Aegis: Official Releases

Koitate Teaser Patch v2 [MF: 4/27/09]

G-Senjou no Maou: Tsubaki Patch (Chapter 2)

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Master Progress List

Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate [Yukino Route Patch Progress]:
Translated: 1643KB/2060KB [ 79.7%]
Edited: 1161KB/2060KB [56.3%]
Line-Broken: 650/2060KB[31.6%]
Beta Tested: N/A
Details:  Progress is ongoing, it moves in chunks.

G-Senjou no Maou: Status now hosted at the TL Wiki

Staff Credits

G-Senjou no Maou Translation Project Team (Record):
Translators: Meh (Dismissed), Snowhaze (Dismissed), Choux (Dismissed)
Supplementary Translators: Akkad (Dismissed), Luola (Dismissed)
TL Check [J->E]: Accany(Dismissed), drwho (Dismissed), Ixrec (Dismissed)
Editors: Neko, Pondrthis
Proofreaders/Quality Check: DarkFusion, Raide
Beta Testers: Kpoeira, Dante
Image Editor: 3Pies/Seraph, Ragyx
Hacker: Nagato, Skyward

Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate Translation Team:
Translators: Canikizu, Civic
Editors: Neko, Ponderthis
Linebreakers: †giundat†, AloneWolf, Force88, trung_9x.
Proofreaders/Quality Check: Tony154, [Currently accepting Applications]
Image Editor: 3Pies/Seraph
Hackers: [Currently accepting Applications]

Applications are being accepted for all positions. Please email me at neko7363x@gmail.com

G-Senjou no Maou Relocation.

For those unaware, the G-Senjou no Maou English translation project has, officially, been relocated to the TL Wiki, and will continue to be hosted there until it’s conclusion. Since this also means that the project has been relinquished from Aegis, an explanation for this decision is in line for those who wish to be informed.

When we started the translation project in April, we intended to use the Chinese to English translation as a crutch to get us by until we could secure some Japanese translators. After the release of the Chapter 1 patch, we stayed conservative, and remained C->E due to the lack thereof of translators. This method proved inefficient, as the accuracy of the lines were frequently distant from the original, and TLC ended up changing just about every line as is. However, reforming the method required resources that were unavailable to us, so we just continued doing what we were doing, as it was the only thing that could be done.

However, the tremendous work load created by this method turned out to be the projects undoing. Shortly after the chapter 2 release, two of our translators lost their motivation, and silently backed out without a formal claim of resignation. This loose commitment is what enabled us to keep up an active status, but ultimately barred our speed at next to none. Later, the final blow to the project was made when Ixrec became too busy with school and the Seiken no Inganock translation project, and when our other two translation checkers bowed out for a variety of personal reasons. The loss of this critical staff put the project onto a hold, and shortly thereafter, it was mutually agreed upon by the entirety of the directing staff that no work would be better than what we were getting done. In conclusion, the project was officially announced as stalled.

So we waited a month to see if our conditions could improve, perhaps we’d get another TLC, or maybe a straight J->E translator would step up to the plate, however, the passivity that emanated from the hopelessness of recovery, as more and more staff dropped out one by one managed to put the project at a complete standstill, with a plan to openly release all work in progress in due time when we could pass it off to a reliable team that would be able to complete it. However, again, waiting produced no results. It was around that time that The n00b Avenger (Sharin no Kuni’s translator) and an #ammy lurker, Chikan, offered to assist with translation. The requested medium was the TL Wiki, and, well, obviously, that was a completely agreeable condition. On top of generating opportunity by having the project change from closed to open, we also have potential for concrete results to be created, whereas we were sitting on nill prior. On top of that, is an opportunity to avoid the problems created by a C->E translation, as now, the project will, for the remainder of its time, be straight J->E. It turned out to be a win win situation for the better of the project, eliminating preexisting problems, and ultimately revitalizing the entire project. And that’s where we are right now.

With that said, discussion pertaining to the game, updates, and all other information prevalent to the project will now be hosted on the TL Wiki. Should you be looking for the most up to date information, that will be the new source. But a foreword first, the project is no longer on hold. As we speak, Kanon’s character route files are being completed piece by piece. Furthermore, the entirety of the editing staff has been preserved. The future of the project looks a lot brighter with this result.

Please look forward to the eventual full English release of G-Senjou no Maou. We’ll see you all on the TL Wiki.

