ROM Hack NDS Game Translation

[Xander-]

Hi all,
I want to learn to translate NDS Games,
can anyone help me pls.
Which data I have to take, which programs?
Or is there an Website about this (ithe site should be in german

)

thx to all answers

 

[FAST6191]

ROM hacking/translating on the DS is doen in the same manner as any system, you find a table and the area of the rom that contains the text.
You find the area of the rom that contains the graphics (the use GBA ones for the most part)
Now you edit said text and graphics.
I know of no German sites but http://www.romhacking.net/ combines the knowledge and databases of several respected sites.

Bear in mind that DS roms can usually be broken down into their components with NDSTool/NDSTS which makes things easier by far.
Lack of emulation though is a nice drawback as everything has to be tested on real hardware.

 

[romeoondaline]

wait so how do u do it

 

[romeoondaline]

Because i really wanna play that new pokemon and i only kno 2 langs arabic and english and the game is like in chinese

 

[outphase]

It's not Chinese...

Also, in order to translate from one language to another, it is a good idea to know both languages. If you are asking to translate from Japanese->English and you don't know Japanese, how would you translate it?

 

[FAST6191]

+1 on outphase's comments

Speaking of Chinese though it seems the Chinese translators have been going for it and now have an almost finished Chinese translation of Ochaken no Heya DS (the game somewhere between nintendogs and the sims if memory serves):
http://www.advanscene.com/html/Releases/dbrelds.php?id=0447
Translation details:
http://www.yyjoy.com/yy/?p=1185

As for actual translations I already posted how to do it but to simplify it yet further: you find a table (there may be more than one), for the DS it will likely come as a combination of relative searching, luck (nice file names are good here) and maybe the use of a corruptor/ASM knowledge.

Also you had better hope no complex compression/obfuscation either otherwise you are in for a long journey (Pokemon creators have a long history of making rom hackers and code creators jump through hoops to practise their arts).

So you have a table, now you have to find the text. As I mentioned DS roms can be broken apart using NDSTS or NDStool so things get easier.
You need to get the script, translate it and reinsert it.

Say process applies for pictures, i.e. menus (although the tables are essentially already defined: normally GBA 4 bits per pixel (GBA 4bpp) or 8bbp).

Above all no translator really is going to help you with a game that will see a Western release and a brand new Pokemon certainly will.

Sorry for the releatively quick run through but it has been said before, also I am saving some for the GBA/DS rom hacking 101 type document I am writing as we speak.

If you are desperate for some info though I came across this document today: http://desnet.fobby.net/doc/AoRH.html which details pretty much everything a rom hacker would want to know (albeit for the nes, it all applies though).

 

[romeoondaline]

You Know wat would be kewl if someone came up with a program that translates roms i mean all u have to do is put the rom in it selcet the lang u want it to be and TADAAA u have the same rom with a differnt language
just putting ideas to all that are computer software people

, I know sum 1 can do it

 

[VascoAlmeida]

are you stupid ? that cant be made

ROFL THAT WAS SO FUNNY !

 

[romeoondaline]

How the hell do u kno

I bet it can cus i have seen a tranlater for sumthing else

 

[mekaxero]

if you knew what it took to make a rom translation, then you would know that it is impossible to make a program to tranlsate any rom into any language. a computer program cannot do a translation, and even if it could be done, then there would be translations of games that you get when you try to use an online translator. some things might make sense, but the rest would be something that would be very hard to understand.

Each game has to be handled differently, so there will never be a program to do it for every rom.

 

[romeoondaline]

I know that it wuld take a long time but look on the bright side u wud get a game thats not even out in ur country
hehehehe lol
and thats the kewl part

 

[outphase]

English Spanish is barely doable and the language structure is more similar than English Japanese. Ever try using Babelfish to translate a website and realize it doesn't make sense? That's what a computer translates like. Suck it up because ???????????

 

[Blebleman]

How the hell do u kno

I bet it can cus i have seen a tranlater for sumthing else

QUOTEIn A.D. 2101
War was beginning.
Captain: What happen?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's You !!
Cats: How are you gentlemen !!
Cats: All your base are belong to us.
Cats: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time.
Cats: HA HA HA HA ....
Captain: Take off every 'zig' !!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move 'zig'.
Captain: For great justice.

 

[Golds]

too bad you cant copy the rom text onto a website and let bablefish translate it for you, it may not be perfect but it would be fast.

 

[Blebleman]

If you guys wanna try something cool, and point out how useless online translators are, try this:

Try [Language1] -> [Language2]

Then, retranslate the result.... [Language2]->[Language1].

You can repeat it for worse and worse results every time.

 

[mthrnite]

If you guys wanna try something cool, and point out how useless online translators are, try this:

Try [Language1] -> [Language2]

Then, retranslate the result.... [Language2]->[Language1].

You can repeat it for worse and worse results every time.

Here's the Lord's Prayer
English -> Japanese -> English

God art of the heaven which is sanctified thy name our fathers who are listing.
Afterlife Thy.
Thy tries to be with the earth in the heaven. Our everyday pans give this day in us.
In order thing invasion to permit those and us vis-a-vis us, permit our invasions in us.
And it is not in love with in temptation, lead we. But give birth to us from badness. Amen.

Give birth to us from badness! Bwah ha ha ha ha!

 

[Golds]

yea but if you do it only once its ok enough to get the gist of whats going on.

 

[outphase]

yea but if you do it only once its ok enough to get the gist of whats going on.

Don't kid yourself.