Legend of Xanadu II Translation Patch announced!

[SamIAm]

If anyone knows any girls who would have fun saying a few lines into a microphone, you can help the Xanadu II project a lot by sending them my way! I need two female voices to complete the casting for the dub. The previous plan was to recycle other actors, but I'd really prefer not to do that at this point.

Here's a post I made at the Voice Acting Alliance forums:
http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?66075-Kaze-no-Densetsu-Xanadu-II-PCE-CD-Action-RPG-2-female-roles-open&p=1093689#post1093689

The roles are for minor characters, one of whom almost anyone could do (Lumina). Give us a hand if you can! 

[SamIAm]

CrackTiger kindly gave me a scan of a magazine that had an LoX2 feature. To be honest, it was a pretty typical preview/pseudo-walkthrough, but one interesting thing that it pointed out (or who knows, maybe just tried to sell) was that the characters in LoX2 are written with more individuality than in LoX1. They said you can tell whose line it is just by the way it comes across, and I think that's fairly accurate. Of course, it's not always true - there were no names in front of each line in the script dump that I got, and that got mighty confusing at times. Still, I could usually figure out the speaker just by the style of the line.

Does anybody who has played LoX1&2 have any comment about this?

[blueraven]

Having beaten them; LoX is a bit more dry comparatively as far as the vocal delivery, but the voices are very discernible from character to character. Despite less emotion, they are all drastically different. The second game relies more on visuals and is much shorter than the first; which was arguably about Arios and focused mostly on his interactions and development, laying out the issue with  the world, who has to save the cheerleader, etc. It rewarded you immensely with a stupid-fun side-scroller stage that made it 2 games in one - Although the overhead aspect of teh RPG is what makes the game so monumental.

The parts are more "scripted" for LoX2; Emotion, back-story, and sprite design are emphasized and the menus are simplified. Less is left to the imagination. They also decided to make Pyrra go from kinda frumpy to really smoking hot. Lykos is now the prince of thieves, Daimos has cooler armor and returns as the stoic warror-badass. There is this "Mystery Knight" running around. They had a lot more time to develop the storyline. 

I could see how getting a a huge text file without character names would be confusing, even with knowledge of the characters.

[SamIAm]

Just curious, but what was Lykos before?

[blueraven]

In the first game he is described as a thief "with a heart of gold", who is also a master of disguise. He's in with the pirates, and gets you a free pass when they take over the ship. You meet him in a jail in level 3 of LoX 1. I never caught the prince of thieves thing in the first game.

[SamIAm]

Erm, I don't think he's ever referred to as a "prince of thieves" or anything like it in the 2nd one, either. Again, just a leader of a pirates. Interesting that he's a master of disguise, though.

[blueraven]

Hmm. Maybe that was an article or review I read somewhere. I'll try to dig it up.

[SamIAm]

Request: Can someone tell me, possibly via PM, where the best place to host a 200MB file for a small group of people might be? I want to send my voice actors a preliminary version of the dub in high quality, which I have compressed to 197 megs. I also want to keep this away from where any outsider might snag it easily, but still leave it convenient for downloading. Do any of the decent rapidshare-style sites let you upload that much without an account?

By the way, Esperknight writes and says that the script is successfully compressed. Now there's just getting it to display. 

[VestCunt]

Apparently Dropbox does 2GB for free (http://www.dropbox.com).  I haven't used it, but a lot of sound engineers I know use it with their clients and swear by it.

[_Paul]

Wetransfer does 2Gb as well without registration ( https://wetransfer.com/ )

[roflmao]

I've been using Dropbox for awhile now and I love it.  The more people you refer, the more space you get.

(Shameless referral link: http://db.tt/RDCfgbH)

I use it to share project files with co-workers/clients, to sync files between the laptop and the desktop, and I've created a custom home page with my most commonly used links and a couple google widgets that I can access from any browser (handy!).

