Ukrainian Localization: October – December 2024 (#86)

Fall greeted us with cold mornings and warm cups of coffee, that kept us afloat during our strenuous work. At that time we were not only finishing various stages of translation but also launching new projects. That was the time of “multitasking”, which has already become our second name, while “tranquility” is just a distant word in the dictionary. Just like true marathon runners of localization, we were conquering kilometers of text, while discussing stylistics and terminology and also being able to share our successes with others. October and November became the time of results: the world saw the fruits of our translation labor! We updated Ukrainian localization modes for famous games, prepared students/interns for the realities of localization, and joined important public initiatives.

Some say that fall is a melancholy period, but it was quite different on our end: it was a period of big plans and small victories that we celebrated together. As someone from our team said, “Fall is not when you miss the summer, because the winter is about to come, and you should be prepared for it.”

But not everything at once:

PLANESCAPE: TORMENT

In total, we have managed to translate 9% of the text in two months. Do you think it is not enough? Do you remember that the game has a million words? Yeah, that’s right. Actually, the main problem arose with the progress calculation.

In fact, we have translated approximately 65-70% of the text but due to the specifics of the publisher’s word calculation technical text and empty lines, that stay the same are not considered. It is just like when you have cleaned the whole apartment, but your guests only notice the dust under the carpet. The translation process is intensive and the team is doing their best to provide the highest quality. At the same time, we synchronize the style of all terms, which causes some jokes among the translators, such as “That is not a translation, that is an alchemy”. Even though, in our humble opinion, this project is rather an archeological endeavor, as we have to investigate often the context on the Internet and in the special software that extracts the dialogue branches. In general, we hope that we are going to be able to finish the main texts in the coming months.

GEAR OF WAR: THE CARD GAME

Publishing house All Games officially announced a new card game. It was an honor for us to work on this translation for Ukrainian players. Gears of War has already stirred up a great interest in some narrow circles and we hope that Ukrainian players will enjoy this engrossing strategy game during their leisure time! All game universes deserve to have a Ukrainian translation! Especially, if those are the universes of famous franchises.

You can already download the e-version of the rules online on the publishing house’s website.

SAVAGE WORLDS. ADVENTURE EDITION

Finally, the world will see the “Savage Worlds. Adventure Edition” rule book with power cards as well.

Publishing house Geekach finished all the preparatory processes and the printing has begun. This game has already gathered positive reviews abroad and Ukrainian players await impatiently its localized version because they will be able to enjoy the unique atmosphere of Savage Worlds without the language barrier.

A LETTER TO THE INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES

We have also addressed the Institute of Oriental Studies regarding the results of the seminar that was held on the 26th of September 2024, which raised the issue of the Ukrainian transcription of Japanese. Discussing this issue and establishing the unified practical transcription on the governmental level and the level of the Institute of Oriental Studies is a vital and highly relevant topic of our time. Nevertheless, the solutions and arguments, that were voiced during the seminar caused considerable concern (and sometimes even outrage) in the community of Ukrainian scholars of Japanese studies. Therefore, we have joined the call of our colleagues and publishers to continue to work on standardizing transcription in accordance with the specifics of the Ukrainian language and the work of Ukrainian professional translators. The language development is important.

PARTICIPATION IN THE UKRAINIAN INTERNET MANAGEMENT FORUM

In November, we spoke at the 15th Ukrainian Internet Management Forum, discussing the importance of localizing digital content and supporting the Ukrainian language on the Internet. It was a great chance to raise the issue of language accessibility in games. Thanks to the support of the Secretariat of the State Language Protection Commissioner, we were able to highlight the question of games’ Ukrainization and its importance. We invite you to watch the recording of the conference, as there were some very interesting statistics from Ukrainian companies, that were also taking part in the forum. In general, we agreed that high-quality localization fosters the development of the national content and the Ukrainian language. During the speech, we gave examples of successful localizations, which became vital while engaging the audience.

RAISING FUNDS FOR A CAR

We joined the fundraiser, which helped to raise UAH 38 thousand for a car for the Unmanned Systems Forces. That was possible thanks to the active support of the community and people’s indifference. THANK YOU! You are extraordinary! The car will become an important part of the support for our military in difficult conditions. The fundraiser was accompanied by positive feedback and support on social media. Your support proves once again that we can move mountains if necessary. We just don’t want to yet.😊

KNYHOLIUT 2.0

SBT Localization also joined the readers’ fundraiser “Knyholiut 2.0” (Book Fury), which was organized by book publishers. With your help, we managed to raise UAH 45 thousand to support the Armed forces of Ukraine. The raised funds showed that our art book and game universes cookbook fans also have some gunpowder in the flask! Knyholiut is not only about raising money for the army, but also about uniting people for important ideas. It was a true marathon of kindness and inspiration. Thanks again to everyone who participated!

