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Translations / Please be careful when dealing with abbreviations
« on: December 22, 2013, 05:10:42 am »
I've noticed a lot of translators have been confused by abbreviations, since they usually jump to GetLocalization without any game context or order, and then wonder what the hell "TU" or "Acc" mean. In response, I've been removing abbreviations from the string IDs to provide better context. This might require you to retranslate those strings.
This gives you a good chance to review those translations, because I've found in a lot of cases they're incorrect or mishandled. If you find an abbreviation, 90% of the time, you shouldn't make the translation longer. Normally abbreviations are there because the full word doesn't fit, and unless you're sure you have the room, you should take care to make sure the translation is around the same length as the English original. Usually these are very quick to test, as most abbreviations are in the first Battlescape screens (Inventory screen and Weapon popup, remember to enable "Extra Inventory Stats").
Also, you shouldn't just leave them as-is. Abbreviations come from full words, so if you have a translation for the full word, the abbreviation should match. For example if you translate "Accuracy", then you should translate "Acc" to match as well. I know this is debatable as some people find players are already used to terms like "TU" and "HWP", so I'll leave it up to you.
This gives you a good chance to review those translations, because I've found in a lot of cases they're incorrect or mishandled. If you find an abbreviation, 90% of the time, you shouldn't make the translation longer. Normally abbreviations are there because the full word doesn't fit, and unless you're sure you have the room, you should take care to make sure the translation is around the same length as the English original. Usually these are very quick to test, as most abbreviations are in the first Battlescape screens (Inventory screen and Weapon popup, remember to enable "Extra Inventory Stats").
Also, you shouldn't just leave them as-is. Abbreviations come from full words, so if you have a translation for the full word, the abbreviation should match. For example if you translate "Accuracy", then you should translate "Acc" to match as well. I know this is debatable as some people find players are already used to terms like "TU" and "HWP", so I'll leave it up to you.
You can use the 