Translation Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable Translation Project

Carlitos

Well-Known Member
OP
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
77
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
1,157
Country
United States
I'm working on translating this game to English. Tradukosoft are NOT working on this project anymore. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.

Main translator - Carlitos, Maa9
Main "illustrator" - Carlitos
Revising and editing of translations- Carlitos, CoyoteMao, Maa9

Patch 3.0 is here! Link:
https://mega.nz/file/x4MXVJ7D#qckto0fyyUuCFrMldJ5PqXkXhTf7Y6hZq9mnQT2tyy0

Madoka Magica Portable Guidebook (JAPANESE ONLY): Link: https://mega.nz/file/JktUhLya#RaDCYSTYjW_3YpsjFWeKzx1sXMu77zWYouqEtcVoASg


NOTICE:
If you haven't downloaded your copy of Madoka Magica Portable yet, please do so from *snip*. If you have already, please ignore the next block of text. If you downloaded it elsewhere, please read the following.

Not all copies of Madoka Magica Portable have the font files updated, so even after installing the patch properly, the text will show up jumbled up (letters missing, words scrunched together, etc.). If you downloaded your copy from Emuparadise (for example), you will run into this problem. I will work to get my copy of the ISO unto these websites. For those willing to stick with your own copy from any other source other than *snip*:

You can download the updated font from here and follow the steps below.

https://mega.nz/file/lg0yWI7b#FXxGUHeRb4uI5nRHld5iDW1zHaVn9aOwoXzON7joSIc

Doing it this way will save you time from downloading the entire ISO and applying the patch again, if you have already done so.

Here's how to install the updated font file:


1. Open the program "WQSG_UMD.exe".
2. Click on "ISO".
3. Find your Madoka Magica Portable ISO file and press "Open."
4. Navigate to the "/PSP_GAME/USRDIR/Font" directory of the game. You should be able to see the file "font.fnt".
5. Drag and drop the updated "font.fnt" file you downloaded from the link above unto the directory, replacing the old one.
6. Close the program and play the game.

Patch 3.0 (Updated August 16, 2022):
  • Sayaka's Chapter is fully complete for playing!


Patch 2.4 (Updated December 24, 2021):
  • Sayaka's Chapter is playable up to Day 9 (so translated content stops at the end of Day 9).
  • Minor translation fixes


What's New in English Patch 2.1 (as of April 7, 2021):

  • Mami's Chapter is fully complete, with all routes and endings accessible (now with no softlocks). Can you find them all?
  • Magic spells have more accurately translated names now, along with more accurate descriptions of them. The Pictorial Book reflects those changes as well.
  • The Magic Shop Spells, Event CGs, and Scenarios for Madoka and Mami's Chapter are translated. You can now purchase them without feeling too puzzled as to what's what.
  • Minor tweaks/changes/fixes/additions/etc. to earlier parts of the game (many thanks to Nouka and CoyoteMao).
  • Fixed a softlock that occurs when losing to a Witch, which made one of the endings inaccessible (again, thanks to Nouka).

Helpful notes related to the game:

  • If you want to get more Emotionality and need help finding all the Q Buttons, there are purchasable items in the Magic Shop that can reveal all the Q Buttons for that particular Chapter. How it work: The Q Button (Kyubey's portrait on the bottom left) will glow when certain dialogue shows up, giving you (as Kyubey) a good opportunity to raise the Emotionality of the Magical Girls involved. Just be sure to use the L and R Trigger buttons, followed by the Square button to execute a proper "harvesting" measure. It won't indicate what routes you need to take to find them, though. There are some very good exchanges/dialogues that do trigger from this, so don't miss out on them.
  • Farm the Mystery Barriers for more Emotionality.
  • Please read the "Tutorials/Tips" from the Pictorial Book. They're super handy and can help you navigate the game much easier.
Playing on the PS Vita/PS TV via Adrenaline:

This game is, from my very limited testing, very much playable on the PS Vita via Adrenaline. I can't say whether the version of GePatch or Adrenaline makes a difference, but the game was tested on a PS Vita 3.60 HENkaku Ensō , Adrenaline v7, GePatch version 0.20. No extra steps are needed, other than to drop the ISO file into your /pspemu/ISO/ folder. I can't provide too much support for the devices, aside from what I've mentioned.

Bonus: You can install the game PSP custom themes from the game unto your PS Vita. Just drop them into your "/pspemu/PSP/THEME/" folder.Download Link:
https://mega.nz/file/8xtVkYZL#WpZyUvL1nnRNGhdjQk_YQXhGyj06c-RFEJZzXKO1Ttw




  • About that softlock I mentioned earlier: it's really weird. The game was asking for other dialogue files that were never present in the game to begin with. I had to manually add them into the patch. Those using an earlier patch will definitely run into the softlock. Unless the game itself had an official patch to resolve this, it may be the PPSSPP emulator's fault. Regardless, this translation patch will fix that.

