A Multi-Language MMORPG: 30 Languages, Chat Translation and Where Things Stand Today

Ancient Online: Remastered is a free-to-play MMORPG you can play in English: the in-game text is in English and Turkish today, and the official website and blog are in 30 languages. The game targets 30 languages, and chat translation lets players who speak different languages understand each other. This post explains what is ready in which language today, how chat translation works and what comes next.

Ancient Online: Remastered is in development; it is currently in closed alpha and no release date has been announced. The systems described here may change before launch.

What does playing in your own language mean?

"Language support" is not a single thing. In an online game it covers four separate layers, and each of them can be at a different stage:

• In-game text: menus, item names, quests and system messages.
• Chat: what other players write to you and what you write to them.
• Website and announcements: the official website, the blog, news and guides like this one.
• Support: the language you can write to the team in.

A game can be translated from start to finish and still leave you alone in chat; or its chat can be lively in your language while every menu is in English. That is why we answer for each layer separately.

Which language has what today?

Two things the table does not show:

• The in-game text of the other 28 languages has not been added yet. It will be added in one pass and in full, not piece by piece; we are not giving a date.
• Support has a single address: ground@astent.games. You can write to us there.

Is the game in English today?

Yes. English is one of the two languages the in-game text is available in during the closed alpha; the other is Turkish. The official website and this blog are in English too. Chat messages written in other languages are translated for you, as described below.

How does chat translation work?

Ancient Online: Remastered is built as one world: players from different countries play in the same world. So that they can understand each other, the game translates chat messages into the language of the reader. You write in your own language, and the other player reads it in theirs.

• It runs on our own servers. The translation is done by a model running on our own servers; messages are not sent to an outside service.
• It is machine translation. Like any machine translation, it can make mistakes. If a message reads strangely, ask the other player to say it in a different way.

How does the empire language barrier fit in?

There are two different kinds of "language" in the game, and it helps not to confuse them. The first is the real language you speak; chat translation takes care of that one. The second is the language of your empire, and it is a rule of the game: the three empires, Shinsoo, Chunjo and Jinno, speak different languages, and the speech of a player from a rival empire looks scrambled until you learn the language of that empire.

The language barrier is applied after translation:

• Same empire, another country: you read that player in your own language.
• Rival empire: you see their speech as scrambled until you learn the language of their empire.

How the empire languages are learned and which kinds of chat are affected is explained in the empire guide.

Is your language on the list?

The game and the official website target 30 languages: Turkish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Czech, Danish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Ukrainian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Bulgarian, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian.

If your language is on the list, the official website and this blog are already available in it; you can switch from the language menu on the website.

What should you do if you spot a translation mistake?

Tell us. A sentence that reads wrong in your language is easiest to fix when someone who speaks that language points it out:

• On the website or the blog: write to us in our Discord community and say which page and which language.
• In chat translation: keep in mind that it is machine translation; if the same mistake keeps coming back, share an example in Discord.
• About your account: write to ground@astent.games.

Frequently asked questions

When will the other languages be added to the game?

There is no date. The in-game text is in Turkish and English today; the other 28 languages will be added in one pass and in full.

Are my chat messages sent to another company to be translated?

No. The translation is done by a model running on our own servers; messages are not sent to an outside service.

Is the game free to play?

Yes, it will be free to play. The in-game shop only offers costumes, appearances and convenience items; power is not for sale. Details are in our no pay-to-win post.

Will it run on PC and on mobile?

The targets are Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS; the development build is currently tested on Windows and Android devices. See the PC and mobile cross-platform guide and the system requirements page.

How do you get into the closed alpha?

With an access key. We explain how it works in the closed alpha guide.

Where to go from here

If you are new to the game, start with What is Ancient Online: Remastered?; the beginner's guide then covers your first steps. You can follow development on this blog and in our Discord community.