FF12 International: Zodiac Job System English Conversion

[ffgriever]

(FF12 International: Zodiac Job System English Conversion)
List of known bugs and issues can be found here

Version History:

v0.22:
translated Japanese trial mode texts (begin/continue gfx)

sky pirate's den name gfx is now copied from the donor

v0.21:
fixed Japanese text in menu

fixed Japanese overlays in intro movie

added one missing file (items and such)

added smaller font, so most of the "too long name" issues should be
fixed now; the font is a bit less readable, so if you have a problem
with it, there is the old file in bin/font_big (replace the one in
bin with it); anyway, I *really* recommend disabling anti flicker
filter for the smaller font, as it makes it sometimes unreadable

some additional fonts will be copied properly now

v0.20:
morningstar (psx-scene forums) fixed the hunt description text
wrapping. Now it should look much better.

fixed garbage instead of name on the map when you leave Barheim Passage
with Basch (for the first time, just after killing mimic queen).

fixed Japanese names displayed on world map when Basch/Fran
describes the way.

fixed in-battle descriptions of some items.

fixed Japanese subtitles in outro movie.

v0.19:
Fixed hunt descriptions/status. Doesn't always look really nice, but
at least it is all visible now. Did some simple automatic text
rewrapping. If anyone wants to do it by hand, contact me.

Some minor changes in the patcher. Hope this will fix the "couldn't
write section" problem that some people had reported.

v0.18:
Fixed some license related stuff at Sandsea.

Added missing guest info displayed just after Amalia joins the party
as a guest in Garamsythe Waterway.

Corrected or changed names of many items (thanks DarknessSavior and
Tauwasser).

Fixed some magic desctiptions.

Fixed some gambit names and gambit descriptions.

Fixed some item descriptions.

Fixed garbage characters displayed in menu after elemantal icons.

Fixed wrong word order in equipment desctiptions "SapImmune:",
"Poision, CurseEquip", "WaterHalf Damage:", etc. This one was actually quite tricky.
I had to make some neat assembler hack to make it work properly and not screw
everything else (if done the easy way, it would completely block most of the menus,
so they would be greyed out). Good thing is that I used some internal mechanisms,
so I didn't have to rewrite all the print functions (hehe, I have already rewritten
some of them, but then I found an easier way).

v0.17:
Fixed some additional fmv problems that occurred if FF12UK was used as
text donor.

Fixed some text/audio desyncs that occurred if FF12UK was used as text
donor.

The new game shouldn't freeze anymore if started in 16:9 mode (temporary
solution, in fact I just reverted one of the changes).

Fixed a bug that made it impossible to obtain some magic spells if the
jars in Royal Palace were opened. (>>here<< some additional info and
application that will correct already bugged savegames).


For a full changelog see readme.txt.



You can get the new version here: http://www.ff12.pl/down/zjs_eng_patcher_v022.zip
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Efficient defrag can be very tricky, so for many cases your 'free-all' method can the best choice, at least while other aspects of the project are more important (no point in having perfect defrag if there is nothing to work with). And better defrag methods can be added later too.

I've spent whole sunday on it. Now no defrag is necessary at all (and according to my calculations, it shouldn't be necessary in any case... though, it didn't make anything visibly faster - just some stuttering at location changes and similar places is gone... though it never was really noticeable, as there usually is a black screen ).

I'm sure we will all be interested in any projects you release, though I'm not quite sure what you refer to here...

You see, I've gotten recently into game translation/hacking. I find it quite entertaining. My next project is FF12 polish translation. The patch is going to work with all the NTSC U/C, PAL (most likely all languages) and FF12:Int ZJS.

Now, as a side project, I started conversion of Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System into english. And this is something you might be interested in. You can't just swap the files, as it will cause the game to hang. But if you extract the files, decompress them, then unpack into sections (for files that have multiple sections), then replace only the text sections with the ones from US version, pack them back into files, compress and rebuild the image... You're getting english zjs all of a sudden. Wel, not that simple, really. There is many more things to replace or change than just the text, but it's done automatically in most of the cases. Current patcher takes two images (one is ntsc us, the other is zjs) and builds a third one. Right now it can convert more than 90% of all the text without any attention on my side. The rest needs human attention and additional converting rules in the patcher script. So when it is done, we're left with just the additional texts that have to be translated from japanese. This is where I'll need a help from native american english speakers (to either translate it jap-eng or translate "my english" into "native english" ) - it's not that much of it, so it will wait till everything else is done.

