where the Chaos Lord from DC was involved. He had that dark velvety smooth voice that oozed power and presence that while you knew he was utterly serious in his duty he was also a level headed, probably calculating commander.

EDIT: And while I liked the Khorne Berserkers am I the only one that felt they sounded almost like pirates? Especially when they say the line, "I am not your boot-lick!" ?

nick2512

15th Apr 08, 8:20 PM

I love all the Khornate Berzerkers. e.g
"We need a new driver, this one is dead,"
"Drive faster if you know it's good for you"
"You want that worthless trinket?"
"Where is the blood I was promised?"
"KILL, MAIM, BURN, KILL, MAIM, BURN"
"I am not your boot-lick"
Rare one that I heard. "Don't think that I serve you."

Whoever voiced and wrote the lines for them should get re-hired.

Terrordar

15th Apr 08, 9:21 PM

Its all done under a company, actually. A voice acting Studio. I am proud to say the Voice actors for Dawn of War, and Relic, are done out of British Columbia Canada, my home Province, and done in Vancouver, my birthplace.

So, if they get the same studio, based on contract, you'll get the same Voice Actors. And I think they will, given that even Warhammer Fantasy used the same Voice Acting Studio. I think they have the rights to Warhammer 40,000 for voices atm.

Weavern

15th Apr 08, 10:22 PM

Rather then pick out VA, how about you discuss what sort and tone of voices you would like? I mean there's much more to that discussion then "OMG NEED THE SINDRI VA!"...

nick2512

15th Apr 08, 10:40 PM

SM - Very moody and serious.

IG - No more of DoW's ones. They should sound disciplined and hard, a bit like modern day armed forces.

Orks - Fine with them, a bit of a comic-relief (which is good).

Chaos - Now these blokes should sound insane, as in insane and there must be a blarghhghhghgh......in their sentence somewhere (like fighting back a daemon trying to possess them).

Eldars - Turn down the bass and the annoying-ness level.

My $0.05.

Cortlendt

15th Apr 08, 11:40 PM

Dunno, I loved tau voice acting in DC. "None can stand before the Greater Good" and "The Cadre will crush them" gives me chills.

Vanilla librarian owns too.

Avykins

15th Apr 08, 11:56 PM

I would like Chaos to be a bit more vicious. I know the cultists are worthless and weak but half the time I couldn't understand them, their voices went up soo high that it just stopped...
Oh and no more Lord Bale types. Everytime I hear him I picture Dinobot from Beast Wars XD

Terrordar

16th Apr 08, 12:18 AM

Same Voice Actor, Scott McNeil, he also did Sindri, Joe Guardsmen, Thule (DC), Carrion (SS), Space Marine Captain from DoW Vanilla, and the Daemon Prince from DoW:DC/SS And Sindri's Daemon as well.

Kratos

16th Apr 08, 12:32 AM

Space marines can still be funny through extreme ignorance and standoffishness.
Chaos can be funny through their very very narrow sight of things ..... METAL BOXES
For Eldar goes the same as for SM, that is why every faction can be funny without acting like clowns.

Terrordar

16th Apr 08, 12:37 AM

Eldar-

Mon-Kei, nuff said ;)

Jobhug

16th Apr 08, 12:48 AM

Whoever did Eliphas the inheritor captured the dark malice and calculating evil of the more sane traitors perfectly. Throw money at him please

Terrordar

16th Apr 08, 12:51 AM

Same man who did Gabriel Angelos, Paul Dobson is his name. He's also done a few other voices for the series as well. :)

Gregasaurus Rex

16th Apr 08, 1:49 AM

ALL CHARACTERS WILL BE VOICED BY SCOTT MCNEIL, AS IS STANDARD PROTOCOL FOR RELIC GAMES

THAT IS ALL

redsun95

16th Apr 08, 3:45 AM

The force commander should blaittently be done by Arny :P (terminator guy)

Get to the choppah!

Ifitmovesnukeit

16th Apr 08, 3:58 AM

I am quietly hoping for more British accents as opposed to "LOOK AT ME I'M BEING BRITISH LOL" accents.

That said, the Orks are perfect, however. The MANz still make me laugh- "Hey, why's you get to drive?" "You call that drivin'?!"

Hirmetrium

16th Apr 08, 4:05 AM

I gotta say, most of the voices in the first game are so well done and represent the characters so well its pretty good. The roaring of jets in the backround of jump troop clips, the serious and clamness mixed with fanatical yelling from space marines, and the utter insanity of chaos space marines and sindri :P

I hope they have somebody just as good, but different - that way it doesn't feel like recycled voice clips :P

Vakarian

16th Apr 08, 4:20 AM

Basically the voices should resemble what relic has shown in the past.

