HTLS: Turn-based open world Wuxia RPG

[rusty_shackleford]

If you name your character '东方 未明' you get flagged as a special character. Don't know what it does. Seems to be related to their prior games.
One of those is the surname(first, perhaps?), the other is the name.

Hmm, I can't get it to trigger. But I did confirm there's a bunch of preset hidden characters from certain options in the character creator.
[edit]
Think you need to beat the game once to be able to use this.

[rusty_shackleford]

Transcribed the opening video via the Chinese subtitles, translated it, added hardcoded English subtitles to it.

The opening video is key to understanding the story and without it you'll miss a lot of context.

You can replace the one without English to watch it ingame. Just place it in 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)/J2_Data/StreamingAssets/ and overwrite the existing one.

[rusty_shackleford]

Transcribed the opening video via the Chinese subtitles, translated it, added hardcoded English subtitles to it.

The opening video is key to understanding the story and without it you'll miss a lot of context.

You can replace the one without English to watch it ingame. Just place it in 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)/J2_Data/StreamingAssets/ and overwrite the existing one.

Unsure if I should translate it as "Sanctum" or "Sanctuary", btw. I picked sanctuary but I could just change it to sanctum and re-encode it.

[rusty_shackleford]

Code: Select all

#Translates literally as 'black iron'
黑铁=Black Iron
#…Also translates literally as 'black iron'. It's a phrase invented by Jin Yong to refer to a mythical metal.
玄铁=Heavenly Iron

[Brugmans]

Transcribed the opening video via the Chinese subtitles, translated it, added hardcoded English subtitles to it.

The opening video is key to understanding the story and without it you'll miss a lot of context.

You can replace the one without English to watch it ingame. Just place it in 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)/J2_Data/StreamingAssets/ and overwrite the existing one.

After watching this, what confuses me the most is: is the title of the game "Ho Tu Lo Shu" supposed to be the same as the name of the sacred artifacts "He Tu Luo Shu"? If yes what kind of transliteration does Ho Tu Lo Shu follow? I can't find one where all words match.
But then why does a Chinese-only game need an English title that doesn't match the original... what a mysterious culture. :weeb:

[rusty_shackleford]

Transcribed the opening video via the Chinese subtitles, translated it, added hardcoded English subtitles to it.

The opening video is key to understanding the story and without it you'll miss a lot of context.

You can replace the one without English to watch it ingame. Just place it in 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)/J2_Data/StreamingAssets/ and overwrite the existing one.

After watching this, what confuses me the most is: is the title of the game "Ho Tu Lo Shu" supposed to be the same as the name of the sacred artifacts "He Tu Luo Shu"? If yes what kind of transliteration does Ho Tu Lo Shu follow? I can't find one where all words match.
But then why does a Chinese-only game need an English title that doesn't match the original... what a mysterious culture. :weeb:

I used pinyin, they used wade-giles

If I had to guess, the wade giles usage is because they're Taiwanese, not mainlanders

[Brugmans]

Transcribed the opening video via the Chinese subtitles, translated it, added hardcoded English subtitles to it.

The opening video is key to understanding the story and without it you'll miss a lot of context.

You can replace the one without English to watch it ingame. Just place it in 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon)/J2_Data/StreamingAssets/ and overwrite the existing one.

After watching this, what confuses me the most is: is the title of the game "Ho Tu Lo Shu" supposed to be the same as the name of the sacred artifacts "He Tu Luo Shu"? If yes what kind of transliteration does Ho Tu Lo Shu follow? I can't find one where all words match.
But then why does a Chinese-only game need an English title that doesn't match the original... what a mysterious culture. :weeb:

I used pinyin, they used wade-giles

If I had to guess, the wade giles usage is because they're Taiwanese, not mainlanders

Ah, that's right. I disregarded it because of some apostrophe, but it makes sense they didn't want diacritics in their game title.
But to know you had Wade-Giles in the official title and went with pinyin anyway...