Chapter 2, Continuation Announcement

So, now that the patch has spread about, we’ve had a chance to look into the related criticism. It seems like people are in support of us continuing, so we are going to go ahead and start work on chapter two. Translations have commenced, and everyone has indicated that they’ll be done with all their script files within a month. Unlike last time, we’re going to have a coherent flow as opposed to moving in blocks and segments of work. Pondrthis is now an editor to ensure that all the work is done at a steady pace, so that there is a very limited gap between translation and first edits. One can be fairly certain that in terms of speed, this release will be quite a bit faster. The latest deadline for completion is the end of July, if it comes out earlier, it will, but I won’t know anything for sure until it comes closer to time. Once more, applications for translation, TL Checking, proof reading, and quality checking are currently being accepted, and within the next two days, all applicants will have their responses.

Unlike the preliminary teaser patch, by the time we have this released, all technicalities will be addressed. Images will be edited, fonts will be selected, BGM tracks will be translated. It’s taking place as we speak, so it should be done by the time the patch is ready for release. The teaser patch has been updated 6 times so far, and the dialogue is nearing completion. If images get edited at least a week before the ch.2 release, we’ll go ahead and make the “Official This is it” version, but the necessity of such a thing seems questionable.

In other news, to address the recurring question of why we didn’t translate Maou’s name, here you are. Maou, within chapter one, is referenced in three different contexts. There’s Maou the person, Maou in reference to Schubert’s poem, and Maou as an entity. We translated Maou into “The Devil” or “Devil” in the event of the later two. If a character doesn’t know who Maou is, or that Maou is a single individual, of course his name would be read as “The Devil” (as an example, in the case of Kyousuke’s email). When Maou personifies himself as the Devil from Schubert’s poem, his name would be translated into the Devil in order to identify himself as the character within the literary context. However, Maou is also that character’s name, so when the person is knowledgable of who Maou is, such as in Haru’s case, or in the event that there’s a third person objective narrative, it makes sense that he would be referred to as Maou. The reason we chose to preserve his name was in order to eliminate confusion, as the game pluralistic uses words such as “devilish” and “demonic”, which aren’t necessarily affiliated with Maou (For example, the choice to use the word “Oni” when Gonzou was describing himself”. By simply calling Maou Devil or The Devil, the dialogue would undoubtedly become convoluted, and since the difference between the three aforementioned situation is implied within the japanese language, we decided to simply make it clear. It was a subjective call.

G-Senjou Ch.2 Speculation

So, given the fact that the majority of the community seems to be in support of us continuing the project, unless something extreme comes up, I’m pretty damn certain that we’re going to take this into full effect. As I’ve said before, only the teaser patch was guaranteed to come out of this, and until we get feedback on the release, that statement still stands. However, given the fact that we’re retaining the accuracy of the original text, and that our staff is competent enough to tackle the complex dialogue within, I can’t imagine any reason why we’d get disapproval. However, expect the unexpected, until something concrete comes out it’s still up in the air. None the less, say, hypothetically speaking, if we were to continue the project, these would be the initial details worth mentioning.

For those of you who don’t know already, G-Senjou no Maou’s eligible ladies come chapter by chapter. Should you choose to follow a girls route, the game will end prematurely there. Alternatively, you can continue the main story [Haru's Route] by avoiding the route at the appropriate flag. The individual routes aren’t a gimmick though, from what I understand every character is worth the time and effort, even if it’s arbitrary and unrelated to the main storyline. It should at least answer the “What if?” question. Keep in mind, G-Senjou is a long game, so the route has a lot of content indeed.

So, to dish out numbers, Chapter 2 is 970kb total out of 3,340kb [29%]. 322kb of that is Tsubaki’s route. The teaser patch was 337kb (for time reference).  We will likely have an additional two Chinese to English translator’s on top of the three we already have. This incorporates the need for a second editor, as I can’t imagine keeping up with the translation speed. However, we only have two TL Checks. Accany is fast [one long one a day during crunch time], and Ixrec is understandably average [One every two to three days.]. So having a speedy translation may be unnecessary, however, it’ll create a pool of work to be done. A foundation that will prevent time from being wasted.

As for releases, the patch is going to be out on Wednesday next week at the latest, but we’re aiming for Sunday. The major tasks have been completed, so the minor ones should proceed relatively smoothly. We just have to wait for the TLC, and as we wait, we have to do some simple name insertion and a second read-through for the sake of PR and QC. Following the release of the patch, the entire staff is going to take a week long break. We’re taking this break for two reasons. First, because this release was exhausting, and it’d be nice to have a breather, but second, we also hope that in that time we’ll be able to reconcile some staff, since we’ll be needing more for an efficient release. Lastly, 3rd, we’ll organize and centralize all the work that needs to be done, details included. There’s a bit more to do than simply cut and dry translating. After that break, translations will resume, but I will also be occupied with college at that time, so editing will be detrimentally slow. My summer break starts on the 12th, and I’ll get everything edited that has been translated within my two weeks of break done within the my first of summer, and thus the chain of events will continue. Since I don’t know what will change staff-wise between now and then, I can’t provide any sort of speculated release date, but I’ll do so once the work begins. I’m hoping to get it done before the end of July.

