[FE5] "Unified Thracia" prototype: Menu and script translation through Ch. 3

[ChimeraHardline]

The Unified Thracia Project

Around half a year ago, I released a patch translating all the menus in Thracia 776. I said I'd add the script "eventually", and I've been really busy but I'm still determined to finish what I started. So here I present a prototype for a full translation of the game, with the scripts done for Chapters 1, 2, 2x, and 3. Update: and 4, 4x, 5, and 6.

The script is my own translation from the Japanese source. I have a lot of issues with the translation most people are familiar with (especially the early chapters), and I just can't bring myself to use it as is. Creative writing is admittedly not my strongest point, but I think this is definitely a step up, especially with respect to translation accuracy and clarity.

The last patch I released wasn't much of a polished product, since I kind of dumped it on the internet in the last of my free time before starting a new job. It had some extraneous "features" stemming from my excitement at all the things I could do to the game, as well as some bad/incomplete decisions for item and class names. This release is more like what I wish I had done in retrospect; it doesn't have any side effects other than translation, and the naming decisions are more polished and less biased. 

Usage notes:

• This patch is for the "NP Rev A" version of the FE5 ROM, also know as Rev 1 or version 1.1 (more info). This is not the same as my old patch, which I made to be applied to the ROM version of Thracia 776. The reason for this is that the hack itself is based on the NP Rev A version, which makes this a clean patch of the changes I made, and not an awkward distribution of all the data differing between versions.
• Not all emulators are compatible, because this is an expanded LoROM. It should work with the newest Snes9x, the ZSNES 8MB custom build, and bsnes provided you follow the instructions in the README. The Project Naga patch doesn't have this problem because FE4 is a HiROM.
• The download includes two versions of the patch: 0.3.3 and 0.2.3. Version 0.3.3 is the one with the script translated, but beyond Chapter 3 the script becomes garbled symbols. Version 0.2.3 is a pure menu patch which doesn't touch the script, if you want to play past Chapter 3 with the Japanese text intact.
• If you start playing with a particular patch, you're not stuck with it. As far as I've experienced, the .srm save file can be loaded and played with any patched or clean version of the ROM.

Download version 0.3.6

Video of Chapter 1 intro      Topic for my old patch

Old version: Download version 0.3.3

Edited April 10, 2018 by ChimeraHardline

[Tetragrammaton]

Nice

[Bob_Schloavington]

I'm very happy to hear that your project isn't dead, and things like 1rn, palettes, and stat boosters' names are back to normal.

I can't wait to see this gem of a game polished for English play, and I can't wait to not be distracted by text scrolling past the screen

EDIT: the font used in cutscenes and title menus looks a bit weird, when I'm not focusing it looks like it has one of those ugly hq2x filters.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Bob_Schloavington
noticed new things

[Vaximillian]

This looks good! I’ll be waiting for the complete translation and finally give Thracia a try. It is very much worth the wait.

EDIT: am I the only one here who likes the font?

Edited January 7, 2018 by Vaximillian

[jumpy23]

Even more so than the patch, I'm really impressed by the translation. Yours looks to be a significant upgrade on the old one judging by the ch1 intro video you made. Hopefully this sees its way to completion.

...can you change the font though?

[faceman]

Excited to see this get finished. Also, the font looks pretty good? Easy to read which is the most important thing.

[ChimeraHardline]

Hah, I thought people were going to have issues with the font. I've tried out a lot of options, and two big reasons I decided on this were that

1. The font I used in the menus is one pixel shorter, which makes it look not quite vertically centered
2. This one matches the style of the original Japanese font, which differs from its menu font in a similar way.

It is kind of a tough choice though, so I'll think about it some more. Here's what I mean:

[RWB]

Just gonna ask, are you gonna use Pugi in this translation, or the more accurate Bhuj?

I feel like Pugi has become this untouchable sacred cow of a name, despite the fact that we have seen the weapon name used in other games and translated into Bhuj(which is an actual weapon).

[PikmTheHero]

On 1/8/2018 at 6:46 AM, RWB said:

Just gonna ask, are you gonna use Pugi in this translation, or the more accurate Bhuj?

I feel like Pugi has become this untouchable sacred cow of a name, despite the fact that we have seen the weapon name used in other games and translated into Bhuj(which is an actual weapon).

Bhuj is no more accurate than Vouge or Fuzi. We have no idea what the development team was thinking when they named this weapon. Maybe they just though Pugi was a badass name for an axe.

[Tetragrammaton]

http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Bhuj

 

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by hanhnn

[Kysafen]

If you need help with adding style to the writing feel free to PM me! Taking on the challenge of writing different dialogue styles for different characters is something I've really wanted to do these past few years, and Thracia 776 could use the characterized dialogue for lack of support conversations.

A suggestion is to release the patch on a chapter-by-chapter basis, for a multitude of reasons:
-Unique "episodic" format of the project, instead of a "one and done" patch that encourages consistent releases
-Being able to rely on fans for suggestions/bugs that occur on a chapter-by-chapter basis would allow feedback and bug fixes in bite-size chunks instead of one big, intimidating laundry list

Also, I prefer the "weird" font; it adds style and looks less generic; Thracia 776's main conceit is being an unconventional Fire Emblem: its mechanics (escape chapters, fatigue, total fog-of-war, capturing), its plot (constantly losing battles against the empire instead of a winning streak). Making its font different enough would be conducive to this aesthetic, one I would support.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Kysafen
Added suggestions, explanations, etc.

