[Tomo]

Thank you. Strangely, when I experimented with FRED, my text saved in the mission.

Not strange at all.
The way translation works is as follows:

The mission file contains a "default language" version of the mission (English) and every bit of text in that mission file has an ID number.

When you play the game in a different language, the game reads that ID number and looks up the appropriate translation using chosen language and this ID from tstrings.tbl.
If it finds one, it shows the translation, and if it doesn't, it shows the "default language" string instead.

So the reason karajorma said that you shouldn't be editing the mission file is because that would actually delete the English version!
In order to add a new language you have to edit strings.tbl and tstrings.tbl instead.

That said, you're absolutely right that the first step is getting a suitable font.

[karajorma]

Yep. The reason why you should edit those tables is that the translations become future-proofed to a large degree. If you edit the missions you need to support them through any changes the SCP make. If some new feature requires a mission to be changed (a good example is when Skyboxes were added to missions) the changes will be made to the English version and that's the one that would be distributed in the media VPs. Your missions would then need to be upgraded or they'd lack those features.

If you use the table your stuff will stay current unless someone has to change the dialogue for some reason.

[kir2yar]

Original FS and FS2 translated by Fargus. As soon as I find the CD, I'll see can I use the fonts from there.

Fargus translation and fonts a worse than failure. I can describe it only with obscene words.
I have to draw the fonts.

[Vladislav]

I can help with the Russian translation, but not the Unicode part
We should do a voice translation as well as a text translation. I'd like to translate all the cutscenes too, it would add to the game.
Same with Blue Planet... Great mod.
So count me in
Just tell me what to do to get started.

[PMY]

I don't think dubbing voices is a good idea. No matter how hard we would try, we just can't equal Volitions professional voice acting. And we probably won't even find enough actors to do this (lots of roles, and not only male but also female roles BTW).

[chief1983]

Well, if the anime universe is any indication, you're going to find plenty of people on both sides of the ball when it comes to dubs vs subs.  Some people find that only having the text to read takes away from the action (really, that's the reason we VA campaigns in the first place right?), and some will say that dubs never do the original voices justice.  If there's enough interest in dubbing it, or someone who actually wants to do it, go for it.  I'm not sure you're going to find the interest or manpower to do it though.

[Tomo]

I don't think dubbing voices is a good idea. No matter how hard we would try, we just can't equal Volition's professional voice acting.

Rubbish!
There is no reason why 'amateur' VA couldn't compete with 'pro' on quality - several campaigns have really good voice acting, and there's plenty of excellent dubbing on YouTube.

The main advantage of professional VA is that they tend to be a lot better at getting a cast and meeting deadlines.

Amateur generally takes a lot longer and might not happen at all - but can still be excellent.

[Thaeris]

Don't forget that professionals ideally have access to quality equipment as well. My tools and utilities are, to say the least, on the low end of the spectrum.

[Nuke]

quality equipment that sounds only marginally better than an old soundblaster card. you would have to be an audiophile to tell the difference.

[chief1983]

I think the microphone is one of the bigger concerns here.  A quality mic can make a world of difference, and is also in another world of price ranges.

[Vladislav]

Simply add a bit of communications static, kind of like it sounds like to be in a cockpit of a fighter. That should hide bad quality.

[Nuke]

I think the microphone is one of the bigger concerns here.  A quality mic can make a world of difference, and is also in another world of price ranges.

definitely this, any vocal mic of reasonable quality should work. like the ones garage bands use. should have a well shielded cable for best results. id also consider using a windscreen for these loud parts where you get a lot of blow noise (such as "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" ).

[Iss Mneur]

I think the microphone is one of the bigger concerns here.  A quality mic can make a world of difference, and is also in another world of price ranges.

definitely this, any vocal mic of reasonable quality should work. like the ones garage bands use. should have a well shielded cable for best results. id also consider using a windscreen for these loud parts where you get a lot of blow noise (such as "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" ).

Or don't put the mic directly in front of your mouth.  Position it so that you talk (and blow) over or to the side of the microphone, wherever the actual pickup is.

[Nuke]

problem with that is you have to boost the gain on the amp to get the same recording level, and by doing that you also amplify any ambient noise. a wind screen lets you speak directly into the mike in an actionable voice without that annoying blowing on the mic sound. really its the voice actors friend, and can be bought outright or made on the cheap. you can further reduce ambient noise my moving equipment (particularly stuff with loud fans) outside of the room. great care is taken to muffle the reflected sound, so usually you find the walls of the recording booth lined with foam paneling to lessen the effect. i very much doubt you need to bother with that much stuff, but thats how the pros go about it.

i used to be the fixit guy for the radio-tv class as an extra credit assignment for my electronics class. essentially i spent the first half an hour of the day in rtv room fixing things and teaching the reporter wannabes how to use the studio gear (actually one of them is now an indie film director). they did fake news every day and had 3 fake radio stations on hand (i setup one of them). the studio mics we had were really cheap (public school budget) so we had to do all kinds of improvisation. we used the material off the front of some dead speakers and a wire hanger to make some rather inexpensive windscreens, and they really improved the sound on the mics.

[starlord]

actually while it has nothing to do with freespace, I'll also quickly interject here:

What you guys are doing is quite interesting... It so happens I would also need helpers in order to translate a document from russian to english (I've got already someone working on it, but he can use any help he could get)... that document is the tomorrow war: factor K story script... Should it be done with success, then a MOD team will create a patch to subtitle the add on, so us occidentals can also be given to enjoy the tomorrow war and most importantly it's sequel factor K...

What's your point of view on that?

[kir2yar]

I'm still alive.

Real life attacked me. : ( New job. Constantly busy. : (

As soon as I get time I'll try to draw fonts.