Second Draft, Part 8
Just a quick progress update today. Got through another big batch of text to push Draft 2 past the 82% mark. Most of the text this time around was very tedious and exhausting, but looking at it in-game, it’s turned out nicely indeed.
For those following along with the map viewer (which is available on the downloads page), this latest batch was from maps 342 to 402. Gonna be real busy again this week, so I probably won’t have much time to work on Draft 2 in any significant way until at least the middle of the week, so updates/mini-updates will be scarce until at least then.
Most of the text in this batch is spoiler-ish or just uninteresting, so here is some text from one of my favorite insignificant characters in the game, who happened to appear in this batch
Anyway, it looks like my guess of Draft 2 being done in July will be spot-on. Nice.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that today is exactly one year since the “merge”. Come a long way since then.
Nice…
All I can say is good job!
Remember to “Go for it!”
Long time reader, first time poster, just wanted to say how much I appreciate what the team here is doing for the fans… If there were a history book of fan translations, this would probably be an entire chapter.
Keep up the good work 🙂
Whoa, this has to be the fastest translation project on an rpg I’ve ever seen.
Way to go. I wish their was more I could do for you and the rest of the team, but alas my computer skills are in not even near the leauge of yours.
only 1354 left to go! I can’t wait! It’s so exciting!!
Oh my god, it’s getting so close!
I am so excited for this! Keep up the good work fellas.
You all are like heroes to me.
YAY i cant wait! thanks for all of the work you guys are doin. Mato FTW!
Fantastic work! You guys are really kicking butt!
Keep up the wonderful work! It’s getting there.
And happy anniversary on the merge!
Working late, eh Mato? I’m sure what you’re doing is much less labor intensive as me building a futon at 3:00 am.
But hey, nice to see some progress and pics, thanks.
Now I can go to bed a little more happier.
Tomato, you are a machine. You are a programming, translating, machine. And a hoss. You are like a giant, mechanical, stud horse.
Keep up the good work, we’re all waiting with bated breath.
great 😀
Amazing. I can’t believe how far you guys have come, looking back to that point where everyone was saying you’d never finish.
I’m running out of games to play to distract from the wait for Mother 3. Chibi-Robo!: Park Patrol is doing a good job of killing my spare time, though.
So, once you’re finished with this script draft, what other work do you need to do besides letting Demi and Gideon look over it? I’ve seen the To-Do list, but you said that JeffMan’s been working on all that stuff for the past month.
P.S. You’re pretty much the most awesome person ever. Thanks for doing this project at what seems like great personal expense.
Just keep truckin’ owwwooooowwwooon!
It’s the the Ctrl+r-my, (Control Army), the legion of those who sit here and hit F5 and Ctrl+R all day hoping for Mato and Mitch to brighten their days.
Sounds like the translation is increasingly tedious the closer it gets to the end. Is it the amount of work related to the return, or are you just clamoring for a vacation?
So, when will this be done?
Just kidding, I couldn’t help it.
Simply.. magnificent..
Sweet! Ever closer to the release of what will be an epic translation on the scale of Seiken Densetsu 3 on SNES
Great job, as always! One question: would it be difficult to implement an Earthbound-reminiscent “flavor”-styling for windows? I wouldn’t want the team to be burdened with anything too much more taxing but, if it could be easily done, it’d be cool to have the choice to change the color of the frames/windows, like before (unless that’s already an option and I just didn’t know it). Thanks again!
And it continues. Good work guys!
why does the mole say ‘dunno’ o_0
probably to save a bit of text space or memory
rainwalker, it is already an option.
Durelle, how much can you save text, by writing ‘dunno’ instead of ‘Don’t know’ if there is a total of 7658 lines 😛 I’m sure it’s probably not to save space. 😛
I’m guessing the project will be done in August at the earliest
No.
i know this is just semantics and normally i hate when people do this but i think the text in the second pic would flow substantially better if you got rid of that ‘just.’
CanOfMean….
it’s probably just how the game was written….
He probably made the mole say ‘dunno’ because he felt it would fit his personality better. Or maybe he posted the picture just to see if somebody would crap their pants over a small grammatical error.
Also I wouldn’t get your hopes up for the translation until
at least October, I’m betting on Christmas though.
It sounds better that way anyway.
Grammatical nitpicking is forbidden! I so decree it!
Also, I love the philosophical questions brought up by that crazy mole. Lol.
I think October is a better bet, Christmas seems a little too far.
We’re finally closing in on the end! Keep it up!
I like that mole. Ha ha. So un-mole-like, he is. Good job, Tomato!
Fantastic job, Mato! Really looking forward to this release. First-time poster and just wanted to say, like many others, I really appreciate this work you’re doing so much! Good luck and thanks again for this fantastic project!
It’s looking as if it was done by Nintendo itself, even as a draft. I am really excited about this translation and I can not wait for it’s release.
Just like many things, including the original game, the text in the game is meant to mimic how people actually speak, rather than be a grammar textbook. In fact, I repeat each line out loud over and over as I edit, until it sounds good to me.
Nitpickers are annoying, so unless there’s something incredibly wrong, like a typo or someone’s staring into your soul through the screen, please keep it to yourself.
This is slowly becoming the most anticipated RPG I’ve yearned for.
Don’t mind the grammar nazis, Mato. Devoted fans who have been following you from the beginning know how determined you are to make this translation impeccable. You seem to grow more and more tired everyday, and it’s understandable because this project is consuming your life… 😉 Don’t let comments affect you, 99.9% of the people here are behind your efforts 🙂 You have my utmost respect for your dedication to this. Thank you, and try to remember to take some time off to preserve your sanity! I’d already be nuts if I were you!
As always, can’t wait. Not only for the patch, which is incredible, but for the reaction it’s gonna get the day it’s done.
