[WIP - Full] Succubus Rhapsodia (English) - Plains, Hills, and Cages Edition

[WitheredGryphon]

I've spent today switching over to ArchLinux so I've been a bit busy (and will still need to port over some of my files). So I'll just address some general things rather than trying to multi-quote.

Combo attack is 連撃 (Rengeki). if you've ever played the .Hack//GU series

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along with his combo move. And likewise with opponents shouting 反撃 ("Hangeki!") which is a counterattack. 追撃 is Tsuigeki which is a bit different from combo attack. Since this is a pretty important gameplay mechanic distinction, I'd like for either "follow-up" or "follow-up attack" to be used. Something in that vein.

As for colors, it does sound like a bit of a pain for marginal benefit. If that's something we want to do closer to release, we can come back to it then. For now I'm not worried about it.

Github would be fine with .rxdata since it could host the decompiled .rb versions (which are stored in T++'s cache). They'd have to be compiled though, so it's not good for sharing those files, only for development collaboration. I'm not sure what I'll use to host yet. Probably GDrive, we'll see. I still need to finish migrating files.

Just given the weird text formatting I've already seen in CommonEvents.rxdata, this is something that will likely need to be placed in the mod files and translated by hand. It'd be great if you were able to take a look at how to handle this when you get some free time. Ideally, CommonEvents.rxdata -> (decompiled) CommonEvents.rb -> (compiled) CommonEvents.rxdata inside the Mod_Data folder. Just as long as we aren't editing it within RPGMXP's editor which is a PITA.

I need to see some examples of this "they/their" dilemma before I give any opinions on it. And, preferably, an example of what you're doing to solve it.

As for the actual lore/narration, I don't know that Lauratt is actually ever referred to by gender in the overworld. I've been trying to keep it as gender neutral as possible because some people will want to play as futanari/female as that's part of the appeal of the Plains, Hills, and Cages mod. And being referred to as "he/him" while playing as futa/female would be pretty immersion breaking I'd imagine.

 

[Strange]

Combo attack is 連撃 (Rengeki). if you've ever played the .Hack//GU series

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along with his combo move. And likewise with opponents shouting 反撃 ("Hangeki!") which is a counterattack. 追撃 is Tsuigeki which is a bit different from combo attack. Since this is a pretty important gameplay mechanic distinction, I'd like for either "follow-up" or "follow-up attack" to be used. Something in that vein.

As for colors, it does sound like a bit of a pain for marginal benefit. If that's something we want to do closer to release, we can come back to it then. For now I'm not worried about it.

Github would be fine with .rxdata since it could host the decompiled .rb versions (which are stored in T++'s cache). They'd have to be compiled though, so it's not good for sharing those files, only for development collaboration. I'm not sure what I'll use to host yet. Probably GDrive, we'll see. I still need to finish migrating files.

Just given the weird text formatting I've already seen in CommonEvents.rxdata, this is something that will likely need to be placed in the mod files and translated by hand. It'd be great if you were able to take a look at how to handle this when you get some free time. Ideally, CommonEvents.rxdata -> (decompiled) CommonEvents.rb -> (compiled) CommonEvents.rxdata inside the Mod_Data folder. Just as long as we aren't editing it within RPGMXP's editor which is a PITA.

+1 to follow-up. Interesting info too. Keep'em coming, I like idiomatic idosyncracies.
Arguments from another POV: "Combo" would refer to the entirety of the attacks; "follow-up" is both more accurate and versatile (with its plural). And not much longer, after typing it. I should have less than 40 occurences of already existing ENG 'combo' to edit
I will mention that the modders sometimes use "@Combo" in their code, but I only noticed that recently. I din't like 'combo' all that much and Watcher is my favorite Slay the Spire class.

Colors are a definitely a pain given the need to split the sentence. I'd rather do without implementing it as well. But where they exist, we might rather use them if (and only if) we feel like it. Typing \C[12]\C[0] is definitely a pain in any case. That can wait polish phase unless one of us feel especially inspired (and not too lazy, in my case).

I'm pretty sure I don't have a single "decompiled .rb file" in the T++ cache? Nor the 'staging path'? I might be missing something obvious, I didn't dwell on it as I didn't have a clear need for it.
For me the PITA would be github thb XD That and I currently wouldn't know how to recompile the rxdata. I can already picture myself becoming a reluctant, bitching deadweight over at Github. But if you find any use for it for your own use, why not?
I have all(most?) the tools I need for anything Ruby, Python as the occasional support/convenience, and I am very used to RPGMXP editor and its (annoying) gimmicks; I know my way around them - but certainly wouldn't recommend using RPGMXP editor if alternatives exist. In short, Github would be... inconsequential? on my side. I genuinely don't get the point - said with no malice or ill will.
edit: how about you point me to a github RPGMXP project you know? If I see the files themselves I'd get a better idea.

I could use some concrete examples of these "weird text formatting I've already seen in CommonEvents.rxdata". For instance I have no issue fixing whatever I want in the CE#32 I mentioned. Most of it is scripts anyway, I'm used to them. In other words, I don't think I understand the issue here.

Decompiling every CE, or even maps, to .rb? I'll be blunt: no. If that was a viable solution more competent people would have used it before. If you had a look at

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you have an inkling how troublesome it is. Not to mention that's master-level Ruby/RPGM, way beyond my reach. T++ and others only worm their way in using substitutions, and that's already quite a feat.
RPGMXP ain't so bad. If you encounter a specific, punctual issue we can consider exporting a few CE/maps, small ones at best. Or you can let me deal with the files you have the most issues with, I won't mind. I might even have fun with that If you're also the type who like to learn by himself, that's also fine, we're not running out of TODOs anytime soon.