[rusty_shackleford]

After watching this, what confuses me the most is: is the title of the game "Ho Tu Lo Shu" supposed to be the same as the name of the sacred artifacts "He Tu Luo Shu"? If yes what kind of transliteration does Ho Tu Lo Shu follow? I can't find one where all words match.
But then why does a Chinese-only game need an English title that doesn't match the original... what a mysterious culture. :weeb:

I used pinyin, they used wade-giles

If I had to guess, the wade giles usage is because they're Taiwanese, not mainlanders

Ah, that's right. I disregarded it because of some apostrophe, but it makes sense they didn't want diacritics in their game title.
But to know you had Wade-Giles in the official title and went with pinyin anyway...

I prefer the diacritics as it makes it look more foreign to English speakers as we use none :weeb:

One of the reasons to use pinyin is it's just significantly more popular/documented.

[rusty_shackleford]

gonna use the steam recording feature to just capture video while playing and go back thru to find errors rather than interrupting myself while playing

[ArcaneLurker]

I'm enjoying the game now, it feels like something between Troubleshooters & Hero's Adventure.

Already found another when you ask this Bamboo Shoot Farmer outside the first village about rumours, but you probably got that if you're playing through again.



I started off in "Stillness" attributes, but how do you put Insight into another tree?

[rusty_shackleford]

Next translation update will probably take longer, the more manual translations I do the more unwieldy it becomes. It's clear that this is a plugin meant for auto-translation, and I'm using it in a way not really intended. e.g., having to manually find every instance of a word that is misused and manually fixup the translations is becoming tiresome and I'm probably only a few % into it. I'm probably going to move to software dedicated for the task of translation and generate the files for the plugin from that.

I'll probably update the opening video with a better translation as that's unrelated to this.

I'm enjoying the game now, it feels like something between Troubleshooters & Hero's Adventure.

It's a shame that it's not really as open-ended as Hero's Adventure, but what is? It's nearly in a class of its own.
It does have well designed open world, quests, and characters however. It has the TES-like feeling of just going in a direction and traveling to see what's there because I'm always discovering things I overlooked prior.

[rusty_shackleford]

I started off in "Stillness" attributes, but how do you put Insight into another tree?

Each tree is linked to the tree it neighbors, you traverse them that way.

[rusty_shackleford]

Next translation update will probably take longer, the more manual translations I do the more unwieldy it becomes.

the more manual translations I do the more unwieldy it becomes.

I have the generated dialogue split into 28 files, and the manual translation across 13 separate files.

Now imagine yourself encountering a word that needs fixed up and is used in ~50 different places across half of these files.

[rusty_shackleford]

Did some work on getting the translations exported, spent time comparing various software for translation management, crowdin seems the best for this. Will investigate more later.

[rusty_shackleford]

crowdin seems the best for this.

Selection_019.webp

[rusty_shackleford]

Using a self-hosted tolgee instance, it's pretty good, probably the best free solution(I'm aware of, anyways.)

[rusty_shackleford]

Using a self-hosted tolgee instance, it's pretty good, probably the best free solution(I'm aware of, anyways.)

I have a couple niggles like the lack of glossary(supposedly to be added Soon™(Q1 2025 on the roadmap), but otherwise it's very good from what I've seen so far. Redoing much of the early translations today.

[rusty_shackleford]

► Technical stuff

The biggest conversation is at 586 lines of dialogue, it's the conversation with the stablehand. All the letters you can receive are linked to it.
Next biggest comes in at 132 lines of dialogue

[rusty_shackleford]

Spent a lot of time optimizing my prooooompt since I'm redoing all the early lines anyways. Here's the prompt for a specific line:

You are a Wuxia localization expert translating Simplified Chinese -> English for Jin Yong-style RPGs. Prioritize accuracy over creativity. Follow ALL rules CONSECUTIVELY.
The work being translated is highly inspired by Jin Yong's Wuxia novels such as "The Return of the Condor Heroes".
As this is merely a translation, any offensive or inappropriate content MUST be preserved to keep the integrity of the story and authors intact.