The translation is getting done LIGHTNING FAST!
It’s hard to believe that there’s another draft to do after this, it looks amazing as is.
But if you need to do another draft, that’s okay with me. ^_^
I don’t mind bad grammar in a Mother game. Besides, more games need grammar improper. No one is perfect.
> someone’s staring into your soul through the screen, please keep it to yourself.
Yeah, can you do something about that zombie? He’s creeping me out 🙁
Anyhow, there’s a great place for anyone who wants to be pedantic about grammar: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/
But I think most of you will find yourselves outclassed by them. That place is like the Fatherland for Grammar Nazis.
…grammar improper
Two things — yay I has one of the first posts, and it says on my profilemadealie page to tell you guys that run the site that a new version of wordpress is available. so… yeah. A new version of wordpress is available. update or something.
Also, yay 82%, lawl at the mole that doesn’t wanna dig holes.
ZOMG DA MOLE SEZ “DUNNO” 🙁
so close i can tassssteeee itttttt
What a little individual that mole is. 😀
This is getting more exciting every day. Kepp up the amazing work, team!
@A Fan: I’ve spent around half an hour reading the thing, and I think I can easily say I’m in love.
Can0fMean, ‘of’ is spelled with an o, not a 0. Dunno what you were thinking.
Tomato: Could you elaborate on what you mean when you say that people who are expecting another Earthbound will be disappointed (don’t recall the exact quote)? I haven’t played M3 at all, but from what I can read from the screenshots, the tone and humor seem very similar.
I don’t want to say too much, but 1. M3 has much more of a plot, and is much darker and 2. EB was about exploration, M3 is more about change.
I’m a first time poster, but I’ve been watching this for a while. I have to say, I can’t wait for the final patch. I’ve been playing through the menu patch, but it isn’t the same(I haven’t used the translation guide!!)
*Insert Praise that gets lost with all the comments here*
IT IS SO CLOSE SOON WE CAN PLAY MOTHER 3 W00T
I’m very proud of your diligent efforts and determination. Keep at it, Tomato.
how do i shot rope snake?
^ 😐
I’m psyched for M3. You’ve worked dilligently throughout the whole writting process. Sure a Nintendo translation would be proper, but I feel you are putting a lot more effort than they would. Keep up the good work; once this draft is done, the heavy duty translation will be (for the most part) complete. Then all to worry about are the bugs and grammar errors. Good luck and I hope to be hearing more news soon.
Your doing an awesome job at making it sound like real life and not something out of my grammar book. Keep it up!
Heil Grammatik
Stop the nitpicking.. just let the pros do their work.
Like being at the bottom of the lake and trying to swim up; it always looks like you are just below the surface, but you have been swimming for what seems like hours. Now we are merely 10 feet below the surface, and it seems close, but we still have much further to go. I will enjoy the liberating surprise of breaking through the surface when this is released. Until then, I will keep swimming.
@Larry: Don’t talk to Can0fMean like that. Can0fMean isn’t afraid to go back to prison.
A lot of progress has been made since I last posted, so I think it’s a good time to show my support again (even if I don’t have anything new or interesting to say).
Guys!! You’re awesome!! Thanks for the hard work!!
The people who make fun of me, ironicly are the ones saying ‘Don’t spam’. I at least try not to spam, unlike some other people. I really don’t care about grammar that much and I also didn’t think it was something that slipped out of Mato’s eyes. I knew that that it was written for some reason and wanted to learn why in a very simple & mature way, while some people go like “When is it going to be finished? Hah, j/k !”
Thanks for the response btw, Mato. 🙂
Remember when this blog was full of positive comments? 🙁
this has probably been asked a lot, and the answer is probably really obvious, but are you going to include the 0000000000 in the final patch? if so, which will be his name?
No he is not going to add anything to the game.
Another difference between Earthbound and Mother 3-M3 follows a much more linear plot, whilst Earthbound is much more open-ended.
Please, look at the spillover board for many questions and answers, and use that for off-topic things.
I added the question about dummied out enemies/music/etc to the FAQ page. I know there’ve been a few other often-repeated questions too, but I can’t remember what they are right now.
Leave the nitpicking to draft 3.
Hey Mato, just kind of a curious question, and dunno if you know this or have answered this, but how many lines are there in the 2nd/final draft, maybe an estimate? 😛
Other than that, looking very nice and professional. :]
You should realize that once the project is complete, major websites (like Kotaku and IGN) will be talking about the news of Mother 3 being fully translated. Have any plans/reactions if a whole group of gamers come rushing in to nab this patch? 😛
If you read the box in the update, you’ll see that there are 7658 lines in the game.
Mato: people ask about the difference between the three drafts a lot and why you guys are doing them.
Crunch: Yes, we’re expecting a deluge and are gonna do stuff accordingly. We’ve already started to plan everything patch day-related, actually.
I’m still wondering why noone laughed at the line:
Holes stay _”as holes”_.
I know I know, but I have a 5 yr olds sense of humour xD
Whoa.
I don’t check here often enough.
Bang-up job, guys. I can’t wait!
remember when I said that you better be done with the patch when I get home from vacation? Probably not. Anyway I get back Tuesday afternoon. So hintedy hint hint. Just kidding. You have already gotten 10% done in the 6ish days I have been gone so…great job!
Mato: when is your birthday? (don’t need the year, just want to throw you a sweet party like those teen brats on MTV)
Mitch totally needs to be all over those grammar corrections.
It seems like more and more often lately people keep asking if Nintendo is going to swoop in and run away with your translation, maybe it’d be a good idea to address that in the FAQ.
Great! I can’t wait for the translation’s completion!
