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Posted by: Elemental Crisis Feb 12 2010, 06:33 AM

Hello Everyone,

Were getting close to the release date for RPG Maker DS. At this time its still a Japan only game and with that I've been asked numerous times via E-Mail, PM and IM's if I have any plans to translate RMDS. From what I can tell translating a ROM requires experience that I just don't have. So here's what I propose.

If you or someone you know is able to edit/dump/recompile roms I'll translate RMDS. However there are some restrictions.

The release will be in the form of a patch, we wont supply or direct users on where or how to get the rom. I'm also able to make the patch.
I'll try and get the translating parts done ASAP but school/work are my priorities.
My translations are never perfect the first time, which means we might be releasing updates.

I've never worked with Rom's before so I don't know how hard or easy it is to translate one.

Feel free to post this around and reply with any outside responses.

Posted by: Ultyma Feb 12 2010, 12:21 PM

I'll try to get the word out and look for someone with the required skills for this project.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 12 2010, 03:25 PM

Sheesh, the game isn't even out yet. People sure are impatient.

Posted by: Ultyma Feb 12 2010, 03:35 PM

Release is in 4 weeks.
With no word of an official translation right now, I'm not surprised people are asking.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 12 2010, 03:44 PM

We're not talking about Sony or any big game franchise like Final Fantasy. Remember that not a single handheld RPG Maker ever was released outside of Japan so far and even if this one will be released outside of Japan, it'll probably take a few month before they'll announce the translation. It's not unnatural. Just look at Pokemon for example. The official announcements are usually done a few month after the release of the games in Japan. Or, if you're familiar with that, the Mega Man games on the DS. They often need a 3/4 year to translate the games and announce the translations rather latter. So yeah, no reason to get impatient already. In fact, I think starting a fan translation so early just lowers the chance of there being an official translation.

Posted by: Elemental Crisis Feb 12 2010, 06:14 PM

Actually I think fan translations show the company, in this case EB that non-Japanese speaking people want to use their products. We did the same for AGM when it came out. If an official English version comes out then I'd buy it without a doubt.

Posted by: megaman8x Feb 13 2010, 12:18 AM

HOW ABOUT WE TRANSLATE SOME MOTHER FUCKING V2 NICCAH

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 13 2010, 01:52 AM

Well whatever you attempt to do, count me in, as long as I don't end up being the only one doing the hard work . I've preordered RPG Maker DS, so I should get it whenever it's out. Who knows, probably it's not even worth being translated?

Posted by: blue_emerald777 Feb 13 2010, 07:50 AM

If there is a fan translation, a lot of companies feel unmotivated to release their game because:

1. Who would pay for something they can get for free?

2. A lot of profit is already lost from the translation.

3. A legal battle could start and most small companies don't like to go to court.

Posted by: Elemental Crisis Feb 13 2010, 08:36 AM

Maybe, but lets look at RPG Maker's history. We can assume we only have an official English version because of the previous fan translations.

Enterbrain is also a pretty big company.

Posted by: NathanR Feb 13 2010, 08:31 PM

I would be more than happy to translate if i could get the game.


BTW: I know about the viruses on my computer, I have been getting rid of them for the past couple of days.

Posted by: Elemental Crisis Feb 13 2010, 09:51 PM

Ignore those PM's. Their from bots trying to get you to install spyware on your computer.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 20 2010, 02:34 AM

Found two gameplay videos:

Posted by: Lyric Induced Feb 20 2010, 02:48 AM

I seriously hope we can stop the constant walking animation the main character has going on there.

And the scrolling text in video 2 looks sweet!

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 20 2010, 03:41 AM

True. I already hated that about so many other games.



I agree. I also liked how you could display a picture of the item you got. Sure, nothing special on a PC RPG Maker, but for a portable RPG Maker it is.

Posted by: Lyric Induced Feb 20 2010, 04:14 AM

That "character is constantly walking" thing makes it hard to make your RPG seem anything but hyperactive... Lol.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 20 2010, 04:47 AM

Yes, and who on earth does that anyways? Like, did you ever meet a person who for no apparent reason is "walking" on the same spot without actually moving?

Posted by: blue_emerald777 Feb 20 2010, 06:24 AM

One time I did. But he was trying to get people to notice him so he could talk about religion and protest war in the middle east. Too bad nobody listened to him.

In video 2, look at her emoticon when she is in front of the wardrobe with the flowers on it. The top left of it is cut off.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Feb 20 2010, 03:52 PM

Noticed that, too. I think it was just covered by the graphic above it, though.

Posted by: Ultyma Feb 22 2010, 01:26 PM

I mother fucking agree, dawg.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Mar 9 2010, 07:57 AM

My copy of RPG Maker DS has just been shipped, so I guess in about 3 weeks you'll get some first impressions from me.

Posted by: ShaydeZehetbauer Mar 9 2010, 02:34 PM

oh goody, we get closer and closer to finding out the limitations of DS rom translating. to be honest this isnt an RPG Crisis thing. leave the DS rom hacking/translating to gbatemp really, they're bound to do something.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Mar 10 2010, 07:39 AM

Totally agreed. In fact, I would wait a while. There still IS a slight chance of Enterbrain making an official translation.

