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[Imperial Dane]

Found this review, while it doesn't offer much insight into the game i think, it does offer a few things here and there.
http://www.frictionlessinsight.com/archives/2008/06/kings-bounty-th.html

[Daystar]

Sounds good.

[BurningCold]

Sounds very good.

[Imperial Dane]

Just can't wait to see a demo. Although it sounds like something is already there, though i would imagine the English still needs some work after what i saw in a few screenshots.

[Nike-it]

Just can't wait to see a demo. Although it sounds like something is already there, though i would imagine the English still needs some work after what i saw in a few screenshots.

It's rather interesting for us, can you name the things, you would like to be modified?

[Imperial Dane]

Sure i'll try and find the screenshots i saw that featured the not to good english.

Well the first one is this one:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/157/939197_20080606_screen018.jpg
Most of the English is good actually (although i am sure some of my teachers might disagree :P) It's more the "Dwarves' underground" you mention

For example, "I need the maps of Dwarves' undergrounds." Well it just lacks a The infront of Dwarves and it's good.. although i was very close to posting a deeper explanation with several different versions which i think would be better (Damn you university education !)

And then there is the second choice:
"Well informed people told me you have dwarves' maps"
and that one isn't right either, and i am somewhat certain that you can't say "dwarves' " in this case it's because it pretty much says he's got all of the dwarven nation or nations maps or some specific group of dwarves maps, but as far as i know it's an unknown group of dwarfs maps he is looking for..
So in this case it would be better to say:
"Well informed people told me you have dwarven maps"

Oh dear.. I actually went ahead and did some grammar stuff.. sorry about that :(

Otherwise i recall something with a screenshot showing how you leveled up and the level up screen saying something not quite right either.

Hope this helps.

[Nike-it]

Sure i'll try and find the screenshots i saw that featured the not to good english.

Well the first one is this one:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/157/939197_20080606_screen018.jpg
Most of the English is good actually (although i am sure some of my teachers might disagree :P) It's more the "Dwarves' underground" you mention

For example, "I need the maps of Dwarves' undergrounds." Well it just lacks a The infront of Dwarves and it's good.. although i was very close to posting a deeper explanation with several different versions which i think would be better (Damn you university education !)

And then there is the second choice:
"Well informed people told me you have dwarves' maps"
and that one isn't right either, and i am somewhat certain that you can't say "dwarves' " in this case it's because it pretty much says he's got all of the dwarven nation or nations maps or some specific group of dwarves maps, but as far as i know it's an unknown group of dwarfs maps he is looking for..
So in this case it would be better to say:
"Well informed people told me you have dwarven maps"

Oh dear.. I actually went ahead and did some grammar stuff.. sorry about that :(

Otherwise i recall something with a screenshot showing how you leveled up and the level up screen saying something not quite right either.

Hope this helps.

According to my knowledge, both variants are correct:) But anyway thanks for information.

[Imperial Dane]

Well then, sorry. Just looked weird to me.

[WannaLearnEnglish]

Well then, sorry. Just looked weird to me.

Yep, :-)

You guys at KATAURI should know one thing about English. (and about any other language as well)

If a NATIVE speaker says "it's weird", IT IS WRONG.

This (and not grammar rules of any kind) is actually a DEFINITION of what is right and what is wrong in any Language :-) Ask any professional Linguist.

BTW, it is the kind of feedback I was looking for from you guys in my posts. My English may be good or bad, but undoubtly you somehow SEE that I'm not a native speaker. That is, somewhere I wrote something that may be grammatically correct, but... "people just do not say it that way" :-)

This is actually a dead and final shot. NATIVE speakers, by the very definition, speak ENGLISH, correct or uncorrect grammatically. Foreigners DO NOT.

This is what is wrong with the translation. You see, in order to write good English one SHOULD NOT use vocabulary at all. Or use it for spelling purposes ONLY. And it looks like KB translators do not understand this, and use 'single word' translators heavily.

E.g. in this JPG: "Nothing connects me to the King..."

It looks very suspicious to me. Looks like word-to-word translation from Russian. Does the verb "connects" actually get used in this context? I DO NOT KNOW. I would use something like "links" instead, to be in safe zone.

The translation may be right or wrong in this particular case, but the general rule is - NEVER use word-to-word translations. And there are multiple and abundant cases of such abuse in the screenshots I saw.

[WannaLearnEnglish]

So, in order to correct my posts (or KB translations), just spot the cases where it looks "weird". Then say it exactly like you say it in, say, Eastern Kentucky.

That would be perfect English. You see, even your grammar mistakes would be NATIVE grammar mistakes. And usage of those is actually also necessary for really GOOD knowledge of English :-)

[WannaLearnEnglish]

I'm NOT a native speaker, but to give you an example. See the quoted JPG file:

Original text: "Do you know, BJ, what question I keep asking to myself and from which my head is ready to burst"

Bugs (imho): 1. "to myself". 2. "from which" - typical russian, imho :-)

Suggestion: "what question I keep asking myself, what question makes my head ready to burst?"

I'm not sure whether "bursting head" idiom is used in English. But the idiom looks right, so I left it as it is. Again, to keep myself in safe zone I may simply use "makes my head sick" or just "makes me sick". But this simplistic way would take a lot of charm from the game...

[WannaLearnEnglish]

Then add some "English":

".. what question I keep asking myself all the way, what damn question makes me sick and tired?"