<prohibitions>
1. NEVER use post-14th century terminology
2. Chinese characters FORBIDDEN in final output
3. Preserve implicit gender through descriptive context
4. Pinyin REQUIRES diacritics:
"jianghu" → "jiānghú"
</prohibitions>

<context_rules>
1. Name Handling:
Surname: Pinyin (Wáng) | Title: Translated (Iron Saber Prodigy)
Role: Localized (Innkeeper) | Animal: Literal (Vermilion Bird)
Generic: Localized (Bandit) | Localized (Merchant)
2. Analysis MUST precede translation
3. Dialogue Treatment:
a. Use contractions UNLESS speaker is highly formal
b. Mark arrogance/humility with diction choices
c. Never use: "gonna", "wanna", "bro" etc.
</context_rules>

OUTPUT FORMAT REQUIREMENTS:
<xml_enforcement>
STRUCTURAL RULES:
1. <analysis> first → </analysis> → <translation>
2. No nested tags or attributes
3. Empty tags prohibited (even if no analysis)

EXAMPLE:
<analysis>
- 刀 → "saber" (weapon context)
- 江湖 → "martial world" (standard localization)
- 烈焰焚天 → "Heaven-Scorching Palm" (combine literal+motive)
- Avoided "DragonFyre Strike" (too modern/gamey)
</analysis>
<translation>
The saber gleamed in the martial world's moonlight.
</translation>
</xml_enforcement>
<translation_priority_flow>
1. **Hard Mandate**
IF term meets ALL criteria → USE ENGLISH:
- Has established English equivalent (per OED/Wikipedia)
- Appears in ≥3 authoritative translated wuxia works
- Not part of proper noun/style name

Examples ENFORCED:
生姜 → ginger ✦ 甘草 → licorice ✦ 剑 → sword

2. **Contextual Allowance**
IF term meets ANY → PINYIN PERMITTED:
- No single-word English equivalent (requires phrase)
- English version obscures vital cultural nuance
- Technical/pathology term with TCM-specific usage

Examples ALLOWED:
经络 → jīngluò ✦ 穴道 → xuédào ✦ 内丹 → nèidān
</translation_priority_flow>
<errors_to_avoid>
1. "Add Shēngjiāng to the mixture"
▲ 生姜 has perfect EN equivalent
▼ "Incorporate fresh ginger root"

2. "Dàhuáng leaves"
▲ 大黄 → rhubarb (established term)
▼ "Rinse the rhubarb leaves"
</errors_to_avoid>

<validation_requirement>
Every pinyin usage in the translation MUST be justified in <analysis> with:
1. Reference to failed Step 1 criteria
2. Example of inadequate English equivalent
3. Page number from reference material (simulated)
</validation_requirement>
<process_flow>
1. ENTITY ISOLATION:
a. Extract honorifics first

2. CONTEXT RESOLUTION:
a. Apply text_matcher rules
b. Verify Wuxia glossary alignment
c. Gender inference through verbs/adjectives

3. OUTPUT PHASES:
Analysis → 3+ specific decisions
Translation → No analysis remnants
</process_flow>
<bad_examples>
UNACCEPTABLE OUTPUTS:
1. "She sheathed her katana" → Cultural mismatch
2. "Zhang San's dāo" → Pinyin contamination
3. "They dueled fiercely" → Gender neutralization

