Translations (OpenXcom) - Revision history

Hobbes: Undo revision 126443 by Hobbes (talk)

2026-03-10T14:56:34Z

Undo revision 126443 by Hobbes (talk)

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:56, 10 March 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~#REDIRECT~~ [[OpenXcom]]		Like [[GeoScape String Files\|the original]], OpenXcom supports translation of all ingame strings. However, the format has been changed to make it easier to edit, maintain and add support for Unicode. Currently the easiest way to translate is to use the [https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/openxcom/ Transifex web site].

			== Guidelines ==
			* Preserve the original structure: Don't change text inside {} tags and keep any spaces, uppercases, etc. that the original string has, unless you have a good reason not to.
			* Be consistent: Don't make the text look schizophrenic, stick to one style throughout. If a word has multiple translations, choose one and stick with it. If working with multiple translators, be sure to work this out before-hand. Transifex has handy [https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/openxcom/glossary/l/en_US/ Glossary tool] for that. During translation you will receive highlights for known words.
			* Don't use automatic translations: We're not robots. Only use them to assist you. I recommend [http://www.linguee.com/ Linguee] since it uses real translations.
			* Review your work: Again, we're not robots and make mistakes every now and then. Don't forget to use a spellchecker.
			* Pay attention to length: while most of the interface is fairly roomy (eg. Ufopaedia screens), some elements just can't fit a lot of words into a tight 320x200 screen (eg. columned lists). Remember you can test your translation ingame by downloading the file to your Language folder.

			== Graphics ==

			Sadly a translator's job isn't just replacing strings. Sometimes you also need to have a little bit of artistry. The game uses bitmap fonts to display text. These fonts are limited with Latin extended, Greek, and Cyrillic alphabets. If your language has new characters that it doesn't support, you'll have to add [[font collection (OpenXcom)\|them in yourself]] and create it as [[mods (OpenXcom)\|mod]].

			== Testing ==

			To test your translations in-game you just need to put the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(countryCode).yml'' file in the ''common\Language\'' folder and the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(CountryCode).yml'' file in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder. If you have translations for xcom2 you can put the equivalent file in the ''\standard\xcom2\Language'' folder.
			You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.

			== Format ==

			Language files are stored in YAML format (UTF-8). Here's a typical language file:

			<pre>
			en-US:
			STR_AVENGER_UFOPEDIA: "TRANSPORTER AND COMBAT SPACECRAFT. THE ULTIMATE REPLICATION OF ALIEN TECHNOLOGY."
			STR_INTERCEPTOR_UFOPEDIA: "COMBAT AIRCRAFT WITH DUAL PULSE DETONATION ENGINES AND SPECIALLY SHIELDED ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. THE BEST AVAILABLE EARTH BASED TECHNOLOGY."
			STR_LIGHTNING_UFOPEDIA: "TRANSPORTER AND COMBAT CRAFT. A CRUDE BUT EFFECTIVE REPLICATION OF ALIEN PROPULSION SYSTEMS."
			STR_SKYRANGER_UFOPEDIA: "TROOP TRANSPORTER. THE FASTEST OF ITS KIND, WITH VERTICAL TAKE OFF AND LANDING (V.T.O.L.) CAPABILITY."
			STR_FIRESTORM_UFOPEDIA: "COMBAT CRAFT. THIS ONE-MAN FIGHTER REPLICATES THE CLASSIC ALIEN FLYING SAUCER DESIGN, WITH CENTRAL PROPULSION UNIT."
			...
			</pre>

			The first line contains the [http://www.i18nguy.com/unicode/language-identifiers.html IETF language tag] (same as the filename). The rest of the text are just key-string pairs, separated by linebreaks. Language files are placed in the ''Data\Language'' folder and have the .yml extension.

			==Special cases==
			=== Pluralization ===

			Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://cldr.unicode.org/index/cldr-spec/plural-rules Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms needed for your language.

			For example, if you are translating OpenXcom to Czech, en-US.yml for English have these lines:

			<code>
			STR_DAY:
			one: "{N} day"
			other: "{N} days"
			</code>

			As we can see, English has only 2 plural forms, ''one'' and ''other''. But Czech has 3 plural forms: ''one'' ("1 den"), ''few'' ("2 dny") and ''other'' ("5 dní"). Therefore, the cz.yml file should look like this:

			<code>
			STR_DAY:
			one: "{N} den"
			few: "{N} dny"
			other: "{N} dní"
			</code>

			The OpenXcom engine will choose the correct plural form, based on the digit (''{N}'').

			=== Gender-specific messages ===
			Again, some languages have messages, that differ for male or female character. For example, in Russian we have two variants of "''<Soldier name> has Panicked''": "''<Soldier name> запаниковал''" (for male character) and "''<Soldier name> запаниковала''" (for female character). For this case we have two strings with _MALE and _FEMALE suffixes:

			<code>
			STR_HAS_PANICKED_MALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковал"
			STR_HAS_PANICKED_FEMALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковала"
			</code>

			If your language doesn't have such features, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.


