Import as-is AND generate translation files when importing CSV files

[jackturps]

Describe the project you are working on

I'm working on a 2D combat game that supports dialogue in multiple languages.

Describe the problem or limitation you are having in your project

I am using a CSV file to define all of the dialogue in my game so that I can define it in multiple languages and have godot import them as separate translations. I also embed some extra information in this CSV file so that I can attach actions to certain lines of dialogue, etc.

If I import the file in "CSV Translation" mode then the CSV file itself is excluded from the export. If I import in "Keep File" mode then the translations are not generated automatically. For ease of use I need the translations generated and the CSV file included in the export.

Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation

Add an additional import option for CSV files "CSV Translation & Keep File", or make these independent check boxes. This would allow me to automatically generate translations while still having access to the CSV in the released game.

Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, and/or diagrams

When you highlight a CSV file and click the "Import As" drop down, you will see an additional option to generate translations and keep the file in the export.

If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script?

I've been able to workaround this by creating a hard link of the CSV file on my filesystem and importing the bas efile and the symlink with different import modes. This is not a very intuitive solution.

Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library?

Importing files is a core part of the godot user experience.

[timothyqiu]

I also embed some extra information in this CSV file so that I can attach actions to certain lines of dialogue, etc.

Why not a separate CSV file? Does the action vary depending on the language?

If I understand correctly, for this CSV:

en,zh
Hello,你好
Data for English,Data for Chinese

You can call tr("Data for English") manually to get the corresponding data.

[jackturps]

My CSV file has a format like this:

key,_action,en,fr
cutscene_intro_b_b,enter_cinematic_mode,,
cutscene_intro_b_c,,here is english dialogue,here is french dialogue
cutscene_intro_b_k,exit_cinematic_mode,,

I'm using it to create localisations of all text in the game, but also to arrange my cutscenes with various actions, lines of dialogue, etc. If I create a separate CSV file that maps cutscenes to lines in the translation file then there is going to be a really large amount of unwieldy duplicated information.

It is a custom format that is a superset of godot's translation CSV format. Because of that I'd like to include it in the export and automatically generate the translations.

[timothyqiu]

Since it's a custom format, I suggest making a custom import plugin.

In the _import() method:

• Parse the CSV file with get_csv_line().
• Create, fill, and save Translation resources as separate .translation files.
• Save the CSV data in whatever format you want your data to be.

[jackturps]

Thank you for the suggestion! I read through the documentation, it was good to get up to speed on custom importers.

Out of the two options currently available I will probably stick with the filesystem link because it's doing what I need without the extra boilerplate of the custom importer. I still maintain that it would be a nice option for vanilla godot to be able to import both the translations and the CSV but I understand that I may have quite a niche use case.