Legend of Xanadu II Translation Patch announced!

[SamIAm]

I'm all for just focusing on Xanadu II and Spriggan MK2 for now, so don't worry too much about anything else I write.

The special 3.0+ card idea sounds reasonable to me. On the one hand, I'd hate to put anyone off from playing a translation just because they didn't/couldn't get their hands on the special system card. On the other, if it turns the hacking side from a nightmare into a breeze, I think it's quite practical. Years keep rolling by with no major PCE RPG translation. If this changes that, then go for it.

Xanadu I is one of the most entertainingly written games I've played on the system, and by cracking Xanadu II Esperknight has already solved half the hacking problems. I'd love to translate it. However, it would seem that the 256k of RAM is packed very tightly based on how the game only loads once per chapter. Extra RAM could make a huge difference in that case. Tengai Makyo II has this same problem, I think.

What good 2.0 RPGs are there? Those could be expanded to ordinary 3.0, right? Tengai Makyo 1 is being done by Esperknight and another guy. One that looks interesting to me is Tenshi no Uta 1. The sequel gets really high reviews, too, and it's one that I intend to play soon.

EDIT: Oops, Tenshi no Uta 1 is also a 3.0 game. Damn.

Finally, about Gulliver Boy. I started playing it last weekend, and it's really good. Also, it's built to use the Arcade Card from the get-go to minimize disc accesses. I understand about the extra memory only being able to be accessed indirectly, but is it maybe possible for this particular game to use the extra Arcade Card memory for English script? It seems worth checking.

There's the Saturn port of Gulliver Boy, which is pretty much a straight port AFAIK, and would probably be easier to hack because there's almost got to be leftover RAM. The compression might be easier, too. But Gulliver Boy on the PCE is Hudson's swan-song RPG, the culmination of everything they learned to do for the system. On the Saturn, it's very much just another game. I'd love to see it done for PCE.

[Djangoo2]

I was talking with Dave Shadoff about continuing Dead of the Brain, but I need a translator for both games. Since there is no English translation for the first (the French translation does not help me), that would all be done from scratch. I've got some people in mind to do the translation, but I'm still working with them on other projects and the time is not yet right. Basically I would redump all the scripts and setup my own insertion system.

I'd also love to do or at least help with doing the PCE CD version of Emerald Dragon. I know the SNES version's translator, Eien ni Hen, and she'd be down to translate any other version of the game.

Esper sent me the WIP of Xanadu II, but I keep telling him to do a font hack or at least contact BonkNuts. Esper has a VWF routine that he's used for his various projects, but it doesn't work on hardware. It works on Mednafen though, which complicates the issue.

[SamIAm]

Dave Shadoff and I worked on the PCE version of Emerald Dragon. He extracted the script, and I translated about 60% of it. See this post for details

I could be persuaded to finish the translation on two conditions: One, a hacker would have to show some serious interest, including actual work done, and two, somebody else would have to take care of playtest editing. That's one game I really don't feel like playing again.

[shubibiman]

I was talking with Dave Shadoff about continuing Dead of the Brain, but I need a translator for both games. Since there is no English translation for the first (the French translation does not help me), that would all be done from scratch. I've got some people in mind to do the translation, but I'm still working with them on other projects and the time is not yet right. Basically I would redump all the scripts and setup my own insertion system.

I'd also love to do or at least help with doing the PCE CD version of Emerald Dragon. I know the SNES version's translator, Eien ni Hen, and she'd be down to translate any other version of the game.

Esper sent me the WIP of Xanadu II, but I keep telling him to do a font hack or at least contact BonkNuts. Esper has a VWF routine that he's used for his various projects, but it doesn't work on hardware. It works on Mednafen though, which complicates the issue.

Why redo everything from scratch ? The script for insertion already exists and, as I said here earlier, it wouldn't take too long for me to translate from french to english (I'm the one who made the french translation).

There are things I just don't get.

[Dicer]

Dave Shadoff and I worked on the PCE version of Emerald Dragon. He extracted the script, and I translated about 60% of it. See this post for details

I could be persuaded to finish the translation on two conditions: One, a hacker would have to show some serious interest, including actual work done, and two, somebody else would have to take care of playtest editing. That's one game I really don't feel like playing again.

If you get to that point, I'd certianly give that a go, wouldn't be my first..would be my first in a long time, but I'd like to help any project I can.

[Bonknuts]

Regarding doing anything for translations; I'm completely swamped with trying to handle/manage my time for this semester. I'm still trying to schedule it all efficiently. I have some immediate life needs that have to be managed in as well (major motorcycle maintenance, find an apartment/studio to rent, etc). This accelerated spanish class is consuming a lot of my time (4 hours class, 16+ hours study), but it ends earlier in the semester. So I should have that free time come end of October.

 Djangoo2: What side of the fence do you fall on for translations? Hacking or translating?

 My immediate list for PCE; the mini game I'm working on, SPM2 finish up, and the LOX2 font routine.

 SamIam: I did retrieve my PC from storage, so when I get a little down time - I'll look at SPM2 stage 4(?) insertion issue.

[Djangoo2]

I'm a hacker that goes by Pennywise at RHDN. Doing PCE translations was one of my goals when I decided to learn how to hack games, but since I didn't have any sort of previous experience or background in programming, I started with the NES. Which is why most of my translations are for the NES, but I've been branching out the past few years.

As a hacker, I would always want to do a VWF or bust, but since most of my projects are/were NES games, it wasn't possible due to most NES games not having VRAM. I always want my translations to be the highest possible. Anyway, I'd love to see a VWF in X2. I think a game like that deserves the best.