English Patch translation progress:

CHAPTERS:
- "As If We Met in a Dream..." Madoka" Chapter: Scenes/Days 23/23 Complete

- Fixed grammatical errors
- Fixed dialogue text falling outside of the chat window
-Completed all Magical Girls' dungeon dialogue (including Kyubey). Dialogue may be revised in the future.
-Days 1 and 2 received a major facelift from previous iterations (many thanks to CoyoteMao!)
-Days 3-16 will be reviewed again for consistency (now that my translation skills are far better).
-"Only If You Are By My Side..." Mami Chapter: Scenes/Days: 24/24 Complete
-Revised the translated prologue (All the days prior to Mami meeting Madoka), up to Day 5.
-Translated Days 5-19, with proper in-game testing done.\

-"The Wish I Prayed For..." Sayaka Chapter: Scenes/Days: 30/30 Complete




OTHER PARTS OF THE GAME (DUNGEON, MENUS, SHOPS, ETC.)

-"Tips" Images translation progress: 102/102 Images
-Initial translation of all Tips Images are now complete (although somewhat scuffed). Their matching titles displayed on the Pictorial Book will be more accurately matched later on.
-Possible retouching and polishing of the images will be done in the future.

-Magic spells, scenarios and event CGs for Madoka and Mami's Chapters are all translated.
The changes are also reflected on the Pictorial Book.


Short-term goals to fulfill(:
-Work on partial patch for the next Chapter



Long-term goals to fulfill:
-Chapter Progress:

-"As If We Met In a Dream..." (Madoka Chapter) Status: Complete
-"Only If You Are By My Side" (Mami Chapter) Status: Complete
-"The Wish I Prayed For" (Sayaka Chapter) Status: Complete
-"That Was My Only Hope Left" (Kyoko Chapter) Status: Unknown, Incomplete
-"The Destiny Could be Changed" (Homura Chapter) Status: Unknown, Incomplete
-"Feelings Define Fate" (Extra Chapter): Completed by prior translators (?)
-Polish the Tips Images, possibly with some crispier HD graphics, maybe?

-Translating into other languages(?)
-Only possible if I can alter the font files accurately... and if there's someone willing to invest a lot of time in translating the game.



:!:BUGS IN THE GAME(SO FAR):!:

-Problem: In your fight with Charlotte (the Candy Witch), your UI will display disappear. You won't be able to see your HP, MP, which Magical Girl you have out in battle, etc.
Solution: Press Start, go to System > Suspend > Yes. Once you're at the Title Screen, go to Continue > Load Suspend Data > Yes. Your UI should now load up properly.

-Problem: In Day 10 of Mami's Chapter, you'll battle against Izabel (the Artist Witch). Your game has a VERY HIGH CHANCE OF CRASHING. It doesn't help that the barrier is already challenging.
-Solution: You'll have to, like the solution above, Suspend and reenter the game. You can also save/load save states, but those may not be as reliable as the former.

-Problem: The game softlocks(perpetually loading the next sequence in the game) when you die to the second Witch.
-Solution: NO KNOWN SOLUTION AS OF NOW. This problem is persistent in both English patched and original Japanese versions of the game. I suspect this to be an emulation problem. What makes this a bigger problem is that the next sequence is supposed to reveal one of the endings of the game... sigh. *Will update when solution found*

UPDATE: English Patch 2.1 and above fixes this issue. The route and fight is now fully playable.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I would like to share this with you all and see what you think. The zip file comes with the installation instructions inside.
There's no need to install from a fresh JPN copy of the game. If you have the partially translated version
of the game (i.e. downloaded from *snip*), the patch will still work.

The screenshots are from Day 10/ Day 11 in the game, to showcase the progress so far.
I will polish this post as time goes on. This is just a placeholder
to show the vital signs behind this project.

Special thanks to:
CoyoteMao for your meticulous nitpicking of every single one of my translations. Your help has been an absolute godsend.
Nouka, for providing a scanned copy of the Madoka Magica Portable guidebook, a DVD Rip of the Madoka Magica Portable Bonus DVD, AND providing good feedback on the translations and workarounds with game bugs.
Matzilla30 for providing artwork for the game. Your work shall be immortalized.
...And to all of you, who provide support in every shape or manner.

Comments, concerns, feedback, suggestions, etc. are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20200308-205911_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    Screenshot_20200308-205911_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    815.8 KB · Views: 1,783
  • Screenshot_20200308-210053_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    Screenshot_20200308-210053_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    776.6 KB · Views: 1,351
  • 2021-12-15-121504-567621.png
    2021-12-15-121504-567621.png
    756.4 KB · Views: 373
Last edited by porkiewpyne, , Reason: please don't link to warez

Carlitos

Well-Known Member
OP
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
77
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
1,157
Country
United States
Nice!
Did you hack the VFW in, or was it already there?

