Sono Hanabira - English Patch - Complete!

I never gave much thought to what I would say when this time finally came. Even more than you, I wasn't even sure that it would ever make it this far.

But here is it - the long-long-looooong awaited English translation patch for Sono Hanabira:

The patch is in two parts: a graphics patch, and a script patch. You'll need both.

You'll need the the original game as well of course. Unlike most Japanese games, a downloadable edition can be easily purchased for less than $20 US from DLsite.com's completely-English store - here's a direct link. (No, these are not affiliate links.)

I guess in the end, I really don't have anything to say. So I shall let my work speak for me.

Well, one thing I guess: Thanks everybody - seriously. Good night.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

[edit: added info on where to buy the original game - please do!]

A preemptive FAQ: technical details

Alright, now for a few posts of relatively serious stuff:

Let's start off with a few preemptive FAQs about technical details

1. What exactly is all this about? Some sort of game?
   
   - If you really have no idea what this project is about, read my first post here which explains things pretty well.
   
   
2. Will I need to buy the full game to play this translation?
   
   - Yes, you will need to buy the full game. What will be available here is just an add-on patch that will allow the original game to be played in English.
   
   
3. How am I supposed to buy a Japanese game from a Japanese store if I don't know Japanese? And aren't imported Japanese games really expensive?
   
   - One of the major reasons for my choosing to this particular game was that it was available for purchase online quite cheaply from a completely English online store. There may be other places to get it, but I know for certain that the original game can be bought for less than $20 US from DLsite.com's English store. If you have trouble, here's a direct link to the product page. (And no, those are NOT any kind of 'affiliate' links - I have no interest in making -any- money from this project.)
   
   
4. What level of computer hardware am I going to need to run this?
   
   - Check the product page for the game on DLsite for the specifics, but basically, if you are here reading this, you probably won't have any problems.
   
   
5. What operating systems will the game run on?
   
   - According to the product page, the game is officially supported on Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. It is possible to get the game to run the game on some other operating systems at well (I've had luck with both Linux and OSX), but not without some problems. Note that this includes Vista and Windows 7, both of which have some issues running the game properly.
   
   
6. The translated game will run fine on the default settings on an English system, right? I won't have to anything weird like install Japanese support or change my language settings, right? Right?
   
   - Um, I hate to break this to those of you that were hoping otherwise, but I'm afraid that running even the translated version of the game properly will require installing Japanese support for your computer's OS, as well as changing the default language for non-unicode programs to Japanese. Instructions on how to do this can be found on DLSite's FAQ page under "Trouble with opening files - 4. An error occurs when I click the exe file in game file." (If anyone knows of a better/clearer set of instructions, please let me know.) You -may- be able to avoid some of this by using Microsoft's "AppLocale" utility, but in my own experience at least, Applocale doesn't work properly with this game. It is possible that the game can be made to run without doing all this, but you -will- have issues with garbled text.
   

More to come as I have time to write them - next up will probably be some information on my translation and writing style - which I am certain many of you will find odd and demand explanations for - as well as some of the issues I came up against as a first-time translator.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

It's done! (Well, almost anyway...)

Holy crap...

It's done.

Not quite "ready to upload" done, but still - the translation itself is complete. All that's left is to put it all together, wrap it up, and sent it off.

The final fixes and changes to the script from the last editing/proofreading pass have been made. The graphics files sit patiently, awaiting the big moment. There are still a lot of things that I have doubts about and wish I had had more time to work on - but that would probably still be true no matter how much longer I spent on them. The time for coddling is over - my "little baby" is ready to go out and face the big wide world.

All that's left to do is the final building and packaging, and one final test to make sure nothing catches on fire or explodes. (Disclaimer: you use this translation at your own risk - if it makes anything of -yours- catch fire or explode, sorry, but tough luck.)

It will probably still be a few hours yet before I'm ready to upload the finished translation, but rest assured that it really is on its way, and will be arriving soon.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

Holy crap - just three days left?!

(A warning to the squeamish and jaded among you: this post includes some personal details, and may be considered Too Much Information.)

I'm scared.

This is the first time I've ever attempted let alone come this close to finishing a public project like this. I've had a lot of self-doubt along the way, and there were times that I was paralyzed with fear of failure so much that I was literally unable to work on the project at all, thinking that there was absolutely NO way I could ever actually finish, so why bother trying.

