STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION English localization improvement patch (NEW: v1.4b, now VS Vol. 2 collab compatible!)

[pztunleaded]

The last man, alone with God....

STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION has been updated to support Starnaut x Vampire Survivors Vol. 2!

I kept working on it all this time!

LATEST:

STARNAUT LAST MAN EDITION v1.4.1b[mega.nz]

Compatible with Starnaut ver. 4477

Usage:

Create a "~mods" folder in Starnaut\Content\Paks, and then put the files in there.
For most people, the folder structure should be "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\STARNAUT\Starnaut\Content\Paks\~mods".
You can instantly tell if it's installed if the first opening text box from the intro is more than a single word.
It should read:

" Huh?
Helloooo?
Sure is dark in here....
Could someone grab the lights?"


Also, go check out my cover art in the Artwork section on Steam, it's so good!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3481935155

NEW FEATURES (as compared to v1.3b):

• Novella-length original story, The Last Temptation of Copiasu (written in English, Japanese translation coming soon)
  
• Compatibility with Starnaut x Vampire Survivors Vol. 2 collab (ver. 4420 featuring X-03, X-04, X-05), even more localized dialogue for the new stage, character, and items
  
• Compatibility with the demo! Try STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION for free!
  
• Even further refinement to lore and flavor text!
  
  v1.4b includes a very elaborate new piece of content, exclusive to LAST MAN EDITION. Look forward to it on Christmas! (edit: The Last Temptation of Copiasu, an original novella, is now released)
  
  Vampire Survivors Vol. 1 post:
  
  

  STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION has been updated to support the new Starnaut x Vampire Survivors collaboration!

  It's been worked on this whole time, so there's also tons of new features to enjoy as well!
  
  NEW FEATURES (as compared to v1.0):
  
• Compatibility with the Vampire Survivors collab (ver. 4358 featuring X-03, further stages pending), and localized dialogue for the new stage, character, and items
  
• Localized stage names! They're really good and synchronize with the game's story for maximum impact!
  
• The whole script and all the lore has been given several more drafts over the last couple of months, resulting in a far more cohesive finished product as opposed to v1.0. The web is now denser, and I look forward to people seeing how deep it goes.
  
• Numerous lore entries that received little improvement over the vanilla game in v1.0 have now been refined to perfection.
  
• === TOP-SECRET COGNITOHAZARD ===
  
• A lot of other new features, many of which I can't remember because I've been working on it for so long! Lots of minute adjustments to improve flow and readability of the text, using techniques such as hex-editing and manually positioning the word-wrapping and line breaks.
  
  
  It's not just a huge improvement over the vanilla game's text, it's a huge improvement over the previous version, too!
  Expect further updates coinciding with the rest of the Starnaut x Vampire Survivors collab, to maintain compatibility and increase the level of polish even more.
  
  
  
  Working on Starnaut is a joy that has kept me afloat through good times and bad.
  In doing so, I grew as a person, asked questions of myself and others I would've never thought to ask before, and then fed that growth back into the game, branching off the branches of the branches of its world, like a fractal.
  Everything I had and then some went into giving this game the absolute best presentation possible, using the full force of every last lesson I've learned from the medium, Sisyphean perseverence, the love of my friends and family, and a pinch of luck.
  
  Outside of all that, the game itself was also a labor of love for the team, and it shows.
  
  I sincerely hope you enjoy, and always remember; eyes on the prize.
  
  release post:
  
  

  What is STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION?

  Starnaut: Last Man Edition is a mod to reimplement a scrapped "US English" localization that goes further to make the game interesting and compelling to play.
  See it for yourself! Play the localization that was deemed too above-and-beyond!
  In the multiverse, all things are possible. I hope you enjoy my take on Starnaut's story.
  
  

  Why should I, an English-speaker, play STARNAUT: LAST MAN EDITION instead of the game's default localization?

  
  Every line of dialogue has been manually inspected to add in line-breaks at ideal spots, alongside a two-character indentation. All of this makes the text far more pleasant on the eyes.
  Having direct access to the game files, and extra time, gave me total control over how the text is presented. Granular control over the presentation through the files themselves is something that was not offered to the other localization.
  
