Does anyone want to work on a translation?

[SamIAm]

I've got the time and the know-how, but what I don't have these days is a script.

Esperknight, hell of a guy as he is, is so busy that the last thing I want to do is put another project in his cue.

Instead, I'm wondering if anyone here who knows their way around PCE hacking would like to do a major RPG translation. I would be willing to work on a game of the hacker's choice if he or she is passionate about it. I can't promise that I'd be interested in just any game, but it doesn't have to be my own first pick.

Remember that we have to be practical. The best games to work on will be the ones that use mostly text that can be extracted and reinserted in the traditional way.

Anyone interested? At the moment, the two that look good to me are Anearth Fantasy Stories and Legend of Xanadu 1.

Let's leave Tengai Makyou out of the discussion for now.

Thanks!  

[_Paul]

Damn, I wish I had the skills. Although I'd be more interested in smaller stuff like City Hunter or Schbibin Man. Non-RPGs always get overlooked.

[spenoza]

Maybe that Momo Tarou HuCard RPG would be interesting.

[SamIAm]

Non-RPGs are cool, too. In fact, that's great for me as I prefer action games and those tend to be easier to translate.

A translation hack has to start with the hacking side dumping the text. I'm basically here to say that if someone wants to do that and be ready to follow through for reinsertion, I'm here to tackle translation.

There's a lot of talk about translations, but not a lot of action. I think it's perhaps just a communication problem. That's why I'd like to use this thread to talk about actually doing a translation.

If nobody comes forward with a game they'd really like to do, maybe I'll start pushing for the ones I'd like to do most. For now, I'd be happy to help a hacker who really wants to do a particular game.

[TurboXray]

I still have my old Spriggan Mark 2 translation stuffs.
The game's script is dumped (example): http://www.pcedev.net/SM2_script/script_0.sjs and I put in a new VWF routine (the font is temporary):

pcedev . net/SM2_script/Spriggan_Mark_II.png

[SamIAm]

Did this Tom not finish the Spriggan MK2 translation?

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?msg=121577

EDIT: Or is it the same Tom? I'm so confused...

[esteban]

Did this Tom not finish the Spriggan MK2 translation?

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?msg=121577

EDIT: Or is it the same Tom? I'm so confused...

I know! I was confused, too, until I recently learned that the tomaithous of yore is latter day Bonknuts .

[TurboXray]

Tom is short for tomaitheous. Tomaitheous and bonknuts are both me. I use the tag Tomaitheous for coding and such, but I wanted a handle that was just for gaming (so Bonknuts). I still use tomiatheous handle for all code related stuffs (and probably always will). I don't use Bonknuts anymore (and haven't in a long time since the name existed else where that wasn't me), but my youtube account is stuck with that name. Confusion solved?

 As for Spriggan Mark 2 translation; I had handful of translators over the years. But nothing was every fully translated (just a level or two) as I guess they lost interest.

[SamIAm]

Er, so the Tom in that other topic is you, and not the other Tom doing the Ziria translation?

In other words, there's no risk of needlessly retranslating something that's already been done?

Because if it hasn't been done, send it my way. Spriggan MK2 is cool as hell.

[TurboXray]

Er, so the Tom in that other topic is you, and not the other Tom doing the Ziria translation?

Correct.

In other words, there's no risk of needlessly retranslating something that's already been done?

Afaik, I'm the only one to ever have this project.

Because if it hasn't been done, send it my way. Spriggan MK2 is cool as hell.

Cool There was a youtube longplay video of it, but they recently took it down (dunno why). I have a hacked ISO that gives player invincibility, so one can play through the shmup and see the script in the correct order (context). Would you be also interested in transcribing the cinemas?

[nectarsis]

Anyone interested? At the moment, the two that look good to me are Anearth Fantasy Stories and Legend of Xanadu 1.

*drools at the thought of either*

[SamIAm]

Cool There was a youtube longplay video of it, but they recently took it down (dunno why). I have a hacked ISO that gives player invincibility, so one can play through the shmup and see the script in the correct order (context). Would you be also interested in transcribing the cinemas?

Hell yes, I would be! I love this game!

There may even be potential for a kind of fan-dub. The story is pretty huge, and it would be nice to let people experience the whole thing while playing (like Zeroigar on the PC-FX, which is working out surprisingly well).

