Outer-Wilds-SK-Translation-Mod/PLAN.md

# PLAN.md — Slovak translation of Outer Wilds

Roadmap for building the mod. Status markers: ✅ done · 🚧 in progress · ⬜ todo.

## Goal

Add **Slovenčina** as a fully selectable language to *Outer Wilds*, covering the
**base game and the *Echoes of the Eye* DLC**, distributed as an Outer Wilds Mod
Manager mod. Quality target: natural, consistent Slovak — not literal machine
output.

## Approach

- Built on **xen-42's Localization Utility / Interplanetary Polyglot**
  (`xen.LocalizationUtility`) — register a new language from one `Translation.xml`.
  No game files needed to build.
- **Translation:** machine-assisted first pass (clean-room, no third-party
  translation text reused), then a **Slovak-speaking human review pass**. Phased by
  category so partial releases are usable: **UI/menus → dialogue/text walls →
  ship log**.
- **Scope:** the single ~896 KB `Translation.xml` already contains base game + DLC
  strings together, so scope is "everything," sequenced internally by category.

## Phases

### Phase 1 — Repo scaffold & docs ✅
`README.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `PLAN.md`, and MIT `LICENSE` in place.

### Phase 2 — Mod skeleton ✅
Created the OWML mod shell, modelled on
[`shippy/outer-wilds-czech`](https://github.com/shippy/outer-wilds-czech):

- `manifest.json` — `author: Homer`, `uniqueName: Homer.SlovakTranslation`,
  `name`, `version`, `owmlVersion`, `dependencies: ["xen.LocalizationUtility"]`.
- `ILocalizationAPI.cs` — interface copied from the utility.
- `SlovakTranslation.cs` — `ModBehaviour` calling
  `api.RegisterLanguage(this, "Slovenčina", "assets/Translation.xml")`.
- `SlovakTranslation.csproj` / `.sln`, `.gitignore`, empty `assets/`.
- Optional: GitHub/Gitea release workflow.

### Phase 3 — Import English source ✅
Imported the base English `Translation.xml` (896 KB, 2424 entries, keys == values)
from the utility repo into `assets/`. This is the file to translate.

> Build verified: `dotnet build -c Release` compiles against the `OWML` /
> `OuterWildsGameLibs` NuGet packages (no game install needed) and stages a
> loadable mod folder (`SlovakTranslation.dll` + `manifest.json` +
> `default-config.json` + `assets/Translation.xml`) in `bin/`.

### Phase 4 — Glossary 🚧
First draft of `docs/glossary.md` in place: tone/register locked (informal *ty*),
and SK renderings proposed for the proper nouns and recurring terms below. Rows
marked `❓ review` still need the Slovak-speaking review pass to finalize.

Write `docs/glossary.md` fixing SK renderings (or keep-in-English decisions) for
proper nouns and recurring terms, e.g.: Nomai, Hearthian, the Eye / Eye of the
Universe, Ash Twin Project, Vessel, Black Hole Forge, Quantum Moon, Sun Station,
ship log, Nomai statue, Ember Twin, Ash Twin, Timber Hearth, Brittle Hollow,
Giant's Deep, Dark Bramble, Interloper, Stranger (DLC), Owlk/"Owlks" (DLC).
Decide tone/register (informal *ty* vs. formal) and lock it here.

### Phase 5 — Translate `<value>` entries 🚧
Machine-assisted pass → human review, by category (UI/menus → dialogue → ship log),
base + DLC. Preserve all `&lt;color=…&gt;`/`&lt;i&gt;` markup, entities, and speaker
prefixes. Track progress and any hard-to-translate lines here or in issues.

Progress by category (source has 3 sections — the flat `<entry>` list = dialogue/
text walls, `<table_shipLog>` = ship log, `<table_ui>` = UI/menus):