Ah, this is great. This translation is almost done. I hope it works on my PSP emulator though.
awesome. so excited.
wait, if on translation day, the patch is released, won’t NOA know that thousands of people have pirated mother 3? And then take some action on that?
Nintendo knows that thousands of people pirate thousands of games everyday. Why would they wait till launch day to take action? Also remember Nintendo employees are waiting for this patch too.
Nice. All of you have certainly come a long way.
Keep up this amazing work guys!
Under 18% to go! Hooray for MatoJeffManTeam.
I really love these snippets. Also glad to hear that one the “disappointing” factors of Mother 3 is it having a better plot (I love plot <3)
Keep up the good work Mato, your translation progress is almost as incomprehensibly good as your hacking progress was *_*
Combo Baker: They already know 🙂 If they were going to stop this, they would’ve done so already.
More likely, they’ll be too busy *playing* it…
Wow, its been a while since I heard of any Mother 3 news. But it seems this translation will actually come out rather soon. However, I still wonder if Nintendo will ever ship this game to the US?
To Mato and the rest of the hard working staff, your hard work has paid off. Thank you for all your hard work thus far.
LONG:
http://mother3.fobby.net/faqs/
The project may appear to normal people like it’s almost done but in reality it’s done when it’s done. Check out the FAQ and put your email address in and they will let everyone know when it has arrived to it’s fullest completion.
The release to US has been discussed many times and likely hood is less than 0 ……. 😡
winrar
i bet that when I get the patch I am going to go into a state of extreme lightheadedness like when I got Brawl. Hopefully, I’ll take longer to beat this than Brawl.
another job well done
Just thought I’d point out, the latest Nintendo Power did about three jabs at M3. For instance, the blurb for next month had the outline of a sword (the Master Sword?) and the caption:
“We’ll kick off the next 20 years of Nintendo Power with more big reveals, including a top-secret cover story fit for a king. It’s got a lot of heart. Just kidding. It’s Mother 3. Just kidding. Please look forward to it.”
TimeSpaceMage: Actually, I think the “story fit for a king” and “it’s got a lot of heart” is actually a reference to Kingdom Hearts-or, more specifically, Kingdom Hearts 3, which many people are hoping for.
There’s already like a 9-page thread on the starmen.net forums about that NP stuff, so please go there to talk about it.
Mato, sorry for off-topic-ness, but do you remember why you chose “Tomato” as a nickname?
thats his real name…ha ha
Did you make a translation of live a live to? I saw your name in the credits of the old west chapter?
Dude, ur awesome!
You mean his name is… Tom… Ato…? I doubt it.
I shall now post this on the blah-blah stuff topic.
Keep up the good work guys. 😀
BOO! ahahah! gotcha!
anyway, keep up the good work mato!
listen to randy B, i’ve been following this thing for close to 3 years now (when it was just mother 3 fan translation project (no starman.net people)). People have been thinking this thing was close to being done the past two years. Don’t get your hopes up, its done when its done.
Heh, M3 is just over two years old 😛
the point is people have been thinking this thing was just around the corner for two years
I’ve been here since the beginning, and I can’t even believe we’re almost done with the second draft! Ha, to think back to the naivety of the extent of hacking that had to be done…and now this. Amazing, and I’m glad I’ve been able to watch this thing grow from a small fan devotion project by the Earthbound crazies to a full-fledged Internet, nay, industry countdown!
Tomato, Jeffman, exo, and all others involved: Thank you so much! You’ve turned the sorrow of knowing I could never play this game in English into a mere waiting game! Picking up the slack where Nintendo financially couldn’t; that’s a fan base!
On a side note, I just beat Earthbound! 😀
And 82% is really done. Take your time, dude. You’re doing us all a great favour.
whoreman: Yeah, I was just teasing more than anything. Always kinda bugs me when people say things like, “I’ve been visiting starmen.net since 1997” and stuff like that. The difference though is that unlike the m3.org people who made the fake updates and pulled news out of their butts but had no connection to the actual project work (or any understanding of the process), all the work and progress is visible here for everyone to see.
Even so, it’s still obvious people don’t pay attention anyway and then spread false info, like this for instance, gah. It’s disheartening when I see internet brainlessness in action like that 😐
Eh, what are ya gonna do. Whats brainless is brainless. Just admire your superiority and brain-ful-ness.
speaking of false info, mato. the latest nintendo power’s “next month” page said something along the lines of “next month we unveil mother 3. just kidding.” it was especially heartbreaking for me since I’m sort of dyslectic so it took me a minute of heart pounding to realize it was a joke.
Speaking of people who don’t pay attention Mato….
…Forget it, great work guys 🙂
Vagn: If you got an account on the sm.net forums, lemme know and I’ll give you a badge for that 😛
Gah, I probably should’ve looked in more than just the spillover board for NP topics. Sorry about that, haha.
What in the world is The Restricted Area Files?
SHANKED BY THEBONE
Can someone answer the simple question I have?
How do you see the status box(es)you see in battle when you’re walking around (like the 7th picture from the bottom)?
Sorry for making it kinda weird but could you answer it?
And good work Mato! Keep it up and the patch will be up in no time!
I dunno, try pressing Select or something?
press select
jinx
That’s clearly wrong, Mato. You should tell him to tceles hsup 🙂
My God, you guys are so close. I’m shaking with the anticipation to finally play Mother 3 in English.
Um, what exactly about this project is going to take another 6 months? Unless, after the script, the task of formatting the finished code into a rom patch is the most difficult, drawn out process ever (more so than hacking the code?), OR you a giant nitpicking freak, I don’t see why I can’t be playing this game in less than a month.
Ok, so I sound like an asshole, but really I just don’t know anything about coding or independently translating video games. Any insight as to why you think a patch won’t exist until Christmas?
I vote for a beta patch!
