Re: Translate Succubus Nests to English
I'm not sure where to start on this, without saying a lot of things that most people here already know.
1) There's already a thread for this game, and I already brought up translation there. There's a difference between letting people know that there is demand for a translation (good) and demanding it (bad), and this falls in the latter category. It's a very polite demand for the most part, but having started a new thread for it means earning a lot of people's ire right away.
2) Translations are time-consuming and require a great deal of both effort and attention to detail. The former is why I personally don't do more of them, because while I think this is a wonderful community and want to contribute when I can, I just can't spare enough time to do everything I would like to. And it's not just me, all translators need motivation to work, because it's a tedious task. Money talks, but as we saw with Girl Vs Girl, commissioning a translation is expensive (that game was about $2000 to translate IIRC) and therefore beyond the means of the average forum poster. Donations can work for gathering a small amount from a lot of members, adding up so that the translator gets a decent sum, but they're not reliable. Some of you might argue that you shouldn't have to pay for a translation, but then, a number of people here are also not paying for the very games they want translated. That's pirating, people. I won't call you out on it more than that, but I will remind you that no one wants to do something for nothing.
3) In regard to Succubus Nests specifically, I did some basic tests to see if a translation was possible, and didn't have any particular trouble with it. That said, I can't promise that it would be easy, because I didn't do a 100% translation. There are tons of games I would love to work on translating, and the time involved isn't the only reason I end up not being able to do them. Another big problem I run into is making a translation actually work. Translation in a nutshell means finding the original strings, and replacing them with English equivalents (the translation for RyonaRPG is much more direct and literal in its approach, as it is a program which literally does what I just described). That means you first have to be able to get to the strings, which are almost always encrypted in a type of data archive, most of which prove difficult to open without incredibly specific tools. Even if you can extract the data, you still have to be able to find the strings in it. There are times where the original text is not simply written out in a text document (though sometimes it actually is, and it's awesome), but actually hidden within several layers of code somewhere else entirely. In these cases you have to have skills not just in translating, but with coding and programming as well. And regardless of skill level, the way the original code was written may prevent translation without a full rewrite of the entire game's program, which is not realistic option by any means.
Succubus Nests has a built in feature that allows people to write their own scenario, and it even includes a sample template that is almost identical to the game's main story (I think, at least, I never checked it that thoroughly). Hypothetically, someone with a basic understanding of Japanese could go in and just translate the strings found in the text documents there, and the result would be a somewhat complete translation, though I'm pretty sure there are a number of things that are locked within the game's own basic code. The translation would have to be treated as an extra scenario, for instance, and the 'core' game would not be translated. The Event and animation galleries form the main screen would not be translated, and I'm not sure if the ones on the bottom right while on the world map can be translated or not.
In addition to what I have already said (which is, wow, a lot), I do want to point out that we DO have a number of active translators around on this site. And I may be getting ahead of myself in saying this, but I think most of them would agree with me that requests like these just don't really help.
A person can only translate a game when they are A) willing to work on the game, B) have the ability to do so, and C) have the time to do so. Most only work on games they are personally fans of, or at least games that don't contain content they object to (don't expect someone who hates guro to translate splatter school, etc). A good request for translation would be something like "I really enjoyed this game, but I would totally play through it again in English," posted in the game's ongoing discussion. If a fan of the game who can translate sees that in its discussion, they may be inspired to translate it. They also may not, but that's how it goes. In the end, if you really want something done, and no one else is currently doing it, there's always the option of doing it yourself. Most of us are too busy to do things for others (sometimes because we're already doing other things for you), and most of us are too busy to teach you how to do it, but we can point you toward materials you can use to teach yourself. It will take a lot of time and effort, but you would be a much more productive member of the group as a whole.
Can we get a post on translations (and why you shouldn't request them) stickied or something?