Orks with a throaty almost gutteral speech

Space Marines with a loud and powerful and most importantly authorive (is that even a word?:)) style of talk.

If Tyranids get into the game then they should sound something like this:

HISSSSSS!!!!! That basically sums up the entire Tyranid Voice over in one go;)

Avykins

16th Apr 08, 8:26 AM

Yeah for Tyranids you dont even need a VA. Just get a sack full of snakes, whack it a few times, dunk it under water for a minute then just record that. Hell for added fun for the FMV of IG screaming while getting eaten by 'Nids just throw Uwe Boll in the sack too >.>

Esa

16th Apr 08, 8:30 AM

Voice actors that need to be hired:

1)Dark Eldar guys (especially Scourges)

2)SINDRI!

3)Gabriel Angelos

4)Third chaos lord (can't remember name)

Gabriel/DC Lord Eliphas are voiced by Paul Dobson IIRC

Agoniser

16th Apr 08, 9:01 AM

They definitely need to get Brian Dobson back for the SM voices. After DoW I can't imagine marines sounding like anything else.

Terrordar

16th Apr 08, 9:10 AM

I think they need Mike Dobson as well, Nappa's voice perfectly fit Khorne based units. :)

Versian

16th Apr 08, 9:13 AM

I wouldn't mind if the voice clips were recycled. The original voice acting in DoW was excellent. I just want the devs to remember about things units say in the middle of combat, like a Space Marine yelling out "THEY FALTER!" or otherwhile drowning the enemy in bolter fire.

It's those small details that make a world of a difference.

If we could have the same exact voice actors it would be fine with me.

Elerium

16th Apr 08, 10:09 AM

Space Marines

Normal Space Marines/Assault Marines are perfect, keep them that way ;) Dreadnought should definitely return. Angelos I've heard people seem to like him, he's great for the character role and a definite guy to come back. The Librarian guy also needs a new part in the game, his roles as Makaan in Homeworld 2 are excellent, he's definitely one of my favourites as a guy with hidden motives or a shrewd villain.

Imperial Guard

Scott McNeil back for IG roles too please, maybe as the Kasrkin and have a wide variety of voice roles for the Guardsman so we have a really excellent army piece of work. His roles as the tanks are fantastic, but they need to stop sounding like carbon copies of each other. Lukas Alexander I don't mind, but people think he's too young to be a general, which I can agree with. Sturn was rightly fitting.

Da Orks and Tau

Orks are also perfect, oh and keep Gorgutz' voice actor (Brian Drummond iirc), nobody can replace him. Maybe have the little runt from Dark Crusade as well as some sidekick "You sure is smart boss!" "Shut it ya git! I gots me a whole new WAAGHH to rebuild". My only gripe is with the Wartrukk/Looted Tank/Wartrak voices, when I first heard them I thought they really sounded unorky, more like angry humans in Ork vehicles.
On the same note with Brian Drummond, his voice acting as the Fire Warriors and the Stealthsuits are also perfect, keep them please! Same thing with the Drones, they're awesome to listen to, and the Kroot definitely grow on you. But I thought some of the Tau vehicles were annoying, "Devilfish swim silently" "Point us at da target" (Tau really need to lose the script writing of everything being called a "target" and really they have to lose some of the Asian feel to pull this off as an alien race).

Tau Commander is also awesome so keep him (reprising his role as O'Kais hopefully, his role as O'Res'Ka sounded too whiny thanks probably to people who told him to change his voice and thanks to the awful script "Aun R'yu! Nobel Ethereal! Oh we have lost you! We have lost ALL" (I for one don't want to see anything like that in DoW2). About the Battlesuit guys, they too really grow on you and fit with the Tau, I especially love it when they say "Accelerating to attack speed" and "Co-ordinates locked in", and for the Broadside try to hire the guy who says "I am honoured to join the Cadre, commander" keep them as well.

Chaos

Cultists I reckon need changing, I imagine them to be powerhungry/disillusioned humans and not exactly helium guys, but the helium guys are good for the insane ones (perhaps have a mixed variety). I hated the Cultists in SS however.

Eliphas the Inheritor's voice actor must come back. It is genius and everything you want from a Chaos Lord "Cross me.. and die." "The forces of Chaos call for your destruction!".

