Demand for foreign language KS level editor?

  • 5 Replies
  • 6196 Views
*

Offline egomassive

  • 1852
  • 250
    • View Profile
    • egomassive games
Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« on: March 08, 2013, 20:15:26 »
My Knytt Stories level editor mod has a context help feature that gives instructions on every feature and object. It occurs to me that this information could be stored in an ini file, and therefore anyone could translate it into another language. Couple that with the ability to change font files in KS+ or KS Ex and KS levels can be made in any language.

Is there a demand for this? It's a hard thing for me to judge with everyone on this forum and in my surroundings speaking English. I ask because it would take a lot of time to make the conversion, and I'd hate to waste the effort.


Edit: I've attached an image from the editor to show what I'm talking about. The part that says, "Press F1 to see information on what the mouse is over," is the only thing that will be translated. The ini file will look like:
Font=consolas
FontSize=10
1=Press F1 to see information on what the mouse is over.
2=Click to toggle adjacent screen previews.
3=Click or Right Click to change the color behind the tilesets.
...

It's not a full language conversion. All the buttons like "Test Level" will retain their current language. The menu bar could be editable.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2013, 15:38:17 by egomassive »

*

Offline LPChip

  • You can only truly help other people by allowing them to fail.
  • 3510
  • 138
  • Excel at the thing you're the best at!
    • View Profile
    • LPChip Interactive
Re: Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2013, 20:22:44 »
There will most likely always be people who'd love to see a translated version, but I'm really not sure if it is worth the trouble. Knytt Stories is an older game already, and the forum is English too.

It doesn't really help that NL is a country where almost everyone speaks English, something that is not the case for other countries.

Then again, Knytt Stories is a very good game for young children, which would be a good reason to have support for different languages. So yeah, both options have a reason to do so.

I personally would say no, but lets see other reactions too. :)
on the left, above my avatar.

MODPlug Central Forum
"If I tried to kill you, I'd end up with a big fat hole through my laptop." - Chironex

*

Offline ixMarcel

  • 357
  • 70
  • I'll get you during my next save game!
    • View Profile
Re: Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2013, 11:04:10 »
You mean translating an ini file? I'd like to do this! I know, that there isn't a lot of Polish people here, but it seems to be a good practice in translating. I think it's good idea  ;).

*

Offline Polana

  • 400
  • 65
  • LOCP and proud
    • View Profile
Re: Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2013, 11:30:45 »
Then again, Knytt Stories is a very good game for young children, which would be a good reason to have support for different languages. So yeah, both options have a reason to do so.
I think that it is not necessary. I mean, I have learnt English grammar at school (but not well though), but I've learnt a lot from PC games and comic books as well. It is the same with my younger brother. So I think that we don't need more language versions. However, if there is a German version, I would download it to practice my skills. And if you want to, I can make a Czech translation.

*

Offline egomassive

  • 1852
  • 250
    • View Profile
    • egomassive games
Re: Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2013, 16:09:46 »
I updated the opening post to give more details on the idea. It would only be a partial language conversion. All the buttons would remain in English, but hitting F1 while pointing the mouse at one could reveal its function in any language. Changing the font and size could be important for kanji use, so I'd include that.

So far, I haven't heard a convincing argument for making the editor convertible. If the language barrier is an issue for potential designers, then it's also barring them from this forum. I should probably hunt down people like Alt-F4 who've made levels for non-English speakers and ask their opinions. ... But, that also sounds like a big time sink, and I've only a couple months left to develop KS mods.

*

Offline Headgrinder

  • 901
  • 35
  • Smart Steel Polisher
    • View Profile
    • www.matthewepperson.wordpress.com
Re: Demand for foreign language KS level editor?
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2013, 21:31:50 »
The forum here can be translated with various web services easily.  That would not be the case with KS+.  I think it would be really cool, but I'm not sure it is worth your time.