Stencil 1.0
A Golden Crayon translation tool, by tunmi13 productions

Stencil ships with everything it needs, so there are no separate downloads or a sound pack to fetch.

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Use * (star) for a main topic, ** (double star) for a sub-topic, and *** (triple star) for a sub-sub-topic.

Table of Contents
1. What is Stencil?
1.1. Requirements
2. Getting started
2.1. Menu navigation
2.2. Choosing a language
2.3. Main menu
3. Using Stencil
3.1. Say a message
3.2. Repeat the last message
3.3. Explore the sandbox
3.4. Browse translated phrases
3.5. Keystrokes
4. Settings
4.1. Language
4.2. Missing translation logging
4.3. Text to speech configuration
4.4. Volume mixer
5. Working with translations
6. Conclusion

*1. What is Stencil?
Stencil is a small, standalone playground for putting a Golden Crayon translation to the test. It is not the game and does not pretend to be one. There is no server, no map, and nothing to connect to. Think of it as a pocket tool: you pick a language, and then you can make the game's voice speak in it. Stencil borrows Golden Crayon's real translation engine, so what you hear here is exactly what you would hear in the game. Anything you can make it say is run through the same translation pipeline the client uses, which means Stencil is a fast, offline way to check how your work sounds in context without launching the full game.

Key features:
• Pick any installed language and hear the interface, menus, and messages spoken in it.
• Make Stencil speak any text you type, and repeat it at the press of a button.
• Walk a blank coordinate sandbox to hear position and facing announcements.
• Simulate locating players and hear the direction and distance phrasing the game uses.
• Browse every translated phrase in the loaded language and hear each one on demand.
• Adjust settings, including a text to speech configuration and a volume mixer.

**1.1. Requirements
Stencil is self-contained. It includes its own copy of the translation files and the interface sounds, so it does not need the full game, the sound pack, or an internet connection. A screen reader or SAPI voice is used for speech, just like the game.

*2. Getting started
Launch stencil.exe. Stencil loads, greets you, and immediately asks you to choose a language.

**2.1. Menu navigation
Stencil uses the same two navigation styles as Golden Crayon.

Linear menus: simple arrow-key lists. Up and Down navigate items; Enter selects the highlighted item; Escape closes the menu. First-letter navigation is active by default. Ctrl+F searches within the list and Ctrl+G jumps to an item by index. The language picker and every menu in Stencil use this style.

Form-based dialogs (virtual GUI): the input, question, and settings dialogs contain a mix of controls such as input fields, buttons, lists, and sliders. Press Tab and Shift+Tab to move between controls; arrow keys navigate lists and adjust sliders; Enter activates the focused button. Escape cancels.

**2.2. Choosing a language
When Stencil starts, it presents a list of languages: English (the source language) plus every translation file it finds. Select one to load it. From that point on, everything Stencil speaks is translated into that language. You can change the language at any time from the main menu or Settings. Escaping the startup list keeps whatever language was loaded last.

**2.3. Main menu
Say a message: Type text and hear it spoken in the current language.
Repeat the last message: Speak the last message you entered again.
Explore the sandbox: Move around a blank space, check your coordinates and facing, and locate the prop players.
Browse translated phrases: Step through every translated phrase in the loaded language.
Change language: Open the language picker.
Settings: Open the settings menu (also available anywhere with Ctrl+S).
Exit: Close Stencil.

Two shortcuts work anywhere on the main menu: Ctrl+S opens Settings, and F2 repeats the last message.

*3. Using Stencil

**3.1. Say a message
Choose Say a message, type any text into the input box, and press Enter. Stencil speaks it back to you translated into the current language. This is the quickest way to spot-check a specific phrase. The text you entered is remembered as the last message.

**3.2. Repeat the last message
Speaks the last message you typed with Say a message. You can trigger this from the main menu or with F2 from anywhere on the main menu, which is handy for hearing the same phrase repeatedly while you compare wording.