There's no shortage of them 'they' examples. One of the laziest ones I made:

if can_hold_wriggle?(@active_battler, target)
  @active_battler.hold.arm.clear
  text1 = "#{@active_battler.name}は腕を振りほどいた!\ɯ\¶"
#replaced to
  text1 = "#{@active_battler.UK_name} can use his arms again!\ɯ\¶" if @active_battler.boy?
  text1 = "#{@active_battler.UK_name} can use her arms again!\ɯ\¶" if not @active_battler.boy?

(context/example: Laurent has his arm pinned by the cowgirl-ing opponent; he frees them and can grope her again.
in hindsight ' broke his arms free!' might sound better and be more accurate. I usually go all "clarity first!")
Or any of the 23 ".boy?" occurrences in O_MOD_RPG_Skilltext.rb. They'd usually use a .gsub!. It involves scripting but that's routine to me; barely an inconvenience at all - since I save myself the longer time I'd spend 'how to word that another way?'.

I'll gather my arguments for the "they/them/their" matter.
Just so you're prepared: I'll be dead set against it. Here's

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to get you warmed up I'll rather use my own words after that, but the noncommittal tone gave me a good chuckle when I read that.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

Modders may have just used the wrong word for follow-up attack and also misunderstood what it means, I dunno. Either way, let's stick to "follow-up" or a close derivative since that's more accurate here.

Decompiling every CE, or even maps, to .rb? I'll be blunt: no. If that was a viable solution more competent people would have used it before. If you had a look at

You must be registered to see the links

you have an inkling how troublesome it is. Not to mention that's master-level Ruby/RPGM, way beyond my reach. T++ and others only worm their way in using substitutions, and that's already quite a feat.
RPGMXP ain't so bad. If you encounter a specific, punctual issue we can consider exporting a few CE/maps, small ones at best. Or you can let me deal with the files you have the most issues with, I won't mind.

The weird text formatting (IOW \q\m -> qm) is only an issue for CommonEvents as far as I can tell. I don't think there's actually much in the way of extended dialogue within CommonEvents. Translator++ pulled about 1039 lines. The dialogue is a non-issue, but the lines that have those broken escape characters are problems. I'm going to leave CommonEvents alone for now but it will have to be dealt with at some point.

I'm pretty sure I don't have a single "decompiled .rb file" in the T++ cache? Nor the 'staging path'? I might be missing something obvious, I didn't dwell on it.

I went back and looked and T++ actually only does it for Script.rxdata. I don't know whether it'd be possible to shift that functionality to other .rxdata files but yeah I don't think it's worth investigating. Still, as I said, the issue with escaped characters in CommonEvents in particular needs to be resolved before release at some point.

I'll gather my arguments for the "they/them/their" matter. Just so you're prepared: I'll be dead set against it. Here's an article to get you warmed up:

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I don't disagree with this in principle. Actually implementing this in combat is another story entirely because it's directly referencing genitalia. That said, this is also an overly conservative approach by an objectively wrong author. I'm not sure who wrote this, but claiming "they" is only plural is just... false. The singular usage of "they" has existed for centuries in English:

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. It's also listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as singular:

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So while I completely disagree with that link's justification, I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment of rewording. That said, I am pretty strongly against doubling every single line of text because that's quite literally what the author said do not do, and I will likewise need some serious convincing to change my mind on that.

For example (and please do not use "broke his/her arms free" because it sounds really awkward in English)
"#{@active_battler.UK_name} broke his/her arms free!"
could be rewritten as
"#{@active_battler.UK_name}'s arms were freed!"

This changes the sentence to passive voice, which I don't like though. Anyway, that's my point on that.

 

[Strange]

The weird text formatting (IOW \q\m -> qm) is only an issue for CommonEvents as far as I can tell. I don't think there's actually much in the way of extended dialogue within CommonEvents. Translator++ pulled about 1039 lines. The dialogue is a non-issue, but the lines that have those broken escape characters are problems.

I'd just go through the T++'s exported CE.rxdata manually? Through RPGM? I've done worse than that. Granted, that's the bulldozer way.
If it broke I'd fix it. If it didn't I'd check it anyway. Or playtesting would make me.
If anything, I'm afraid of T++ changing too much - breaking subtle events. If it did, we'll have to browse the entire code anyway. I'd think of that the other way around => and delete line after line in T++ if I'm not 100% certain it's not a full sentence supposed to be displayed... That might be a scaredy-cat's approach.

That said, this is also an overly conservative approach by an objectively wrong author. I'm not sure who wrote this, but claiming "they" is only plural is just... false. The singular usage of "they" has existed for centuries in ...

Like I said, I found the article funny if anything. I told ya, I run

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! Anyway it's clearly aimed at administration writers, for formal writings. You cannot say the author isn't gifted: I doubt I could sound so bland, self-justified, or even so self-righteous as this person. I wonder what kind of upbringing nurtured their talent such a talented writer
I'm afraid I lack such a gift, so you'll have to cope with my awkward prose instead

Spoiler: /snip/ for now

I agree

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you mention:
- absolutely never use "his or her", or "his/her". We can mark lines you have difficulties with 'HISHER' if you like; I'll do with mine as well, if I lack the mental flexibility at the time I happen upon a tricky one. I did so before.
- we should only "double" lines when a)we absolutely need to or b)it's more convenient/it sounds better. They should be kept a minimum. But I'd definitely double a line over spending 5mn wondering how I'd word it, unless it amuses me to try and prove I'm smart.
- let's avoid the passive tense whenever possible and not justified. "Laurent was charmed by Imp!" << "Imp's display charmed Laurent!"

In numbers: I count 292 .boy? usage in my current scripts. Less than 10 of these are mine, over the 1000+ lines I've TLed going through the Battle scene's flow. It's less than 1% of the lines. No big deal, I reckon. The % would be higher in message(skill) etc. but still very manageable. Quality comes first, in any case.