For a long time, I couldn't even bring myself to make a post here, even just to let you all know that I was still alive, because I didn't want to give any potentially false hopes. It was not until I had managed to bring the translation up to a beta level - pretty rough yet in a few places perhaps, but still essentially complete - that I finally felt comfortable and confident enough to break my long silence.

And so, despite all of the doubts, we have almost arrived at our destination. Already having gone through several beta revisions since my last post, the script is currently undergoing one final round of proofreading before being packaged up for release. Likewise, the graphical modifications have been checked over, the few issues that were discovered are now fixed, and indeed, the graphical part of the translation patch I now consider complete - packed up waiting to be released.

So yes, I'm scared. But I'm also hopeful.

Scared of what you all will think of my work once it gets into your hands in a few days. But then again, as I read over and play through my translation, I also feel a tiny glimmer of pride in what I've managed to accomplish with it. The people who have played the beta translation have been quite pleased with what I've done - including the main person for whom I started this project in the first place: my wife (Yay Canada!), CountPokey, who now has finally been able to read this wonderfully sweet story together with me. One way or another, I hope there will soon be at least a few of you out there who will enjoy as well.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

One final thing: I've given the current beta version to a friend of mine, with instructions to post it publicly if something happens to me. I'm know I'm just being paranoid, but - just in case - I'd prefer to be remembered as somebody who actually managed to keep her promises and deliver on them, rather than be dismissed as just yet another troll.

Almost there - yes, really!

Just to quell the (understandable) fears that this project has died: though it had been 'on hold' for a while, I've been back working on it almost full time for a couple months again now, and the project is -finally- nearing release. The translation patch is pretty much complete now, and is currently in beta testing.

Some of "you" may have already heard rumours of a release date - I do intend to meet that date, and yes, I do mean this year. :) While I can't promise it will be the final version or be free of translation errors - this is my first translation project after all - one way or another, there will be a full public release by that date.

I'll try to keep an active presence here over the next few weeks, with progress reports and other info on the project.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

P.S: To those who had given up on me: no hard feelings, I would have given up on me too after all this time.

Slowly but surely...

Just to put everyone's minds at ease: any rumours of the project's death or cancelation have been greatly exagerated. While I haven't had as much time to spend on it as I'd like, be assured that the project is still slowly but surely being working on toward completion.

This is the least glamourous and yet in ways the most important phase of development. The long, agonizingly slow grind of going over the scripts again and again and again and again. Finding new errors each time through. Trying to find every last error - knowing it's impossible to get them all, but trying nevertheless. Finally passing the scripts on to someone else to double-check. Having the scripts handed back with so many new errors found that it seems like you're starting all over again. And so on and so on...

Still though - slowly but surely - we're getting there.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

Progress Report - October 6, 2008

There hasn't been as much opportunity to work on the project as I would have hoped, but progress is still being made, albeit a bit sporadically again. The graphical work has pretty much been completed, with all of the interface elements translated, edited, and inserted back into the game. As for editing the script, things are coming along slowly but surely. Since editing is an iterative process, it's hard to judge how far along toward completion it is, but a rough guess would put it at about one-third complete.

I do apologize to those of you that thought 'raw translation complete' meant 'almost finished', but do realize that editing can be an even more involved process than the initial translation, especially for larger works like visual novels.

Rest assured - it's coming. :)

To help ease the wait, here are a few more screenshots, showing the translated interface:




- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

Raw Translation Complete

- Raw translation: 100%
- Editing and proofreading: already underway

Thanks go out to all of you that have sent in your words of encouragement, and I can only hope that the final project will live up to everyone's expectations (ours included).

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

Progress Report - August 30, 2008

The progress of the project has been a little sporadic at times, but it still has been moving along fairly well. Work seems to only get done in fits and starts, but when there's an opportunity, a lot of progress gets made in a relatively short time. The initial translation of the first ten chapters of the game has been completed, bringing the progress of the raw translation up to 75% complete. There are also a number of new screenshots of the work-in-progress being prepared, which should be ready to be posted in a short while.

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com

Progress Report - July 13, 2008

Current project progress:

Translation: ~35%
Editing/proofreading: ~15%
In-game insertion/formatting: ~10%
Graphics editing: ~50%

- CountPacula - rose-at-sonohanabira-dot-countpacula-dot-com