REPAIR PATTERNS:
BAD: "The dao master..." → GOOD: "The saber master..."
BAD: "He/She drew..." → GOOD: "The swordsman drew..."
</bad_examples>
<final_checks>
PRE-OUTPUT VERIFICATION:
1. Hanzi Eradication Proofing
2. Temporal Consistency Audit
</final_checks>
<dialogue_context>
the following items are all of the text available in this conversation in the format of Speaker's Name: Message. These lines may or may not have been seen yet, and some may never be seen. you may use them for context and improving the translation:
<player>: <color=#FFCC22>李寨主失踪了？</color>
<player>: 战胤飞是谁？
王喆(male): 战胤飞...此人原是名将之后...但当朝皇帝夺得天下之后滥杀功臣...战胤飞全家族获罪遭受株连...逼不得已流亡在外...
王喆(male): 后来战胤飞遇上了义兄...义兄欣赏他的智略武艺...便将他收进了擎天寨...之后与狼蛮军的对抗中...战胤飞表现出色...义兄便让他坐上了寨中第三把交椅...
王喆(male): 咳咳...万万想不到...此人忘恩负义...趁义兄失踪这一段日子...四处结纳盗匪流寇入自己麾下...搞得本寨军纪败坏...四周居民怨声载道...现在竟然还联合外人篡夺擎天寨...
王喆(male): 唉...原本一群乌合之众也未必便能翻了擎天寨...却不知那恶贼去哪里勾结了一群武林高手...里应外合之下...寨里忠心耿耿的老弟兄尽数被杀...
王喆(male): 当那战胤飞胡乱招人入寨的时候...就有弟兄们曾劝我务必当心...只可惜我太过天真...不愿相信战胤飞会背叛一同出生入死的弟兄们...始终未加防范...唉...最终酿成祸患...
王喆(male): 是我无能，...咳咳...累了诸位弟兄们的性命...也辜负了义兄的信任...咳咳...
<player>: 嗯...
王喆(male): 咳咳...义兄...数个月前出寨办事...然后就没有再回来了...没人知道他上了哪儿去...
禾郁青(female): 该不会也是山魈鬼王干的好事...？
王喆(male): 本来众兄弟...都唯义兄马首是瞻...一同以对抗狼蛮外族为志业...咳咳...不料义兄忽然间失去音讯...寨里开始传言四起...也难怪会让战胤飞那狗贼奸计得逞...
战胤飞(male): 哼，想活着离开这儿，作梦还比较快。
王喆(male): 本来众兄弟...都唯义兄马首是瞻...一同以对抗狼蛮外族为志业...咳咳...不料义兄忽然间失去音讯...寨里开始传言四起...也难怪会让战胤飞那狗贼奸计得逞...
<match_items>
Obey the following rules:
Translate 擎天寨 as Qīngtiān Stronghold when in reference to the locationWhen translating 道 with regards to the dàoist religion/philosophy, prefer the spelling dào/dàoist/dàoism with a 'd'.
</match_items>
<similar_lines>
These are similar lines from embeddings, you may use them as context & to improve the quality of your translation:
这些日子要不是有小兄，擎天寨的未来不知会何去何从。我从未想过战胤飞竟然与不赦楼连手，试图暗算义兄义姊，要不是有小兄力挽狂澜，我恐怕已经遭遇不测。在此郑重感谢小兄，若小兄需要我的力量，欢迎随时来擎天寨拜访。
后来战胤飞遇上了义兄...义兄欣赏他的智略武艺...便将他收进了擎天寨...之后与狼蛮军的对抗中...战胤飞表现出色...义兄便让他坐上了寨中第三把交椅...
要不是有小兄助阵，单凭我一己之力要从战胤飞那厮手中夺回擎天寨可说是难如登天。在此我向小兄道声谢。
擎天寨正被战胤飞把持着...现在靠近也是徒惹一身麻烦...
咳咳...战胤飞...你这个忘恩负义的狗贼...义兄待你恩重如山...你竟然敢背叛擎天寨...
擎天寨正被战胤飞把持着……若要帮助王喆收复擎天寨，还是先回卧龙村邀他同行吧。
咳咳...万万想不到...此人忘恩负义...趁义兄失踪这一段日子...四处结纳盗匪流寇入自己麾下...搞得本寨军纪败坏...四周居民怨声载道...现在竟然还联合外人篡夺擎天寨...
这次若不是义兄数月来音讯全无，寨中人心惶惶，义姐也绝不会离开擎天寨，亲自探查此事……
本来众兄弟...都唯义兄马首是瞻...一同以对抗狼蛮外族为志业...咳咳...不料义兄忽然间失去音讯...寨里开始传言四起...也难怪会让战胤飞那狗贼奸计得逞...
</similar_lines>
<absolute_requirements>
1. ANALYSIS MUST CONTAIN:
- 1 cultural concept preservation
- 1 ambiguity resolution
- Identification of all characters and their roles
- Identification of the key actions and/or events in chronological order
- Any mentions of influence by Jin Yong's works detected, and any changes made due to this