To sum up (and to stop using bold willy-nilly) the main point of the WoT below, there are 2 and only 2 uses for they/them (sayeth I-様)
- "They" are a designated, plural group. We know, and we say: "'They' are more than one".
- "They" are an unknown entity. A dev circle is a "They". Conspirationists accuse "them". "They" are always watching. We say: "I know nothing about wtf is 'They', but I needed a pronoun".
The 3rd is not an use, but an abuse. If I know she's a girl and I don't want to say she is, even I would end up using "They"... And curse myself for it.

That much, is enough reason to ban the abusing 'they' from SR. AND the second. The game always knows who's the exact person it's referring to. It's the TL group's failure if 'they' failed to read the context AND failed to implement an alternative AND also failed to come up with a smart good-lookin' cover-up for 'their' ignorance. No matter how justified and understandable - with the article you sent me in mind. In short: profesionalism.

...Easier said than done, innit? Well there are (also?) some pointers in that chthonian abomination below. If you dare.

Spoiler: RANT GRaaaOWL C/P Corner. Somewhat remotely a bit about SR too

Subtitle: <I should quit my habit of multi-tasking and writing nonesense in parallel...>
Sub-subtitle <Naaah, 'beats doing drugs or hurting little mammals.>
Recommended soundtrack: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn (pan flute version, 1932)


I personally abhor the genderless 'they'. We're in a game, not in a society obsessed with political correctness, paranoid/hysterical about whatever could look like racism/discrimination towards LGBTs or any other minority, existing or fictional... If only "they" would turn such misled attempts towards intelligence-insulting idioms like "son of a bitch/whore", but no... (edit: I just noticed the coincidental, proper usage of 'they')

With that confessed... I intend to be objective in my argumentation.

Well, let's start with a most basic argument: if you knew an effeminate, homosexual gamer, who happens to kick ass as his (female) avatar B(•)m(•)shell666... You might consider complimenting 'him' on 'his' prowess by typing "GG man you rock!". You wouldn't think 'her' anytime, right...? It's only natural.

Sticking to SR, everyone except MC is undeniably a 'she':
it has a vagina => is a She
it is a girl and grew a penis (ie how Futas are handled in-game. Found out by mistake recently.) => is a She
***what we'll be discussing***: it is a boy who became a girl => is a He.
in other other cases => Shoo, shoo, go play Lilith's Throne or CoC

'Laurent is a 'he'. The MOD respects that - you start the game as a male, with a male chipset and the old-fashioned, boring three-piece set.
Now, less than a minute into the game, you can choose to interact with the mirror:
女に変更しますか？ => 女にする / ふたなりにする
This changes the body/chipset/moveset, of the body MC inhabits while "He" dreams.

Laurent adopting a female or futa body, in a dream, makes 'Him' no less of a 'He'. It is not shocking if others would refer to him (in a female form) as He/Him, because they're talking to the person inside the body. It's not shocking they can tell either, because it is a dream to begin with.
The core of the story is about a master/disciple relationship, where gender (somewhat) matters. The mod doesn't alter nor condemn that in any way.
If anything, the occasional "They" would break immersion because it'd open the door to these damned doubts which spawn from that RL society we know. Moving on...

Now, we renamed our MC Laura and chose a female's body. The Dreamer is still (the now unnamed) Laurent, the Body is Laura.
Laura can dash => He can dash. Because we're referring to the Dreamer commanding the body. There's nothing shocking, and no need to think twice about it. There's no need and no benefit to go out of our way to write "She can dash", or consider it.
In 99% narration cases, MC will be 'you' anyway: that's one of English's fortes. Moving on...

Battles will be the more intricate matter, where breaking immersion would be likely, at least at first glance.

*** Battle actions: Let's suppose Since we are often talking about what the "Body" does rather than the person, the occasional "She/Her" wouldn't shock anyone.

"Succubus gropes Laura's tits" => "Succubus gropes her tits" or "Succubus gropes his tits". It doesn't matter, both are correct, they would refer to either the Dreamer, or the Body. But we can write "Laura" anyway, and call it a day. MC's name is 9 characters max.
Easy follow-up? "Succubus keeps fondling!" - no prob
Follow-up: "Succubus pinches Laura's nipples!" > "Succubus pinches her nipples" - see below

Now, let's use a dick move. For real. Like Insert.
"Futa pistons Laura!" - no prob.
But here's the follow-up!: 'Futa keeps thrusting into her!' > 'She keeps thrusting into her!'. Where's the problem? 'into her'? I'd find it odd to read 'into him!' here, despite Laura having a man inside (technically, in only one way). It's fine to have "into her!" no matter the recipient/catcher.

For the left side ("She keeps"), and only if, we also really really want to prevent repeating the name, we'd use "if user.boy?" so Laurent using the same dick move as above (but on the pitching side) gets a "She => He". But in 95% cases we don't even need to. We'd just say "Laura keeps".


*** Battle dialogue: Laura should be referred to as "he/onii-san/ojii-sama/etc", like in usual narration. Independently of his body's gender. A talking appeal adresses the Dreamer, not the Body. I can't think of any case this could cause a roadblock of any sort. Body parts would be more of a concern than actual gender - making his/her/they concerns irrelevant. There are a plethora of relevant has_this? functions for that, when no other escape route can be found.
edit: I doubt keeping 100% accuracy is remotely possible. Let's agree to collect a few chunks we are especially troubled with, and share them to see if the other has a better idea/solution/translation? I'd say conveying the intent properly, maintaining an appropriate English flow without confusing any player, should be what to focus on. That's more English homework than Japanese, though


Luckily, MC is the only possible male in the world, who would take part in a battle. So the one and only case to consider calling a "He", is a male MC. Anybody else will be a "She" no matter what. Keep in a corner of your mind MC could be female, if you like, but insisting on this would go against the game. In the worst cases, of course we can review whatever sentence which sounds wrong.
In short, we don't have to worry about anyone else bringing a 'his' dick to a catfight.

