I can't play the game anymore until some few weeks...
About v2.4, it was just to say I didn't start from nowhere (as regards to some translation choices).
The file I provide above is v2.5 of course, and
not to be uncompressed. This forum prevents from uploading any file besides a few extensions, such as .zip, .jpeg, etc. You just have to change ".zip" into ".po" in order to poedit it.
I'd recommend that you use it as a base of your own work, depending on how advanced it is, that is. How do I dare
?
It's because I made it compliant with a few writing rules that were not implemented in the current version, and that don't depend on the translation process proper:
- capitals with diacritics;
- gender invariability of acronyms ('OVNIs' doesn't exist in French);
- double space before double punctuation (; : ! ?);
- correct, non fantasy military rank (French ones);
also, I added several comments in the .po file to warn about multiple use of same string in game.
I also lately decided to get rid from all the "alien" entries (to have a try while playing): we could have stood with the substantives, but there are many qualifiers (alien, alienne) as well. So I went for "extraterrestre" (short: "ET"), and sometimes for "envahisseur". That said, I wouldn't mind if some of the actors would speak about "aliens", but Paul Navarre seems to be the only Canadian or French in the HQ. Perhaps, Doc Connor could tell about "aliens" instead of "extraterrestres".
Back to the weapons:
1- "Blaster" : your comment and Darkrain's make it obvious that it should be more a "Lance-plasma" (like "Flamethrower") than a "Lance à plasma" (the torch). I like "Tromblon à plasma" (Plasma Blunderbuss) too, and that would make for Darkrain's "Plasma Shotgun". As for weapon names, they aren't displayed in buttons and likewise short text container so that we don't really need short names. Ammunitions name may be too long and abbreviated with "..." but it's already the case in English, and that's the kind of adjustment that may be done when v2.6 GUI is tested.
Still, I feel like the various fire modes don't help currently in translating "Blaster" properly (the weapon retains mid-range beam attacks).
2- "Particle Beam Canon": I guess it could be "Canon à faisceaux de particules", the shortest we may have if we keep "faisceaux".
3- "Bolter" & "Coilgun": as Darkrain says, a coilgun is not an electric rifle, and I think that current translation is wrong. An electric or electromagnetic rifle is a weapon where electric current is mandatory for it to work. In a coilgun, the coils (electromagnets) could be replaced by magnets, although the weapon should then be revisited (it's hard to have magnets change their polarity). It functions based on induction of AC currents inside the isolated missile (or its sabot), and an attraction-repulsion magnetic effect, the inductors being the coils around the barrel, fed by switched or AC currents. On the other hand, the "Bolter" or "Laplace Gun" or "Rail Gun" (as far the current UFOpaedia description is the right one), needs a DC current running in the rails and in the sabot of the missile. The magnets around the barrel could be DC coils by the way. It's basically a linear DC motor. That's why I believe there's no ambiguity with "Electromagnetic Rifle" and "Magnetic Rifle".
That said, "Bolter" is a surname if I remember the Ufopaedia article, that would be translated in Latin by "Ballista" (litt. "Bolt Thrower"). Note that the weapon fires a small, light dart. Are you ready for "Baliste électromagnétique", however?
4- What about "Bloodspider" and "Combat Bloodspider"? "Araignée sanguinaire" and "Araignée sanguinaire de combat" are very long and we get "..." all over the place. Given that they are named by the soldiers, we could have "Araignée sanguinaire" and "Araignée de combat", or "Arachnoïde" and "Arachnoïde de combat" (or even "Arachne"...) which are shorter than the current version.