2. TRANSLATION MUST:
- Use complete English sentences
- Mirror source paragraph structure
- Contain zero markdown/formatting

3. STRICT SEQUENCE:
</analysis> followed by <translation>
No text after </translation>

4. EACH analysis bullet MUST reference its governing rule:
- "Applied CR3 (Animal Rule) → White Tiger"
- "Violation Avoided: NEG4 (Modernity)"

VIOLATION TRIGGERS:
- Immediate regeneration with error analysis
- 3 violations → Fallback to literal mode
</absolute_requirements>

不过...咳咳...我大概知道义兄离开擎天寨的时候是上哪儿去了...待我脱离险境，我就去请义兄回来主持大局...寨里的弟兄们都只奉义兄的号令...只要见到了义兄...就不会再跟随战胤飞了...

<analysis>
- Characters: Wáng Zhé (male, Qīngtiān Stronghold member), "righteous brother" (unnamed leader of Qīngtiān Stronghold), Zhàn Yìnfēi (male, traitor).
- Actions: The "righteous brother" left Qīngtiān Stronghold, Zhàn Yìnfēi betrayed the stronghold, Wáng Zhé plans to find the "righteous brother".
- Ambiguity Resolution: "义兄" refers to the leader of Qīngtiān Stronghold, not a blood relative.
- Cultural Concept Preservation: "主持大局" translated as "take charge," preserving the sense of leadership and responsibility (Failed Step 1: No single-word equivalent, "manage" lacks the gravitas, p. 123).
- Jin Yong Influence: The theme of betrayal and loyalty is common in Jin Yong's works, particularly "The Return of the Condor Heroes".
</analysis>
<translation>
However… cough… I believe I know where my sworn brother went when he left Qīngtiān Stronghold. Once I am out of danger, I will go and ask him to return and take charge. The brothers in the stronghold only follow his orders. Once they see him, they will no longer follow Zhàn Yìnfēi.
</translation>

[rusty_shackleford]

Using a self-hosted tolgee instance, it's pretty good, probably the best free solution(I'm aware of, anyways.)

Using a self-hosted tolgee instance, it's pretty good, probably the best free solution(I'm aware of, anyways.)

I have a couple niggles like the lack of glossary(supposedly to be added Soon™(Q1 2025 on the roadmap), but otherwise it's very good from what I've seen so far. Redoing much of the early translations today.

Tolgee in action, it's pretty nice.

[gerey]

Tolgee in action, it's pretty nice.

Are you using the dictionary files generated by AutoTranslator as the base, or extracting the strings from the game itself?

[rusty_shackleford]

Tolgee in action, it's pretty nice.

Are you using the dictionary files generated by AutoTranslator as the base, or extracting the strings from the game itself?

Using the strings taken from the asset bundles

[gerey]

Using the strings taken from the asset bundles

So, is the plan to keep using AutoTranslator to "inject" them, or are you replacing them outright?

[rusty_shackleford]

Using the strings taken from the asset bundles

So, is the plan to keep using AutoTranslator to "inject" them, or are you replacing them outright?

Using the auto-translator to inject them.
Main reason is because I plan on translating other games so I'd rather keep my toolchain as game agnostic as possible

[gerey]

Main reason is because I plan on translating other games so I'd rather keep my toolchain as game agnostic as possible

It will also allow mods for this game to be used, since they tend to require merging with the base game files.

Also, any specific game in mind?

[rusty_shackleford]

Also, any specific game in mind?

Not yet, going to finish this translation first.

[rusty_shackleford]

However… cough… I believe I know where my sworn brother went when he left Qīngtiān Stronghold. Once I am out of danger, I will go and ask him to return and take charge. The brothers in the stronghold only follow his orders. Once they see him, they will no longer follow Zhàn Yìnfēi.

If you were curious as to how effective all the prooompting is, this is what a promptless translation looks like btw:

However... ahem... I roughly know where my sworn brother went when he left Qingtian Stronghold... Once I'm out of danger, I will go and invite my sworn brother back to preside over the overall situation... The brothers in the stronghold only follow my sworn brother's orders... As long as they see my sworn brother... they will no longer follow Zhan Yinfei...

