Need some help with picture editing...

[Fool]

Um, hi. Everlong's an awesome game, I love it, but some of the tech names bug me a bit... (Namely Blitz, as it uses a lot of the SNES names, which I dislike...) I can edit the tech names themselves easily enough in RPGMaker, but in order to make them appear properly in the Skill Shard System, I need to use a picture editing program to edit some graphics, and for the life of me I cannot do it. I've been blundering around in GIMP a bit to try and change it, but no luck.

I don't know if this is the right topic for this, but...

(For those that don't know, the name changes are Pummel -> Raging Fist, Suplex -> Meteor Strike, Mantra -> Chakra, Fire Dance -> Rising Phoenix, Air Blade -> Razor Gale, and Fast -> Haste. "White" also needs a name change in my opinion, but eh...)

Please tell me if anyone can help!

[DJC]

If this really bugs players that much, I suppose I could change it officially in the next patch. If you would like to come up with substitutions for all the ripped-off names, or if anyone else would like to also contribute to renaming, then post suggestions in this thread. Renaming items I can't really do since then the alphabetical order will get totally screwed up, but skills and commands are no problem.

Keep in mind not all suggestions will be used. For example I like your "Raging Fist" replacement, but Meteor Strike is also probably an overused name. Chakra is a skill Drakeor has, and Rising Phoenix is too easily confused with the actual Phoenix summon plus there's no Phoenix in the animation. I already used Holy, so you'll have to come up with something else for White.

It might be a little while before the next patch because I'm trying some major battle revamps with an experimental rm2k3 patch right now, but I'll eventually get to this.

As far as doing it yourself in GIMP, I actually use Photoshop so I'm not familiar with GIMP's equivalents. In Photoship you must first change to RGB mode (more colors) before you can add text, then once done adding text you revert to indexed color. You will have to completely delete the existing "text" and replace it, since it is no longer a text object picture editors can differentiate from the other pixels and allow you to edit.

I'm also moving this thread to general discussion since walkthroughs isn't the best place for it.

[Fool]

Oh, don't worry, it doesn't bug me all that much. Everlong's still great, but it's just that there are more accurate translations of most of the FF skills now. (All of those skill names I posted were taken directly from FFVI Advance)

And yeah, I noticed that Drakeor already has Chakra, which makes things a bit problematic... Feh, I'll live. "Mantra" is fine, even though I have no clue what it means...

And as for the "Rising Phoenix" thing, the literal translation is apparently "Phoenix Spirit", though that's likely still a problem... "Fire Dance" just doesn't sound right, though. I don't see how people would confuse the two though... Both are unique skills for two different characters...

As for "White", I'd say "Judgment", but that could easily be confused with "Holy Judgment", so I'd actually say make the current Holy "Pearl", and make White "Holy". Less confusion that way, I think...

And thanks for the Photoshop tip. I'll try editing the text myself with that, perhaps...

(What do you mean about the item names, though? How would changing the alphabetical order be a problem? The only item names I object to are the annoying SNES-type ones where they just show a name without saying what it is, like "Ancient" instead of "Ancient Sword"... I changed those in the Maker already, and it didn't seem to have any effect on the order...)

Oh, and by the way, does anyone know if the Limit Breaks in FFVII were mistranslated? "Braver" and "Climhazzrd" at least seem to be badly mistranslated, and I have suspicions about "Finishing Touch" as well...

[DJC]

The rm2k(3) display their item lists from the first slot in the database array to the last. So it goes 1,2,3...457...last slot in your item list. I tried to make things organized so players could actually locate items on their list quickly instead of scrolling individually through hundreds of slots. First the list is divided into categories: potions, weapons, armor, accessories, etc; and then alphabetical.

Basically, if you changed "Ancient" to "Ancient Sword", then it's still alphabetical and there's no problem. But change it to "Sword of the Ancients" or "Random Sword Name" and the weapons section for swords will be out of order and it will take longer to find it. I can't just go and insert the name in the correct alphabetical place because then the shops, treasures, traders, etc. will all get screwed up.

Skills are not alphabetical so it doesn't matter for them.

As for translation mistakes, I think climhazzard is incorrect as are thousands of other names that became novel on the American side of the pond but were ultimately incorrect. I'm sure they are all documented somewhere considering the amount of zealous fans Final Fantasy has.