As for the MOD's intent, independently from Dreamania:

  def boy?
    return false if self.have_ability?("女")
    return false if self.have_ability?("両性具有")
    return false if self.states.include?(113) #女体化
    return false if self.states.include?(255) #女体化
    return false if self.states.include?(116) #ふたなり化
    return false if self.states.include?(256) #ふたなり化
    return true if self.have_ability?("男") #=> the one and only case we can possibly use 'He'. This ability can only be found on MC.
    return false
  end

In other words, the modders fully agree with my view, and Dreamania's. "He" for Laurent and Male Laurent only. When you keep that in mind everything flows much more easily (and you'll only think 'if branch' in battle text).
Doing otherwise would be against the intent all these people had. All of this regardless of my personal feud against this "they" I'm forced to use so often on this Internet thingamajig ʕノ>ᴥ<ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻

It is less obvious in English, let alone American, but on a related tangent, erring towards 'he' is the safest choice. Calling a male with a feminine word is derogatory to insulting in most languages (think: bitch, a feminine word). In contrast, many careers have lacked a gender-specific designation for millenias! and calling a woman by the old-school name, would typically sound as either a honest mistake or a praise. Let's see... Compare calling a man a seamstress, to calling a woman a carpenter. Old habits and customs die hard - for better and for worse alike.

...and I could go on like that forever! Talk me again about github and decompiled rxdatas, but 'they/their' - nowaii, nowaii I'll ever change my mind. Send any 'his/her' difficulty my way; my treat - I will gleefully slaughter deal with them!
I solemnly wov I'll CTRL+ALT+F for any they/their and gut'em clean (that's already 5 which wormed into my code... )

I deal with these gender non-issues mechanically, so to speak. I'm sure you won't have much trouble yourself, but now you know I really won't mind giving you a hand with them Keep a notepad++ page open! like I should do way less often.

edit/PS: boy?, girl? and futanari? (among many others, including UK_name) are defined for Battlers => Actors and Enemies inherit them. They are very handy when you run into any doubt.
I have mixed feelings about 'literally what the author said do not do '. I understand what you mean, but if we make the occasional double line, it'd be an imperative English brought upon us, unrelated to an intent thought in Japanese terms. That and well, it's a MOD we make. I'd rather modify as few original files as possible - to respect the awesome work they did. But wouldn't our doing our best, so English looks great on "their" game, be the better show of respect? Question not meant as a rhetoric one.

edit2: err, I have bad news: "ɯ ¶ ɱ ȳ" entered in RPGMXP => "? ¶ ? ?"
And only now do I remember why I had to search everywhere for that stoopid function back then:

p "ɯ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 623 ASCII code &#623, actually
p "¶".unpack('U')[0] #=> 182
p "ɱ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 625
p "ȳ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 563
#...and unicode's \u**** was only implemented in Ruby 1.9

The English editor will only support characters up to the 255 range. So,

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.
So, only "¶" from our choices. We'll likely need to change the 3 others if we're to use RPGMXP editor.
I haven't looked into exported T++ rxdatas yet...
I'll.. try to use my head a little (now that I'm done smashing that wall I didn't need) and think about what to do.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

I'd just go through the T++'s exported CE.rxdata manually? Through RPGM? I've done worse than that. Granted, that's the bulldozer way.
If it broke I'd fix it. If it didn't I'd check it anyway. Or playtesting would make me.
If anything, I'm afraid of T++ changing too much - breaking subtle events. If it did, we'll have to browse the entire code anyway. I'd think of that the other way around => and delete line after line in T++ if I'm not 100% certain it's not a full sentence supposed to be displayed... That might be a scaredy-cat's approach.

Like I said, I found the article funny if anything. I told ya, I run

You must be registered to see the links

! Anyway it's clearly aimed at administration writers, for formal writings. You cannot say the author isn't gifted: I doubt I could sound so bland, self-justified, or even so self-righteous as this person. I wonder what kind of upbringing nurtured their talent such a talented writer
I'm afraid I lack such a gift, so you'll have to cope with my awkward prose instead

Spoiler: /snip/ for now

I agree

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you mention:
- absolutely never use "his or her", or "his/her". We can mark lines you have difficulties with 'HISHER' if you like; I'll do with mine as well, if I lack the mental flexibility at the time I happen upon a tricky one. I did so before.
- we should only "double" lines when a)we absolutely need to or b)it's more convenient/it sounds better. They should be kept a minimum. But I'd definitely double a line over spending 5mn wondering how I'd word it, unless it amuses me to try and prove I'm smart.
- let's avoid the passive tense whenever possible and not justified. "Laurent was charmed by Imp!" << "Imp's display charmed Laurent!"

In numbers: I count 292 .boy? usage in my current scripts. Less than 10 of these are mine, over the 1000+ lines I've TLed going through the Battle scene's flow. It's less than 1% of the lines. No big deal, I reckon. The % would be higher in message(skill) etc. but still very manageable. Quality comes first, in any case.

To sum up (and to stop using bold willy-nilly) the main point of the WoT below, there are 2 and only 2 uses for they/them (sayeth I-様)
- "They" are a designated, plural group. We know, and we say: "'They' are more than one".
- "They" are an unknown entity. A dev circle is a "They". Conspirationists accuse "them". "They" are always watching. We say: "I know nothing about wtf is 'They', but I needed a pronoun".
The 3rd is not an use, but an abuse. If I know she's a girl and I don't want to say she is, even I would end up using "They"... And curse myself for it.

That much, is enough reason to ban the abusing 'they' from SR. AND the second. The game always knows who's the exact person it's referring to. It's the TL group's failure if 'they' failed to read the context AND failed to implement an alternative AND also failed to come up with a smart good-lookin' cover-up for 'their' ignorance. No matter how justified and understandable - with the article you sent me in mind. In short: profesionalism.