On the other hand, have you ever thought about making a special subtitle feature for PCE-CD cutscenes? I'm sure it would always depend on how much RAM was available, but something like that sure would be neat.

Anyway, please send the stuff my way. If I can play the whole game through a couple of times without dying (I never did beat it), I think I could do a pretty good job on the script. I can't wait!

[OldRover]

I just wish someone would try to translate some of the umm... more "mature" titles. I don't know how to look for text sequences though... I can trace code and determine how a game engine is constructed but that's about it.

[TurboXray]

I just spoke with MooZ (pce coder and hacker) and he's looking for a translator for Nazo no Masquerade:
http://pcedev.blockos.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80

 Also, I'll PM SM2 stuff once I get it packed up.

 Old Rover: Translation hacking is the source of many headaches :/ The easy part is finding and dumping the text, the hard part is making a new print routine (if you're lucky, you might not need to - like NW did with Xak III) and finding a way to compress the replacement English text back into the same space as the original.

[TurboXray]

And I did have plans for the cinemas. Either a dub or a subtitle system. This game is my baby, so I'd go the distance for this one on the cinemas. My friend and I had talked about doing a dub for this game for a long time now. I know a few people that can do voice acting (and we have some related experience). But the script not getting a full translated pretty much stalled everything.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I just spoke with MooZ (pce coder and hacker) and he's looking for a translator for Nazo no Masquerade:
http://pcedev.blockos.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80

 Also, I'll PM SM2 stuff once I get it packed up.

 Old Rover: Translation hacking is the source of many headaches :/ The easy part is finding and dumping the text, the hard part is making a new print routine (if you're lucky, you might not need to - like NW did with Xak III) and finding a way to compress the replacement English text back into the same space as the original.

Doh!  A digital comic.   I've never been able to get into any of these, aw well.

[burn_654]

Ooh! ooh! *raises hand*
Momotarou Katsugeki...the platformer momotarou with rpg elements by Hudson.
Check it out, it's a great game! I've been working on it for a bit.

Some good progress so far:
*Basic pointer changes - most dialog scripts, menu options.
*Control codes discovered
*Debug Hudson english table
*Hiragana table
**ASM hacking the townsperson vertical dialog (right to left) to print the script left to right from proper x,y origin (done), and using the diacritical column space (WIP but definitely possible) to maximize usable area.
*Loading custom ASM from free space in the bank works.
*With help from my brother, we coded a basic Hu6280 disassembler/reassembler, great to edit code in notepad.
*A proper upper and lowercase english font will be inserted.

What needs done:
*VRAM hacking to increase the number of townsperson text columns that display. It needs to a. load more script data into some blank vram space and b. alter the pattern table to include that and expand the text bubble width.
*VRAM hacking/decompression for the compressed tile format - signposts, shop 'exit' sign, titlescreen if space allows. Maybe just loading in some uncompressed tiles instead?
*Script translations (on hold until technical limitations are worked out)



Anyone interested in helping out with this?
Someone with some vram hacking/graphics experience would be great to get in touch with.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Ooh! ooh! *raises hand*
Momotarou Katsugeki...the platformer momotarou with rpg elements by Hudson.
Check it out, it's a great game! I've been working on it for a bit.

Some good progress so far:
*Basic pointer changes - most dialog scripts, menu options.
*Control codes discovered
*Debug Hudson english table
*Hiragana table
**ASM hacking the townsperson vertical dialog (right to left) to print the script left to right from proper x,y origin (done), and using the diacritical column space (WIP but definitely possible) to maximize usable area.
*Loading custom ASM from free space in the bank works.
*With help from my brother, we coded a basic Hu6280 disassembler/reassembler, great to edit code in notepad.
*A proper upper and lowercase english font will be inserted.

What needs done:
*VRAM hacking to increase the number of townsperson text columns that display. It needs to a. load more script data into some blank vram space and b. alter the pattern table to include that and expand the text bubble width.
*VRAM hacking/decompression for the compressed tile format - signposts, shop 'exit' sign, titlescreen if space allows. Maybe just loading in some uncompressed tiles instead?
*Script translations (on hold until technical limitations are worked out)



Anyone interested in helping out with this?
Someone with some vram hacking/graphics experience would be great to get in touch with.