Chaos Space Marines and Khornites are perfect too "We need a new driver this one's dead!" "Meeting resistance!" "The weak fight back!".

As for the Chaos Predator.. maybe have a different voice actor because at the moment it sounds like a really angry version of the other Predator rather than a guy who's possibly been literally bonded into his own machine for thousands of years.

Necrons
The Lord/Pariah (only vocal roles) are really intimidating to listen to "It is your men who go to their tombs Governor!" and if there needs to be a voice of the Necrons, this guy is definitely one of them.

Eldar
I reckon they need to be less annoying in some cases for the usual units (like the Guardians), but Taldeer's voice actor is great, hire her again. The big Eldar Vehicles are also nice, the script writing for the Vyper Jetbike needs a bit of a tweak but the Fire Prism is just great "Show us what you want to annihilate" (or something like that, can't remember).

And that's all my opinions on the voices so far.

Avykins

17th Apr 08, 4:52 AM

As long as they throw Simon Templeman somewhere in there I will be happy. I dont really know where he would fit buuuut hes just too good to not have. <.<;;;

I thought everyone hated the whole "metal boxes" thing. After SS was released damn near every forum had people bitching about how stupid it was and verbally shredding the script writer.

Elerium

17th Apr 08, 5:10 AM

That and Commander Boreale with his Spess Mehrens as well.

Oh and the ending of the Tau Commander.

LoRd KoRn

17th Apr 08, 5:52 AM

The way I see it new voices were always good, but whenever they changed voices in an expansion it was a downgrade except for Gorgutz and the DC Chaos Lord. Taldeer from DC wasn't bad either. I also miss the old Nobs voices, they sounded so badass, now they sound like tiny normal sluggas. meh...I'm confident however in DoW2, its a big project and relic will hire only good voice actors like for the initial DoW.
I hope the will be some Toth guy again who will permanently crush things with his glorious polished boots :P

Achronos-117

17th Apr 08, 9:24 PM

Space Marines: Its good, except that the termies voice sounds to deep, I mean, they are just Astartes in a bigger suit am I rite? Also the landspeeder, I think they should sound the same as a normal SM

Orks: Good as it is

Chaos: Cultist need to be completely revised. Maybe in a more evil assasin-type voice

Imperial Guard: The Tanks rule, the sarges should get their own voice or maybe at least their own sound clip, assasin, the kasrkins totally own as well.

Tau: They sound to bossy. I go look at them fight they say like "CONCENTRATE FIRE!!" "PIN THEM DOWN AND ELIMINATE THEM!!!" way to much, it gets annoying. The Kroot Carnivores have extremely dark humor hehehe

Necrons: In Campaign, you can never tell who wins, there victory cheer and defeat cheer both sound horrible screeching

Versian

17th Apr 08, 9:31 PM

I must make a mention on the landspeeder thing here: You are absolutely right. It's quite strange how a Landspeeder pilot sounds quite different from the other space marines, considering he is one. It's a major issue for me

ZimZum

17th Apr 08, 9:49 PM

For the love of god, do not cock up Chaos the way it was in DoW.

Cultists sound completely and utterly ridiculous, DoW sadly holds the worst voice over ever. It's abysmal. A little girl with throat cancer couldn't pull it off. Horrible. They are human beings fighting for Chaos, what possessed Relic to make them sound like that. They should sound like you or me or your average Joe, or if they want to go the "insane" cultist route (which would be disappointing and narrow minded) then make them sound like a paranoid average Joe or an angry average Joe or whatever.

The Chaos lords were abysmal, excluding the DC/SS skirmish lord, which I thought sounded great. I wasn't convinced that the others were full of hatred, their voices worn and warped by millenia of hardship and unnatural forces. It sounds like a kid gargling custard to try and gross out the girls. And while we're at it, let's not make men that are supposed to be in a position of command act or talk like the special needs unit. (metal boxes? you're a fucking marine, you know what a rhino is)

Aspiring champion voiceovers make me hesitate to upgrade Chaos squads, because instead of having a reasonable, slightly distorted voice with some nicely delivered lines ("Death to the False Emperor" sounds good) we have this constipated guy straining out the moronic "We must kill" like the little turd of a line that is.

All the other races suffer in one way or another, but Chaos is the worst for me. Some units are fine though, mechanical lines for defilers are fine, though a faint hint of angry wailing would be neat. I just really feel that Relic miss the mark on Chaos. They sound like exaggerated imitations of cartoon villains from some ancient, cheesy TV show, not the incredibly diverse mixture of cunning veterans and lunatics they should be.