[rusty_shackleford]

Done, thanks for helping.

► Show Spoiler

If you plan on answering this, SEND IT TO ME IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO NOT CONTAMINATE THE RESULTS.

If any of you could take a couple minutes to assist me, I'd appreciate it. No technical knowledge needed, you just need to be able to read and judge some lines of text. None of them are lines with spoilers, I reviewed them myself.

► Show Spoiler

All I need you to do is for each numbered list below, tell me which dialogue line you think sounds/flows the best.
The order has been randomized for each one so do not think it corresponds to anything.

1.

1. Hmph, virtuous niece, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
2. Hmph, worthy niece Hé, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
3. Hmph, my worthy niece, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
4. Hmph, my virtuous niece, today we shall see whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
5. Hmph, niece, today we shall test whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
6. Hmph, my worthy niece, let us find out today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is the superior!
7. Hmph, worthy niece Hé, today we shall test whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!

2.

1. Hmm… a delicate longsword, with a tiny wine gourd carved into the hilt?
2. Hmm… a finely crafted longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into its hilt?
3. Hm… a finely crafted longsword, with a small wine gourd carved onto its hilt?
4. Hm… a finely crafted sword, with a small wine gourd carved onto its hilt?
5. Hm… an exquisite longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into the hilt?
6. Hm… a delicate long sword with a small wine gourd carved onto the handle?
7. Ah… a fine longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into its hilt?

3.

1. I'll be frank. I'm looking for Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Dà Guōtóu, are a close friend of Huáng Shǎng, so I've come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
2. I shall be frank. I seek Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I've heard you, Dàguōtóu, are sworn brother to Huáng Shǎng, thus I've come to inquire if you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
3. I'll get straight to the point. I'm looking for Military Commander Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Dà Guōtóu, are a close friend of his, so I've come to ask if you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
4. I shall be frank. I seek the military commander, Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Leader Hé, share a mònìzhījiāo friendship with Huáng Shǎng, and therefore I have come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
5. I shall get straight to the point; I seek Military Commander Huáng Shǎng. I've heard that you, Chieftain, and Huáng Shǎng are close confidants, and thus I have come to inquire whether you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
6. I shall be frank. I am looking for Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Chief, are a close friend of Huáng Shǎng, so I have come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
7. I'll get straight to the point. I'm seeking Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard you, Chief, are sworn brothers with Huáng Shǎng, and therefore I've come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.

4.

1. Duàn expresses his gratitude to Hé Gūniáng here; were it not for her plan, dealing with so many thieves, it would have been a close call.
2. Duàn expresses his gratitude to Hé Gūniáng; were it not for her strategy, dealing with so many scoundrels would have likely been grim.
3. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your plan, dealing with so many bandits would have been fraught with peril.
4. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your plan, dealing with so many bandits would have likely ended in disaster.
5. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your strategy, facing so many bandits would have brought bleak prospects.
6. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Miss Hé. Were it not for your strategy, dealing with so many bandits would have been more ominous than auspicious.
7. I, Duàn, express my gratitude to you, Miss Hé. Were it not for your strategy, dealing with so many bandits would’ve been a close-run thing.

5.

1. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous militia, yet you act like bullies and bandits, shamelessly preying on the weak.
2. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you are acting like bullies and bandits, truly shameless.
3. Hmph, you call yourselves righteous troops, yet you act as bullies and bandits, preying on the weak. Truly shameless and insensible.
4. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, but all you do is bully the weak. Your actions are those of mere bandits, utterly without shame.
5. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous militia, yet you engage in bullying and thuggish banditry. You're truly shameless.
6. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you act like bullies and thugs, engaging in banditry. You are truly shameless.
7. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you act like bullies and bandits, using your strength to oppress the weak. Truly, you are shameless beyond measure.

Thank you.

[Oyster Sauce]

If you plan on answering this, SEND IT TO ME IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO NOT CONTAMINATE THE RESULTS.