Staff wise, we need/would like:
-At least one more editor
-Another TL Check
-Five more arbitrary staff (QC and PR) and beta testers.
-A dedicated hacker
-Someone capable of video editing (For the credits)
-And someone who wants to fix our really shitty TL Wiki page.

So if you’re interested in volunteering, send me an email at neko7363x@gmail.com. Since I back everything up, and the files are available to the public via SVN [To download, not to edit], the application process is rather liberal and informal. Any effort would be appreciated. The more staff we can get, the faster we’ll be able to release the next patch. Please give us your best regards.

G-Senjou no Maou Ch. 1 Notes.

1. So, I’ve decided that in order to preserve statistical accuracy, I’m going to wait until I’ve recieved completed files from the translators as opposed to providing estimates based on where they are within each script file. Each of the first script files that the translators are working on incorporate about 90kb, so expect to see a huge jump within the next one to two days.

2. For speculation purposes, I think the most adequate statistic in order to predict to most likely time of release would be TL Check. Ixrec gets a script done in 2 days when he has time to work on it, and Accany seems obscenely fast.

3. Image editing is proceeding smoothly. The only things left to edit are the configuration menu and Save/Load menu

4. I was jealous of Ixrec’s CC SVN, and decided to make my own for the game. That can be found: http://subversion.assembla.com/svn/G-Senjou/. Editing isn’t available to the public, but anyone can view it. It’s a sort of annex/index of revisions, and should provide anyone with the intricate details of the project. I intend to set one up for Koitate later to make Proof Reading easier. That’ll happen a little closer to the Yukino patch release though.

5. The project is in desperate need of detail oriented proof readers and quality checkers. If we can get this staff, we will probably do a thorough re-edit of the CH. 1 patch before moving on to Ch. 2.

6.. Luola pointed out that we need to translate the song titles for the game, as there’s an option to display them in the upper right hand corner of the screen. I’m not adding this to the translation statistic, but it is something that needs to be done. Might or might be included in the Teaser Patch, to be honest, I think it’s a detail better suiting a complete route patch (whereas by that, I mean any of other chapters besides one). Although, I guess it’s debatable whether we should release the patch faster, or whether we should get all of the arbitrary details done that are unrelated to the dialogue. I hesitate to do the latter. Since school work is coming up, it would delay the patch by two weeks. During the week long break after release, we’ll take care of such details

7. We’ve resolved the name insertion problem. However, by using Microsoft Word, some of the system commands (which are in Japanese), have been corrupted. So we’re going to have to do a quick beta test to resolve those little contingencies.

8. Nagato seems to have found a solution to our word wrapping issue. http://imgur.com/G9qUJ.jpg . So it’s looking like no technical aspects will get in the way of our release. It’s likely that we’ll have to investigate and set up a thorough solution to technical factors, but we have all of Chapter 2’s translation to take care of it. The most recent issue is that the back log doesn’t appear the same as the continuous text in game. Nagato is working on that as we speak.

9. We’ve gotten the TL for the configurations menu. 3pies is on it now. Should be done on time.

The G-Senjou Process

So, I’d like to address the skepticists, or should I say realists, about the method in which we’re going to go about translating the game. Consider this to be a summary of facts.

1. Chinese -> English Translation
2. Editing
3. TL Check at the mercy of Ixrec (He’ll be TLCing the Japanese content)
4. Re-Editing/Proofing/Beta Testing
5. Hacking/Technical Details
6. Release

So we’re going to do the best we can with the resources available. The Chinese project took a whole year to complete, and is an ‘orthodox’ translation, relatively free from Chinese specific dialogue. The editing will serve to make the English translation result into something of coherency and higher quality, and the TL Check will serve as a testimony to the accuracy of the project. Since we’ve added a step to the process, you can expect that the final product (that being a chapter by chapter release) will take a bit more time than previously expected as Ixrec has his hands full with the Cross Channel project. Should we continue the project after the teaser patch release, we will probably upload the scripts onto the TL Wiki, in the same manner as Symphonic Rain, so as to enable other TL Check volunteers to assist the cause. Course that’s only a hopeful resource, but the consequence for a lack of staff would be a lengthier gap in between releases, as opposed to an absence.