Damn, it's got nicer gfx & music then I remember, maybe I never did try it out before?  Too bad someone couldn't do a graphical upgrade as well, but I'm sure it's a whole nother ballpark.  I could see maybe a few more colors, or paralax.  The towns could easily have paralax with those bottom buildings, & there's never alot of sprites onscreen in general(atleast not early on).  Probably could have some nice hori-paralax thruout.  Still, it's a cool game.  I wouldn't mind the controls being tightend up slightly, but then again, maybe the game would be too easy that way.

[Arjak]

If I had any abilities in this area beyond voice acting, I would help you in a second. As is, all I can do at this point is offer moral support and suggestions. Any of the great RPGs would be wonderful to have in English. I have heard good things about Anearth Fantasy Stories, and Legend of Xanadu I would be a good idea, since you've already tackled the second. While we're talking about RPGs (besides Far East of Eden), I've heard that the Tenshi no Uta games are really good. Finally, being the pervert that I am, I must mention that the Dragon Knight games have gotten my interest... (I would definitely try out for voicing the hero in that one!)

[esteban]

Damn, it's got nicer gfx & music then I remember, maybe I never did try it out before?  Too bad someone couldn't do a graphical upgrade as well, but I'm sure it's a whole nother ballpark.  I could see maybe a few more colors, or paralax.  The towns could easily have paralax with those bottom buildings, & there's never alot of sprites onscreen in general(atleast not early on).  Probably could have some nice hori-paralax thruout.  Still, it's a cool game.  I wouldn't mind the controls being tightend up slightly, but then again, maybe the game would be too easy that way.

Cook notices a pattern in P_D's posts...

[ParanoiaDragon]

Damn, it's got nicer gfx & music then I remember, maybe I never did try it out before?  Too bad someone couldn't do a graphical upgrade as well, but I'm sure it's a whole nother ballpark.  I could see maybe a few more colors, or paralax.  The towns could easily have paralax with those bottom buildings, & there's never alot of sprites onscreen in general(atleast not early on).  Probably could have some nice hori-paralax thruout.  Still, it's a cool game.  I wouldn't mind the controls being tightend up slightly, but then again, maybe the game would be too easy that way.

Cook notices a pattern in P_D's posts...

Ohhhh, dear, just don't let Rover see my post!

[_Paul]

Damn, it's got nicer gfx & music then I remember, maybe I never did try it out before?  Too bad someone couldn't do a graphical upgrade as well, but I'm sure it's a whole nother ballpark.  I could see maybe a few more colors, or paralax.  The towns could easily have paralax with those bottom buildings, & there's never alot of sprites onscreen in general(atleast not early on).  Probably could have some nice hori-paralax thruout.  Still, it's a cool game.  I wouldn't mind the controls being tightend up slightly, but then again, maybe the game would be too easy that way.

Cook notices a pattern in P_D's posts...

Ohhhh, dear, just don't let Rover see my post!

I think an intervention is needed.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Probably!

[SamIAm]

I'm officially on the case for Spriggan Mk. 2. Time to get out the ol' headphones and do some audio translating. It would be cool if the subtitle thing really works out! At very least, I hope we can release a text guide.

Hopefully writing up a draft won't take more than a few days.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Don't know if this is entirely the best place post about this but I saw that you put up a help wanted add on romhacking.net for Princess Crown!
wayback.romhacking.net/helpads/393/

I've been wanting to play that game ever since I first played Odin Sphere back in 2008!
Good luck on finding a hacker and trust me your going to need it. I can't think of to many people that are crazy enough to hack for the Saturn.

[SamIAm]

Yeah, I sure did. I hope I get a response. In fact, I think I put up an add for that a year ago or so. Let's hope someone replies.

I suspect that in a couple of years, particularly when my visa runs out here in Japan, my life is going to change and get busier than it is, and it will be a lot harder to find the time to work on games. Now is my chance to do a few larger projects and put them out quickly.

Esperknight is not afraid of hacking the Saturn, but again, the dude just has too much on his plate at the moment. That's why I hope that a rogue hacker comes forward and gets me a script dump!