			== External Links ==

			* [http://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/board,6.0.html Translations forum]

			[[Category:OpenXcom]]

Hobbes: Protected "Translations (OpenXcom)" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

2026-03-10T14:01:28Z

Protected "Translations (OpenXcom)" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:01, 10 March 2026
(No difference)

Hobbes: Redirected page to OpenXcom

2026-03-10T14:00:47Z

Redirected page to OpenXcom

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:00, 10 March 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~Like~~ [[GeoScape String Files\|the original]], OpenXcom supports translation of all ingame strings. However, the format has been changed to make it easier to edit, maintain and add support for Unicode. Currently the easiest way to translate is to use the [https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/openxcom/ Transifex web site].		#REDIRECT [[OpenXcom]]

	~~== Guidelines ==~~
	* Preserve the original structure: Don't change text inside {} tags and keep any spaces, uppercases, etc. that the original string has, unless you have a good reason not to.
	* Be consistent: Don't make the text look schizophrenic, stick to one style throughout. If a word has multiple translations, choose one and stick with it. If working with multiple translators, be sure to work this out before-hand. Transifex has handy [https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/openxcom/glossary/l/en_US/ Glossary tool] for that. During translation you will receive highlights for known words.
	* Don't use automatic translations: We're not robots. Only use them to assist you. I recommend [http://www.linguee.com/ Linguee] since it uses real translations.
	* Review your work: Again, we're not robots and make mistakes every now and then. Don't forget to use a spellchecker.
	* Pay attention to length: while most of the interface is fairly roomy (eg. Ufopaedia screens), some elements just can't fit a lot of words into a tight 320x200 screen (eg. columned lists). Remember you can test your translation ingame by downloading the file to your Language folder.

	~~== Graphics ==~~

	Sadly a translator's job isn't just replacing strings. Sometimes you also need to have a little bit of artistry. The game uses bitmap fonts to display text. These fonts are limited with Latin extended, Greek, and Cyrillic alphabets. If your language has new characters that it doesn't support, you'll have to add [[font collection (OpenXcom)\|them in yourself]] and create it as [[mods (OpenXcom)\|mod]].

	~~== Testing ==~~

	To test your translations in-game you just need to put the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(countryCode).yml'' file in the ''common\Language\'' folder and the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(CountryCode).yml'' file in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder. If you have translations for xcom2 you can put the equivalent file in the ''\standard\xcom2\Language'' folder.
	You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.

	~~== Format ==~~

	~~Language files are stored in YAML format (UTF-8). Here's a typical language file:~~

	~~<pre>~~
	~~en-US:~~
	~~STR_AVENGER_UFOPEDIA: "TRANSPORTER AND COMBAT SPACECRAFT. THE ULTIMATE REPLICATION OF ALIEN TECHNOLOGY."~~
	~~STR_INTERCEPTOR_UFOPEDIA: "COMBAT AIRCRAFT WITH DUAL PULSE DETONATION ENGINES AND SPECIALLY SHIELDED ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. THE BEST AVAILABLE EARTH BASED TECHNOLOGY."~~
	~~STR_LIGHTNING_UFOPEDIA: "TRANSPORTER AND COMBAT CRAFT. A CRUDE BUT EFFECTIVE REPLICATION OF ALIEN PROPULSION SYSTEMS."~~
	~~STR_SKYRANGER_UFOPEDIA: "TROOP TRANSPORTER. THE FASTEST OF ITS KIND, WITH VERTICAL TAKE OFF AND LANDING (V.T.O.L.) CAPABILITY."~~
	~~STR_FIRESTORM_UFOPEDIA: "COMBAT CRAFT. THIS ONE-MAN FIGHTER REPLICATES THE CLASSIC ALIEN FLYING SAUCER DESIGN, WITH CENTRAL PROPULSION UNIT."~~
	~~...~~
	~~</pre>~~

	The first line contains the [http://www.i18nguy.com/unicode/language-identifiers.html IETF language tag] (same as the filename). The rest of the text are just key-string pairs, separated by linebreaks. Language files are placed in the ''Data\Language'' folder and have the .yml extension.

	~~==Special cases==~~
	~~=== Pluralization ===~~

	Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://cldr.unicode.org/index/cldr-spec/plural-rules Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms needed for your language.

