Ask Localization Megathread

[Nyerieri]

Unelonborro,

Are you the localization lead on FFXIV as well? If not, do you help out at all? If you help out, is there anything different between localization of the two games?

Why do some pieces of gear flow over with one word or number on the second page? Buremte gloves for example have +13% by itself on the second page of the text

[Unelonborro]

Are you the localization lead on FFXIV as well? If not, do you help out at all? If you help out, is there anything different between localization of the two games?

My involvement with XIV is virtually nonexistent, and I have never done any translation for them. However, XIV has many references to XI, so every so often I'll get a request for a specific snippet of an older mission or the like. But this is also somewhat rare, because half the XIV localization team worked on XI at some point!

Why do some pieces of gear flow over with one word or number on the second page? Buremte gloves for example have +13% by itself on the second page of the text

I'd love to squash these as they pop up, so let me know if you see any and I'll whack-a-mole them out of existence!

[Nyerieri]

My involvement with XIV is virtually nonexistent, and I have never done any translation for them. However, XIV has many references to XI, so every so often I'll get a request for a specific snippet of an older mission or the like. But this is also somewhat rare, because half the XIV localization team worked on XI at some point!



I'd love to squash these as they pop up, so let me know if you see any and I'll whack-a-mole them out of existence!

You can whack-a-mole it for the September version update Since it is still there!

[pancakesandsx]

I have a more recent localization question, why delve and not menace inspector? I personally like the way the latter rolls off the tongue, so if there's a story behind the change on that one I'd like to hear it.

Also, when you use a delve shard to get plasm, the message has said menace plasm instead of mywea since the event was introduced.

[Unelonborro]

I have a more recent localization question, why delve and not menace inspector? I personally like the way the latter rolls off the tongue, so if there's a story behind the change on that one I'd like to hear it.

I don't want to get too much into this one, because it involves people other than localization and the devs, but "Menace Inspector" is pretty long for a content name.

The one comment I can make without incurring someone's ire is that "Menace Inspector" was originally supposed to refer to the Anomaly Expert, not the content as a whole.

Also, when you use a delve shard to get plasm, the message has said menace plasm instead of mywea since the event was introduced.

This...should not be the case. Let me see if I can find and fix it for September.

[Dragoy]

Also, when you use a delve shard to get plasm, the message has said menace plasm instead of mywea since the event was introduced.

Hmmm, wasn't that fixed? Reported here, and I recently used a russet yggrete shard IV which did indeed speak of mweya, not menace (sadly). Are these something different?


Anyblue, I remembered something at last, and I shall quote a thread of mine so as to not just type it all over again:

Is anyone able to tell me since when did Sakura speak languages other than Japanese?

I always figured her speech was intentionally not translated during the chocobo races. For those who never went to one, all she says is: “ピヨ！”(piyo!) and: “ピヨピヨ！”(piyopiyo!), which Markovich interprets.

I understand that having her speech not 'translated' might confuse players, but I, for one, dislike inconsistency. A lot. It's only made worse by the fact that the Sakura Biscuit is consistent regarding this matter, like so:

That is, of course, assuming that not translating her in any way was intentional in the first place. ^^

Perhaps whomever was in charge was unaware of how Sakura has been handled in the past, or it was a conscious decision so as to not “confuse” players. Or I'm confuddled myself. Either way, it seems to me that it's not the alter ego of Sakura at all, but a nisemono!

'Tis simply wrong. A kind of a translation error from what I see, which I actually was/am debating with myself on reporting it as.


Blubb!

(Note that I'm not as angry as I may have made it (intentionally) seem like, but inconsistencies truly are more and/or less silly, annoying, and even maddening to some!)

Sheesh. That truly seems a bit more angry than I cared to remember. I'm not a fan of trust/faith in general, so it really doesn't matter that much to me. Definitely not angry, but curious. Yes.

I'm still guessing it was very much intentional since I can see people thinking it would be weird to have the same thing going on in the party channel.


Danks!

