Help with the translation and modding of games in general

[Emma123]

Hello dear forum  , 

I have been playing with the idea of starting to translate mods for quite some time now. I am a professional translator and have lots of experience with scientific, political and expressive texts and would love to eventually get to the point where localisation might actually become a realistic option for me. I am not entirely unfamiliar with installing mods. But the rest is rather alien to me.  (to this date my greatest pride remains getting skyrim to run with 80+ mods, albeit only with "qasmoke").

 

I never really looked into programming when I was younger and now I am at quite a loss as to where to begin because it just seems like such a vast field. I would like to learn what is needed to translate mods and even make them.

Not just on a level where I learn how to use certain programs (although they're always appreciated) but where I can really start with the most basic things to know in programming. Just a pointer where to start would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Once I'll (hopefully) have the hang of it I could also take on a couple of mods or help some of the German translators out, if needed. 

 

Thanks a lot in advance. 
Happy gaming  , 
Emma

 

[SassaAria]

I never really looked into programming when I was younger and now I am at quite a loss as to where to begin because it just seems like such a vast field. I would like to learn what is needed to translate mods and even make them.

Not just on a level where I learn how to use certain programs (although they're always appreciated) but where I can really start with the most basic things to know in programming. Just a pointer where to start would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Hiya!

One of the best ways is to pick a mod you like and pull it apart.

Download Notepad++(standard tool for editing, esp XMLS) and look at any txt or XMLS.

Often you'll find translations under data\interface\translations.

It's mainly about matching the screenplaceholder object with the text you want in game, by language of course.

Random lists of names and stuff are often done the same way.

 

Also, if you find a mod without translations that you like, can a;ways approach mod author.  Will probably appreciate help with that,

 

My interest is much more everything 3d & sound, so that's about it for me and translations.

But unless I misunderstood you, that should get you started?

 

Happy translating !

[ISNAN]

A good place to start with programming would be Codecademy. It's a free interactive tutorial site that guides you step by step with whatever programming language you will want to learn. There is no need to download or install anything because the text editor is built into the browser.

 

Once you sign up with codecademy, pick Python as a starting point as it's the easiest to learn of all the Object Oriented Programming (OOP) languages. It's what a lot of beginners start out with. It will also give you a good idea of the fundamentals of programming that are used in a lot of different languages.