I probably feel way to passionate on this subject. Some of the Chaos voiceovers were pretty nice.

Edit: Cutscene voiceovers were almost exclusively terrible and embarassing to listen to.

Achronos-117

17th Apr 08, 10:03 PM

Yeah sometimes attaching commanders to squads were annoying. You put a pysker with a kasrkin squad, gone is the reassuring badass voice, and in with some guy that sounds like he came from a retirement home.

the-tempest

17th Apr 08, 10:14 PM

You put a pysker with a kasrkin squad, gone is the reassuring badass voice, and in with some guy that sounds like he came from a retirement home.

Haha, I totally know what you mean. I'd always get a psyker first in the command squad, so when I get the other two their voices will take over. Sometimes you forget, click on them... "I already know what YOU want!" Dammit!

I really think that most the Guard needs a retool. Not at all sure what they were going for there, the whole voice seems off. Space Marines, with the exception of the leader (although he was good in Vanilla) are perfect for me.

Tau=great, Eldar=good, Orks=pretty good, Chaos=pretty much everything said above. The actual Marines were ok, although I'd prefer less harsh and grating, more dark and menacing. The Heretic/Cultists would have been better mute than what we got. Anything but. They can have Swedish accents for all I care.

Achronos-117

18th Apr 08, 7:17 AM

Nah, I think that they just chose the wrong guys that respond when you click on them. I mean, why does the psyker speak in the command squad when he's lower rank then the general AND weaker. For the SMs, I'd prefer the sarge to answer instead of an attached apothecary, he is just a medic, not an extreme combat expert. And another thing, why does the commmander unit keep saying HIS speech when a guard just gets reinforced in his squad? Shouldnt the guard be speaking up? The kasrkins should be talking over the psyker, they do more damage then he does to.

On another note, the assasin seems to have the standard guard voice when he enters a building/vehicle.

Versian

18th Apr 08, 8:38 AM

Achronos, I second your post. I feel the exact same way. I think it is a better chance to hear out the lower ranks (which have great voice acting, btw) which is very important.

Mr Punk

18th Apr 08, 12:30 PM

Imperial Guard should have the same style as the armies on COH did, I mean just because it is the 41st doesn't mean they lack a sense of humor. From the books I've read Guardsmen are just as we are, jokey, cockey and have a very British sense to them. Space Marines are the same they are very cocky and challenging in battle; "I bet I can take out that tyrant Brother Tirus.." for example. Such books like Horus Rising show marines as also jokeful figures but also serious.

A few things I thought for Guardsmen.

Two Guardsmen talking;
"I'm tellin' yeah! Yarrick had a metal eye!"
"Are you havin' me for a laugh?"
"I'm serious! He 'ad a big metal claw too he did."
"Nah mate, you're pulling my leg!"

Guardsmen being cocky too a new recruit;
"Oi mate! Make sure you keep the safty off during battle, yeah?"

Clicking on a guard squad;
"I've heard that Orks are only 3 foot tall, no match for us!" - Note this comes froms The Imperial Infantrymans's Uplifting Primer book.

Orks, they should have a pure stupidy humor. What they say, they believe it is logic and makes perfect sense, to us... It makes them funny.

Now Chaos Marines? That's tricky... You see I believe certain Legions should have certain styles, or atleast certain squads should speak in a certain manner. Example Khorne beserkers should be how they are now "We need a new driver, this one is dead!" etc these are all funny but also shows you how bloodthirsty they are. While I think the Chaos Physker was brilliant, that poshish British voice gave him a real unpredictable and devious sense to him. To whatever Chaos God they follow, they should talk about the ways and teachings of him/her/it/thing.

I find that Eldar should really stay the same as they are now, but just adding some conversations into them. I've always seen them as the Elves of 40k. So they should be as snooty as they are too.

For Dark Eldar, Well.. Just see them as Posh British people on alot of crack use and have become addicted.

the-tempest

18th Apr 08, 2:22 PM

Making the Guard speak cockney english is an impossible step backwards. Besides, the Orks already do that.

Achronos-117

18th Apr 08, 2:28 PM

The Sorc for the Chaos sounded to much like he was advertising about Chaos. I mean come on, if I'm commanding a chaos army, do you think I really need to here it again?

