Galciv 3 translation & editing game files without modding

Hi, I've been trying to translate Galciv 3 into another language, and ran into some problems.

Is there any way to edit the game files and apply the changes without using the mod functions?

I've tried editing some of the local text files and saving them, but they wouldn't show up in the game... No changes were applied.

I suppose I could use the mod feature... but using mods disables multiplayer...

So to summarize, is there any way of editing the text files and make the changes appear in the game without having to use mods?

32,311 views 20 replies
Reply #1 Top

I understand that game files can't be altered. They are automatically restored when you start the game. You can add to the game files I think, but no alterations

Reply #2 Top

Dang... Then is there no way to use translated text in multiplayer?

Reply #3 Top

Hey, I'm interested in this too. I am translating the game into my language (Spanish) and I have this same problem. The changes I make inside the game folder (DLC / Crusade / English / text) do not seem to have visible results when I run the game. Only works with mods, which are disabled in multiplayer.

DEVELOPERS !! Please, since Stardock does not intend to translate the game into more languages, at least give us more facilities to translators of other untranslated languages ​​(spanish, italian, polish ...).

 

Reply #4 Top

There is a way to get modded versions of the files in the DLC\EXP2_Crusade\English\Text folder to appear in the game without using mods.  If the modded versions have the exact same name as the original versions, I think they overwrite/replace the original files just as they do if they are in a mod, but I'm not 100% sure.  I have tried this method and know that the modded text appears in the game.  It is possible they are just being appended to the original file.  You will find out if you start getting two languages to appear.

If you look in your Documents\My Games\GC3Crusade folder, you will see the Mods folder.  You will also see a folder named FlavorText.  This is the folder you need.  All you have to do is copy or move your files to this folder.  You can then turn off mods.

The FlavorText folder is probably for custom dialogue that can be downloaded from Steam eventually.  This dialogue must be able to be used without mods, so GalCiv3 currently reads whatever is in the folder and treats whatever is in there like a mod, but without mods being activated.

This applies only to files found in the English\Text folder.  If your mod has files in other folders, such as Game, you have to use mods to get the mod to work.  If your mod only has files in the Text folder, this method will work.

I haven't tried multiplayer, but I think it should work there.  I don't know if the files will be automatically downloaded from the computer acting as the host, so you probably should make sure all parties have the files installed before starting the game.

Reply #5 Top

Old-Spider, first of all many thanks for your quick and detailed answer.

Secondly, I have tried your method and it does not work. I have placed several text files (xml) translated inside the folder "Flavor texts", then I have disabled the mods and ... nothing happens. Should I organize the files by subfolders or something?

As I read in other posts in this forum (for example: https://forums.galciv3.com/483471/page/1/#3680594), it seems that the text files are now compressed into some core Bin file, inside the game folders. Stardock's goal with this is to accelerate the launch of the program. For this reason, it is not possible to replace the base files in the "English\text folder". Is this true?

Reply #6 Top

Thanks for the reply! I'll be sure to check it out.

One more thing, the language that I am trying to translate the game into does not use the English alphabet. Is there any way to make characters other than English appear in-game?

Reply #7 Top

Umm... Sorry, but it doesn't seem to be working...

Reply #8 Top

I just tried this in a game for 100 turns, and it worked.  I will do some more testing and review of exactly what I am doing to see if my instructions left something out.

Reply #9 Top

Thanks, Spider. I have only placed three xml files from test but it does not work. In any case, I thought that the "flavor text" are just descriptive texts of the game's background. Why should this method work with all other text files?

Reply #10 Top

I too have placed the xml files from the text folder directly into the flavortext folder, and nothing happened.

If you could give us mote detailed instructions I would be eternally thankful!

Reply #11 Top

The only thing I can think of that may not be completely clear is that the files put into the FlavorText folder should not be in folders in the FlavorText folder but should be by themselves.  Here is a screenshot of my FlavorText folder showing how I am doing it.

The changes in these files are appearing in the game except for UIText.xml.  Some of these files contain additions I have made, some contain changes that correct spelling, grammar and other errors, and some contain both.  I don't see all the additions and changes in every game, but I see enough to know this method works.  I don't know why the changes in UIText.xml are not appearing, but they do appear when I use mods.

I'm not sure what to do next.

Reply #12 Top

Oh so the UIText.xml file does not work?

That must be why I haven't been seeing any changes appear in game... 

That's bad news, as the UIText file seems to contain some very important text and not being able to edit them will be problematic for the translation of the game...

 

But it's good to know that the other files work!

  • I'll be sure to check it out, thanks.
Reply #13 Top

Hey, Yarlen has explained to me how to make text files work without modding.

It's very simple: you need to re-run the core and data compiler bat files in the Tools directory after you make changes to them to appear in-game.

It works!!

Reply #14 Top

That's great news! I'll check it out as soon as I have the time. Thanks for the info!

Reply #15 Top

I've just tried the method, it works great!

But I ran into some other problems while translating...

Korean, the language that I'm trying to translate the game into, does not use the English alphabet... So I tried using custom fonts.

While I can get the font change to affect English text, I could not get the Korean letters to show up in game no matter what I did...

This is frustrating, and I might have to give up.

But anyway thanks for all the help!

Reply #16 Top

Please note that we discourage folks from edit files in the steam install directory. They may get overwritten when we push an update.  If you edit anything besides flavor text, you'll also get desync's in MP.  

I don't know off hand why UI text would not be moddable.  That sounds like a bug.

 

Reply #17 Top

Quoting bigwavek98, reply 15

I've just tried the method, it works great!

But I ran into some other problems while translating...

Korean, the language that I'm trying to translate the game into, does not use the English alphabet... So I tried using custom fonts.

While I can get the font change to affect English text, I could not get the Korean letters to show up in game no matter what I did...

This is frustrating, and I might have to give up.

But anyway thanks for all the help!

Supporting non-western fonts is not currently supported.  Its on our wishlist though.  

Reply #18 Top

It's good to know that it is on your wishlist.

I've seen quite a few people who wanted to play Galciv 3 but could not because of the language barrier.

Support for other languages could increase the playability and playerbase of the game.

 

Reply #19 Top

UIText.xml is treated as a game file (Game folder) not a Text file (Text folder) by the base game.

You can mod this file in a mod structure (GC3Crusade\Mods\My Mod\Game)