Need help with language translations for Rail Depot

[Peter Stauffenberg]

We have changed rail rules in GS v2.1 to simulate rail conversion (broad gauge and standard gauge). Then we add rail heads that will be converted. Units can only rail from/to or adjacent to cities / resources of the same rail gauge. Because of this we need a resource type called rail depot that will not have the same defensive capability as a city, but can be used to rail to/from.

I need help with good names for Rail Depot in all languages. At the moment I use the following:

French: Ferroviaire dépôt
German: Eisenbahnknoten
Italian: Nodo ferroviario
Norwegian: Jernbaneknutepunkt
Polish: Kolej piasta
Russian: Железнодорожный узел
Spanish: Ferrocarril centro

Please give me an improved name I can use for rail depot.

[pk867]

A translation that does not have as many letters. To save space on the map within the game.

Thx.

[filo]

in italian we use also snodo ferroviario in common use but i think nodo is also correct
hope this is useful!

[zechi]

I do not think that the German translation does really fit. A "Eisenbahnknoten" is an important junction of railways, but as far as I understand the "Rail depots" are in fact railway station/facilities to handle large amounts of trains arriving and loading off troops or I'm wrong?

In this case "Kreuzungsbahnhof" or "Knotenbahnhof" would be more fitting.

The direct translation of "Rail Depot" would be however "Eisenbahndepot", but an "Eisenbahndepot" is a depot were the assignment of the trains is organised, small repairs are made etc.

[ferokapo]

If the resource hex is used only to switch between trains of different gauges, it is a "Spurwechselbahnhof" (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnhof#Spurwechselbahnhof). If the meaning of the resource hex is to represent other functions, such as a depot of trains, the crossings of main rail way lines, etc., "Eisenbahnknoten" would be more fitting. An "Eisenbahnknoten" can be just important rail switches, but it can also have a depot, repair shopts, etc. etc.


EDIT: Sorry, but German words tend to have many letters

[pk867]

I was incorrect the map will have the name of the location whereas the description 'Rail Depot' will be in the Unit Panel in the lower left.

There is limited space. It is what it is.

[welk]

French: "Ferroviaire dépôt"

It is not exact in french (place of the words is different). The correct name should be : "Dépôt ferroviaire"


Other name could be : "Tête de ligne"

or (but with less precision) : "Noeud ferroviaire" or "Centre ferroviaire"

The classification between the names is :

1= Best exactitude = "Tête de ligne" (it is the best name, I think) : ( a "Tête de ligne" is a place where begin or end a railroad line)
2=Good exactitude = "Dépôt ferroviaire" (a "dépôt ferroviaire" may be what you means in GS 2.1, but also a simple place where are stocked railroad materials and engines)
3=Low exactitude = "Noeud ferroviaire" ( a "Noeud ferroviaire" may be what you means un GS 2.1, but also a simple place where are a lot of railroads lines of the same kind).
4= Low exactitude = "Centre ferroviaire" (= "noeud ferroviaire")

[avoran]

Why not use abbreviations in the game display, if there's no short form? The full term will appear in the rules.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

A rail depot is NOT a place where the rail gauge is changed, but actually a small city with a significant rail capacity. It's a staging point for troops so it should have a quite large railway station.

It's more than a general railway station because most hexes would have railway stations of some kind. A rail depot is more like a rail hub meaning a concentration of rail capability like a big rail junction.

Good locations on the map for rail depots would be rail intersections where several rail lines met, end station of a rail line, town with a signficant railway station etc.

A depot is maybe not the exact word because it indicates that the hex is some storage hex. Usually a rail hub would also be a location where you have extra trains, fuel and a signicant station.

For GS we place rail depots in areas that we know had rail lines and we want a player who have a chance to rail units to. Lublin is such an example. It will be used for the build-up of Axis forces for Barbarossa. Brest Litovsk and Lvov are nearby, but they are on the Russian side so we needed an Axis staging point.

Rostock is another that will fill the need of rail capacity between Stettin and Kiel. If we want something similar between Stettin and Danzig we can add Kolberg.

[Corwyn]

German: "Bahn Depot" or "Eisenbahn Depot" should be ok.

[Rasputitsa]

I think 'Depot' is a reasonable word for this situation, short, with a rail head naturally being a place were supplies and troops will accumulate, after reaching the end of the usable railway.

[gsmart04]

I'm a little confused...are you putting 'depots' & railway lines on the map too or just the 'depots'?

[rkr1958]

I'm a little confused...are you putting 'depots' & railway lines on the map too or just the 'depots'?

Just depots that aren't big enough to be cities, which also serve as rail depots. Rail depots represent a rail facility large enough to support the embarkation/debarkation of corps size units and their associated equipment.

Another term just occurred to me if railway depot is too long to translate in other languages and that's "rail yard".

[gsmart04]

OK. Now I understand.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

Rail depots became necessary since we changed the rail rule so you can only rail to/from a city or resource. We added rail depots in key locations with minor cities to allow for rail movement there. A rail depot won't have the defensive bonuses that cities have (e. g. no retreat possible).

Still, rail depots are important to capture because it means you can rail reinforcements there. That is particularly important on the east front when the Germans storm eastwards in 1941.

All hexes on the main European continent and America except swamp, mountain and dune will be flagged with a rail icon. That means you can rail through the hex. If the hex is adjacent to a rail depot, resource or city you can rail a unit from / to the hex. So hexes in the open are used to rail between rail depots, but you can't start or stop in the open.

The main reason we created rail depot was to avoid having to add more cities on the map. That would have made it harder for the attacker since cities have good defense and you can't make a unit retreat when attacking a city.

[gsmart04]

A little confusing but I think I got it. Has this really affected play balance in the game, though?

[Peter Stauffenberg]

This is what we are testing right now. It doesn't affect the game much prior to Barbarossa. I've come to September 1941 when I'm the Germans and captured Rostov and cut off Leningrad. I could get to Stalingrad if I want to, but taking the city seems hard.

It seem the rail gauge rules in Russia doesn't affect normal progress very much, but it's hard to get e. g. to the Caucasus and Urals in 1941. That is intended. If you start in May 1941 you should easily be able to get to the Don and engage either Leningrad or Moscow. Taking those cities is another matter, through.

So far things look promising. One big change from before is that you need to plan better where you move your units so they can be railed next turn if needed. The rail rules mean that you need to keep a strategic reserve you can rail to key positions. You just can't rail units anywhere on the map. The units have to be adjacent to cities, resources or rail depots.

After a few turns with the new rules you quickly learn the consequences of them and adapt. So the overall game balance seems to be pretty much as before the latest change.

[gsmart04]

Good to hear. Thanks.