Merrybell Translations - [Issue 0.1 through 0.3]

Petrov · October 14, 2013, 07:56:57 AM

Greetings!

I am new to both the forum and to Code Name: Hunter. When I realized that Merrybell's speech was a standard substitution, I started looking for a translation key but did not find one. If anyone is interested, here is an initial attempt. I did not find a "Z" character, nor am I certain about the punctuation since there seem to be multiple character patterns for a few symbols. I have also added in my initial translations, with upper case denoting word boundaries. Given that these are out of context, I am hoping that this would not be considered a spoiler. For your amusement.

Petrov.

A = 1/2 C4 : I = 1/4 C5 : Q = 1/4 C4 : Y = 1/4 A5
B = 1/1 G4 : J = 1/2 B5 : R = 1/4 F4 : Z = ?/? ??
C = 1/1 E4 : K = 1/2 C5 : S = 1/2 D4
D = 1/2 E4 : L = 1/2 D5 : T = 1/4 G4 : . = 1/1 D5
E = 1/4 E4 : M = 1/1 B5 : U = 1/4 B5 : ? = 1/1 A6
F = 1/2 F4 : N = 1/1 A5 : V = 1/1 F4 : ! = 1/8 D4, 1/1 D5, 1/4 A6, 1/8 A6
G = 1/2 G4 : O = 1/4 D5 : W = 1/4 D4 : ' = 1/2 F5, sharps?
H = 1/2 A5 : P = 1/4 E5 : X = 1/1 D4 : - = 1/8 F5

Merrybell Rough Translations, typos marked with "+", not sure about punctuation: (Issue:Page)

0.1:12 - "Oh.Shit"
0.1:13 - "Wha", "DamnIt.OpenThisDoor!", "Eh?", "ThereYet?"
0.2:01 - "There"
0.2:02 - "Quiet", "Mortal?", "Hurt?"
0.2:03 - "Hi.There", "She?"
0.2:04 - "Not.Sure.Seal?", "Seal?Seal?"
0.2:05 - "WhatDoYouThinkYou'reTryingToDo? GrabbingAtMeLikeThat. WhyI'llTurnYouIntoANewtIWill. SeeIfIDon't.", "WaitDon'tLeaveMeAloneComeBack", "Wait!Wait!"
0.2:06 - "WhatAMess.WhatIsAllThis?", "This?AndThis?", "IDon'tUnderstand", "Mortal?", "Mor-.", "-Oh-", "Come.MeHelp", "Yes.MeHelp.", "WeGoNow?"
0.2:07 - "What'sGoingOn?", "Why?Can'tTheySeeMe?", What!I'llShowThemI'mRealIJustLetMeAtThemI'l"
0.2:08 - "Now?", "HiThere.", "Hey!", "ISaidHiThere!"
0.2:09 - "HowRude!", "German? WhatDoesHeMean?We'veAlways BeenHere+M+uchLongerThanYouHave. I'veBeenAroundSinceItWas FashionableForMalesToWearS+h+irts!", "Shorter!" - typos, M is wrong symbol, h should be k.
0.2:22 - "OooPrettySounds.", "Wha.?", "SorryAboutTheSongbox"
0.3:02 - "TheyDidn'tSeeMe.DidThey?"
0.3:03 - "TellHim"
0.3:04 - "WhatAreYouDoing? IThoughtYouWereTakingThatToTheMailroom", "ButWhatIfTheyDon't?"

Edit: Fixed a typo in the quotes and added a missed one on 0.3:03.

llearch n'n'daCorna · October 14, 2013, 05:23:37 PM

That's some impressive work there. I had always wondered if there was a key, and, if so, what it was...

I guess the only question is, does Darc want us to remove it? :-/

Petrov · October 14, 2013, 05:33:40 PM

Greetings.

QuoteThat's some impressive work there. I had always wondered if there was a key, and, if so, what it was...

Thank you. Merrybell's comments were always pretty obvious in context, but when I saw that the text was consistent, I started looking for a translation key. Not finding one, I decided to decode it. This is based on A = C4 / Middle C.

QuoteI guess the only question is, does Darc want us to remove it? :-/

I had worried about the spoiler possibilities, especially with the translation. If folks want it gone, the moderators can remove it or I will delete it myself; no offense or spoilage was ever intended. I just wanted to have something unique to offer for my first post here.

Petrov.

llearch n'n'daCorna · October 14, 2013, 05:56:04 PM

Quote from: Petrov on October 14, 2013, 05:33:40 PM
I had worried about the spoiler possibilities, especially with the translation. If folks want it gone, the moderators can remove it or I will delete it myself; no offense or spoilage was ever intended. I just wanted to have something unique to offer for my first post here.

If Darc wants it gone, the mods will remove it - due to silly people in the past, users can't remove their own posts, to stop someone posting a series of inflammatory remarks, then removing their posts and leavign the other people looking like fools...

And yes, you managed to offer something very unique (if that's not the wrong term; unique doesn't need any modifiers ;-] ) for your first post. Congratulations! ;-]

joshofspam · October 14, 2013, 06:30:23 PM

Got to admit. That's all very cool that you were able to translate Merrybell's language.

We didn't have her very long, but she was interesting and entertaining the short time she was alive.

Petrov · October 14, 2013, 07:41:16 PM

Greetings.

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCornaIf Darc wants it gone, the mods will remove it - due to silly people in the past, users can't remove their own posts, to stop someone posting a series of inflammatory remarks, then removing their posts and leavign the other people looking like fools...

Wow... No worries about the mods removing it if needed, but having to lock out the function for that reason... That is pretty sad.

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCornaAnd yes, you managed to offer something very unique (if that's not the wrong term; unique doesn't need any modifiers ;-] ) for your first post. Congratulations! ;-]

Quote from: joshofspamGot to admit. That's all very cool that you were able to translate Merrybell's language.

Thank you both! I have a knack for fonts and decoding various substitutions. It is really impressive to see just how much thought Darc put into this! Especially since drawing musical notation in standard editors is a real nuisance. Er, I hope I am not the first one to actually decode this. After all, according to the copyright, those issues were 2005...

Quote from: joshofspamWe didn't have her very long, but she was interesting and entertaining the short time she was alive.

Agreed. I hope that her name is the first one in The Memorial Hall.

Petrov.

Tuyu · October 17, 2013, 03:43:09 PM

Very cool...and we can be thankful that Darc never thought, "no one will actually try to read this, so I can have fun with her dialogue."

(In the Maintenance comic book by Jim Massey, they used an alien font for the aliens' word balloons...and at some point decided to stop putting actual dialogue in them. The aliens started saying nonsensical things that degenerated to pure gibberish by the end of the series.)

Petrov · October 17, 2013, 05:48:49 PM

QuoteVery cool...and we can be thankful that Darc never thought, "no one will actually try to read this, so I can have fun with her dialogue."

Agreed! Although... She did comment about this in her blog entry. I mentioned the text as an example of the attention to detail. It turns out that she had a musical font, and that is what generated the consistent notes. Still impressive either way! And I am still looking for that font - I found a few that are close, but none that match this translation.

Quote(In the Maintenance comic book by Jim Massey, they used an alien font for the aliens' word balloons...and at some point decided to stop putting actual dialogue in them. The aliens started saying nonsensical things that degenerated to pure gibberish by the end of the series.)

That is extremely unfortunate! It is not that hard to create meaningful dialog; degenerating to gibberish may have saved a few minutes, but takes away a lot for those that are really interested.