[Fool]

Oh, okay. Don't worry, the only time I did that is to the "$ALight" item, which I changed to "$ASword of Light", which didn't seem to have any effect on the order. (The "Chest Light" event still has you receive the sword, and not some other random item, anyway, and that's the only time it seems to matter, I believe...)

And yeah, I googled "Final Fantasy VII 7 Translation errors" but all I got was a page with a plot synopsis that had a small "Translation errors" section. No Limit Breaks though. (I did manage to find out that Barret's Ungermax is supposed to be Angermax, though that was probably just a typo...) If anyone has any information on this, could they please share it...?

And there's still the reason this thread was started... Since I seem to be completely inept at editing pictures, can someone please edit the pictures...? Or DJC could just include the more accurate translations in the next patch...

(As for the Rising Phoenix thing, I doubt it would be confused, and it's not a problem that there's no phoenix in the animation -- FFVI's Fire Dance/Rising Phoenix was just a bunch of flames, too, wasn't it? The "Phoenix" in the name doesn't actually mean it's summoning a phoenix, I think, just that it's summoning magical fire, and magical fire is connected to phoenixes, I suppose...)

(And as for the Chakra problem, maybe change Drakeor's Chakra to something else? I don't recall Freya ever having a skill called "Chakra", though it's been a while since I've played FFIX...)

Sorry if I sound stupid.

[DJC]

I've already come up with replacement names for all the classes, commands, and skills I was looking at. Thanks for your suggestions on those, a few of them were used. I will make the changes in the next patch, but I don't know when that will be released. Probably not for awhile, so you'll have to suffer through the current names until then unless you figure editing out.

As for help on the bad translations for commercial games, try gamefaqs.com and see if any of the postings have a section like that somewhere. And in FFIX it was Amarant who had Chakra, not Freya.

[Fool]

Oh well. I don't mind all that much. And if I can get better at Photoshop, I'll be able to edit them myself... So, though, you're not going to use all the more accurate names for Blitz? Ah well. Which ones won't you use? Meteor Strike, Rising Phoenix, and Chakra?

What item names will you change? The ones with just a name without any label for what they actually are? That'll be okay with me, then.

(One last thing that I found strange: In the menu, there's a stat listed as "Magic". However, items that increase Magic say "Mind" instead of "Magic". I already went through the Maker and changed all of them to say "Magic" instead, but in the next patch I'd recommend either changing everything to say "Magic" or make the "Magic" stat "Mind" to stay consistent.)

[Fool]

Oh yeah, and I think that Amarant had Chakra because he was supposed to be monk-like, like Sabin. Final Fantasy does that a lot. (Like how Cid appears in almost every FF as a guy that designs airships... There are a lot of "traits" that travel through the series)

[Fool]

Gah... Just looked through GameFAQs, nothing. I can't seem to find more accurate translations ANYWHERE. (I did manage to find that the English translation royally sucks, though)

Sigh. Google and GameFAQs, but neither one has more accurate translations...grumble...

Anyone reading this happen to know more accurate translations of the FFVII Limit Breaks?

[DJC]

For the items with no word identifier like "Sword" or "Shield" I thought the icons would explain what type the item is. So far nobody has had a preference for "Ancient" or "Ancient Sword", but now that I have at least one person who likes it one way I guess I'll make that the convention for most items. I am also in the process of going through the items and fixing their description to fit existing conventions, such as Magic instead of Mind as you mentioned.

As for a list of name changes (so far):

Fenrir=Lupus
Ifrit=Aestus
Shiva=Arctica
Titan=Gygax
Ramuh=Mjollnir
Typhoon=Coriolis
Alexander=Lixandru
Leviathan=Meridion
Odin=Tyr
Bahamut=Beomaust
(These god replacements are taken straight from some Everlong lore that I've been writing for years but never before implemented into the game)

Costa del Sol=Isla del Sol
Dale=Sumi
Levaitan Caverns=Meridion Caverns
Bahamut's Lair=Beomaust's Lair

Titles
DarkKnight=Blackguard
Samurai=Soldier

Commands
Blitz=Meditate
Renzokuken=Valor
Bushido=Tactics
Dyne=Mesmerize
Sith=Depravity

Skill Shards
Seiken=Blackguard
Blitz=Brawl
Bushido=Tactics

Skills
Heal Blade=Healing Blade

Braver=Gash
Cross Slash=Sever
Falcon Edge=Onslaught
Agile=Flurry
Rough Divide=Shatter Blade
Fated Circle=Circling Steel
Blasting Zone=Storm of Swords

