Phantasy Star Generation 2: English Translation

[Kyence]

Thank you for the wishes, everyone! It means alot. Tryphon is doing a great job with the tools he made. Hiei has been his primary beta-tester, and the results are terrific! Once all the bugs are found, I'm sure he will release it and be exalted deservedly Once I really settle in, the translation should go much faster compared to GEN1, since I won't have to do the encoding by hand.

As for the game saves, if they are in the memory card format, they are interchangeble between the different games. The emulator save states don't work between different hacksaves. For example, if I make a save state with my hack, go and edit something like an item name, remake the ISO and try to load the save state, it won't work because of the checksum issue mentioned before. However, the in-game save doesn't care, which is a good thing!

[heis3780]

This whole thing is ancient greek to me! Cant understand a single word.
Well, anyway, is there something that us, mere mortals-non-programming-experts can do to help?
I really love PS, since the master system times. When I had the oportunity to play the PS2 version, I simply gone mad!
So, if something can help, just say it. I'm really looking forward to this english version.
If not, at least let me do this: for you guys, programming experts, CHEERS!

[Blaw-]

The emulator save states don't work between different hacksaves. For example, if I make a save state with my hack, go and edit something like an item name, remake the ISO and try to load the save state, it won't work because of the checksum issue mentioned before.

It can be modified to make them work whatever the ISO you use, but that's not very useful (as, as soon as you get the Visiophone, you can save anywhere).

[heis3780]

About the saving states, I think it is very useful, even in the PS game styles. Because with the in-game saves you cant save wherever you want, for example, within a battle. The save states give you this autonomy. That said, I think that this save states issues must not be treated lightly, it can be a large difference, depending on your playing style. I, for exemple, use the save state A LOT, even replacing the regular game saves.

[Tryphon]

There's no issue with save states, please read the thread carefully.

[Zio51]

Hello Heis,

As Tryphon said there is no real issue with the save states in itself.

What Tryphon and the others explained in the previous replies is that:

- If you try to load a save state you made on the non-patched iso version of the game onto the patched iso then it will not work. That is the because the checksum will be wrong.
But since usually people don't switch between patched and non-patched version in the middle of a playthrough, this is not an actual problem.

- Saves states will still work if you "save" & "load" them while playing on the same version of the game iso.

- The only real reason you would need universal compatibility of save states, is if you want to load a very old save from months before it was patched because you don't want to re-start from scratch your playthrough on the now patched version.
Even then, it would be far easier to just load temporarily your save state on the normal iso, go make a game save at the Town's Data centre and just load it on the patched iso.

[Blaw-]

Savestates aren't really needed in this game anyway, the Visiophone able you to save wherever you want in the game.

[Zio51]

Savestates aren't really needed in this game anyway, the Visiophone able you to save wherever you want in the game.

I'm in agreement with you here.


Just a thought anyway: Phantasy Star 2 was quite a precursor RPG in many ways back then. I can't recall many RPGs that had anywhere-you-want save function.
Also the sub-heroin tragic death; usually people will often quote the FF7 Aerith death plot but PS2 had beat them good there.

I think probably 90% of the fans were quite frustrated with her tragic end, but that's one of those things that probably makes PS2 memorable, nonetheless the extreme difficulty of the game for kids (I rememer it took my brother and I probably 1year and half to beat this, and we had the booklet lol).

Anyway it sure left lots of good memories.

[heis3780]

Sure thing! My frustration is that I never were able to finish the game in my genesis times. I only finished years afterwards, when I found out about emulators!
Brings A LOT of memories, in both times when I played it. Just unforgetable.
Many could say: man, get a life! Well, perhaps, but I think that everyone lives the way they see its best. When I remember those times, I confirm this!
Thank you again, to all who is working so hard to make an english version of PS2. You are making the next generation to have the same memories, or even better.

