IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Because I am hiring professional translators for the Modern version (too much text has changed since classic to get it all translated in time), I am ending the "free steam key" reward for any languages that are not yet listed at translate.cosmoteer.net. Contributions to all existing languages will still be honored as originally promised!
Even though I won't be using the community translations in the Modern version, I would still greatly appreciate your feedback on the professional translations before the Modern version launches on steam. So if you can provide translation feedback (especially for German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, or Simplified Chinese), then please go apply for the closed beta.
Are you fluent in a language other than English and want to help translate Cosmoteer into your language in exchange for a mention in the game credits, a free key for Cosmoteer when it becomes paid, and forum/discord roles? If so, keep reading...
Today I'm launching what I'm calling the "Cosmoteer Translation Project". This will be a community-driven effort to translate Cosmoteer into as many languages as possible, and to keep those translations up to date as the game is updated in the future. Unlike translation mods, these translations will be included in the official download, so no one will have to go through all the hassle of downloading a separate mod just to be able to play the game in their language.
PLEASE ONLY TRANSLATE INTO LANGUAGES THAT YOU CAN SPEAK AT A NATIVE LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY
Basic Instructions:
To get started, head over to translate.cosmoteer.net and click on the In-Game Text
sub-project:
Then click the language you want to help translate:
As you can see, I've made seven languages available for translation in addition to English: German, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese. These are the most important languages to get translated, which is why I'm starting with those, but if your language isn't one of those and you're willing to commit to translating Cosmoteer into it and keeping the translation updated, post here and I'll add your language. (Some languages may not be possible to add due to Cosmoteer's inability to render text in those languages, but most European and East-Asian languages should be fine I think.)
As you can also see, I've gone ahead and uploaded the existing German, Russian, and French translations by @mleise, @Ezhovski, and @Mirague, as well as a partial Spanish translation by @davidtheterp. (I'm assuming that's okay with you. If you would like your translation removed from the project, please let me know and I'll take it down.)
Click on a language, create an account, and then you should see a screen that looks something like this:
For the most part, translating phrases should be pretty straightforward. On the left you'll see the phrase in English, and on the right the current translation in your language. (Or an empty text box if it hasn't been translated yet.) Simply type in your translation and click the checkmark button that shows up underneath. If your translation is the first one submitted, then it should automatically become "approved" and will appear in the game in the next update.
If there's already an existing translation but you think you can improve it, feel free to submit your own alternative translation. If there are multiple translations, you can vote for which one you think is the best by clicking the star button:
Every so often I will run a process to automatically "approve" all the highest-voted translations, which will select those particular translations for inclusion in the game. (Even if you don't have time to actually translate anything, it would still be really helpful to get your votes on the best translations.)
To see all the phrases that still need translating, click the All Words
dropdown and select Not Translated
:
From time to time I may update an English phrase, meaning the translation may need updating as well. If so, you'll see a red exclamation mark next to All Words
. Click it and select Updated Words
to see what was changed:
It will show you exactly what was changed:
In some cases you may see that the English text contains some special text between <
and >
characters (such as <s20>
or <good>
) or between {
and }
characters (such as {0}
). DO NOT translate these; they have special meaning to the game code and tell the game how to format or colorize the text or where the game should insert auto-generated text (for example, {0}
in a specific phrase might get replaced with the name of a ship, among many possibilities depending on the phrase).
That's pretty much it! Please let me know if you have any additional questions not covered in the FAQ below. If not, please feel free to go ahead and start translating!
TRANSLATION TIPS:
- Only translate if you are a native-level speaker. If you're not 100% sure that your translation will be clear to someone else speaking the language, leave it for someone else to translate.
- Translating the MEANING of the text, not word-for-word. It's much more important to make the meaning of the text clear to someone reading it than it is to slavishly adhere to the original English.
- Don't use Google translate or any automated translate tool because it will probably get a lot wrong. (At the very least, make sure you proofread any automatically-translated text first and fix anything that needs fixing.)
FAQ:
Why not hire professional translators?
Two reasons:
Professional translators are expensive and would likely cost thousands of dollars per language. Since I'm not making any money from Cosmoteer right now, I simply can't afford that, and I'd like people to be able to play in their own language even before the game starts making money.
Honestly, I just trust you all more. You all have a far better understanding of the game than a professional translator will, and so I think you can do a better job. Cosmoteer isn't some simple mobile game, it's a complex simulation game with lots of tricky concepts, and I need people who understand those concepts to do the translation.
How much translation do I have to do to get my credit, free key, and forum/discord roles?
Ultimately it will be my decision and it will depend on how much translation you do, how well it's kept up-to-date, and how accurate it seems to be based on upvotes and (lack of) complaints from players. Generally speaking, if you translate at least 1/3 of a language (or do the equivalent work to keep a translation updated) and the translation as a whole is complete enough and of high enough quality to be included in the game, then I will happily reward you with in-game credit, a free key (when Cosmoteer finally launches), and forum/discord roles. But the ultimate decision is mine, and I reserve my right to change or revoke my decision at any time.
Okay, I've done a bunch of translation, now how do I get my loot?
Post here in this thread and briefly explain what you've done to help translate, tell me the name under which you'd like to be credited (either your screen name or your real name), and tell me your forum/discord usernames so I can give you your roles. (I probably won't check those discussions very frequently, so feel free to ping me here or on Discord as well.) I'll add you to the credits and mark you down as having earned a free key for when the game launches.
How often will translations be updated?
Before every update (both stable and RC) I will upload the latest English phrases and download the latest translations. This means that when I post an RC, there will likely be some new phrases that need translating or updating. Hopefully, the week between the RC and the stable update should be enough time to get them translated into the most popular languages.
I'm already familiar with editing the .txt string files. Can I see how phrases on the website are mapped to phrases in the .txt file?
Yes, the "String Key" shown near the top-right will tell you its location in the .txt file:
What happens if a translation isn't 100% complete? Will it still show up in the official game download?
If a translation is mostly complete I'll still include it in the official game download and any missing phrases will simply use their original English text. You'll be able to see how complete each translation is within the game:
I reserve my right to remove any translations that have fallen too far out-of-date.
Is there any way to download a translation to test it in the game?
Not right now, unfortunately. If this proves necessary, I'll figure something out.
Are there any places where translators can communicate with each other?
Yes:
On Discord in the #translations channel. Be sure to give yourself the 'translator' role by typing ?rank translator
in the #bot-commands channel, which will make sure you're notified when there are game updates that need translating.
On the translation website there is a discussion forum and per-phrase comment threads.