Final Fantasy VI - T Edition... The Translation

Hey all!

I would like to take up the task of translating Final Fantasy VI - T Edition into English!

But... I have zero romhacking experience. I have the computer-literacy to hack and I can use editors - I just always found myself on the consuming end of hacks rather than the producing end.

I've lurked around here before, but I figure now is the time! 2 days before my birthday, I think it's about time I challenge myself and try to give something back to one of my favorite RPG's ever.

That said, I'm curious where to start. I've been scouring the internet for books, guides, and tutorials. I'm building up a bookmark folder for all of these things FF6-Hacking / SNES hacking related, which is how I ended up back here.

I was wondering if you guys had any advice. I have a couple newb questions, and would greatly appreciate your help in answering those as well as providing any wisdom you can. Anything I need to look up on my own I can and will, don't let me take up much of your time with my questions.

When answering these questions, you can assume that I'll learn how to proficiently use any program you're talking about.

1 - What tools should I use to rip text from the Japanese rom and replace it with English?

2 - Is replacing the script in English as simple as simply translating the script and re-inserting it? I'm assuming each box of dialogue has a code and the corresponding text comes up when that code is called?

3 - There are some special insertions of text (a big example being the status screen with all sorts of neat info) - Does anyone have an idea how I should go about translating that?

I've attached a couple pictures

A list of some of the mechanics changes can be found here - http://whatisacrepe.com/ff6t/change.html

A list of the hefty amount of event additions is in a Japanese list at the bottom of that link.

!! I'm so new I can't even get the attachments to work *blush* Will fix asap

Please don't use attachments as it is stated in the forum rules. If you want to post images, use the [img][/img] tag with the url of your image hosted on photobucket or any other file hoster.

1 - What tools should I use to rip text from the Japanese rom and replace it with English?

You'll need a hex editor for sure and an assembler like Xkas, which makes coding lot easier. Learning coding is not an easy task but anyone taking the time to learn can be comfortable with it eventually. Also, you'll need a tile editor like YY-CHR to insert the alphabet. There are disassemblies available to help you identifying the code to change.

2 - Is replacing the script in English as simple as simply translating the script and re-inserting it? I'm assuming each box of dialogue has a code and the corresponding text comes up when that code is called?

In the US version there are tables (see the Tools section), where a hex number represent a symbol, letter or digit. I believe it's the same for the Japanese version but I'm not sure how the hundreds of symbols ares managed, since on byte can only have 255 different values.

RPGone has made a translation of the Japanese version to English, you might want to take a look at that also.

I'd say start with learning Japanese.

I'd say start with learning Japanese.

I was assuming the guy speaks Japanese otherwise it would be an impossible task...

I assumed that as well, until I saw this thread:

http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.ph...158.0.html

Learning Japanese isn't a prerequisite to learning how to modify the ROM, was simply making a few inquiries. [EDIT : As I was keen on learning both simultaneously] I've since re-aligned my super lofty goals and am interested in making my own 8-10 hour scenario.

No worries though, still learning Japanese to simply play through T-Edition!

Another question though - Would it take heavy ASM hacking to have my mod start from a custom location / event? AKA could I skip the whole Narshe beginning and have my story start from the location I select with and have my custom events start playing? I assume this isn't something I can do with Zone Doctor, I would need some more in-depth hacking tools right?

Would it take heavy ASM hacking to have my mod start from a custom location / event? AKA could I skip the whole Narshe beginning and have my story start from the location I select with and have my custom events start playing? I assume this isn't something I can do with Zone Doctor, I would need some more in-depth hacking tools right?

This is event editing and can be done with Zone Doctor. You would need to modify the intro event then set the event bit(s) that have been skipped in order to make the game run normally.