^ That post is bad and you should feel bad
Ditto
Hey Mato, i was wondering 2 things, Is this project legal? And Is draft 2 the last draft before the initial release?
Fernando: Well, in addition to the large amount of testing for bugs that will need to be done (and the faq clearly states that there will be no beta patch as most people who want a beta patch just want to play the game early rather then help debug), the third draft by Demi is the big mystery time-sucker.
He’s a busy guy, doing his own things, and so the third draft might take a him two weeks or it might take him three months. Hopefully it’ll actually be a nice even amount of time somewhere in the middle/lower end of that time frame, but it’s not something we can predict at this point.
No corners have been or will be cut with this project unless absolutely necessary, and if that means it takes more time, we just have to sit still for a little longer and deal with it.
I’m expecting Draft 2 to be finished within the next 2 weeks and then Draft 3 to take at least another month and a half. So this project being done any later then September doesn’t make much sense to me.
will there be a release of the patch before or EVERYTHING in the to-do list is done? I would love a preliminary release.
fernando pando:
Allow me to address your concerns. First off let me say that isn’t very nice to be so rude to people who are putting in alot of their spare time to translate this game for people like you and me. If you cannot wait till the release date Mato already took the time to prepare a menu patch which translates most things in the game that would be difficult to navigate if they were japanese. Armed with the menu patch and a translation guide you would have a very playable form of Mother 3 which could tide you over until Mato and Jeffman release the patch. This will occur when it meets the whole teams standards.
Secondly Christmas was just my personal guess as to when the patch will come out, nobody actually involved with the translation said that. Mato personally expects about 3-4 months so that would put us in the October-November range. Also most translations projects take upwards of 5 years. This project is precedent setting in its speed and it’s involvement with the community.
Thirdly there is still alot of work to be done. After this 2nd draft of the main script, Mato will allow Demi to play the game in the semi-translated state to give Mato some feedback (think of it is letting someone proof read your essay). Considering that Demi is very busy, and has to play through the game this will probaly take a few months to complete.
Fourthly the hacking is not finished. Since you stated that you don’t know anything about coding I will politely try to explain the difficulty associated with it. They only have the rom to work with, which is a bunch of 1’s and 0’s that have to be translated to ARM assembly instructions which then Mato and Jeffman have to work with to create the ‘code’ to allow the translated text to be inserted and flow nicely. This is a very difficult and time consuming process since they have no user generated comments, just messy crappy compiler created garbage (I assume you don’t know what that means so I suggest you look it up). I’m sure its very discouraging for them to have to read posts like yours when they are working as hard as they can to get this patch out (people have jobs you know so they can’t spend all their time on it, nor should they).
Fifthly (is that a word?), they have to test the patch to make sure its perfect because yes; they are giant nitpicking freaks. This will take an unknown amount of time since they have to test different platforms (GBA, GB player, PC emu, PSP emu, etc) and then address any bugs that they find.
Rest assured that this is all neccisary to make sure that Mother 3 will have the best possible translation, and since it’s Mato and Jeffmans (and others) project they have the sole authority to judge what is, and isn’t neccisary.
So sir if you absolutely cannot wait, download the menu patch. But please don’t come trolling here because its not going to make things faster, if anything it will slow them down.
Oh and yes you did sound like an asshole.
(Guess I got the long rant post for this blog entry 😀 )
Guys, PLEASE stop asking when the patch is going to be released, or asking for a patch release before Mato wants to, or asking him to do a beta release, or trying to tell him how long things should take! Let him do his thing, when he wants to. Besides, most people here forget that he has a JOB. Amazing, I know!!! And…wait for it…he has a LIFE TOO!!! zomg iz uber amazin!!! Some people act like he should be working on this thing every waking minute of his life!!!
If shift is select on an emulator then it’s not working (see above comment).
woops! backspace is select not shift. Thanks Mato! (sorry for double posting)
WHAT UP WITH MOTHER
Vagn, thank you very much for the information. Maybe I am an asshole, but really I just genuinely don’t understand how this shit works and was trying to imagine what was left to be done.
Also, Some Random Guy, You know what’s funny? I think there have been more posts by people like you telling people to stop posting questions than the actual questions themselves. Just ignore my stupid questions and stop perpetuating nothingness.
Here’s a simple question for fernando pando:
Can you hack a rom and make Mother 3 into English faster than Mato/Jeffman?
Please do try.
….great work, man. everyone wants this finished, as do I. I’ve been watching for only a few months, and for some reason, I see my comments repeatedly erased under the name “Aron”. not much more work on your part, you’re almost there. I know people on here annoy you at times, but simply ignore them, as they’re either thick-skulled or impatient.
keep up the good work.
Wow, looking at the amount of crossed-out stuff on the to-do list gives me chills!
Keep up the good work everyone!
You know, after seeing the number of comments that reflect unfamiliarity with the project (e.g.: can you release a beta patch? why can’t this be done by next month? does nintendo know about this? are you going to keep working on it if they release M3?), I have a suggestion.
I know an FAQ list already exists. I’ve read it many times and it is really helpful. However, I’ll gladly bet that most new people who come to / are linked to this site simply look at the blog posts and don’t even realize that there are significant FAQs posted, or just don’t bother to read them. Would it be possible to put, on the homepage of this blog, some of the relevant FAQs as an eyecatching banner/heading/something, right there on top, above the most recent entry so as to draw the attention of new folks? Putting some of these more frequently requested answers might help people out more easily and save some folks and a Mato some time/energy.
In any case, keep fighting the good fight friend, but don’t forget to take a break for tea and cake once in a while. And life. Life is good.
Hey! HEY! Guys! Guess what!
…Lucas is Ness’ brother from another MOTHER!!!
AHAHAHAHA!!!
