ＴｒｕｅＷｏｒｌｄ～真実のセカイ～ (Shinjitsu no Sekai)

About The Game

True World is a short humorous Visual Novel worth 1-2 hours of read. Conceptually it's an omake to NHK ni Youkoso! – that purported game that Sato and Yamazaki have been working on throughout the series.

As unassuming as it looks on the first glance, this is easily the best short NVL I have ever played (can't call it ADV with just 1 choice) – IMO the authors overdid what a simple omake strictly required. CG, BGM, scenario are all top notch©. Even mini-comics and the song for the credits roll are memorable and make a great conclusion.

You can grab the soundtrack (and the game) from here (magnet) or use GARbro to extract it yourself. It's amazingly athmospheric – I spent hundreds of hours on this localization while listening to it and it never palled on me.

The stories are also fitting. When I finished the first route I thought, “Well, it's not bad, it's even cute for such a small game”. Next one was a bit more “realistic” (if I can say so), still obviously grotesque but with a nice twist in the end. I pondered: “Not bad too but it worked twice now – can they possibly offer something new in the third route?” Despite the boring start, eventually it became clear that yes, they can, and that “nice twists” are the signature of this game. Else, how could a route have more than one ending while offering no choices to the player?

I will leave the answer to you. Just one advice: if you care, first go right (the BSR route), then left (the ERS route) – although it won't be the end of the world if you do the opposite (the world will end with NIE).

About This Localization

I leeched this game from some goodness forsaken Japanese file sharing network back in 2010 and reversed it along with dozens of others per my hacking frenzy of that time. Then work and other stuff came in and the thing ended up collecting dust for around twenty years until I suddenly remembered about unfinished business™ and… here you have it.

The original game lets you replay it in “draft mode” with sketches instead of art and minor typos in the text. In my opinion, it doesn't add much value so I changed replay texts to be the raw (unchecked) translation. They are very close to the original and may give an interested reader insights into the plot as the authors intended it to be – however, long texts overflow and you are better off reading them on this HTML page instead.

I fanatically tried to convey all the meanings (obvious, hidden and cross-referenced) and even tasked a Japanese native with a parallel translation so I could cross-check it with mine. However, such accuracy was not always possible and to make up for that I am publishing all source files, including original Japanese texts, my translated texts after the first pass (no QC), the native's translation and my final texts.

Engine limitations. The game is using a fixed-width font and many hardcoded values such as the limit on how much text may appear before a pause (around 500 symbols). I patched some of them but not others because they're spread all over the code. Japanese packs more meaning per character than non-hieroglyphic languages and an equivalent translation would require proportionally more symbols – yet there are scenes where the entire screen is filled with text before a pause occurs leaving very little extra room for the translation. And occasionally I'd like to add in-text TL notes which can take 1-2 more lines on their own…

So, I did my best and even took liberty to "adapt" certain passages to make them more engaging. The result (non-replay texts) might deviate from the original – but hopefully for the best!

“Uncle Anon” Edition & The Blockchain-Based Lootbox

At some point during the translation, I realized that this game is just asking to be exploited. I mean, it's already a pun and what can be more fun than going deeper with the pun?

Therefore I went ahead and in addition to the “normal” translation created a “4chan version”, a.k.a. “Uncle Anon” Edition. I mixed references to several hundreds of Internet memes into the texts (not necessary exact) and made it so that whoever first determines a triplet of memes wins a pinch of   bitcoins.

Without further ado, the formal rules (these are for nerds, read on for simple ones):

1. There are 249 memes used within the texts of all 3 routes.
2. All used memes are listed on KnowYourMeme.com.
3. Each meme is identified by two numbers: its KnowYourMeme ID (search for article class='entry' id='entry_2083' in the page's source code) and a line in this game's script (from this page).
   » For example: Zerg Rush ID is 927, Doge ID is 13564, Trollface ID is 91.
4. Memes are grouped into random triplets. Each triplet consists of 3 memes taken from any part of the game (possibly even from different routes). A meme+line pair can be used only in 1 triplet (but some memes may be used more than once in the game, on different lines).
   » For example, assume line 452 hints at Zerg Rush, line 754 at Doge, line 351 at Trollface.
5. A SHA-512 digest (raw) is calculated for each triplet, over this ASCII string: KEY1,KEY2,KEY3,
M@RbLeC@KeG@Me where KEYn is L I where L is the meme's line number and I is its KnowYourMeme ID.
   » For example, echo -n 452 927,754 13564,351 91,M@RbLeC@KeG@Me | sha512sum = 02fee8ef…
6. I have uploaded an archive with 83 files (“lootboxes”) – one file for each triplet. Each file has a (different) bitcoin private key encrypted with AES-256-CBC using key = first 32 bytes of the digest and IV = the following 16 bytes.
   » For example, echo 04e2acb7… | xxd -r -p | openssl aes-256-cbc -d -K 02fee8… -iv 37bb92…
7. You know you have decrypted a file correctly if it starts with ASCII ZomG U WiN! plus space.
8. You win a lootbox once you withdraw the entire amount from its bitcoin address.

