EVE Information Portal

Actually if you're working on this, could you please take a look at the "tab translation" system that's used by FFXIV and FFXI that allows specific terms to be translated in the appropriate language of the game client viewing the chat

so someone would for example type in chat:

does anyone have 6 x Neutron Blaster I

but hitting tab after things that auto translate as you type it would end up like:

does (anyone) (have) 6 x (Neutron Blaster I) ?

on the english client and if there was a french client looking at the same chat channel it would look like:

does (n'importe qui) (avoir) 6 x (Fusil a Neutron I) ?

which although not necessarily grammatically correct, a french speaker would at least be able to figure out what you're trying to ask and also it would alleviate the issue raised earlier about knowing the English item names when you want to talk to an international audiences since each client would see the correct translation of the item for that client.

At the very least if you use the item link feature, each client should use the localized text which would be a primitive version of this functionality that would be limited to the inventory items (if it doesn't already do this).

To comment on two things I've seen brought up here:

- There are no plans to "force" localizations on people. The escape menu will continue to allow you to choose whatever language you like. After all, we are a company that's half-full of foreigners living in Iceland, so we're well aware that people don't always want to use the language of their IP address

- As the localization project progresses, we are being very careful to consider the usability of people talking to each other. Our purpose is to encourage as much interaction as possible, not to wall people off in language-gardens.

One of the most annoying aspects of the localization of the game client has been the translation of links, e.g. solar system links or item exchange contract links. If they're created by someone with a German client, they show up as German for everyone. That's ... problematic. (The bug where warping to a FW plex in a localized client created a localized plex name for everyone, or where scanner probe names were localized for everyone based on the creator's localization, seems to have been fixed :o))

I'm German and I run the English client. Not only do the German translations often sound quite awkward (which partly is due to them being unfamiliar), the translations already causes quite a few communication problems with English-speaking people.

A game I knew - forgot which it was - had a pretty nifty i18n support: You could hold shift down for a few seconds, and then it would translate the UI into a different language while it was held down. E.g. you could play it in German, but if you were confused about a term, you could hold down the shift key and see the original term used, and then immediately switch back to German. It was quite a good concept.

nm

Is it me or is the link to the German thread not working? And also not a real link?
Its also not in the German version of the dev blog.

How about displaying interceptor speed (and only those) in furlongs per microfortnight? Please? :o)

I always wondered how German fleets are supposed to sound like. "Flotte, auf das Sternentor ausrichten! Raumverzerrungsantrieb starten!" ... I think I'd be down on the floor laughing myself dead, which is not a very efficient way to play the game! ;-)

I actually recently had a Ventrilo discussion with another German guy in my alliance, and after two minutes, we decided to just talk in English because that's easier for both of us than trying to figure out whether to translate a term or just leave it English. I guess it depends a lot on who you play with regularly.

I understand the reason you're doing this as it makes EVE more accessible to people around the world thus opening up a wider player base. I don't knock that and think it's a good idea for you as a company to stay competitive with the type of game you've build and to help it grow.

However, I think it may be a bad idea for a few reasons. I really enjoy the fact that in just my alliance I have people from many different parts of the world who's native tongue isn't English. It's fun to learn about their cultures and they enjoy learning about ours, or yours. This new push will further dampen that abliity to happen.

Another issue I see arising is calling primaries for people who use their localized client but have a different language speaking Fleet Commander. In my humble opinion, you shouldn't localize the ship types for this reason alone. Most FC's will ask their fleet to sort by distance/name/type etc. and the ability to sort by these in a standardized way is pretty vital.

Even if it's localized on the client, but when sorted it follows English no matter what would be cool.

If someone in my country wanted to use localized client he would be ganked ganked and ganked until he quit eve.

Hi, this is about the way code handles the different alphabets living next to each other. You can find some very interesting info here.

Combine this with EVE voice - so I can swear in English and have it properly translated to be heard in Swedish and Dutch.