A comprehensive list of issues I had while translating Idol Manager
Hello, devs! I have just finished translating all files inside the IM_Data\StreamingAssets\Languages\en folder, and created a mod with those files for my Brazilian Portuguese localization of Idol Manager. All the files’ content seem to have been correctly translated, and no changes to the game’s code seem to have been made (or at least I assume none have, since I know from experience that deleting a ‘ , ’ or a ‘ “ ‘ can have terrible consequences: the entire file will stop being recognized by the game, and the original file in English will be loaded instead). Now, that does not seem to be the case this time, though I am still facing a couple issues with untranslatable text (like the Recording Studio one I reported about a few weeks ago), words that cannot be found in the files, text formatting, among other minor problems. Of course I understand the game (and the modding tools) are still in beta, so these kinds of issues are to be expected. You might be aware of some of these, but I’ll include them in this post anyway just to be sure!
Because I’m facing some obstacles in my project that seem to be universal (whoever decides to localize Idol Manager will deal with the same issues), I decided to make this long list of bug reports and suggestions regarding localized .json files, with screenshots that will help you know exactly which portions of the game I’ll be referring to. Hopefully this list will be able to not only fix issues that might reside in my translated files, but also help you dev people and fans with future Idol Manager localizations. If need be, I can share more the translated files with you. Now, dear developer(s), I must kindly ask you to get comfortable on your seat, grab a glass of your favorite beverage and, with no further ado, ikemashou!
- [Save/Load Screen] ‘Load’ button
- [All tabs] Buttons at the top of the window and the tooltips you get when hovering over wach tab icon are in English. In general, clickable buttons seem to feature untranslatable text.
- [Date] Date lines can be quite puzzling, no matter the topic of discussion between the player and the idol. I’ve tried talking to my idols multiple times, and it seems like it’s hit or miss. I can’t pinpoint a pattern for working and non-working lines, simply because I’m afraid something is wrong with the entire system.Some lines seem to work, some others don’t, and I’d say there’s a 50-50 chance a line will work or not. In fact, I think I’ve seen the same line come up twice - the first time, it was translated; the second, it wasn’t. I checked my date-related translated files and compared them to the original game files in English, and there is no difference between them when it comes to the code, so while it’s not impossible, it’s unlikely that these issues are being caused by changes I may have accidentally made to the game’s code. Also, it seems like trivia displayed in English during the Date talk will also be displayed in English under the ‘Extras’ tab of the Idol’s profile.
- [Date > Graduation] The graduation dates the idols tell us about (e.g.: “before I turn 29”) are displayed in English, even when the rest of the dialogue line is correctly translated.
- [Notifications] ‘You’ word, as in the player.
- [Player’s Office] ‘Socialize’ text while dragging an idol cannot be translated.
- [Tooltip menus] Upon clicking on any room, most of the options will display their original text in English.
- [Singles tab] All information displayed about released singles are in English, except for ‘Profit’. Same applies to the Media tab and shows either canceled or in production.
- [Policies tab] The ‘Policies’ tab is quite the unique case. Apparently, all option buttons (e.g. ‘Image’ > Orthodox, Neutral or Rebellious) are actually duplicated once translated. So my translated ‘Image’ section, instead of having three options, has six of them - three in English, three in Portuguese. Same goes for all the other Policies. It’s quite weird, honestly, and I have literally no idea how that happened, since my ‘policies.json’ file looks identical to the original one, only with the translated text. Tooltips are also untranslatable.
- [Policies tab] All ‘Push’ related text is unable to be translated.
- [Settings tab] All buttons display their original text in English.
- [in-game Settings screen] All sliders are named ‘Background Music’, in English, and the text always displays ‘100’ regardless of the sliders’ settings. This does not happen on the Main Menu Settings screen.
- [Audition screen] ‘Finish’ button.
- [Idol Profile screen] ‘Bonds’ and ‘Extras’ buttons aren’t translated.
- [Formatting] On several occasions, if the translated text is longer than the original text, some characters might end up being overlapped by other objects on the screen. Of course I understand why that happens, but I’d like to know if it’d be possible to make it so longer text has its font size/character spacing reduced to fit without causing visual bugs.
- [Bug] When you open Idol Manager with the translation mod activated, the game will boot up in English. In order to actually change the game’s language, the player must head to the Settings screen on the Main Menu and click the checkbox labeled ‘English’. Only then the translation will be activated. It’s not game breaking, of course, but it would be neat if modders had an option to add their own checkbox to the game’s language settings with their translation mod.
- [Bug] In the 'event_template.json' file, two lines ('bump1' and 'bump2') have the exact same text. Not sure if intended or not, just giving the heads up.
I hope this list helps you and whoever may be interested in translating Idol Manager in the future. Please let me know if I'm being an idiot and all those issues are being caused by my lack of coding knowledge! ❤️