The above rules are there so that I cannot be accused of cheating ;) A more convenient way to participate is:

1. You play through the game and/or read through its script at this page.
2. You input suspect memes (as KnowYourMeme URLs) into fields next to each line on that page.
3. To check your results you download the “answer sheet” and feed it to this small program.
4. If you guessed any loot, the program will display the private keys.
5. You import them to Electrum and send the coins to your own address.

However, bitcoins are just a pretext. Above all, I wish you have some fun with my localization!

Well then… Shall we do it?

Leaderboard

Below is a table of all triplets and current status of their keys. Once a win is recorded on the blockchain, memes constituting the corresponding triplet are unveiled.

Triplet #	Meme 1	Meme 2	Meme 3
0	L817 | the answer to life	L484 | youtube poop ytp	L253 | a cat is fine too
1	L1072 | real ultimate power	L176 | i was frozen today	L44 | has science gone too far
2	L61 | final fantasy	L614 | shit was so cash	L1081 | he will not divide us
3	L964 | moar	L14 | cracky chan	L475 | ha ha ha oh wow
4	L226 | hammer time	L165 | sandwich chef	L93 | what am i reading
5	L120 | winrar	L1072 | real ultimate power	L701 | its magic
6	L1060 | angry german kid	L334 | doug walker	L1084 | killdozer
7	L251 | pretty cool guy	L9 | duckroll	L150 | advice dog
8	L1054 | unlimited blade works	L857 | gangnam style	L954 | zalgo
9	L62 | bitches and whores	L693 | catgirls	L978 | i accidentally
10	L253 | a cat is fine too	L34 | drought prairie dog	L278 | asshole in danger
11	L388 | watamote	L458 | yaranaika	L1058 | lemon party
12	L247 | gar	L145 | winter is coming	L224 | the annoying orange
13	L327 | nevada tan	L261 | pools closed	L951 | leeroy jenkins
14	L1049 | its magic	L1047 | jizz in my pants	L966 | rage guy
15	L1075 | nedm	L1079 | asmr	L1058 | lemon party
16	L51 | mega milk	L254 | kenny glenn	L700 | its a lion
17	L686 | i dunno lol _o	L333 | did he died	L53 | simply walk into mordor
18	L288 | its over 9000	L445 | poker face rage comics	L1085 | spanish laughing guy
19	L1083 | rickroll	L921 | fsjal	L466 | fukken saved
20	L76 | brazzers	L848 | you gonna get raped	L54 | i herd u liek mudkips
21	L50 | katawa shoujo	L958 | mereana mordegard	L1060 | angry german kid
22	L288 | its over 9000	L1053 | merely a setback	L614 | shit was so cash
23	L1075 | nedm	L550 | world of warcraft	L612 | 4chan triforce
24	L856 | rules of the internet	L591 | jojos	L143 | mega milk
25	L48 | why so serious	L83 | card crusher	L829 | dangerous to go alone
26	L56 | katawa shoujo	L229 | zerg rush	L952 | nope chuck testa
27	L90 | gnaa goatse security	L57 | om nom nom nom	L74 | acoustic black metal
28	L920 | exploitables	L299 | fate type moon	L42 | english motherfucker
29	L450 | higurashi no naku	L1079 | asmr	L149 | disaster girl
30	L71 | at first i was like	L1084 | killdozer	L956 | numa numa
31	L100 | well yes but actually no	L354 | party hard	L453 | uncle b
32	L74 | acoustic black metal	L328 | the simpsons	L84 | what a twist
33	L1085 | spanish laughing guy	L1082 | jojos	L676 | mr freeman
34	L282 | stick it in her pooper	L31 | small bombs	L249 | higurashi no naku
35	L480 | i did it for the lulz	L74 | acoustic black metal	L168 | brilliant but i like this
36	L1055 | dune	L809 | heresy	L952 | nope chuck testa
37	L131 | ps3 has no games	L13 | moe	L296 | all your base
38	L502 | do a barrel roll	L86 | abridged series	L856 | rules of the internet
39	L883 | hide your power level	L82 | people die if killed	L478 | nevada tan
40	L50 | katawa shoujo	L456 | gtfo	L94 | cool story bro
41	L454 | no time to explain	L1075 | nedm	L1006 | divide by zero
42	L121 | mega milk	L123 | protect ip act	L639 | rule 34
43	L255 | katawa shoujo	L945 | get down geddan	L53 | simply walk into mordor
44	L81 | fag suffix	L819 | what will he do	L627 | mad skills
45	L76 | brazzers	L693 | catgirls	L97 | oh noes
46	L231 | kitty cat dance	L812 | boxxy	L312 | just as planned
47	L117 | nice things	L167 | doge	L330 | metal gear solid
48	L251 | pretty cool guy	L620 | ancient aliens	L239 | dont look at her
49	L125 | o rly	L491 | im meen	L852 | my trap card
50	L476 | spam	L956 | numa numa	L560 | flat is justice
51	L1075 | nedm	L380 | pingas	L1048 | should have ended
52	L6 | nyan cat	L954 | zalgo	L25 | huge like xbox
53	L517 | goodnight sweet prince	L572 | bitches dont know	L332 | five nights at freddys
54	L956 | numa numa	L242 | katawa shoujo	L418 | ermahgerd
55	L25 | huge like xbox	L1072 | real ultimate power	L956 | numa numa
56	L383 | longcat	L907 | ha ha guy	L19 | serious cat
57	L63 | youre doing it wrong	L959 | kill it with fire	L121 | mega milk
58	L52 | falcon punch	L908 | y u no guy	L17 | moonspeak
59	L263 | habbo hotel	L224 | the annoying orange	L124 | o rly
60	L215 | put that cookie down	L497 | do want do not want	L17 | moonspeak
61	L914 | crazy mean baby	L647 | fgsfds	L91 | serbia strong
62	L133 | smug anime face	L956 | numa numa	L609 | medieval tapestry edits
63	L453 | uncle b	L485 | its over 9000	L1082 | jojos
64	L489 | i had to do it to em	L245 | haters gonna hate	L894 | higurashi no naku
65	L51 | mega milk	L139 | happy cat	L857 | gangnam style
66	L571 | never have girlfriend	L855 | x grab my y	L903 | i came
67	L590 | disaster girl	L194 | where is your god	L272 | a challenger appears
68	L440 | horrifying house guest	L962 | its goofy time	L182 | caturday
69	L664 | zuul motherfucker zuul	L15 | omg	L11 | nice boat
70	L928 | smug anime face	L1074 | bleach	L209 | disregard that
71	L546 | github	L108 | y helo thar	L344 | 1337 speak
72	L1055 | dune	L110 | amirite	L286 | like skyrim with guns
73	L1082 | jojos	L111 | son i am disappoint	L361 | acoustic black metal
74	L97 | oh noes	L814 | all your base	L221 | do it faggot
75	L71 | at first i was like	L613 | action 52	L353 | welcome to internet
76	L916 | a winner is you	L1079 | asmr	L547 | slender man
77	L8 | bananaphone	L182 | caturday	L91 | serbia strong
78	L950 | its more likely	L512 | this is delicious cake	L226 | hammer time
79	L1083 | rickroll	L84 | what a twist	L169 | piero scaruffi
80	L216 | uguu	L613 | action 52	L116 | all your base
81	L77 | an hero	L909 | x x everywhere	L49 | shoop da whoop
82	L620 | ancient aliens	L86 | abridged series	L794 | inglip