I don't know what you mean by VFW (tried googling what that was, still clueless), but there was nothing to encrypt/decrypt. Everything was already available within the image file of the game.. However, I did need the CPK Unpacker and "decodebtx.exe/encodebtx.exe" programs to extract the BTX files (dialogue/text files) from the CPK files (which stores a lot of the games' image and text files).
I hope this answers your question.

What happened to Traduko? they were working on 3 projects irrc. Persona 2,Madoka and Conception

Traduko have disbanded. They are no longer working on those projects. Mystic, the former project lead for Traduko, has moved on from the Madoka Magica project himself. He's had a couple rough patches in his life and thus, is no longer working on this.

In reference to Persona 2 and Conception, here's what Traduko had to say (this is from one of their Facebook status, dated January 23, 2018):

"It's also time that we discuss something that needs to be discussed. We understand that this is going to be tough to hear, but it's something that must be said out of respect for fans of these projects:

Both the translations for Conception and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are no longer in active development. This was a tough choice to make, but it's one that had to be made. We are too small a team, and I personally can not work on these projects at this point in my life.

So, what lead to this decision? Well, back in 2017, when my life became much more complicated, I thought about how to proceed with TRADUKO Soft. Our efforts in translating information has garnered considerable praise over the years, with our approach to game translating receiving a rightfully mixed reception. As work on Madoka PSP and a currently unannounced project continued to move forward, the other two projects were serverely behind schedule. Alongside that hurdle was the news that both projects were being worked on by other teams. We'd rather support their efforts rather than work harder for fewer results for fans.

It was not an easy decision to make, and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of comments here and elsewhere admonishing us for not going forward with these projects. All I can say is that I deeply apologize. I understand how important these games are to people, and I wanted to say that we'd have more to reveal on them this year, but I am not going to lie to people.

There will be more positive things to discuss at GDC this year, as well as later on throughout the year."
 

Malckyor

The One and Only!
Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Messages
281
Trophies
0
Age
29
XP
1,385
Country
Brazil
At least they were honest by telling all of this.

By the way, it's good having you doing the translation at least, I didn't play it yet but I like to see that there are games being translated, I watch every single one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carlitos

RedL

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
110
Trophies
0
Age
36
XP
698
Country
France
I don't know what you mean by VFW (tried googling what that was, still clueless), but there was nothing to encrypt/decrypt. Everything was already available within the image file of the game.. However, I did need the CPK Unpacker and "decodebtx.exe/encodebtx.exe" programs to extract the BTX files (dialogue/text files) from the CPK files (which stores a lot of the games' image and text files).
I hope this answers your question.
Variable Font Width. Japanese font all got characters of the same length, but latin fonts don't. If you didn't touch anything other than the game text files, then it seems like the game uses a system font that covers the whole charset. Out of curiosity, what's the render if you put accented characters, like é, à or ç?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carlitos

Nouka

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
17
Trophies
0
XP
327
Country
France
Hey Carlitos, just wanted to thank you for translating this game, I have been waiting years for this and it was a nice surprise to learn that you are giving it a try. 'wish you good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carlitos

Carlitos

Well-Known Member
OP
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
77
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
1,157
Country
United States
Thanks for the support, everyone. I'm currently juggling a lot of things (not to mention this virus has thrown my daily routine out the window) and I'm hoping to find a more steady and stable amount of time to dedicate to this project.

Variable Font Width. Japanese font all got characters of the same length, but latin fonts don't. If you didn't touch anything other than the game text files, then it seems like the game uses a system font that covers the whole charset. Out of curiosity, what's the render if you put accented characters, like é, à or ç?

Font files: As I started this project, and therefore, was looking for the dialogue files to modify, I noticed that the "FNT" files were different in the Japanese release VS the "English Translated" release. I'm assuming that Traduko replaced or modified the FNT files to be able to read English/Latin characters (letters, numbers, dashes, etc.). I didn't do anything to the font files, nor have to.

Accented characters: The screenshot with the opened Notepad++ file (under RECORD 10) shows nearly all the accented characters usually shown in languages other than English (I only omitted like 1 or 3 characters that aren't that frequent.). I placed it in the opening of the game to make it easier to test, of course.
The in-game screenshot attached shows the accented characters... as boxes. I'm just assuming the game's font file doesn't have those characters supported. I'm sure that can be remedied with a font file elsewhere (I don't know where else to point this to you, though).

