Having easy, efficient, and accurate scripts for the Xanadus is a major plus.
Absolutely!
Here's one short example of EsperKnight's Xanadu 2 script extraction, which is done in a format that's compatible with the generic "Atlas" rom-hacking tool.
<$13><$FF><$03>
// Pos : 0DE1
// Ptr : A488
#EMBSET($0000001D)
//する者を救いたいという
<EL>
<$13><$FF><$06><$40><$54>
//たのために
<EL>
<$13><$FF><$04><$8E><$84>
//の力を授けましょう。
<PAUSE>Here are exactly the same 3 lines in the current format that was designed specifically for Falcom's scripting language.
_move_cursor_yx( $ff, $03 )
{愛する者を救いたいという}*
_move_cursor_yx( $ff, $06 )
{あなたのために}*
_move_cursor_yx( $ff, $04 )
{私の力を授けましょう。}
_wait_for_keypress_then_clear()I hope that most people would agree that the 2nd version is a bit more readable (and so easier to translate).
It also shows that the Atlas format is hiding the fact that EsperKnight had mis-calculated the size of the _move_cursor_yx() script command, and that he was chopping off the first 2 bytes of each line of text.
That's the reason that IMHO, custom tools are an important part of any complex translation project ... which gets back to the need for programmer-help when working on some games.
I shouldn't have been all "Gimme, gimme, gimme" to Esperknight, and rather should have patiently pushed through all the steps to get one really nice script. Although on the other hand, as much as I like the guy, I'm afraid progress might have gone dormant without a single word being translated if I had asked him to get that far before doing anything myself.
That's a huge factor that we've briefly mentioned before ... team motivation, and how to keep everything moving forward when things get tough.
You're absolutely correct, of course ... it's almost impossible to keep motivated when you're needing one person (the programmer in this case) to do months-and-months of unpaid weekends (after a hard working week), all without seeing much visible progress.
Having a good partnership, and knowing that the other guy/gal is also working hard on the project, is an important factor in keeping up the willingness to put in the many hours of hard work when you'd probably prefer to be doing something else.
In the specific case of the Xanadus ... it was my knowing that there was already a huge amount of translated English script data waiting for me, that made it worthwhile to spend the man-months of time that it required to actually understand how the game was put together, and create the custom-tools that it needed.
