Re: [Enigma-devel] Finnish Translation/Localization

[Tacvek]

Mikke wrote:
> (This is my first time sending a mail onto a mailing list, so I hope this 
> message arrives properly.)

Yes the message arrived properly.  For future reference, try to avoid 
sending HTML email to mailing lists. I See you mailed your message using 
outlook. I'm not sure where the option switch to plain text mode is in 
Outlook, but in Outlook Express it is "Format->Plain Text".

> After playing Enigma (And Oxyd of course) for a long time, like 1-2 years, 
> and even sending score files for rankings, I started
> to have some interest to develop the game somehow, but just using very 
> simple methods. I have created some levels for testing,
> for example, but I did write this message for some other use.
>
> I would like to write a Finnish translation of the game. I haven't started 
> yet but I have a feeling I might even accomplish it
> some time. After browsing some similar issues about translations into other 
> languages, I have came across to a point
> where you would need to modify the enigma.pot file into another language 
> and that would do the translation.
>
> I was a bit unsure about this, so I have a couple of questions about this. 
> First, is it really so that just modifying
> enigma.pot file into a <country>.po file is enough? Do I need any specific 
> tools for translation, excluding notepad?
> Is there any way to test the language without any 3rd party tools? (As the 
> localized versions are in .mo file a notepad
> can't read very well.) If not, which tools would I need to test out the 
> language translation? Also, is it recommended to
> use my real name or could I use my internet nick for contributes?

Yes, filling out the .pot file and then renaming it to <languagecode>.po (it 
is based on language not country) is all that
is needed to create a translation. Using notepad is ok, but there is a 
slight chance your will run across some
porblems with character sets. When you send the file to the Enigma 
developers, we should be able to correct those problems
if they still exist. (Unix/POSIX sytems have better tools for converting 
text between chacter sets than Windows has).

To convert the files to .mo format requires the use of GNU gettext. It can 
be a pain to work with on windows.
If you send us a .po file we can convert it for you so you can test it. That 
is probably easier than trying to setup
GNU gettext on windows if you are not familar with GNU/Linux (or other POSIX 
systems).

As for your name, it is generally preferred in the Open Source/Free Software 
community that people use their real name.
However, that is only a preference. It is not a problem to use a screename.

> Pardon me for poor English, but hope you'll understand my point. Please let 
> me know if I have missed something.

As a native English speaker, I must say your English is not poor at all. It 
is better than many
native English speakers I have seen.

> Cheers.
> ~Iceshark7~