FL-Lingo

Active Development

71% Overall

Core Compare Pipeline79%

Translation Workflow68%

Expert Tools and QA66%

Current focus: stabilizing Expert Mode and further automating the translation pipeline.

Project Details

FL-Lingo

FL-Lingo is a relocalization tool for Freelancer mods. It compares a currently modified installation against a clean reference installation, restores known vanilla text automatically, exports mod-specific entries for external translation, and writes localized results back to resource DLLs using a backup-first strategy.

Relocalization DLL-Workflow In Development

Overview

FL-Lingo is designed for the common case where a Freelancer mod resets a localized installation back to English or other mod-defined text. It compares a modified game install with a clean target-language reference and classifies entries into auto-restorable, already localized, manually translated, or mod-specific content.

Quick Facts

Type: desktop app for Windows and Linux
Role: compare, export, import, and apply workflow
Status: actively developed

Installation

Use Python 3.11+
Create a virtual environment and run `python -m pip install -e .[all]`
Start via `python launch.py` from the project root

Quick Start

Select the current modified Freelancer installation
Load a clean reference installation in the target language
Run compare, export mod-specific entries, import translations, and apply

Key Features

Simple Mode for guided three-column workflows
Expert Mode with filters, DLL analysis, manual corrections, and terminology
Automatic backups before write operations and in-app restore

Technical Notes

Works with string tables, infocards, and DLL references from `EXE/freelancer.ini`
Supports terminology files per target language and `.FLLingo` project files
Tests run with `pytest`, GUI smoke tests run headless with `QT_QPA_PLATFORM=offscreen`

Safety

Automatic backups are created before applying changes
DLLs are not overwritten blindly and use the safest available write strategy
Recommended: test on a copy of the game with a clean reference install

Project Structure

`launch.py` starts the app with central defaults
`src/flatlas_translator/` contains UI, catalog, DLL, and write logic
`Languages/`, `data/help/`, `data/`, and `tests/` cover UI text, help, terminology, and tests