FF7 NES Chinese Translation

oh nice. well i'd appreciate anything that can make the game easier

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HERE'S YOUR PRESENT!   
97% Translation & Improvement Patch
World Map
The long wait for the new patch is finally over!  I don't have everything I want finished complete yet, but I'm so much closer:
* 4-line text
* Dialog encoded more efficiently, so text is more comprehensive
* Tweaked dialog to address that Scarlet and Palmer have been revisioned into one female character (Pretend her name is Scarlet Palmer)
* Improved battle menu command names
* Improved equipment names and use small icons
* Modified elemental and equipment class icons
* Fixed animated backgrounds
* Changed battle BG from trees to generic horizontal lines
* Reduced item prices
* Reduced Exp needed to gain character levels
* Reduced Exp needed to gain weapon levels
* Reduced Exp needed to gain materia levels
* Reduced Exp needed to gain spell levels
* Increased status bonuses for level-ups
* Increased initial Potion and Phoenix inventory
* Rearranged spell inventory to be more orderly
* Adjusted all enemy attack patterns to incorporate the new spell inventory
* Battle PPU engine has not been improved yet.  Still liable to display enemies incorrectly on occasion.

As I come to the final stages your thoughts will be most appreciated.

Edit: I just replaced the file with a better version where I decrease random encounter rate (12/24/08 5:48PM EST)
Edit: Fixed the world map file (12/16/08 12:42PM EST)

I have to congratulate you making what I thought was an awful game into something decent. Incidently, I believe I've found an issue. When you use magic, magic will replace the the max HP for just a second and then return to normal. Not a big deal, but it was something that struck me.

Have you thought about hosting the patch here as well? You'd need a direct file host in order to do so, but I could upload the patch and submit it for you. Your choice.

Thank you, Pennywise.
The original ROM writes each fighter's current command over their MaxHP.  It's unusual, but it's not a bug.  I just didn't see a big reason to change it.  I fully intend to host the patch on the site when I feel it is complete.  The spell graphics will have to be changed around, certain character avatars too, the mechanics will need more work, and I need more playthrough to find the context of improvised translations.  What makes no sense is that they removed a lot of lines from the 1st bar scene when the text already exists in the ROM.  What I really think should be done to make it more playable is to increase the speed of the game.  Yes, an emulator can speed it up, but I hope to make it real.

all right! can't wait to test it out

do you have any kind of roadmap / time table for when you think you might possibly have the final patch done? (I'm asking for a general subject-to-change idea, not a release date)

do you have any kind of roadmap / time table for when you think you might possibly have the final patch done? (I'm asking for a general subject-to-change idea, not a release date)

On top of that, Lindblum, do you have a gameplan for what you still have planned? I'm curious as to exactly what hacks and improvements you have planned, what you're working on right now, etc.

I'm excited about this project, but I'm the kind of guy who would rather wait until it's completely done before playing (especially since I've heard the original Chinese version is a pile of shit. )

Thank you, Pennywise.
The original ROM writes each fighter's current command over their MaxHP. 

Didn't FF3 also do that?

Playing this for a little while makes me desperate for a graphics upgrade. When the translation is complete I may just start a graphics upgrade project. ^_^

Alright, you deserve to hear what gameplan I have.  First off, the patches I've posted are alphas or 0.xx versions, just to invite opinions and feedback.  I do not intend them to be the version you play for real.  When I actually release I will call it v1.0, and give it a more public release. 
The translation itself is good as done, but I'm running through the game to find mistakes, mine and Nanjing's.  Right now I'm:
* Rearranging spell graphics
* Restoring dialog absent from the original file (bar scene, ending)
* Assessing the unfairness of boss HP
* Learning about the sound engine (though I might not actually do much about it)
* Seeing if I can figure out how to speed up the timing
* Doing minor fixes to the battle PPU engine
* I should also try to fix the buggy buggy (for some reason it's hard to get into the river buggy)
* The ending is F.U.B.A.R. to say the least, so I'm taking responsibility for making it passable (That's the biggest priority)

Killa B,
As for an ETA I'm not sure you can trust me there.  Back in August I thought this would only take me a few weeks, until I realized this was going to be more than a matter of replacing Chinese with English text.  Frankly, I want to be free of this project within 3 weeks.

Vanya,
Any further changes I make to graphics might make complications with a facelift project, though I still invite it.  There's just a weirdness to the concept of me redrawing spells, only to have them redone again by the next team.  I rearranged the spells of each materia to have a more logical flow, but their graphics are still the same.  Among other things, I want to change the highest level spell of each materia to have the appearance of a summon (has to be 32x32).  If you want to discuss a facelift project I would suggest making a new thread so I can twink over all my knowledge.

P.S. I only finally beat the game an hour ago. 

OK. I'll start a thread for a face lift project. It would really make this game complete to have new graphics instead of the seemingly rehashed FF3 tiles. If I could I'd change the music too, but that's beyond me. ^_^

Wow this game just gets cooler and cooler the more I hear about it except for my characters always dying

Dethklok would say this game is metal. ^_^

Do you have screenshots of the ending in Chinese? I'm curious.

[View Spoiler:]

KFF,
What part of the ending?  The very end is just

View Spoiler:

a black screen with a paged text box that says "之后...世界上再也没有人听过魔晃炉这东西...现出前面的是远处的一片森林.青葱的森林下,勉强还可看出,那是早已被人们忘记的废弃的都市...米德加.一排白鸟振翅飞过天空,发出嘹亮的叫声..."
I have a better ending in mind.

If you want screenshots they are already out there.

Playing through it now, just at the beginning at the reactor, but I figured I would let you know. "Before the security and roboguards comes" should read "before the security and roboguards come."