Old: Localization Format

Last modified: 09 June 2024

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NOTE

This is the old documentation that applies to TM:PE v11.0-alpha6 and all earlier versions.

TM:PE v11.0-alpha7 and all later versions use a completely new localization system. For details on that, see Localisation Guidelines.

We are hugely appreciative of anyone who can help us translate TM:PE in to other Languages.

Where to find the localization files

Localization .txt files are located in the /TLM/TLM/Resources folder.

Filenames for translations (except for English) have the format lang_[id].txt where id is the ISO 639-1 code associated with your language.

For example, the code for Vietnamese is vi so the file would be lang_vi.txt. If there are dialects you can specify those too; for example: lang_zh-tw.txt is language zh and dialect tw.

The English file, which is the default language and also the template to use for other languages, is lang.txt. See below for details of file format and how to send us your language files.

File format

Take a look at some of the existing files for reference; they use key value pairs where the key and the value are separated by a space, like this:

Switch_traffic_lights 信号の付け外し
Add_priority_signs 優先関係標識の追加
Manual_traffic_lights 信号の手動切替

In the sample above, Switch_traffic_lights is a key, and 信号の付け外し is its value (translation).

Important:

  • The key must be separated from the value by a space character

  • Only the value (translation) should be changed, do not change the key

  • Each key value pair must be on a single line in the file

Note: New lines within a value string are denoted with \n - you may need to change the position of these in some of the longer TMPE_TUTORIAL_BODY_... translations to ensure correct layout.

When a language is selected in TM:PE, the mod looks for the key in the text file and, if found, it grabs whatever is after the first space on that same line (the value) and shows that to the user.

Updating an existing file

If you need to update an existing translation, to correct a mistake or complete missing translations, just edit the existing file.

Creating a new file (adding a new language)

Use the lang.txt as a template - copy it and then rename it as specified above with the appropriate ISO 639-1 language id (for example lang_ja.txt for Japanese).

Once that is done, just edit the values as necessary.

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Note: Additional steps are required to complete the process of adding a new language. Usually, the TM:PE support team will perform those tasks. However, if you want to help with that too, see: Adding a New Language

Sending us your file(s)

If you are familiar with GitHub, send us a Pull Request to the krzychu124 / master branch. This is our preferred way of getting language files.

Alternatively, you can send it to us any of these ways:

  • Discord: Drag-drop the file in the # Issues chat room

  • Steam: Paste a URL to the file on our workshop page

  • **GitHub Issue **: Click here to create a translation issue

  • Pastebin, Gist, or similar: Create a new paste and send us the URL. Make sure the site you use supports unicode (UTF-8 encoding) and also provides access to a "Raw" ( text-only) view of the file.

We always credit contributors in our release notes. We will use whatever username you are using when you send us the file - if you want a different name using, for example your Steam username, please let us know.