Pummel=Furious Fists
Suplex=Pulverize
Penny Packer=Eviscerate
Booya=Knockout Blow
No Mercy=Chi Blast
Final Heaven=Nirvana
Mantra=Succor
White Wind=Celerity
Aura Bolt=Holy Wrath
Fire Dance=Wildfire
Air Blade=Razor Gale

Heal=Purify
Angel Whisper=Revitalize
Hold=Immobilize
Sacred Light=Censure
Holy=Castigation
White=Judgement

Lancer=Ether Burn
White Draw=Mana Draw

Climhazzard=Steel Ferocity
Shock=Radiant Sword
Blade Beam=Resonant Blade
Finishing Touch=Irresistible Force
Iai Strike=Fatal Thrust
Stock Break=Lethal Sweep

Shift break=Prismatic Eye
Scoop Art=Intensity
Yeo Twister=Mystic Twister
Solution9=Ninth Circle
Tidal Flame=Rising Flames
Stellar Circle 5=Energy Collapse
Grand Lethal=Catastrophe

Big Shot=Hot Shot

Flare=Fission
Nuke=Fusion
Shadow Flare=Holocaust

I may change more or these, though I already did all the replacement work for the Skill Shards. I'll probably have to change the names of some enemy skills too.

[Fool]

Wow, awesome job, DJC! They look great and will make Everlong much more original. I probably won't be able to enjoy them (or even use them, since I just got to the Cirigon Sewers with Sammy and company) for a while, but still great!

(One thing I noticed when looking in the Maker, though, is that Shiva looks...weird. I believe you're using her 3-D sprite from FFVIII or something? I'd recommend using an SNES sprite, maybe FFVI's. She just looks really out of lace otherwise)

What do Succor, Censure, and Castigation mean, though?

[Fool]

Oh, one more thing that you've probably already done but I want to say it anyway: White Wizard should be changed to "Healer" and Black Mage should be changed to "Sorcerer", or maybe "Conjurer".

[DJC]

Censure and Castigation are like punishment for moral sins, and giving succor is like giving support or a life line. If want more precise definitions use www.dictionary.com or something similar.

I probably won't change the class names for White Wizard and Black Mage. Healer doesn't really work because White Wizards do more than that, and a big part of Vetu's power is that he can use black magic or the dark arts, so I want to keep that part of the name. There's also a fair amount of nostalgia value in the current terms. Wizard also seems to fit with a more righteous character while Mage goes with the destructive theme. I think I already used your suggestions as titles for the class progressions anyways.

[sn0wflake]

The name changes are great, and are not only much needed, but also add a new level of seriousness to the game. I just don't agree with Alexander = Lixandru. I mean, Alexander is such a d**n powerful mythological name... "savior of man"~mankind. Lixandru sounds not only odd, but also weak. Also sounds very Eastern-European when compared to the overall Nordic/Romantic feeling of the other names.

[DJC]

Feb 8, 2009 23:18:34 GMT -5 sn0wflake said:

The name changes are great, and are not only much needed, but also add a new level of seriousness to the game. I just don't agree with Alexander = Lixandru. I mean, Alexander is such a d**n powerful mythological name... "savior of man"~mankind. Lixandru sounds not only odd, but also weak. Also sounds very Eastern-European when compared to the overall Nordic/Romantic feeling of the other names.

Lixandru is actually an archaic form of Alexander, and is western in origin. As much as we all love Alexander, especially westerners thanks to Alexander the Great, it needed to be changed along with the rest from their Final Fantasy duplicates. I'm not going for purely western/Germanic/Greek, but also trying to throw in some eastern flare where possible or appropriate.

Also if you've already played the game (as I have too) then you're used to the old names and changing any one of them can feel like a bad decision. It can take time for something odd or new to grow on you and gain acceptance. Anyways, we'll see how it goes, bu some of these I've already been using for years (including Lixandru), just not in the game, and probably won't change them.

I also made a few other changes as I was redoing the map:

Singapore=Laurium
West Minister=Comstock
Water Passage=Tyr-Anon Depths

I don't know if I've said it before either, but in the new patch I'm also planning some major event additions and revisions. We'll see just how far I actually get. I'm still skeptical on making the speed cap of 255 work for battles, and there's still no way to deal with the slow battle times when large amounts of heroes/monsters are present.