Slight update

New version of the patch is available here.

Download

Mostly small fixes, still working on some of the more egregious errors.

Changelog:

• Shin’s mission now says “A True Loyalty” unlocked rather than “A Lady Like No Other.”
• Fixed an overflow for the order “Neutralize.”
• Changed occurrences of Alright/alright to “All right/all right.”
• Margit’s description now identifies Margit instead of Frederica
• Mission description changed to clarify a nickname was being cleared instead of a potential being changed
• Various other fixes

Some more patch questions and answers

Some answers to some more frequently asked questions about the patch, some from our programmer.

Q: Why does the patch use such an awkward patching method and not something like Xdelta?

A: The original game is encrypted and packed with a more recent version of criware tools. There is no encrypter available on the net and no newer version of criware tools either. Thus, our patched game is actually unencrypted and packed with old criware. Because of that, any kind of patch based on binary difference will be very huge (hundreds of megs).

And I’m not very skilled in coding to write my own packer/encrypter.

Q: How do you get this game running on PS Vita?

A: A newer version of CFW (TN-V7) has just been released for the PS Vita that claims to support our patch. There have been various comments saying that it does, so try upgrading to that.

Q: Why are the voices swapped (why does Kurt have Riela’s voice and other things)?

A: You patched the wrong version of the game. This patch only works with Valkyria Chronicles 3: Extra Edition, AKA VC3:E2. I guess the original version works somewhat with the patch, but some things do get messed up.

Q: Why is it not running/why am I getting a black screen on “insert CFW here.”

A: We don’t know. We don’t have the time to test and release a patch that’s compatible with every CFW, so please use a different one. For reference, our programmer is using a phat PSP (PSP-1000) with 5.50 prome-2 CFW.

Q: Where is the patched ISO?

A: The .bak file that generates is NOT the patched ISO. It is your original ISO with a new .bak extension for backup purposes. The patched ISO has an identical name to your original and should be in the same place where you originally had your copy. So for example, if you drag and drop a file named VC3E2.iso into the file, after the patching process, you should have two isos: VC3E2.iso and VC3E2.iso.bak. VC3E2.iso in this case will be the PATCHED version, and VC3E2.iso.bak will be your original as a backup.

Stream today!

FinestKO will be streaming the game today. For those of you who are on the fence about going through the process, maybe the stream will help settle your mind one way or another.

twitch.tv/finestko

A pre-patched ISO will not be provided

Legally, it’s likely safer for us that way. Comments that provide a link to an ISO, patched or otherwise, will be deleted. This is still SEGA’s game.

Fix for the small ISO problem

One of the common problems that most people seem to be getting is that when the patcher completes, the resulting file is much smaller than the original ISO. I believe I have found a solution to that particular problem.

Try moving all the patch files to a lower directory and renaming your ISO something short. This might be a problem where the directories get too long for the patcher to handle. If I attempt to use the same patcher from the download, but attempt to patch with the files on the drive in a long directory, it produces the ~670MB ISO. However, it patches just fine if I create a new folder on my desktop and ends up creating a 1.64GB ISO. Remember to have the windows .NET framework and Java installed on your computer as well as at least 4 GB of open harddrive space.

The two “File Not Found” messages that display in the command prompt window are normal, ignore them. Normal procedure on my machine is that the patcher opens JPCSP, appears to do nothing for about 5 minutes, then closes JPCSP and moves on to step 2, whereupon each additional step goes by smoothly, if slowly. The final patched ISO will be named exactly the same as your original one, and the original one will have a .bak appended to the file name.

This patcher will not work with prepatched versions of the game that contain an eboot.old file or prometheus.prx file.

To the people having problems

Something went wrong in the patch file. I’m trying to get a fix up ASAP.

Patch download and instructions

Patch can be downloaded here.

Edit: This post was the original release post and a newer version has been uploaded. Please see the patch and download instruction page for the download link.

Here are the general instructions on how to use the patch. Please note that right now, this patch will only support Valkyria Chronicles 3: Extra Edition because of memory limitations in the original version. The patch requires at least 4GB of open space on your computer, Java, and the windows .net service pack.

