How to Translate a Mod
Sure! The general process is actually quite straightforward. Here’s how I usually do it:
1. Extract the conversations and quests from the mod
You need to extract the .qst and .cnv files from the mod.
They are usually located at:
modName\resources\Conversations.arc
modName\resources\Quests.arc
Use the ArchiveTool.exe in the game’s root directory to extract them.
The command format is:
ArchiveTool.exe [arc path] -extract [output path]
2. Convert the .qst and .cnv files to .txt
You can use this tool to do that:
Quests and Conversations Extraction Tool GUI v0.9
It will convert the quest and conversation files into .txt files that are much easier to work with.
3. Extract the English language files from the mod
You will usually find the English language archive here:
modName\resources\Text_EN.arc
Just like in step 1, use ArchiveTool.exe to extract it and obtain the .txt files inside.
4. Translate the TXT files
Now you can translate the .txt files obtained from steps 2 and 3.
There is one very important thing to keep in mind:
Please keep the line breaks exactly as they are.
Even if there are a lot of seemingly empty lines, do not remove, add, or rearrange any blank lines. The formatting needs to remain consistent with the original files.
5. Merge everything and create the language archive
Put your translated .txt files into a Text_xx folder, where xx is the language code you want to use.
For example, you can take a look at:
Grim Dawn\resources\Text_ZH.arc
You can extract that archive first to see how the files and folders are arranged.
Once everything is ready, pack your Text_xx folder into Text_xx.arc.
Use ArchiveTool.exe again. The command format is:
ArchiveTool.exe [arc path] -update . [full path to the folder you want to pack] 6
6. Put the language pack into the mod
Place the packed Text_xx.arc file here:
modName\resources\Text_xx.arc
Then, in the game settings, select the corresponding xx language and enter the mod. The mod should now use your translated language files.
7. A small additional note
If you want to check the available commands and options for ArchiveTool.exe, simply run ArchiveTool.exe without any arguments and press Enter. The available command formats will be displayed directly.