Dracu-Riot! Status Update with a Vengeance

Hello, my friends. Your friendly neighborhood translation editor Decay is here with a important message. As many of you may have noticed, in late September there was an aborted patch release. This was, simply put, a mistake. Wires were crossed and misunderstandings occurred. No one is really at fault here, as communication should have been better across the board. We pulled the patch down as soon as the mistake was noticed, but I suppose the damage was already done.

And what damage it was! For any of you who saw the patch, I hope you don’t get the idea that it was at all representative of the quality we intend for the final release. What the patch lacked was:

  • Any editing in the Rio, Elina, and Nicola routes;
  • Partial editing as well as proofreading in the Miu and Azusa routes;
  • The final polishing pass on everything including the common route;
  • Some TLC work.

As you can see, there are some pretty basic and essential things that need to happen which haven’t yet. In the six or so weeks since, we have already made an enormous amount of improvements to the Common, Miu, and Azusa routes, and we continue to make more. I’ve also made some headway into the Rio route at the same time. Indeed, we’ve been some awfully busy bees lately. We won’t stop until this translation is as good as it can possibly be.

I suspect those still following our blog and waiting for the final release are doing so because they care about translation quality as much as we do. So, when will your chosen saviors, the boys over at The Oxford Comma is Superior Subs, deliver you unto the promised land? Hell if I know. No, really, I have no idea. It will probably take a long time. Simply put, the plans have changed, and we’re no longer delivering anything at all until everything is 100% finished and polished to a mirror sheen. It’s going to take a while.

Some of you may be disappointed by this news, and I feel for you. We would like to find a path that makes everyone happy, but I’m just not sure that exists. Instead, we chose the path that makes us happy, because we’re selfish like that. I figured we’ve earned it after putting many hundreds of hours into this.

I’m not sure there’s much else to discuss until we hit some major milestones, so you may not hear from us again for quite a while. In the meantime, enjoy some other excellent VNs!

  • The translation patch for the Saturn version of Policenauts was finally released recently. It is considered the best version of the game, so check it out!
  • Surferdude on VNDB translated a short Romanesque side-story which may be worth checking out if you liked that game.
  • The Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai fan translation just reached 100% editing and translation. It seems like things may take a while for them as well, but be sure to give their tumblr a follow, that game is awesome and worth looking forward to!
  • The renowned sci-fi doujin that became absurdly popular in Japan, Himawari, is releasing in English next month! I’ve already pre-ordered.
  • Sonahana Nyuu Jene is releasing this month if you’re into moe yuri, and Ne no Kami part one just released if you want more story-heavy yuri.

Until next time, friends.

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51 Responses to Dracu-Riot! Status Update with a Vengeance

  1. A Guy says:

    I understand you guys want it as good as everything can be. And I respect that kind of work ethic. But have you ever considered that many people have played through Staircase subs version already? I don’t know if people are willing to go back just to reread the changes. Heck, I suspect many people here are just waiting for only the Miu route. But that’s just my two cents. I’m not against or for this plan because I have already played the entire game.

    Like

    • Decay says:

      We have considered this. For the truly impatient out there, there is still a patch release that they can track down. It’s okay, we won’t judge.

      Like

  2. wayvern33 says:

    Well even if the patch will take long time to fisnish i still,could I still request a monthly post about the status of the patch or a post reminding you are alive.

    Like

  3. Yue says:

    So that patch that came out a while ago was the real deal eh. I’ll still be waiting for the completed patch. I’ve downloaded it just in case this translation project goes to hell/stagnate for a long time, like the original project. Hopefully things won’t end up that way.

    Like

  4. Awawawa says:

    Ill wait of course! I want to see the results of the team hard work.
    Also, I have a lot of VNs waiting to be read, so I can wait a lot.
    Thank you guys!

    Like

  5. Mashiro says:

    Thank you.
    I appreciate that you guys made an update regarding the sudden taken-down release, gave us some info about the current status of the translation, as well as told us the most important thing which is planning to release just the final patch.
    Though I won’t be checking as much as I did to this moment, and I’ll probably play version with the rough translation, I’m still waiting for that patch to happen, and I’m sure I’ll be rereading the VN when the patch finally arrives. Just as you said that it will take some time before you release it, we now know about the situation at hand and we won’t be needlessly stressing over the release date, making all kinds of hypotheses about the project.
    So once again – thanks. And I can’t wait to go through the finished version as well.

