Credits (Crysis) - MobyGames

Sciere (933910) on 11/17/2007 12:07 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Credits can rarely be extracted as text files. Using manual scans or in-game screenshots, it usually leads to a tedious task of copying them one by one. We all go through it every now and then, for the greater good.

tarmo888 (5257) on 12/30/2007 3:20 PM · Permalink · Report

I once had a crazy idea to translate Airport Tycoon to my own native language (got over half done in the end).

Somehow i found files that had translations in them, but those files were "encrypted" :D
They were using ROT13 or EBG13 :)

I don't know how i found out about that method (i did have clue about newsgroups then), but i managed to write a little script that converted those texts.

I also found Credits in those translation files, but credits were on file here for that game then, I think... but maybe i wasn't using Mobygames back then.

Moral for story - try to open some files with notepad :P

Dae (7206) on 11/17/2007 11:30 PM · Permalink · Report

If it's a PC game, I always try to extract and convert it to a format any video player can play, then I'll just go through the credits and pause if it's scrolling faster than what I can write. If not, I can usually take screenshots out of it and use them to write the credits down. Same for console games (especially NDS and PSP), I just put up a digital camera in a certain angle and let the credits roll while recording a video.

dreamstealer (126) on 11/20/2007 10:15 PM · Permalink · Report

you can use fraps to record it.

tarmo888 (5257) on 11/23/2007 11:23 PM · Permalink · Report

there is one trick:

while credits are scrolling, make screenshots so you get all the credits with as less as possible duplicates. if background of the credits are black (and text is white) then you are in luck, if not, then decrease color depth (use IrfanView or some other batch editing tool) to 2-6 colors on every screenshot. and finally use some OCR software (usually comes with scanner) to recognize all the text on screenshots.

i have done credits for only 14 games, but i used this method on most of them.

St. Martyne (3648) on 11/24/2007 7:00 AM · Permalink · Report

For me it's usually easier to print the credits and enter them manually separated by commas then copy/paste every freakin' name.

DJP Mom (11333) on 11/24/2007 3:22 PM · Permalink · Report

I screenshot them, open MobyGames in another window and type away, with another tab open to Extended ASCII to look up codes for accents, foreign language symbols etc.

Shoddyan (15007) on 12/30/2007 2:44 AM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start tarmo888 wrote--]there is one trick:

while credits are scrolling, make screenshots so you get all the credits with as less as possible duplicates. if background of the credits are black (and text is white) then you are in luck, if not, then decrease color depth (use IrfanView or some other batch editing tool) to 2-6 colors on every screenshot. and finally use some OCR software (usually comes with scanner) to recognize all the text on screenshots.

i have done credits for only 14 games, but i used this method on most of them. [/Q --end tarmo888 wrote--]

If I had a "Move thread to another forum" tool... I'd use it here. Care to recommend any particular OCR software? For myself, I could see this saving me time on a couple of games where I have the credits screenshotted.

tarmo888 (5257) on 12/30/2007 2:56 PM · Permalink · Report

My Canon Multi-Function Printer had Omnipage software included. I don't remember if i tweaked some settings or not, but i have got error-free results with that many times.

I also have tried ABBYY FineReader OCR long time ago and i think it was also pretty good.

there are some listed at Wikipedia too.

Indra was here (20745) on 1/2/2008 6:42 PM · Permalink · Report

Ah, the evident struggles our distingushed MG users go through just to collect Moby Points. Yay!

Foxhack (32137) on 1/2/2008 7:23 PM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start tarmo888 wrote--]My Canon Multi-Function Printer had Omnipage software included. I don't remember if i tweaked some settings or not, but i have got error-free results with that many times.

I also have tried ABBYY FineReader OCR long time ago and i think it was also pretty good.

there are some listed at Wikipedia too. [/Q --end tarmo888 wrote--]

Omnipage isn't freeware. :(

I've heard some good things about Microsoft Office Document Imaging, but it's only available with newer versions of Office XP.

Black_Rose (33) on 1/2/2008 8:53 PM · Permalink · Report

How can you screenshot credits from an ingame credits list? I always read the manuel, but the game manuels these days, you hardly ever get the credits at back of book.