[Unelonborro]

Hmmm, wasn't that fixed? Reported here, and I recently used a russet yggrete shard IV which did indeed speak of mweya, not menace (sadly). Are these something different?


Anyblue, I remembered something at last, and I shall quote a thread of mine so as to not just type it all over again:



Sheesh. That truly seems a bit more angry than I cared to remember. I'm not a fan of trust/faith in general, so it really doesn't matter that much to me. Definitely not angry, but curious. Yes.

I'm still guessing it was very much intentional since I can see people thinking it would be weird to have the same thing going on in the party channel.


Danks!

You raise a very interesting question, and I think there are a couple factors at play. Note that these apply to pretty much every MMO out there.

* When dealing with something that happened in the past (either in real life terms, or in-game terms), to what extent do you remain faithful, and to what extent do you reimagine it?
* How has the direction of the game changed or remained the same?
* What are the players' expectations?
* How would the decision look if viewed in context? In a vacuum?

There are no cut-and-dried answers here. In Sakura's case, you have two arguments: 1. Sakura should continue to speak in katakana, because that's how she is originally, and 2. Sakura should make her noises in English, because that's easier to understand for people who aren't familiar with her backstory. Ultimately, the team opted for the latter. Sakura's alter ego is not tied to any specific event, and you can receive it regardless of whether or not you've had any interaction with her at all. In the context of first meeting Sakura, the player is initially confused--why is she speaking in Japanese?--but Markovich is there to steer you in the right direction, so you are able to understand right away. But put yourself in the shoes of someone who's never met her in person and just grabbed her alter ego. "Why is she speaking in Japanese? That's got to be something the translators overlooked!" It breaks their immersion in the game. So we have to ask ourselves the following question:

"Do the positives of staying faithful to Sakura's characterization outweight the negatives of new players feeling uncomfortable?"

Different leads might have taken a different approach, but I chose the latter, given that I cannot guarantee that the player would have interacted with Sakura before.

However, I can understand and sympathize with the opposing argument!

[Olor]

Thanks so much! This is a great thread.

Why did the team choose rune fencer instead of rune knight? Is it similar to the reasons for PLD above?

How come Red Mage is referred to as a fencer via equipment (Fencer's earring & Fencer's ring both RDM only) yet doesn't have the ability fencer?

How do you come up with the names of BST familiars?

[Karbuncle]

Thanks so much! This is a great thread.

Why did the team choose rune fencer instead of rune knight? Is it similar to the reasons for PLD above?

How come Red Mage is referred to as a fencer via equipment (Fencer's earring & Fencer's ring both RDM only) yet doesn't have the ability fencer?

How do you come up with the names of BST familiars?

Follow up to BST names, are they different based on region? Cause it feels like some of the inside jokes might not translate well (Voracious Audrey for one). Whats your favorite, maybe a reference we missed o-o?

[Unelonborro]

Hello, everyone!

The past version updates have had me running around like a madman, but now that the December update is upon us I can get back to this thread for a little bit!

Thanks so much! This is a great thread.

Why did the team choose rune fencer instead of rune knight? Is it similar to the reasons for PLD above?

How come Red Mage is referred to as a fencer via equipment (Fencer's earring & Fencer's ring both RDM only) yet doesn't have the ability fencer?

How do you come up with the names of BST familiars?

Rune Fencer vs. Rune Knight was something that was debated quite a lot internally, and there were many arguments to be made for both sides. How often does a knight run around with a great sword? How about a fencer? The answer is...not much, for either of them. In the end, we settled on Rune Fencer because the term had been used before in other Final Fantasy games, so we went with something that had a bit more visibility.

For Red Mage being a fencer via equipment but not having the ability Fencer--that's something that was before my time, so I cannot provide a definitive answer. However, I agree with you that the disconnect is a bit disconcerting!

The names of BST familiars tend to take the form of adjective + name, and when it comes down to it we try to think of combinations that either sound well together or have some special meaning. There are a couple names I've been trying to work in, but I can't seem to find the best timing for it...