Mystery of the Emblem Translation Patch

[Devon_v]

Having two people working on this could get complicated. I'm currently going over KiddoCabbusses's dialog script, changing the square braces into asterisks *like this* for the existing changes, and using curly braces for any new changes I make, {like this}. I'm also adding comment lines for each change, marked with a double pound (##). These extend off of the lines they refer to, and are completely confined to that line, and are best viewed without word wrapping so that they don't mess up the formatting. They should also be easily removed, and best of all, using the search function to find "##" allows all of the changes to be previewed quickly. My changes are explained, Kiddo's I left blank, but they can still be searched.

Edit:
Changed my mind slightly. I don't like the asterisks, they don't stand out well, and I don't know why I was bothering to visually differentiate Kiddo's edits from my own. They are all using curly braces now.

Example:

Code:

1 I detest fighting, but if I don’t {cooperate,} they’ll execute{} me. ## Fixed the tense on "executed".

[KiddoCabbusses]

On the note of script changes, Now that I'm awake again I should check to see if I messed up anywhere in my own reviising attempts...

I think I might've forgotten to note a few punctuations I changed. I should check that. Hrm.

[Devon_v]

This would be easier if we had a Wiki...

Do you want to hold off until I finish my pass though Book 1? Then you could at least edit what I've edited, rather than having four versions of the script already after one day's work.


Also, do you know why your version of the script is almost twice the (file) size of the original? I thought that you had added tonnes of stuff, but all I've seen are corrections and minor edits.

[VincentASM is too important to have a messed up name]

Also, do you know why your version of the script is almost twice the (file) size of the original? I thought that you had added tonnes of stuff, but all I've seen are corrections and minor edits.

That probably occurs because by saving it as a .txt file, the text has become stored as ASCII instead of Unicode (I think). Basically the original file stored each character in one byte, but the .txt file stores each in two bytes instead and hence the file size doubling).

However, I don't think you need to worry about that. Despite the different storage, the text is the same (hopefully- sometimes special symbols get screwed up) and that's all the matters ^^

A wiki would be a good idea. I'll see what I can do, although I'm kind of busy at the moment.

[Devon_v]

Ah, that makes sense. I don't see anything screwy, even the few remaining Japanese strings are fine.

[Devon_v]

Okay, I've posted my progress through Book 1 of the dialog dump. I went a little ways into Book 2, until I caught up with my current chapter. I know there's still Book 1 text that's jumbled in with the Book 2 stuff, but I didn't want to spoil anything.

I replaced all of the square braces marking edits in the first forth or so of the dump (the contiguous Book 1 stuff) with curly braces, and I commented (##) every edit that I found or made therein. Some of mine contain detailed explanations of my changes, and my reasoning for them.

I added one completely new line of text to the script. It's clearly marked just in case the inserter will explode or something.


KiddoCabbusses, I edited a few of your lines in Book 1. They're all commented, so you can read my thoughts on them. I completely re-wrote your complete re-write of Garnef's death text, but I left your whole version in the comments so that Vincent can see both of them. I agree that it needed changing, but I had a different take on it

The file is here:
http://users.erols.com/faraone/FE3writing_rev2.txt

I named it rev2 to keep track of the version. We should keep incrementing the number after we make edits to keep track of which is more recent.


I'll start on the Book 1 chapter intros now.

Edit:
Ack! There are no carriage returns in that dump! It's like opening a UNIX text file in Notepad. I'll live with it.
Actually, would anything bad happen if I reformatted it to be more human readable?

[RPGuy96]

It's like opening a UNIX text file in Notepad.

That would be because it *is* opening a UNIX text file in Notepad.  :p

And, yeah, you can add those silly carriage returns if you like, I can always convert back to sensible newlines.  Wordpad (I think) is aware that UNIX uses just \n, so you could use that instead, as well.

[Devon_v]

That would be because it *is* opening a UNIX text file in Notepad.  :p

And, yeah, you can add those silly carriage returns if you like, I can always convert back to sensible newlines.  Wordpad (I think) is aware that UNIX uses just \n, so you could use that instead, as well.

Yes, Wordpad is aware of newlines. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to understand unicode punctuation. I can use Wordpad to read the text easier, and make the edits to Notepad though.

Edit:
Hmm... I think I have to add the carriage returns, because Notepad will probably strip the newlines. Even Textpad doesn't display the punctuation correctly. Odd that Notepad, of all of them, is the only one that does.

Edit again:
This isn't working. Notepad is trying to interpret the newlines, and they ARE in there, but it won't actually display them. It's just making the formatting a nightmare. I'm going to use Wordpad, and just leave the existing punctuation alone. If it becomes a problem, I can redo all the punctuation.

After all these years, Windows still can't work with UNIX text...

[KiddoCabbusses]

Thanks for helping, Devon. You're already spotting some things I didn't think of. Hah.