Ifitmovesnukeit

18th Apr 08, 2:32 PM

So, I'm assuming everyone expects all the delicious context-sensitivity of CoH's voices will be in? I think the contrast between races will make it even better... for example, clicking on a space marine squad that's being wiped out might elicit "Squad Gladius, commending our souls to the Emperor!" whereas with guardsmen you might get a panicky request for a retreat or more men...

Jobhug

18th Apr 08, 3:53 PM

How has the space marine dreadnaught gotten so little mention, I feel ashamed that I didn't credit it sooner, it's Voice acting is PERFECT!

Tony Gronick does it I think. I sure hope he's back.

Mr Punk

18th Apr 08, 6:52 PM

Making the Guard speak cockney english is an impossible step backwards. Besides, the Orks already do that.

You just better pray they are not Geordies.

the-tempest

18th Apr 08, 6:55 PM

How has the space marine dreadnaught gotten so little mention, I feel ashamed that I didn't credit it sooner, it's Voice acting is PERFECT!

Probably because it is so good. I think more people here are focusing on what could be made better, and the Dreadnaught is pretty much exactly where it should be, at least in my opinion.

I hope that they get the COH inter-squad chat going on. It may be unsuitable to some races, like Eldar or Space Marines, but the Guard and Orks should definately be yapping about between fights.

Achronos-117

18th Apr 08, 10:19 PM

Or all those noobies, like cultists, gretchins, etc. I also second the dreadnaught's pwnsomeness. Although, I wish there was a difference in speech between the Hellfire Drednaught and the normal one. Maybe a few new clips for the Hellfire dread like "3,2,1, FIRE" then he fires a missile at his enemies.

Anyone think scouts should have inter squad chat or no? I'm not really that keen on the scouts' backstory

Valorian

19th Apr 08, 3:03 PM

I would really like to see the actors behind the voices of Eliphas and Sindri back. I mean, imagine the dialogue potential when you have two characters like Eliphas and Sindri together? Instead of the tipical pair - one dumb, one genius - we would have two evil genius that could that enrich the game with lines full of irony and backstab.

Of the other voices, no doubt, the Berzerkers where awesome, much like Dreadnaughts ("At least back to war!"), Gorgutz might not make to DoW 2, but his voice must make it, the actor have the best voice for a Warboss.

Shakrith

19th Apr 08, 6:16 PM

I think the Chaos Space Marines need to be really, seriously sick and twisted and the Imperial Space Marines need to be very solemn and pious. One imagines this isn't too much to ask, but "sick and twisted" really didn't come across in the Dark Eldar voices at all, they sounded for some reason like they were really evil but had a sore throat and weren't willing to talk much, the quotes weren't long enough, and they just didn't have much enthusiasm.

Orks need to make me laugh.

Guardian X

19th Apr 08, 7:22 PM

I don't understand something; why were so many Chaos voice clips recycled from the original DoW? The Possessed are the same clips and voice, just slightly distorted, as the generic Chaos Space Marines, and same with the Obliterators (who are just a little more distorted). Hopefully on that front we'll have more variety.

I think Gorgutz, aside from being Relic's comic relief "whipping boy," was a great creation and was very-well-voiced in WA and DC. Will they be bringing the original back for DoW2?

Brian Drummond did an excellent job as the Vindicare Assassin in WA and up. Will he have time to lend his considerable vocal talents too?

Tron

19th Apr 08, 8:46 PM

Perhaps certin units should make the jokes like the tanks considering they arent in front of an entire army they are in vehicles the should be witty and coky like "Whoops that didn't sound good" kinda like the orc WAlker thing the one that looks like a walking Trash Can :P "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" god i love the orc's they are sooo funny xD

HiveMind

19th Apr 08, 9:46 PM

As much as I want to hit the OP for hinting that any fictional universe (even one as bleak and dark as WH40k) is somehow 'more serious in tone' than the Second World War

Actually, he's completely correct. Just because it didn't happen doesn't mean that it's any less serious in tone. The Imperial Inquisition for one. They force you to fight daemons and then execute you for knowing what daemons are. If one person says the Emperor's toenail is too long, he gets burnt at the stake alongside his friends, his family and anyone he had ever talked to. Not only does your foe use horrifically powerful weapons of planetary-scale destruction, not only are there absolutely no rules or morals to warfare (gas attacks are saintly compared to what 40K's races do), but your own leaders don't give a rat's arse about you or your life and would happily have you killed for pretty much any reason. Finally, I leave you with a quote:

"There is no such thing as a plea for innocence in my court. A plea for innocence is guilty of wasting my time. Guilty." - Inquisitor Lord Fyodor Karamazov

