Type0Translator
I am both a sub-team member and later, part of the main team member.
While there is that history in the sub-team (and Adam even admitted to that problem… lolz), we can't expect every translators to have the same sort of personality nor do we have the liberty to try and understand each other. I can complain a lot on many people if I wanted to. I'd agree there are times he went overboard at times, but everyone has their own personality and as a small community, we have to learn to accept each and other's defects. Still, you are entitled to your opinion.
However, everything from 3/18 onward are pretty much "guesses" based on what you have.
That kind of insult to Core is outrageous. I hope that you can at least apologize on that statement. While in the sub-team, I can understand your point of view since we pretty much did not interact with the main team, thus not knowing what happened. I can assure you that Core and many others really did their job.
I will be frank. How many BETA testers do you think actually BETA-TESted properly ? Some can't, even if they wanted to... e,g Sean, due to the complication with making a beta. While a few others (not all) who managed to make one, either disappear somewhere and not HELPING much with the beta-testing (worst case... leaking some pictures of the beta for their own ego and even pilfered one of my pictures from the team bug report). They should review themselves of this shameful business or at least ASK the team. Core is one who helped with text edition, worked with the bug reports, re-aligned all COMM messages, beta tested at least 2 play-through and communicated in the team chat in skype. So, the statement saying he's just playing the translation is downright insult to his work.
Merkabah agreed to help with the video edition in the last minute after Artistan is unable to contribute any further in the final moments due to busy personal life (a newborn especially). Unfortunately, Art is still the one with the better skill set for movie editing. Merkabah, on the other hand, helped a lot with the text edition and translation recheck especially the codex and cut scenes (which he streamed his work). There's even that toilet joke we had.
Since I did not get access to SVN and I do understand the need to limit its access, I can't comment on whatever happened over it. I do know that a lot of our translation needed to be adjusted to match the context of the game. Even though the translation is correct, there is problem with character personality/tone, the reference, the usage, context etc that are discovered during the beta.
Sky, on the other hand, did what he can do as the programmer for the project, seeing that he has his own life issues to tackle with. He's shown great perseverance to hold on to the project when most if not all the former translators went MIA last year before fresh bloods fill in and got the project running again.
I don't know what happened the month before the release with regard to the NDA thingy since I myself went MIA, exhausted with the beta-testing and report.
This is my only complain...
Seriously, the beta-testing phase is a joke...please please PLEASE don't offer to beta-test a team's effort with a wrong commitment (i.e. just to get early access to show off your ego). You will just be a liability to any potential project. This project almost ended prematurely on March/April! If that's what makes a qualified beta tester in the real gaming industry, I will be some kind of master beta-tester along with Core but honestly, that can't be true and truthfully, an insult to the professional beta-testers out there. I do understand that some however, simply do not have time and that's excusable. I'll take this opportunity to address to any future closed beta-testers for any translation project. Do bear in mind that you are beta testing a "TRANsLATIon" project instead of "game". So, your main focus is the translation instead of gameplay. Otherwise, you might as well play the "uNtrAnsLatEd" game. We could have no doubt cut the time frame by a lot if we did this properly!
While there are no doubts that some members of the team aren't present during certain period of time, We share the belief that "Personal life is still more important".
In short, to me, everyone contributed their own role. Whether you are the sub-team/main team/ex-team member, we managed to pull this mammoth down as a unit. That's all that matters. (read the forum from pages 1-225.. the history is something worthwhile to read if you are free... I did... so, I respect everyone who contributed to this project regardless of what happened in the end).
I'd hope square-enix (their decision makers) will cross check themselves in their decision making. This project has been known for at least a year now (even with kotaku contacted them) and they should've make a firm and fast decision instead of avoiding and giving false hope all the time. Regardless, money is the one that is doing the talking in business, so can't really blame them. But it hurts us a lot.
Blah, I forgot my point. So, yea... stop pointing fingers and let this rest already and hope for the best for everyone, which include sky for whatever SE is doing to him.
Fun fact: At least 1200++ reported bugs by what little active beta-testing team we have in the first bug report document, some didn't report but access the svn to do the changes. Out of these, at least 900 cross checked by Core. Sky and others also contributed with their remarks/solutions and fixes. Maybe one day, I might be able to share the ~800mb of pictures we bugged when the timing is right.
