Re-translation update #8
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Aug 19, 2019 at 10:17:02 PM
Message from the Translator:
Hello fellow stargazers,
Work is still underway on both the original Hoshizora no Memoria and Hoshizora no Memoria -Eternal Heart-. Hoshizora no Memoria is waiting for technical work to be completed so that text can be inserted without producing any errors, and Eternal Heart's translation is underway.
The translation for Eternal Heart will hopefully not be too much of a departure from the translation for the original Hoshizora no Memoria, but the change of translator will inevitably result in some differences. As the translator, I've noticed whenever I read my own translations that, while I may be translating the sentences more accurately, it's surprisingly difficult to impart the same flavor to certain characters' speech patterns. I hope you all can bear with me here, because I believe that it's not my place as the translator to put words in Chinami's mouth which she didn't say in Japanese. The real difficulty lies in translating her words accurately without making her sound less like Chinami.
I'm sorry that we don't have more concrete news regarding release dates, but we're working as hard as we can behind the scenes here to bring you quality translations for your favorite astronomical visual novels.
Message from Sekai Project:
We would like to apologize for the delay in posting this update. The translator sent us the update in advance and we did not post in time. However we'd like to share that we've added Chinese translation of Hoshizora no Memoria to Steam. Please look forward to another update later this month from the translator.
Re-translation update #7
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Jul 01, 2019 at 01:52:26 AM
Hello fellow stargazers,
I am getting the technical side of the patch release worked on right now, so that the re-translation can be released soon. Other than the technical work being done to insert the text into the game and release a newly patched version, other work being done on the main Hoshizora no Memoria game is editing and making sure that newly translated lines don't overflow the textbox.
I will also begin translating the fandisk, Hoshizora no Memoria -Eternal Heart-, in July. The aim will be to have a fully translated fandisk by the end of the year, with text insertion and game release to follow as soon as possible. This might sound optimistic, but the fandisk is less than a third of the length of the main game.
This fandisk contains new storylines that have never been published in English before for two of the most popular heroines from Hoshizora no Memoria, as well as shorter epilogues for all of the other heroines. I'm sure that any fan of the original game will find something of value here, no matter who their favorite heroine was.
Re-translation update #6
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Jun 01, 2019 at 02:28:48 AM
Hello fellow stargazers!
We're gearing up for a final QA pass before the release of our new patch, which will include an entirely revised translation. You can go back and read our first couple updates from the beginning of the year if you want more details on what exactly we're changing, but suffice to say there will be a number of changes to the text as well as the way the text is presented.
Our biggest focus right now is making the text sound as if it is something that a native speaker of English would say. With very few exceptions, the story in Hoshizora no Memoria is told from Kogasaka You's viewpoint, and as I go through changing the narration to past tense I'm basically imagining that You is telling the story's events a short time after it's happened.
As such, the most valuable tool I have for evaluating whether a line sounds natural is to simply ask myself whether or not I could imagine someone I know saying it out loud. Granted, there will always be a bit more detail in a story's narration than people normally use in conversation, but I think that the basic vocabulary, phrasing, and sentence structure should sound more conversational than academic. That reflects You's place as the character from whose viewpoint the story is being told. If it doesn't make sense for You to say a line (e.g. if a word is translated as 'cherubic' due to that being the first translation in the dictionary), then that line probably needs to be changed.
And I just want to say that, as someone who's put in quite a lot of work on this project over the past year or so, I really hope that all this work ends up being worth it. I know that many of our readers have already finished the game and are mostly just looking forward to the translation of the fandisk. But if you haven't read Hoshizora no Memoria, or if you just think that it would be fun to re-read the game to experience the characters and story in a new light, then I do hope you'll give our new translation a try.
As always, I thank you all for your patience. I hope that I'll be able to give something back to you all which merits the support you've shown us.
Re-translation update #5
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 10:10:21 PM
Hello fellow stargazers!
