Phantasy Star Generation 2: English Translation

[SandyLandale]

Sorry, just reporting a glitch. https://youtu.be/roYgPtEYvEI

This is a glitch in Phantasy Star Generation:2 if you attempt to fight Mother Brain with Eusis dead. The Mother Brain sprite panel duplicates itself and follows you, and the electrical sound effect doesn't cease. I don't know if this is just an issue with the game in general because I wasn't able to get ahold of the unaltered Japanese ISO. I also don't know if this is just the fault of the emulator either.

edit - EMULATOR ISSUE, IGNORE THIS

[UniqueUserName]

Merry Christmas !!

[TheSegaDude]

Sorry, just reporting a glitch. https://youtu.be/roYgPtEYvEI

This is a glitch in Phantasy Star Generation:2 if you attempt to fight Mother Brain with Eusis dead. The Mother Brain sprite panel duplicates itself and follows you, and the electrical sound effect doesn't cease. I don't know if this is just an issue with the game in general because I wasn't able to get ahold of the unaltered Japanese ISO. I also don't know if this is just the fault of the emulator either.

I do have the original Japanese game disc. I could make an ISO for you if you like. What software would be best to rip the CD?

Also, I wanted to stop in again and say that I'm still really hoping for a bug fix for the random item drop freeze after combat on physical hardware (PS2). I still really want to play this on original hardware!

SegaDude@RetroMegabit.com

[SandyLandale]

Guys, look, at this point we have to face the fact that an update's not coming.

I emailed Tryphon for something simple--I wanted the opcodes for the character portraits of PSG:1. Something simple that just requires telling me who makes what face, since I can't tell who is speaking by the text codes "[portrait 1]", "[portrait 2]", etc. I asked that back in December to no response.

Kyence has said she's not interested in finishing up the PSG:2 translation. I can't do anything without Tryphon, who seems to not want to do anything with this project anymore. It's not coming.

I don't know anything about fixing up improper translations, or coding, or patch types; I can't code worth beans and I don't know very much Japanese. I just worked on revising and playtesting PSG:1 v2.10. I wish I could do something, but I can't. I can't fly to France and force Tryphon to work on these games any more than I can code anything myself.

As the last remaining member of the team, I give anyone reading the PSG:1 and 2 teams' full permission to finalize these translations for play on real hardware. I'll even help out, unless something happens to me. But for now, it's over. It's not how I wanted it to go, and if I had ever imagined things would go like this, I wouldn't have signed on at all. I'm sorry.

[TheSegaDude]

There is nothing to apologizes for. You and everyone involved made a huge effort on this project and it can be played with emulation; just not on a physical (and modded) Playstation 2. It's still a big win. And you all have my thanks!

Is the source code available in case someone comes along with the skills and wants to give it a shot?

Again, thank you to everyone!!

Maybe it's time to play PSG:1 again

[Shinto-Cetra]

Guys, look, at this point we have to face the fact that an update's not coming.

I emailed Tryphon for something simple--I wanted the opcodes for the character portraits of PSG:1. Something simple that just requires telling me who makes what face, since I can't tell who is speaking by the text codes "[portrait 1]", "[portrait 2]", etc. I asked that back in December to no response.

Kyence has said she's not interested in finishing up the PSG:2 translation. I can't do anything without Tryphon, who seems to not want to do anything with this project anymore. It's not coming.

I don't know anything about fixing up improper translations, or coding, or patch types; I can't code worth beans and I don't know very much Japanese. I just worked on revising and playtesting PSG:1 v2.10. I wish I could do something, but I can't. I can't fly to France and force Tryphon to work on these games any more than I can code anything myself.

As the last remaining member of the team, I give anyone reading the PSG:1 and 2 teams' full permission to finalize these translations for play on real hardware. I'll even help out, unless something happens to me. But for now, it's over. It's not how I wanted it to go, and if I had ever imagined things would go like this, I wouldn't have signed on at all. I'm sorry.

I'm on the team and am still around...I just don't post much cause I can't do anything either. I echo your sentiments, and don't blame you.

[TheSegaDude]

I have a friend who is a programmer by profession and I believe he is particularly talented. I can ask him to help fix this one bug.

But I need help making the request as straight forward as possible.

Is someone able to provide the source code and details about the tools needed to work with it?

