Need help for translation

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Cybernetic Ninja
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Need help for translation

Post by Cybernetic Ninja »

I'm currently working on a german translation of Snatcher, using the text dump (HTML)
of the SegaCD version.

So my questions are:
-Which version would you rather recommend for translation? I'm working on the
SegaCD version. But because it doesn't have any cutscene-subtitles, it
cant get fully translated.
-How can I insert the textfiles? Do I need some special software
or are there "easy-to-use" tools to do that?

Although the translation is in very early development, I could need some advises
to hande it properly.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by GirianSeed573 »

Cybernetic Ninja wrote:I'm currently working on a german translation of Snatcher, using the text dump (HTML)
of the SegaCD version.

So my questions are:
-Which version would you rather recommend for translation? I'm working on the
SegaCD version. But because it doesn't have any cutscene-subtitles, it
cant get fully translated.
-How can I insert the textfiles? Do I need some special software
or are there "easy-to-use" tools to do that?
The Sega CD is the one most viable for translation in regards to font and text space.
All the text is stored in easily identifiable .BIN files (SPXX.BIN) and changing them shouldn't be a horribly complicated process.
Feel free to ask around other people too. I'm not experienced in the field of hacking (I only know concepts and some specifics).

Okay, the voices are the biggest problem. I suppose if you could get a fandub together of some kind it could work.
You'd need to reverse the compression algorithm (which souldn't be terribly hard if you know what you're doing) and replace the PCMLD.BIN with the new one containing the new PCM audio. However, because everything is very length specific, all of the voices will have to be the same length as the original files, which I can imagine putting a serious strain on the dialogue.
Not sure what you're going to do with the CD Audio. I suppose you could re-mix it from scratch, but some of the Music would have to be changed due to lack of the source.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by SnatcherMkII »

If you're thinking about dubbing over the English version, then I suggest asking at these forums:
Newgrounds BBS: Voice Actor Wanted
Voice Acting Alliance
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by AwesomeBrand »

GirianSeed573 wrote:Not sure what you're going to do with the CD Audio. I suppose you could re-mix it from scratch, but some of the Music would have to be changed due to lack of the source.
Could using music from the various music CD's released work? Y'know like Zoom Tracks and such?
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by GirianSeed573 »

AwesomeBrand wrote:Could using music from the various music CD's released work? Y'know like Zoom Tracks and such?
Yes, but I was talking about the unreleased tracks like the music from when Randam first appears or the arrangement of 'Eternal Promise' when Harry dies. 'Beyond Sorrows' is another one. Even the PlayStation and Saturn versions use these long Demo Sound Mixes so we can't even pull the resources from other versions.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by best name ever »

SnatcherMkII wrote:If you're thinking about dubbing over the English version, then I suggest asking at these forums:
Newgrounds BBS: Voice Actor Wanted
Voice Acting Alliance
Those are English speaking voice acting communities. I doubt you will find much help there for a German dub.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by Cybernetic Ninja »

GirianSeed573 wrote: Okay, the voices are the biggest problem. I suppose if you could get a fandub together of some kind it could work.
You'd need to reverse the compression algorithm (which souldn't be terribly hard if you know what you're doing) and replace the PCMLD.BIN with
the new one containing the new PCM audio. However, because everything is very length specific,
all of the voices will have to be the same length as the original files, which I can imagine putting a serious strain on the dialogue.
Not sure what you're going to do with the CD Audio. I suppose you could re-mix it from scratch, but some of the
Music would have to be changed due to lack of the source.
It does sound like a good idea. The sound quality of the voices are great, but in some situations not
good enough to hear the words clearly. For example, when Metal Gear does his/her analysing-progress,
there are bleeps and beeps in the background, which lay over the voice and make it difficult to understand for someone
who speeks english as a second language.
But first of all, I'll concentrate on the text of the game.

By the way, how can I extract those BIN-files and reintegrate them?
I only used the downladable HTML-files (39 in total) as a basis for the translation.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by best name ever »

Re-inserting back in your translation wont be as simple as you might think. In fact it will be very difficult, even more so considering that you don't seem to have experience with rom hacking.

I recommend putting up a help wanted ad on Romhacking.net for a hacker for this project. Hopefully someone who has experience with this kind of thing will take interest in your project and help you out with the hacking aspect so you only have to worry about the translating.
http://www.romhacking.net/
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(GBC) Metal Gear Solid (cartridge-only)
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by GirianSeed573 »

Cybernetic Ninja wrote:It does sound like a good idea. The sound quality of the voices are great, but in some situations not
good enough to hear the words clearly. For example, when Metal Gear does his/her analysing-progress,
there are bleeps and beeps in the background, which lay over the voice and make it difficult to understand for someone
who speeks english as a second language.
But first of all, I'll concentrate on the text of the game.

By the way, how can I extract those BIN-files and reintegrate them?
I only used the downladable HTML-files (39 in total) as a basis for the translation.
Well, this sounds interesting. I was actually going through all of the decoded voice files not too long ago. Artemio's Snatcher PCM decoder is a wonder, isn't it? He even gave us the source code.
Anyway, I'd be happy to transcribe all of the PCM/CD Audio for your translation. It'd be in English of course, but at least you don't have to rely only on sound. Plus, me being a native speak would guarantee minimal errors.

If you really want the raw .BIN files you could allways just Ctrl+C them from the Data track on the disc.
I wouldn't be so concerned about those right now, anyway. You should focus on translation.
As for everything else, you should find a hacker, preferably at http://www.romhacking.net. You really need more than just yourself for this. Oh, and an Audio Mixer, which I may or may not be able to fill.

Also, why are you working from the HTML version of the text dump when you could be using a downloadable version?
It's exactly the same, except you'll already have the whole thing on your HDD, so you don't have to use the internet for your translation.
It would save you some of the hassle.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by zombie-flesheater »

I thought Ash was working on the full script anyways? So it'd not be too hard picking out his text passages for the dialogue sequences and adding them back in, translated into German language.
You'd basically just have to translate the whole thing and put it back in that way.
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Re: Need help for translation

Post by Artemio »

The way text is stored, as well as audio, is already documented in my source code. Aside for those script dumper tools, which include some control codes for color and pauses, I also made the PCM dumper, which is self documenting code: http://junkerhq.net/Snatcher/PCM2WAV/
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