Sharing your translation as a mod

Finished a translation you’re proud of? You can publish it as its own mod on Thunderstore (and Nexus), so others just install “RVRepairVan French” with their mod manager and are done. A translation mod contains no code - it is only your JSON file in the right folder.

Requires the translated mod to be built on ScheduleOne-L10n v1.1.0 or newer (RVRepairVan 2.5.0+).

How it works

Mods look for translations in three places; later sources win per line:

1. the translations built into the mod itself,
2. installed translation mods: Mods/Localization/<ModName>/<code>.json <- yours
3. the player’s own file in UserData/DooDesch/Localization/<ModName>/<code>.json

So your package simply ships the file at position 2. Players who dislike single lines of your translation can still override them with their own file - nobody gets locked in.

Package layout

Write your translation as described in Translating a DooDesch mod, then put it into this structure:

RVRepairVan_French/
├── manifest.json      (Thunderstore metadata, see below)
├── icon.png           (256x256 - required by Thunderstore)
├── README.md          (what your package translates, and to which language)
└── Mods/
    └── Localization/
        └── RVRepairVan/
            └── fr.json

One package may translate several mods at once - just add more folders under Mods/Localization/ (e.g. RVRepairVan/fr.json and SideHustle/fr.json).

manifest.json example:

{
  "name": "RVRepairVan_French",
  "version_number": "1.0.0",
  "website_url": "https://github.com/you/your-repo",
  "description": "French translation for RVRepairVan.",
  "dependencies": [
    "DooDesch-RVRepairVan-2.5.0"
  ]
}

Put the mod you are translating into dependencies so mod managers install it alongside your translation and show the relationship on the package page.

Publishing

• Thunderstore: zip the contents (manifest.json, icon.png, README.md and the Mods/ folder at the top level of the zip) and upload it to the Schedule I community. Mod managers (r2modman / Gale) copy the Mods/ folder into the profile automatically.
• Nexus: upload the same zip; manual users extract it into their game folder so the Mods/ folder merges with the existing one.
• Name suggestion: <ModName>_<Language>, e.g. RVRepairVan_French - easy to find, easy to relate.

Testing before you publish

Drop your Mods/Localization/<ModName>/<code>.json into your own game folder, restart, and check the mod shows your lines (set Language under [DooDesch] in UserData/MelonPreferences.cfg to your language code to force it). Watch the MelonLoader console for [L10n] warnings - they mean the JSON has a syntax error and names the file.

And if you’d rather have the translation shipped inside the mod itself: send it to me via support.doodesch.de - full translations are very welcome and get credited.