That Tobias f--k went after Xak III and SO II as pressed CD-ROM releases!

[Necromancer]

Some of you translator peeps have odd priorities. 

[Tw3ek]

I don't think it's odd priorities as much as it is you don't want to put all your time and effort into something only to have it immediately stolen and making someone else a boatload of money. Stuff like that, especially for things like RPGs takes an incredible amount of time, so for someone to rip it off right away is maddening.

[Necromancer]

I believe necro was ribbing on Elmer for the pc98 and x68000 love.

That's definitely part of it, but it's also that they (elmer's not the first to say such things) are more worried about the few people that would buy/sell translations than the vast majority, those that truly appreciate the work that goes into them and will tell Tobias (et al) to get f*cked.  So who exactly are they making the translations for?  It can't be for themselves or the 'good guys', not primarily anyway.

[SignOfZeta]

If people who translate 20 year old video games for free had normal priorities they wouldn't be doing that sort of thing in the first place.

I agree that it shouldn't matter what some a$$hole does with the patch, it has zero affect on those it was intended for, but it's hard to accept that when it's your work.

I suppose we could just produce decent bootlegs of it ourselves for like $6 a piece or whatever and...see what happens...see what excuses noobs come up with to keep buying Tobias's shit.

It wouldn't have to come with Adol's silver cock ring or whatever, just a CD in a case with art.

[seieienbu]

I can't say that I would blame you if someone stealing your work and selling it for personal gain would dissuade you from continuing.  The way I see it, it's less about everyone buying them and more about the one guy selling them. 

Also, there are possibly more legal ramifications if something is being sold than something is merely available for free but I'm no lawyer so I wouldn't know anything about that.

[esteban]

If people who translate 20 year old video games for free had normal priorities they wouldn't be doing that sort of thing in the first place.

I agree that it shouldn't matter what some a$$hole does with the patch, it has zero affect on those it was intended for, but it's hard to accept that when it's your work.

I suppose we could just produce decent bootlegs of it ourselves for like $6 a piece or whatever and...see what happens...see what excuses noobs come up with to keep buying Tobias's shit.

It wouldn't have to come with Adol's silver cock ring or whatever, just a CD in a case with art.

I have no interest in Adol's cock ring, but anal beads are a different story.

I think we could still hit the $6-8 price point for CD+case+inserts+anal beads (as long as folks don't object to me recycling my used anal beads).

Obviously, we'll claim that a string of Roda Nuts were the inspiration for the tchotchke.

[xelement5x]

I can easily see the frustration though, you work years on something and pour your heart into it to share something you enjoy with others, and what happens except some tool turns around takes the whole thing slaps it in a shiny packages and starts making money off it. 

If you release something intentionally with the hope that it not be distributed a certain way and it still happens then why shouldn't you be upset.  The people who supposedly value your work apparently don't appreciate it enough to listen to your desire for how it should be distributed free of charge and without being printed. 

[TheOldMan]

The dub itself will be released under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial-Use license.

Talk to a lawyer. If he sells copies, that is against the licensing terms, and a cease and desist can be sent - both to him and wherever he's selling it. Also lock-down the terms of use for all the voice tracks; if everyone agrees to give you the rights, you can start a coyright suit for the audio (which he has no rights to)

Not that that will stop him.

[elmer]

I suppose we could just produce decent bootlegs of it ourselves for like $6 a piece or whatever and...see what happens...see what excuses noobs come up with to keep buying Tobias's shit.

I believe that SamIAm and I have already talked about that in other threads, and are in agreement that it's something that we'd really prefer not happen ... and it wouldn't have any effect on what Tobias chooses to do, anyway.

Really, I shouldn't have brought this up now ... it's just a huge downer at a time when I should be concentrating on the dub.

[Keith Courage]

I'm not a programmer so completely understandable if this would be a pain in the ass. I've always wondered how difficult it would be to add a disclaimer screen to the intro of any fan translated game saying that if you've paid for this translation then you've been hosed.

[elmer]

I'm not a programmer so completely understandable if this would be a pain in the ass. I've always wondered how difficult it would be to add a disclaimer screen to the intro of any fan translated game saying that if you've paid for this translation then you've been hosed.

It would be a huge technical PITA to do it in a way that would make it difficult to remove ... but it's possible.

The thing is, it would be not only ugly, but also rather pointless, since Tobias has already figured out how to neuter that strategy.

He just has to sell customers reproductions of the original Japanese games, and then optionally allow them to add a "free" copy of the English translation to their purchase, as an act of pure generosity on his part.

The end-result is the same ... he's basically charged people for English translation, but it's been done in a round about way that purchasers would feel good about ... probably even a lot of people here.

It would also technically get around any licensing restrictions for the dub ... or there would at-least be a good argument to make that it does, that would require expensive legal battles to litigate.

He knows this, and he already did it with Dracula X.

[Gypsy]

The end-result is the same ... he's basically charged people for English translation, but it's been done in a round about way that purchasers would feel good about ... probably even a lot of people here.

It would also technically get around any licensing restrictions for the dub ... or there would at-least be a good argument to make that it does, that would require expensive legal battles to litigate.

He knows this, and he already did it with Dracula X.

I wouldn't feel good about giving Tobias one damn cent. Of course, I speak only for myself.

Anyway, I will also add, I totally appreciate the awesome work you, Sam and anyone else involved are doing here. I look forward to playing these games. \m/

[Johnpv]

I will say this if you guys decided to have your own copies pressed I would gladly support it.  I guess the point is that I would not have an issue with throwing money your guys way for what you've done.  There's so many awesome games that did not come to our shores that I would love to play. 

[esteban]

I will say this if you guys decided to have your own copies pressed I would gladly support it.  I guess the point is that I would not have an issue with throwing money your guys way for what you've done.  There's so many awesome games that did not come to our shores that I would love to play.

It shouldn't surprise you that most of the folks who work on translations/dubs do *not* want to be involved in any scheme that prints/presses/mints physical copies, let alone charges any money for *anything* (even charging for shipping would soil the entire endeavor).

The motives must be unrelentingly non-profit, otherwise, they wouldn't have committed to the translation/dub in the first place.

This is why Tobias (and his ilk) are such opportunistic, parasitical douchebags—his actions only help collectards who want a trophy (now!), whilst demoralizing the few folks who have the skills, time and desire to pursue future PCE projects.

[seieienbu]

This is why Tobias (and his ilk) are such opportunistic, parasitical douchebags—his actions only help collectards who want a trophy (now!), whilst demoralizing the few folks who have the skills, time and desire to pursue future PCE projects.

This is the crux of the matter imo.  I've had games for 20 years that I would like to one day see in English.  The PC Engine isn't exactly the SNES over here with fan groups champing at the bit to find something new to translate.  The top tier SNES stuff was finished ages ago and now random stuff gets English translation patches.  Meanwhile fantastic PC Engine games go untranslated forever.  When people do step up their works get marginalized by a profiteering jerk ending in people being potentially less interested in continuing work on the platform.

If Tobias wasn't self serving but was actually doing this for the love of PCE he would see that making a profit now means fewer translations later.