Variable Font Width: Again, with the two screenshots provided, the first two lines are 34 characters long, while the third line is 31 characters long. In the game, 34 characters fit snugly into the dialogue box, while the last line still runs off. Basically what you've just explained.
For this game, 34 is the most appropriate number of characters to fit in each line before it starts to run off (with few exceptions, such as "..." only taking up one "space"), so I stick with 34 characters in each line. It has not failed me at all so far.
On occasion, I will come across a lot of text that would not easily fit into one "dialogue box", if translated into English, even amongst the three lines of text provided. That can be still be remedied by splitting a character's dialogue into multiple dialogue boxes if the character has more dialogue to follow up with, or just summarize it more.
 

Attachments

  • April 4 2020 characters with accents.png
    April 4 2020 characters with accents.png
    45.6 KB · Views: 1,000
  • accented characters ingame.png
    accented characters ingame.png
    344.6 KB · Views: 749

Fafnira

New Member
Newbie
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
3
Trophies
0
Age
23
XP
53
Country
Germany
Hey Carlitos,
I started the game yesterday and was sad that the english translation is not finished yet.
Today I found out that Tradukosoft has abandoned this project and you are working on the translation all by yourself
Please don't give up, I love this game :D
You are so amazing and I want to learn from you.
I'm interested in learning how to change or translate texts of such a game and would like to do it myself.
I know that this takes a lot of time and work, but once I know exactly how it works I wouldn't give up.

I would be interested to know where to find the complete game where you can make your own edits, where the files are that contain all the texts and much more.
I hope I can get in contact with you to learn many things about it. I would like to spend my free time with such things besides my studies of computer science :3
It should not be a request if I help you with this project, because I am not experienced yet and might cause you some problems, but I would learn it for myself first. Maybe I would even try a German translation of this game for acclimatizing and practicing ^^

I hope you can give me that chance. I will continue to follow your blogs and hope that you will never give up ^^

Good luck :)

EDIT: I was doing research all day and somehow found a way to translate by myself :D Now I have to organize all my files and consider if I try to translate everything in English or in German. My translation skills are probably not the best, but I want to learn it :3
 
Last edited by Fafnira,

Carlitos

Well-Known Member
OP
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
77
Trophies
0
Age
33
XP
1,157
Country
United States
Alright, I'm done with "Scene 16", the longest scene of this Chapter so far. I'm doing some polishing now and just making sure it looks good in-game.

To add some perspective, this Chapter ends in Episode 8 of the anime, with an interesting twist at the end. This scene ends in the beginning of Episode 6.There are a lot of inbetweens here that aren't shown in the anime itself, that give these characters a lot more complexity. I have attached some screenshots from Scene 16 that I've been working on.
Note: The Screenshots are Spoiler-free! If you've seen the anime, you won't be seeing anything spoiler-heavy.

The subsequent scenes for the rest of this chapter will not take as long to translate, thankfully. I hope to push out a full Chapter patch release within a few weeks. Just stay tuned.

Hey Carlitos,
I started the game yesterday and was sad that the english translation is not finished yet.
Today I found out that Tradukosoft has abandoned this project and you are working on the translation all by yourself
Please don't give up, I love this game :D
You are so amazing and I want to learn from you.
I'm interested in learning how to change or translate texts of such a game and would like to do it myself.
I know that this takes a lot of time and work, but once I know exactly how it works I wouldn't give up.

I would be interested to know where to find the complete game where you can make your own edits, where the files are that contain all the texts and much more.
I hope I can get in contact with you to learn many things about it. I would like to spend my free time with such things besides my studies of computer science :3
It should not be a request if I help you with this project, because I am not experienced yet and might cause you some problems, but I would learn it for myself first. Maybe I would even try a German translation of this game for acclimatizing and practicing ^^

I hope you can give me that chance. I will continue to follow your blogs and hope that you will never give up ^^

Good luck :)

EDIT: I was doing research all day and somehow found a way to translate by myself :D Now I have to organize all my files and consider if I try to translate everything in English or in German. My translation skills are probably not the best, but I want to learn it :3

Hi Fafnira, I appreciate your enthusiasm with helping with this. I have also started from a place of not knowing how to do any of these translations, so I empathize with you.
I would be happy to help you find a way to navigate through this translation process as well. Reply/Message me on where you want start with this. I can help with finding the dialogue files, decoding/encoding the dialogue files, re-inserting them into the game, etc.
If you started translating the game into English, please start translating from Chapter 01, as I am currently working on Chapter 00 (Madoka's Chapter) and wouldn't want you doing work that I've already done and making it almost unnecessary, unless you just want to get your hands dirty and gain some experience. It's definitely fair game if you're doing it in German.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20200514-094850_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    Screenshot_20200514-094850_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    675.8 KB · Views: 928
  • Screenshot_20200514-095520_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    Screenshot_20200514-095520_PPSSPP Gold.jpg
    798.6 KB · Views: 754

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: Sorry for accidentally bending over