  Aside from text formatting, the actual content of the text is richer and answers questions in a more satisfying way.
  If a story is meant to be like a spider-web, with nodes connecting to other nodes, the "vanilla" version of the localization is a very thin web, and mine is very dense. There are far less hanging threads and inconsistencies.
  
  New echoes and callbacks, not just within the story, but to other games, other mediums, myth, philosophy, psychology, theology, and theosophy as well, enhance the richness of the game's context. Starnaut lays bare the secrets of the universe in miniature.
  In Last Man Edition, there are references to over 250(!) various games, mostly obscure games released over two decades ago. I hope you enjoy spotting them.
  
  If you play my version for any reason, it should be for the dramatically-expanded lore entries. Timeline Lost Data, where I received the most ability to put in any length of text I wanted due to there being a scroll function and no limit, resulted in there being 350% as much text in total to enjoy, on top of what was originally there being rewritten, with far more narrative depth.
  
  Every lore entry turns from being a list of bullet-points, one or two sentences saying "Y console was released during X year", to a miniature story of multiple paragraphs.
  There are 230 of these miniature stories to read, referencing not just all sorts of popular and unpopular video games, but also (in)famous events from gaming history.
  If you've been paying as close attention as I have to all the absolutely insane things that have happened in the video game industry, there's a LOT to recognize and discover here!
  
  The "Stella Lost Data" has also been filled with real-world hard science, and more poetic wording, Every aspect of the game is now jam-packed with beautiful poetry, where previously there was mostly dry, stiff lists without much elaboration.
  
  I worked tirelessly to make Starnaut a thought-provoking work of speculative fiction with political and thematic depth worth idly pondering in the back of your mind for years after you play.
  
  As I am not Japanese, I cannot evaluate the full cultural context of the game's original Japanese text, but as far as I can tell, although it's not as "book-like" as what I wrote, I think my work is closer to the intent of the Japanese script, the way it was meant to make people feel in the native language, while their work is closer to the exact content of the Japanese script.
  
  To be blunt, please play my version first if you think Starnaut deserves this depth, and you want a game that embraces your intelligence, making you feel smarter and richer as a person for having played it.
  
  I definitely have a bias, but I genuinely think it's an all-time great localization, at least, in the eyes of what players prioritize.
  
  It's pretty easy to compare due to the Lost Data menus having most of the text available to read at any time.
  
  However, I highly recommend it for a first playthrough if you want maximum emotional impact and immersion.
  
  My ultimate goal was to hopefully move someone's emotions deeply, like my favorite games did for me. If this happens to you, please let me know, I'd be overjoyed!

[pztunleaded]

Tell me more, what are the features?

• Copiasu feels more like a real kid, with all the complexity that entails, and now has a great sense of wit/sarcasm, and feels his emotions stronger, without sacrificing the innocence and healthy emotional self-regulation meant to be the cornerstone of his character. He feels like a true savior and the best of our species, instead of feeling numb and disengaged with his surroundings.
  
  
• Stella and Wonderful feel more like real parents, and their love feels shown to us, instead of merely told to us second-hand, with us being expected to believe it without seeing it on-screen, like it is in the "vanilla" localization
  
  
• "Stella Lost Data" rewritten and expanded, while still hitting all the original points, almost every entry has more detail, and every entry now ends with quotes from famous works and philosophers with overlapping, relevant struggles, both funny and insightful
  
  
• "Timeline Lost Data" massively rewritten and expanded, with the kind of highly funny and painfully accurate video game industry satire only an archivist like me who has been following industry news closely for over 20 years can write (350% more text on top of a rewrite of what was there, and several hundred new terms and plot events, all of which do not contradict anything, only add!)
  
  
• "Wonderful Lost Data" rewritten and expanded, and is actually funny in English now
  
  
• Stella and Wonderful now recognizably feel like the same characters that are in the lore entries, instead of feeling completely different from their actions that are described, which makes the narrative throughline of the game far, far stronger.
  