[The PS Logo]

Guys, look, at this point we have to face the fact that an update's not coming.

I emailed Tryphon for something simple--I wanted the opcodes for the character portraits of PSG:1. Something simple that just requires telling me who makes what face, since I can't tell who is speaking by the text codes "[portrait 1]", "[portrait 2]", etc. I asked that back in December to no response.

Kyence has said she's not interested in finishing up the PSG:2 translation. I can't do anything without Tryphon, who seems to not want to do anything with this project anymore. It's not coming.

I don't know anything about fixing up improper translations, or coding, or patch types; I can't code worth beans and I don't know very much Japanese. I just worked on revising and playtesting PSG:1 v2.10. I wish I could do something, but I can't. I can't fly to France and force Tryphon to work on these games any more than I can code anything myself.

As the last remaining member of the team, I give anyone reading the PSG:1 and 2 teams' full permission to finalize these translations for play on real hardware. I'll even help out, unless something happens to me. But for now, it's over. It's not how I wanted it to go, and if I had ever imagined things would go like this, I wouldn't have signed on at all. I'm sorry.

You have nothing to apologize for, Sandy. However, if Kyence and Tryphon want nothing more to do with the translation, the least they can do is hand the assets over to someone else willing to continue on with the debugging and other fixes.

[Zucca]

I'll hope that some day someone picks this project back up and finishes it. :\

if Kyence and Tryphon want nothing more to do with the translation, the least they can do is hand the assets over to someone else willing to continue on with the debugging and other fixes.

This. Exactly.

[Shinto-Cetra]

I'll hope that some day someone picks this project back up and finishes it. :\

if Kyence and Tryphon want nothing more to do with the translation, the least they can do is hand the assets over to someone else willing to continue on with the debugging and other fixes.

This. Exactly.

Well like I stated earlier (7/17/17) from the last time I spoke with her, Kyence doesn't even have the latest files. Tryphon is another story, I honestly don't know what he may have.

[darkwraith007]

My goodness. I'm away for a bit and this happens.
Tryphon not wanting to 'fix' or finish this patch doesn't surprise me.
Unfortunately this is part of a larger issue where fan-translations are deliberately crippled to NOT run on real hardware due to the massive scammer/leecher problem.

Here's an article that summarizes the points:
https://www.libretro.com/index.php/appe ... n-general/

-The NES and SNES classic and the resulting 'emulator box' scams have gotten so out of control that there aren't enough lawsuits that can be filed.

-In addition, translated carts are openly sold online via Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, and other sites in such prolific amounts that no amount of DMCAs can be worth the trouble. Drop one down and 20+ more pop up like weeds. Almost all of them are 'junk' accounts created and maintained by Chinese spammers/botters who've been able to acquire massive account lists (even some hacked legit accounts that weren't used in a while) and make massive profit off of this.

-Conventions are the WORST and they openly allow these filthy leechers to SELL their wares to unsuspecting retro fans.

-Many translation groups have either completely abandoned the trade or just given up. Many of them (DeJap in particular) have found careers in professional translation and do it for a living now.

As someone who's personally seen the ridiculous amount of blood, sweat, and tears that go into various translation projects, I'm ok with how things have turned out here.
The law no longer protects open source and fan projects that have to deal with the massive time & expense of individually suing these leeching assholes all the time.
And what's worse? Many mainstream retro fans and enthusiasts tend to be too ignorant/stupid to realize when something is junk versus actually worth it. Look at the ATGames video that Mike Matei put out with his fat neckbeard player2 stinking up the video. They don't bother to tell people that ATGames 'consoles' are just emulator boxes. They're also really poor-quality ones with significantly inferior sound quality. You can buy an actual Model2 or Model3 Sega Genesis/MegaDrive for far cheaper than the ATGames stuff AND get tons of games or buy a flash kart and stick whatever ROMs on it.

What that means for this project is that it isn't worth the time/effort to do anything with it. It works via emulation and that'll have to suffice. In the event more 'accurate' emulation ends up 'breaking' the game, that's what older versions are for. Perhaps the demand for a proper Steam re-release in English of both of these games by SEGA themselves might be a better endeavor to pursue rather than dealing with this.

