Unit (and Building) Names in EB 0.8

**Teleklos Archelaou** · 12-05-2006, 06:15

We aren't totally sold on this yet, there are problems with it, but for now, this is our current system. It is pretty much the same thing for buildings too, but I'll just give you examples of units right now.

Here is the system: We maintain the same names we had before for units (and buildings), but we also now have a translation in English right beneath them. This is something the public seems to really have been asking for, to help understand those long native names for many EB units (and buildings). But, there are some problems. Here is where you will see the new names, and where there are issues:

The good:
1a. strat map unit information screen (they look perfect there)
1b. battle map unit information screen (same)
2a. strat map tooltip passover box (they look good there)
2b. battle map unit information screen (same)
3. strat map unit recruited message, when more than one unit is recruited (short descriptions of units and their names)

They don't look so good on:
4. strat map unit recruited message, when only one unit is recruited (second line overlaps onto text; messy but very clearly legible)
5. MIC building description screen (where the main names are ok, but the second line drops down to where the second line *should* be on the unit beneath it - this is still understandable often, if very very messy and just barely legible to illegible).
6. Battle Statistics screen (after a battle; this is the same problem as #2 above, where the second line drops down at the end of the next unit's name - again, I think this is very messy, but it's still legible if you know what the error is)

Here they are:

Buildings have the same issues, but there is no #3 problem above, for battle statistics, or for the #2 problem above. So, this is something we will be thinking about and maybe trying to figure out a way around. Or we might decide to live with the way it is now. I've got one thing in mind already, but we'll have to wait and see.

So, just remember that we know this problem exists, and we are trying to remedy it, but it gives us something we didn't have before and we are liking some aspects of this system. Here is how we do the code, by the way:

Code:

Frameharjoz\n(Germanic Spear Infantry)

That \n makes it automatically hard-return.

-----------------------------------------------------
Note: Those numbers before the units were just to let us keep track of them in internal builds - they should be gone in 0.8, or very soon afterwards.

**MarcusAureliusAntoninus** · 12-05-2006, 07:13

Is the quotation name a translation or a short explaination of the name? For example would Hastati be 'Spears' or 'Roman Infantry'?

**CountArach** · 12-05-2006, 08:28

This seems fine to me. As you said, it loks a bit messy in some places, but it is fine.

I'm more interested in the numbers. Is that just the place in the EDU?

**Cheexsta** · 12-05-2006, 09:32

Originally Posted by MarcusAureliusAntoninus

Is the quotation name a translation or a short explaination of the name? For example would Hastati be 'Spears' or 'Roman Infantry'?

I daresay it'd be closer to being a description or loose translation than a literal translation. But that's just speculation...

As to the problem, here is my (untested) suggestion:

For #4, try opening descr_event_images.txt and scroll down to the unit_completed entry. If it's anything like the current EB0.74 format, it'll look like this:

Code:

unit_completed
	icon	military
	heading_items	5
	format
	{
		title		center verdana		black
		string		center verdana_med	khaki
		image		center
		spacer		8
		string		center verdana_med	black
		bodystring	left   verdana_sml  khaki	left
		spacer		8
		multistring left   verdana_sml  khaki	left
	}

After the second "string" entry (the one after the short spacer and just before the "bodystring"), try adding another spacer. This may stop the text from overlapping.

#5 and 6 appear to be hardcoded, though.

**-Praetor-** · 12-05-2006, 18:19

You can always put the translated name on first part of the unit description (both in the long one and in the short description one) instead of under the unit original name...

Thus you would avoid all this problems... and still give us a translation of the original names.

**Teleklos Archelaou** · 12-05-2006, 18:23

It wouldn't show up in the tooltip passover though - which is really important on the battlefield. I didn't include that too, but that is really important also, when you pass over a unit on the battlefield and see who they are. It works fine on that now.