[Zio51]

Just beat G2 yesterday, once again Dark Force was to frustrating (always getting your team useless). Mother Brain's like a walk in the park in comparison.

Personally, I find the G2 version plot more solid than the original genesis version. The small addition/changes to it, gives more depth to the story. Perhaps it's my memory being wrong but I always had the feeling back on genesis time that PS2 story was just not easy to figure out, the progression of the plot didn't seem to come as natural as it does in the G2 version.
I assume the cartridge size limitation played a large role on that side. Japanese sentences can pass through a large amount of detailed information through with relatively short sentences ; the equivalent is most western language would have sometimes phrasing twice as long to bring the same depth of details.
Also back then J-RPG was just starting to really spread in Europe so it'd make sense that budgeting for translation/port was probably quite low in that period.

Anyone ever had similar impression the story didn't flow naturally enough?


Anyway I really liked that G2 version, even though my Japanese is not good enough yet to understand all the intricacies (even with the use of my dictionary).
I will be really interested to play the final translationed version either in French or English to finally get all those tiny details I could not understand with my sole knowledge.
So thanks again to our dedicated PS fan translating!

[FlamePurge]

Once I really settle in, the translation should go much faster compared to GEN1, since I won't have to do the encoding by hand.

I think I asked this before, but would you be willing to go back and redo Phantasy Star generation:1's text--not its translation--after generation:2 is out, Kyence?

Just, stuff like putting in a variable width font, slightly expanding the weapon, armor, and item names (SHTSWORD to Short Sword), and giving the spells their proper names (GFLARE to Giflaeli), putting things in proper case, expanding the truncated text ("Alis,go NE of Camineet&find a cake shop." to "Alisa, go northeast of Camineet and you'll find a cake shop.")

It wouldn't take very long, I don't think. And if you weren't willing to do it yourself, I'm sure someone else might if you were willing to enlist their help.

Thank you all very much for your continued hard work on these projects, and have an awesome day!

[Tryphon]

Just, stuff like putting in a variable width font,

It's not an easy task you know But it's already done

slightly expanding the weapon, armor, and item names (SHTSWORD to Short Sword), and giving the spells their proper names (GFLARE to Giflaeli), putting things in proper case, expanding the truncated text ("Alis,go NE of Camineet&find a cake shop." to "Alisa, go northeast of Camineet and you'll find a cake shop.")

It wouldn't take very long, I don't think. And if you weren't willing to do it yourself, I'm sure someone else might if you were willing to enlist their help.

I've started that too...

[FlamePurge]

Oh, awesome! Yeah, I think it was you who I asked, Tryphon, and I know you and Kyence are working together, but since Kyence translated, I figured I should also ask her on stuff regarding text.

Thank you very much for this. I take it that updating Phantasy Star generation:1's text is a lower priority compared to Phantasy Star generation:2 - The End of an Era's, so we can expect this one to be out in somewhere of the range of three to five years, maybe?

I know how long fan translations take! I'm trying to be realistic, not defeatist.

Also, I've heard the horror stories of implementing proportional fonts; I just figured it'd be slightly easier to do since you figured it out for PSg:2, and the two games basically share the same routines for everything.

[Blaw-]

The whole hacks of PSGEN2 and now PSGEN1 are done.

PSGEN1 hack just need to be tested on a real PS2 but except that, it seems everything is ready.

PSGEN2 hack seems to be over, except if some new bugs are spotted later (the hack has already been tested on a real PS2).

So it might take time to get an english version of PSGEN2 but it might be pretty fast to get an updated patch on PSGEN1.

I think it depend if some peoples here want to work on the texts and also if Kyence is okay with that.

[Blaw-]

Here's some screens Tryphon shown to us (Kyence and me) a while ago about the PSGEN1 hack (it was, of course, not the final version).

Something I plan to do is to buy the original version of PSGEN2, then scan the booklet and then translate it in french by making a pdf or something like that (maybe Kyence will be interest to translate it in english).