Got 2 stages worth of Spriggan mk2 done already, as well as beat the game with the invincibility hack. This should be interesting. By the way, who has beaten mk2 on normal with no continues? I'd like to know how difficult you rank the game. Zeroigar seemed really hard at first, but after a few dozen tries, I can pretty much 1CC it in my sleep now. If it's not too difficult, I wouldn't mind getting equally good at mk2.

[ParanoiaDragon]

You could always translate the PSP version of Princess Crown, there's probably more hacking going on in the PSP community compared to Saturn.  However, I've heard that the PSP version was a poor port, though I don't recall why.  It supposedly had some kind of problems.  It'd be nice though if someone brought it over & fixed whatever needs fixin, even if it's only on PSN.

[Burnt Lasagna]

You could always translate the PSP version of Princess Crown, there's probably more hacking going on in the PSP community compared to Saturn.

It would probably be just as difficult, if not more, to do it on the PSP since the PSP version is actually being emulated. Hence the reason why people say it has problems.

[TurboXray]

Got 2 stages worth of Spriggan mk2 done already, as well as beat the game with the invincibility hack. This should be interesting. By the way, who has beaten mk2 on normal with no continues? I'd like to know how difficult you rank the game. Zeroigar seemed really hard at first, but after a few dozen tries, I can pretty much 1CC it in my sleep now. If it's not too difficult, I wouldn't mind getting equally good at mk2.

IMO normal difficulty is just average difficulty. It's just the last couple of levels you have try to reserve certain weapon stock for certain areas (I mean more so than previous levels). On hard and super hard, you get to fight the real last boss in a laser sword battle (can't shoot). Plus, you get more dialogue and cinema stuff. End credits show more screen shots on completion of the harder modes. I beat it on all modes back in the day ('93 when I imported it).

[kazekirifx]

I can translate J->E, and wouldn't mind translating some scripts if you have any.
I have only the language skills, though. No technical know-how.

[SamIAm]

It would probably be just as difficult, if not more, to do it on the PSP since the PSP version is actually being emulated. Hence the reason why people say it has problems.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I remember having a big nerdy debate about this on a couple forums back in the day, and the final verdict came from a guy who personally checked the PSP version of the game - it uses only the script and event data from the Saturn version. It is not emulated, however, by virtue of the fact that the PSP version has no SH2 code in it whatsoever.

Anyway, I don't like handhelds, and I love the Saturn, so the answer is obvious.

[Burnt Lasagna]

it uses only the script and event data from the Saturn version. It is not emulated, however, by virtue of the fact that the PSP version has no SH2 code in it whatsoever.

Wait, it's not emulated? Then is Wikipedia lying to me? Say it ain't so!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Crown#Legacy

[SamIAm]

There was an interview with some Sony or Atlus rep where the guy said that it was emulated. He didn't get much into it, though.

Here's the old clincher post:

My source is the game itself. If you compare the files between the Saturn version and the PSP version, you'll notice that a number of things have been changed. All music(including the sequenced music) have been converted to atrac, sound effects were converted as well. The graphics have been converted to another format I'm not familiar with, fonts have been replaced, and a few additional graphics have been included. And lastly, all Saturn SH2 code has been removed. That pretty much debunks any theory of emulation, since you can't exactly emulate non-existent code

EDIT: I may get my wish for a Princess Crown hacker.

[SamIAm]

Question: How would you guys feel if I put the word "Damn!" in the Spriggan MK2 script? Because it would be appropriate in literally around a dozen places. I don't want to ruin the feeling of playing an old school game by putting in curses that never would have made it into a real release back in the day. However, I don't want to write "gee wilikers" or whatever. I'd cut the expression out altogether as much as compromise any other way.

At the moment, I'm leaning toward just using it. I do not, however, want to use the word "shit" even though it does appear a lot. Sorry.

Any input?

[Nazi NecroPhile]

As is, all I can do at this point is offer moral support and suggestions.

Same here.  More translations make me a happy robot!

Any input?

I'm okay with any and all swearing - especially in the case of such mild oaths as "damn".  As long as it's part of the original work and not added for puerile poop jokes (thanks, WD), I don't see anything wrong with it.