[Sol Invictus]

So, in order to correct my posts (or KB translations), just spot the cases where it looks "weird". Then say it exactly like you say it in, say, Eastern Kentucky.

That would be perfect English. You see, even your grammar mistakes would be NATIVE grammar mistakes. And usage of those is actually also necessary for really GOOD knowledge of English :-)

Please don't use Eastern Kentucky dialect as a guide or you will end up with some very strange gibberish that most of the United States won't understand.;) If the King asks you to search for his lost horde he might get a reply like this: "We'uns ain't gunna go a lookin fer yer loot cause we gunna go git some vittles". That would be a crime.:eek:

[WannaLearnEnglish]

One certainly can use this kind of 'dialect' for SOME characters in the computer game. And this would be viewed only as a 'very good and professional translation' and GOOD English.

Robbers from Freedom Islands are not supposed to speak Oxford English, are they?

BTW, what does "uns" mean in "we'uns" ? Looks like Germanism :-)

[Sol Invictus]

Uns is just an added "word" that doesn't really need to be there and doesn't really mean anything. We are not would be a correct form for We'uns aint. It is similar to saying you all or ya'll. I imagine that much of the Eastern Kentucky dialect is influenced by by Scot/Irish since they settled in these parts and much of Appalachia, though there is some German influence as well. I guess if the game used a certain dialect in remote parts of the world or with certain social groups it might add some flavor.:)

[Daystar]

Robbers from Freedom Islands are not supposed to speak Oxford English, are they?

Robber: "Cheerio Chaps, we're off to pilfer Darion in our Jolly Old Skyship. Chocks away!"
Bill Gilbert: "...wtf?"

[Sol Invictus]

:lol: That sounds about right.

[Imperial Dane]

Look let us not get carried away by this ;) Merely pointed out that the bit with the dwarven undergrounds didn't sound right, and no, i am not a native english speaker, i just know it very well :) But as said earlier, it looks good otherwise.. well except the level up screen i saw.. can't be bothered at the moment, perhaps tomorrow.

[WannaLearnEnglish]

I just thought: what would I think if I were you guys...

"To the hell with these Language purists, translation is GOOD ENOUGH to play, no futher delays, I want it here and now!"

I would add, that there are actually NO NATIVE SPEAKERS in the whole juicy EURO ZONE. Most of us players are people like me or Dane. We are all Kentucky not Oxford.

But there are these "game reviewers". They would certainly pretend to be from Oxford, this is their bread and butter, and they will mention it (translation) in every review, and... and...

...and it is actually the ONLY major drawback (of the translation) I can see. :-)

Although I never paid much attention to the storyline.

[Nike-it]

I just thought: what would I think if I were you guys...

"To the hell with these Language purists, translation is GOOD ENOUGH to play, no futher delays, I want it here and now!"

I would add, that there are actually NO NATIVE SPEAKERS in the whole juicy EURO ZONE. Most of us players are people like me or Dane. We are all Kentucky not Oxford.

But there are these "game reviewers". They would certainly pretend to be from Oxford, this is their bread and butter, and they will mention it (translation) in every review, and... and...

...and it is actually the ONLY major drawback (of the translation) I can see. :-)

Although I never paid much attention to the storyline.

Good point, WannaLearnEnglish. Our localization department is working hard, and by the realease all mistakes, if any, will be corrected!

[phoenixreborn]

I am a native English speaker. I am pretty forgiving when it comes to translation.

I do have a problem when the wording gives the wrong information. For example in Heroes 5 when you are getting rid of a hero it asks the question:

Spare the hero? 'yes' or 'no'.

If you click yes it gets rid of the hero when spare means save the hero. The question should be "dismiss the hero?"

[BurningCold]

I agree on the point where so long as the correct message comes across the translation doesnt need to be perfect. Because while there ARE native speakers, there are few who speak without any grammatical errors or slang words and instead with perfect Oxford english. Though i also dont want people saying caveman talk like:

"You go kill many, I give money" :-P

[BAXTER STOCKMAN]

Is King Bounty a action game? When it comes to europe?

[Nike-it]

Is King Bounty a action game? When it comes to europe?

King's Bounty is Real-time RPG with turn-based battles. It's going to be released this autumn.

[hawker]

Hello,

I registered to underline the importance of proper translation, so that you wouldn't repeat the mistake made with Space Rangers 2. Please, please get a native English speaker to proof-read the game texts! Apparently Space Rangers 2-s English was so bad that it warranted a fan patch to fix, and poor quality of the translation was underlined in many reviews. Please do not repeat that mistake with King's Bounty, because this game deserves better!

On a vaguely related note, I picked up "Санитары Подземелий" that's also published by your company, and while I can't recommend this game as much, it was interesting to learn how the writer of this game, Dmitry "Goblin" Puchkov is a strong advocate (http://oper.ru/torture/read.php?t=1045689061) of proper English<->Russian translation. ;)


P.S. Seems that my fears are well founded. (http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/kingbounty/screenshot-viewer.html?id=197238) "Necromants inflict 405 damage. Had died Imps:67"? If even the combat screen isn't grammatically correct, then what can we expect of the quests and dialogue? :( :(

[megakill]

Professional US-based people will take care of the in game text proof reading, etc.
All the screens that were made public are taken from WIP beta version with placeholder for text messages, written by professional programmers. :)

[Magog]

Russian games always gets delayed because it seems to take 12 months to translate them. This I think is most unfortunate...

So... I'm prepared to accept 95% correct english instead of 100% if it means I will get my hands on this game quicker. :)