  
• Text formatting much, much easier to read, avoiding the problem of automatic implementation, two-space indents on every single line of dialogue/"Stella & Wonderful Lost Data", four-space indent in "Timeline Lost Data", no text overflow (I probably missed a spot somewhere, but that's why this is "v1.0b" instead of "v1.0", however, I followed the rules of how the game handles text exactly, so if this does happen, it's an "edge case")
  
  
• El Shaddai connections expanded and enriched, drawing not just from all the expanded continuity like the manga, but also El Shaddai's real-world inspirations, Paradise Lost, the Book of Enoch, the Divine Comedy, and of course the Bible (only a little of the Bible, don't worry), making Starnaut feel like it truly earns the narrative connection to El Shaddai. I am not a religious person, but I think the imagery is super cool and fascinating, and I'm well-educated on the subject. I even consulted a professional scholar in these sorts of texts to make sure I got it right.
  
  
• Ellipses now 33% more potent, adding a greater sense of loneliness....
  
  
• All 119 Achievements are now non-generically named, and now all have unique descriptions drawing from various works, mostly obscure games. Some are also written in-character from Copiasu's perspective, and flesh out his character even further, making unlocking Achievements feel truly rewarding. I actually hex-edited the Achievements menu myself to make these descriptions fit, a feat that I am particularly proud of having been able to accomplish. Updates to this project will likely include more of that kind of editing, such as bigger text for weapon descriptions in the upgrade menu.
  
  
• All weapon final upgrade tiers now receive a unique description, instead of "Crazy Wonderful" as a placeholder. Many are pop-culture references, but some serve to flesh out in-world elements added to my new text, making it even richer, like with "Avocado Live", "Meatsoft Firewall", and the "Oyama Coil".
  
  
• Many weapons and helmets have received more exciting names in English (especially weapons which once shared names with other weapons) are now made more distinct from each other.
  
  
• Terminology has been unified across the whole game. For example, no more "SevenNights", "Seven Night", "Seven Nights", and "SevenNights" all over the game anymore, now it's just "7night" everywhere, like in the logo.
  
  
• Epilogue drastically improved, and now feels like it's worth the effort to accomplish. I did something really, really cool with it, that I won't spoil! Ending also received big improvements.
  
  
• Overall, every way that text was insufficiently motivating in the "original localization" has been "punched up", and there is now no redundant information, across the whole game. Almost every instance of hearing something you likely already heard before in a different part of the game, has been given a new wrinkle of extra detail unique to that instance. There is now not a single block of text in the game that feels like "I already know this, so why am I being told it again".
  
  
• There is more text to read in general, but in the main dialogue of the game itself, there's no additional text boxes, so everything takes roughly the same amount of time to read in dialogue, it's just richer and better now, with more to think about as you play. When characters speak mid-level, you feel like you're learning more about the character themselves, instead of merely receiving instructions, because they now have more unique thoughts, opinions and phrasing.
  
  
• Players will now be much more excited to get to the next stage to hear what Copiasu has to say, due to having a greater emotional connection to him. They will want to protect him as if he was a member of their own family.
  
  
• The political elements inherent to the subjects of the original script, such as AGI and genetic engineering, are handled with a finer touch.
  
  
• Copiasu is now written to be implicitly autistic, as all the "missing puzzle piece" imagery and the way he goes into exhaustive detail about his interest in video games felt very recognizable to me, as I once thought a lot like how he does. I made the way he talks about video games far more recognizable, as someone who used to put way too much effort into talking about obscure games online when I was his age. I know there really are kids like this, I was one of them after all.
  
  
• Copiasu's story has received additional, profound depth rooted in the language and symbolism of real-world myth and science, making the game feel more like a true sequel to El Shaddai, like "two sides of the same coin", opposites, but complimentary. Don't want to spoil it for you, though.
  
  
• Catcher in the Rye (1951 novel)
  
  
• Heck
  
  
• Crud
  
  
• Mega Launcher is now multi-hit after level 4. Might be a little overpowered, maybe I should make it only do that after max level. To me, though, it didn't make sense for an explosion to only hit a single enemy, it's an explosion after all.
  
  
• Absolutely bonkers amounts of clever wordplay across the whole game in every instance where such a thing could be written in.
  
  
• Timeline Chronology is now 25 gems in the shop each instead of 10, to reflect the added depth, and prevent players from getting all of them too early. I want them to feel "pieced-out" with more consistent pacing of acquisition and reading throughout the playthrough, instead of getting them all pretty early. If you're reading this, don't binge them all at once, space 'em out! No other balance changes have been made except for those two.
  
  
• And more! If there's anything I'm forgetting to mention, I'll edit this post.
  
  Every way a game can be elevated by text, I did just that.
  