Right now the only problem I've run into is the space "character" width (which is quite big in japanese versions - ~three times the width of space in american or eurpean versions) . It's not specified in the place where widths for all the characters in font are stored (well, space is not a "character", after all - here it's just empty... space ). But it's not something one couldn't cope with if enough time is spent on it.

The game is worth it. FF12 was good on its own. The ZJS version is even better. It's not just a matter of 12 different "jobs" (which makes the replay value much better) but also controlling guests and summons (their gambits and partially equipment), no damage limits, some new items, different treasures and monsters respawn, turbo mode, finding "magick" as treasures, changes in magic's effects (and range), different look of some menus, magic in different categories and many, many more small changes that make the gameplay much better (different shop inventories, etc.).

Edit: I guess I'll have to move the offtopic posts into separate thread...

[yoshi314]

that's quite funny, because i was planning to do the same thing to ff12zjs (not the polish translation, but replacing text files/scripts with those from original ff12).

but unfortunately i couldn't figure out the ff12 file table format. nobody felt like documenting it, and i just couldn't figure it out on my own.

in the end i got frustrated. i'm currently trying to improve my skills writing data extraction tools from simpler ps2 games, and reading books on compression. maybe i'll figure it on my own someday ;-)

nice to see somebody else is actually making *actual* progress with the game. the turbo feature alone would be really nice.

[Prelude]

oh wow ffgriever.... ff12izjs in english... i can only dream

[zin0099]

this is great news

ff12 ij in english
psxemu still in production

[dlanor]

I've spent whole sunday on it. Now no defrag is necessary at all (and according to my calculations, it shouldn't be necessary in any case...

This is so typical of your methods, which never ceases to amaze me, really. When you have a problem that seems insoluble, instead of banging your head against that immovable wall, you just change your approach and find a way to go go around it instead, thus eliminating the original problem.

I've managed to do that too sometimes, but not as often as I'd like...

though, it didn't make anything visibly faster - just some stuttering at location changes and similar places is gone... though it never was really noticeable, as there usually is a black screen ).

I assume this is mainly because you are "usually" testing the very games that still give such problems. (There would be little need to test those that already run well.) So for them black screens would be quite natural, until you find your way around those problems as well, as I'm sure you will.

You see, I've gotten recently into game translation/hacking. I find it quite entertaining. My next project is FF12 polish translation. The patch is going to work with all the NTSC U/C, PAL (most likely all languages) and FF12:Int ZJS.

Well, the polish version is of limited interest to most of us, who lack all knowledge of that language.

Now, as a side project, I started conversion of Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System into english. And this is something you might be interested in.

Indeed.

Even those of us who don't have english as original language often prefer to play the PS2 games in english. In Sweden games are normally not translated at all, except for the very youngest children. So for most games it is the UK version that is sold here.

You can't just swap the files, as it will cause the game to hang. But if you extract the files, decompress them, then unpack into sections (for files that have multiple sections), then replace only the text sections with the ones from US version, pack them back into files, compress and rebuild the image... You're getting english zjs all of a sudden. Wel, not that simple, really. There is many more things to replace or change than just the text, but it's done automatically in most of the cases. Current patcher takes two images (one is ntsc us, the other is zjs) and builds a third one. Right now it can convert more than 90% of all the text without any attention on my side. The rest needs human attention and additional converting rules in the patcher script.

In a final version I assume that most of that 'human attention' will also have been translated into new and smarter script code. Because the kind of human attention that you consider 'simple' to apply to such file conversions might still go beyond what the average game and homebrew users can manage. (Like with some early CBv10 repacking issues in the past.)

Most people will need the patcher to handle all the 'iffy' parts of the job.