[SamIAm]

No news, really, except that Esperknight continues to chip away at the hacking side. I decided to lay off bugging him too much for a while, but I'm thinking about changing that.

[CrackTiger]

No news, really, except that Esperknight continues to chip away at the hacking side. I decided to lay off bugging him too much for a while, but I'm thinking about changing that.

Thanks for the update. I did my best not to bug you about it, but it has been on my mind.

[Arjak]

Hey, SamIAm! How are things going with the project? Has much progress been made in the past month? I just gave the preliminary dub of the intro another listen and it got me wondering...

By the way, if you need help beta testing, let me know. I have some experience in such matters...

[SamIAm]

As far as I can tell, it's coming. With the script done, it's pretty much out of my hands, but Esperknight checks in with me about his progress every week or so.

Meanwhile, I've worked on TMII a good bit. Also, a friend of mine and I just finished making Japanese subtitles for The Thief and the Cobbler: Re-cobbled Cut, which is exciting. We're going to do sketches from Chappelle's Show next.

[SamIAm]

Just so you know, it's not dead. From Esperknight:

You know I think I forgot to give you the newest update huh?  Last time I emailed you was on the 28th of last month (damn time flies...)  I did successfully reinsert a test block and it works great now   Figured out the block after it wasn't needed any longer so I can overwrite it (yay).  So now I just need to start inserting text   Soon enough ;D

[Arjak]

Good to hear that this thing is still going! I was going to ask how things were, but decided to wait; it seems my patience was rewarded.

So, the script is ready for reinsertion, huh? Does that mean this project is nearing completion?

Also, you mentioned getting some work done on Manjimaru in your previous post; how is that going?

[SamIAm]

I've done some work on Manjimaru, but I've also been spending my time working on subtitle projects for independent movies. I'll talk more about Manjimaru once LOX2 is finished.

The script is basically ready, but whether or not everything is near completion is debatable. Reinsertion is actually going to take a while, even though we've got some text working already, because we apparently can't just automate the process; it's got to be done by hand, to a degree. If Esperknight pops around, he can probably give more details. I don't really have a hand in the hacking side to speak of.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Very excited about both of these project!
I originally heard about these projects from my brother, who is apparently one of the actors for the LOX2 fan dub.

Always ready for some Falcom/RED company goodness, keep on rockin SamIAm and Esperknight!

[dairugger]

i cannot express how excited i am for this game!, major thanks to everyone whos making it possible.

[SamIAm]

As of last night, all text-compression/decompression hacking is complete. If the wind stays behind Esperknight's sails, there may be some very good news soon. If you know him, send Esperknight an email and tell him he's awesome.

The project is far from dead. I swear, as soon as the hacking side is complete, I'll polish the script, play-test the crap out of it, and get this thing done. I'm dying to finish it.

[esteban]

This is very promising news

[Arjak]

Yay! I was starting to get worried about this! Great news, SamIAm!

BTW, is there any chance of seeing a YouTube video previewing the patch? I think it would be great to see the opening cutscenes completely finished to whet our appetites...

[SamIAm]

Honestly, by the time the hacking is done to such an extent that the text looks presentable, the patch is going follow almost immediately after anyway. Remember that minus a couple undumped scraps, the script is finished, and there's no battle engine and virtually no menu hacking to be done. If Esperknight emailed me tomorrow and said the script is inserted and the dialogue displays correctly, plus gave me the last pieces to translate, we could have a final version out in two weeks.

If for some reason there is a delay, I'll think about it.

[SignOfZeta]

You should release a beta in case you get hit by a bus or something and the project gets cancelled.

[BigusSchmuck]

You should release a beta in case you get hit by a bus or something and the project gets cancelled.

Would be nice now wouldn't it? The fact that there might be a patch in less then a year is a record!

[ParanoiaDragon]

Maybe atleast release it to a few select people you feel you trust, incase something happens.  They keep it on ice, & if something happens, then they can release it if there's no other choice?