  My loyalty was not to "representing exactly the original script", but to what the player would find interesting and engaging, and what the game needs to retain player interest, keep them playing through to the later parts. However, I still hit every single point that the original script had, without plot-holes or contradictions, so this purely makes the game better and "meatier", it doesn't take away from anything.
  There is not a single aspect of the story that is mistranslated in my version, as far as I can tell from comparing the two English versions against the Japanese. Everything is deliberate, not an accident. This is the biggest project I've ever finished in my life. ("so far", hopefully, I want to live to do more!)
  
  When added together, I wrote an entire novel's worth of text on top of the framework of what was already there. Holy crow!
  
  If the default localization could be called "English (Normal)", this would be "English (Hard)", as I aimed to turn Starnaut into a work of true literary depth with Last Man Edition.
  
  I hope that this version of the game becomes someone's future favorite cult classic, and inspires them, the same way my favorites inspired me to make this.
  It's my gift to you, and to the world. I love you all.
  
  P.S.: To the developers, I know it's unlikely at this point, but if this becomes popular, and you wanted to patch it into the game so more people can play it, or even have it translated it back into Japanese as a second option, you have my full permission, as that was how I always meant for it to be experienced.
  
  Please report any bugs so I can fix them, and do not bother the dev team for tech support, bother me instead!
  
  I doubt I'm just going to stop having great ideas constantly throughout my day because I'm finally releasing this, so watch this space for any updates! There will likely be some hotfixes.
  Also watch this space for screenshot comparisons! At the moment, I'm too exhausted from working on this to go digging for two sets of screenshots, I need to give it a couple days at least. Now it's time to go have my first good sleep in months.
  Enjoy!

[LinaInverse]

My Game has mods made by modders with autism, so you know its Good.

[Mildly Irritating Mann]

"Copiasu is now written to be implicitly autistic"
Yeah I can tell

[pztunleaded]

Originally posted by Mildly Irritating Mann:

"Copiasu is now written to be implicitly autistic"
Yeah I can tell

Good, I'm glad it comes across

[Chicago Ted]

How can this be a more accurate localization if you can't read Japanese?

This post gives me "please download my creepy fanfic" vibes.

[ g@y frog ]

Originally posted by Chicago Ted:

How can this be a more accurate localization if you can't read Japanese?

This post gives me "please download my creepy fanfic" vibes.

I don't think any of the localizers who worked on the English version spoke fluent Japanese, they were machine translating most of it.

[Mildly Irritating Mann]

Originally posted by  g@y frog :

Originally posted by Chicago Ted:

How can this be a more accurate localization if you can't read Japanese?

This post gives me "please download my creepy fanfic" vibes.

I don't think any of the localizers who worked on the English version spoke fluent Japanese, they were machine translating most of it.

I strongly doubt the guys behind El Shaddai would hire people who rely on MTL, if that was the case they'd just do it themselves with Translator ++ or something. Do you have any proof? Not meaning to offend or anything, just wondering if you're saying this as a guess.

[HotaruBunBun]

Saying the translators on this team are on the low end of Japanese fluency is wild

[Mildly Irritating Mann]

Originally posted by HotaruBunBun:

Saying the translators on this team are on the low end of Japanese fluency is wild

Yeah, not sure where they're getting this from without proof or context. A bit weird ngl

[BigGucciSosa]

Sounds like the context is that they worked on translating the game together.

I imagine working with someone on translating a game from Japanese to English gives you a pretty good idea of how strong that someone’s Japanese is.

[NatbLUE]

The alternate translation is so good. Such a shame it was not implemented. So much care clearly went into it and it definitely enhances the experience.

[Hoshi]

Your post made me cry, thank you so much.

[pztunleaded]

I'm preparing a significantly larger update with some really compelling new content in the next week or two, so keep checking this thread in the days to come and give it a subscribe to keep updated, but for now, here's a build that'll play on the latest patch
It's just what I took out of my folder that I had working so there's some polish missing
https://mega.nz/file/2lFUlQrI#Wvb83QeU5RCGCED2nQKHS86wZWqV5MAI1nAJn9EqBY0

[Max]

Just a question. Did you know about this?

https://x.com/Sawaki_Takeyasu/status/1894084283687403821

[Darth Ye]

idk how to translate pics whats it say more or less?