…I got nothin’. 🙁
Hehe good one.
MATO ROCKS!
Beemutz- your tone suggests you’ve been following this translation for a while, so I feel almost reluctant to point out to you (because I fear this is completely obvious) that there was a little banner like that right about the bottom “Leave a Reply” section of each post. It’s been replaced with this “Please don’t post off-topic questions, etc.” thing, though, and that may be why the number of ignorant comments has risen lately. And if that number actually hasn’t risen, then, perhaps your idea would be more suitable.
Very busy and too tired to read through all the comments since my last reply, but as things finally starting getting closer to completion, I assume more and more “just release the damn thing already” people will show up. Not too much we can do about that, but it’ll probably happen more and more now.
I think that everyone should just stop bugging Mato about when the project will be done. Translating something from Japanese to English isn’t as easy as making a sandwich or a flashlight. I should know; I once made a flashlight using only a roll of duct tape, a cat, and a flashlight.
Dear Mato,
How is Jeffman doing? Has he made any headway with the glitches in the closing credits? I know the to-do list says 20%, but I don’t know if that’s just the credits or some other ending stuff. Please tell me he’s making some headway into the problems. I’m scared that you’ll finish all drafts of the script and then give up when you find out that there’s no way to fix the ending.
HI MATO THIS IS MY FIRST COMMENT BUT LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING
ONCE YOU FINISHED THE SECOND DRAFT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE “REMAINING HACKING”?
THAT’S ALL I JUST WANTED TO KNOW THAT
THANKS FOR THE EFFORT OF ALL THE TEAM AND FOR BRING TO US MOTHER 3 🙂
i’ve been following this for what seems like an eternity now… and i JUST realised that mother 3 isn’t in the isometric view. ha ha.
keep up the good work.
IT WILL REMAIN UNFINISHED, BECAUSE IF THEY HAVEN’T GOTTEN AROUND TO IT BY NOW IT PROBABLY ISN’T TOO IMPORTANT.
Ok, so I know Jeffman is finishing up some hacking, and Tomato is doing the translation thing…but what are all the other people from the original double translations doing? I’m not bashing anyone, or trolling or anything of that nature, I am honestly curious…there were like 6 people on this project when it was first combined a year ago, and know all I read about are two and one (Demi) is going to help when everything else is done…hmmmm………………..just curious where everyone ran off to!
i think vagn has a crush on a tomato
Bret: Various people chipped in their help along the way, but looking back, the merge really just resulted in me and Jeffman being the team. Not that there’s anything wrong with people disappearing, the amount of free time and energy needed for this project turned out to be waaaaay more than anyone could have expected, so only reallllllllly crazy fans like us would put that much time into something like this.
Think of it kind of like EarthBound, where you get temporary party members who help you out along your way to your final goal.
Oh no the cats out of the bag! You figured me out haha 🙂
I TYPE IN CAPS LOCK BECAUSE IT BRINGS ATTENTION TO MY POST AND MAKES ME LOOK COOL.
Actually, EarthBound wasn’t isometric, either. Only Fourside.
In an isometric game, paths usually go northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest.
In EarthBound, paths usually go east, west, northeast, and southwest; only the vertical roads are slanted. I don’t think there’s a name for that. Nor have I seen enough of Mother 3’s roads to say whether or not they’re the same.
I am pretty sure that in my engineering class they called it oblique drawings.
like pippi!
People worship you here, Mato. I like to think that this’s the Happy Happy Cult’s second coming, considering the Mother fanbase is very cultlike, indeed.
“Insane Mato Cultist blocked your path!
Insane Mato Cultist called for help.
Insane Mato Cultist B came running!
Insane Mato Cultist A gazed at Mato longingly.
Insane Mato Cultist B called for help.
Insane Mato Cultist C came running!
Insane Mato Cultist A wielded a question!
Mato’s guts decreased by 4!
Insane Mato Cultist B wielded a question!
Mato’s guts decreased by 3!
Insane Mato Cultist C called for help.
Insane Mato Cultist D came running!”
And on…and on…more and more people keep coming, which is a positive, but the same questions get asked and they bring with them more and more absurd flattery, which I’m sure wears on one’s nerves after a while. He knows we’re all behind him and that we love him and what he’s doing, no need to cram it down the guy’s throat. Everyone, chill! Stop bickering about silly things like grammar.
I’m surprised Mato still reads these comments, I probably would’ve gotten fed up with them long ago, but then again, that’s why he’s doing this and not me (well, there are a lot of reasons, actually).
Mato, I wonder, once this patch is done and finished, can you ever see yourself enjoying a straight-out, plain old playthrough of Mother 3, or do you think you’ll be too critical of your own work to sit down and enjoy the game in English, playing just for the hell of it?
that was really insane… o.O
keep the spirit Mato!
HAHA Peanut Butter…you cap on so many people for doing it, but you did it…i believe this exact question was asked a few posts back!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Well then, if it’s something that’s been addressed before, then I apologize.
>_>
But even so I wouldn’t consider what I asked to be a topic that has been beat to death, didn’t mean to sound like a hypocrite XD
mato: except in earthbound, you have 4 party members by the end. this can only mean one thing.
in order for all to be right with the world, 1 or 2 (depending on if mato counts demi) people must step up to join the party, uh, translation team, full time. I volunteer the person who’s comment is below mine.
Unless it’s mato. in which case I volunteer someone else.
That’s me!
Even though I don’t know anything about translation, I’d gladly join the group just to meet these awesome people. 🙂
Keep up the great work everyone!
Mato, you just need another temporary party member of the calibur of Buzz Buzz or Brick Road/Dungeon Man who demolish all obstacles in your way.
Wow, one year since the merge? That’s interesting. It seems like when time goes on, I get more patient with the progress of the translation. Keep it up!