[RPGuy96]

New patch: v.971.  Download link at the first post, as per usual, and here's the changelog (also at the first post):
- Fixed getting weapons and items from enemies in battle.  It used to say:
{enemy}
{weapon} had
{character}
{weapon} get
Now it says:
{enemy}
had a {weapon}.
{character}
took the {weapon}.
I need to find an enemy that drops gold to check if I fixed that as well.
- Fixed various battle strings to fit within the alloted space.
- Fixed NoMount terrain description - applies to "Floor" rather than "Corridr"
- Fixed buying weapons/items for storage - prints out "{weapon} was sent to storage."
- Fixed extra characters printing on the select file menu.
- Truncated character names to 6 characters on Item and Select preparation screens.  This gets rid of the 7th character refusing to erase when moving between screens; however, only five characters get "highlighted."  Still working on that.

EDIT: Oh, and I have a philosophical question, too.  What do you guys think about the "release early, release often" approach that Vincent and I took versus the traditional "release when it's done" approach to romhacking?

[KiddoCabbusses]

I'll check on this new release shortly.

As for the philosophy on ROM translations, my view is "It's never done", so release it when it's "presentable". Where "presentable" is somewhere between "it's about translated enough to be playable" and "There's really only a few small things left to do." For example, I wouldn't want a delay on a translation just for a Title Screen hack. On the other hand, I don't want something that's so rushed that it's no easier to play than the JP version.

Noting that I first saw this on version .97, I think that was pretty close to my "Sweet spot".

On the note of philosophical questions, how about the question of whether to change things to conform with previous official localizations? Of course, sometimes that's actually very case-by-case... but like, in this game, for example:

Would we change some classes? "Social Knight" to "Cavalier"? "Sister" to "Cleric"? "Dragon Knight" to "Wyvern Rider"? Would the "Berserker" in Book 3 be changed because it doesn't fit with the "Berserker" in English FE games? (Not assuming that's gonna happen, but I think I'd find it funny if he was renamed "Villain" or ironic if he was called "SuperHero")

And weapons... "Killer Edge"? "Armorslayer"? "Wyrmslayer"? (Actually, in the context of this game, the latter might not work so well...?) (And on the note of the Gradius, I keep thinking "KONAMI CODE" when I read it. lol. But on the other hand, "Gladius" does not work because that is a sword and not a lance, even though I think that was probably meant to be what it's name was...)

I honestly don't hold that big an opinion on that (I feel that in the case of a fan translation, flavor and personality are more important. Some of my revising of lines tries to reflect that.), but I think the question should be asked to gather more input.

(And on a random note, I reaaaalllly want to re-write the line where Marth says "We can't bring horses or Pegasi in the castle" because I SERIOUSLY want to scream at him "UH, MARTH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS IN THE GAME IS RUNNING AWAY FROM YOU AND YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT HOW SMELLY YOUR CASTLE WILL BE WHEN YOU RETURN TO IT LATER ON?"

Pretty please? I just really want to make it sound less like "Marth's an idiot")

[VincentASM is too important to have a messed up name]

Would we change some classes? "Social Knight" to "Cavalier"? "Sister" to "Cleric"? "Dragon Knight" to "Wyvern Rider"? Would the "Berserker" in Book 3 be changed because it doesn't fit with the "Berserker" in English FE games? (Not assuming that's gonna happen, but I think I'd find it funny if he was renamed "Villain" or ironic if he was called "SuperHero")

And weapons... "Killer Edge"? "Armorslayer"? "Wyrmslayer"? (Actually, in the context of this game, the latter might not work so well...?) (And on the note of the Gradius, I keep thinking "KONAMI CODE" when I read it. lol. But on the other hand, "Gladius" does not work because that is a sword and not a lance, even though I think that was probably meant to be what it's name was...)

Personally I'd like to keep all the names un-localised. I thought it was okay for FE6, but that was since it's only one step down from FE7/the English FEs.

Berserker is definitely staying. I wouldn't want to cause needless problems, in the rare case that the name I invent is suddenly used in a new FE. As for Gradius, I do admit it does remind me of the game, but I think it's fine ^^

(And on a random note, I reaaaalllly want to re-write the line where Marth says "We can't bring horses or Pegasi in the castle" because I SERIOUSLY want to scream at him "UH, MARTH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS IN THE GAME IS RUNNING AWAY FROM YOU AND YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT HOW SMELLY YOUR CASTLE WILL BE WHEN YOU RETURN TO IT LATER ON?"

Pretty please? I just really want to make it sound less like "Marth's an idiot")

I'm afraid not XD

Also, I don't think I've mentioned it, but I'll take a look at the script revisions much later (not like a month or anything though hopefully). I'm kind of busy with numerous things right now, but I'm always here to comment and answer questions ^^;;;

[Devon_v]

New patch: v.971.

Neat! I do have one more fix to suggest. Considering the amount of time I spend in the arena, I don't know why I had't reported this yet. The text overruns the popup for the round number. It seems like a simple (I think) fix, as the text says "Round. #". I don't see the point in that period, and without it, the text would fit the box.

