Greek translation

[tyran_nick]

Since the new localisation website made the translation less daunting a Greek translation for openxcom has started. What I realised is that a whole new alphabet is needed for that (24 letters + stressed versions). I noticed that there are some letter files in the languages folders. How do these files work?

[Hythlodaeus]

Exactly as they look. Each letter is confined to certain dimensions and spacing limitations configured on font.dat. First of all you need to draw all 24 characters + stressed versions in a 16x16px version for the larger font, and on a 8x9px version for the small font.

I wish there was an easy way, but there isn't. So all you can do is get crackin' and start drawing letters.

[SupSuper]

Yeah you just need to add the letters to the bitmap fonts (they're just characters on a grid) and Font.dat and OpenXcom will use them.

The real daunting part is actually drawing them. There's probably font and image editors out there that make the job easier, but I'm no expert. Maybe even use rasters of existing fonts or old game fonts to get you started. But in the end you're still gonna need some artistry to make them match the X-Com style.

[tyran_nick]

Thanks, I can give it a try to draw the fonts, but does the order of the letters matter? How is the mapping between the translated string the and font image done?

[SupSuper]

Thanks, I can give it a try to draw the fonts, but does the order of the letters matter? How is the mapping between the translated string the and font image done?

The characters in the font image are specified in the Font.dat file. Just add your characters in the same order in both and it'll work fine.

[tyran_nick]

Some work in progress. If you spot any apparent mistakes on the structure (or the alphabet!) let me know

[tyran_nick]

Done!
Should these be merged with the main game files? Or is there another way to ensure the letter positions are not overwritten?
I had actually forgotten a couple of stressed letters before! 

[tyran_nick]

There was a minor mistake with FontSmall.png
A couple of letter shadows were outside their bounding boxes. Now this is fixed

[Hythlodaeus]

Got something to ask you tyran_nick. Do you think you can take a look at my font mod and see if everything's alright with the Greek characters?

Check it here:

https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,1713.0.html