STUDENT INTERNSHIPS

In October and November, the SBT Localization took students of Ternopil National Pedagogical University as interns as part of the Localization Basics course. Students were gaining practical skills in translation and adaptation of game texts. They were working on real projects, getting valuable experience and recommendations from our professionals. Internship supervisors noted that such cooperation contributes to the training of highly qualified specialists. Some students have already expressed a desire to continue cooperating with us. Good luck to all of us!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SHADOW OF CHORNOBYL ENHANCED

The Ukrainian localization mode was updated to support the latest version of OGSR. Numerous changes have been made to ensure improved player experience, including text mistakes fixes and enhanced graphics. This modification allows you to immerse yourself in the game world with more comfort. Working on a legendary game, even if it is a modification, is both a challenge and a privilege. The Shadow of Chornobyl now shines even brighter with Ukrainian colors! You can download it here.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. CALL OF PRIPYAT ENHANCED

A modification has been created that improves the graphics of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call Of Pripyat and fixes some localization errors. With updated graphics, better colors, and slightly modified settings, now the game world looks even more realistic. And more visually enjoyable. You can download it here.

You can find the list of all our modifications for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. here.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. HEART OF CHORNOBYL

At the end of November, the long-awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. was released with full Ukrainian localization. The game received high ratings, in particular for the quality of content adaptation. It was a massive project that we are incredibly proud of. Heart of Chornobyl has become a vivid example of how games can unite players.

On the day of release, we did a stream where we told a little bit about our work process on this localization.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Next, we have winter. It’s a period of holidays. And then we await the release of other cool games and books.

HALL OF FAME

On behalf of the SBT Localization team, we sincerely thank the most active members in October and November:

• Alina Farafonova
• Marharyta Pylypchuk
•  Anna Tsvira
•  Pavlo Kuliamin
•  Sofia Shul
• Olena Androsiuk
• Yurii Myklashchuk
•  Dmytro Holovchenko
•  Yehor Vlasov
• Natalia Kompaniiets
• Iryna Anrieieva
•  Yura Dragon
•  Oleksii Ivanov
•  Tetiana Cherednychok
•  Ivan Yankovyi
•  Yanis Verminko
•  Bohdana Vozniuk
•  Anna Chyrva
•  Vladyslav Kravchenko
• Rostyslav Fedorko
• Petro Kudriashov
• Anastasiia Kachanova
•  Oleksandr Vlasiuk
• Yurii Bisyk
• Olia Khmelnytska
• Serhii Olendarenko
•  Oleksandr Lukianov
•  Yevhen Tkach

JOIN US

SBT Localization is always happy to see new talented, enthusiastic people, who want to take part in localizing gaming worlds. Visit our Vacancies page, and join us.

If you’re too busy for this, but still care about having Ukrainian available in your games, you can help us in one of these ways:

1) become our patron on Patreon;

2) support via Monobank.

GRATITUDES

We sincerely thank everyone who supported SBT Localization in October and November on Patreon and through other means. To you and your families, we wish good health, safe skies, success, and wealth!

$100

$50

$25

$20

UAH 500 / $10

UAH 200 / $5

UAH 100 / $2

Вадим Ткаченко, Олександр Баєнко, Anastasiya Zhyshchynska, Dmytro Biletskyi, Easy Sugar, Ihor Tanchyn, ktv, Marko Savchuk, MC Augstkalns, MilvusUA, No_Name, Oleksii Ivanov, Pavlo D., Ruslan Vyshnevskiy, tsunecko, Yaroslav, YaroslavT, Yevhenii Shevchuk, Андрій Хамуляк, Відлуння Епохи, Віталій Касянчук, Михайло Коноваленко, Олександр Коробчук, Олександр Мамонов, Oleksandr Lukianov, Андрій Гончаров, Юрій Петровський, Dinadin Cross.

UAH 50 / 1$

Олексій Рудий, Andrii, boguslav Clairvoyant Anser, did_druid, Dmytro Kyrychuk, Eugene Zabolotniy, Falcon, Jarlaxle Baenre, Oleksii Shevchenko, sNb, Vasyl Stokolosa, Volodymyr Zhuk, Wiktor Kor, Стаc Макар, Тимофій Сумка.

SPECIAL THANKS FOR SUPPORT TO THE CROWDIN TEAM!

UKRAINIZATION OF THE UNIVERSE MARCHES ON!

Created by Yanis Verminko

Translated by Anna Chyrva

Dec 17, 2024