So when it is done, we're left with just the additional texts that have to be translated from japanese. This is where I'll need a help from native american english speakers (to either translate it jap-eng or translate "my english" into "native english" ) - it's not that much of it, so it will wait till everything else is done.

I'm sure you'll have plenty of volunteers for that job

Right now the only problem I've run into is the space "character" width (which is quite big in japanese versions - ~three times the width of space in american or eurpean versions) . It's not specified in the place where widths for all the characters in font are stored (well, space is not a "character", after all - here it's just empty... space ). But it's not something one couldn't cope with if enough time is spent on it.

It might even be necessary to define text positioning offsets for the start of each string, rather than any generic 'space' implementation. If the space is really not encoded as a specific character (or character group), then such free positioning is what must already be used for the japanese text, isn't it ?

The game is worth it. FF12 was good on its own. The ZJS version is even better. It's not just a matter of 12 different "jobs"

I haven't looked into the details yet, but I assume that the specialization is handled mainly by new limits, affecting what the characters may or may not learn depending on their jobs. Much like it was in NES FF3, and later FF5 and FFT (even to some extent in FFX-2, with dress-spheres as job changers)

(which makes the replay value much better) but also controlling guests and summons (their gambits and partially equipment),

The guest system is probably the worst part of the original FF12. My 'pet peeve' is when I'm trying to steal rare objects from an enemy and that bloody guest keeps running in for the kill instead...

no damage limits, some new items, different treasures and monsters respawn,

I'm not sure what you mean here, as monsters already do respawn in some ways, as do the 'cheap' treasures, but I guess you meant something beyond that.

turbo mode, finding "magick" as treasures, changes in magic's effects (and range), different look of some menus, magic in different categories and many, many more small changes that make the gameplay much better (different shop inventories, etc.).

So even those who know the original game well will have to explore the new game properly, instead of relying only on old experience, which is very good for the replay value.

Edit: I guess I'll have to move the offtopic posts into separate thread...

Yes, that was probably best. I had considered doing it myself earlier, but I didn't want to mess unnecessarily with your subforum.

Best regards: dlanor

[ffgriever]

Most people will need the patcher to handle all the 'iffy' parts of the job.

And that's the plan. I'm not insane enough (yet) to let the players do all the stuff by themselves (though, it's a tempting idea to just release some notes, algorithms, structures and data... then say "do it yourself" ).

It might even be necessary to define text positioning offsets for the start of each string, rather than any generic 'space' implementation. If the space is really not encoded as a specific character (or character group), then such free positioning is what must already be used for the japanese text, isn't it ?

Not really. The width of space (character value 0x04) is most likely stored somewhere in the main executable, or somewhere in other files (it's certainly not stored with widths of all characters in font file). It shouldn't be that hard to find it. And even if it was, I could just as easily replace one of the characters in font (there is a lot of useless ones ) with empty one and set specified width for it (so it would act as a space, though, not using default space code, circumventing the problem).

What I mean is (shots taken using pcsx2 few days ago, don't mind the weird language, it just demonstrates the space problem ):

That's how it looks like in NTSC U/C and PAL versions:



And that's how it looks like in ZJS:



And yes, japanese versions use the same font in menu, dialogs and virtually anything else but subtitles in cut scenes with voice acting (not movies, which use the same font as dialogs). So I replaced the japanese font with the menu font (the dialog font looks weird in menus). The other garbage is text that was still in japanese, but was displayed with the US font .

The guest system is probably the worst part of the original FF12. My 'pet peeve' is when I'm trying to steal rare objects from an enemy and that bloody guest keeps running in for the kill instead...

And that's most likely why they changed it. Now you can controll guests as any other party members, you can even set them as leaders.

I'm not sure what you mean here, as monsters already do respawn in some ways, as do the 'cheap' treasures, but I guess you meant something beyond that.

You don't have to zone out three locations to make the urns reappear. One is enough (which makes hunts for some rare goods easier).

[dimm0505]

And that's the plan. I'm not insane enough (yet) to let the players do all the stuff by themselves (though, it's a tempting idea to just release some notes, algorithms, structures and data... then say "do it yourself" )

Many people around can only dream about having translated version of original FFXII(from English to their native language). Are there any chance, what sometime you are release tools/docs, needed for translating this game?