	~~For example, if you are translating OpenXcom to Czech, en-US.yml for English have these lines:~~

	~~<code>~~
	~~STR_DAY:~~
	~~one: "{N} day"~~
	~~other: "{N} days"~~
	~~</code>~~

	As we can see, English has only 2 plural forms, ''one'' and ''other''. But Czech has 3 plural forms: ''one'' ("1 den"), ''few'' ("2 dny") and ''other'' ("5 dní"). Therefore, the cz.yml file should look like this:

	~~<code>~~
	~~STR_DAY:~~
	~~one: "{N} den"~~
	~~few: "{N} dny"~~
	~~other: "{N} dní"~~
	~~</code>~~

	~~The OpenXcom engine will choose the correct plural form, based on the digit (''{N}'').~~

	~~=== Gender-specific messages ===~~
	Again, some languages have messages, that differ for male or female character. For example, in Russian we have two variants of "''<Soldier name> has Panicked''": "''<Soldier name> запаниковал''" (for male character) and "''<Soldier name> запаниковала''" (for female character). For this case we have two strings with _MALE and _FEMALE suffixes:

	~~<code>~~
	~~STR_HAS_PANICKED_MALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковал"~~
	~~STR_HAS_PANICKED_FEMALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковала"~~
	~~</code>~~

	~~If your language doesn't have such features, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.~~


	~~== External Links ==~~

	* [http://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/board,6.0.html Translations forum]

	~~[[Category:~~OpenXcom]]

Leond at 18:58, 29 August 2021

2021-08-29T18:58:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:58, 29 August 2021
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Testing ==		== Testing ==

	To test your translations in-game you just need to put the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(countryCode).yml'' file in the ''common\Language\'' folder and the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(CountryCode).yml'' in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder. If you have translations for xcom2 you can put the equivalent file in the ''\standard\~~xcom1~~\Language'' folder.		To test your translations in-game you just need to put the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(countryCode).yml'' file in the ''common\Language\'' folder and the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(CountryCode).yml'' file in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder. If you have translations for xcom2 you can put the equivalent file in the ''\standard\xcom2\Language'' folder.
	You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.		You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.

Leond at 18:57, 29 August 2021

2021-08-29T18:57:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:57, 29 August 2021
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Testing ==		== Testing ==

	To test your translations in-game you just need to put ~~them~~ in the ''~~Data~~\Language'' folder. You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.		To test your translations in-game you just need to put the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(countryCode).yml'' file in the ''common\Language\'' folder and the ''for_use_openxcom_x-com-1_(CountryCode).yml'' in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder. If you have translations for xcom2 you can put the equivalent file in the ''\standard\xcom1\Language'' folder.
			You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.

	== Format ==		== Format ==

Trigger at 16:24, 6 September 2015

2015-09-06T16:24:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:24, 6 September 2015
Line 35:		Line 35:
	=== Pluralization ===		=== Pluralization ===

	Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://cldr.unicode.org/index/cldr-spec/plural-rules Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms, needed for your language.		Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://cldr.unicode.org/index/cldr-spec/plural-rules Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms needed for your language.

	For example, you translating OpenXcom to Czech~~. Source~~ en-US.yml for English have these lines:		For example, if you are translating OpenXcom to Czech, en-US.yml for English have these lines:

	<code>		<code>
Line 45:		Line 45:
	</code>		</code>

	As we can see, English ~~have~~ only 2 plural forms, ''one'' and ''other''. But Czech~~, according to standards, have~~ 3 plural forms: ''one'' ("1 den"), ''few'' ("2 dny") and ''other'' ("5 dní"). ~~So here code how it should look in~~ cz.yml file:		As we can see, English has only 2 plural forms, ''one'' and ''other''. But Czech has 3 plural forms: ''one'' ("1 den"), ''few'' ("2 dny") and ''other'' ("5 dní"). Therefore, the cz.yml file should look like this:

	<code>		<code>
Line 54:		Line 54:
	</code>		</code>

	OpenXcom engine based on digit~~, provided here as~~ ''{N}''~~, will choose correct plural form~~.		The OpenXcom engine will choose the correct plural form, based on the digit (''{N}'').

	=== Gender-specific messages ===		=== Gender-specific messages ===
Line 64:		Line 64:
	</code>		</code>

	If your language ~~don~~'t have such ~~feature~~, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.		If your language doesn't have such features, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.

Winterheart at 06:38, 17 May 2015

2015-05-17T06:38:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:38, 17 May 2015
Line 10:		Line 10:
	== Graphics ==		== Graphics ==

	Sadly a translator's job isn't just replacing strings. Sometimes you also need to have a little bit of artistry. The game uses bitmap fonts to display text, ~~so if~~ your language has new characters that it doesn't support, you'll have to add ~~them in yourself. The~~ font ~~files are PNG images in the Language folder, which are referenced by a ''Font.dat'' text file which contains all the characters in the fonts~~ (~~in UTF-8~~)~~. To add a character you just put it at the end of the ''chars:''~~ in ~~''Font.dat''~~ and ~~then draw them into the font files~~ (~~both lowercase and uppercase~~).		Sadly a translator's job isn't just replacing strings. Sometimes you also need to have a little bit of artistry. The game uses bitmap fonts to display text. These fonts are limited with Latin extended, Greek, and Cyrillic alphabets. If your language has new characters that it doesn't support, you'll have to add [[font collection (OpenXcom)\|them in yourself]] and create it as [[mods (OpenXcom)\|mod]].

