The Custom Translator journey to be on the leading edge of machine translation technology continues.

In early August 2020, we started our Custom Translator upgrade from Long Short-Term Memory (aka LSTM) based neural machine translation architecture (or V1) to our Microsoft Translator’s state-of-the-art Transformer based architecture (or V2). V2 is the same translation architecture which powers the standard uncustomized Translator API, as well as translation in Microsoft Office 365, Speech, Bing.com/translator, Edge, and more.

The August release enabled customers to use the dictionary (phrase or sentence) document type to build custom models on top of the V2 platform for a quick translation quality improvement over the V1 platform.

Today, Custom Translator completed the full V2 platform upgrade to deliver an even bigger translation quality gain than before. Customers can now build custom models with all document types (Training, Testing, Tuning, Phrase Dictionary and Sentence Dictionary) using full text documents, like Office documents, PDFs, HTML and plain text.

With this release, enterprises, small and medium sized businesses, app developers, and language service providers can build advanced custom neural translation systems that respect their defined business terminology and seamlessly integrate those systems into existing or new applications, workflows, and websites to attract customers and grow the business.

We put every new baseline language model through a rigorous human evaluation process to ensure the translation quality continues to meet high standards on generic input across all domains. However, with custom trained specialized translation systems, customers can achieve much higher adherence to the domain-specific terminology and style by training a custom translation system on previously translated, in-domain documents. These previously translated documents allow Custom Translator to learn the preferred translations in context, so Translator can apply these terms and phrases when the context calls for it, and produce a fluent translation in the target language, respecting the context-dependent grammar of the target language.

Benefits of the upgrade

We use BLEU score (a standard way in the research community) to measure the translation quality of a newly trained baseline model. A one or two BLEU point gain is a worthy achievement. The Custom Translator V2 platform upgrade will deliver significant improvements when compared to the previous V1 platform. The bar chart below depicts the translation quality BLEU score improvement for some domains and the impact of training dataset size.

Sample domains translation quality BLEU score when using standard Translator, Custom Translator V1, and Custom Translator V2.
Training dataset size in thousands (‘auto-28k’ means 28,000 parallel sentences for the automotive domain)

It is important to note that actual quality improvement is dependent upon customer data quality, training dataset size, and domain coverage.

“We’re hoping that translation through a neural network will not only boost quality and speed, but also offer advances in the evaluation of big data,” said Nikolas Meyer-Aun, Head of Quality and Supplier Management for Languages at Volkswagen AG

Custom Translator will offer FREE upgrade to V2. You can retrain one model per project in a workspace to the V2 platform at no charge. When you view a project, you should see a message if you still have free upgrade credit for that project. The offer starts today and ends on January 31, 2021. After January 31, 2021, normal training charges apply for each retraining.

You can learn more about the upgrade to version 2 in the FAQ below.

FAQ

1. What are you releasing in V2?
   We are releasing a Custom Translator platform upgrade (V2) to deliver significant translation quality improvements using Microsoft’s state-of-the-art neural machine translation architecture. The user experience remains the same as in V1. There is nothing new to learn, just better translations. For a quick refresher, please watch this Quick-Start video.
2. What is the benefit of upgrading a currently deployed model to the V2 platform?
   Significantly improved translation quality; the Custom Translator V2 platform upgrade will deliver significant improvement over standard Translator and the previous V1 platform. The bar chart above shows the translation quality BLEU scores for some common domains and the impact of training dataset size.
3. How do I use my FREE upgrade to V2 credit?
   When you view a project details, a free credit message becomes visible (see images below) and will continue to be visible until you either successfully retrain a model or the offer ends on January 31, 2021.
   

   

   

   

4. How do I upgrade my deployed (or undeployed) custom models to the V2 platform?
   If you have a deployed or undeployed dictionary-only model that was retrained after August 3, 2020, it has already been upgraded to the V2 platform. Otherwise, you should launch a new model training. Once the new model is successfully trained, the “Swap” button will be visible. Click “Swap” to deploy the new model. Note: “Swap” button enables no-downtime deployment. That is, all translation requests will continue to be served by the previous model until the new model is deployed and functional, then the new model will serve new translation requests and the previous model will be undeployed.
5. Can I continue to re-deploy V1 custom models after the V2 platform upgrade?
   Yes. We understand there may be reasons customers would want to continue using models trained on the V1 platform. V1 models can run on the V2 platform. In the future, V1 models will not be re-deployable. Note: Once you retrain a V1 model, the new model will be on the V2 platform. The “Model” tab will show all new (V2) and previous (V1) models.
6. I’m new to customizing translations, how do I get started using Custom Translator?
   To build a custom model, watch the Quick-Start video above and refer to the documentation on docs.microsoft.com: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/cognitive-services/translator/custom-translator/overview

What you can do with Microsoft Custom Translator

Build custom models with your domain specific terminology and translate real-time using the Microsoft Translator API.

