Can AGS support other language?

[Chernsha]

Can AGS support other language?
ex:Chinese,Japanese....
I try import chinese TTF Font,but the chinese text in script file can't show in game correctly...

[Gilbert]

No, not for double byted languages, I know that.

[Chernsha]

Can you add the support for double byted languages
in next version?
Thank you.....

[Gilbert]

I think it's not easy for CJ to do it, as the programme had been updated for years and yet this feature wasn't added. Moreover, it's not really much requested and only very few people (me being one) might use it or test it.

[Pumaman]

The problem is that this is not a trivial feature to add - AGS uses ASCII strings all over, and to support double byte character sets would mean quite an overhaul of the code.

So I'm afraid I can't promise anything.

[Chernsha]

I think a way  to achieve the function....
That is to let AGS hook and return the text that will show currently.
Includes the text width,height,top,down,right,left,X axis,Y axis,string content,font size,font color or more about text attribute....
And return those to the plugin that user can design to determine
if let the text to been showed directly by AGS or to been drawn in screen by plugin.(maybe with bmp,ttf or the other method...)
But that will need AGS support the plugin API funtion....
So...I wish CJ can add those funtion in the next version to support the double byted languages.This should not change too much code.

[Gilbert]

Actually I'm not sure, apart from you and me, how many people would actually use this feature (and I don't even need it at the moment). So unfortunately, as it's not really easy to implement and there was never popular request for it, I don't think it would get implemented soon in the near future (I don't mean it's won't be cool getting it done but I think there're many other stuffs of higher priorities and having more requests that should be done first).

Of course, having these feature implemented may attract much more people from all over the globe into using AGS though.

[SimSaw]

I asked Chris if he would let me translate the AGS editor to German (for free of course), but he declined that because he feared that German people would come into the English AGS forum and post their in German because there is no German support for it then.

I can live with the AGS editor in English, but in German I could understand it better. For German people whose English knowledge is worse it would also be handy, but as you see: Chris does not want that. Maybe there should be some daily non-translation fee....  

[a-v-o]

SimSaw: you want a translation of the editor, but Gilbot and Chernsha ask for multi-byte support for their games (translation of their games).

These are 2 different things.

On the other hand, there is an 'inofficial' german AGS Forum. Sometimes people seek there help with their error messages which I know from this technical forum here, so I tell them in german what I learned here. Or I post here bugs which were found by a user in the german forum.

[SimSaw]

The subject is if AGS could support other language so what I asked for has in a bit different kind do to with that.  :o

The point you asked for with this ttf thing and other is also necessary then. And there's also the problem that there are different keyboard settings so the letters ä ö ü ß can not be used when trying to save a game for example. Tell me if I was wrong, but in older version this was so as descriped in the last sentence. This is also where support for other languages is needed.

Nice point with the German forum! Maybe with this argument Chris will agree to the translation. The only problem is then I'll just be a translator and no programmer. So on error messages in the German forum I would have to ask Chris and tell it to the person who has got the problem. But this would be a good way anyway.