gerb wrote: I have time to hack on the translation now that Winter is coming and work has died down a bit.
What's the process here? Do you have a repository to commit script changes to or just pass around files or wiki? Heh, maybe I can spring you into a translating environment with upgraded habitability from Bongo`'s setup! Naturally, I hate to see someone have his work slow down to a pace that may be less than he wants, especially with the holidays coming. Of course, we are pleased to accept all of the help you have time to contribute.
Actually, this game is somewhat more advanced than anyone except Bongo`, Cody (who is playing the earlier part of the game for QA, not beta testing), and I realize. We have a roughly V0.65 beta at the moment - main story-wise. I have been struggling a bit with certain areas of support dialogue, the time temples, a couple of shops in MyTown, etc. I don't know how much you can do in the time you have, but if you feel it could be limited, maybe you could key in on these areas I mentioned and start working were I am currently building the English game.
Arcadia has written an outstanding walk-through that has helped me immensely. I've been editing it heavily for internal use only, standardizing with the first game, etc. Arcadia divided the story into a (long) Intro and 24 chapters. I just started working Chapter 16, The Dark Zone. Most of that episode is in Block 007. Things jump around between blocks occasionally, but it's been manageable.
I must say this game is developing into a really fun play. It's challenging and filled with drama. I think the most efficient way to do this is for us to touch base in PM and exchange e-mail addresses. Then, I should send you the current working ROM, the edited FAQ, all of the text and misc files, and some key saves and save-states that will show you what happened at the end of Chapter 15 and get you to the spot where I'm working in 16 now.
Then, if you have time, maybe concurrently, you could start at the very beginning and review all of the strings we've already loaded in English (while actually playing the game in English, maybe?), backstopping me on anything I interpreted totally wrong. Gerb, you developed a quaint tone in SSMS-I that I really enjoyed, built upon, and have tried to carry through this game, the girls calling the fellows "cuties", etc. Poyon and Urnie are still a lark. Robot is fun, and so is Shamil. You'll see!
When you get to the earlier text blocks from the Intro through Chapter 15 (blocks 001 through 006), you'll see some unrefined strings here and there. These are ones I haven't encountered in the game, and they will need major fixing. I think this will be less grueling for you than handing you a Japanese dump and working from a Japanese ROM. You'll find the English game very well developed two-thirds of the way.
So, it's fairly straightforward. If you can get block 007 text wrapped up and sent back my way, I can keep writing - faster because I'm won't be struggling with some of the strings - many taking me an hour or so to research all of the possible readings and piece together a cohesive game scene. Then, after we finish the rest of the story through the Chapter 24 ending and clean everything up from the Intro through 15, we'll be all good!
Gerb, we're really happy to have you on the team! I'll send you a PM tomorrow.
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( J/K )