As for the actual voice acting:

Space Marines - They should be serious and veteran warriors. However, they shouldn't be talking about the Emperor any more than basic Guardsmen. In fact, they would most likely do it less. The majority of Space Marines don't see the Emperor as a god as such, merely the perfect human. This could be because they technically have his genetics (the Primarchs were created from the Emperor's genetic template, and the Primarch's Marines were made from his). While they are warrior monks, they are primarily warriors. Other than bringing Gabriel back, they're pretty much perfect right now.
Chaos - Cultists are annoying and freakishly high-pitched. If possible, each squad should have a random voice, so some would have the current voices and be really annoying, some would be normal humans screaming "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!", some could be daemonic and mutated and sound something like a mix between Guardsmen and Horrors. Chaos Marines should not be so Khornate. They're meant to be Undivided, why do they shout "SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" and "KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILL! MAIM! BURN!"? Aspiring Champions are awesome, but, again, cut the overly Khornate lines. Eliphas and Sindri were, of course, the best voices for Chaos commanders, and the Daemon Prince sounds effing awesome. Overall, make them more Undivided.
Eldar - They sound too nice and pansy. Throw in more of the darker Eldar quotes. The Farseer should be saying that she would rather kill a million humans than risk the life of one Eldar, all that stuff. They're fairly stereotypically elvish right now, make them less so. Having generic and bland races doesn't help.
Orks - Perfect. They should be the current mix of humour and bloodthirst.
Imperial Guard - Throw in some quotes from the Uplifting Primer! It's a great way to show how the Imperium works and puts in some comical quotes that people can remember. The Psyker shouldn't sound quite so annoying, but he definitely shouldn't sound completely sane.
Necrons - Lords can speak, as Iron Lore obviously remembered. The Deceiver can also speak, and does it quite a lot. Apart from that, there isn't that much to add to the Necrons.
Tau Empire - Not much to say here. Nothing hugely inspiring, but not bad.
Dark Eldar - More of the "BEG FOR MERCY!... Not that it will help you." and less of the bland, "I am teh evallz, feer mah powar!". More of an emphasis on the Thirst, perhaps. There are few GW Dark Eldar quotes, but the ones they do have are awesome, particularly "Fetch me another plaything. This one seems to have broken.". Use them.
Witch Hunters - Perfect. Plenty of 'FOR THE EMPEROR!", but not a stupid amount. See Daemonhunters for Inquisitorial troops.
Daemonhunters - Like Space Marines, but with plenty of the 'ruthless bastard' stuff that GW shows with the Apocalypse Grey Knight Terminator formation's fluff. There should be no real passion in their voices, they should be very calm and detached. Against Imperials, they would say things like "You have seen too much!" in battles. Daemonhunters, while they work for the good of the Imperium, are evil and uncaring.
Tyranids - RAAAAARGH! 'Nuff said.

Tron

19th Apr 08, 9:58 PM

Ahahaha that RAAAAARGh was the best Tyrnid voice i've ever herd its perfect! have you considerd acting? but to get on topic Imperial are basicly like the armys we have today just their fighting.. creepy people instead of ourselfs we just need some classic war time sarcasim and humor and that'd be perfect for the imperials ^.^... dont kill me

Elerium

20th Apr 08, 2:51 AM

After playing DoW again I'm just saying on my last point the Tau seem to call everything "targets", I'm just emphasising this, why must they use the word target for lack of a better term? It gets really annoying.

(to name some)

"We will eliminate the targets!" "Targets locked in" "Point us at the target" "Targeting, fire!" "Ahhh prime targets" "Identify our targets and we will destroy them." "Locking on target" "Targets confirmed" "Pick your targets." "What’s our next target?" "Pick your targets, team." "Target acquired." "Marking targets now." "We will find your targets." "Acquiring targets." "Mark a target and we will wipe it out."

Targets Targets Targets!

LoRd KoRn

20th Apr 08, 10:00 AM

Id also like to mention that I find the Avatars voice acting perfect. The lines, the voice, the pronouncation, everything about it.
"I walk again....a god among the mortals." godly

Versian

20th Apr 08, 1:39 PM

I don't understand something; why were so many Chaos voice clips recycled from the original DoW? The Possessed are the same clips and voice, just slightly distorted, as the generic Chaos Space Marines, and same with the Obliterators (who are just a little more distorted). Hopefully on that front we'll have more variety.

