"This seems really neat! How can I help out on the project?"
Well, there's a number of ways to help out, going from most to least needed:
- You can help transcribe the Japanese from the scans to the wiki pages. I could always use more people to get the information off of my scans into a text-editable format. As an aside, the whole reason I post the raw Japanese instead of directly translating it is two-fold, as it not only shows people that there's work being done, but also gives me a point to go back in case of vandalism, mistranslation, or any other mishap. If you'd like to help out in this manner, I ask that you directly email me (listed below).
- You can help to translate the raw Japanese into English. Personally, I'm not fluent in Japanese at all. In fact, I use a combination of Google Translate, the Firefox addon Rikaichan, and over 20 years of RPG knowledge to hash out what the authors are trying to get across. I'm sure there are going to be things lost in translation, and I would welcome the eyes of someone more adept at the language to be able to point out any flaws. If you choose to do this, please make a note on the main book page as to which sections you claim, so as to avoid overlap.
- You can proofread and help localize already translated pages. This isn't as needed at the moment, as I've started work on the second core rulebook. However, having another set of eyes go back to the earlier work done and not only point out and fix errors, but also clean up and standardize the various terms used is appreciated. There are definitely times where I have transposition errors, and don't always catch them, on top of the normal typos that occur, on top of the normal Engrish that can occur from direct translations.
- If you're feeling particularly spanky, you can offer scans of the rulebooks and supplements I don't have access to. As of today's date (August 26, 2015), the wiki currently has:
- Core Rulebook I (scanned)
- Core Rulebook II (scanned)
- Core Rulebook III (scanned)
- Revised Core Rulebook I (scanned)
- Revised Core Rulebook II (scanned)
- Alchemist Works (scanned)
- Wizard's Tome (scanned)
- Cardia Grace (scanned)
This means I do not currently have access to the Revised Core Rulebook III, Barbaros Tales, Lumiere's Legacy, Ignis' Blaze, or Fortuna Code. These books in particular are ones that either rework the way the game is played (in the case of the revised cores) or add on new archetypes, spells, races, items and/or monsters (from the other books). There are quite a few others, ranging from setting guides to replays, that I don't feel are integral to the system, and thus have no current plans to import, scan and translate. If you or someone you know has these books and wishes to donate them to be scanned (or want to scan them yourselves), I'm not going to turn them down.
However, importing books from Japan is a bit of a costly endeavor. Besides, I wouldn't feel good about you going out of the way just to import something I can't guarantee I'll be able to get to in any sort of speedy timeframe.
All said and done, this is a non-profit free fan translation, and I'm doing this in my free time on days off from work. To say I can't really reward anyone for assisting in this endeavor is an understatement, and the best I can do is give credit when I manage to compile everything into a complete document.
If you have any questions or comments, there are a few ways to get in touch with me.
- On here, via my user page;
- On the /tg/ boards on both 4chan and 8chan (always lurking for jrpg threads);
- Or via email, at aniodia at gmail.
In any case, I appreciate the traffic, and hope you enjoy Sword World as much as I do!