I’ve made the difficult choice to remove voice acting from Trials of Cascadia for release.
I’m funding the game myself without any publishers or Kickstarter, and I can’t afford to have the full game voiced at a level I’d be happy with. Keeping voice acting in only some scenes felt inconsistent, so removing it was the better option.
This isn’t a reflection on the actors or their work. I very much enjoyed working with them and their resulting performances, so it is a bit heartbreaking for me that I cannot showcase their efforts in a completed state. I let the scope get ahead of what I could realistically afford but still want to pay fairly no matter what (everyone has been paid for what they have done), and right now I need to focus on finishing the game and releasing it by the end of 2027.
It sucks to cut something I wanted in the game, but this gives me a realistic path to release. I’d rather ship the game without voice acting than put myself into a personal financial situation that I cannot dig out of.
This may not be permanent. If sales support it, I’d like to bring voice acting back in a future update. I can’t promise that yet, but the door is open. I will keep all of the in-battle content that has already been finished. I am truly sorry to everyone involved.