I've just finished going through Check 5.
Since DLBP's gone and made the spreadsheet public anyway, I think I'll use this opportunity to give a small behind-the-scenes glimpse at what sort of work goes into this project. Making a great localization really is a lot more in-depth than just translating the entire script line-by-line... not that doing that is such an easy task in itself, Luksy put a lot of work into the initial translation that Beacause uses as a starting point. But even after that, a good deal more work goes into polishing it, into making it something that everyone who worked on can be proud of.
The first two tabs, "Questions for Luksy" and "Final questions for Luksy" are pretty much what it sounds like. As Luksy actually knows Japanese, while DLPB and I do not (though we do have limited understanding of some of its quirks and know what to look out for), this is to make sure the retranslation is as accurate as possible. DLPB has put a ton of work into rewriting dialogue to be more natural based on Luksy's original literal translations, but it's important that this rewriting doesn't actually harm the meaning of any given line.
"Covarr's Grammar Check" through "Check 4" are my comments on the raw script after DLPB's rewrites. I am typically on the lookout for regional slang/expressions, correct use of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, anything that doesn't flow naturally, anything I don't understand, etc. These were done after being run through DLPB's text replacer (the same one used in installer) to change UK spelling to US, accurate names to canon names, etc. to make sure that no strings of text were missed in the replacer. There were a few cases where the text replacer was overzealous and actually created new misspellings, and having someone check pre-replaced US/canon text was important in preventing these errors in the final version.
"Check 5" follows a different format, with DLPB asking his own questions and me giving responses. As with the first four, the emphasis is on natural English and correct grammar, as accuracy-related questions go to Luksy, not me. In addition to this, we have kept regular contact on IRC. I've lost count of the number of questions I've answered live that didn't make it onto the spreadsheet. I'd imagine DLPB and Luksy have maintained similar contact for accuracy-related matters.
It may sound as if I'm tooting my own horn here. The fact is, I have put quite a bit of work into this just in terms of helping polish things... and even that is a mere fraction of what DLPB and Luksy have done. Hopefully this look into the proofing and polishing process was interesting, and sheds some light on why this thing has taken so long.
