Petition for Localizations

[taeyoonpark.81]

It has been 5 months since release and 9 months since the announcement of localizations: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=8b7e3f3ba9 (August 2014 Newsletter)

There has been two major threads regarding localizations:

Spanish - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=137624
Chinese - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=134317

And yet no announcement has been made since, and no plans or communication on the development of localizations has not been released. Plus, it has been reported by many French and German players that their localizations are in need of serious improvements.

---

Therefore, I have created a petition: https://www.change.org/p/frontier-development-fulfill-your-promises-complete-localisation

to kindly ask Frontier:

1) to keep their promises;
2) to make a localization a top priority;
3) to give us a realistic timeline on the development strategy for all 14 languages;
4) and give some kind of two-way communication on its development.

It will soon be 10 months and a year will not be far since Frontier has made an announcement about localizations, and we are hoping for some good news soon!

 

[Joe Spivey]

Meh. Now i would sign a petition for FD to concentrate on development and work on localisations as and when time permits.

 

[Flappers]

Starting a thread with "DEMAND" and with it containing "HOW DARE THEY!" - You really think that's the best way to get their attention?

There are better, more mature ways of handling such things, but when you go all aggressive and start placing demands for things you're not even entitled to (the EULA does not mention any promises of localisations - hence no refund) - you're not going to get anywhere with it.

You demand localisation for Spanish and Chinese, how about Polish? Or Czech? What about Arabic? Or even Welsh?

The world doesn't revolve around you. Sorry mate, but it's the truth.

Frontier are a small team. People often forget this. There are more important things to deal with right now than to localise the game into every language that people demand for.

 

[Tiamat]

People want anti-hack protection and more content, FD want other platforms to keep funding up but sure lets drop all of that and focus on localisation.

I find it very absurd that you should make demands (not polite requests, demands) without knowing if there are actual reasons for the delay. I know for a fact that certain Polish characters cannot be displayed in-game for example. Maybe FD don't have German/French speakers and relied on external translators and had no way of knowing the translations were pool. Have you offered any help?

Maybe you should offer up potential solutions rather than throwing your demands about.

 

[taeyoonpark.81]

Starting a thread with "DEMAND" and with it containing "HOW DARE THEY!" - You really think that's the best way to get their attention?

There are better, more mature ways of handling such things, but when you go all aggressive and start placing demands for things you're not even entitled to (the EULA does not mention any promises of localisations - hence no refund) - you're not going to get anywhere with it.

You demand localisation for Spanish and Chinese, how about Polish? Or Czech? What about Arabic? Or even Welsh?

The world doesn't revolve around you. Sorry mate, but it's the truth.

Frontier are a small team. People often forget this. There are more important things to deal with right now than to localise the game into every language that people demand for.

First of all, if you look at the petition, I have listed all the languages.
Secondly, English is my first language, and I don't need any localizations, I am doing this because I think it is absolutely unfair for other players who can't even play the game even though they paid just like everyone else. So, yes I think I am one person who knows that the world does not revolve around me.

Thank you.

 

[Elpapo]

I want my localizations!

rep for OP

 

[Joe Spivey]

I want my localizations!

rep for OP

And I'm sure you will get them. Just not to the detriment of the game eh?

 

[Stigbob]

I think you've just pushed this issue straight onto a back burner. Try asking nicely* if you want a better reaction.

*no demands, no insults no feigned disgust.

 

[Iain M Norman]

Temp closing to tidy up .

 

[rootsrat]

I partially agree with the OP. A lot of people in the Polish community (the most active international community here on the forums - 16,183 posts and counting, I only say that to reiterate that it's a significant portion of the international Elite players) were complaining about that as well, and more than once. English language - despite being pretty much THE international language nowadays - is still not spoken by everyone in the world and this prevents many people from playing - and buying - the game. Additionally, some people simply prefer to play the game in their own language even if they do speak English.

Personally I don't mind - I've been living in the UK for nearly 13 years now and English is kind of equal with Polish language to me now, but a lot of people from the Polish community ask about Polish localisation. We even have a separate thread on that. I've recently sent an email to Edward Lewis asking about the situation on behalf of our players (Polish localisation was also promised amongst other languages), however I've received no response so far.

I must admit that the lack of updates regarding the localisation is a little annoying and it becomes more and more of an issue with time. It also means a less of a financial gain to FD, as there are thousands of people that won't buy the game, because they won't understand a word of it. Imagine if you played this game and didn't have a clue what GalNet is all about, whatsoever. Even more so with the incoming Powerplay update!

There is also the matter of people that have already purchased the game based on the promise of the localisation being made and 5 months down the line they are still unable to fully enjoy it.

HOWEVER

Calling the situation "absolutely ridiculous", using statements like "How dare they...", "I demand..." and "This is an outrage" is really exaggerating and going well over the top, not to mention being simply rude! I completely disagree with handling this via a petition, especially a petition of this tone and attitude. In my opinion it's the petition that's ridiculous to be honest. Such an aggressive and demanding attitude certainly won't make Frontier do anything about the case.

Saying all that, I would love to hear an update on localisations from Frontier, as it would give thousands of existing and potential new players some indication of what we can expect and when. (Probably soon™ ).

::EDIT::

Sorry Iain, I've been writing this post before yours has appeared.

 

[Iain M Norman]

Okay I've removed a fair number of non-contributory, sarcastic and unhelpful posts.

