[Suggestion] Language types

[Illmad]

I've been developing a prototype for a system revolving languages. It might just seem like needlessly complicating the game, but I just feel that the way species research their language is way too fast and easy.
I mean, we use sound and body language to communicate. Do we take for granted that alien lifeforms use the same methods of conveyance? Maybe?
After seeing the movie 'Arrival' it got me thinking a bit. For the record I'm not buying into the whole being able to see the future by learning another language part, but alien beings could have ways of communication that we humans could not even comprehend, and would need to spend years to understand. Aliens that use the same ways to communicate as us, through the use of sound and sight, we'd obviously have an easier time deciphering.

The language system I've thought up would require too much text to explain, so I've made some graphics and accompanied them by text. If you can't, or don't want to open the images, then there's a somewhat long TLDR version below:

http://i.imgur.com/7t3EoMK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jn3xq2o.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eAiddRe.jpg

There are four types of language conveyance; Audible, Visual, Contact, and Psionics. Any race must have a primary and secondary conveyance method to shape their language.
The different conveyance methods determine how easy or hard the other languages are to decipher (all possible combinations have an equal amount of downsides and upsides)
To a primary Audible speaking race, the audible medium is the easiest of the conveyance types to learn. The Visual type is medium difficulty, Psionics are hard, and Contact is in most cases impossible. However, if a primary Contact race has Audible as secondary conveyance method, a primary Audible race will be able to learn their language.
Also, if an Audible race has Contact as secondary, then primary Contact languages will become medium difficulty to them, although the Visual and Psionic conveyance types will get upgraded to hard and impossible.
Some language combinations are completely incompatible with one another, and neither of the species can learn the other one's language. If this happens, there's the option to recruit a species that can understand you both and have them serve as a translator. This is automatic if a species intergrated in your empire understands both, but can also be done through either a trade feature or enslavement.
Sometimes you may find a species whose language you can't understand, but they could learn yours. In this case it depends on their opinion of you. If it's negative, there's a high chance they wouldn't care to invest time on you.


You have any thoughts about this? Any improvement suggestions to the idea? Is it too complicated?

 

[Pyromstr]

I'm all for extra flavour in race building!

My only concern is the difficulty in language interpretation. I would think for game play reasons all languages should be interpretable, otherwhise it could get incredibley annoying in the early game. Purhaps instead it should simply take longer, with some differences in pop up text to explain why.

Also instead of having other races translate there could be a diplomacy bonus/penalisation set (kind of like xenophile diplomacy) to act as some kind of "lost in translation" effect. As well as maybe some little events to help settle issues between your civilians.

 

[Illmad]

I'm all for extra flavour in race building!

My only concern is the difficulty in language interpretation. I would think for game play reasons all languages should be interpretable, otherwhise it could get incredibley annoying in the early game. Purhaps instead it should simply take longer, with some differences in pop up text to explain why.

Also instead of having other races translate there could be a diplomacy bonus/penalisation set (kind of like xenophile diplomacy) to act as some kind of "lost in translation" effect. As well as maybe some little events to help settle issues between your civilians.

Maybe that's a better way to approach it. Although, from my calculations, using this method only 2 out of 16 languages will be impossible to learn. The other two impossible languages can be learned if the other species research yours.

 

[Rotkohl]

It seems interesting, but it is too complex to put in the game for so little gain. I mean, when will it come up beyond the really early game?

 

[SolarGuy]

You have any thoughts about this? Any improvement suggestions to the idea?

It's a pretty interesting idea. It would also result in fanatical purifiers being the ones who will never understand anyone, which makes sense (why would they care to even accept communications with anything, let alone bother to learn your language? You, however, could perfectly understand them).
And the synthetic evolution would be a way to make all species understand eachother (by turning all of them into synths), which is pretty interesting to think about.
Only (primary-)psionic species may understand what the Unbidden are saying.
This one anomaly with the box full of smells could be much easier to understand for a contact-language species.
There are lots of different possibilities for how this could make the game more interesting.

Hive Minds would be locked to Psionic-Audible I guess?

 

[Illmad]

Hive Minds would be locked to Psionic-Audible I guess?

I imagine they'd be locked to Psionic-Psionic, since they only communicate with them/itself. I've actually got plans for another suggestion revolving hiveminds. I personally don't like how hiveminds automatically consume any single-minded pops on their planets, but from a hivemind's perspective they're the only living / intelligent being in the universe, so it kinda makes sense for them to not respect other species. I think there should be research options exclusive to hiveminds that would increase their understanding of single-minded beings. It'd be a research on several stages that would first enable hiveminds to not auto-purge, but living on planets with single-minded entities would come with a debuff to the hivemind's productivity.
If this line of research is pursued, the hivemind debuff is gradually reduced, though not removed, and single-minded pops on hivemind planets will have a productivity buff, seeing as communicating with a hivemind could relay information to someone at the opposite edge of the galaxy instantaneous. Though this buff would decrease the more single-minded pops appear on the planet. I imagine a ratio of 3/4 of hivemind and single-minded pops would be ideal to make the buffs outweigh the debuffs.
This way, those of us who want to play a 'kind' hivemind will be able to, and those who want to play genocidal can just ignore the research.

 

[Hertzila]

I'm not sure how much the game would gain from this, but it is certainly interesting. Language is such an important part of a society that relegating it to just a single research project is a bit of a waste.

If you ever make this into a mod, I'd try it.

 

[SolarGuy]

I imagine they'd be locked to Psionic-Psionic, since they only communicate with them/itself. I've actually got plans for another suggestion revolving hiveminds. I personally don't like how hiveminds automatically consume any single-minded pops on their planets, but from a hivemind's perspective they're the only living / intelligent being in the universe, so it kinda makes sense for them to not respect other species. I think there should be research options exclusive to hiveminds that would increase their understanding of single-minded beings. It'd be a research on several stages that would first enable hiveminds to not auto-purge, but living on planets with single-minded entities would come with a debuff to the hivemind's productivity.
If this line of research is pursued, the hivemind debuff is gradually reduced, though not removed, and single-minded pops on hivemind planets will have a productivity buff, seeing as communicating with a hivemind could relay information to someone at the opposite edge of the galaxy instantaneous. Though this buff would decrease the more single-minded pops appear on the planet. I imagine a ratio of 3/4 of hivemind and single-minded pops would be ideal to make the buffs outweigh the debuffs.
This way, those of us who want to play a 'kind' hivemind will be able to, and those who want to play genocidal can just ignore the research.

But the Hive Mind drones can still communicate with what seems to be speech (they make sounds when opening diplomacy view too). I'd say their internal communication is psionic, but if necessary they'll switch to speaking for other species.

 

[Illmad]

I'm afraid I don't know enough coding to make a mod out of this. If anyone is willing and capable, then by all means.

When it comes to hiveminds, I think the sounds they make are tied to the phenotype portraits. Either that or the sound is just a byproduct of other bodily functions. For what we know, a hivemind only communicates with itself, and would have no need other ways of conveying messages than psionics. Although there's a case to be made for the drones using sound to ward off predators, and vision to build and detect obstacles. So I suppose it does make sense for them to be able to make use of other methods of conveyance, but wether the sounds' purpose is a form of communication is uncertain.

PS: Images in OP are resized now.