...Easier said than done, innit? Well there are (also?) some pointers in that chthonian abomination below. If you dare.

Spoiler: RANT GRaaaOWL C/P Corner. Somewhat remotely a bit about SR too

Subtitle: <I should quit my habit of multi-tasking and writing nonesense in parallel...>
Sub-subtitle <Naaah, 'beats doing drugs or hurting little mammals.>
Recommended soundtrack: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn (pan flute version, 1932)


I personally abhor the genderless 'they'. We're in a game, not in a society obsessed with political correctness, paranoid/hysterical about whatever could look like racism/discrimination towards LGBTs or any other minority, existing or fictional... If only "they" would turn such misled attempts towards intelligence-insulting idioms like "son of a bitch/whore", but no... (edit: I just noticed the coincidental, proper usage of 'they')

With that confessed... I intend to be objective in my argumentation.

Well, let's start with a most basic argument: if you knew an effeminate, homosexual gamer, who happens to kick ass as his (female) avatar B(•)m(•)shell666... You might consider complimenting 'him' on 'his' prowess by typing "GG man you rock!". You wouldn't think 'her' anytime, right...? It's only natural.

Sticking to SR, everyone except MC is undeniably a 'she':
it has a vagina => is a She
it is a girl and grew a penis (ie how Futas are handled in-game. Found out by mistake recently.) => is a She
***what we'll be discussing***: it is a boy who became a girl => is a He.
in other other cases => Shoo, shoo, go play Lilith's Throne or CoC

'Laurent is a 'he'. The MOD respects that - you start the game as a male, with a male chipset and the old-fashioned, boring three-piece set.
Now, less than a minute into the game, you can choose to interact with the mirror:
女に変更しますか？ => 女にする / ふたなりにする
This changes the body/chipset/moveset, of the body MC inhabits while "He" dreams.

Laurent adopting a female or futa body, in a dream, makes 'Him' no less of a 'He'. It is not shocking if others would refer to him (in a female form) as He/Him, because they're talking to the person inside the body. It's not shocking they can tell either, because it is a dream to begin with.
The core of the story is about a master/disciple relationship, where gender (somewhat) matters. The mod doesn't alter nor condemn that in any way.
If anything, the occasional "They" would break immersion because it'd open the door to these damned doubts which spawn from that RL society we know. Moving on...

Now, we renamed our MC Laura and chose a female's body. The Dreamer is still (the now unnamed) Laurent, the Body is Laura.
Laura can dash => He can dash. Because we're referring to the Dreamer commanding the body. There's nothing shocking, and no need to think twice about it. There's no need and no benefit to go out of our way to write "She can dash", or consider it.
In 99% narration cases, MC will be 'you' anyway: that's one of English's fortes. Moving on...

Battles will be the more intricate matter, where breaking immersion would be likely, at least at first glance.

*** Battle actions: Let's suppose Since we are often talking about what the "Body" does rather than the person, the occasional "She/Her" wouldn't shock anyone.

"Succubus gropes Laura's tits" => "Succubus gropes her tits" or "Succubus gropes his tits". It doesn't matter, both are correct, they would refer to either the Dreamer, or the Body. But we can write "Laura" anyway, and call it a day. MC's name is 9 characters max.
Easy follow-up? "Succubus keeps fondling!" - no prob
Follow-up: "Succubus pinches Laura's nipples!" > "Succubus pinches her nipples" - see below

Now, let's use a dick move. For real. Like Insert.
"Futa pistons Laura!" - no prob.
But here's the follow-up!: 'Futa keeps thrusting into her!' > 'She keeps thrusting into her!'. Where's the problem? 'into her'? I'd find it odd to read 'into him!' here, despite Laura having a man inside (technically, in only one way). It's fine to have "into her!" no matter the recipient/catcher.

For the left side ("She keeps"), and only if, we also really really want to prevent repeating the name, we'd use "if user.boy?" so Laurent using the same dick move as above (but on the pitching side) gets a "She => He". But in 95% cases we don't even need to. We'd just say "Laura keeps".


*** Battle dialogue: Laura should be referred to as "he/onii-san/ojii-sama/etc", like in usual narration. Independently of his body's gender. A talking appeal adresses the Dreamer, not the Body. I can't think of any case this could cause a roadblock of any sort. Body parts would be more of a concern than actual gender - making his/her/they concerns irrelevant. There are a plethora of relevant has_this? functions for that, when no other escape route can be found.
edit: I doubt keeping 100% accuracy is remotely possible. Let's agree to collect a few chunks we are especially troubled with, and share them to see if the other has a better idea/solution/translation? I'd say conveying the intent properly, maintaining an appropriate English flow without confusing any player, should be what to focus on. That's more English homework than Japanese, though


Luckily, MC is the only possible male in the world, who would take part in a battle. So the one and only case to consider calling a "He", is a male MC. Anybody else will be a "She" no matter what. Keep in a corner of your mind MC could be female, if you like, but insisting on this would go against the game. In the worst cases, of course we can review whatever sentence which sounds wrong.
In short, we don't have to worry about anyone else bringing a 'his' dick to a catfight.

As for the MOD's intent, independently from Dreamania:

  def boy?
    return false if self.have_ability?("女")
    return false if self.have_ability?("両性具有")
    return false if self.states.include?(113) #女体化
    return false if self.states.include?(255) #女体化
    return false if self.states.include?(116) #ふたなり化
    return false if self.states.include?(256) #ふたなり化
    return true if self.have_ability?("男") #=> the one and only case we can possibly use 'He'. This ability can only be found on MC.
    return false
  end

In other words, the modders fully agree with my view, and Dreamania's. "He" for Laurent and Male Laurent only. When you keep that in mind everything flows much more easily (and you'll only think 'if branch' in battle text).
Doing otherwise would be against the intent all these people had. All of this regardless of my personal feud against this "they" I'm forced to use so often on this Internet thingamajig ʕノ>ᴥ<ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻

It is less obvious in English, let alone American, but on a related tangent, erring towards 'he' is the safest choice. Calling a male with a feminine word is derogatory to insulting in most languages (think: bitch, a feminine word). In contrast, many careers have lacked a gender-specific designation for millenias! and calling a woman by the old-school name, would typically sound as either a honest mistake or a praise. Let's see... Compare calling a man a seamstress, to calling a woman a carpenter. Old habits and customs die hard - for better and for worse alike.

