Zarquon Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 I haven't got the game yet, but I saw the screenshots of the german version and I just wondered if the translation was really up to the overall standards the game sets. Maybe these are very minor points for most players but I saw "Morale" translated as "Kampfwille", "Turn" as "Zug" and so on. Not exactly wrong, but not the best possible expressions, either. A "Zug" is a single move, not a turn. And why not say "Kampfmoral", which is an established term for morale in german? I'm not accusing anyone (yet , just asking. Perhaps I've read too many books and articles about military issues where the translation plainly sucked ("Hauptkanone", "Kleinwaffen", etc.). It really hurts. Perhaps the game companies/distributors have their own in-house translators that work on all games, regardless of specific experience with a special topic. That wouldn't hurt with a "slay the dragon and save the world" game. How does the rest of the game's text compare? If it's done amateur style (as most game translations are), it would spoil a lot of the fun for me. I've just tried and ordered the english version from CDV, just in case... Hope they can supply it. Joerg OK, OK, I'm whining without having a look at the product... But imagine BTS was a german company and the translation would tell you about a tank's "capital cannon". An infantry unit's "storm rifle". Scary. P.S. : Did I mention I'm not accusing anyone yet? I did? Pheeeewwww... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlov Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Speaking of translations, I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned this, and far be it for a mere member number 9222 to complain, but. . . The english in CMBO leaves something to be desired. The briefings are full of strange grammar and idiosyncratic spellings. It seems all the stranger that the author's native tongue is apparently english. I suppose if you start with a flawed document, then translate it, you are bound to end up with some curiosities. I hope CMBB was better proof read, but in any case I'm sure it wont keep it from being a great game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew H. Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Originally posted by Zarquon: OK, OK, I'm whining without having a look at the product... But imagine BTS was a german company and the translation would tell you about a tank's "capital cannon". An infantry unit's "storm rifle". Scary. Not to mention the fact that most tanks have a tub underneath their tower. The tub is between the chains... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarquon Posted September 21, 2002 Author Share Posted September 21, 2002 Comments from anyone who got the german version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Zarquon, the translations were managed by us (well, me) and done by fans, some of which you will see on these forums regularly. No, they're not perfect. Given enough time and a major recoding of how CM is handling text, it could have been done better, but unfortunately neither of the two were an option. When you have to squeeze german words into an interface made for english, you often run into compromises. Just to give you one example - some texts you see in CM are composed of various phrases which are re-used throughout the game. E.g. "machinegun" might be one string of text which appears in three or four instances. Now you know that in German, the proper translation occasionally would be "Maschinengewehr", but sometimes it could be "(des) Maschinengewehrs". Problems like these are difficult to work around to provide a 100% flawless German translation. As for "Kampfwille" and "Zug" - "Kampfmoral" and "Kampfwille" are interchangeable. We went with "Kampfwille" because it is distinct from "Moral" that is tracked for each unit on the map. "Runde" would be the proper translation of "turn", indeed, but it is one letter longer than "turn", and when you look at the interface you will realize that even that one letter more would have caused problems. "Zug" isn't wrong as is either, as the phrase "Ich bin am Zug" is used to indicate that one player's turn has begun. But yes, the translations do have some compromises like this, and you can see that it is a translation and not a game originally made in German. Given that there were about 120,000 words to translate for CMBB within a short timeframe, however, it's a great job of everyone involved. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaBellum Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Zarquon, from what I've seen so far the translation both of the game and the manual are pretty good. A few typos and some minor glitches but especially for a game with a lot of 'military slang' it's well done. I've seen worse in original (english) versions of games. Funny fact, in one scenario there are SS-units mentioned (not WG), seems like someone overlooked something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarquon Posted September 21, 2002 Author Share Posted September 21, 2002 Moon, thanks for the answers. But yes, the translations do have some compromises like this, and you can see that it is a translation and not a game originally made in German. Given that there were about 120,000 words to translate for CMBB within a short timeframe, however, it's a great job of everyone involved. I guess that sums it up. One last question : will the Great Engine Rewrite allow for switching between languages, saving production costs for you and making whiners like me happy? Joerg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Yes, but unfortunately, there still will be whiners Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Tiger Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Im absolut contently about the german speech, manual and briefings...great work guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Thanks K_Tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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