^^^ Rishi asked if there is a seperate QA for EU and if so why? This is something I'd like to know as we get stuffed with the localisation argument far to often when it comes to delayed content for our region. My take on this seems to be the same as his- If *something is already available in another region why does it have to go through QA again? All that needs to be changed is text in the description box when purchasing. This would have no bearing on the performance of said item in Home as we all use the same client, which is why so many people get annoyed at getting the shaft all the time. We aren't daft and don't see this as a legitimate reason for holding back on content.
*I am aware that some content does need more work to localise as it contains more than just text to change
@one-two Team Valley Gateshead I think
Thylaudax wrote:
QA needs to occur again following localisation because it isn't as simple as just inserting localised text. I have previously seen on other titles I've worked with an update go to the live servers and the English works fine, the German works fine, but the French (for example) is completely broken. All due to a small typo or misplaced bit of text in the localised files.
Just because something works correctly in English does not necessarily mean it will work correctly in French, German, Spanish etc. Not all languages are created equal: some have a longer average word length (eg German) that can cause issues, others use special characters that can cause issues (eg Spanish), etc. There are also region specific elements that must be checked to make sure everything is as it should be (such as making sure the correct currencies are shown and the correct amounts are being charged). We also need to make sure that the localised text is correct once it's placed - a very easy mistake to make would be accidentally putting Item Name A in the box for Item B and Item Name B in the box for Item A.
If we were to take content QA'd in English only, localise it, and then publish it without doing a localisation-specific QA process it is guaranteed that sooner, rather than later, bugs and errors would become common in the localised content. Localisation is not just translating text and replacing the English where needed. We wish it was as simple as that, but ultimately it isn't.
this post on its own should be stickied as it gives a decent account of localisation directly related to Home...
Thylaudax wrote:
QA needs to occur again following localisation because it isn't as simple as just inserting localised text. I have previously seen on other titles I've worked with an update go to the live servers and the English works fine, the German works fine, but the French (for example) is completely broken. All due to a small typo or misplaced bit of text in the localised files.
Just because something works correctly in English does not necessarily mean it will work correctly in French, German, Spanish etc. Not all languages are created equal: some have a longer average word length (eg German) that can cause issues, others use special characters that can cause issues (eg Spanish), etc. There are also region specific elements that must be checked to make sure everything is as it should be (such as making sure the correct currencies are shown and the correct amounts are being charged). We also need to make sure that the localised text is correct once it's placed - a very easy mistake to make would be accidentally putting Item Name A in the box for Item B and Item Name B in the box for Item A.
If we were to take content QA'd in English only, localise it, and then publish it without doing a localisation-specific QA process it is guaranteed that sooner, rather than later, bugs and errors would become common in the localised content. Localisation is not just translating text and replacing the English where needed. We wish it was as simple as that, but ultimately it isn't.
Makes perfect sense.
But.
Shouldn't this be planned for and acted on accordingly??
As with res 5 space and Uncharted??
Uncharted was a whole year behind almost and Res 5 missed out because the game had been and gone before it even got turned on practically.
Surely in planning these things and Games being in dev for x years this should be accounted for in releasing content into Home in a timely fashion at least to cash in on the hype of a newly released Game??
As much as localisation is an excuse,it also comes across as lazy and an afterthought,especially in this 3rd world region that outside of Japan and the US as far as content and reliability is concerned.
But after 12 months,the localisation excuse is extremely tired for my money ,Thylaudax.
Thoughts??
CoolTails wrote:Makes perfect sense.
But.
Shouldn't this be planned for and acted on accordingly??
As with res 5 space and Uncharted??
Uncharted was a whole year behind almost and Res 5 missed out because the game had been and gone before it even got turned on practically.
Surely in planning these things and Games being in dev for x years this should be accounted for in releasing content into Home in a timely fashion at least to cash in on the hype of a newly released Game??
As much as localisation is an excuse,it also comes across as lazy and an afterthought,especially in this 3rd world region that outside of Japan and the US as far as content and reliability is concerned.
But after 12 months,the localisation excuse is extremely tired for my money ,Thylaudax.
Thoughts??
i agree with this. while i do accept that work that does have to go in to localisation, as detailed in your post, some things just go beyond the realms of Localisation and enter the realms of baffling and nonsense.
i mean seriously, RES space, jus dont give it to us at all. almost same feelings about the UC space, if its gonna take a whole year, its probably not worth the wait...
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