Use Microsoft Custom Translator with your translation solutions to help globalize your business and improve customer interactions.

For more information on Microsoft Translator solutions please visit: https://www.microsoft.com/translator/business.

News | Bungie.net”>

News | Bungie.net”>

Online fraud, hate speech, discrimination and other divisive online risks are on the rise globally, according to results of a new Microsoft study. We’re releasing these findings in conjunction with World Kindness Day in an effort to turn that tide and encourage safer, more empathetic and tolerant online interactions among all people.

Some 31% of respondents in 32 countries¹ say they’ve been exposed to hoaxes, scams and fraud online, up two percentage points from last year, and up three percentage points since the fraud risk was first included in this study in 2017. Meanwhile, one in five respondents (20%) say they’ve been the target of hate speech online, and 15% say they’ve experienced discrimination. These latter two risks are up four and five percentage points, respectively, since the survey began in 2016. All three risks are at their highest levels on record for this research.

Strangers and people whom respondents say they know online only continue to be the primary sources of digital risk – a theme that has prevailed since 2016. In fact, anonymous bullying-type behaviors jumped in this latest poll. Among those respondents who said they had been subjected to bullying, harassment or mean and cruel treatment online ­– 33%, 47% and 37%, respectively – said those behaviors were exhibited by strangers. Still, risks from those identified as “friends” have been inching steadily higher, as well. This year, 22% of respondents said risks were perpetrated by friends, compared to 13% four years ago when 14 countries were included in the research.

The findings are from Microsoft’s latest research into aspects of digital civility – encouraging safer, healthier and more respectful online interactions. The study, Civility, Safety and Interaction Online – 2020, surveyed teens ages 13-17 and adults ages 18-74 about their exposure to 21² different online risks. This latest research builds on similar studies undertaken each year since 2016. Previous years’ projects polled the same demographics in 14, 22, 23, and 25 countries, respectively. In total, 16,051 individuals participated in this latest installment, and we’ve polled more than 58,000 people over the last five years. Complete results will be made available in conjunction with international Safer Internet Day on February 9.

At that time, we’ll also release the latest Microsoft Digital Civility Index, a gauge that looks at the state of online civility in each individual geography, as well as in all 32 combined. The index, which stood at 70 last year, is an indication of the perceived level of civility in that country. The index works like a golf score: A lower reading equates to a higher level of perceived civility among respondents in that country. The 2019 worldwide Digital Civility Index reading was the highest on record thus far for this research and reflects responses from survey participants in 25 countries. (Read more about the 2019 worldwide index and survey here.)

Take the Digital Civility Challenge

As done since the start of this research, we’re encouraging people around the world to take our Digital Civility Challenge and pledge to live by four basic tenets for life online:

• Live the Golden Rule and treat others as you would want to be treated
• Respect differences of all types, including those of thought and opinion
• Pause before replying to something you may disagree with, and
• If it’s safe and prudent to do so, stand up for yourself and others online who may be the target of abuse or cruel treatment.

Results from the latest survey show both teens and adults appear to be championing these actions. Indeed, 58% of adults and 57% of teens report having taken at least one challenge action in response to online risks. “Standing up for myself” was the most common challenge action this year, with 34% of respondents saying they defended themselves online. “Pausing before replying” was noted by 25% of those surveyed.

The Digital Civility Challenge isn’t meant to be a panacea, but rather a starting place to encourage good digital citizenship and active, engaged online communities. We’re not trying to thwart online debate or disagreement. On the contrary, we encourage it, while guarding against heated discussions that quickly devolve to name-calling and abuse.

So, step up to the Digital Civility Challenge this World Kindness Day, and tell us you’ve done so on social media using the hashtag #Im4digitalcivility. To learn more about online safety issues and digital civility generally, visit our website and webpage.

¹ Geographies polled in 2020: Argentina, Australia*, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark*, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia*, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines*, Poland, Russia, Sweden*, Singapore, Spain*, South Africa, Taiwan*, Thailand*, Turkey, U.K., U.S., Vietnam. * Added (or re-added) to the study in 2020

² The 21 risks span four broad categories: behavioral, sexual, reputational and personal/intrusive. Specifically:

Reputational – “Doxing” and damage to personal or professional reputations

Behavioral – Being treated meanly; experiencing trolling, online harassment or bullying; encountering hate speech and microaggressions

Sexual – Sending or receiving unwanted sexting messages and making sexual solicitations; receiving unwanted sexual attention and being a victim of sextortion or non-consensual intimate images (aka “revenge porn”), and

Personal/intrusive – Being the target of unwanted contact, experiencing discrimination, swatting, misogyny, exposure to extremist content/recruiting, or falling victim to hoaxes, scams, or fraud

Tags: digital civility challenge, Digital Civility Index, Online Safety, World Kindness Day

Zerouno Games has announced that Metal Tales: Overkill, a ‘3D guitar-shooter’, will soon receive a crowdfunding campaign to launch on Nintendo Switch.

