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--- transcom [2025/09/23 14:39] – ultracomfy
+++ transcom [2025/09/23 15:33] (current) – ultracomfy
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-Related reads:\\
-  - [[Interceptions and Encounters]]
-  - [[TRANSCOM]]
-  - [[Comms Engine]]
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 ~~Title:TRANSCOM~~
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 <fs xx-large>TRANSCOM</fs></WRAP>
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+In my brain, communication is explained through three things:
+  - The mechanics are described through [[Interceptions and Encounters]]. Intercepting gets us into an Encounter, which is how a conversation starts, runs, and ends.\\
+  - [[TRANSCOM]] is the interface my brain uses to converse. It decodes speech into thoughts and ideas, and it encodes thoughts and ideas into speech. Coarsely, but it sometimes gets the job done.\\
+  - Finally, there is the [[Comms Engine]]. The Comms Engine is what my brain uses to decide what to say. It is essentially a chess engine for conversation.
+This is the second part of the series. If you're reading this for the first time, you are encouraged to read the pages in order.
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 TRANSCOM is my integrated human language [[system]] based on the similarly named device from the [[The Long Journey Home]] video game.
-The Long Journey Home is a game about space exploration in which the player will regularly interact with aliens. To facilitate conversation, the player's ship is fitted with the TRANSCOM device which is designed to roughly translate any alien languages. However, TRANSCOM is severely limited: Humans, at the time of its creation, thought that alien contact is unlikely, an off-chance. Therefore, they did not invest too many resources into it, and it is not very sophisticated. It only contains the most basic vocabulary and has difficulties understanding grammar. Translations are crude, often wrong or misunderstand the intent of the alien.
+The Long Journey Home is a game about space exploration in which the player will regularly interact with aliens. To facilitate conversation, the player's ship is fitted with the TRANSCOM device which is designed to roughly translate any alien languages. However, TRANSCOM is severely limited: Humans built this devices for the chance that the Daedalus crew would meet aliens, they did not have actual alien languages to design their device around. TRANSCOM only contains the most basic vocabulary and has difficulties understanding grammar. Translations are crude, often wrong or misunderstand the intent of the alien.
-The way this works with TRANSCOM is that it gives the player a list of primary intents like "Ask", "Talk", "Praise", "Insult" and then sub-topics like "Work", "Self" or "Humans". This looks minimal - and it is - but just with throwing words at the alien it is possible to have meaningful conversation! Look at these examples:
+TRANCOM works by giving the player a list of primary intents like "Ask", "Talk", "Praise", "Insult" and then sub-topics like "Work", "Self" or "Humans". This looks minimal - and it is - but just with throwing words at the alien it is possible to have meaningful conversation! Look at these examples:
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 Ultimately though... I like this system. It's easy, it's predictable, it makes sense, but after everything is done it still leaves you all the freedom in the world to do and say whatever you want. For example, one of the "Intents" in the game is the "Services" intent. If the player docks at an alien hospital, TRANSCOM will open and one of the intents is "Services" and then the subcategory "Hospital". Think about how difficult asking your partner for a glass of water is: You can say "Would you bring me a glass of water, please?", or you can say "Glass of water", and even though they ultimately //say// the same thing, you have now treaded into the realm of human performativeness. Politeness, niceties, respect, there are so many dimensions to asking your partner for a glass of water that are completely and utterly //useless//. In TRANSCOM, this same action is "Services Water" and doesn't run into any of these problems whatsoever. This is already cool in my eyes, but it gets even better since my partner is still given a //choice//. If you piss off an alien race too much then they will eventually tell you to piss off when you dock at one of their hospitals. Well, in TRANSCOM terms that is literally just "No", but it //works//. It sets very clear boundaries and lays out unambiguously where you and I are. My partner can do the same, if I ask for "Services Water" they can say "No" and then we are vibing (I hope my partner will never feel like they have to deny me such a request). Obviously I would never literally go "Services Water" to my partner, because in the wild this would be considered rude - but I think that the system works inside my brain, and that I think it actually works better to understand the real world in comparison to normal language.
+----
+See next: [[Comms Engine]]\\
+See also: [[Interceptions and Encounters]]