[Burnt Lasagna]

You should release a beta in case you get hit by a bus or something and the project gets cancelled.

Would be nice now wouldn't it? The fact that there might be a patch in less then a year is a record!

I can tell you right now this won't happen.
Really pumped for this translation though!

[SamIAm]

Oh man, Esperknight put in some serious hours again yesterday, and we're damned close to having English displaying in the game. It sounds like it's showing up, but it needs a bit of tweaking. His last email basically explained that he's making an automated inserter, which I believe will make script revision a piece of cake. Once he finishes the inserter and puts my current script in, I can start play-testing. I'm really excited!

Here's what's left to do before things are finished:

Esperknight's side:
Create auto-inserter and insert script.
Hack menu (appears easy)
Dump remaining dialogue
Set up variable-width font (optional)
Hack end-credits (optional)

My side:
Finish mixing fan-dub
Translate remaining dialogue/item descriptions/misc. stuff
Polish script to glossy shine

I also expect to do most of the play testing, partially because after editing the script once in text-file form, I want to do further edits based on how it looks as it appears in the game.

Anyway, keep those fingers crossed, guys!

[Burnt Lasagna]

[SamIAm]

Esperknight has been putting in good time and is making progress.

The original script dump that I worked on contained all kinds of mysterious junk-text mixed in with the Japanese text. In the process of dealing with compression and making his inserter, Esperknight got to the point where he understood enough to modify his old program and produce a totally clean script-dump from one section of the game. This was just last night, actually. It may not seem like much, but it shows that we're close to getting things inserted properly. It sounds like there are just a few more pointer issues to be solved.

Maybe I'll prod him to come around here and give an update from his perspective.

EDIT: Got a screenshot! I'll keep it under my hat for now (it's a bit rough), but I can assure you that we've got English displaying in the game.

[ParanoiaDragon]

And to show my rejoicing, I shall agree with Burnt Lasagna!!

[dairugger]

This is awesome news! I cant wait to finally play this game.

[Bernie]

Seen the comment NightWolve made over at the ME forums recently, so it does appear that this thing is approaching fast.  Thanks to all involved! 

[shawnji]

I'm pretty excited at the prospect of playing through Legend of Xanadu II in English.  I'm slowly working my way through the first one at the moment, and even with decent Japanese ability, I still get bogged down reading through all that text as my mind still doesn't process it nearly as fast as it would with English.  It's always much easier to just kick back and enjoy playing through something in your native tongue.  Thanks for all your hard work on this SamIAm!

[Arjak]

Bump.

How are things going SamIAm? We haven't heard from you in a while.

[SamIAm]

Well, things stand pretty much as they have for a while. There's not a lot for me to do until Esperknight either inserts the script we have or dumps the last pieces that we don't have. He did some good work toward insertion in January, and he has recently gotten some of the stuff we were missing before. It's not quite enough for me to do anything yet, though.

Esperknight has a full-time job and a family, not to mention other hobbies, so it's rare for him to spend more than a couple of hours a week on hacking games. What's more, he's the type of person who prefers to keep several projects going at once, so I think I wind up with some fraction of that time for this and Zeroigar. I send him an email every day to make sure we don't lose touch and to encourage him. Just yesterday, he made some pretty concrete progress on Zeroigar. Before long, I hope we can finally get that 100% dump for Xanadu II, and a fully functional inserter.

Here is what he sent me a couple months ago. This screenshot shows how we still don't have punctuation working yet. There are other issues to overcome as well. Anyway, it's still pretty neat.

[Bernie]

Nice.  I will be glad to finally be able to play this game.

[SamIAm]

Believe it or not, Esperknight and I still email each other about this a few times a week. Steady progress is being made, whatever the pace.

This has been a far more difficult game to hack than I anticipated. I won't bore you with details or tease you with promises of results soon, but I will say that I'm feeling good about the progress I've seen recently.

