Why not translate Alpha- games?

[Hellboy4711]

Hi guys,

why is it that we can not translate Alpha games?

[thoun]

Because dev might change original texts a lot, and you would translate again and again for nothing. Waiting for beta ensure text will not change too much anymore.

[ViolentSilence]

Because dev might change original texts a lot, and you would translate again and again for nothing. Waiting for beta ensure text will not change too much anymore.

Just curious but would it also be possible for a developer to signal when a game is getting close to Beta? That way, it might be possible to have it in a few languages before reaching the beta stage. Obviously your point stands that you'd not want people trying to translate the whole time, but after a while, some stuff could probably be marked as likely to remain unchanged, and if it is changed, can those specific translations be flagged for inspection as it may be a fairly minor adjustement

[Een]

I'll take the counterpoint on this topic
Why would beta not be the most appropriate step to translate a game?

[ufm]

I already asked the same question before and got an answer: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... 11&t=18901

[Jest Phulin]

I'll take the counterpoint on this topic
Why would beta not be the most appropriate step to translate a game?

I'll take devil's advocate on this one.

If I remember correctly, development should be done in English. By not allowing any translation until beta, non-English readers are unable to provide initial feedback.
Yes, the majority of users probably read English.
Yes, translations tend to happen quickly once the game is in beta.
But, there are times when the physical game was originally developed in something other than English, and the first translation to English is incorrect. If digitally developed with the incorrect translation, correcting problems that could be found with someone familiar with the original language will be easier. (I'm thinking of the game Finca [not yet on this site, as far as I know], where there is definite confusion over the "any fruit" award...)

[Een]

I'll take devil's advocate on this one.

Thanks Jest, sometimes we can get a new perspective out of devil's advocacy

If I remember correctly, development should be done in English. By not allowing any translation until beta, non-English readers are unable to provide initial feedback.
Yes, the majority of users probably read English.
Yes, translations tend to happen quickly once the game is in beta.
But, there are times when the physical game was originally developed in something other than English, and the first translation to English is incorrect. If digitally developed with the incorrect translation, correcting problems that could be found with someone familiar with the original language will be easier. (I'm thinking of the game Finca [not yet on this site, as far as I know], where there is definite confusion over the "any fruit" award...)

Indeed sometimes the English rules can have errors that were not in the original game when the first publisher is not from an English speaking country. But certainly, some reviewers will speak both English and the original rules language, and will be able to spot English rules mistakes. The case where only a person not speaking English would be able to spot an issue seems pretty narrow.

[Mogri]

On the other hand, it would be great if I could add translation notes while the game is in alpha, even if that's the only part of the interface that's accessible pre-beta. Once everyone's put in their translations, it's too late for the notes to do much good.

[Een]

On the other hand, it would be great if I could add translation notes while the game is in alpha, even if that's the only part of the interface that's accessible pre-beta. Once everyone's put in their translations, it's too late for the notes to do much good.

In fact, the developer has access to the translations during alpha (to cover the specific case of a game that is played in only one region of the world, happens for some cards games, in that case the developer may have to translate himself in that lanugage to get playtesters). But translation notes at the moment are not meant for the developer to provide context ; they are meant for the translators to explain their translation (when it needs some comment). Allowing to provide context would be interesting, but we don't have this at the moment, except a minimal automatic indication extracted from the code structure.

[Mogri]

Oh, but isn't that easily solved by displaying the English translation notes under the left column (when the source language is English)? I assumed the framework already did that.