The months are just flying by, and we're closing in on the date when I hope to have the re-translation and editing of Hoshizora no Memoria's main game done. By June 30th, I would like to shift my focus to translating the fandisk, Eternal Heart, so now I am hard at work trying to polish up the original game's script as much as I possibly can. Specifically, before the end of May I would like to have finished all of the routine changes (fixing grammar, adding punctuation, changing narration to past tense, and finding any mistranslated lines) which need to be applied to the script. Once the basics are nailed down, that will give me a month to simply read over the script and pick out any awkward lines that make think, “Huh, that doesn't sound right.”
Now, please don't get your hopes up for a June 30th release of the new translation. This isn't a one-man project, and I'm sure that even after I sign off on the script and say that I'm happy with it, my editor will want some quality time with the script to double check it, and then it will surely take some time to sort out the technical details of rolling out the patch. But while all that is being worked out, I will be able to start work on the translation of the fandisk with the aim of finishing that translation by the end of 2019.
As always, thank you for your patience, and thank you for supporting Sekai Project's efforts to localize a wonderful game like Hoshizora no Memoria.
Re-translation update #4
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Apr 01, 2019 at 02:16:06 AM
Hello fellow stargazers!
Progress is continuing on character routes in Hoshizora no Memoria. I can't say that there have been any dramatic changes in the trajectory of the project, so this update post might end up being a little shorter than normal. As always, we appreciate your continued patience as we work to bring you the best product possible, and if you're reading this then I'm just glad that we have some fans out there who are still excited about the progress we are making on Hoshimemo and its fan disk.
This month, one thing I would like to shine a spotlight on is the decision to render the game's narration in past tense. I received some push back on this decision from the fans in the comments, and I seriously considered going back on the decision altogether. I think that I am personally able to write more fluid narration if I use the past tense just because I am more familiar with it, but my own bias shouldn't cause me to ignore my audience's preferences. I reviewed the script and considered how much work it would take to deliver a completed script in present tense instead of past tense, and my conclusion was that it would set the project back considerably if I changed my mind at this point.
While I was previously under the impression that the majority of the game's narration had initially been translated in either present tense or a mixture of present/past tense, I found that in fact the vast majority of it was initially translated with past tense narration. Komomo's route is a notable exception, having been translated in present tense from the very beginning. Most of the rest of the game was edited to be present tense at some point before Sekai Project's initial release of the game by the first team that worked on it. Thankfully, our versioning software still retains the original, past tense versions of all these lines. As such, there are two scenarios which I had to compare as I determined the best route forward:
- Change all the narration to consistent present tense, including the lines which I've changed to past tense as well as the lines which were previously left in past tense despite clear efforts to change the entire script to present tense. Many lines would have to be completely re-written because the wording is awkward in present tense, given that they were originally translated in past tense. The work which I've already done to convert a large number of lines to past tense will also have to be reverted, and unless I completely scrap the current revision and go back to a previous version, all of these lines will have to be changed by hand. Because improvements have been made to the grammar, spelling, and overall fluidity of the script at the same time as the changes to past tense narration, simply reverting to an earlier version of the script would result in a great deal of lost work.
- Change all the narration to consistent past tense, including the lines which were edited by the previous team to be in present tense. Most lines wouldn't have to be completely re-written because the wording often makes MORE sense in past tense, and frequently there are errors which were introduced by the process of changing the script to present tense. In many cases, these lines can simply be reverted to the previous version which is still retained in our versioning software, which saves time by reducing the amount of lines I personally have to re-write from scratch. The most challenging portion of the script to edit into past tense would be Komomo's route, because unlike the rest of the script it was originally translated in present tense, so our versioning software does not have past tense versions of the lines in this portion of the script.
With all this information, I hope you guys can understand why I'm being stubborn about this particular decision. I genuinely believe this is the best way for me to deliver a high quality script in a timely manner. I chose to address this issue because I want you all to know that I am reading your comments, and I try to take constructive feedback where possible. While I've chosen not to change course on this particular decision, I am still open to any other input you guys might have.
Finally we have another Kickstarter running, M.A.S.S. Builder, A Fully Customizable Mecha Action Game. There's currently a demo on Steam if you want to try it out.
