The Witcher - 20% of the original English script cut

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Lethal Weapon

Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 39

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:20 am Post subject: The Witcher - 20% of the original English script cut

I've been reading about this for a while now, Polish gamers giving examples of their own and gamers from other countries describing the dialogues as 'getting the job done' but nothing special and occasionally bad and non-sensical. I probably wouldn't start a thread about this were it not for the fact that one of the guys in the localization team decided to post about this at gamefaqs under the user name Martin Pagan. This is what he has to say

Quote:

The translators are not to be blamed in this case. The initial version of the translated script was much closer to the original and much better. Then for some reason the translated script was horribly cut, or rather butchered, and ended up what it is.

It seems like CDP put much effort into providing us with a good translation. If the initial uncut translation still exists how hard would it be to mod it into the game? Is there enough interest out there to justify such an effort?

Quote:

I do not know who is responsible for this. Someone wanted the English script to be shorter for some reason, maybe to save on voice recordings.

Let me guess, Atari?

Quote:

Let me give you an example.
One of the nasty grannies in the Temple district (or whatever the name in English was - the first part of Vizima proper you get to) says something like this when you barge into her house (in Polish): "Where the hell do you think you're going with all the dung on your boots?! Out with you!" which was cut into "Who are you? Get out!" in the English version.So you can imagine how much was actually lost in translation.

Not that dialogues are important in RPGs or anything. We just need the summary, right?

Quote:

...in some instances the cut lines made no sense at all so whoever was doing it either had no idea about Polish or English.

No problema! We've all played Oblivion, so we know how to use our imagination to fill in the gaps! Hah!
Here is the evaluation of one of the guys playing the Polish version

Quote:

More generally, I think the dialogues in this game are brilliant, one of the best I've ever heard (if not the best - the more I plat, the more I think that the last one is correct) in computer games. They are mature and serious, but extremely funny at the same time! It's not so easy to make the game that is amusing without ruining the dark, obscure atmosphere, but this time the developers managed to do that.

It would be interesting if some of the Polish readers here posted their own translation of some of the dialogues for comparison purposes.
It seems that nearly every vulgarism has been translated to 'bastard' too. Click here to read the whole thread.

Update: Editing down the original English adaptation has been confirmed by Sande Chen, another member of the localization team.

Update 2: Lead designer Michal Madej has confirmed shortening of the original script by 20% to meet agreements with Atari. He posts at Gamebanshee under the username Severian.

Update 3: Martin Pagan's post and Sande Chen's post I was referring to have since been deleted. I know it is normal for gamefaqs to delete old threads such as the one that Martin Pagan posted in but I have no way of knowing what happened to Sande Chen's post.

Last edited by Lethal Weapon on Sat Dec 08, 2007 7:51 pm; edited 9 times in total

roshan

Joined: 07 Apr 2004
Posts: 485

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:57 am Post subject:

That sounds really fucked up. Hopefully the original translation by CD Project will be released. I would rather have better writing than voice overs.

Lethal Weapon

Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 39

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:03 am Post subject:

I'd rather have better writing and no voice overs at all. So far this has been the single reason I haven't started playing the game.

kingcomrade
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Joined: 16 Oct 2005
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:06 am Post subject:

fuck the Corporations!
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Nedrah

Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 1666
Location: Germany

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:20 am Post subject:

So, does anyone know wether that applys to the german translation of the game, too? Hopefully this is indeed modable, I hate knowing I'm not getting the full experience - same thing with Space Rangers 2, actually.

RK47

Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 2738

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:24 am Post subject:

there's just some ridiculous dialogue translation that involves Geralt just muttering 'I believe you.' 'I don't believe you' to some npc statements. _________________ Hmmm should I LP some hentais?

Zomg

Joined: 21 Oct 2005
Posts: 5243

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:31 am Post subject:

Are there subtitles? I'd imagine you could do a mod that uses the Polish VA with English subs from the original scripting.

spacemoose

Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 9200
Location: california

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:32 am Post subject:

well, I can sorta decipher polish what with replacing the z's with soft signs and then reading phonetically. I'll try to get a polish version probably
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The_Pope

Joined: 15 Nov 2005
Posts: 791

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:48 am Post subject:

I'd like Polish voice overs and well translated English subtitles. Anyone know if thats possible?

hpmons

Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Posts: 29

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 12:18 pm Post subject:

With enough people dissatisfied at how it is currently, Im sure someone will come out with subtitles eventually, whether official or unofficial.

caliban

Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 476
Location: Krakow

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 12:25 pm Post subject:

The_Pope wrote:

I'd like Polish voice overs and well translated English subtitles. Anyone know if thats possible?

Probably. We'll have to wait for the toolset to be released to be sure, though. Then it shouldn't be all that hard to make an "unofficial" translation (or maybe use the full English script, if we can somehow get our hands on it), and substitute subtitles in the Polish version.

But as for now, I'll be enjoying my Polish version and laughing at Atari's stupidity. Hah!

