[def_dev_blog_about_localization]

[def_dev_blog_about_localization]

Greetings Open Perpetuumers!
Today I would like to show off some major advances in Perpetuum Game Client Technology (brought to you by Avatar Creations)!

Not so long ago, we were graced by a small but revolutionary change to how the client can load and store localizations.  Some developers from Avatar Creations are still maintaining the game client in their free time – for which we are grateful.  The most recent update opened the possibility for servers to dictate a localization dictionary.  Now when a client connects to a server, that server can provide a mapping of database-names of entities to human-readable formats, in the language of the configured client.  This is called “Localization” where some token-name is translated to other languages on some client.

Until Patch 11, anything that did not previously have a name appeared as the tokenized name, which is largely derived from a name field in the database.  That is where you see things like “[def_npc_callisto_very_shoot_much_guns]” or other items we have introduced.  This is not only problematic for English language speakers, but also completely alienates other languages.  With a game with a strong European and Russian following it is very important for us to make sure we are serving those audiences where we can best accommodate them.  Before, we had no recourse.  Now behold:

Client Support

It is very important that everyone know that this feature is only available on the Steam Perpetuum Client version May 4 2019 or greater.  Vanilla clients downloaded from perpetuum-online.com directly are deprecated by AC.  To take advantage of new features coming to the clients, you would need to get the client on Steam.  As AC posted in their blog about their shutdown, all future client updates and distribution would be through Steam.  There have already been a few bug fixes and additions to the client, but that has not impacted players as much as this change has.  If you are concerned about running multiple Steam clients, it is possible and not as hard as you would think!  For running multiple steam clients see the guide on Steam or video pinned on the discord’s #op-help channel.

Translations and Naming

Is your language missing localization?  Are there names of things that do not make sense to you?
Join the team! And help supply these vital functions to help the game grow!
https://openperpetuum.com/volunteer