[Bonknuts]

Ahh, we know each other than (tomaitheous) I honestly haven't had a good look at what Esper implemented for the VWF routine, but if it's a minor issue and he found enough space for his new routines, then it might be a simple enough fix (..or not - hehe). 'Works in mednafen' is a good starting point.

[SamIAm]

SamIam: I did retrieve my PC from storage, so when I get a little down time - I'll look at SPM2 stage 4(?) insertion issue.

Yeah, it was stage four (the one where they reenter Earth's atmosphere). Any modifications I make to the script don't appear in the game. This isn't a problem caused by my use of savestates or anything - that one file just isn't inserting.

I totally understand about your schedule. Please do have a look at Xanadu II and see how you can help Esperknight. Unless of course I bug him so much that he takes care of it by himself. 

[spenoza]

Dave Shadoff and I worked on the PCE version of Emerald Dragon. He extracted the script, and I translated about 60% of it. See this post for details

I could be persuaded to finish the translation on two conditions: One, a hacker would have to show some serious interest, including actual work done, and two, somebody else would have to take care of playtest editing. That's one game I really don't feel like playing again.

I have a legit copy I picked up recently, but my Japanese is SO damn rusty that I don't know that I want to attack it. But I certainly wouldn't feel bad about running a patched ISO since I own an original. So I'd be happy to take a crack at in-game testing and editing, so long as you don't mind that I am unlikely to be a fast player.

Why are you disinterested in another play-through? Is the game play a bit repetitive or bland in places?

[Black Tiger]

Is the game play a bit repetitive or bland in places?

The gameplay never gets old and is always fun for me. It's basically "super Ys".

[SamIAm]

Why are you disinterested in another play-through? Is the game play a bit repetitive or bland in places?

I posted about this before, but in my opinion, the last 1/3 of the game is awful.

- Graphic and music recycling is ridiculously high.
- The story stalls and loses focus.
- The dungeons become too big and maze-like for the high random battle rate.

But by far the worst thing was...

- The battle system. By the last 1/3, your party has grown to...was it six or seven members? And there are usually several enemies to fight per battle, too. Every single character and every single enemy takes a turn, but you have zero input other than for your one main character. The rest of your party is controlled by AI. What this means is that you will input commands for your character, which takes maybe 5-10 seconds, and then you will spend literally between one and two minutes doing absolutely nothing but watching the AI. When that's over, you get another 5-10 second turn, and then guess what? It's another one or two minutes of drooling in your lap.

It is by far the least involved battle system in any RPG I have ever played. The AI periods are so long that you could get up and make a sandwich. I played it in an emulator with a fast-forward option that shortened the AI periods down to 15-20 seconds, and it still felt boring. And don't forget, the dungeons are long mazes and the random encounter rate is high.

I did learn an important lesson from this, though: never start a translation project for a game you don't know for certain that you like. I had only played the first 1/3 when I started the project, and the first 1/3 is much better because none of the problems I wrote about were really prevalent during that time. The graphics and music are fresh, the story is just picking up, the dungeons are shorter and simpler, and there are fewer party members and enemies to wait for.

I know some people like this game, but I think it doesn't hold up well at all. The original version came out for Japanese PCs in 1989, and while it might have been OK at the time, I think it's disappointing that they made no attempts to evolve it beyond adding CD music and the oh-so-occasional cutscene. Needless to say, there was plenty of room for improvement.

[Djangoo2]

Have you tried playing any of the PC versions (X68000, FM-Towns etc.)?

I know for a fact that the SFC port of Emerald Dragon is really bad and that D considers the FM-Towns version to be the best version of the game. It could also be that the PC Engine port of EM is also bad.

[spenoza]

I have seen a lot of people speak very highly of ED. Can you do AI presets, or do the characters just do whatever they want and you have no input whatsoever?

[esteban]

Why are you disinterested in another play-through? Is the game play a bit repetitive or bland in places?

I posted about this before, but in my opinion, the last 1/3 of the game is awful.

- Graphic and music recycling is ridiculously high.
- The story stalls and loses focus.
- The dungeons become too big and maze-like for the high random battle rate.

But by far the worst thing was...

- The battle system. By the last 1/3, your party has grown to...was it six or seven members? And there are usually several enemies to fight per battle, too. Every single character and every single enemy takes a turn, but you have zero input other than for your one main character. The rest of your party is controlled by AI. What this means is that you will input commands for your character, which takes maybe 5-10 seconds, and then you will spend literally between one and two minutes doing absolutely nothing but watching the AI. When that's over, you get another 5-10 second turn, and then guess what? It's another one or two minutes of drooling in your lap.

It is by far the least involved battle system in any RPG I have ever played. The AI periods are so long that you could get up and make a sandwich. I played it in an emulator with a fast-forward option that shortened the AI periods down to 15-20 seconds, and it still felt boring. And don't forget, the dungeons are long mazes and the random encounter rate is high.

I did learn an important lesson from this, though: never start a translation project for a game you don't know for certain that you like. I had only played the first 1/3 when I started the project, and the first 1/3 is much better because none of the problems I wrote about were really prevalent during that time. The graphics and music are fresh, the story is just picking up, the dungeons are shorter and simpler, and there are fewer party members and enemies to wait for.

I know some people like this game, but I think it doesn't hold up well at all. The original version came out for Japanese PCs in 1989, and while it might have been OK at the time, I think it's disappointing that they made no attempts to evolve it beyond adding CD music and the oh-so-occasional cutscene. Needless to say, there was plenty of room for improvement.

I never made it this far in the game, so, damn, what a disappointing thing to read. I had high hopes it was going to maintain goodness.

That doesn't mean I'm not gonna finish it. 

I will.

Eventually.