...and I could go on like that forever! Talk me again about github and decompiled rxdatas, but 'they/their' - nowaii, nowaii I'll ever change my mind. Send any 'his/her' difficulty my way; my treat - I will gleefully slaughter deal with them!
I solemnly wov I'll CTRL+ALT+F for any they/their and gut'em clean (that's already 5 which wormed into my code... )

I deal with these gender non-issues mechanically, so to speak. I'm sure you won't have much trouble yourself, but now you know I really won't mind giving you a hand with them Keep a notepad++ page open! like I should do way less often.

edit/PS: boy?, girl? and futanari? (among many others, including UK_name) are defined for Battlers => Actors and Enemies inherit them. They are very handy when you run into any doubt.
I have mixed feelings about 'literally what the author said do not do '. I understand what you mean, but if we make the occasional double line, it'd be an imperative English brought upon us, unrelated to an intent thought in Japanese terms. That and well, it's a MOD we make. I'd rather modify as few original files as possible - to respect the awesome work they did. But wouldn't our doing our best, so English looks great on "their" game, be the better show of respect? Question not meant as a rhetoric one.

edit2: err, I have bad news: "ɯ ¶ ɱ ȳ" entered in RPGMXP => "? ¶ ? ?"
And only now do I remember why I had to search everywhere for that stoopid function back then:

p "ɯ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 623 ASCII code &#623, actually
p "¶".unpack('U')[0] #=> 182
p "ɱ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 625
p "ȳ".unpack('U')[0] #=> 563
#...and unicode's \u**** was only implemented in Ruby 1.9

The English editor will only support characters up to the 255 range. So,

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.
So, only "¶" from our choices. We'll likely need to change the 3 others if we're to use RPGMXP editor.
I haven't looked into exported T++ rxdatas yet...
I'll.. try to use my head a little (now that I'm done smashing that wall I didn't need) and think about what to do.

Let me make clear my point on this and where I draw the line:

We are not going to undermine game mechanics for your political views on gender. If the player chooses a female Lauratt at the start, then in the case of the removal of singular "they", Lauratt will always be referred to as "she." That's exactly what that definition you quoted is doing. At no point will female Lauratt be referred to as "he." I will personally change every single reference doing that if I have to.

As for futanari, I'm still debating on what to do with that choice. Again, we could hypothetically rewrite sentences without reference to gender. I'm busy today so I'll think on it.

 

[xRoguex]

Let me make clear my point on this and where I draw the line:

We are not going to undermine game mechanics for your political views on gender. If the player chooses a female Lauratt at the start, then in the case of the removal of singular "they", Lauratt will always be referred to as "she." That's exactly what that definition you quoted is doing. At no point will female Lauratt be referred to as "he." I will personally change every single reference doing that if I have to.

As for futanari, I'm still debating on what to do with that choice. Again, we could hypothetically rewrite sentences without reference to gender. I'm busy today so I'll think on it.

Well as a futa the MC is still a she, so it could be good if you keep the "she" too.

 

[Strange]

We are not going to undermine game mechanics for your political views on gender. If the player chooses a female Lauratt at the start, then in the case of the removal of singular "they", Lauratt will always be referred to as "she." That's exactly what that definition you quoted is doing. At no point will female Lauratt be referred to as "he." I will personally change every single reference doing that if I have to.

OK... I'll reply with proper humor:

We are not going to undermine game mechanics for your political views on gender.
[...] HOWEVER I will personally go out of my way to edit every line Dreamania and modders wrote just to tick you off.

Admit it: it's pretty funny. No sarcasm intended: I actually read your post in a foul mood the 1st time around.

And yes, you completely misunderstood what I said. I won't delve on this. Let it be clear I only care for linguistics. Politics obviously have no place in SR - or over my dead body. But nevermind, I'll laugh it all off, and wait patiently for you to realize.
So, let's drop the subject(s) as we're talking about totally different matters. Again.

As an amusing titbit, SQDT used various sub functions in Academia (with keys like _YOU_, _ME_, _HERO_ etc.). The poor things barely had any use in the TL, despite the translator thinking long and hard about them xD

But enough drivel.
EXECUTIVE DECISION! I'm changing every:
ɯ => Ω
ɱ => Σ
ȳ => Γ
And you have no say in this, knaves! Nor do you 5234 characters!

Spoiler

Kidding, of course. Let me know if you have an ongoing blood feud against, or any deep-rooted trauma involving any of these characters. ('cuz RPGM sure had)
...but for procedure, I'll have you show me where the bad, bad Σ touched you, on this Laurent plushie here.

RPGM editor, esp. the English one, is clearly less than optimal (these itty-bitty boxes they never fixed, seriously...), but we'll need it for convenience. Not too often I hope: CE#32, as a ΩΣΓ test, took me over an hour of struggling. Debugging, mostly Possible, but inefficient. Looks good, though!
It's pretty nice to see these lines fall, one after the other! That's... why we're here, right?

 

[Kami_sama]

Sorry to bother you translators, but for now there isn't an english patch out, right?

 

[xRoguex]

Sorry to bother you translators, but for now there isn't an english patch out, right?

Oh boy.