I am both a sub-team member and later, part of the main team member.
While there is that history in the sub-team (and Adam even admitted to that problem… lolz), we can't expect every translators to have the same sort of personality nor do we have the liberty to try and understand each other. I can complain a lot on many people if I wanted to. I'd agree there are times he went overboard at times, but everyone has their own personality and as a small community, we have to learn to accept each and other's defects. Still, you are entitled to your opinion.
However, everything from 3/18 onward are pretty much "guesses" based on what you have.
That kind of insult to Core is outrageous. I hope that you can at least apologize on that statement. While in the sub-team, I can understand your point of view since we pretty much did not interact with the main team, thus not knowing what happened. I can assure you that Core and many others really did their job.
I will be frank. How many BETA testers do you think actually BETA-TESted properly ? Some can't, even if they wanted to... e,g Sean, due to the complication with making a beta. While a few others (not all) who managed to make one, either disappear somewhere and not HELPING much with the beta-testing (worst case... leaking some pictures of the beta for their own ego and even pilfered one of my pictures from the team bug report). They should review themselves of this shameful business or at least ASK the team. Core is one who helped with text edition, worked with the bug reports, re-aligned all COMM messages, beta tested at least 2 play-through and communicated in the team chat in skype. So, the statement saying he's just playing the translation is downright insult to his work.
Merkabah agreed to help with the video edition in the last minute after Artistan is unable to contribute any further in the final moments due to busy personal life (a newborn especially). Unfortunately, Art is still the one with the better skill set for movie editing. Merkabah, on the other hand, helped a lot with the text edition and translation recheck especially the codex and cut scenes (which he streamed his work). There's even that toilet joke we had.
Since I did not get access to SVN and I do understand the need to limit its access, I can't comment on whatever happened over it. I do know that a lot of our translation needed to be adjusted to match the context of the game. Even though the translation is correct, there is problem with character personality/tone, the reference, the usage, context etc that are discovered during the beta.
Sky, on the other hand, did what he can do as the programmer for the project, seeing that he has his own life issues to tackle with. He's shown great perseverance to hold on to the project when most if not all the former translators went MIA last year before fresh bloods fill in and got the project running again.
I don't know what happened the month before the release with regard to the NDA thingy since I myself went MIA, exhausted with the beta-testing and report.
This is my only complain...
Seriously, the beta-testing phase is a joke...please please PLEASE don't offer to beta-test a team's effort with a wrong commitment (i.e. just to get early access to show off your ego). You will just be a liability to any potential project. This project almost ended prematurely on March/April! If that's what makes a qualified beta tester in the real gaming industry, I will be some kind of master beta-tester along with Core but honestly, that can't be true and truthfully, an insult to the professional beta-testers out there. I do understand that some however, simply do not have time and that's excusable. I'll take this opportunity to address to any future closed beta-testers for any translation project. Do bear in mind that you are beta testing a "TRANsLATIon" project instead of "game". So, your main focus is the translation instead of gameplay. Otherwise, you might as well play the "uNtrAnsLatEd" game. We could have no doubt cut the time frame by a lot if we did this properly!
While there are no doubts that some members of the team aren't present during certain period of time, We share the belief that "Personal life is still more important".
In short, to me, everyone contributed their own role. Whether you are the sub-team/main team/ex-team member, we managed to pull this mammoth down as a unit. That's all that matters. (read the forum from pages 1-225.. the history is something worthwhile to read if you are free... I did... so, I respect everyone who contributed to this project regardless of what happened in the end).
I'd hope square-enix (their decision makers) will cross check themselves in their decision making. This project has been known for at least a year now (even with kotaku contacted them) and they should've make a firm and fast decision instead of avoiding and giving false hope all the time. Regardless, money is the one that is doing the talking in business, so can't really blame them. But it hurts us a lot.
Blah, I forgot my point. So, yea... stop pointing fingers and let this rest already and hope for the best for everyone, which include sky for whatever SE is doing to him.
Fun fact: At least 1200++ reported bugs by what little active beta-testing team we have in the first bug report document, some didn't report but access the svn to do the changes. Out of these, at least 900 cross checked by Core. Sky and others also contributed with their remarks/solutions and fixes. Maybe one day, I might be able to share the ~800mb of pictures we bugged when the timing is right.