	== Testing ==		== Testing ==
Line 65:		Line 65:

	If your language don't have such feature, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.		If your language don't have such feature, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.


	== External Links ==		== External Links ==

SupSuper at 23:17, 9 October 2014

2014-10-09T23:17:47Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:17, 9 October 2014
Line 14:		Line 14:
	== Testing ==		== Testing ==

	To test your translations in-game you just need to put them in the ''Data\Language'' folder. You can get the latest translations from ~~GetLocalization [http://openxcom~~.~~org/translations/latest.zip here], they~~ are ~~updated hourly~~. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.		To test your translations in-game you just need to put them in the ''Data\Language'' folder. You can get the latest translations directly from Transifex by clicking the resource name. They are also available in the Git builds. If you need to check how much room you have for a string, you can enable ''debugUi'' in your ''options.cfg'' to see the text boxes in-game.

	== Format ==		== Format ==
Line 35:		Line 35:
	=== Pluralization ===		=== Pluralization ===

	Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://unicode.org/~~repos~~/cldr-~~tmp~~/~~trunk/diff/supplemental/language_plural_rules.html~~ Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms, needed for your language.		Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://cldr.unicode.org/index/cldr-spec/plural-rules Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms, needed for your language.

	For example, you translating OpenXcom to Czech. Source en-US.yml for English have these lines:		For example, you translating OpenXcom to Czech. Source en-US.yml for English have these lines:

Winterheart: /* Gender-specific messages */

2014-10-08T08:55:15Z

Gender-specific messages

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:55, 8 October 2014
Line 57:		Line 57:

	=== Gender-specific messages ===		=== Gender-specific messages ===
	Again, some languages have messages, that differ for male or female character. For example, in Russian we have two variants of "''<Soldier name> has Panicked''": "''<Soldier name> запаниковал''" (for male character) and "''<Soldier name> запаниковала''" (for female character). For this case we have two strings with _MALE and _FEMALE suffixes. If your language don't have such feature, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.		Again, some languages have messages, that differ for male or female character. For example, in Russian we have two variants of "''<Soldier name> has Panicked''": "''<Soldier name> запаниковал''" (for male character) and "''<Soldier name> запаниковала''" (for female character). For this case we have two strings with _MALE and _FEMALE suffixes:

			<code>
			STR_HAS_PANICKED_MALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковал"
			STR_HAS_PANICKED_FEMALE: "{0}{NEWLINE}запаниковала"
			</code>

			If your language don't have such feature, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.

	== External Links ==		== External Links ==

Winterheart: /* Pluralization */

2014-10-08T08:54:11Z

Pluralization

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:54, 8 October 2014
Line 32:		Line 32:
	The first line contains the [http://www.i18nguy.com/unicode/language-identifiers.html IETF language tag] (same as the filename). The rest of the text are just key-string pairs, separated by linebreaks. Language files are placed in the ''Data\Language'' folder and have the .yml extension.		The first line contains the [http://www.i18nguy.com/unicode/language-identifiers.html IETF language tag] (same as the filename). The rest of the text are just key-string pairs, separated by linebreaks. Language files are placed in the ''Data\Language'' folder and have the .yml extension.

	== Pluralization ==		==Special cases==
			=== Pluralization ===

	Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://unicode.org/repos/cldr-tmp/trunk/diff/supplemental/language_plural_rules.html Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms, needed for your language.		Some strings have different forms depending on the associated number {N}, for example "1 day" and "2 days". Different languages have different pluralization rules (See [http://unicode.org/repos/cldr-tmp/trunk/diff/supplemental/language_plural_rules.html Unicode Language Plural Rules] for the reference), you can ignore the cases that don't apply to your language as they won't be used by the game. Otherwise you should provide all plural forms, needed for your language.
Line 54:		Line 55:

	OpenXcom engine based on digit, provided here as ''{N}'', will choose correct plural form.		OpenXcom engine based on digit, provided here as ''{N}'', will choose correct plural form.

			=== Gender-specific messages ===
			Again, some languages have messages, that differ for male or female character. For example, in Russian we have two variants of "''<Soldier name> has Panicked''": "''<Soldier name> запаниковал''" (for male character) and "''<Soldier name> запаниковала''" (for female character). For this case we have two strings with _MALE and _FEMALE suffixes. If your language don't have such feature, just provide for both strings same translation. Otherwise, fill male and female messages accordingly their suffixes.

	== External Links ==		== External Links ==