So basically this second draft just means “We’re that much closer to an English Mother 3”, right? Glad to hear it! 🙂
Also, I wanted to ask you some questions about your plans to edit sound effects (the two Japanese voice clips)… I’d have to discuss that later, though.
Keep up the great work! 😀
Questions about the two sound clips come up regularly, so you might want to check the last few months’ comments — I answered questions about them over and over. I should probably make stock copy-paste answers for lots of stuff at this point 😛
haha mato, what the hell are you doing here around this time?
I thought checking this place at 5:37 am was reserved for overnight help desk techs like myself….
Anyway, you still rock, i think we should throw a party in your honor.
Good job guys. I wish I could say more, but I’m drunk…
(<–whenever that may be)
Also.. don’t call me Captain Obvious with the whole
thing… God Bless Jagermeister!! And God Bless the Starmen.net team for kicking some serious arsenal on this “Lack of Localization” (LOL?) Mato and the team are the (Jager)Bomb. 😉
PS. Please don’t call me the Annoying Reveler. I am WAY skinnier. 😀
A party for Mato? Cool! Who has the Magic Cake?!
[] drunk []<– there were some of these in the last post, but they didn’t show.. I wasn’t THAT bad off. 😉
I was the first to want to throw mato a party when I wanted to throw him a birthday party
Duffman247: It’s not uncommon to have to work hours like that. Usually when I say there’s a lot of real life work to do, I really mean it 😛
Tomato:
I hope you’re not sick of people saying bad EarthBound references to you.
Because, I totally had this Master Belch quote I was going to alter to include your name, about how you’re chosen and s**t.
Ah well. Keep up the good work 8)
I had a weird dream last night. A whole bunch of tomatoes saved me from what appeared to be Michael Jackson in a bikini raiding my house. Thanks, Mato!
Holy crap. I know this is off-topic, but the image of Michael Jackson running around in a bikini is just killing my brain right now. x_x
…My brain won’t allow me to imagine Michael Jackson running around in a bikini.
Thank you brain.
Poe said…”Holy crap. I know this is off-topic, but the image of Michael Jackson running around in a bikini is just killing my brain right now. x_x”
thats wrong on so many levels…
……….
keep it up mato~~~~~ you rule~~~~~
I had a weirder dream. I was in Egypt visiting the great pyramids and all of a sudden a bunch of communist soviets came and took over the place. Somehow I became best friends with someone who looked strikingly similar to Hannah Montana’s brother in the tv show. Anyway, the soviets built up a giant wall, not unlike the berlin wall, and divided the city for no reason because they controlled both sides of the wall. My best friend (hannah montana guy) was on the other side of the wall and I had to help him sneak over the wall, which was surprisingly easy. Then we celebrated and I woke up.
Sounds like the exciting, long-anticipated sequel to “Red Dawn.”
Pharaoh: “Avenge meeeee!!”
I know a lot of people are getting antsy waiting for the patch, but having waited on things like this before, it’s refreshing to find a translator who doesn’t treat the whole project like some “Duke Nukem Forever” package.
Nutsjesmoar: don’t panic see that box that is moving behind you well, Iready to avenge you
To various people whose comments I removed: Come on now, let’s not start stirring up drama where there is none, or at least very little. Nothing annoys me more than when people try to dramatize things.
If I see annoying comments, I can get rid of them easily enough. If I haven’t gotten rid of any, then I’m either fine with them or am fine with having them there or don’t care. Don’t try to think or act for me.
Anyway, all that aside, just finished some real life stuff with a real tough deadline (which is why I was up so late last night/this morning). Too exhausted to think right now, but I’ll probably do a lot of Draft 2 work tomorrow. I forget what stuff is coming up next, but most everything left is exhausting, tedious-feeling stuff. And then there’s THE text, which people who played the game will probably understand without any further description than that. Just that text alone will probably take a day to edit and format and make work in the game due to possible technical issues.
Good luck tomorrow and going forward!
You have my support, my brother’s, my friend’s, my other friend’s, 4 other friend’s, friend’s from neighboring towns, friend’s from work, as well as my girlfriend’s (whom, for those who read every comment will remember, I forced to play EarthBound a few weeks ago).
“Think of it kind of like EarthBound, where you get temporary party members who help you out along your way to your final goal.”
So, are you going to turn into a robot and use a phase distorter to do the final testing of the game? xD
I AM A PUSHER ROBOT
ITEMS PUSHED – GRANDMOTHER
TARGET – STAIRS
:blush: sorry, didn’t mean to fuel the flame.
I have compulsive joke-making disorder.
CJMD is a rare disease that causes victims to make jokes and try to be funny all the time, leading to countless awkward social disasters, especially around in-laws. Gulp!
I shall promptly shut my piehole now.
Continue with the awesome.
What’s THE text? I’m confused
Haha, classic SomethingAwful, Mato.
I was wondering, are you planning to trnaslate the Debug Room Text as well?
Yes, but the debug room left-right menus are currently buggy so you can’t see what you’re choosing. There’s a lot of annoying stuff associated with the text in that room too.
Is it a progress-stopping bug? Have you currently fixed all game breaking bugs in the engine having to do with text Such as this:
ix some ending sequence text stuff — this involves sprite text, let’s hope and pray we don’t need to do sprite text welding again. Currently has some pretty crazy graphical glitchiness. (~20% done
are you going to have to do the sprite text weilding
Kudos to you Mato and good luck 2mmarrow!
You know, I even have The Terrible Secret of Space on my MP3 player at this moment? If I ever do manage to make a game, I’ll likely wind up putting something based on that in there as a minigame. I’ve always wanted to. ^_^;;
zeldarocks – It’s a huge essay of text that explains a lot of mysteries in the game all at once.
can you elaborate?