VonVentrue

Joined: 16 Jul 2007
Posts: 554
Location: HPCE

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 12:37 pm Post subject:

That's simply unbelievable; yet another proof that publishers treat their customers like idiots. An 'improved English subtitles' mod is a must in this regard.

denizsi

Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 7661
Location: bosphorus

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject:

We should contact that guy at Gamefaqs. Maybe they can be persuaded to release the official subtitles unofficially! Contacting Atari would be useless for sure, looking at their past practices. I too would prefer the Polish version with English subtitles (and English menus, perhaps). _________________ RPG Codex: putting the "Retards" back with Perverts & Gays. Spiralling to the ground below, like autumn leaves left in the wake to fade away Waking up to your sound again, and lapse into the ways of misery Two to one... from pain to fun I see the sign, it's on the road, and I think it's crazy qbdjotld

JarlFrank
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Joined: 04 Jan 2007
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 12:52 pm Post subject:

I don't care if the voiceacting will be fucked up when I mod the full dialogues in, but I want the full dialogues. I was already saving some money to buy TW, having heard so many good things about it, especially about athmosphere and dialogues, and now the English version has been crippled? WTF, Atari?

Is there any chance CD Project could release the original translation files as a downloadable mod?
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denizsi

Joined: 24 Nov 2005
Posts: 7661
Location: bosphorus

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject:

If Atari is indeed the publisher only and doesn't have a say on how things are to be handled, then that shouldn't be a problem. On the other hand, if that is the case, CD Project should sue the shit out of Atari for tempering with translation. If Atari does have a say on certain things, I'd wager no luck then. edit: How can you find & reach a user at GameFaq forums? I just registered but I can't seem to find anything related. _________________ RPG Codex: putting the "Retards" back with Perverts & Gays. Spiralling to the ground below, like autumn leaves left in the wake to fade away Waking up to your sound again, and lapse into the ways of misery Two to one... from pain to fun I see the sign, it's on the road, and I think it's crazy qbdjotld

Jeff Graw
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Joined: 27 Nov 2006
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:16 pm Post subject:

I'm literally angry with rage!
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DraQ

Joined: 24 Oct 2007
Posts: 9590

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:25 pm Post subject:

Someone at Atari needs their eyes stabbed out with sharpened coprolite. Good thing I'll be buying PL version anyway.

Antagonist

Joined: 06 Jan 2004
Posts: 323
Location: Toitschland

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:35 pm Post subject:

Ah well, I was planning to order the english version of The Witcher next week. Instead I'll vote with my money and refrain from buying the game as until either a text update is released or this allegations are proven as baseless. I'm also curious if the german version has been dealt with in an equal manner although I'd be less than thrilled to buy a teutonic translation after some unsatisfying experiences with the quality of said translations in the past.

dagorkan
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Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5166

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:38 pm Post subject:

I thought the Poles were saying their project was completely independent of Atari and Atari was "just doing the distribution"? That's what people have been saying here for months. That CDP had all the money they needed and weren't going to cut corners If it's true though, apart from the dishonesty and if it gets fixed it makes me more likely to get the game at some point. The bad dialog including the annoying over use of "you bastard!" is one of the things that put me off.

inwoker

Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 2442
Location: Kyiv

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject:

anything about russian and other versions?

bylam

Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 371

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:03 pm Post subject:

dagorkan wrote:

I thought the Poles were saying their project was completely independent of Atari and Atari was "just doing the distribution"? That's what people have been saying here for months. That CDP had all the money they needed and weren't going to cut corners

If it's true though, apart from the dishonesty and if it gets fixed it makes me more likely to get the game at some point. The bad dialog including the annoying over use of "you bastard!" is one of the things that put me off.

Localization is generally handled by the publisher, as they decide the regions where they wish to distribute.
I imagine that the Polish version of the game is CD Projekt's original vision, with them working closely with the Polish Voice Actors.
And Atari would have handled the other languages and VO actors.

As for the game itself...I don't know. The dialogue is fine with the occasional retarded line. Certainly not bad enough that people should miss the game. Hell, I just had a great conversation with a dwarf about "good vs evil" and the fact that "moral absolutes" are the root of society's problems. Such a great game.
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Lyric Suite

Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 4562

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 4:58 pm Post subject: Re: The Witcher - English dialogues castrated

Quote:

More generally, I think the dialogues in this game are brilliant, one of the best I've ever heard (if not the best - the more I plat, the more I think that the last one is correct)

Lol @ polish national pride.

Pegultagol

Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 612

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject:

Well, I guess it's time to learn some Polish. Probably Aurora was not changed aside from graphics side of things. If the OC in NWN could be changed in the dialogs, then it could be possible to mod this Aurora powered game as well.

micmu
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Joined: 20 Aug 2005
Posts: 3832
Location: ALIEN BASE-4

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:03 pm Post subject:

Argh I hate this. And the english version is just waitng for me at the post office. (Ok, I'd probably ordered it anyway...). This translation business practice just pisses me off. I'm still waiting for non-babelfish translation of Pathologic - otherwise an awesome adventure game, but playing the demo and reading dialog gave me brain hemorrhage.

Edward_R_Murrow

Joined: 03 Apr 2007
Posts: 2215
Location: Motherfuckerville

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:14 pm Post subject:

Quote:

edit: How can you find & reach a user at GameFaq forums?

You don't per se. At least there are no search features for finding members. You need to find a thread they're in, post in it, and hope they respond.
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