I don't see why they should do that. All the units in DoW sound great, plus, there is no point in remaking voices for all the units in an expansion pack. It would be strange.

Forge World

20th Apr 08, 1:46 PM

Gabe should be voiced by Eddie Murphy
Gorgutz should be voiced by Dale Winton

comedy ensues

{OGS}Sirius

20th Apr 08, 2:23 PM

This time when they do sisters of battle voice over can they use the girl from half life two I belive her char name is Alyx Vance, it would be waaay mucho grande better then this @.@ how should i put it. ( the i'm pissed off everyday with out a break my time of the month all month all year voice over.) they just seem constantly pissed at everyone even at their selfs.

Sword_Monkey

20th Apr 08, 5:43 PM

A little note on Tyranids from the fluff. It appears that they like to stay unnervingly quiet, often they've been observed to sneak about silently, only emitting a noise of any kind when they actually begin their attack.

What I'd like to see is this incorporated in the game with all Nid units creeping about as quietly as possible before chirping, hooting, whooping and snarling at the enemy. Hell that could even form an anti morale effect. Needless to say it could at least sound very cool, the din of the swarm that is.

Swordsman

20th Apr 08, 11:27 PM

Brian Drummond did an excellent job as the Vindicare Assassin in WA and up. Will he have time to lend his considerable vocal talents too?
I don't think it was Brian Drummond who did the Vindicare. I think he was done by Steve Blum (he did Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Vincent Valentine in FF:VII Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus and he also did the American voice-over guy in CoH). Blum's credited with it on his wikipedia article and whenever I've heard the Vindicare, it sounds just like him.

brothersamuel40

26th Apr 08, 6:41 PM

While we're on the subject about voice acting, I'd really like to see the different races taunt each other with specific insults towards that army. Aka Space Marines attacking Eldar could be heard saying: "Begone you weakling witches!" or "Taste my chainsword Eldar scum!" as they are attacking, and I don't mean the initial "alarm" voice when a race is discovered for the first time on a map. I mean the battle cries we usually hear in the first DoW, but this time actually more specific towards different races.

This could also be taken further and have insults directed at a specific UNIT even. Of course, this would take a LOT of work, not to mention the amount of storage space needed.

But still, it's a nice thought :D

Versian

26th Apr 08, 7:44 PM

It's a great Idea brother samuel, I'd like to see it implemented. However, if we're still with generic, universal battlecries, I wouldn't mind either. As long as they are as good in DoW2 as they were in the original.

The alarm voice: You reminded me of something. The only people that have alarm voices are the original 4 races + the Imperial Guard. From there on, Tau and Necrons have no alarm voice, and I think I've seen around that the two races in SS don't say anything either upon seeing an enemy for the first time.

This is a good example of carelessness. It makes DC and SS seem quite rushed as well as being play ugly. I hope devs pay attention to these small details in DoW2.

Agoniser

27th Apr 08, 2:28 AM

Actually the DC and SS races do have alarm voices (yes, even the Necrons). If you extract the sounds from the game, you'll find that they were recorded and everything - they just aren't used for some reason.

@brothersamuel40: Didn't one of the previews mention the Ork Warboss taunting the Force Commander? Something like "Ooh, nice hammer, but mine is bigger!" Hopefully they'll do something like that for all the commanders.

Elerium

27th Apr 08, 2:58 AM

Very rarely I've heard the Tau speak alarmingly in battle, I once heard the TC say "Your genocide ends here Necrons!", but I haven't heard anything for the original races identifying the two new races. I have heard him say stuff about "Orks! Don't let them close into melee" and "Gue'la Space Marines, we're in for a bitter fight".

As for Samuel's suggestion, I like it really, try to variate it somewhat though with inter-racial and normal "attacking" sounds so they'd say stuff like "eat chainsword!" as well as the taunting.

Tau need to show more aggression, I for one don't want to hear any "Accept the greater good!" as they're fighting, just leave that to "how can they ignore the greater good?" in selection and have them spew out "Eat plasma fire!" in combat.

Maybe different alarming voices for all races units depending on the squads they encounter? Tau Pathfinders would say something when they encounter an IG squad like "Gue'la soldiers located.. exposed fools.."
If you had an IG squad encountering a Fire Warrior squad, they'd say "Tau soldiers approaching! don't let those guns fool you by the way they look!" whereas IG who encountered a Pathfinder squad would say "Tau scouts! Men, don't let them put the valkyrie's mark on you!".