Posted by: blue_emerald777 Mar 10 2010, 01:31 PM

Even if they do, the only benefit to a DS based RPG Maker would be portability. Without an advanced scripting system, there isn't much customization, and the lack of custom resources isn't that great, either. Plus, the text takes forever on a DS. Imagine tapping your screen for hours to enter your game's storyline.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Mar 10 2010, 02:00 PM

RPG Maker 2000 and 2003 don't have a scripting system. Would you call them limited? Nope, they obviously aren't. You can do A LOT of stuff with them! Also you forgot another benefit of the DS: The Touchscreen! Creating maps on the Touchscreen must be really nice.

Posted by: blue_emerald777 Mar 10 2010, 03:22 PM

2k and 2k3 were good because they had battle systems that could be edited through lots of events. When XP and VX came out, they were good because the battle system could be changed through a script. The farthest RMDS might be able to go is a Zelda-style system. I think it might actually be pretty difficult to use the touchscreen for maps. Trying to be so precise, and then trying to drag a river across your map, the objects would be difficult to place and the river would be very squiggly. Yes. I said squiggly.

Posted by: ShaydeZehetbauer Mar 11 2010, 05:37 AM

RPG MAKER 2000/3 VX DS: RGSS 2 EDITION.

lol imagine scripting with a touch screen keyboard, how i love life.

Posted by: RPG Hacker Mar 11 2010, 06:21 AM

Well, as long as they include different zooms we should be fine. If you need to be more precise, then simply zoom in and everything should be OK. If, however, they don't have different zooms, then you might be right.

Posted by: Ælly May 2 2010, 04:52 AM

I now have to extract only the ROMs.
But the hex editor does not read Japanese characters ç_ç
Escuse me for my bad english,but i'm italian member

Screen:

Posted by: RPG Hacker May 2 2010, 01:07 PM

Which Hex Editor are you using?

Posted by: Ælly May 2 2010, 03:27 PM

I used a program to extract game data cartridge for the DS.
Then I opened the file with a hex editor, but unfortunately does not read Japanese characters

Posted by: RPG Hacker May 3 2010, 11:55 AM

You didn't answer my question.
I wanted to know which hex editor you're using to open the files.

Posted by: Ælly May 3 2010, 03:35 PM

Not using a hex editor to open the file
I used a program compiled by a friend ^^

Sorry if I did not understand your question first

Posted by: RPG Hacker May 5 2010, 08:43 AM

So first you say you opened it with a hex editor, and then you say you didn't? You're confusing me!

Posted by: Ælly May 9 2010, 06:03 PM

Before I used a program to extract data, then I opened with a hex editor, but the characters are Japanese, so you do not understand

Posted by: RPG Hacker May 10 2010, 08:45 AM

And everything I wanted to know all along was the NAME of the hex editor you're using.

Posted by: Ælly May 12 2010, 03:26 PM

The program my friend you can not download from anywhere, and the editor use Hex Editor Neo

Posted by: CelestOrion May 17 2010, 06:46 PM

I'm sorry, but from what I've read so far upon looking for a translation patch, I have to stop to fill in the blanks on what everyone has overlooked.

When it comes to translating ANY game from Japanese to another language, an important factor to remember is that the character space used for the names will remain the same. Due note that Japanese hiragana/katakana/kanji does not need as much room as American text, so replacing some names might not exactly fit within the borders that you might desire. Some titles will probably have to be paraphrased and/or abbreviated. For example, let's say that you have 10 spaces for a menu icon. We will use the word 'Accessories', which is 11 characters. Japanese text will not need all 10 spaces, but we will have to change what the name is to something such as Accessory1/Accessory2, or even Access.1, and so on.

Another thing is that you have to understand how to find each array of text within the hex. This is my weak point, unfortunately, but you can find guides on how to do this via Google.

To answer RPG Hacker's several comments, the ROM was more than likely decompressed using a tool such as DSLazy (which I prefer to use, because it has a simple interface and requires virtually no knowledge to use), and it will unpack all of the subfolders into a singular folder for organization. The files within will normally be in formats such as .bin, .dat, .sdat (music files, which you do not really need to know for a translation project), and sometimes .tlk files.

As for a Hex editor that can possibly load Japanese characters, I'm using something called CrystalTile2, which is a Chinese/Korean hex editor, but I have a cracked version with an English option. It was specifically designed for GBA/DS roms, and can also decompress and replace files with ease. If you wish, I can upload these two programs for your convenience.

If you need any other information and/or help, don't hesitate to ask, since I would love to see an English version of this game.

Posted by: Elemental Crisis May 19 2010, 03:35 AM

I was sorta helping Normmatt (Google him) with an English translation but we've stopped. If someone wants to continue the work and he doesn't mind I'll send the ROM.

Also, best Hex Editor in my opinion is Ultra Edit. Its what I use.

@CelestOrion

Sure, upload and link us.

Posted by: CelestOrion May 21 2010, 02:47 PM

I already have the ROM, I just haven't figured out how to actually replace the names in the coding.

Here's your links that you were wanting:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nzjnjztjnnh

I think a rom found its way in there. Just delete it, and you should be fine, since I don't have much time today to reupload files.

Posted by: RPG Hacker May 22 2010, 10:49 AM

True, that is the annoying thing about fan-translating ANY video game. If you have an advanced hacker with you then often you can at least make a VWF system to get around this problem, but I don't think there are all that many advanced hackers that actually care about a translation.

On another note I got my RPG Maker DS sold. Even got over 20 €. I didn't even expect to get 10 €!