Posted September 18, 2023
The official 1.2 patch for Star Trek Voyager Elite Force replaced Seven of Nine's voice with Jeri Ryan who played Seven of Nine on the show. In my opinion, this enhanced the game by making it closer to the original show. The major point of Star Trek Voyager Elite Force is that it's like being on an episode of the show.
Joan Buddenhagen didn't do a bad job, but she just wasn't the voice we remember from the TV show. So I do prefer Jeri Ryan's performance.
Similarly, Kevin Schilder didn't do a bad job composing the score for Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, but his wasn't the music we remember from the TV show.
So one thing that I think would be neat to have for this game would be to make a fan patch that replaces Kevin Schilder's music with music from the original show. La-La Land Records has published two Star Trek Voyager score collections https://musicbrainz.org/release/2680d901-0e7c-4a52-b173-53c8195f2fe4/ and https://musicbrainz.org/release/d77a70e2-7c3d-49cd-ae88-44ebb3e5218d/ which could be used as a source for this.
It's been a while since I played through the game, but from what I recall, Kevin Schilder's score goes in a more game-y electronic direction than the original show's dramatic orchestra. I suspect he was also forbidden from incorporating leitmotifs from the television soundtrack for licensing reasons, which a non-commercial fan project wouldn't have to worry about. Swapping out this music would, I think, significantly change the overall tone and atmosphere of the game, which is what you want from a good mod.
In scenes where the music is baked in with the narration then it might not be possible to replace the music but for most of the game, it should be possible. But it would take Quake 3 modding knowledge to do this.
Anyone interested in working with me on such a project? I don't know if I could do it on my own but I'd be interested to help. I'd need somebody who knows more about the Quake 3 engine than I do.
The first step in this project would be to figure out what software to use for modifying the game data. The second would be to make a list of music tracks that need replacement, their lengths and a general idea of where they appear in the game. The third step would be to swap out the music with appropriate cues from the Voyager television soundtrack and the fourth would be to test out this change.
Joan Buddenhagen didn't do a bad job, but she just wasn't the voice we remember from the TV show. So I do prefer Jeri Ryan's performance.
Similarly, Kevin Schilder didn't do a bad job composing the score for Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, but his wasn't the music we remember from the TV show.
So one thing that I think would be neat to have for this game would be to make a fan patch that replaces Kevin Schilder's music with music from the original show. La-La Land Records has published two Star Trek Voyager score collections https://musicbrainz.org/release/2680d901-0e7c-4a52-b173-53c8195f2fe4/ and https://musicbrainz.org/release/d77a70e2-7c3d-49cd-ae88-44ebb3e5218d/ which could be used as a source for this.
It's been a while since I played through the game, but from what I recall, Kevin Schilder's score goes in a more game-y electronic direction than the original show's dramatic orchestra. I suspect he was also forbidden from incorporating leitmotifs from the television soundtrack for licensing reasons, which a non-commercial fan project wouldn't have to worry about. Swapping out this music would, I think, significantly change the overall tone and atmosphere of the game, which is what you want from a good mod.
In scenes where the music is baked in with the narration then it might not be possible to replace the music but for most of the game, it should be possible. But it would take Quake 3 modding knowledge to do this.
Anyone interested in working with me on such a project? I don't know if I could do it on my own but I'd be interested to help. I'd need somebody who knows more about the Quake 3 engine than I do.
The first step in this project would be to figure out what software to use for modifying the game data. The second would be to make a list of music tracks that need replacement, their lengths and a general idea of where they appear in the game. The third step would be to swap out the music with appropriate cues from the Voyager television soundtrack and the fourth would be to test out this change.
Post edited September 18, 2023 by BenMcLean