I'm well aware of many people in the emulation community that have 'retired' from rom hacking/mods for precisely the reasons I mentioned above and then some.
Translators work their ASSES off and give it away for FREE and all they ever ask for return is non-commercial use and attribution. But even that is too fucking much.

If anyone wants to know who the real villain is in all this? Look in the mirror.

[SandyLandale]

I'm on the team and am still around...I just don't post much cause I can't do anything either. I echo your sentiments, and don't blame you.

I'm glad you're still around, Cetra, and even gladder you agree with me. Hopefully someone someday will come around to help us out...

[snipped for brevity]

Firstly, making disc game repros is still difficult. I have no doubt that progress is being made--I did hear tell that Sony actually released how to press official PS1 discs. But to my knowledge? You can't just "reproduce" a pressed PS2 disc to have it work with the complex Emotion Engine. The best you can do is buy a PS2 Memory Card with FreeMcBoot on it, and an external hard drive pre-loaded with PS2 games.

Secondly, it's not just that they can't be played on real hardware. PSG:1 uses the thunder-elemental icon for its non-elemental spells. It lacks character name labels if there's a portrait. Altiplano Plateau is called "Antiplano." The scrambled character graphics issue happens on PCSX2 sometimes. Spell names should be in cyan instead of yellow or whatever it is right now, I can't be assed to look. There are multiple typos within the text. PSG:2 has the issue where enemy name labels run out of the text box. The missing "item got" label after battle is an aesthetic issue, not just crash-related. Keinz's Skill has a fire icon and it's an anti-machine ability. Huey's Skill has an anti-biomonster icon and it's a non-elemental ability. There are numerous typos and formatting issues. These translations are not finished. They're in a rough state and as a creator, it's beyond frustrating that something I worked on, PSG:1, is in this unfinished state.

Lastly, even though there may be piracy--I don't care if a few unsuspecting people spend money on repros (Which still aren't really a thing for PS2 unless you have a modded console.) that they, unknowingly, could've gotten for free. I would much rather do that than deprive people who went out and took the time and money to install FreeMcBoot, (Or purchase a Memory Card with it.) and get an external hard drive, or get a flip-top PS2 and SwapMagic, bought a CRT, burned the disc to one or more CDs or DVDs, and possibly converted the game to DVD format...

...Just to play a remake of one of their favorite games from their childhood. Only to find that their beloved Alisa Landale turns into a gray-colored version of fucking Tyrone's ass when you win a battle. Or worse, with PSG:2--the game will fucking softlock if you win a battle! Sorry, folks, you don't get to play the long-anticipated remake of one of the games most important to you that you unwrapped on Christmas as a little kid. Nope, it just crashes if you win an item. Save often! It's fucked up to do that.

This is a passion for me and it's also a service. It's a product. Each and every single work I've ever done is a free product of love, and a service to people that I made out of the goodness of my heart. And if these people, who just want to experience stories from their formative years with improvements to the gameplay. it's my duty to deliver it to them. Anything less than perfection is unacceptable.

I may not know code or Japanese, but I've spent ages combing the internet for solutions, figuring out bitmasks, trying to find the right byte to set, scouring undumped ISOs, trying to do anything and everything I can to make sure my vision shines through. I put so many hours of work into PSG:1 and I hate seeing it left in this state.

[The PS Logo]

Well like I stated earlier (7/17/17) from the last time I spoke with her, Kyence doesn't even have the latest files.

Even those files would be helpful, as they are better than nothing at all, which is where the team is currently at...

Tryphon is another story, I honestly don't know what he may have.

Hopefully he'll see this discussion and give us a response... someday.

[Shinto-Cetra]

Well like I stated earlier (7/17/17) from the last time I spoke with her, Kyence doesn't even have the latest files.

Even those files would be helpful, as they are better than nothing at all, which is where the team is currently at...

I contacted her in the interest of procuring those files. I'll update If I get/hear anything.

[TheSegaDude]

If the people who worked on this project aren't available anymore to fix the 'random item drop' issue maybe we could pool some money together to offer an incentive or get someone else to fix it.
I'd be willing to pitch in some money.
Of course if we need new people we'll have to get the source materials. Any luck with that so far?

Would anyone else be willing to offer some money to help get this completed? Anyone willing to take the money would have to be known and trusted or be willing to take payment after the work is done to ensure intentions are true and honest.