Ukrainian translation

[zaozabob]

As I'm getting more and more invested in Basic Fantasy RPG, playing it with my friends still poses a bit of a challenge, since not everyone speaks English, and translating or explaining rules on the fly can sometimes get frustrating. So I thought to myself — why not translate the whole thing into my native language — Ukrainian.

Looking deeper into this idea I encountered few problems:

1. Fonts. Original uses Soutane and Century Gothic. Since Soutane doesn't support Cyrillic alphabet, i came up with 2 alternatives: Cooper or Souvenir (see attached). Which one's better?

2. Format. In Europe A4 paper format (8.27 × 11.69 inches) is more popular than US letter size (8.5 x 11), and it will much more convenient for printing at home. Will it be OK if I use A4 format instead of US letter for Ukrainian translation?

3. Software. I work as a freelance graphic designer, so creating and designing source file in Adobe Indesign will be much easier and faster for me, rather than dealing with all the limitations of MS Word or similar software. Finished result and updates will be in PDF of course.

4. Feet, pounds, gallons etc. Will it be OK if I convert game's US units into metric system for Ukrainian translation? For example, 1 ft. roughly equals 1.5 m, so 30 ft. = 9 m; 1 lb. roughly equals 0.5 kg, etc. This way it will be easier for our players to play in the theater of mind, since we have trouble imagining how far is "120 feet" and how heavy is "300-pound rock". I'll make sure none of these changes will affect any of game mechanics and if such cases appear, I'll surely ask for advice or help.

These are main questions I have as of now, though I'm sure more will come up in the process.
Let me know what you think. I'm eager to start translating

[Solomoriah]

As I'm getting more and more invested in Basic Fantasy RPG, playing it with my friends still poses a bit of a challenge, since not everyone speaks English, and translating or explaining rules on the fly can sometimes get frustrating. So I thought to myself — why not translate the whole thing into my native language — Ukrainian.

Looking deeper into this idea I encountered few problems:

1. Fonts. Original uses Soutane and Century Gothic. Since Soutane doesn't support Cyrillic alphabet, i came up with 2 alternatives: Cooper or Souvenir (see attached). Which one's better?

Cooper looks good to me.

2. Format. In Europe A4 paper format (8.27 × 11.69 inches) is more popular than US letter size (8.5 x 11), and it will much more convenient for printing at home. Will it be OK if I use A4 format instead of US letter for Ukrainian translation?

I'm less comfortable with this, and not sure you need to do it, as Adobe Reader does an adequate job on the "shrink to fit" operation. But if it's a show stopper for you, go ahead and do what you must.

3. Software. I work as a freelance graphic designer, so creating and designing source file in Adobe Indesign will be much easier and faster for me, rather than dealing with all the limitations of MS Word or similar software. Finished result and updates will be in PDF of course.

This is MUCH less acceptable, as Indesign is outside my budget, as well as the budgets of most of our team. There are reasons we use LibreOffice, and this is the first.

4. Feet, pounds, gallons etc. Will it be OK if I convert game's US units into metric system for Ukrainian translation? For example, 1 ft. roughly equals 1.5 m, so 30 ft. = 9 m; 1 lb. roughly equals 0.5 kg, etc. This way it will be easier for our players to play in the theater of mind, since we have trouble imagining how far is "120 feet" and how heavy is "300-pound rock". I'll make sure none of these changes will affect any of game mechanics and if such cases appear, I'll surely ask for advice or help.

Metric conversion is a standard part of some of the other translations, actually. It does not present a problem for me. I'd substitute 3 meters for 10 feet as a quick solution; it doesn't have to be exact.

These are main questions I have as of now, though I'm sure more will come up in the process.
Let me know what you think. I'm eager to start translating

I will ask one question... how far is Ukrainian from Russian? Because we have a Russion translation well along in the process. Even if you do need your own translation, their approach to handling Cyrillic, metric, etc. may be a good thing to copy.

[zaozabob]

1. Fonts. Great, Cooper it is!

2. Format. I understand your concern. The thing is, in most European counties (and post USSR countries as well) you can't even buy US letter paper in general stores to print something at home (unless you order from Amazon or something). "Shrink to fit" is an option, but it leaves ugly blanks on top and bottom, and font is getting smaller too. See attached comparison.
As an option i can probably make 2 versions (letter and a4, though i doubt the US letter version will be of any practical use for Ukrainian-speaking players)

3. Software. Got it! LibreOffice it is!

4. Feet, pounds, gallons etc. Great!

Ukrainian vs Russian. Even though Ukrainian and Russian share around 60% lexical similarity, Ukrainian is actually closer to Polish (70%) and Belarusian (86%). It's a general misconception that they are the same because in the past Ukraine was part of USSR where learning Russian was mandatory. This is the main reason why most Ukrainians can easily understand Russian and 90% of Russians can't understand Ukrainian. (https://youtu.be/CQLM62r5nLI)

But thanks to pointing this out, I'll go through Russian translation and try to adjust Ukrainian version in similar fashion.
UPD: Flipped through Russian translations, seems like they still use feet, pounds, etc.

[Solomoriah]

Hmm. May be the Spanish version that did metric. Well, no matter, do what you must. And A4 will be fine.

[chiisu81]

If you're up for translating, you may want to start with the Beginners Essentials. We always welcome additional translations, and the BE so far has the most. Plus it may cover quite a few rules your players may want to know and/or ask about during play, so it can "hold them over" while you work on the full Core Rules.

[zaozabob]

If you're up for translating, you may want to start with the Beginners Essentials. We always welcome additional translations, and the BE so far has the most. Plus it may cover quite a few rules your players may want to know and/or ask about during play, so it can "hold them over" while you work on the full Core Rules.

Yes! I thought so too and already started working on translating Beginners Essentials

[zaozabob]

Finished ver1 of Ukrainian translation of Beginners Essentials.
Question: There are a few blank spots that can use some artwork, is it OK if I draw some?

[Solomoriah]

Could you take another crack at the flow? The descriptions of spells should not begin on a new page.

[zaozabob]

Could you take another crack at the flow? The descriptions of spells should not begin on a new page.

Sure! Here's revised version

[zaozabob]

Created couple of illustrations to fill in the blanks!
UPD: swapped beholder art with a wolf for copyright reasons