Spoiler: readability

Well over a thousand lines of text-code encroached in obscure conditions to TL...
I can only call it: fun! because someone else faces a similar ordeal with Skilltext I'd certainly have given up partways otherwise.
I'm glad this is over... and I can turn to the rest now OTL

One major change is that I've properly implemented UK_name so it works with battlers, making all subs way faster and more convenient. (I'll keep UK_girl as an extra, global failsafe for now) Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything obvious. Still WIP after all.
Still a few text glitches too, but they're few. That line especially drives me mad "Playerは、意識が朦朧としている……！qm" but I'll end up finding it as I keep tearing down the code. More slowly from now on.

How do we go about that?
I think I'll update the code straight away. There are barely over a dozen files I need to update, plus the new database. I need to update our own database anyway. It won't have any negative impact on your side of things. I think?
There should only be... 5 maps to update? 103, 169, 264, 277 and 198? That might be a good test to check how easy/hard it'll be to update the T++ project. That's one of my concerns with T++ (ever since I failed to update Alsromelia, another game...)

PS: it should be safe to add the UK_ in the other "def message(xxx)" - items and states. I've provided skilltext as an example of sorts - don't overwrite yours!

EDIT: these files are intended for use with scrpm2979 as the latest mod patch.
The required Japanese script files from scrpm2979 are available there. Or you can follow the Readme's instructions to make them yourself.

Here there is a patch. For me it works

 

[Kami_sama]

Here there is a patch. For me it works

I guess I'm doing something wrong, or the current Mod_Scripts_ENG 03-08 doesn't work with the recent mod version update.
Did everything instructed but the game is still in japanese. Runing the py script (option 3) did also work.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

I guess I'm doing something wrong, or the current Mod_Scripts_ENG 03-08 doesn't work with the recent mod version update.
Did everything instructed but the game is still in japanese. Runing the py script (option 3) did also work.

Hi Kami, I have not released any map files or the skilltext yet, so the most you'll see is Strange's UI translations. I've been moving the past day so I literally just got access again to my computer last night.

They've also completely updated the mod files while I was moving, so it's possible something broke. I'll need to look and see if everything's okay.

Edit:

Translation has been updated to 3019.atc. The English_Patcher.py also found an additional ~1,640 unique Talk lines to translate since I last ran it a few updates ago. On that note, I've updated the English_Patcher.py file to remove the warning about overwriting .csv files (since the program doesn't do that) as well as adding a small snippet that generates a simple log file of all new lines added when run:

I'll probably add some additional functionality later to separate the new lines by monster file since it's sort of just a blob right now for me to keep track of any new lines added.

 

[Strange]

I'm working on the 3019 patch. On that note, the next patch will make any previous mods/Mod_Scripts file incompatible. You will have to delete your previous folder's content. But in any case, reading OP is not optional; instructions there are detailed, and more clear than my own.
Anyway the 3019 update went smoothly - my side had little to do - and I should release mu part soon.

I'll probably add some additional functionality later to separate the new lines by monster file since it's sort of just a blob right now for me to keep track of any new lines added.

I've been looking into integrating the Mod_Talk folder into T++, either as new files or as a whole new project. I found it impractical, to say the least: I haven't found a suitable file format to use. Just throwing the idea there, you probably tried already.
edit:

Speaking of mandatory reading [...] My workspace is almost identical to Translator++ anyways

I got the message. I should learn to shut up Wish me luck, for I'll try! <- quote me on this.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

I'm working on the 3019 patch. On that note, the next patch will make any previous mods/Mod_Scripts file incompatible. You will have to delete your previous folder's content. But in any case, reading OP is not optional; instructions there are detailed, and more clear than my own.
Anyway the 3019 update went smoothly - my side had little to do - and I should release mu part soon.

Speaking of mandatory reading, I was brainstorming an installation process earlier and I'm pretty sure I can get an installer functional that just requires the user to select their game executable which is much easier than the current method. I don't particularly want to release Plains, Hills, Cages stuff with the English release just because they'll get outdated so fast. But the rest of the installation process can theoretically be made automatic. Unfortunately, I don't think AttacheCase4 has a CLI component so I don't think it's possible to auto-decrypt, extract, and install those mod files either.

Maybe something to chew on for the future.

I've been looking into integrating the Mod_Talk folder into T++, either as new files or as a whole new project. I found it impractical, to say the least: I haven't found a suitable file format to use. Just throwing the idea there, you probably tried already.

I appreciate the sentiment, and not to say this wouldn't work because it would, but I actually prefer my current workspace for Mod_Talk just because Translator++ doesn't support dark mode without jumping through several hoops. Mod_Talk is entirely handled at this point. My workspace is almost identical to Translator++ anyways:


Edit:

Strange - I'm thinking we should probably change 精神力 to Will (as in Willpower) instead of Magic. Or something in that vein. The only reason I bring this up is because the game uses a separate term in the narrative for magic ("Dream Magic") and I want to avoid getting the two conflated. I'll go with Will for now but let me know if you find something else since it's more like Mental Fortitude sort of? But that's way too long.

 

[Strange]

Strange - I'm thinking we should probably change 精神力 to Will (as in Willpower) instead of Magic. Or something in that vein. The only reason I bring this up is because the game uses a separate term in the narrative for magic ("Dream Magic") and I want to avoid getting the two conflated. I'll go with Will for now but let me know if you find something else since it's more like Mental Fortitude sort of? But that's way too long.

Absolutely! It's been on my mind for a while. There is actually a "mdef" stat - 自制心, but it is treated as "ailment resistance", to summarize- > Mind/MND.
Are we good on 精力, as well? (basically: intercourse proficiency).

"魅力", "忍耐力", "精力", "器用さ", "素早さ", "精神力"
=> "CHA", "STA", "VIG", "DEX", "SPD", "WIL"
=> "Charm", "Stamina", "Vigor", "Dexterity", "Speed", "Will"

I got a bit too carried away on 3019 revisions... But I'll implement "WIL"/"Will" ASAP

 

[WitheredGryphon]

Absolutely! It's been on my mind for a while. There is actually a "mdef" stat - 自制心, but it is treated as "ailment resistance", to summarize- > Mind/MND.
Are we good on 精力, as well? (basically: intercourse proficiency).