[SamIAm]

That's cool. I always ask myself whether the characters would be saying "shit" if this were created in English from the beginning. In this case, the game itself strikes me as aiming for a kind of PG or PG-13 vibe, but definitely not an R vibe (LoX2 is quite G, I'd say, so no swearing there). That's why a few "damns" really don't seem like a big deal, but this really isn't quite gritty enough for all the characters to be saying "shit" every time something goes wrong.

Stage 3 text is now complete.

[Burnt Lasagna]

EDIT: I may get my wish for a Princess Crown hacker.

cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/9/2011/02/b972ebc5133c4300acd82e93d22b3f68/340x.jpg

Any input?

I'm fine with it. Though I can definitely see why you don't want to put "shit" in it. That would just seem out of place in a TG16 game.

[SamIAm]

^^Glad you agree.

Gee wilikers, Spriggan mk2 has a lot of text! There's as much in-game text in one stage of this one as there is in the entire game of Zeroigar.

Anyway, stage 4 is now done. Moving right along.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Actually, IIRC, Final Zone 2 had the word Damn in it, I think it was Bowie that said it.  Also, possibly CF2 had it as well, maybe it was in that secret town??

[SamIAm]

All right, I'm going to use it, then. I'll just be careful not to get carried away.

BTW, I got me a Princess Crown script. 

[Burnt Lasagna]

BTW, I got me a Princess Crown script. 

This is really exiting news! I've always had a soft spot for the Saturn and I'm a big fan of Vanillaware.
May I ask who this hacker is, or does he want to remain anonymous? I'm really happy that your the translator on this one since now I know something will definitly become of the project (even if it's just the script)

[SamIAm]

Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement.

I think I'll hold on revealing the hacker just yet, since I'm not sure if he wants to be known and/or how much he wants to commit. He actually dumped the script years ago, though. He's going to possibly re-dump it in a cleaner, more organized way (although it's mostly OK already) and give it to me to work on. The menu and battle text is still at-large, but that's not a big worry. He seems very good at what he does.

The nice thing about Princess Crown is that if we get all the dialogue and menu/battle stuff done, then that's really it! No voices or FMV to worry about or anything. I can't wait to get to started. But first, it's time to do two more stages of Spriggan Mk. 2.

[CrackTiger]

If you don't want to keep shit in a translation that's fine, but I don't think that localizations should go so far as censorship to make games closer to how an official localization would have been handled bitd. PCE games have graphic gore, nudity, swearing, etc that would either keep a game from ever being brought over or would have resulted in big edits.

I'd rather keep any swearing, but it won't ruin a game if it's taken out. I'm happy to get anything, even a rough translation like Startling Odyssey II. But if quality is what you're shooting for, then I think that keeping the swearing is better than replacing it.

[SamIAm]

Thanks for the reply. You make some good points.

The thing is, I don't really think choosing not to translate "kuso" as "shit" is really censorship, or necessarily dubious in terms of quality/accuracy. Yes, they both mean feces, and yes, they are both often used to show exasperation. However, they're still not totally identical. The differences are very subtle, and we could discuss them for a long time, but suffice to say that those differences can be important.

Anyway, the word "kuso" appears in the game-text 14 times. It would strike me as plain awkward if these guys said it that much. That's my interpretation of what kind of people the characters are and how they express themselves, as well as the tone of the game as a whole. I will, however, consider putting "shit" in once or twice in the most extreme of those 14 situations, depending on how things look when I'm done with the first draft.

[OldMan]

I don't really think choosing not to translate "kuso" as "shit" is really censorship
....
the word "kuso" appears in the game-text 14 times. It would strike me as plain awkward if these guys said it that much.

Might I suggest the slightly less-offensive "Crap" ? Then you could save the literal translation for impact.
Just my 2 cents.

[OldRover]

Context is everything when you localize.

[SamIAm]

Context is everything when you localize.

Hear hear.

Also, stages 5 and 6 are done! 

[spenoza]

I'm not familiar with your work, and as such, let me express hope you are translating and not transliterating. I used to think "liberal translations" were crap and transliterations were better, but I've started coming around and now I'm swinging the other way, so to speak.

[SamIAm]

I think you'll approve. My philosophy is, if I can't imagine a native English speaker saying it, I won't write it.

[spenoza]

I think you'll approve. My philosophy is, if I can't imagine a native English speaker saying it, I won't write it.

The way you phrased that reassures me greatly.