    Like

  6. O'Nyanmaru-sama says:

    We waited for years, we can still wait. Aside from that, let me express my deep gratitude for your work and willingness. Take your time to polish it until it will be enough to satisfy you.

    Like

  7. ReekaPeen says:

    Lol my post got deleted but i understand. I might’ve been to rude. I’m sorry. Please, i can wait until the patch is truly out. Thank you Very much

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Xeon says:

    I will be waiting your good news. All the best in translation. Look forward your patch and thanks you for translating this game.. =D

    Like

  9. Thikas2planks says:

    said before somewhere id rather wait for a quality finish and enjoy the game than jump the gun an put your hard work to waste, just glad to hear something. thanks and keep it up

    Like

  10. Tampico says:

    So glad the patch was released. Definitely will not wait for some jaded and magical “edit” work on all routes just to stroke the ego by forcing it upon others when that could of been done after releasing Miu been TL’d and released but nooo. Totally ridiculous and for those saying they will wait give me a break. You got no choice if you didn’t get the patch.

    Like

    • Thikas2planks says:

      tampico you seem like a self serving prick with pre ejaculation issues, while i agree that they should have just done the miu route then done the polishing, dont put people who are happy to wait down

      Like

      • Tampico says:

        Did you contradict yourself? After calling me a self serving prick? And agreeing with me? What is this… Anyways idiot I wasn’t even putting those who decide to wait at all and was being real. How you came to that conclusion is beyond me. Just in case being called an idiot isn’t putting somebody down if you don’t know what it means google it.

        Like

  11. dawjiwajid says:

    “We made you all wait with hopes of a better release soon but hey we are taking that back so meanwhile why dont you play this other games after waiting for a month” LOL

    Like

  12. MrAlpacaMan says:

    This may or may not have been answered before, and I’m to lazy to check, but how different will the final patch be from the Staircase one? Is it substantial enough to warrant a reread for those who’ve already finished it? I started reading the Staircase Subs patch but postponed finishing it a few months ago when I heard you guys were nearing completion, but from what I did read, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t find many errors or anything of the sort (that I could tell). I guess what I’m asking is: are there any substantial or glaring rewrites? And if so, how exactly to they differ?

    Like

    • Decay says:

      The Staircase Subs patch was completely unedited and un-TLCed. It wasn’t bad otherwise we wouldn’t have decided to finish it, but it does need the work that we’ve been giving it. We’ve fixed hundreds of translation errors big and small thus far, and my editing has had a focus on making the prose sound less like a standard literal translation and more like actual natural prose.

      Obviously as a moege, Dracu-Riot isn’t some complicated work of literature most would scream “Mah prose!” over. But in this kind of game, I feel like having natural-sounding dialogue is key to making it funnier and more pleasant to read. Large parts of the script are similar but with minor to moderate alterations. There are some parts that have been heavily rewritten though. This doesn’t mean that we’re deviating from the source material, but instead we’re phrasing it in ways that feel more like actual english language dialogue. The banter should feel snappier, the retorts more coherent, emotional moments shouldn’t be plagued with unusual wording, and so on. Overall, the script is simultaneously much more accurate and more entertaining.

      By the way, the “nearing completion” thing you heard before was only ever for finishing the Miu route, not the entire game. We’re still a ways away from that.

      Like

      • MrAlpacaMan says:

        Thanks for both of your replies. Yes I can see now what I heard was about the Miu route and not the entire game, however, I for one have no problem waiting until you all are satisfied with the translation, so please do take as much time as you need/want. It’s too bad so many people are complaining about the time of release. I know it can be difficult to satisfy everyone, and it’s probably annoying and disconcerting to hear people complain so much about something that you’re providing for free. I’m sure you know this already, but there are those who do appreciate what you’re doing. Thanks for all your hard work!

        Like

  13. Hareion says:

    Keep up the good work guys! Thank you for the time you guys put up into the translations. Best of luck 😀

    Like

  14. REEKAPEEN says:

    MERRY FUCKMAS

    Like

  15. REEKAPEEN says:

    Any updates on progress?

    Like

    • Decay says:

      We’re still chugging along. Progress was slow over the holidays as to be expected. Editing and TLCing this is a rather slow process. The large majority of lines are actually being changed. Sometimes the changes are minor, sometimes they’re radical. There are a lot of mistranslations which confuse the process. It takes longer than a typical editing pass because of this.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Ken says:

        Thanks for the hard work! 🙂

        Like

      • REEKAPEEN says:

        Oh man, thank you for your hard work over the holidays. Everything is gonna be Daijobu!