The game is an action-adventure title that has you fighting against a curse inflicted upon your metal-loving brothers, hoping to free them from an ancient evil. It features procedurally generated levels which will change each time you play through the game, and is already slated to launch on PC in early 2021.

The new Kickstarter campaign hopes to generate the funding required to get the game on Switch, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and will go live on 3rd December. You can see the page here and sign up to be notified when it goes live.

Metal Tales: Overkill features include:
– 50+ items: guitars, strings, pedals, amps, books and summons
– 15 different enemies
– 8 Guitar Bosses
– 4 playable characters: Are you more Metallica, Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath? Choose your brothers!
– 3 environments: Enjoy exploring different environments like Metal Den, Metal Festival and Hell
– 6 procedurally generated levels: With randomly generated levels, no two games will ever be the same
– Local CO-OP
– Mission system to unlock abilities and upgrade stats between runs
– Original soundtrack and international metal bands’ songs from Eclipse Records

Does this look like something you might enjoy? Let us know if you’ll be keeping an eye out for the Kickstarter campaign with a comment below.

We’re trying something new here on Gamasutra! We’re piloting a new Gamasutra Webcasts series, featuring great speakers who will share insight into the art and business of making games. These are free to attend, live broadcasts with a Q&A (and available on-demand if you miss the original broadcast).

We’re excited to announce that the very first guest in this series is indie marketing superstar Victoria Tran (@TheVTran). Now working as community director at Among Us developer Innersloth, she was previously communications director at Kitfox Games, working on titles including Boyfriend Dungeon, Dwarf Fortress, Pupperazzi, and more. She has a serious knack for building communities and knows how to get people interested in her projects–and she’s going to share a little bit of how she does that!

Tran will be giving the talk “Conveying Your Game’s Value” on Tuesday, December 1 at 2:00pm EST.

What to expect:

• A 30-minute presentation by Victoria Tran on how to convey your game’s value through marketing
• A 15-minute presentation on game publishing and distribution from our sponsor Xsolla
• A 15-minute moderated live Q&A

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How the value of a game is calculated in a potential player’s mind
• How to create a customer value proposition
• How to use this information in your messaging
• Writing tips to help your messaging shine
• And stick around for an audience Q&A!

Featured Presentation:
Conveying Your Game’s Value

So you have a game and you’ve decided to self-publish, but now the marketing is all up to you. Most importantly, one of the biggest responsibilities is up to you: how do you craft a message that makes people understand and care about your game? It isn’t just as easy as saying “add value.”

What is valuable? How do you find your game’s value? And what are the ways you can actually create that message?  What writing tips should you keep in mind? No one will be interested in your game if you cannot tell them why it is interesting in a way that they actually care about. Let’s learn how to stand out in a noisy market!

Sponsor Presentation:
Navigating the Future of Game Publishing and Distribution

With players spread across multiple game platforms and services, many challenges have emerged for developers. At Xsolla, we believe the platform of the future is an independent, decentralized system that utilizes common, unified basic principles and standards. This system spreads to all current platforms and uses them as sources for gaining new users, building a community, and acting as sales channels.

Key takeaways: Learn how to navigate the future of game publishing and distribution with solutions that easily integrate with your existing business and allow you to grow across all platforms.

Speakers

Featured Speaker: Victoria Tran
Community Director
Innersloth

Victoria Tran is the Community Director at Among Us developer Innersloth. Previously, she worked at Kitfox Games, working on projects like Boyfriend Dungeon, Dwarf Fortress, Pupperazzi, and more. When she is not exploring ways to create kinder game community spaces and how tech and compassion interact, she co-organizes Game & Colour MTL, a group that supports and amplifies game developers of colour in Canada.

Sponsor Guest Presenter: Chris Hewish
President
Xsolla

Chris Hewish is the President of Xsolla and is an award-winning interactive executive and studio head, with experience driving operations and go-to-market strategies across all video game industry segments. He has used his skills to lead multi-team video game studios and global interactive business units with hundreds of employees at companies like Activision, DreamWorks Animation, Survios, Skydance, and Xsolla.

Moderator: Kris Graft
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
Gamasutra

Kris Graft is editor-in-chief and publisher of Gamasutra, the leading site dedicated to the art and business of making games.

If you have an existing VR game you probably already know that the Oculus Quest is one of the more dominant platforms for VR at the moment. So what should you take into account when porting your game to the platform?

In this 2019 XRDC talk, Survios’ Alex Silkin breaks down what his team learned porting the company’s game to Facebook’s PC-free VR platform. It’s a helpful guide for developers looking to port their games, one you can watch in the video above or for free on the GDC YouTube channel.

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.