- **UI/menus (`<table_ui>`, 814 entries) — ✅ machine-assisted first pass done,
  place-name terms reviewed & locked.** All values translated; integer `<key>`
  IDs untouched; `\n`, `&lt;!&gt;` input-prompt tokens, `&lt;Profile Name&gt;`
  placeholder, and color/italic markup preserved; XML re-verified well-formed.
  Casing mirrors the source (ALL-CAPS button labels stay caps). A consistency
  re-pass applied the locked glossary terms (Scout → *Skaut*, Signalscope →
  *Signáloskop*, Timber Hearth → *Drevený kozub*, Ash/Ember Twin → *Dvojča
  Popolu / Dvojča Uhlíka*, etc.). Remaining: a general Slovak review of the
  non-proper-noun phrasings.
- **Ship log (`<table_shipLog>`, 483 entries) — ✅ machine-assisted first pass done.**
  All values translated (location names + rumor/fact entries); string `<key>`
  lookups untouched; plain text (no markup). Narrator voice locked to masculine;
  ship-log place names locked in the glossary (§3, §5b). XML re-verified
  well-formed; mod builds. **Still needs the Slovak review pass.**
- **Dialogue / text walls (flat `<entry>` list, 2423 entries) — 🚧 in progress.**
  Batched by **content type** (not planet — the flat list is asset-ID ordered):
  Nomai lore/wall-text (by speaker) → Hearthian villagers → travelers →
  player/system/DLC. Preserve `&lt;color=…&gt;`/`&lt;i&gt;`/`&lt;size=…&gt;` markup,
  template tokens (`&lt;Pause/&gt;`, `&lt;TimeMinutes&gt;`, `&lt;NbTimeloops&gt;`,
  `&lt;…SinceRedGiant&gt;`), `\n`, speaker prefixes, and per-entry whitespace.
  - **Batch 1 — Solanum (70 lines) ✅** — Quantum Moon pilgrim: astronomy-museum
    walls, Tower of Quantum Knowledge / Quantum Shrine, Eye philosophy. Feminine
    voice. Applied by key; XML re-verified; builds.
  - **Batch 2 — Vessel / warp-core debate (29 lines) ✅** — the Nomai clan
    debating how to obtain the advanced warp core for the Ash Twin Project
    (Oeno, Clary, Poke, Idaea, Avens, Cassava, Spire, Mitis) + Poke's personal
    reflections + the Vessel's escape-pod launch / crash computer log. Poke &
    Clary feminine, Annona masculine.
  - **Batch 3 — Orbital Probe Cannon (50 lines) ✅** — Construction Yard cyclones
    (Conoy, Spire, Cassava), building/firing the cannon (Cassava, Daz, Mallow,
    Privet, Avens, Yarrow), the "let's send a probe" decision, and the cannon's
    damage-report / launch-log system text. Avens masc, Ramie fem. Preserved
    `&lt;TimeMinutes&gt;`/`&lt;TimeSeconds&gt;` tokens and the "on the other
    appendage" Nomai joke.
  - **Batch 4 — Ash Twin Project warp mechanism (53 lines) ✅** — warp-tower
    alignment lore, White Hole Station tutorial, tower designs, ore/shell
    construction, warp-core-source debate (Yarrow, Clary, Poke, Root, Phlox,
    Oeno, Cycad, Annona, Ramie, Ilex). Pye fem, Plume masc. (Sun Station debate,
    firing, failure + memory statues still to come.)
  - **Batch 5 — Sun Station + memory statues (61 lines) ✅** — the Sun Station
    build debate (Idaea/Pye/Ramie/Poke), Pye's supernova/"gas" humor, the firing
    orders, the failure aftermath, and the memory statues + masks (Phlox, Daz,
    Yarrow, Ramie, Oeno, Root). Idaea masc. Preserved the 1304 countdown tokens
    (`&lt;RemainingMinutes&gt;`…) + `\n` and `&lt;TimeMinutes&gt;`/`&lt;TimeSeconds&gt;`.
  - **Batch 6 — High Energy Lab (42 lines) ✅** — the negative-time-interval
    experiments (Pye & Ramie), the white/black-hole-core setup, the 22-minute
    hypothesis, and the High Energy Lab / Sunless City labels + distance markers.
    Kept Pye/Ramie's "gas / aeriform" state-of-matter puns (flagged for review)
    and Conoy's "lose his head" joke.
  - **Batch 7 — Quantum caves (48 lines) ✅** — the quantum shard, the Quantum
    Moon locator, the wandering-rock / quantum-travel experiments, Coleus's
    disappearance and the search for him, and the Ember Twin shelter-path
    directions (Coleus, Melorae, Bur, Annona, Thatch, Plume). Coleus/Melorae
    masc. Kept the pre-discovery moon names (*putujúci / prízračný mesiac*) and
    Melorae's "my sedimentary friend" geologist humor.
  - **Batch 8 — Interloper shuttle + warp-tower scroll-wall (43 lines) ✅** — the
    comet crew discovering the exotic/ghost matter in the ruptured stone (Pye,
    Poke, Clary — all feminine; Poke & Clary are sisters), plus the leftover
    White Hole Station / warp-tower scroll-wall lines that finish the batch-4
    conversations (Clary/Poke/Root/Yarrow, incl. the Clary–Yarrow romance).
  - Remaining: ~267 other Nomai speaker lines + ~1760 Hearthian/player lines.

Terminology change (applied file-wide): **Black Hole Forge → Kováreň čiernych
dier** (was *Zlieváreň čiernej diery*) — 15 occurrences across ship log + dialogue.

### Phase 6 — Diacritic / font check ⬜
Verify the stock game font renders all Slovak glyphs
(á ä č ď é í ĺ ľ ň ó ô ŕ š ť ú ý ž). Only if any are missing: build a font asset
bundle in **Unity 2019.4.27f1** and wire `api.AddLanguageFont(...)`.

### Phase 7 — Build & in-game test ⬜
**Prerequisite:** install *Outer Wilds* + Outer Wilds Mod Manager + OWML (none are
on this machine yet). Then `dotnet build`, load via the Mod Manager, select
Slovenčina, and verify menus, dialogue, and ship log render correctly.

### Phase 8 — Release ⬜
Tag a Gitea release; optionally submit to the Outer Wilds mod database so the mod
appears in the Mod Manager for everyone.

## Open items / risks

- **Font coverage** for Slovak-specific glyphs (ľ ĺ ŕ ô ä) is unverified until
  in-game testing (Phase 6/7).
- **Translation volume is the real cost** — ~896 KB of source text. A
  Slovak-speaking review pass is essential, especially for DLC/dialogue nuance,
  puns, and Nomai text-wall length constraints.
- **In-game testing is blocked** until the game + Mod Manager are installed locally.
- Confirm the tone/register decision (Phase 4) early — reworking it later is costly.

## References

- Localization Utility / Interplanetary Polyglot (framework, MIT, source template):
  https://github.com/xen-42/outer-wilds-localization-utility
- Czech mod (structure reference): https://github.com/shippy/outer-wilds-czech
- OWML: https://github.com/ow-mods/owml
- Mod Manager: https://outerwildsmods.com/mod-manager/