Getting Started and FAQ

What is this?

RPGMaker Trans is a piece of software that has two purposes:

  1. Applies translation patches to games
  2. Creates translation patches that aid a translator in translating a game

Most people will be using it for the first reason; simply applying a translation patch to a game. RPGMaker Trans has the key advantage that an RPGMaker Trans patch is not tied to a specific version of a game. For example, a patch developed for the demo of a game will also work on the full version of that game, although only the portions present in the demo will be translated.

For people creating patches, it is strongly recommended that you distribute your patches in RPGMaker Trans patch format, rather than prepatched binary files. In addition to not limiting your patch to a specific version of a game, using the RPGMaker Trans patch format sends a clear signal to the original creator that you are respecting their copyright as much as is possible, which is a nice thing.

With the introduction out of the way, to get started it's recommended you read the GUI Documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

cx_freeze error: Cannot get ZipImporter Instance: This error is caused by running RPGMaker Trans from a directory that includes non-ASCII characters - normally from a Windows user name. Due to a bug in a component that RPGMaker Trans uses (cx_Freeze), RPGMaker Trans cannot be launched from such directories.

RPGMaker Trans isn't translating the game: This isn't magic translation software. If you haven't got a patch, RPGMaker Trans will not translate the game. While this may sound obvious to some, given the description of the software, but I've been asked this far too many times.

Is it free?: RPGMaker Trans is free software, licensed under the GPL version 3. This means it is free as in speech as well as free as in beer. In addition, RPGMaker Trans uses Python (PSF license), Ruby (Ruby license), PySide (LGPL 2.1), fuzzywuzzy (2-clause BSD) and python-Levenshtein (GPL)

Is it legal?: I believe that distributing RPGMaker Trans patches of games, with correct attributation, should be legal in most jurisdictions. However, I am not a lawyer. RPGMaker Trans strives to be as friendly to original authors as possible, and this should go some way to mitigating any legal issues. Remember though - if the original author requests, a translator should always back down.