Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[obleo]

Can someone give me a quick overview of string tables (what they are and how to use them)?  Would this be something suitable for storing dialog all in one place?

Thanks!

[Mnemonic]

The string tables are intended mainly for localization purposes. The idea is indeed to store all the in-game texts in one place to simplify the localization task.

The string table file uses a following format:
-one string per line
-each line contains: a string identifier, TAB character, the actual text string

for example:

Code: [Select]

molly001 <tab> Hi, I'm Molly.

Then in your scripts you'll have to use a following syntax:

Code: [Select]

actor.Talk("/molly001/Hi, I'm Molly.");

When the engine encounters a string in the above format (i.e. /some_id/some_text ) it will search the string table. If a string with the specified ID is found, it will be used instead. It means for example, you can write your scripts in english; if there's no string table, the game will run in english. If you create a german string table, the game will run in german and you don't need to change your scripts at all.

[Scarpia]

Hmm. I'm not sure how that makes sense.. If the sentence has been entered in the string table like this:

Code: [Select]

molly001 <tab> Hi, I'm Molly.

Then why do you repeat the same text sentence in the script:

Code: [Select]

actor.Talk("/molly001/Hi, I'm Molly.");


??


Scarpia

[Mnemonic]

1) to keep the script readable
2) to be able to run the game without any string table

[Jerrot]

hi scarpia,

Then why do you repeat the same text sentence in the script:

Code: [Select]

actor.Talk("/molly001/Hi, I'm Molly.");


I'm working a lot with template and content management systems - and I'm really happy it will work this way in WME.

Of course you could think of taking "/Hi, I'm Molly./" as the label - and if there is no string table, it could use the label as the text. But this doesn't work, I failed in doing so once. Sometimes you just have to translate the same word different into other languages and that's the problem.

Although you normally WILL have a string table when using them, I prefer this solution, it's easy, unique and readable.

[Mnemonic]

(Actually, it's not unique, it's stolen from LucasArts games )

[Jerrot]

(Actually, it's not unique, it's stolen from LucasArts games )

"Stolen"...   I know the string tables from LUA (and I guess you once installed "SCUMM Revisited", too...) but you could also tell me, you stole it from Excel or something, it's a table!!

Oh - and btw I wrote about the string labels being unique that way...