Shoddyan (15007) on 1/2/2008 9:05 PM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Black Rose wrote--]How can you screenshot credits from an ingame credits list? I always read the manuel, but the game manuels these days, you hardly ever get the credits at back of book. [/Q --end Black Rose wrote--]

It depends on the game, I still have quite a few manuals that do feature paper but it depends. From a publishing perspective, credits in the manual (or even including a manual at all) requires money to be spent on paper, ink and possibly typesetting/design multiplied by the number of copies made. By contrast, including the same information in-game often only adds a couple of KB or MB to the game's total file size, which is already a known cost for production.

How do you take screenshots? Well in windows the easiest method is to open Start Menu > Accessories > Clipboard Viewer. Then start your game and hit the PRINT SCREEN button... the image in the Clipboard will be replaced each time.

However easy doesn't mean conveinant and most people prefer something with a few more options than Clipboard Viewer (like being able to store more than one image at a time). I've been meaning to put together a comprehensive list, but Hypersnap DX is a good program (Shareware, leaves watermarks if not registered). Smartison screencopy is a simple open-source screen capture tool that I have to admit I don't use very much. Even FRAPS (Shareware, leaves watermarks if not registered) can be used to make movies of many games and from those, screenshots can be taken.

There's also a small section in the Mobygames FAQ dealing with how to capture screenshots. Hmmm, that section's better written than I thought. Good job to whomever authored that ;)

Cry-Marcel on 1/14/2008 9:54 AM · Permalink · Report

I have an Excel sheet of crysis credits. Can someone add them? I tried it, but it didn't really worked. Just send me a p.m. and I send you the file via email. The crysis team would really appreciate it :)

Thank you guys!

St. Martyne (3648) on 1/14/2008 10:04 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

Have you compiled this Excel sheet yourself? Or does it come from an outside source?

When entering credits at Moby you should have a certain reference for an approver to rely to. Manual or in-game shots will do the trick, Excel files with the credits copied from somewhere else won't.

Cry-Marcel on 1/14/2008 10:29 AM · Permalink · Report

I received it directly from the development director :) I am really uncomfortable with the fact that I have to ask other people to add our credits, but everybody is to busy or just to lacy to do it. So I decided to do it, but yeah ... you know :/

Indra was here (20745) on 1/14/2008 10:50 AM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Cry-Marcel wrote--]I received it directly from the development director :) [/Q --end Cry-Marcel wrote--]

Nope. That won't work either. Scanned manual shots or ingame screenshots are highly prefereble. Which is why I'm currently ignoring all those PC credit submissions lacking them. :p

Cry-Marcel on 1/14/2008 11:26 AM · Permalink · Report

Eveybody who wants to add the credits feel free to contact me. It's the official list we send to EA after gold master. That's all I can do right know :)

Cheers, Marcel.

Sciere (933910) on 1/14/2008 12:14 PM · Permalink · Report

Those text or excel files are in fact fine, especially when they are sent for the gold master. It makes it even easier to copy and paste them.

s bender (2) on 2/7/2008 5:09 PM · Permalink · Report

I understand the credit list was posted and removed for this game. Can someone clarify why that was?

Sciere (933910) on 2/7/2008 5:30 PM · Permalink · Report

St_Martyne started working on them, and he got pretty far, had almost all of them entered, but he abandoned the submission for no specified reason on 14th January. Currently, no one seems to be working on the list. I can still get the credits back to St_Martyne if he wants to finish it.

St. Martyne (3648) on 2/12/2008 5:23 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Sciere wrote--]St_Martyne started working on them, and he got pretty far, had almost all of them entered, but he abandoned the submission for no specified reason on 14th January. Currently, no one seems to be working on the list. I can still get the credits back to St_Martyne if he wants to finish it. [/Q --end Sciere wrote--]

Rats.

Yeah, I wanted to finish it, but got separated from the global communications system (read Internet) for some time. I don't know why it got abandoned, though.

I would definitely want to finish 'em. I am so sorry I messed it up.