If you’ve played the game, you would know. Otherwise, don’t worry about it. You’ll understand when you get there 😛
Is this draft 2 the polishing stage or are you actually translating the game still?
200 GET
Sorry. :X
NOOO D:
also, id this legal per say?
I’m so excited! I’m glad there’s more plot. It’s more to fall in love with!
Keep it up Mato and good luck tomorrow.
again, is this legal, and, Is draft 2 the polishing stage or are you actually translating the game still?
Zeldarocks: Reading the FAQ would help. And I’m not sure if questions like those go in the spill-over board or not.
I can’t answer the first question, zelda, but I do believe the script translation is complete, and Draft 2 and 3 are revisions rather than continuations of an incomplete task.
Aaaaagh! THE text! Even though it was important, I hated it! How long do you think that will take you?
I find it funny that you’re up to “THE TEXT” part.
Just wow, when I got there, I was astounded…
How much text do you think that is approximately?
If it’s a spoiler like question, don’t bother answering.
In the words of Peter Griffin:
“You’ll find out…
…Just leave it to me…”
Zeldarocks:
This project is without a doubt illegal. But since Nintendo has zero commercial interest in releasing Mother 3 in English it is unlikely that they will take any action. Its also interesting to note that Nintendo employees have admitted to be waiting for this patch, so if they were going to take action they would have done so by now.
If you have more questions they will most likely be addressed in the faq; a link can be found at the top of this page. Also if you have more questions the spillover board is an excellent place to ask them.
COME ON TEAM LET’S GO!
the only reason I even follow this translation is because it is illegal. When the ladies find out that I approve of all sorts of online illegal activity, they view me as a major badass and find me irresistible. I’m serious. Next time you find yourself hitting on a girl, just slip the fact that you follow this project into the conversation. You can thank me later.
Hey guys if mato goes to jail we should go all ghandi and all go to jail
I was also wondering, Are all the game breaking issues solved such as the text overflow and such?
Once again Zeldarocks read prior posts, check the to-do lists or the FAQs. They’ll help to get you a good background to the project, and will answer most of your questions.
as far as I know, the FAQ does not address the Overflow issue, and the video addressing the glitchy side of the patch says something concerning the issue, but nothing hints at it being fixed
Anymore, it’s hard to ask anything that hasn’t been answered already that’s actually relevant to the translation.
But I find it kind of neat that this translation has such a huge following now–I wonder how many people will stick around once the patch is done?
I just erequire a simple yes or no, no explanation needed
zeldarocks: If you have questions, could you please post them all in one post rather than in 80 posts? And yes, please check the FAQ, the msg board, and previous updates before asking questions, that would help a lot.
ok, I will do that from now on, but could you please answer this question, Are all the game breaking issues solved such as the text overflow?
Yss, there are still some issues involving Block 0 text overflows/data management. Stuff that will crash the game or result in weird stuff like this (Warning! spoilers in related videos!)
Ys’s those were good games…..
Sorry ^.^;;
Hehe, that video was (vaguely) able to remind me of Moonside at one point.
Welcome to Moonside
edisnooM ot emocleW
but is the Block 0 text overflow/data management an issue that is easily resolved or will it take some time? Also in regards to the sprite text, will it slow progress down considerably if you are required to do the sprite text wielding again?
Block 0 text has already been mentioned in the to-do list for more than a month, did you check it? And there are different kinds of sprite text, so unless you’re more specific, I can’t answer. But your barrage of questions is getting a little annoying at this point, so please do your research and post questions all at once, like I asked before.
Okay, one more thing I don’t know about the different kinds of sprite text, but in general, is it game breaking, and how long will it take to do the wielding again if its required, and will it be required? that is all
oh, Block 0 caused that.
It doesn’t matter if something is screwy right now. One of these amazing guys will fix it!
THEY DON’T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE
PLEASE STOP ASKING
dang zelda…get a grip bro The faster mato can get away from these boards to fix those problems the faster the game comes out. The game will be out as soon as they can get it out…These guys have put so much effort into, I doubt there is much that will keep them from finishing short of legal action or translation from nintendo! just chill for a bit bro!
Wait
Would it make everyone happier if mato censored the parts nintendo would censor, including the cross dressing?
… Wait, he isn’t going to do that?
…
Oh.
While I’m sure you’re very psyched about this fantastic work, Zelda, you need to back off of the questions. Mato has been amazingly kind enough to share this in-depth information and interact with the fan-base as much as he has. With that said, he shouldn’t have to be working as hard on answering a stream of endless questions as he is with this project and his real-life stuff. It’s very, very kind of Mato to be so sharing. Not many people would be nearly awesome enough to take the bystanders along for the ride that this translation project has been. Please don’t abuse the comments sections.
Mato rules! 🙂
Home stretch. Go for it!…at your own pace though. We don’t want any pulled tendons or sprained fingers…
Larry:
That’s true, I should be more considerate of him and his circumstances, as well as his loyalty to the community Keep at it bro!
GRANDMA NOOOOO!!!!!
Well, I must admit, it was cool to see grandma flail down those stairs like that….
I hate to see mato so bummed out recently about a project that was all smiles, but he said it earlier that the closer to the end, the more asses will start to show up. Its too bad you don’t have anyone to hand pick the comments that show up and just never have the people who ask the same questions over and over again get acknowledged.
P.S. the down side to this whole text stuff…. No Mitch comics.
I once did some sprite wielding… but I recently switched over to 7up.
Is this thing on?
Every day it’s getting more complete, hooray!
Mato, I just wanted to offer my encouragement during this home stretch! As the project gets more complete, I have witnessed these message threads get longer and longer, with more nitpicking, arguing, and asking for repeated information. It’s clear you’re getting worn out, so I just wanted to say hang in there! Thousands and thousands of grateful gamers will soon be playing your translation. Thank you for all your hard work!
