Development


[This project is canceled. What follows is history.]

ef - the first tale is being fansubbed by No Name Losers. Here is where you can check on the real-time status of the project, since we don't like to keep people in the dark. This is the only page you should trust; any figures from any other sites (except Moogy's blog, because he's part of the team) are not endorsed by us and may be false.

Localization notes
This visual novel is truly a unique experience. It is shorter than our localization of Wind -a breath of heart-, which already had over seven thousand text blocks removed during the editing phase. To put it into perspective, Clannad has over six times the amount of text. However, there is a plethora of event CG which immerses the reader into a fairy tale world... of the two.

Wind -a breath of heart- took two years to fansub because the three localization phases occurred one right after the other. This time around, we are running the project in multithreaded mode. All three phases will run concurrently. It is our hope that by doing so, we are able to complete this project in a timely manner. We are simply tired of the post-translation phases and excuses that plague many other visual novel translation projects. Our ultimate goal is to have a release before ef - the latter tale comes out in Japan. That's right, we want to finish this in a span of only four months.

We will not be deleting any text blocks. This visual novel is short, succinct, and to the point. The writers for Wind -a breath of heart- did not work on this title, and the writing has improved dramatically.

Wind -a breath of heart- was mainly presented in present tense. For ef - the first tale, we have opted to use past tense, like in most novels. All standardized style guides from Wind -a breath of heart- will be applied to this project.

There will be no longer be note numbers above words or sentences. However, localization notes will be provided in the help file. We would rather award the reader who recognizes obscure references.

Do not purchase ef - the first tale with the intent of applying a patch to it. We are unable to circumvent the numerous copy-protection schemes for this title. Therefore, our current plan is to release a ~1.8 GB standalone. Yes, this goes against the ethics of virtually every other visual novel fansub group. However, this project is not a joint effort with insani, and we are free to do whatever we please.

There was unfortunate news upon the release of Build C of the Wind patch. The PC DVD version of Wind had been discontinued in favor of the cheaper and more complete PlayStation2 version. minori's 2004 title Haru no Ashioto was also discontinued in this manner. As a result, our goal of increasing imports was undermined by minori themselves. We knew that most people would obtain the game from other sources. However, the few who legitimately wanted to purchase the game now had no other choice but to follow the same path.

What makes our digital video fansubs any different than a game fansub? Was there a critical backlash when the first digital video fansubs surfaced on the Internet? We were pioneers in releasing the first full-length visual novel fansub, and we may be pioneers again by taking this course of action. Few digital video fansubbers demand that people purchase R2 DVDs. Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that this standard should not be any different for game fansubs. Any argument otherwise would be contradictory and selfish.

Also, we estimate that under 2000 people have played and completed Wind using our patch. By releasing a standalone of ef - the first tale, we will be able to reach out to a much wider audience.

Lastly, we reserve the right to cancel this project at any time, and we may revert back to a patch release at any time.

Quick FAQ
Will there be an all-age version?
Not this time. One of the post-ero scenes contains nudity, and it would be almost impossible to change without removing the entire scene altogether. There is also another suspicious scene that would be unwise to remove, but we won't spoil that for you.

Will you fansub ef - the latter tale when it comes out?
We'll see what happens to this project first.

Can I help with the project?
You can, but due to the streamlining of all phases, you must have prior experience in fansubbing, or some other noteworthy credential. We will not take on newcomers.

Will we see anything before the full release?
No. We do not like the idea of a translation wiki or a public work-in-progress build. For example, people are already making unofficial patches of the unedited Clannad translation. No Name Losers prides itself in providing the best possible localization. You will only enjoy our work when it's done. However, Moogy is the playtester, and we have given him the authority to post juicy screenshots in his blog from time to time. If you want previews, he is your man to beg.

Are you cross-referencing the anime like you did for Wind -a breath of heart-?
A number of text blocks in this title are uttered in ef - a tale of memories, but some of them have minor changes. Aside from ef Supah Preview and a few text blocks in script 113_03 that show up in ef - a tale of memories ~prologue~, this localization will not be cross-referenced. As for using fansubbed lines, Menclave did a fairly good job with the anime, but we do not have permission to use their translation. Therefore, our localization will be done in our own unique style. Besides, wouldn't you rather have Kei use those colorful metaphors?

Current pace
Translation - 146.94 text blocks/day [18 days]
Editing - 119.73 text blocks/day [11 days]
Post-production - 188.14 text blocks/day [7 days]
Overall translation status - 11/70 files, 3281/15423 text blocks (21.27%)

Hiro/Miyako
Script
#
TL
ED
PP
Final
000_01mugai
426
01/25
02/01
02/04
100_01
636
ef Supah Preview
101_01
503
01/26
02/02
02/06
102_01
132
01/27
02/03
02/06
102_02
7
01/27
02/03
02/06
102_03
36
01/27
02/03
02/06
102_04
213
01/28
02/03
02/06
103_01
352
01/29
104_01
337
01/31
105_01
333
02/02
106_01
306
02/02
107_01
303
107_02
83
107_03
64
107_04
68
107_05
70
107_06
101
108_01
323
108_02
198
108_03
79
109_01
456
110_01
288
111_01
210
111_02
35
111_03
29
111_04
173
111_05_ero
371
111_06
37
112_01
190
112_02
117
113_01
81
113_02_ero
288
113_03
293
114_01
154
115_01
111
115_02
219
115_03
132
116_01
200
117_01
111
Kyousuke/Kei
700_01mugai
59
200_01
94
201_01
267
202_01
367
203_01
241
204_01
260
205_01
439
206_01
210
207_01
213
208_01
332
209_01
235
210_01
276
211_01
170
212_01
377
212_02
55
212_03
20
212_04
67
213_01
493
214_01
426
215_01
376
215_02_ero
206
215_03
173
216_01
90
216_02
36
216_03
132
216_04
533
216_05_ero
513
216_06
76
217_01
276
218_01
248
701_01mugai
98