0. You will need to install custom firmware (CFW) onto your PSP. This will be basically opening up a file on the memory stick as a regular PSP firmware update and installing that. This is a simple guide that will help you install the CFW. http://wololo.net/cfw4dummies/

1. Get an ISO of the game, whether through ripping it yourself from the UMD, or converting your PSN copy.

If you have a UMD:
Use the CFW to convert the UMD into an ISO file onto your computer. Different CFWs may have different methods, but one method will be to change the USB Device from “Memory Stick” to “UMD Disc” on the CFW menu, which will allow your computer to access the ISO file. Additional instructions here: http://www.wikihow.com/Copy-a-PSP-UMD

If you have a PSN copy:
Must have umd_dump_simple.prx copied into your plugin folder ( ms0:/SEPLUGINS/) and add this line to GAME.TXT: ms0:/seplugins/umd_dump_simple.prx 1

Here is where you can get Neuron’s umd_dump_simple.prx plugin:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/irk3ik

Once the above step is done, simply run the game and then press the note key at the game’s title screen, while a USB cord is attached to your PC and the PSP. The plugin will automatically make the ISO that you can mount as a virtual drive in a Windows OS. Then just copy that ISO file to your computer then unmount the drive pressing the note key again.

2. Unzip the patch file.

3. Drag and drop your ISO into the patch.cmd file inside the zip folder. Do NOT close any windows that pop up during the patching progress. It may look like it’s not doing anything, but it is. This will convert the ISO into a patched ISO, and will back up the previous ISO with a new .bak extension.

4. Copy the patched ISO back onto your PSP and launch it.

That should be it!

Known bugs:
The tutorial text has some serious formatting problems. The formatting correction was lost in a harddrive crash, and we haven’t gone back and fixed them yet. Given that you’re probably all major fans of the series, we hope that you won’t need to read too much of that text to figure out what stuff does.

There’s some spillover text in some areas of the base camp. They were discovered rather late in editing because the game apparently handles items that aren’t purchased differently from items already purchased.

To-do list:
Fix the bugs mentioned above
Finish the mission objectives
Most E2 exclusive missions
DLC missions and translations
Encyclopedia and Newspaper entries

Merry Christmas!

Soon…

We’re just waiting on a final patcher program. All the files are ready to go.

Digital copies ARE compatible with the patch

For those who may not know, VC3E2 is on sale on the Japanese PSN right now for 980 yen (roughly $9.50 USD).

From a comment made by our main editor that may have been buried in the comments section:

If you use neuron’s “umd_dump_simple” plug-in, you can convert your PSN purchase to an ISO file. After this, you can apply the patch and it should work. We have been testing our patch with an ISO from the UMD, Thus, the PSN purchase method was a very last minute feature. However, it seems to work fine.

So PLEASE if you want to support this game series be sure to buy it via the PSN Japanese store, and do it by Jan 8th to save money.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/605969-senjou-no-valkyria-3/68140027

Almost there guys!

Some notes on what’s going to be included

From the main editor and another translator working on the project.

I think it is important to note, that our team is shooting for the FIRST release of the patch. This is kind of like an beta-version of the game. It will NOT include extra DLC (despite the FAQ), it will originally cover just the VC3-E2 edition as there will need to be massive editing to shrink the text to fit in the original version of VC3. The entire script may not be translated (say about 90% will be) in this first release of the patch. Currently, we do have text that is not translated, and I know of one in-game-item that is still in Japanese. What will be in English are the interface menus, and story events (main and character). I am frantically working on the mission objectives (there are over a 178 of them) so that game is fully playable in English in this upcoming patch. Editing is necessary on all story events both because of translation, story continuity and for spacing (this is pain cause our translations actually get cut off) so this is something that the team is also working hard at.

I humbly ask that you temper your expectations (i.e 100% finished PERFECT TRANSLATION in 2 weeks), but at the same time I am sure you will all enjoy playing it in English. I don’t blame you guys “two weeks” isn’t a lot to go on, but at the same time we want to keep a low profile.