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Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 11:39 am
by Exxistance
madsheep wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 6:13 pm
Its not that simple this is one thing
1) We need main bin file to be fully translated (megavolt85 fixed the font problem also translated some important text)
2) .mes dialog files need to be translated (This is easy from technical perspective)
3) .sfd movie files need to be re-encoded with subs (This is easy from technical perspective)
4) Need to extract, edit and compress all the resources from .mrg (archive) files (images logos and UI elements) (We have a primitive extraction tool only)
Does anyone who is actively involved in the translation have an approach for editing the art assets? I'm curious because so much of the game relies on textures for UI elements. I just went through
maybe 1/6 of the .MRG files and noted which textures would need translation and new artwork and I'm at over 200 files.
It is a huge art task that would likely need a few good artists to tackle properly.
And as far as I can see in this thread, the compression issue still hasn't been solved yet, meaning even if the art assets are translated and re-created, they still need to be compressed back into their original .MRGs.
Another thought I had is that you could avoid the recompression issue by creating a Flycast texture pack, but then of course the translation would only be playable via emulation and not on original hardware...
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 11:23 pm
by Exxistance
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 1:09 pm
by Exxistance
HP bar updated...
Shop Menu updated...
Reference Room header updated...
Trying to match all the original art style/location of the Kanji characters. So much of the art in this game seems like, "hey take a picture of that and we'll put it in the game."
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 2:22 pm
by megavolt85
Exxistance wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2025 11:23 pm
Anyway, if an .MRG compression method ever gets sorted, I am happy to share my texture files if it'll be helpful.
I think if you translate all the textures, then we will solve the compression problem by changing it to some known algorithm.
After all, no one forbids us to change the executable file and use our own compression algorithms
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 2:59 pm
by Exxistance
megavolt85 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 2:22 pm
I think if you translate all the textures, then we will solve the compression problem by changing it to some known algorithm.
After all, no one forbids us to change the executable file and use our own compression algorithms
Ah, interesting--good to know! I thought we would have to get them back into .pvr format.
Either way, I will have all the source .PSDs so they can be exported to any number of formats.
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:06 pm
by megavolt85
yes we still need to convert them to PVR, but the compression itself in MRG files can be replaced with another one.
currently a type of LZSS is used, but we can use only one type of compression for all MRGs, this is not a problem
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:33 pm
by lozz
We just published an interview with Tez Okano, the mastermind behind SGGG over at the Dreamcast Junkyard. Those of you patiently awaiting a fan translation might get a kick out of it...
https://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/ ... okano.html
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 4:31 pm
by Exxistance
Great read. I too hope this gets translated one day. Unfortunately, it's such a niche game that I don't think Sega themselves is ever going to put in the effort. Even the hourly rate I've spent on the textures so far would probably blow out the project budget.
But look at something like Samurai Shodown RPG, it just took few dedicated fans to release something that was once thought impossible.
Anyway, got the battle/item menu commands translated.
Still trying to find a good two letter abbreviation or symbol for "夢"...maybe "DP" (Dream Points)? Currently attempting to use a phoenix to represent the dream of resurrecting Sega.
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 4:57 pm
by megavolt85
there are two problems with translating this game.
1) everyone is trying to do it on their own or in a small team of several people
2) the genre of this game is of little interest to the key developers of the dreamcast scene
I admit honestly, I myself am not a fan of this genre, and if this translation is finished, I will hardly ever play this game, but if there are people ready to do the translation drop by drop, then I am ready to spend my time on it.
there is no need to try to translate this game alone, it is not possible, it will always end the same, just translate what you can and document it, the next translator will not start from scratch, but from your stopping point
I left a good example, you have an executable file with part of the translated texts and with the ability to write in English, just follow my example, no need to try to do the whole translation, do what you can and share this result, as a result, after some time everyone, including you, will receive a full translation.
motivate other users with your work, many can devote time to translating a hundred lines, but do not do this because they understand that translating alone is not possible.
if everyone translates one line a day and posts the results, then the translation will be finished this year, do not expect that some team will do the translation, everything depends on each fan of this game, and if the army of fans is very large, then caring programmers will always come to their aid, in the end, this is what the entire DreamCast scene is based on, abandoned by SEGA, but supported by fans all these years
Re: New SEGAGAGA translation project in the works!
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 7:54 pm
by Exxistance
megavolt85 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 4:57 pm
there are two problems with translating this game.
1) everyone is trying to do it on their own or in a small team of several people
2) the genre of this game is of little interest to the key developers of the dreamcast scene
I admit honestly, I myself am not a fan of this genre, and if this translation is finished, I will hardly ever play this game, but if there are people ready to do the translation drop by drop, then I am ready to spend my time on it.
there is no need to try to translate this game alone, it is not possible, it will always end the same, just translate what you can and document it, the next translator will not start from scratch, but from your stopping point
I left a good example, you have an executable file with part of the translated texts and with the ability to write in English, just follow my example, no need to try to do the whole translation, do what you can and share this result, as a result, after some time everyone, including you, will receive a full translation.
motivate other users with your work, many can devote time to translating a hundred lines, but do not do this because they understand that translating alone is not possible.
if everyone translates one line a day and posts the results, then the translation will be finished this year, do not expect that some team will do the translation, everything depends on each fan of this game, and if the army of fans is very large, then caring programmers will always come to their aid, in the end, this is what the entire DreamCast scene is based on, abandoned by SEGA, but supported by fans all these years
Extremely well-stated...and totally agree.
IMO, while the game itself isn't ground-breaking, it's what it represents that makes it interesting from a preservation perspective: it was a small labor of love by the developers who knew the end of the Sega console business was coming. SGGG is an icon for a Sega era that I think most fans miss.
I'll double-check if I grabbed that executable you mentioned. While right now I want to focus on the texture translation as that is where my skills lie, I might be able to assist with some of the game text if there is tooling available. My professional life is IT project delivery, so getting stuff delivered and documenting it is second nature...
Anyway, I'll get a repository together so I can at least share the textures as they are completed. Will probably hold off posting images in this thread anymore just to avoid cluttering it up.
