Parsing some texts with // in TEXT.FLX

[L@Zar0]

Hi again,

I've observed (which it does not happen on the original version) that some texts in TEXT.FLX like:

/gold coin//s
/gold bar//s
/gold nugget//s

or in the case of the reactives, for example:

/mandrake root//s

it is parsing differently from the original version. Why?
In the foreign language versions, like in spanish, TEXT.FLX has, for example:

/moneda//s de oro
/barra//s de oro
/pepita//s de oro

or in the case of reactives, has:

/raí/z/ces de mandrágora

Resulting in the singular or plural names.

Could it be possible make this as it was in the original version of the game?

Regards.

[L@Zar0]

Also, I don't think that this problem be only dependant for the Spanish version. I suppouse that other foreign languages have this problem.

[marzo]

As far as I can tell, Exult does it exactly like the original; any name with slashes on it is read as

singular article/name root/singular suffix/plural suffix

I don't think they changed the code for the Spanish version, but I could be mistaken.

[L@Zar0]

I agree with you. In fact, this is how it works, but we must consider the:

... de oro

and

... de mandrágora.

In spanish this goes after the name, not before the name. You can see that the construction is the same, but the latest description ("de oro" and "de mandrágora") are not written correctly. Only in plurals.

This is how it is written in Exult (samples):

moneda (for singular)
monedas de oro (for plural)

raíz (for singular)
raíces de mandrágora (for plural)

Exult is working correctly with the plurals, but with the singulars it lefts the description of the name, which I don't know how Exult works with them. In the original, I remember see "moneda de oro" (singular) and "monedas de oro" (plural), for example.

[L@Zar0]

Also, another case/example would be:

/perla//s negra//s (black pearls)

Exult is doing well the plural "perlas negras", but with the singular it prints "perla". This are the "black pearls" in English.

[L@Zar0]

Well, now i've looked into the TEXT.FLX file of the Spanish version, but the adjectives after the name are inexistent. So it is:

/monedas//s
/pepita//s
/lingotes//s

so, it seems a little difficult to make this possible.

Anyway, thanks for your support.

[L@Zar0]

Mmm... I think that I've found, more or less, one solution for this issue, but I like to know if could be some problem with this:

To make the names descriptibles, in singular and plural, I've thought in use this:

//moneda de oro/monedas de oro
//pepita de oro/pepitas de oro
bla
bla

I tested it in Exult and it has worked, but, could be some problem in doing this?

[Malignant Manor]

It should also work like this:

/moneda/ de oro/s de oro
/pepita/ de oro/s de oro

[marzo]

I think Malignant Manor's solution is the best bet.

[L@Zar0]

Yes, finally I decided to use that, although both methods works well.

Thank you very much.

[artaxerxes]

L@Zar0 wrote:
> To make the names descriptibles, in singular and plural, I've
> thought in use this:
>
> //moneda de oro/monedas de oro
> //pepita de oro/pepitas de oro


FWIW, that's precisely the way it's done in many description for the French version of BG and SI.

Artaxerxes

[L@Zar0]

Artaxerxes,

sometimes I look into french/italian translations to get ideas for the Spanish translation (SS+SI, SI was never released in Spanish). But this time I didn't look at it, I thought by myself how to solve this.

For now, I have only two things that I don't know how to solve:

First, how to edit npc.dat (inside INITGAME.DAT) to change some names which in Spanish need some punctuation, like Simón and León (this is more realistic in castilian). I can change this two names directly with an hexa editor, I've done that, but I don't remember well if there is some name that must be translated, like bosses (The Fiend) or something like that. For now I'am testing/playing a final stage translation of USECODE and TEXT.FLX (changing minor textual and sintaxis errors) and the adaptation of the .VGA files (some graphical maps (Dark Path and Shamino's Castle maps are translated in Spanish version, for example), or the MAINSHP.FLX).

Second, how to edit INTRO.DAT to add punctiation letters to the subtitles.

The rest of things (I need more testing on signposts and plaques with punctuation letters) are solved.

Thanks anyway for your suggestion about singular and plural names.

[artaxerxes]

I don't recall altering initgame.dat at all. TEXT.FLX and USECODE are the only place where people's name need to be changed, AFAICT.

We didn't translate the introduction, so I can't speak for that.

Artaxerxes

[L@Zar0]

In NPC.DAT there are the names (AFAIK) for the people. When you begin a new game, NPC.DAT is created on the gamedat folder from INITGAME.DAT, and the game gets the people names from there.

So, if some name is changed in USECODE, to make it appear the same in-game, like when you kill someone and click on his corpse and appears the ", body", for example, "Spektor, body", it is obtained from NPC.DAT.

Maybe I am wrong, but this is how I've seen it works.

Obviously I don't pretend rename all the NPC names, but I like to adapt to the Spanish a bit of them, where it is possible.

[marzo]

L@zar0 is right, names in npc.dat are the ones displayed when you click an NPC, in urns of ashes or bodies (both SI) and when getting or setting a name through usecode. Exult-written initgame.dat is a zip file; the original is a special flex file where entries are prefixed by the file name.