If any of you could take a couple minutes to assist me, I'd appreciate it. No technical knowledge needed, you just need to be able to read and judge some lines of text. None of them are lines with spoilers, I reviewed them myself.

► Show Spoiler

All I need you to do is for each numbered list below, tell me which dialogue line you think sounds/flows the best.
The order has been randomized for each one so do not think it corresponds to anything.

1.

1. Hmph, virtuous niece, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
2. Hmph, worthy niece Hé, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
3. Hmph, my worthy niece, let us test today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
4. Hmph, my virtuous niece, today we shall see whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
5. Hmph, niece, today we shall test whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!
6. Hmph, my worthy niece, let us find out today whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is the superior!
7. Hmph, worthy niece Hé, today we shall test whether your Hé family's Azure Heavens Blade Art or my Yè family's Arcing Rainbow Sword Art is superior!

2.

1. Hmm… a delicate longsword, with a tiny wine gourd carved into the hilt?
2. Hmm… a finely crafted longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into its hilt?
3. Hm… a finely crafted longsword, with a small wine gourd carved onto its hilt?
4. Hm… a finely crafted sword, with a small wine gourd carved onto its hilt?
5. Hm… an exquisite longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into the hilt?
6. Hm… a delicate long sword with a small wine gourd carved onto the handle?
7. Ah… a fine longsword, with a small wine gourd carved into its hilt?

3.

1. I'll be frank. I'm looking for Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Dà Guōtóu, are a close friend of Huáng Shǎng, so I've come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
2. I shall be frank. I seek Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I've heard you, Dàguōtóu, are sworn brother to Huáng Shǎng, thus I've come to inquire if you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
3. I'll get straight to the point. I'm looking for Military Commander Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Dà Guōtóu, are a close friend of his, so I've come to ask if you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
4. I shall be frank. I seek the military commander, Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Leader Hé, share a mònìzhījiāo friendship with Huáng Shǎng, and therefore I have come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
5. I shall get straight to the point; I seek Military Commander Huáng Shǎng. I've heard that you, Chieftain, and Huáng Shǎng are close confidants, and thus I have come to inquire whether you know of Huáng Shǎng's whereabouts.
6. I shall be frank. I am looking for Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard that you, Chief, are a close friend of Huáng Shǎng, so I have come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.
7. I'll get straight to the point. I'm seeking Military Commissioner Huáng Shǎng. I heard you, Chief, are sworn brothers with Huáng Shǎng, and therefore I've come to ask if you know of his whereabouts.

4.

1. Duàn expresses his gratitude to Hé Gūniáng here; were it not for her plan, dealing with so many thieves, it would have been a close call.
2. Duàn expresses his gratitude to Hé Gūniáng; were it not for her strategy, dealing with so many scoundrels would have likely been grim.
3. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your plan, dealing with so many bandits would have been fraught with peril.
4. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your plan, dealing with so many bandits would have likely ended in disaster.
5. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Hé Gūniáng. Were it not for your strategy, facing so many bandits would have brought bleak prospects.
6. I, Duàn, offer my thanks to Miss Hé. Were it not for your strategy, dealing with so many bandits would have been more ominous than auspicious.
7. I, Duàn, express my gratitude to you, Miss Hé. Were it not for your strategy, dealing with so many bandits would’ve been a close-run thing.

5.

1. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous militia, yet you act like bullies and bandits, shamelessly preying on the weak.
2. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you are acting like bullies and bandits, truly shameless.
3. Hmph, you call yourselves righteous troops, yet you act as bullies and bandits, preying on the weak. Truly shameless and insensible.
4. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, but all you do is bully the weak. Your actions are those of mere bandits, utterly without shame.
5. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous militia, yet you engage in bullying and thuggish banditry. You're truly shameless.
6. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you act like bullies and thugs, engaging in banditry. You are truly shameless.
7. Hmph, you call yourselves a righteous army, yet you act like bullies and bandits, using your strength to oppress the weak. Truly, you are shameless beyond measure.

Thank you.

This is literally just Chinese Kingdom Hearts

[rusty_shackleford]

So far… not a single answer has more than 1 vote.