Smart Re-Patching

Learn how Smart Re-patching keeps your translation mod working after game updates.

Smart Re-patching is Mafkers’ flagship feature that keeps your translation mod working even after game updates.

How It Works

When a game updates, the update can change file hashes or structure, breaking your translation mod. Smart Re-patching solves this:

1. Version Detection: Mafkers monitors your game’s version
2. Hash Comparison: When the game updates, Mafkers detects changed files
3. Delta Translation: Only strings that actually changed are re-translated
4. Cache Utilization: Previous translations are reused from cache

This saves 80-95% of LLM cost compared to full re-translation.

Using Smart Re-Patching

1. Open Mafkers
2. Go to “History” tab
3. If a game has been updated, you’ll see an “Update available” badge
4. Click “Re-patch”
5. Mafkers will:
   • Re-extract strings from updated game files
   • Compare with cached translations
   • Only translate new/changed strings
   • Inject updated translations

How Cache Works

Mafkers stores translation cache locally on your device (in ~/.mafkers/db.sqlite). Each translated string is cached with:

• Source text
• Translated text
• Source language
• Target language
• Context hash

When re-patching, Mafkers looks up each source string in the cache. If found, the cached translation is used (no LLM call needed). Only strings not in cache are sent to the LLM.

// Cache lookup example
const cached = await db.get('translations', {
source: "Hello, world!",
sourceLang: "en",
targetLang: "id"
});

if (cached) {
return cached.translated; // Use cached translation
} else {
return await llm.translate(source, sourceLang, targetLang);
}

What Triggers Re-Patch

• Game update (version change detected)
• Manual re-patch (via History → Re-patch button)
• File hash mismatch (game file was modified)

Limitations

• If game update changes the engine version significantly, full re-translation may be needed
• Cache is per-project (different games have different caches)
• Cache is stored locally - uninstalling Mafkers deletes cache