[Quirino]

On 7-1-2018 at 7:16 AM, ChimeraHardline said:

• Not all emulators are compatible, because this is an expanded LoROM. It should work with the newest Snes9x, the ZSNES 8MB custom build, and bsnes provided you follow the instructions in the README. The Project Naga patch doesn't have this problem because FE4 is a HiROM.

I reckon this is also the reason why I cannot get the patch to work on the SD2SNES flash cart?

If anyone knows a way to get it to work on there, please let me know. I prefer original hardware over emulators :)

Aside from that, thanks for your hard work Chimera! The patch looks really good and professional!

[Enigma0110]

Good work!

[ChimeraHardline]

 

19 hours ago, Quirino said:

I reckon this is also the reason why I cannot get the patch to work on the SD2SNES flash cart?

If anyone knows a way to get it to work on there, please let me know. I prefer original hardware over emulators :)

Aside from that, thanks for your hard work Chimera! The patch looks really good and professional!

Thank you! That's really disappointing to hear; I was hoping I could try it out on a flash cart someday. If I recall, there were no real cartridges with an expanded LoROM memory map, whereas the expanded HiROM actually did exist. 

 

On 1/8/2018 at 3:46 AM, RWB said:

Just gonna ask, are you gonna use Pugi in this translation, or the more accurate Bhuj?

I feel like Pugi has become this untouchable sacred cow of a name, despite the fact that we have seen the weapon name used in other games and translated into Bhuj(which is an actual weapon).

To be honest, I never thought too much about it -- it's introduced so early in the game that "Pugi" just stuck, and I didn't realize how little evidence there is behind it. It might be based on the Bhuj but the name's not exactly the same (プージ vs. ブージ). I'd be open to changing it to something better.

[rohanx17]

Fantastic work! can't wait for the translation to be finished, which will likely make this the definitive version of thracia 776 for a very long time.

I like the font for the cutscenes great, but I'd be for changing the save menu one, but that's a unimportant concern while the script still needs finishing.

I wouldn't change pugi if I were you, it's pretty ingrained at this point and sounds just fine anyway. It's likely going to keep its awakening localization in the eventual remake so changing it to be more slightly more grammatically correct is doesn't seem that important.

[Vaximillian]

4 minutes ago, rohanx17 said:

It's likely going to keep its awakening localization in the eventual remake so changing it to be more slightly more grammatically correct is doesn't seem that important.

Lachesis got relocalised from Awakening where she was Raquesis, so Awakening isn’t the infallible canon anymore.

[rohanx17]

3 minutes ago, Vaximillian said:

Lachesis got relocalised from Awakening where she was Raquesis, so Awakening isn’t the infallible canon anymore.

well I'd prefer it be called pugi since "orsin's hatchet" is kinda lame, but we'll have to see when it get released or if he's part of a FEH thracia banner any time soon

 

Edited January 15, 2018 by rohanx17

[RWB]

With some luck that banner thing will happen and we'll have an "official" translation.

[Galap]

I also prefer original hardware. Tried it out and it looks awesome though! Maybe when this is finished I'll finally get around to replaying this game. Hopefully I can figure out a way to get it to work on an actual SNES.

[Quirino]

I've asked for help in the support forums of SD2SNES, and they provided a solution that will allow the game to run properly on SD2SNES: http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=7230.msg56074#new

[niggelmyniggel]

On 1/22/2018 at 8:08 AM, Quirino said:

I've asked for help in the support forums of SD2SNES, and they provided a solution that will allow the game to run properly on SD2SNES: http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=7230.msg56074#new

Thanks buddy. I'm hoping to get this one working on my super everdrive. 

[niggelmyniggel]

I watched the YouTube. This looks professional thank you so much! Big step up from the other translation i tried. The only part i noticed that stumbled a little was when osian said, at the end, "what, you do not trust me?", this sounds weird. "what, you don't trust me?" would be more appropriate. The other translation i tried was from smoke monsters rom pack and it was so bad that it was entertaining for awhile but really hard to take seriously. 

[Evrys]

Please please please keep working on this, you've done such an amazing job so far, I love everything you've done. The community needs this!!

[dannyquil]

I tried to download this to my Google Drive, but when I downloaded it onto my tablet, it didn't appear as a game on John SNES. The English ROM that is now a part of this worked as a game but no translation

[IkeBoyDude]

lol, after many failed attempts to get this to work, I finally got it working.

all the other non "Rev 1" versions of the Thracia 776 rom didn't work, 

even the "NP" rom with English patched. 

 

until today when I just googled the rev 1.sfc finfo from that site in topic I finally merged to find the "rev 1" rom that works with this patch :) 

I patched the 2 different versions 2.3 & 3.3 using multipacther on Mac and toasted the games using Openemu for Mac (using Snesx9 core).

 

also, if I patch the rev 1 rom with the English patch first and then apply the 2.3 or 3.3 patches from here, it'll work? 

um, I wonder if this will work on the 3ds ver of snesx9? 

I have a SNES N3ds XL to test this out.

 

great patch/menu work, it's finally all clean/readable :)

hope you can finish the patch for all the game :)