[kringlur]

Hi, I'm a complete newbie to rom hacking but I heard the translation/gameplay of Terranigma sucks in English so I've been thinking about doing a translation hack (if anyone wants to team up with me, you're VERY welcome!). I thought to start with I'd just need to extract the text with a table file, translate it then insert it back in. However the table file at Data Crystal is missing all the kanji: https://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wiki/Terranigma:TBL#Japanese_Version

I opened up the rom in Tile Molester, found the kanji section and used the paint bucket to replace colours until the kanji were recognizable. Here's an example of the in-game kanji:



Originally something like this in Tile Molester:



Replaced colours, Row Interleaved mode:



The kanji clearly have parts missing on the right side. 宝　矢　六　論　四　五　雷　for example are all in there but their right sides have been cut off. I thought in order to make the table file I would just have to find the letter offsets in an image editor then type them all up, but this is making things more complicated. Can anyone help me?

[paul_met]

You just use the wrong format. Therefore, the font is displayed incorrectly.

[Vehek]

I saw a complete list a long time ago, and have used it to dump text, but I'll have to find/get it again.

Edit:
Okay, I retrieved the table, and uploaded the kanji portion to Data Crystal.

[kringlur]

Thank you both a ton! Now I just have to find a text dumper/inserter or hex editor that actually works, and I can start translating! None of the dumping tools have worked for me so far and when I load the rom + table file in WindHex or GoldFinger to try and do a dump myself it just shows up as a garbled mess...

[filler]

You may want to review this thread and see if it addresses your issue. http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=28605.0

[kringlur]

Nope, ensuring it's shift-JS just got the text to appear as random garbage hiragana/kanji instead of random garbage other characters. I even downloaded the JWPce program that person used to follow the same steps and no different result. Here's a sample:



Also I didn't realize but the katakana table file is missing from DataCrystal as well, does anyone have that they can put up too?

[filler]

"Well, you're not just opening up a text file with the script in it. It's the whole ROM with all the graphics and code in it. You're going to see a bunch of junk characters typically. Try using the "Kana Search" function when you have the table file loaded to find some text you know exists in the game's script."

I was referring to this part in particular. How do you know what you're looking at is text?

[kringlur]

Oh, guess I forgot to write that part. Yeah I searched in the kana search using both typing via the keyboard and typing via their own in-program kana chart and it didn't find anything (as in, it did move the cursor to a "word" but it was all gibberish). I also scrolled through the entire rom a few times to see if I could spot any real sentences myself and didn't find any.

UPDATE: Same hex editor and all the Japanese text for Dragon Warriors I shows up perfectly fine. I'll keep attempting Terranigma then...

[filler]

I followed my own advice from that linked thread and found this line of text by searching.

[azidahaka]

Have made any progress on it? Dumped script of similar stuff? Is the text compressed in any way?

[kringlur]

No progress, sorry. I had too much trouble (I'm a translator, not a hacker!) and gave up on it.

[Masaru]

No progress, sorry. I had too much trouble (I'm a translator, not a hacker!) and gave up on it.

If you can't hack a game but you're a translator, try to dump your script

[kringlur]

If you can't hack a game but you're a translator, try to dump your script

This was over a year ago so I don't have the files anymore. But are you offering to help me put the translated text back into the game if I made a text dump?

[Vehek]

To those who revived the thread: it's one thing to be able to see text clearly in a hex editor, it's another to be able to cleanly dump all the text.
The Quintet RPGs use an event scripting system where pointers to text are parameters to event commands; there's no central pointer table to dump text from.
Also, the game uses table switching: the katakana use the same hex codes as the hiragana. Not all tools can handle that.
(I could go into more detail about why these things make it harder, but I'm not sure how to say it.)

[azidahaka]

To those who revived the thread: it's one thing to be able to see text clearly in a hex editor, it's another to be able to cleanly dump all the text.
The Quintet RPGs use an event scripting system where pointers to text are parameters to event commands; there's no central pointer table to dump text from.
Also, the game uses table switching: the katakana use the same hex codes as the hiragana. Not all tools can handle that.
(I could go into more detail about why these things make it harder, but I'm not sure how to say it.)

As a total clueless guy about romhacking, would it be simpler to reinsert a new translated script in the PAL version instead of working on the japanese game? Or i'm misunderstanding?

[RedScorpion]

Okay,
let me spend my knowledge about the terranigma rom set. Like Vehek already meantioned, the script in all version is between event codes and its a little bit difficult to extend the space for more text.

Some years ago the user mopoz create a 3 byte pointer system and unpack all pointer to reroute to the expanded area of the rom. We used the hack to create a vwf font hack with old translation for a german translation.

https://snes-projects.de/forum/index.php?thread/3444-terranigma-vwf-edition-ntsc-version/

The complete script is linear in the rom. If you would retranslate the japanese version it would possitble to use the vwf hack for a simple import of the text.

thanks

red

[azidahaka]

The result is very very pleasant to look at!

I can't read german, but is there a software taking care of it or how was it achieved?