Add Italian locale (block.* keys)

[alessandroquirino-lab]

Introduced Italian translations for various game blocks to enhance localization and player experience.

What does this change?

Related issue

Checklist

• I built and ran the tests before pushing (dotnet build BlocksBeyondTheStars.sln and dotnet test) — they pass.
• Player-facing text is localized (keys in data/locales/{en,de}.json), not hardcoded.
• The server stays authoritative — the client doesn't decide resources, inventory, crafting, ship state, oxygen, damage, blueprints or travel.
• I updated TODO.md and any docs/ that my change makes stale (if applicable).

[CLAassistant]

All committers have signed the CLA.

[alessandroquirino-lab]

Thanks for the detailed split — that works great for me. 🙏

A couple of notes on this PR:

• I couldn't run the tests locally (no PC at the moment), so I'm relying on CI.
• All 290 block.* keys are in the same order as en.json, and this group contains no {0}-style placeholders, so nothing to preserve there.
• The CLA isn't signed yet — it's being sorted out on my side, should be done shortly.

Happy to continue with the next key group once this one lands.

[marceld23]

This is an excellent first PR — thank you! 🇮🇹

I went through the whole file against en.json:

Structure: flawless. Exactly 290/290 block.* keys (the group is complete), zero keys that don't exist in en.json, key order mirrors en.json exactly. Merging is safe on our side: the content loader only reads locale files for languages in the GameLocale enum, so it.json sits inert until my plumbing PR lands.

Translation quality: native-level. Idiomatic choices instead of literal ones ("Manto alieno", "Segnaletica da stiva"), correct disambiguation ("Scala a pioli" vs "Scalini"), the nautical "babordo/tribordo" for the port/starboard lights, and consistent phrasing across all the repeated description templates. Your terminology (trapano di livello 2/3, fibra vegetale, scheggia di cristallo, polvere di materia…) is now the reference glossary for the following groups — please keep using exactly these terms.

One tiny suggestion inline (non-blocking), and two things before I can merge:

1. CLA — the license/cla check is waiting for your signature; just follow its link.
2. CI build is still running (everything else is already green).

Next slice: I'd suggest item.* (342 keys) — it references exactly the terms from your glossary, so it's the natural continuation. After that we can split ui.* (1192 keys) into smaller chunks.

Best, Marcel

[marceld23]

Tiny nitpick: in a voxel game, "in blocco" reads ambiguously next to "blocco" (the block). "In serie" avoids the collision:

Suggested change

	"block.factory_terminal.desc": "Il terminale di controllo di una fabbrica. Produci le sue ricette in blocco gratuitamente, oppure rivendica la fabbrica come base con un codice d'accesso SPS.",
	"block.factory_terminal.desc": "Il terminale di controllo di una fabbrica. Produci le sue ricette in serie gratuitamente, oppure rivendica la fabbrica come base con un codice d'accesso SPS.",

[alessandroquirino-lab]

Good catch on "in blocco" — you're right, next to the actual blocks it reads ambiguously. Fixed to "in serie" and pushed. I also re-validated the JSON and re-checked that all 290 keys are still in the same order as en.json.

Added "in serie" to the glossary for the following groups.

On the CLA: I should be able to get it signed within a day or so — sorting it out on my side. Sorry for the small delay.

Happy to start on item.* after that.

[marceld23]

Hi Alessandro — one process note about the CLA, then we're good to go. 🙂

Let me say this openly and without any drama: I genuinely don't mind how a contribution gets written. Typed by hand, with a dictionary next to you, with an AI assistant helping out — for a locale file the only two things I care about are that the Italian reads native (yours does) and that the text is yours to give.

The CLA is exactly where that second part lives, and it's why it can't be delegated to a tool. It's a legal agreement, so it has to be accepted by you, personally, as the human behind the account. Signing it means you're confirming that the strings in this PR are yours to contribute — that you wrote them (or directed whatever helped you write them), and that they weren't lifted from another game, another project, or a translation someone else holds the rights to. No tool can make that promise on your behalf; only a person can. That's not a rule I invented for you, it applies to every contributor here, me included.

Practically it takes about a minute and doesn't need a PC — open the CLA link on your phone, log in with GitHub, confirm. The check goes green by itself shortly after.

And if any of the lines did come from somewhere else: just tell me. Honestly, no problem — we swap those out and merge the rest. Much easier now than later.

Looking forward to getting this one in and moving on to item.*.

Best, Marcel

[alessandroquirino-lab]

Thanks for explaining it so clearly — that makes sense, and nothing here came from another game or an existing translation. The Italian was written from scratch for this project, and the terminology choices are mine.