To give you a little idea of how much a pain in the ass this is, I had to play Xanadu II in an emulator and make savestates at every last event dialogue in the entire game so we could get a proper and complete dump of the script. That was last month. The current dumper is now getting all the script, but there's still more to be done.

Don't worry, though. It's happening.

[Arjak]

Thanks for the update. As long as progress is being made and it gets done eventually, I'm happy.

[Arjak]

Just thought I'd bump this thread to remind people of the project's existence...

BTW, SamIAm, how are things going? Not too hectic, I hope.

[esteban]

Just thought I'd bump this thread to remind people of the project's existence...

BTW, SamIAm, how are things going? Not too hectic, I hope.

SILVER LINING TO DELAYS: Now I don't feel so bad for not finishing the translated LoX II manual yet. I think it is safe to say that the translated game and manual will be released simultaneously .

[SamIAm]

I had a super-busy July and first half of August, but things are settling down, and I'm hoping to get back in the habit of working on this with Esperknight.

It's really mostly hacking that has to be done. Again, Esperknight is a guy for whom this hobby is something he does for a few hours every month, and that's the kind of pace we're talking about. He does make progress, it's just slow. Maybe I can inspire him to put in another burst of effort like he did in January, but no promises.

There is one more big task for me to do, and it kind of sucks. The first dump was a little fucked up and loaded with junk characters, and second dump, which is done properly, is so different that we can't whip up a program to automatically copy the translated lines from the first one. In other words, I have to manually search, copy and paste every line. This only takes slightly less time than retranslating the entire thing. It's mighty tedious.

I'm still working on Princess Crown, by the way. It's coming along. I'll see about getting Bazaru Degozaru done, too.

[esteban]

I'm still working on Princess Crown, by the way. It's coming along. I'll see about getting Bazaru Degozaru done, too.

Continue fighting the good fight, comrade. We appreciate all the work and effort you put into this.

[Burnt Lasagna]

I'll see about getting Bazaru Degozaru done, too.

Awesome! As soon as I get some translation materiel I'll start working more on this project 

Also, don't know if this is entirely appropriate for this thread, but did anything ever come of Spriggan Mark 2? I know Bonknuts (Tom) was doing the hacking and he sort of dropped off of the rom hacking scene in recent months due to some personal issues.

[SamIAm]

The translation side of Spriggan Mark 2 is completely finished. Bonknuts's inserter is also totally finished and AFAIK he made a test version of the game that's completely in English.

However, the cutscenes are another matter. Again, the translation is finished, but the hacking is a big challenge. There's the option of doing a dub, which as you know, is quite an ordeal. Otherwise, I think he's leaning toward making subtitles. I could be wrong, but I think whether that's easy or difficult was going to depend on whether there's enough space in the main CPU RAM for a print routine and enough in the video RAM for a font. If not, some serious work would be required.

Bonknuts did have some personal things come up, and I can't blame him for putting this kind of thing aside while he takes care of what he needs to. I really hope he finishes it, though, because I know it's a game he loves.

[Burnt Lasagna]

Hm, I'm guessing Spriggan Mark 2 has most, if not all, voices as ADPCM, not Redbook? I've never looked at it so I can't say for my self. If it was all Redbook, like Xanadu II, then it might be cleaner to dub it. I would imagine hacking in a subtitling system would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

However if anyone could pull it off it would be Bonknuts, his knowledge of the inner machinations of the PCE is quite unprecedented. Though in the long run I don't know if subtitling it would be any less of an ordeal then dubbing it. I guess it's completely up to him on what he prefers and what road he wants to take with the project.

[Arjak]

If a dub for Spriggan does happen, let me know. I'd love to try out!

[Bardoly]

Just discovered and read through this entire thread, and this looks great!  I hope that work is still progressing (even if the pace be slow).

[burn_654]

Likewise - I would definitely try out for a dub. I missed the boat for the Ys IV dub due to some life changes (moving etc.) but would love to get in on such a project.