"魅力", "忍耐力", "精力", "器用さ", "素早さ", "精神力"
=> "CHA", "STA", "VIG", "DEX", "SPD", "WIL"
=> "Charm", "Stamina", "Vigor", "Dexterity", "Speed", "Will"

I got a bit too carried away on 3019 revisions... But I'll implement "WIL"/"Will" ASAP

Actually that's a good suggestion, I'd be good with calling it "Mind"/MND as well since that's basically how the game describes it, and it's pretty applicable just in terms of game mechanics from what I can see. I think that's probably a bit closer than Willpower, and Mind hadn't crossed my own mind.
I think Vigor is pretty spot on actually with what it needs to be. I think we can leave that one as is.

I'm still working on finishing up Home. I really want to get it done before I release any maps at all. I underestimated the amount of tutorials the game throws at you in the bar/brothel/library (there's a lot, like even the NPCs just regurgitate tutorials and nothing else), so there's a lot of lengthy explaining that needs to be pretty spot on accurate.

But, considering all of the tutorials are being done here, it seems most of the rest will be exposition / lore which is the fun part.

 

[Strange]

edit: thanks to my fat fingers, I've uploaded my patch there. I'm not expecting many bug reports, so it'll serve as a backup/update place.
That's probably one the last of my patches, in which our works still haven't converged/merged.

The only point that should alter your own files, is the ΩΣΓ implementation, which in turn makes RPGMXP editor compatible again (it was erasing our previous /m/w/y replacements). Other than that, I've revised quite a lot. And it's fully 3019-compatible, that goes without saying.
Let me know if you have any remark, or specific points you'd like me to improve in priority.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

Err, I figured I should ask first: I was thinking of uploading my patch on the old, dead thread.
It'll be easier to find and to update. And hopefully keep me from spamming this thread too much. And keep the bug reports separate, if I ever get any
Is that OK, @WitheredGryphon ?

The only point that should alter your own files, is the ΩΣΓ implementation, which in turn makes RPGMXP editor compatible again (it was erasing our previous /m/w/y replacements). Other than that, I've revised quite a lot. And it's fully 3019-compatible, that goes without saying.

Should probably just update one of your posts here, but yeah that's fine. Only reason I say here is to avoid conflating the two threads (don't want people thinking that thread has anything to do with this one).

I'm almost finished with Home. Have like 20 more lines (Home had over 400 to translate by itself) so I'll be uploading that later today. Just need to test and make sure nothing's actually broken.
Afterwards I'll be moving onto 月明かりの樹海, "Moonlit Sea of Trees".

Don't think I'm going to touch any recollection/debug room stuff until we're at the very end of this.

 

[Strange]

Should probably just update one of your posts here

Well, I had to edit 5-6 of my posts... But that's on me. I doubt anyone will bump the other thread. If they do that'll be for bug reports that have nothing to do with you, I'll deal with that.

I'm almost finished with Home. Have like 20 more lines (Home had over 400 to translate by itself) so I'll be uploading that later today.
Don't think I'm going to touch any recollection/debug room stuff until we're at the very end of this.

Congrats. Home/tutorial is what made me cry back then. And it was easier at the time...
Debug room was mostly integrated into the system menu, it's fine.

 

[WitheredGryphon]

Ok, here's Release_0001 of the English Translation. This should translate up to and through Home.

I will note that Translator++ bugged the fuck out right as I was preparing this for release and forced me to completely reinstall it. Also, I ended up losing my save file because the game somehow cached an old translation of a map instead of updating it with the new one. I have no idea how or why the save data cached this untranslated map, but I had to start a new game for any updated changes to the translation to take place for that map. It's definitely something we need to look into Strange, because that could end up wiping significant progress in updates. I'm not sure if it's reproduceable, but no amount of replacing that particular .rxdata file did anything until I started a new game.

Anyway, I digress. Here's Release_0001:

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Just extract to your game directory, overwrite everything.

You must run the Python file -> Option 3.

Please reports bugs, missing translations from the prologue to anything in Home (excluding the bed area). I'm mostly looking for bugs and to test the release process.

Edit:

And please note this is meant to be used with Strange's UI patch. Please read the OP for the link to it.

 

[Strange]

Errr, if that needs be said, I'm not declaring a 1861 repeat either. I'll gladly work with Zethin for as long as I'm of any use and they can manage to bear with me. Also, I won't ever forbid anyone from using my files, should anything happen. Like succubi adbucting me. Not such luck, so far.

Ok, here's Release_0001

Awesome! I'll check it out as soon as I take a break! That is to say: soon (©Valve)

I had to start a new game for any updated changes to the translation to take place for that map. It's definitely something we need to look into

RPGMXP saves a lot with each save; SR even more. I'll remember to backup my /data folder, thanks for the warning.
In general: 'never make a save on a map you intend to change'. But I'll look into it; I'll ask for a save (and the map's id) if I cannot reproduce that. It'll be an headache if we need our own Reset Maid, so I hope there are ways around that.
The self-switches, and more, are likely a lost cause. But old maps' data staying, should not be an issue.

As for CommonEvents, I don't think it can be handled in Translator++, much to my chagrin

I'll digress a bit as well: I might have a reliable way to pull out that thorn outta your side in lieu of being one: a ruby script to export, edit, then save the rxdata without risks - much like what I did with System.rxdata. Then we could make and use our own /MOD/Eng_Mod_Data folder (and fix any T++ issue before the files actually go through T++).
If you remember 2-3 CEs or maps that T++ especially screwed up, can you let me know? I'll upgrade my prototype to deal with them; it's rudimentary rn but I can drop an example if you're curious.