All soldiers could have a panic level depending on how many units are in the field, or depending on the unit itself, so if they went against a huge mass of troops, they'd speak more concerned in their voices whereas if they saw say a Baneblade, they'd be literally panicking themselves.

brothersamuel40

27th Apr 08, 10:20 AM

@Agoniser: Yes, I believe it did :D

And as for the taunting in DC and SS: WOAH, I must try to find these now...

Gore 'n' Guts

3rd May 08, 2:00 AM

nemesis646

3rd May 08, 4:45 AM

The Tau and Necrons absolutely have voiceovers for initial enemy sightings; I'm not qualified to comment on SS, because I've yet to purchase it.

The first thing O'Kais bellowed upon starting up a fresh campaign and assaulting the Panrea Lowlands? "Space Marines! They will pay dearly for Damocles!"

Actually it was Dolumar, not Damocles. Possible link to Fire Warrior (but to keep the modders happy I'm not going any further on that).

Reviewing voices:
SM: Pretty good, but Scouts suck a tad. Would actually prefer Gabriel instead of Thule. And DO NOT bring in Boreale- he sounds too much like Sean Connery. Also, add more humour in- so that way they aren't all solemn.
IG: First DoW was OK, but actually prefer WA onwards. Command squad needs to change (possibly reassigning Alexander to a different post and bringing Sturnn back in). Vehicles and most infantry are good.
Sisters of Battle: Alright- but there's a LOT of room to improve on. :rofl:
Orks: Great.
Necrons: ADD A VOICE like that Necron Lord or Pariah.
Eldar: Smooth enough, but too relaxed and carefree.
Chaos: Cultists are a no-no. Bloodthirsters and horrors need a voice, and bring back Sindri.
Tau: Satisfactory.
DE: They'll do.

Glubtrak

3rd May 08, 5:23 AM

Actually he probably does mean Damocles, referring to the Damocles Crusade. http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Damocles_Crusade

I'm not worried about voices. Relic has always had a good track record with sound design. I just hope that they include voice work similar in implementation like CoH. Guardsmen talking amongst themselfs. The Commissar shouting the occasional prayer.
I just hope that if they have to include Gorgutz that they use the old voice. The one in SS is terrible.

Agoniser

3rd May 08, 5:31 AM

Yep, it's Damocles.

1015270 Space Marines! They will pay dearly for Damocles.
And Sindri's a Daemon Prince now so he no longer has his awesome voice which is a shame - though there's no reason they can't get the VA back.

Speaking of Chaos, did anyone else really like Scott McNeill's CSM voice in the SS Chaos stronghold? Nothing wrong with the old one of course, but I wouldn't mind hearing him voice them again in DoW2.

Exsus

4th May 08, 12:34 AM

Scott McNeill is one of those people wo's work is either awesome or horrible. Not to bash him but he doesn't always cut it right (*cought Thule*)

Really need the old voice cast from before, it just won't be the same without them and i can't hear space marine as much else.

redsun95

4th May 08, 9:58 AM

Gorgutz might not make to DoW 2, but his voice must make it, the actor have the best voice for a Warboss.

After completing all of the SS ending, all of the races say that gorguts escaped, this should hopefully mean he will make an appearence in DoW2

CrossLight

6th May 08, 11:01 PM

Not sure if any of you have played any of the games from the Legacy of Kain series, but Michael Bell, Simon Templeman and Richard Doyle should do some voice acting for this game. They are without a doubt the best voice actors I have ever heard, and probably the main reason the games success.

But yes they need the guy who did Gabriel's voice back and even though I didn't give Thule much of a chance because he wasn't Gabe. Now hearing his base assault speech he actually did a good job and sounded well. Only problem I had was the lack of power / passion that Gabe. brought, like if you compare them both saying I fear no evil for I am fear incarnate, you can hear what I'm talking about.

Shakrith

6th May 08, 11:07 PM

Gabe had excellent voice acting, they should really bring him back, at least.

What I hope is they make the voices even more over-the-top 40k than they already are. I don't want contemporary references like "Nevermore" for the Raven, because you wouldn't expect an alien from the far future to read Edgar Allen Poe, would you? One of my favourite things about DoW was how everywhere there were little bits of Imperial propaganda, I want to see more of that in the UI but particularly in the voice acting.

If Space Marines sounded like they were using vox-casters - anyone without a helmet would have a seriously scary amplified voice with a tinny ring to it - that would be a good start.

As for Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver was one of the first games where I thought they did a mature story well in terms of dialogue and cutscenes.