        Like

      • haiyami says:

        Does this mean that Mr. Insemination’s translations were totally wrong and you have to redo all the routes?

        Like

      • Decay says:

        There are mistranslations, but that’s not what most of the changes being made are about. Most of the changes are simply about finding better ways to say the same thing. Insem’s translation was pretty direct and literal, which results in an overly stiff tone and some pretty weird word use from time to time.

        Sometimes there are mistranslations: https://i.gyazo.com/b9cb8a76263e6b56b164b41a5afc4ecf.png

        Most of the time though we’re rewording things to sound more normal: https://i.gyazo.com/f2ed67f9fa5fb64d26cf8dbeee2147dc.png

        The examples above are non-final, and haven’t been proofread. As you can see, we’re not radically rewriting it, but we are making it easier to follow, the dialogue more natural, and (hopefully) the jokes funnier. We’re not rewriting the jokes (unless it really calls for it), funnier humor simply happens as a natural result of making the banter snappier and better flowing. For a lot of other changes, we’re just changing few words here and there.

        As I said, the majority of lines in the game are being changed, and that’s what’s taking the most time. And it will take quite a while still, unfortunately (this is a matter of months, not weeks). If you don’t care about quality, there’s another option available out there. The accidental patch release doesn’t contain our more intensive editing/TLC pass, however. If you do care about quality, know that it takes considerable time and effort to achieve. I hope our efforts will meet your expectations.

        Like

  16. where says:

    so where is the patch?

    Like

    • DizzyPatron says:

      Is that a trick question? There won’t be any more patches released if the statements of this post still stand firm. They decided to go at the goat 100% full throttle, and there won’t be any breaks until it’s done (in terms of releasing content.)

      Like

  17. Dresdsen says:

    Any updates? Are you at 90-95% or more? Been little over 2 months since hearing from you guys. Thank you The Oxford Comma is Superior Subs! You guys are amazing!

    Like

  18. bronx819 says:

    Just wanna say that I’m eagerly awaiting the complete patch and I appreciate all your guys hard work, keep at it~

    Like

  19. conman1909 says:

    Quick Question– Are you planning on keeping the “embellishments” (I.E. Vampire->Gangster, Blood->Kush, ect.) from the auto replacement of words, or was that just to be a fun temporary addition?

    Other than that, good luck on the project, and I hope you don’t burn yourselves out.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Decay says:

      Naturally. The reason this has taken so long is because we’re re-envisioning Dracu-Riot as a ’90s era gang drama heavily inspired by The Wire.

      (no, we’re not)

      Like

  20. UrusaisSenpai says:

    How far are we Decay? Is it gonna be this month the patch drops? :> or i have to go to sleep again for a decade more :3
    Thanks for the work by the way.

    Like

  21. Minh Anh Le says:

    I was waiting for the patch since like… IDK… 3 years ago I guess? I did finish the novel with VNR, but I’d still prefer to have a full patch for the game so.. still waiting 😛

    Like

  22. Nearly done Decay? It’s really tempting to try the leaked patch, but I rather read the finished one. Thank you very much for your hard work!

    Like

  23. mh says:

    we getting close?

    Like

  24. >commie says:

    Slightly unrelated, but there’s an opinion piece on the oxford comma on cnn’s website:
    http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/19/opinions/oxford-comma-ambiguity-opinion-mcwhorter/index.html

    Like

  25. Friendly Request says:

    Is it possible if you could update us on progress? Just want to know how much we got so far.

    Thanks as always.

    Like

  26. plop says:

    there was only 50% percent left on miu :,C I cry on the inside

    Like

    • Decay says:

      There was actually a lot more than that 50%, considering that what Insem didn’t tell everyone was that the work he had wasn’t edited, wasn’t TLCed, and was only lightly proofread. Practically every fan patch you read is at least edited, and a lot are TLCed. TLC is especially necessary here. We are forging on, though. I will post another update soon.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. darkhollow says:

    Any updates on progress?

    Like

  28. Vulnus says:

    Update?

    Like

  29. MUSLIM ALZAYERchaos says:

    thank you for your hard work, any updates?

    Like

  30. Nimi says:

    Update?

    Like

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