Hello taeyoonpark.81,

Your post is written in an inflammatory style, I understand that you are angry, but I really strongly urge you to reword the title and the post or it's just going to attract the wrong type of attention.

Your initial point will just get buried in dross and just create work for the moderation team if the post remains as adversarial as it is.

Everyone else, please no more bickering, sarcasm and useless addition, let taeyoonpark.81 try and make it better please.

*** reopening now ***

 

[taeyoonpark.81]

Okay I've removed a fair number of non-contributory, sarcastic and unhelpful posts.

Hello taeyoonpark.81,

Your post is written in an inflammatory style, I understand that you are angry, but I really strongly urge you to reword the title and the post or it's just going to attract the wrong type of attention.

Your initial point will just get buried in dross and just create work for the moderation team if the post remains as adversarial as it is.

Everyone else, please no more bickering, sarcasm and useless addition, let taeyoonpark.81 try and make it better please.

*** reopening now ***

I have changed the original post and I have requested to change the title.
I think the original post was a little offensive and it probably did not help the movement.

I am really sorry. Thanks.

 

[Flappers]

First of all, if you look at the petition, I have listed all the languages.
Secondly, English is my first language, and I don't need any localizations, I am doing this because I think it is absolutely unfair for other players who can't even play the game even though they paid just like everyone else. So, yes I think I am one person who knows that the world does not revolve around me.

Thank you.

Yes I understand people would like localisations. I live in Poland, and I know a lot of people would like a lot of games localised to their language here, but a lot of games are not.

Thing is, when you buy a game, digitally or physically, it says the available languages.

If people buy a game that doesn't say "Available in X language", you can't expect a game to be localised because you find it "unacceptable".

What's concerning is the people who bought the game, without prior research to see if the game was available in their language, now complaining that it's not available. Sorry, but I fail to see how FD are in the wrong here. There was nothing promised, there was no agreement... what did they do wrong?

What's unfair, is that FD, once again is getting a ton of flack because consumers didn't bother to research before purchase.
If they launched the game, and realised that it's not in their language, they could get a refund. But if they played it anyway, put in a number of hours, why should they then be entitled to a refund?

Let's be realistic here though. There are thousands of languages in the world. You get a few people screaming for their language being put in the game. They get it. Then another small group comes along and wants their language in the game, same happens again. But this keeps going on and on, while in the mean time, the game is suffering due to lower amount of content patches, as the teams are working too hard on localisations.

This shouldn't be a priority at all. Priorities should always be with fulfilling promises and fixing issues in the game, to make it a better and playable experience for all.

Don't get me wrong, localisation is great. It would be nice to have it for everyone in the world. But FD are an absolutely tiny team in comparison to the big leagues. Effort should be focused on more pressing issues.

When you buy a game, you should always check:
1. Does your system meet minimum requirements?
2. Is it in a language you understand?
3. Does it have good reviews?

If the answer to any of those questions above is no, then you should always reconsider your purchase. It's much better than buying it, playing it and then complaining about one of the 3 points listed above, and demand the developer to fix it.

 

[TriumphANT]

OP's point is no doubt valid. As a Kickstarter backer of both ED and the upcoming Descent: Underground, one major difference is that Descendent Studios offer posts to volunteers. I know that FDEV is an established company, but stuff like localisations is actually best done by the communities they serve. I do some quasi-commercial software development/support for stuff that ends up in the Far East, and it's easier to ask them how to say "Measure Sample Zero" than to work out what in the name of all that's holy and mince what Google Translate would say.

Would voluntary roles for this type of thing be accepted/appropriate?

--EDIT--- Sorry for the positive, community supportive comment. "HOW DARE THEY...?" Is that better?

 

[Iori]

English is not my first language and I personally don't care about localizations.

Content and features > localization.

Though it is true that localization will bring more players in, I don't think it should be a priority.

 

[TiberiuS]

Meh. Now i would sign a petition for FD to concentrate on development and work on localisations as and when time permits.

Fully agree here.

As a dev - as long as the game is published in english language - I'd not even think about making localizations. And no, I'm not a native english speaker.

 

[CMDR TdM]

It's worth while for Frontier to localise. Simply they will make far more money. Due to increased market.

They don't need a big team to do this. The most cost effective way is to use a translation agency. They know what they are doing they have the tools to do it and can project manage it for Frontier. As long as the text is externalised then it's easy as pie and not terribly expensive.

There is even technology to deploy news feed near instantly in all languages automatically...

 

[SirAdelaide]

The people who do localisation are different to the people who code the game. As mentioned, FD don't have their own translators. So getting a translator or two on board wouldn't slow down development by the coders; the two tasks would happen in parallel. If they use community translators, it wouldn't even cost much.

 

[natte hond]

I suspect the polish community is one of the most active non uk group cos the Amiga was also very popular there and still is.
but even back then most software was not translated but still was very successful.
besides from the then even smaller group who could understand English.

now I figure their marked is not priority due to the size of it.
a big fan base doesn't change that.

I find translated games boring they mis preciseness to make it entertaining.
also all pilots speak English internationally.
why would that change.

 

[CaptainKremmen]

I have changed the original post and I have requested to change the title.
I think the original post was a little offensive and it probably did not help the movement.

I am really sorry. Thanks.

I'm glad you reworked your first post.


Having read the actual petition, however, I can categorically state I will never, ever sign such text. It really is very rudely worded.

Is that how the original post here used to read? Can you run a politeness-and-decency pass on the petition itself?