Translating whole game?
broo:
I was wondering if it's possible for us (players) to translate the whole game to another language? I know we can change names and such to our liking so I suppose we should be able to translate other things as well... I mean I am already familiar with the files but I still have to figure how to make game read the letters right (unicode???) and how to add language selection to the language meniu on installation. Any thoughts?
P.S.: I know it's pretty crazy idea which need a lot of time and patience and blah blah blah... ::)
B:
It is possible. You will need to get SimPE to edit package files. You will then browse through the various game files and alter any "text lists" you come across. I imagine it will take you quite a while.
Out of curiosity, what language do you want to use?
eevilcat:
FYI localisation = technical term for translating a software product into another language.
I've had a quick look at this and it appears that for the majority of the text resources the game does a single install to the C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\Text folder. The various package files contain the strings that are used in the game. You could apply the same principle to replacing these as has been done with the sim names live.package but it will mean replacing a lot of text.
There are some other resources located under the C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\Locale folder and these are organised by language. It looks like the level of localisation depends on the target language e.g. the only difference between US English and UK English is the addition of a different sound package file for the UK. Other countries have additional localised resources e.g. objects.package, movies and UI.
The following assumes you have an English install of the game:
If the language you intend to translate to is similar to English word length then you will be fine with just translating text.
If typical word length is longer then you may have to modify the UI to accommodate the additional text e.g. a UI for German needs to allow more space for typically longer words.
If your install isn't English, then apply the same principles to your language.
You will need to do the same for every installed EP/SP otherwise there will be a mix of languages.
If you are looking at translating into a language with a complex/extended character set then localisation becomes more difficult. Sims2 has a UI where the player inputs text at various points. Japanese, Chinese and Korean will most likely make use of something called the IME (Input Method Editor) which allows the player to select the character(s) they want - obviously you can't have a PC/Mac keyboard with several thousand keys on it.
As far as character sets go, you will need to make sure that the (Unicode) font supports all the characters you wish to display. If it doesn't then you may well need to change the game font.
broo:
Quote from: B on 2007 September 11, 12:02:46
It is possible. You will need to get SimPE to edit package files. You will then browse through the various game files and alter any "text lists" you come across. I imagine it will take you quite a while.
Out of curiosity, what language do you want to use?
Lithuanian ;) And it's not me who needs it, I am happy with English version of the game. :)
Anyway, I tried editing some files and for some reason only a few editings show up in game :-\ The others appear untouched ??? Maybe I'm editing the wrong files? I took my files from Seasons EP. Maybe I should have started with main game files? Althought they seam to contain the same information as main game files. ::)
MissDoh:
Why would someone want to translate the complete game when maxis is already selling English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, etc. versions?
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