MiracleMax

@DravoiX Is that a power description? If so, those are still in the process of being fixed. I'm relieved to hear that the talent trees look better, but I'm concerned that the lobby hasn't been improved. Wonder if that's on our side or theirs... I will investigate. Thanks for checking.

Hey folks, Translation improvements for the talent trees and lobby / menu were checked in to the hotfix branch for German, French and Spanish. Portuguese localization is still in-flight, but it is coming. These changes should be reflected on LIVE. Accurate discipline and power descriptions are the next highest priority, but improvements based on your feedback are coming for the entirety of the game client - up to what we have translated so far (we are still a bit behind, but we don't want to translate any new strings until the current ones are solid and consistent). The rest of the localization should accompany our first major post-launch update. Please let me know what you think of the changes in these specific areas (and please keep in mind that a consistency pass across the whole client is still in progress). All the best, Max

@Makuza @Koerpermilch These are excellent suggestions. The localization feedback pipeline clearly needs some attention to help reduce latency. I've opened a dialogue with our vendor about using one of these services (or a similar one) and will keep you posted if it makes sense to go this route. @royo The talent node issue is a frustrating one and I believe it is technical in nature. I thought it would be resolved in the most recent update, but QA has Reopened the bug. I'm having Tiggs add a note to the top of the launcher (in all supported languages) warning players of the misleading talent nodes and I've escalated the bug to Blocker priority. If we can repair the issue without touching code, we may be able to hotfix it into the launch version; if touching code is required, it may need to wait until the next release. I am hoping/pushing for the former. This situation is not ideal, but this is all we can do for the moment. Thank you for holding us accountable. We'll get it fixed.

Hi @Kraahk and @Koerpermilch, Thank you again for your feedback. I intended to reply to Kraahk's post last week but between the craziness of launch preparation and some unexpected forum breakages, I wasn't able to. Sorry for the delay. A few notes about our process below: First, we do read, collect, and share the posts that you make here, and we greatly appreciate them. Localization on an MMO with a small team is an enormous undertaking. There are thousands and thousands of strings, aggressive schedules, and in many cases unique game design mechanics that are challenging for outside vendors to translate correctly the first time around. There are typically 3-5 weeks of lead time required for each batch of strings we send over as we change existing strings or add new ones between milestones, and during that time, we constantly trade messages with the vendor's teams clarifying the meanings of certain terms in context. During that time we also immediately fall behind, because Design has to continue working on the game (adding and changing strings before the current batch is even translated and integrated). That means even at launch, there are going to be some strings missing or untranslated. The alternative would be that we basically tell Design to stop adding/updating game data for several weeks, which I think you'd agree is not currently feasible. This is generally what causes the "missing" translations. Sometimes, there are also technical blips where changes to string files are not recognized— so the English version changes but the translator is never aware that they need to update the field in other languages— or other times, we encounter issues where strings are simply too long to fit in a field (a common problem in German), or where an input error from either side leads to broken strings which need to be reviewed and repaired individually. (Or, my favorite, someone on our side accidentally forgets to set a field up to be localized, so it never gets picked up in the export in the first place!) Each time we uncover a problem like this, we try to iron it out and prevent it from happening in the future... But it all takes time. My point here is this: localization is always going to be a bit behind and a bit wrong, but should improve more and more (and be wrong less and less) as development continues. Your feedback does make that happen faster, even if it doesn't always feel like that's the case. Second, I'd like to acknowledge that I think your critiques of our translations, particularly in the lobby, seem fair (as a non-German speaker, I have to take your word for it, and I do). I fully expect some of the "deeper" strings— like less common recipes or major discipline lore descriptions— to be wrong and to be corrected gradually over time, getting better with each LQA/consistency pass. However, we did an LQA pass a few months back that should have caught the most obvious issues, and the lobby buttons are the first thing you see in the game; keeping GEWÖLBE rather than changing it to TRESOR is particularly troubling, as is Starter Worlds, the first thing we want new users to click on, being translated incorrectly... This is not acceptable. Even things like crafting stations being mistranslated can be a very serious issue in a game that is already hard to figure out. I am going to relay your feedback directly to our vendor and see how many meaningful changes we can make in either a hotfix or the first post-launch patch. I'm also going to have them review the previous feedback posts (again) to make sure those suggestions were taken seriously. As always, thank you for your time and thank you for your patience. We do not want to be "one of those companies" and we will put in the time and effort to get our localized game clients to an acceptable standard. Expect improvements soon. Max

Many thanks to everyone who has responded so far. We're combing through your posts and creating a player feedback report to share with our vendor so that they can improve the quality of the translations. We will continue to monitor this thread for any new posts and will incorporate those responses as well.

Hello Crows, The German translations received an LQA pass that should be reflected in the 6.300.0 LIVE client. There may be some translations missing because they tend to lag a bit behind our data changes, but the German translations that are there should be substantially improved from previous versions. If they are not, we'd love to know what needs to change. This feedback will be collected and forwarded to our localization partner. Previously, @Kraahk stated "the current translation is bad enough to make new people leave the game." I would love to hear - at the bare minimum - that this is no longer true. The remaining missing strings are being translated as part of the 6.400.0 milestone (and they will also be QA'd in context). Thank you in advance for your continued assistance and your commitment to making Crowfall great.

Good question. We have a backlog of those issues in our database already, and we'll start cleaning them up after the "final" translations are in closer to launch. No need to report those cases at this point in time; just the translation errors.