The "in serie" fix is pushed and the JSON re-validated.

The CLA will be handled properly on our side — it just needs the account holder to do it personally, as you said. Should be done shortly.

Also: I'm back at my desktop tonight, so from the next PR on I'll be able to build and run dotnet test locally before pushing instead of relying on CI.

[alessandroquirino-lab]

CLA is signed now — the check should turn green shortly.

Everything on this PR should be ready from my side. Let me know if you'd like anything else changed before merging, otherwise I'll get started on item.* next.

[marceld23]

Approved — thank you, Alessandro! 🇮🇹

I checked the file mechanically against en.json on current main:

• 290 keys, all block.*, zero orphans (every key exists in en.json)
• key order mirrors en.json exactly — future diffs will stay readable
• no placeholders in this group, no empty values, no leftover English
• the two values identical to English (block.lava.name, block.flora_cactus.name) are correct that way in Italian

Squashing this in now.

[marceld23]

Merged. 🎉 Italian is now in the repository — the first new language since the game shipped, and the first one contributed from outside the family. Thank you, Alessandro.

A few things I want to say properly, because this one matters to me:

The file was clean. Not "good enough for a volunteer" clean — actually clean. 290 keys, correct order, zero invented keys, nothing left in English, and the two entries that look untranslated (Lava, Cactus) are simply the same word in Italian. I ran the whole thing against en.json mechanically and had nothing to report back. That is rarer than you'd think, and it made this a one-click merge.

I also appreciate how you handled the CLA. You didn't get defensive about it, you just went and did it, and then you told me plainly where the text came from. That's exactly the kind of thing that makes a maintainer relax.

Two tiny leftovers, and they're my fault, not yours: while this PR was open, main grew by 83 keys (a big playtest batch landed), two of them in your group — block.torch.name ("Torch") and block.door_wood.name ("Wooden Door"). I deliberately did not ask you to add them first, because it would have cost you a round-trip for two words and the same drift would just happen again during the next group. Grab them whenever it suits you — with your item.* PR is perfect. Nothing breaks in the meantime: missing keys fall back to English per key.

What I'm doing on my side, starting now:

1. Making Italian actually load. Right now it.json sits in the repo and the game ignores it, because the language enum only knows en/de. I'm adding Italian this week, plus the file needs to be added to the client's asset manifest (otherwise the browser build never sees it). Point is: you should be able to see your own strings in the game long before the language is officially announced — that seems only fair.
2. A coverage tool (tools/locale_report.py) that prints per-group translation coverage and lists exactly which keys are missing or drifted. That's the drift problem solved properly instead of me eyeballing it each time — and it gives you a reliable way to pick your next batch instead of guessing.
3. A CI guard so any future locale PR is automatically checked for invented keys and mismatched {0} placeholders. Protects you as much as me: you'll get told by the machine, not by me in review.

And you're going in the credits — the README contributor list and the in-game Credits screen, alongside Cora, Maqbool, Devin and SpaleRuby. That ships in the same PR as the plumbing. If you'd like a different name or handle shown there than alessandroquirino-lab, just say so and I'll use whatever you prefer.

On item.* (346 keys): good pick, same mechanical shape as block.*. Two heads-ups before you start:

• Some item.* entries do contain {0}-style placeholders — please keep them intact and in a position that reads naturally in Italian. Word order may move; the placeholder moves with it.
• Feel free to split it. 346 keys in one PR is fine by me, but two PRs of ~170 are easier for you to finish in one sitting and easier for me to turn around fast. Your call entirely.

After item.* I'd love to steer you toward the core UI (ui.menu, ui.settings, ui.hud, ui.craft, hud.* — roughly 200 keys together), because that's the set that decides when I can switch "Italiano" on in the settings menu for real players. There's also a large ui.portal.* group (145), but that's the website, not the game — I want to verify it reads the same files before I ask anyone to spend an evening on it.

Also glad to hear you're back at your desktop. Being able to run dotnet test locally will make this faster for you, though honestly: for pure locale files, CI has you covered.

Thanks again — and welcome aboard properly. 🙂

Best, Marcel

[marceld23]

Thanks again for this one, @alessandroquirino-lab — 290 clean block.* keys, and the engine side is
now in place too: #622 added GameLocale.Italian, so it.json is loaded automatically and every key
you haven't translated yet falls back to English at runtime.

To keep the work in one place I opened #625 as the tracking issue for the remaining key groups:
a checkbox list in a suggested order (item.* next), the current coverage table, the translation
rules, and the tools/locale_report.py it --missing item command that prints every untranslated key
with its English text.

Drop a comment there when you pick up the next group and I'll assign it to you. 🇮🇹