10/26/04:
--A little over a month has gone by, and according to earlier suggestion by Takamichi I'm gonna go ahead and release the game patch. Understand that it's not impatience that leads me to this, my schedule is about to become very unpredictable and hectic to the point where I will likely be away from email etc for long periods of time from now on (possibly a few months starting very soon). I figured I should put these patches out before it becomes impossible to do so. Please enjoy them. Click 'Download' in the navigation menu above, read/agree to the disclaimer, and you'll find them. The explanation of the translation is there, it's 100% complete and tested pretty throroughly so there should be no problems. My email will no longer appear on this page becuase the likeliest questions to follow at this point are, 'Where are the ROMz?', type of stuff. Don't ask me, if you can't figure it out then you probably aren't capable of patching the game in the first place. Just buy the game off eBay and dump it yourself.
--Also, since the patch is now released, I have created a page which showcases the original UK translation and this project's script. This will give you an idea of the differences between the two. Just click on 'Script Contrast' in the menu to the left.
--Finally, be sure and check Takamichi's original project page here (it's also in the Links page here) for the Japanese manual translation which should be coming down the pike still. In the meantime you could use the manual from the UK version. There are scans of it on JunkerHQ (also in the Links page). Anyway, since I might not be around much (and Takamichi may not have recieved my recent email) I'll wish him good fortune in finishing the manual translation and hope that everyone likes the game translation.
--P.S. Be on the lookout for Metal Gear Solid 3 which should be out soon, and look for the possibilty of seeing Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 on mobile phones here (in english that is) like they've been rereleased in Japan. (Though, I wouldn't hold my breath on those) Purchase them and support Konami's current endeavors. They aren't likely to discontinue a game series that is going to continue to be highly profitable are they?
9/23/04:
--Just thought I'd put in a tiny update to let people know things are still active. Takamichi has had the Japanese script scans for a while now and I'm sure is doing what he can when he can. Otherwise, as far as I can tell, things are pretty much nearing finality. Also, I'm dabbling with a Metal Gear style skin for Winamp. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it, but its fun to mess around with in the meantime. Here's a screenshot of the windowshade mode (which is what I'm primarily making it for):
As you can see, it still needs some work (slider bar), but this is the idea. Basis for the colors of the skin were taken directly from a screenshot of TX-55 in Metal Gear for the MSX.
For MG fans, you may be interested in checking out whats going on in the more general Metal Gear world at the moment. The 2004 Tokyo Game Show opened today and is reported to be the venue for the next trailer for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Personally, I'm getting psyched for this game and am happy to see whatever comes down the pike on it. Also, on the 21st (or was it the 20th?) Konami announced that in addition to the original Metal Gear coming out on mobile phone networks in Japan, they will also be releasing Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake as well for mobile phones. So far this is Japan only and given the differing nature of the mobile phone market here vs. Japan, I'm thinking we won't see it here.
9/14/2004:
--I received the Japanese manual scans yesterday; thanks Alfonso! I should be sending it over to Takamichi-san tonight. It looks like a very good scan of a manual in really good condition (especially when remembering its about 17 years old now!). I don't speak or read much Japanese (just some basic 'hello' or 'thank you' type stuff) but its readily apparent that a ton of information was stripped in later manuals for this game and it'll be great to get a translated one out. Its actually funny to note that there is some information from the original manual in the NES port manual which wasn't in the UK MSX manual. That's pretty ironic, I think.
Also, the weapons info page I put up has accurate real-life information on the weapons used in the game. However, the Japanese manual does not seem to specify specifically what types of landmines or plastic explosives in particular were used so I selected the most likely candidate for the real life info. NATO may have different landmines or demolition blocks that they use, but I figured the american information would be close enough since it's likely most of NATO's equipment comes from the same contractors.
Anyway, the extra info pages I put up should not be considered 'from the manual' or 'official' output from the translation project, rather just think of it as any other fan page which may or may not be correct. The game translation appears to have been fully completed as of the 8th of this month so don't think there's erroneous or made-up info in that, the game translation is as literal as possible and the info I put up for the extra pages here has no effect on it. When the real manual is translated I'll replace it with the manual translation, if Takamichi-san doesn't object.
9/13/2004:
--I am corresponding with someone who has scanned the MG japanese manual and should be getting in touch soon to transfer this data to me. After that I'll be forwarding it to Takamichi-san for translation if he still wants to do so. Once thats done someone will make the translated manual available. At that same time, we should be releasing the translation. For those requesting the ROM, forget it. At this point only people directly involved in the project have the translation and thats all it will be until an official release.You won't be getting a ROM from me, there are already places where you can get the original and its not much trouble to patch it.
9/8/2004:
--Reconfigured some messages to use message boxes that display the prompt icon. Almost all the message box sizes have a type that displays the prompt icon when its waiting and a type that does not. Some of the messages in the course of translation enlarged to more than one page of the box, but still had the do-not-show-prompt-icon type message box. Now messages like the one where Big Boss explains the Cards or the IR Goggles will show the icon when waiting for the user to press SPACE. It is clear that the original intent was not to show the icon for enemy messages or for other passive type messages which Snake is not personally conversing in (like the Radio KNK message). These messages remain do-not-show-prompt-icon type messages as originally intended.
Also, there is a very fast message explaining that Snake needs the IR Goggles, but the timing of messages is not configured in the script area and is determined elsewhere. The timing seems a bit off when you see it, but this is the speed the developers wanted. (Remember, this is the Japanese original I'm working from)
Took the time to do some more work on the font set. I originally did a quick modification to fix the period and apostrophe to be more western in design. I added a bit to the apostrophe to make it appear more complete, and tried to make the stenciling in the alphabet more consistent. Here's a screenshot:
You might notice that the M and W have changed. They originally didn't have any stencil lines at all, but I managed to get some in there and still keep it legible. The original W in particular was kind of strange looking in comparison to what they drew for the M, so thats why I changed it. The only characters that now do not have stenciling is the V and Y. I've tried a number of methods, but no logical place for a stencil line allows the characters to remain legible so they'll remain original.
9/7/2004:
--People are still playing beta 7 and still no known errors with it. Takamichi-san has indicated that he wants to translate the Japanese manual, but I have not been able to find a copy of it (scans or any other form). Google has yet to produce anything in this regard and no one as yet on msx.org's forums has replied in this regard. If anyone who does see this site and can help, you can email me at N/A.
9/3/2004:
--Beta revision 7 appears to be fully functional. I've played through the game twice and have found no errors in it. There may be some remaining, but my thinking is that this can be revised later in an update if it occurs. I'll need to talk to Takamichi, then we'll see about a release.
9/1/2004:
--Into Beta Revision 7, I think this is the final. I've beat the game (after fixing a major bug that froze the game after beating metal gear; bad timing ;D ) and all the messages work fine and are formatted properly. Barring anything Takamichi notices that I missed this is it!