MagicEngine

David Shadoff · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:15 am Post subject: Emerald Dragon Translation

Yes, as Sam mentioned, I found a huge amount of the compressed script and it seems that I was able to successfully extract it. I have also found bits and pieces of uncompressed text, but that seems to be regarding the Memory Base 128 and other backup stuff. I don't know if I have extracted it all, but it's over 2MB of text (although I think there is likely to be a fair bit of duplication in there).

It's going to be a while before any further progress is worth mentioning though - as it stands, the script is huge and I need to make a tool to keep track of all the text, both for managing duplicate strings (if any), and also for when it comes time to reinsert. I also have to write a compresser and an inserter, and various bits and pieces....

But first, I think I need to make sure I understand all the special formatting codes that are used in the text, and verify that English text can be displayed properly.

As for the dub, I offer the same thing that I offered for the Ys 4 translation project:
Thanks to the ADPCM tools that I wrote, and the work of an intrepid Japanese hacker, I have extracted all of the ADPCM audio clips, and can reinsert new ones. However, somebody else will have to translate, record, mix, and edit the alternate voicing. I would also want to ensure that the "dub" patch and the "text" patch be packaged separately, as many people may only want the text patch (but of course, both could be applied if you wanted them).

Keranu · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:22 am Post subject:

Bless you guys!
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Tomaitheous · Elder Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 306 Location: Tucson

Does Emerald Dragon use the system cards font or its own?

Just a thought, but Right Stuff brought out another game after Emerald Dragon(can't remember the name). The game looks very similar and I wonder if they used the same compression scheme for that game as well.
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Kaminari · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:44 am Post subject:

Alnam no Kiba and Alshark. They were produced by the same team and seemingly use the same engine.
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David Shadoff · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 4:33 am Post subject:

Emerald Dragon was a Media Works / NEC Home Electronics game, not Right Stuff...

Anyway, I got the compression under control - it's 95% similar to the one used in Ys4, and NightCrawler gave me some info that he had on the subject to help me out.

I don't know yet what it uses for all of its fonts, probably it uses the system card for full-width SJIS stuff, but it also has a half-width kana font for at least katakana. Probably uppercase ASCII too, but I haven't got that far yet.

Kaminari · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:04 am Post subject:

Right Stuff appears in the credits of Emerald Dragon, if memory serves right. And the two games I mentioned were definitely produced by Media Works (with most of the same guys working on the three projects).
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Tomaitheous · Elder Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 306 Location: Tucson

I remember Right Stuff being connected with ED, but I couldn't remember the details. Now you have second guessing though.
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David Shadoff · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 3:33 pm Post subject: Minor update

I got the extractor fixed up a bit - the text blocks are not properly terminated in this game, so some of the blocks ran on forever, giving the impression that the game's script was much larger than it really is.

Current size is about 300KB raw, or 800KB when the special codes are translated to human-readable tokens.

I still haven't counted strings or checked for duplication, but I found where the text is stored for the first bits of text displayed in the game.

duke4711 · Regular Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 84

Man, I have to say, you guys are awesome! After Ys IV, I thought we wouldn't see another PCE game translated. I know I'll be patiently awaiting this one. I've had Emerald Dragon for a long time too! Thank You!

turbofan1 · Member Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 33

This is great.Cant believe this game is being translated.Please keep us updated.

fragmare · Member Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 59

David Shadoff · Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 7:07 pm Post subject: Fonts

The CD system card has its own fonts (obviously, since it displays text), but it provides an interface for game developers to use (approx 1900 joyo kanji symbols plus roman letters and symbols). However, the roman letters look terrible and it offers sizes of 12x12 and 16x16.

Emerald Dragon has many fonts that it uses...
- It seems to have a 8x8 font which includes kana, and maybe even some kanji.
- It has the 12x12 version of the system card font, but I have only seen hiragana and kanji used by this (although katakana will also work).
- It has a custom 8x12 font for katakana and uppercase roman characters (sadly, no lowercase, but (with additional effort) those can be substituted back in place of the kana they stuck in those locations).

Oh, and the size of the script (as I vaguely alluded to earlier) ?
I don't have the stats immediately in front of me, but there are about 8,500 strings (ie. phrases/sentences), and about 3,800 of them are unique.

nodtveidt · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 4:59 am Post subject:

Is this interface documented anywhere? I'd like to be able to make use of the Japanese characters without having to mess with adding new fonts and whatnot...
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Tomaitheous · Elder Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 306 Location: Tucson

Not sure about the interface, but the fonts are stored in 16x16 1bit format. You can see them using tmod2 w/pce pluggin pack. Spriggan Mark 2 uses them in the beginning of opening cinema.
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dmichel · Admin Joined: 04 Apr 2002 Posts: 1166 Location: France

Yup, the interface is documented :