[dlanor]

And that's the plan. I'm not insane enough (yet) to let the players do all the stuff by themselves (though, it's a tempting idea to just release some notes, algorithms, structures and data... then say "do it yourself" ).

I see what you mean, but that would really be too cruel.
Everybody wanting the game in english, but only a few of the 'elite' able to go through with it...

Not really. The width of space (character value 0x04) is most likely stored somewhere in the main executable, or somewhere in other files (it's certainly not stored with widths of all characters in font file). It shouldn't be that hard to find it.

That's assuming it is even stored in any specific location, which might not be the case.

It could also be hiding inside some kind of 'printf' function variants, which just respond to each occurrence of that character by incrementing a positioning index, with different space step size depending either on some argument to that function, or depending on which of several such similar functions is used. (like one for normal dialogs, another for menus, etc)

And even if it was, I could just as easily replace one of the characters in font (there is a lot of useless ones ) with empty one and set specified width for it (so it would act as a space, though, not using default space code, circumventing the problem).

I suppose that too should work.

What I mean is (shots taken using pcsx2 few days ago, don't mind the weird language, it just demonstrates the space problem ):

Ah yes, that is the initial 'user training' scene where you have to go and talk to a soldier, like the captain said. I think he says something about how life is too precious to throw away, or something like that.

I've been testing FF12 a lot with GSM lately so I've had to see that scene several times over.

----- snip ----- re: pictures not repeated in this post
That didn't look at all bad to me, except for the description of the soldier.
Spacing did seem a bit excessive, but nothing to fret overmuch about.

The font is a bit simple compared to the official translations, but I don't think any gamer would refuse it on that account either.

And yes, japanese versions use the same font in menu, dialogs and virtually anything else but subtitles in cut scenes with voice acting (not movies, which use the same font as dialogs). So I replaced the japanese font with the menu font (the dialog font looks weird in menus). The other garbage is text that was still in japanese, but was displayed with the US font .

Yes, I see.

On the other hand, I don't know if it would be a copyright issue, but what about 'lifting out' the fonts from the officially translated standard FF12 versions, and using those fonts for your translation projects. If Sony did base those fonts on existing standard fonts, it might not pose any problem at all, copyright-wise. If they stole or borrowed them to begin with, then they have no claim to make.

----- re: new control of guests/summons

And that's most likely why they changed it. Now you can controll guests as any other party members, you can even set them as leaders.

Using them as leaders would usually not be my choice anyway, as it would mess up the party temporarily when they leave, and I want full control of my party setup at all times when that is possible. But it is great that they are controllable.

You don't have to zone out three locations to make the urns reappear. One is enough (which makes hunts for some rare goods easier).

But I never had to zone out that many times anyway, as I recall.

If I 'empty' zone A of enemies and treasure, they will not reappear just because I cross the border betwen zones A and B back and forth. But if I go on from zone B to C, and then back to A again it usually has respawned. So I only had to go two zones out from where I started and then back again, for the respawning. (Here I'm not talking of the local areas, but of the entire zone as shown on map, such as the entire Giza plains, including village and everything else.)

Even so, in some places this meant having to walk quite far, so it will be much easier to do such hunting if you just have to cross a single border back and forth in FF12_ZJS, without actually walking anywhere in the other zone.

Best regards: dlanor

[MidniteAssassin]

Excuse me if I missed it, but how far along is the translation? Are you serious about finishing it? It would be freaking awesome.

[ffgriever]

Excuse me if I missed it, but how far along is the translation? Are you serious about finishing it? It would be freaking awesome.

It's not really a translation. There is just a tiny bit of translating involved. I guess it should be called "conversion". Right now the patching tool can replace ~95% of the text in game (though, I won't be 100% sure unless I play it - what I mean is, if something went wrong, it could hang the game or cause all variety of weird problems ). I checked it at some random locations (NTSC U/C saves do work just fine if converted. your licences and magicks get messed up a little bit, though).

PS. I'm always serious... It's just that sometimes projects are being put on hold due to various reasons.