¡¡Urgent for Firaxis!!

[Alfonso]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

I'm sure Alfonso would be glad to help.

Why not translate it yourself? Fix up the text yourself so that it makes sense, and doesn't look as though it been run through a translation program? I'm sure if you started this project, many other Spanish-speaking Civ3 players would be able to help.

Coldwizard (iirc) led a similar effort to convert the English version to German (to allow the Germans to play before the translated version was out). This was brutally crushed by infogreed due to conflict of interest, but here there wouldn't be a problem as you are just modifying the one version, not translating the English version into Spanish.

The problem with asking infogreed to do it is that for it to be worth their time (money), they must make more money directly from doing this than they spend. And their effort will be of the cheapest quality as possible.

So in summary: translate it yourself!

But that is not the solution, I what I want is that they do it or and that all we have it or, in addition are problems that I cannot solve (like the text who do not fit in the boxes).

[Thrawn05]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

I'm sure Alfonso would be glad to help.

Why not translate it yourself? Fix up the text yourself so that it makes sense, and doesn't look as though it been run through a translation program? I'm sure if you started this project, many other Spanish-speaking Civ3 players would be able to help.

Coldwizard (iirc) led a similar effort to convert the English version to German (to allow the Germans to play before the translated version was out). This was brutally crushed by infogreed due to conflict of interest, but here there wouldn't be a problem as you are just modifying the one version, not translating the English version into Spanish.

The problem with asking infogreed to do it is that for it to be worth their time (money), they must make more money directly from doing this than they spend. And their effort will be of the cheapest quality as possible.


So in summary: translate it yourself!

You're missing the point. I understand complaints that could be solved in the editor, but not this. If that's your only argument, then it's a poor one. If this is the way "Infogreed" made the product, then they should pay for this mistake. I will not buy any game from them from now on, not even for PtW.

Would you be complaining if Civ3 was originally done in Spanish and then quickly translated into English (All your base are belong to us), I bet you would.

Should someone pay $50US for a game that they need to sit down and translate all those lines in those text files, hell no.

Would you pay a brand new car, only to find out it came out of Harry's You Pull It, and requires a total work over?

Language is so basic, that it needs to be perfect, and it's not hard to do so. Sacrificing this for profit makes Enron and WorldCom look likes saints.

I have seen computer game companies do some stupid stuff (such as Raven employee flaming people who said JK2 was slow), but this just tops them all.

[Skanky Burns]

You're missing the point. I understand complaints that could be solved in the editor, but not this. If that's your only argument, then it's a poor one.

No, you are the one missing the point. That wasn't an arguement, it was a suggestion. You obviously have the right to complain, and the complaint is valid.

Just realize, however, that the chance of your complaints prompting infogreed to suddenly see the error in their ways, and do a decent translation are close to zero. Faceless corporations are exceedingly good at ignoring the public, even if in the long-run it hurts the company.

So what choices do you have?
- Take Civ3 back: You don't have a substandard product, and if enough Spanish-speaking people do it, infogreed may even notice. The problem is, you then don't get to play Civ3.
- Sit here complaining: infogreed won't notice nor care that you are playing a version you aren't happy with. You will have a better chance of winning the lottery than to get them to translate the game for you. And of course, your enjoyment of the game will be lessened due to the current bad translation.
- Put some effort into fixing those problems that you can(ie: grammar). infogreed still won't care (notice a theme here), but you will be playing the best Spanish version available, and the game won't be as annoying.

Them being the choices, you tell me which has the best end-result.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see infogreed admit they did a pathetic effort and then make a decent translation. But the cold, hard reality is that they are not going to.
I wish you all the best anyway.

[Alfonso]

If I pay 50€ it is so that my game this translated good. I do not know if I will buy PTW...

[ludwip]

One question?

US-Japanese 1.29f users can play with german, spanish, italian or french 1.21f users?

Thanks in advance.

[Thrawn05]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

You're missing the point. I understand complaints that could be solved in the editor, but not this. If that's your only argument, then it's a poor one.

No, you are the one missing the point. That wasn't an arguement, it was a suggestion. You obviously have the right to complain, and the complaint is valid.

Just realize, however, that the chance of your complaints prompting infogreed to suddenly see the error in their ways, and do a decent translation are close to zero. Faceless corporations are exceedingly good at ignoring the public, even if in the long-run it hurts the company.

So what choices do you have?
- Take Civ3 back: You don't have a substandard product, and if enough Spanish-speaking people do it, infogreed may even notice. The problem is, you then don't get to play Civ3.
- Sit here complaining: infogreed won't notice nor care that you are playing a version you aren't happy with. You will have a better chance of winning the lottery than to get them to translate the game for you. And of course, your enjoyment of the game will be lessened due to the current bad translation.
- Put some effort into fixing those problems that you can(ie: grammar). infogreed still won't care (notice a theme here), but you will be playing the best Spanish version available, and the game won't be as annoying.

Them being the choices, you tell me which has the best end-result.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see infogreed admit they did a pathetic effort and then make a decent translation. But the cold, hard reality is that they are not going to.
I wish you all the best anyway.

Then purhaps with your vaaaaaaaaaast knowlege that you be incline to give us your wisdom. Help us, poor idiots of apolyton, to translate this game for Alfonso.

Don't tell me that a company won't care. I'll give the example of the AvP series of games. Fox is likely to switch back to Rebellion for AvP3, why? Because the overwhelming complaints in some AvP forums! So DON'T TELL ME that complaints in a forums doesn't reach a company's HQ.

[Thrawn05]

Originally posted by ludwip
One question?

US-Japanese 1.29f users can play with german, spanish, italian or french 1.21f users?

Thanks in advance.

I don't see why not. LucasArts Rebellion is similar to that. There are several language versions, but all can play against each other so long that both players use the same version number (1.0 or 1.1).

[Alex]

Well, on these days you cannot expect much from big bad corporations, can you? Civ3 doesn't even have a Portuguese version, probably because they thought that the sales wouldn't be worth the effort.

Sometimes, when the game is distributed by a local company, then things get better. Civ2 was translated into Portuguese and I couldn't spot big flaws, only one or two wrong things.

But since the big sharks have taken control of the gaming scene, such translations are extremely rare. Usually they translate the manual -- and it is a very shoddy translation, very bad.

It is definitely linked to the sales numbers. Electronic Arts translated all the FIFA Soccer games and all The Sims series of games so far, because they are big hits. But SMAC was never translated, which is not so bad, considering that the translation would probably ruin the game's atmosphere.

About fans translating the game: it is an admirable effort, sure, but we shouldn't have to do it. And you end up having so much work to do, what with all these patches and expansion packs and whatnot... Nah, it is too much work. Better to play the game.

And the translation always misses something; in Civ3, it would miss the references to Beatles ("you say you want a revolution?") and other little niggets. All in all, better to play the english version. Compatibility with all the patches and no headaches.

[Alfonso]

Surely that if the distributor were EA we would not have those problems.

He is not pretty to see that not this civ the Portuguese in civ3.