I just read a topic in that someone asked what “Planned meeting for Earthbound 2” was in MOTHER 2. Someone said it said:
“Planning meeting for Mother 3- Also, learn how to prevent other countries from playing Mother 3.”
That would explain so much on why this game is/was so hard to hack.
It is nice to hear that the game script is writen to sound like the NPCs are actualy talking. I have played three games that use “english” and it’s still fun to play ’em but it does make the game look bad when I read, “Oh no. The truck have started to move.”
I found a way to donate to Mato, but I am not telling. Nah nah!
Mitch? Mitch?
MMMMMIIIIITTTTTCCCCCHHHHH!!!!!
Hello Mato. I would just like to say have a happy 4th. And don’t waste the holiday with translating work. You do need a break. Eat some hotdogs, watch the fireworks, bake some cookies. Nobody should have to work on the 4th of July.
also, watch the Hotdog eating contest. Can Joey Chestnut defend his title? We will see. I get so excited about that contest every year. Its my favorite 12 minutes of the year.
I agree entirely with Coconut of Enlightenment. Absolutely no work tomorrow!
Anyway, about zelda’s constant questions, I know it can get irritating for those who read every single comment, but you gotta respect the fact that 1) He/She might be newer to the board then some of us, and 2) A lot of people a really curious about stuff.
are really curios*
I knew a typo would happen 🙁
How ironic.
What? I’m confused. Are you saying that you meant to say that a lot of people are trinkets?
Arashi – you had it right the first time. 😉
and then there was silence…
Mato, I noticed that the Menu Translation Patch has some names still in Japanese, why is that?
First I’ve heard of this. Details?
I used the debug room code, and went to the cast credits, a bunch of names were still in japanese, I assumed you knew…
also at the beginning of chapter 8 (via debug room), the cheffour’s name is displayed correctly, but when he opens the door, the cheffour’s appears in Japanese once more…
Probably because you didn’t name many characters yet. The instant you use the debug room for anything, any “bug” is instantly not a bug pretty much btw. That thing does crazy things. Oh man I don’t look forward to bugs reported by people using that thing.
Oh actually, some of the names in the end are stored in the main script, I forgot. So that’s why many will still be in Japanese.
Also, I had used the debug room cheat after I amed the characters, a bit into chapter 1…
If it helps I was flint at the time (the cowboy dude)
It’s OK, it doesn’t matter, I already mentioned what the deal is.
One more thing, are we gonna have to use the Menu Patch once the full one is released?
Nooooooooooooooooooooo
hahahahaha wow amazing!
I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be so irritable…
Zeldarocks how old are you? I’m just curious.
16
funny how those habits of posting little bits at a time to rack up post counts on regular forums kinda stick with you everywhere in the end… and ends up being just as nonsensical. The more we chit-chat here about stuff that has already been answered, the more time Mato has to waste answering, and the less gets done… I silently cheer him on the inside, I think it’s better that way now that he’s onto the 2nd Draft and doesn’t have as much visual news…
Zeldarocks, you do realize you’re actually slowing down the progress, right? Ask these things on the regular Starmen.net forums, people will have answers there.
WHOA! Another 16 year old? I thought I was the only one…
Also, Mato, I watched your video of the Japanese cast roll and noticed that the red areas looked funny. Was that just the video or does the game do that from time to time?
Probably video compression and/or youtube wackiness.
Wrong Zeruel, I am also 16. Waha!!
I will stop asking questions now, carry on…
zeldarocks: click this link http://starmen.net/forum/?t=pre_reg
Agree with those rules, create an account, click “register”, check your email and verify your account.
Then, once you’re logged in, click this link http://starmen.net/forum/?t=msg&th=47935
And ask all of your questions there.
Please, for the sanity of all of us, ask your questions on the Starmen.Net forums.
Mato, as soon as your done with draft 3 there’s gonna be a release right?
*facepalm*
I think we’re being trolled, guys.
…
I’ve gone out of my way to learn as little as possible about this game, but I am curious about a few things. Are the cultural references and places americanish like earthbound or are they more Japanese-centric this time around? Or something else entirely? And kind of along the same lines but more pertinent to this project, I think I remember you mentioning that some things (jokes and whatnot) originally only made sense to Japanese players or people really familiar with that culture, and that you were going to change these to spiritually similar English phrases. Are you planning to consolidate with Demi on how to best deal with these instances? Don’t bother answering if you’ve gone through this stuff before, I try to keep up with the blog but its sometimes difficult picking information from 300 posts of flashcard questions and accolades (not that you don’t deserve accolades my man).
Alright, zeldarocks won’t be bothering us for a while at least.
Anyway Berticus: it’s hard to put a blanket statement over the humor and references in that way, but it’s generally no different from how M2 was and how EB was. There are puns and plays on words mostly. Cultural references aren’t THAT common, so it’s nothing too big, and I often ask people around me or on this blog or on the msg board for suggestions when such stuff does come up, like some movie references a while back, or something dialect-related last week.
The translation notes will (hopefully, if I don’t run out of energy first) list all the various references and puns that had to be handled during the translation too. I look forward to that, well, the reading of it, not the making of it 😉
On your quest to translate M3, Nintendo purposely made it difficult to code. They don’t want you to succeed. Now as you get close to the end they attempt to thwart your attempts by anonymously barraging you with questions. Now you have no choice but to put your soul into a robot and send it back in time through the Phase Distorter and use pray 9 times on Satoru Iwata. Only then can the translation be completed, but be careful out there, he’ll be accompanied by your next door neighbor in a spider machine thing.
sounds like you gave him a box of tin foil and some crayons