Greetings Crows! First, I want to acknowledge that an official response in this thread is overdue. We're busy bees trying to get Crowfall to launch, and your patience and continued support is greatly appreciated. The replies so far have been excellent; this is exactly the kind of feedback that we are looking for. Second, I want to explain what the process for correcting these issues looks like from the developer side: We are working with a reputable game localization team to review and correct/improve all of the non-English strings in Crowfall. Verifying that the translations work in context and making them consistent across all of the game and website is no small task. The posts that you make here (as well as the ones made in previous threads) are being collected and added to a report by our QA team; that report will be handed to the translators for review at the beginning of the localization quality assurance (LQA) process, so your responses will have a very real impact on the way that we translate the game client. This effort will continue all the way through launch and beyond. I will update and close this thread when the first LQA pass has been started in French, then I will create a new thread to get your feedback on whether the new translations are quality and to identify which strings still need to be modified. While I cannot guarantee that all of your suggestions will be approved and integrated, I can guarantee that they will be read and considered. Crowfall's international community has been a huge part of our success story since the very beginning; we take your feedback very seriously and we owe it to you to deliver a game you can enjoy in every language that we support. Thank you for helping us reach that goal, and please continue to suggest improvements!

Quick update: The LQA process for German strings on the game client has begun and I expect it to reach completion sometime during the 6.200.0 phase. Once our translators have made their edits and access to a 6.200.0 build has been made public (on TEST), I will post a new thread asking you to examine the refreshed translations and give your feedback. Locking this thread. Thanks!

I really, really appreciate you taking the time to write this up this analysis, Kraahk. Thank you. Pann did make me aware some time ago that the Crowfall community was concerned (to put it lightly) about the German localization for the game, but we were not in a good position to do anything about it at the time. Now that we are in Beta, we are taking a very serious look at the translations we have and will make adjustments as necessary. We recently partnered with a vendor that has substantial experience translating video games - including fantasy RPGs - and I intend to send them a report of the feedback we've received from the community so far. The first time they reviewed our strings (in multiple languages, not just German), they reached out expressing concerns that echoed your own, so I am confident they'll be able to make some huge improvements... but I need you, our community, to be the final judge of that. It sounds like there may be too many cases of poor German translations in the current client to meaningfully list in this forum thread, so my next step will be to reach out to this new partner and have them do an extensive LQA pass, checking the strings in the context of the game and making edits where they see fit. If there are any sections of the game with particularly egregious translations (the lobby and web store sound like great places to start), that would be helpful information to pass along. They can turn their attention there first. Our international community has played a tremendous role in our success so far and we owe it to them (you!) to deliver a product that can be properly enjoyed in every language we support. Thanks again, and please keep the feedback coming. 🙏

Hi, Hi.! Good catch! We've discussed arranging themes for each adventuring area (canyon, forest, etc.), and possibly applying a variation of that theme based on the mob that inhabits it. For example, if it's a spider canyon, the melody might be be played by a cello... but if it's zombie-themed, then the melody might be played by an organ! The key word there is POSSIBLY. Right now Nelson is filling out the soundtrack with more general tracks that can be used broadly across the game. This is a great suggestion and one that we would like to pursue, but I can't guarantee it'll happen before launch.

Absolutely! We had some back in the Siege Perilous days for those who remember, but they will likely get a polish pass or complete overhaul very soon.

That's fair. Kills come first! We are doing things in Wwise to pull important sound effects up above the music and other atmospheric sounds (birds chirping, wind blowing, etc), similar to the way Overwatch does. I'm sure our sound designer, Bobby, could do a whole write-up on that. The short version is that things affecting you, such as enemy footsteps and spells (or buffs/heals from your teammates), will be louder, whereas things that do not will be quieter in the mix. Also, the music is not constant. As you may have noticed already, the music fades in and out over time. We want it to contribute to the atmosphere of the area without it being too distracting. With that said... I know the hardcore folks would rather get rid of any excess noise, and we support you in that. You can disable the music for a reason. Hopefully you can enjoy it in the lobby, beachheads and Eternal Kingdoms! That's the spirit! Do not go gentle into that horrible, deadly night. In all seriousness, "the wilderness [feeling] oppressive and [combating] the desire to explore" is exactly what we were aiming for in the winter. We want the music and ambient environment audio to reflect that towards the end of a campaign, these worlds are picked clean. They are now desolate death traps; their plentiful resources have been replaced by horrifying beasts and roving bands of well-equipped enemy soldiers. We want you to feel afraid, and we think that enduring this painful period will make the completion of a campaign more satisfying in the end. To us, the spring and summer tracks should capture the sense of adventure, wonder and accomplishment that you are looking for, similar to what you hear in the Beachhead Summer Day track. You can listen to some of those songs in the game right now on Live in 5.7.1. We also have a new song for autumn in progress that will release in the next major update that is a blend of these two extremes. Thank you for the feedback!

Gibson filmed some EKs this morning and afternoon, and I think we have everything we need for the video now. Thanks, all! If you were a participant, keep an eye out for yourself in the Gamescom 2018 video when it debuts... Locking the thread.

Good fights, everyone. Thanks for participating! We grabbed some great footage. I hope you enjoyed stomping me (over... and over... and over...) as much as I enjoyed dying! NOTE: We will continue filming Eternal Kingdoms tomorrow between 10am and 2pm CDT. If you want us to see your EK, please make sure you get it ready and make it public!