We at Patch Clan are finishing the English translation of Super Robot Taisen 64 (Banpresto, Nintendo 64, 1999), and the final release will be open to everyone on patchclan.com. Before we lock it, we'd like to hear from you about something beyond the text.
Here's where it stands. Trailer, Japanese original and English patch side by side:
And 41 minutes of the English build, from power-on to the Dark General's fortress:
We already changed a lot of the cartridge to fit English: a bigger script container, a new text box, a new font, longer name fields. Since we're in there anyway, we could also fix some of the things that make a 1999 SRW feel slow today.
Before we touch anything, we want to know what you'd actually use.
These are ideas, not promises. Some may not fit in the cartridge, and we'll only say "yes" to something after we've measured that it does.
Speed
1. START skips dialogue. Press START to jump past a pre-battle or intermission conversation you've already seen. Useful on a second route.
2. Battle animations ON/OFF. The original has no option for this. The System menu only has the grid and sound. Later SRW games all have it.
3. Text speed setting. Right now every line prints at one fixed speed.
4. Faster enemy phase. The game already has Counter Orders, so you don't have to answer every attack by hand. We could also make the enemy cursor and movement faster.
Saving
5. More than one mid-map save. Right now there's exactly one CONTINUE slot. Save on a bad turn and there's no going back.
Information
6. Show things the game keeps hidden, like what it takes to unlock secret units and pilots, and which choices lock you out of them. We could put it in the game or in a separate guide, whichever you prefer.
7. Menus remember the cursor position between turns.
Two original bugs we left alone
We fixed four cartridge bugs (Wufei's Dummies, the missing Daitarn 3, the parts screen cursor, the Layzner upgrades). We left two mechanics bugs as they were in 1999:
8. The unit Limit stat has no effect.
9. Some pilot skills give a flat bonus, whatever the pilot's level.
Fixing those changes the game's balance. Do you want them fixed, or do you want the game exactly as it shipped?
The big question
Should any of this go into the main translation patch, or into a separate optional patch on top of it? A separate patch would keep the translation faithful to the original and let you choose.
Here's where it stands. Trailer, Japanese original and English patch side by side:
And 41 minutes of the English build, from power-on to the Dark General's fortress:
We already changed a lot of the cartridge to fit English: a bigger script container, a new text box, a new font, longer name fields. Since we're in there anyway, we could also fix some of the things that make a 1999 SRW feel slow today.
Before we touch anything, we want to know what you'd actually use.
These are ideas, not promises. Some may not fit in the cartridge, and we'll only say "yes" to something after we've measured that it does.
Speed
1. START skips dialogue. Press START to jump past a pre-battle or intermission conversation you've already seen. Useful on a second route.
2. Battle animations ON/OFF. The original has no option for this. The System menu only has the grid and sound. Later SRW games all have it.
3. Text speed setting. Right now every line prints at one fixed speed.
4. Faster enemy phase. The game already has Counter Orders, so you don't have to answer every attack by hand. We could also make the enemy cursor and movement faster.
Saving
5. More than one mid-map save. Right now there's exactly one CONTINUE slot. Save on a bad turn and there's no going back.
Information
6. Show things the game keeps hidden, like what it takes to unlock secret units and pilots, and which choices lock you out of them. We could put it in the game or in a separate guide, whichever you prefer.
7. Menus remember the cursor position between turns.
Two original bugs we left alone
We fixed four cartridge bugs (Wufei's Dummies, the missing Daitarn 3, the parts screen cursor, the Layzner upgrades). We left two mechanics bugs as they were in 1999:
8. The unit Limit stat has no effect.
9. Some pilot skills give a flat bonus, whatever the pilot's level.
Fixing those changes the game's balance. Do you want them fixed, or do you want the game exactly as it shipped?
The big question
Should any of this go into the main translation patch, or into a separate optional patch on top of it? A separate patch would keep the translation faithful to the original and let you choose.
