Fixing Grammatical Errors — Feasible?

from GalCiv2 Forums
GalCivII is pretty solid as far as its grammar is concerned — certainly better than Space Empires IV — but it's far from perfect. Here and there in the race descriptions and event dialogs, there are omissions, mistakes ("it's" instead of "its," for example), and other grammatical errors.

I am cursed with an unfortunate hypersensitivity to such errors, and so they detract from my enjoyment of the game... just a little bit, mind you, but it's an issue for me all the same.

I have noticed that all the in-game text seems to be stored in .XML files. Is it possible (or advisable) for me to edit these files when I find an error I wish to correct? Is it possible for me to create a "grammar mod" that others can download and install? Would Stardock be interested in including such corrections in an official patch to add extra polish to the game?
modding
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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Is it possible (or advisable) for me to edit these files when I find an error I wish to correct? Is it possible for me to create a "grammar mod" that others can download and install?


Yep, and feel free to do so.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yep, and feel free to do so.


Okay, I'll get started, then.

My plan is to copy the .XML files in question from the GalCiv2 directory, paste them to my desktop, edit them, save the changes, then check them using Internet Explorer. I will then check them against the original, unaltered .XML files from the GalCiv2 directory, to ensure that only the flavor text has been changed.

Finally, I'll place all the files I alter into a directory structure identical to the GalCiv2 directory structure, so that my original GalCiv2 directory will be the same as when I started, but I'll still have the altered files in the proper locations in a separate directory.

Does that sound workable? I ask because I'm new to the whole business of modding. And what else would need to be done with the altered files to allow users to download and easily install them to the proper folders?
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Does that sound workable? I ask because I'm new to the whole business of modding. And what else would need to be done with the altered files to allow users to download and easily install them to the proper folders?


Should be fine. As those making foreign translation mods have seen the mod folder support is not entirely perfect, and since this'll be similar in the files changed, it may be best to just not use the mods folder. So you'll basically just need to reprduce the structure of the Data\English folder. Installation then would be a simple matter of making a backup copy of the folder and unpacking your files over the originals.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Go here to see how to set up a mod using the Mods folder.

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Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Should be fine. As those making foreign translation mods have seen the mod folder support is not entirely perfect, and since this'll be similar in the files changed, it may be best to just not use the mods folder. So you'll basically just need to reprduce the structure of the Data\English folder. Installation then would be a simple matter of making a backup copy of the folder and unpacking your files over the originals.


Actually, yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking. Have the user backup his unaltered Data\English folder, then essentially copy and paste the new files over the originals.

Well, I'm glad I'm not barking up the wrong tree here.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm glad that your hypersensitivity can be an asset to teh community.

Thanks.    
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I've made some progress, and have finished editing several .XML files so far. I am also making minor cosmetic changes to some passages in addition to correcting technical and syntactical errors, to improve the narrative flow of sentences that just don't sound quite right. Here is an example from the "Anomalies" .XML file:

Original Text: Our survey team has uncovered the remains of a device that produces soothing sound waves that relax individuals without any side effects. Our people's morale will be improved from this discovery by an estimated +2 percent.

Altered Text: Our survey team has uncovered the remains of a device that produces soothing sound waves, which relaxes individuals without causing any side effects. This discovery will improve our people's morale by an estimated +2 percent.

The first sentence... well, it suffered from several minor problems, which were easily corrected. The second sentence seemed a bit awkward, so I reworded it.

It should be noted that I have every intention of retaining the original meaning and basic content of all sentences. Any rewording efforts on my part will be the bare minimum necessary to improve any awkward bits. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of sentences require very little rewording, if any, so this should be a non-issue.

*********

Also of note, I'll finally be able to correct those two sentences in the "Abilities" tab of the game setup screen. You know, the tab where the "Speed" Ability is listed as giving either "+1 Parsec/Month" or "+2 Parsecs/Month," depending on how many points you spend... even though parsecs are measured by the week?

Drives me nuts every time.