**3.3. Explore the sandbox
This opens a blank, walkable space that behaves like being in the game. Move with the arrow keys, turn with Q and E, and change height with Page Up and Page Down. Each step plays a footstep on carpet, so moving feels like walking on a tile. Nothing is announced automatically, which keeps things quiet and game-like; instead you press a key to ask for what you want. Press C to hear your coordinates, spoken raw as the game does, for example "5 , 3 , 0". Press F to hear the direction you are facing along with its angle, for example "north at 0". Press Escape to return to the menu.

Three prop players, Marigold, Cobalt, and Juniper, stand at fixed spots in the sandbox. Press T to open the player tracking menu and choose one to track, exactly as you would in the game. Once you are tracking someone, press W at any time to hear their direction and distance from you, using the game's exact phrasing, for example "above, in front and slightly off to the right, 9 tiles away." Turning with Q and E changes the direction that reading is measured from, just like facing does in the game. Press Shift+T to stop tracking.

You also carry an inventory, seeded with a few items so there is something to hear. Press Tab and Shift+Tab to cycle forward and backward through it; each item is read out with its amount and position, for example "Apple, 5. 1 of 3", just like the game. Press I to open a small form and add an item by name and amount, which speaks the same "received" message the game uses. Hold Shift and press I to empty the inventory, so you can also hear the empty-inventory message. Nothing here is server-side and no item does anything; the inventory exists purely so its wording can be translated and heard in place.

Coordinate system:
X axis: left to right. Left and Right arrows.
Y axis: forward and backward. Up and Down arrows.
Z axis: height. Page Up and Page Down.
Facing: Q and E rotate you 45 degrees at a time.

**3.4. Browse translated phrases
This lists every direct phrase defined in the loaded language file. Move through the list and press Enter on any entry to hear it spoken and translated. It is a convenient way to review an entire translation one phrase at a time. If English is loaded, or the language file has no direct entries, there is nothing to browse and Stencil will tell you so.

**3.5. Keystrokes
Main menu:
Ctrl+S: Open Settings.
F2: Repeat the last message.

Sandbox:
Arrow keys: Move. Left and Right change X; Up and Down change Y. Each step plays a footstep.
Q / E: Turn 45 degrees left or right.
Page Up / Page Down: Change height (Z).
C: Report your coordinates.
F: Report your facing.
T: Open the player tracking menu.
W: Report where your tracked player is.
Shift+T: Stop tracking.
Tab / Shift+Tab: Cycle forward or backward through your inventory.
I: Add an item to your inventory by name and amount.
Shift+I: Empty your inventory.
Escape: Return to the menu.

Everywhere:
Escape: Dismiss a menu or cancel an input.

*4. Settings
Open Settings from the main menu or with Ctrl+S. Settings are saved automatically and restored the next time you launch.

**4.1. Language
Opens the same language picker described in section 2.2, so you can switch languages without leaving Settings.

**4.2. Missing translation logging
Toggles logging of untranslated strings. When enabled, any string that has no matching rule in the loaded language is written to a ready-to-paste file next to that language's translation file. This is the same logging the game offers, and it is the fastest way to discover what still needs translating.

**4.3. Text to speech configuration
Opens the standard text to speech configuration, where you can choose whether to use your screen reader, and set the voice, rate, and volume of the fallback speech.

**4.4. Volume mixer
A simple mixer with Master, Menu, and Interface sliders. These are provided so translators can walk the same kind of interface the game uses; they store their values but do not alter playback, since Stencil only plays flat interface sounds.

*5. Working with translations
Stencil reads its language files from the translations folder that sits next to it. The format of these files, and the full set of features the translation system supports, are documented separately in translations.txt in this documentation folder. To try out a change, edit the relevant language file in the translations folder, then reload the language from the main menu or Settings.

*6. Conclusion
Stencil exists to make translating Golden Crayon easier and more immediate. If something about the tool is unclear or could work better for your workflow, please speak up.
e-mail: tunmi12@mail.com
Happy translating.