Technical Notes

Finally, a brief overview of the game engine and localization machinery. For details, refer to the archive.

The engine itself is fairly minimalistic and yet it's unclear if it was written specifically for this game or not – the game is not using all of its features (like voice support or game saves) but hardcoded values suggest the engine was at least adapted for it. There are no distinctive strings identifying the engine. It's also very old (the README too claims support for WIn98) and, erm, aggressively non-Unicode.

Like most engines of that time (ahem, ahem… RealLive), this one is using custom formats for basically everything: graphics are CRX files (CRXG magic, ZLib-compressed data), audio is PCM (XPCM magic, uncompressed PCM data with custom headers), scripts are MES (no magic).

Script files' format is straightforward (it's not some ISM SCRIPT of Sisters with dozens of fields in the header, 4 tables and a whole stack-based interpreter with 122 opcodes). A file starts with a single jump table followed by the bytecode stream. Each opcode is 1 byte long and there are 89 opcodes overall. Some strings (in particular the ones that the player sees – opcodes 4D, 4E, 4F) are obfuscated by subtracting 32 from the ordinal value of the character.

As for the limitations which I mentioned above, the engine has almost everything hardcoded – font names, font sizes, window dimensions, display line length, line height, bytecode length, etc. etc. Most troublesome is the fact that a string meant for output must not be longer than 0x400 bytes and due to the way the engine and my localization hook work every symbol is encoded as 2 bytes (even for pure English texts) so the real limit is around 500 characters, and then you also have to pre-wrap it… If I were to do this again, I would focus on porting the game to another engine rather than trying to localize this one.

Anyway, to work around most annoying problems I made a localization hook which is patching the engine's code on runtime by injecting a DLL into the main process. The DLL:

• Modifies the import table to intercept calls to CreateFont for substituting hardcoded font parameters with ones that look better for Western languages.
• Intercepts CreateFile to slip in the translated scripts (which are stored within the resource section of the DLL and extracted to %TEMP% when needed).
• Breaks into the engine's character sizing algorithm to make it respect proportional fonts… at least this was the plan. It worked but I had to revert to using a monospaced font (Lucida Console) because it looked horrible due to some rendering glitches.
• Allows the game to run in any locale – some minor texts (like window title) may be junk in non-English (non-Russian, etc.) locale but the main novel's text always looks properly (GetGlyphOutlineA is rerouted to GetGlyphOutlineW).

Lastly, MES.rb (a Ruby script) extracts and replaces texts within MES files. It also takes care of wrapping the lines before insertion – ideally this should be done by the engine on runtime according to screen width and font properties but the hook was already too much a contraption, I was short on free time and besides, I had to forego the idea of using a proportional font anyway.