EDIT: Oh, and I have a philosophical question, too.  What do you guys think about the "release early, release often" approach that Vincent and I took versus the traditional "release when it's done" approach to romhacking?

I like it. I wouldn't be part way though Book 2 if you hadn't done it this way. Besides, the game was fully playable when you released the patch.

Personally I'd like to keep all the names un-localised. I thought it was okay for FE6, but that was since it's only one step down from FE7/the English FEs.

Any thoughts on Nintendo's "official" Monsho no Nazo translations in SSB:B? The ones I noticed at least were:

Sheeda=Shiida
Aritia=Altea
Mediuth=Medeus
Durhua=Doluna
Demon Dragon=Shadow Dragon?

Perhaps there are more, but this is all I saw. (The data comes from Marth's classic trophy, Sheeda's sticker, and the map/battle theme medly CD "Shadow Dragon Medly". "Shadow Dragon" may or may not be referring to Mediuth/Medeus, as Marth's trophy calls him the "Dark Dragon".)

I'm afraid not

You probably won't like several of my edits then. I'm firmly in the Woolsey camp, given the choice between what the Japanese says and something similar but better in English, the edit is going to win every time with me.

[KiddoCabbusses]

Brawl is generally inconsistant with non-US release Fire Emblem names and the like.

I ponder if we'll ever know whether they're gonna stick to "Sword of Seals" or "Binding Blade".

(also, the Brawl name translations were too literal compared to the translation precedent Fire Emblem, Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn had, which adjusts names to sound more Medival-fantasy-like. It lacked consistency.)

And on the note of that Arena overflow, it made me realize, I think "Start From Last Save?" also looked a tad on the glitched side. Could that have an overflow as well...?

[VincentASM is too important to have a messed up name]

Sheeda=Shiida
Aritia=Altea
Mediuth=Medeus
Durhua=Doluna
Demon Dragon=Shadow Dragon?

Perhaps there are more, but this is all I saw. (The data comes from Marth's classic trophy, Sheeda's sticker, and the map/battle theme medly CD "Shadow Dragon Medly". "Shadow Dragon" may or may not be referring to Mediuth/Medeus, as Marth's trophy calls him the "Dark Dragon".)

I'm definitely going to ignore them, pretty much for the reasons KiddoCabbusses described.

You probably won't like several of my edits then. I'm firmly in the Woolsey camp, given the choice between what the Japanese says and something similar but better in English, the edit is going to win every time with me.

No, I think those sound fine : o

When I meant not re-writing a line, I kind of referred to more radical things, like removing them altogether. I'd prefer not to omit anything or majorly change any dialogue.

[KiddoCabbusses]

When I meant not re-writing a line, I kind of referred to more radical things, like removing them altogether. I'd prefer not to omit anything or majorly change any dialogue.

B-b-b-b-but I don't want Marth to sound like a complete moron. Being naive enough to fall into obvious traps is enough

I feel the "We can't let horses or Pegasi in the castle" line should be rewritten because it sounds preposterous that Marth would not even think of breaking that gameplay rule for the sake of grabbing something important from a running thief. At the very least, he should have a better reason than "videogame logic."

(Of course, I also think the4 gameplay rule in general is silly, but at least before that point it didn't sound like it was completely stupid.)

[KiddoCabbusses]

Excuse the double-posting, but, since I got around to test this Savestate so that it worked with the new patch, here it is:

http://kiddocabbusses.nothingforfree.com/FE3stuff/FE3vsMediuthSNES9XSavestate.005

I've made this SNES9X v. 1.51 savestate for you people who didn't get what I meant by that ending part after the character rollcall. It should let you guys see what I was talking about.

For reference, using my mad-savestate-abuse skills, all my characters are not only alive, but way overpowered. All the sisters are saved, and Mediuth can be killed in a single turn abusing dancing, the Again Staff, The Falchion, the Miracle, and Mist Breath. And more than likely, you won't need all of them.

(EDIT: oh, dur! It's a version 1.1 ROM by the way, if for some reason this doesn't work with 1.0 ones.)

[RPGuy96]

Huh.  Found that and dumped the text, but I was missing a few Kanji so I poked around Pegasus Knight trying to find them.  Turns out that only shows up if you play through both books and all 45 characters are recruited/survive.  A perfect ending, if you will, so congrats on getting it.  Anyway, the Japanese text has been shipped off to Vincent and the game doesn't appear to do anything tricky with it so it should be fairly easy to reinsert once it's translated.

[KiddoCabbusses]

Hey, no congratulating cheaters. ;P

I didn't realize there was a perfect ending. My desire to let all my characters live is mostly just compulsive and sympathetic to video game characters. Well, either way, I hope that helps you.

BTW, you can do a soft-reset and also see my other savefiles. You can use that to see the last map of Book 1.

Book 2's Last Map save file has a Kanji in it, I think. Probably means "Final" or "Last" or whatever it would be? That could probably be changed.

[AceNoctali]

Just a note to say, that I translated the Perfect Ending last year, it's available in English on Vincent's site and in French on my website.