Guild of Writers

I was beginning to work on the new translation project named Starry Expanse (Riven) when I realized that I didn't know much about it.

First of all, is it approved by Cyan?
Secondly, how is this project going to be a reality? how are they going to make his distribution?
Thirdly, why is it in the ULP? I mean, ULP stands for Uru Localization Project...

I don't think anyone should work on this project until correct answers are given to these questions, because we don't know anything about the Starry Expanse.
I truly hope that this project is good and legal, and I can't wait to see it become real and to help translate stuff, as long as I don't help them steal something that is not their own.

Wow you're quick on the mark!

I've been waiting to release this for a while now and in talks with the folks @ StarryExpanse we decided to get it done today. Probably because I went into the IRC channel for the first time in a while hehe.

For all your questions regarding the Starry Expanse, you should direct them to the team at http://www.starryexpanse.com/. In short, the Starry Expanse project is an attempt to recreate Riven using modern technology. It will be a full 3D world. Anything beyond that is outside the scope of the ULP. However, I would say that while the Starry Expanse project was the impetus for adding Riven, it is by no means the only reason it's there. Translations are always available to everyone. That includes Cyan, Starry Expanse, you, and me.

Now...about why it's in the ULP...well, I've just renamed it "URU Localization Project (and Riven!)" for ohbvious reasons. Sure, it's not URU, but it's part of the Myst franchise - something we all love. That, and there really isn't anywhere else to get it translated. I don't think this is diminishing in any way to the main goal of getting URU localized...the Riven project is so small in comparison. Tiny even. And, for the most part, there will be separate people working on each. However, if you'd like to localize Riven as well, go for it!

Update : I sent some questions to the Starry Expanse group
Here is their answer

(...)
I'm one of the co-founders of the project. As of right now, the Starry Expanse Project is not officially endorsed by Cyan — that is, we have not asked them what they think about the project, and they have not told us.

Even so, we know that Cyan is aware of the project, and we are almost certain that they are aware that we are in the midst of preparing a proposal for them. This proposal will consist of a good portion of playable game content as well as a proposition to create and distribute the game. We do not plan to distribute the game until we have received official permission from Cyan to do so.
(...)

Yeah...that was pretty much common knowledge. However, as I said, the Starry Expanse project and it's particulars is out of scope of the ULP project. Translating Riven content, however, is not.