G-Senjou no Maou Translation Project Official Announcement.

I’m pleased to announce the start of the G-Senjou no Maou Chinese to English translation project, which is in full effect from this point forward. After a series of conversations, and a long discussion with the leaders of the Chinese project, we came to the conclusion that something was better than nothing, and have decided to work on a teaser patch that translates the entirety of Chapter 1 (About 10% of the entire game). That is all we are guaranteed to do for now. We’re approaching the project with a bit of apprehension as we fear that the integrity of the original text may be damaged by translating it twice, a fear that is further propelled by the fact that both languages are complex and subjective. After the teaser patch is released, we will take a one to two week break while the patch sinks into the community. Based on the criticism and response received in relation to the patch, we’ll determine whether we’d be doing justice to Akabei’s work by continuing the project. If our peers generally believe that we should continue, then we will, and translate the remainder of the game with Chapter releases. Since there’s 3 translators working on it as we speak, speed should come naturally. However, if it’s believed that the patch is flawed, and that we’ve done poor work, then we’ll formally drop it so that perhaps a more orthodox translation team can have the honors. That’s a summary of facts.

However, the teaser patch is guaranteed. The first week of June is our general deadline, please look forward to it. I’ll provide updates as they come, and the OCD details as well.

G-Senjou no Maou Translation Team[Active staff]:
Translators: Meh/Mark, Jeremy S., Choux Chocolit
TL Check [J->E]: Ixrec, Accany
Editors: Neko, Luola
Proofreaders/Quality Check: Spin569874123, Mr. Spellcheck., Pondrthis, DarkFusion.
Image Editor: 3Pies/Seraph
Hacker: Nagato’s cool to make the patch and installer.

Call to activity.

So my short break from VN translation work has been curtly cut to an end. The lack of explanation and reason for my complete absence of activity can be blamed entirely on the “Swine Flu Epidemic” cursing our country’s regularity at the moment. My college campus flipped out into and exaggerated panic when it was confirmed to be on campus, and my resources for communication ended with my cell phone, as all campus resources had been shut down. Since our little scare is over though, I’m back, and it’s time to get to work.

On Koitate, nothing has changed. Canikizu is still busy, and you can’t expect to see any progress until his designated date of freedom, May 20th. There will be no progress whatsoever until that time. I have also received a few emails regarding Beta Testing, and I’d like to make a curt public statement to anyone’s future ambitions. Unfortunately, my little line breaking statistic was based on the presumption that the flow of events would occur at a natural pace, but sadly, reality is cruel, and it’s actually detrimentally low. As much as I’d love to start beta testing right away, my pride would be hurt by presenting testers with an incomplete patch, so at this point, I’m simply taking names for beta testing in the future. As soon as we have a coherent amount of line broken script files, I’ll open it up again. I apologize for the inconvenience, my b.

On G-Senjou no Maou, well, I think that Luola, the individual who serves as the foundation for the project stated the underlying issue well: “Chinese is one of world most difficult language, one word has different meanings. if is easy to get the main idea of a sentence but to translate it very descriptive and with out losing meanings, it will be hard. As you know, this game is the best visual novel in the years of 2008 and it won about 6 awards in 8 category. I don’t want this game to turn out badly in English”. So I considered the potential of invariably damaging the integrity of an accurate translation by filtering the dialogue through two complex languages. This changed my idealistic view of a full project, and the ultimate decision I made in regards was to go ahead and translate the entirety of chapter 1 (about 10% of the total in game content) in the form of a teaser patch. After that gets put on the table, we’ll let it sink into the community for a week or two, and based on how it’s received, we will determine if we’d be doing justice to the game by continuing to carry out the project, as it’s likely that any translation will be the only translation. Again, I’m not going to pull an Asceai on everyone and say this is set in stone until we’ve hit a milestone. Please only regard this project as a potential one, not an absolute. This decision was rooted from the thought that something was better than nothing, and if any other translation entity is capable of carrying out the work better than us, we will submit. I’m greatly in support of a Japanese to English translation as an alternative.

In other news, I have been enlisted as an Editor for Ixrec’s Cross Channel Translation project. While a full team has yet to be organized, I’ll be assisting them. I’d imagine that it won’t involve much work, as Ixrec is not only a fast translator, but is also extremely competent at english. So I’ll be juggling work from these three projects for the next few months, the amount of commitment to efficient results is dependant on the speed in which I receive submissions.  That is all, I will post any updates as they come, chances are G-Senjou no Maou will have a few notable updates in the near future, as we’re finally cracking down on a bit of progress.