Souldroid-Chat/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-03-20-preferences-language-toggles-design.md

Preferences Language Toggles Design

Goal

Add a new Language section to the preferences screen with two mutually exclusive toggles:

• Default language (None translation), labeled English in default language and Inglés when Spanish is active.
• Spanish language ("spanish" translation), labeled Spanish in default language and Español when Spanish is active.

Selecting either toggle must immediately set the active game language.

Scope

• Modify only preferences UI and related translatable strings.
• Preserve existing layout and visual language used by Display and Skip sections.
• Keep behavior compatible with Ren'Py language switching conventions.
• Work in the current active local translation branch (no git worktrees), to keep local playtesting straightforward.

Current Context

• game/screens.rpy currently defines two top-row preference blocks in screen preferences(): Display and Skip.
• This row uses hbox with box_wrap True and section vbox blocks.
• Spanish translations for screen strings live in game/tl/spanish/screens.rpy.

Proposed UI/Behavior

Placement

Add a third vbox in the first preferences hbox, immediately after the Skip block, so Language appears to the right of Skip in desktop/web layout.

Styling

• Use style_prefix "radio" on the Language vbox.
• Use label _("Language") for the section title so it matches existing section title styling and translation behavior.

Controls

Add two radio-style textbuttons:

• textbutton _("English") action Language(None)
• textbutton _("Spanish") action Language("spanish")

These actions switch active language immediately and preserve mutual exclusivity through the radio preference button styling/selection behavior.

Translation Labels (Option B)

Add/ensure Spanish translations in game/tl/spanish/screens.rpy:

• Language -> Idioma
• English -> Inglés
• Spanish -> Español

Because button text is wrapped in _(), labels automatically localize based on active language.

Error Handling and Edge Cases

• If Spanish translations are unavailable at runtime, Language("spanish") still sets the language code; labels fall back based on available string catalog.
• Language(None) safely returns to default strings.

Validation Plan

1. Run lint:
   • "renpy.sh" "/home/$USER/Documentos/Renpy Projects/Soul Droid Chat" lint
2. Run compile:
   • "renpy.sh" "/home/$USER/Documentos/Renpy Projects/Soul Droid Chat" compile
3. Manual smoke check via run:
   • "renpy.sh" "/home/$USER/Documentos/Renpy Projects/Soul Droid Chat" run

Manual checks during run:

• Open Preferences and verify Language section appears to the right of Skip.
• Confirm title style matches Display/Skip.
• Toggle English -> UI strings reflect default language.
• Toggle Spanish -> UI strings reflect Spanish.
• Confirm labels show English/Spanish in default language and Inglés/Español in Spanish.
• Confirm only one language toggle appears active at a time.

Out of Scope

• Adding more languages.
• Refactoring preferences screen structure beyond this section.
• Any worktree setup or branch restructuring.