[OLD] Language Barriers v2.0 alpha 7

Alphas are incomplete snapshots of my mods while they're in development, and are only available to Goth and Landgraab patrons. The 2.0 update will be released to Pancake patrons and translators in a couple of days, and to the public 2-3 weeks afterwards.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS POST IS OLD. LANGUAGE BARRIERS IS NOT IN ALPHA. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE MOD FOR FREE ON MY WEBSITE.

About this alpha

This is the seventh and final alpha of Language Barriers v2.0. This post will only cover the changes made in this version, but I will compile all of the changes in v2.0 in one post for the first beta, which should be available within a couple of days. This version finally added the settings file back, updated the cheats, fixed some final bugs, and made some other, small tweaks.

Customization options

lb_settings.cfg

• The lb_settings.cfg file has been re-added to the mod! You can now use it to customize Language Barriers in many more ways than you used to be able to, including having multiple languages per world.
• The old lb_settings.cfg file from v1.1.9 is not compatible with LB v2.0. You will have to edit the new file format in order to preserve your old settings, but the file is the same syntax, so it should be straightforward.
• Read about the new settings file here.

Tuning modules

• LB is super, super, super customizable well beyond the lb_settings.cfg file. However, editing beyond the settings file requires basic knowledge of how to edit tuning with Sims 4 Studio. A tutorial for how to do this is underway, but it will require knowledge of how to make tuning mods, which I cannot help everyone with.
• The tuning modules contain just about every piece of data that dictates how LB works, and you can edit it without touching the script. Please, do not distribute your edited tuning modules with anyone. This should be for personal use only.

Console cheats

Values in angled brackets <> must be filled in according to the following:

• <language> → Must be one of simlish, selvadoradian, windenburgish, sixami, tokisulani, or komorebigo.
• <sim name> → Must be a sim's first and last name, separated by a space. If the sim's first or last name contains a space, use a % to denote that (example: use "Anne%Marie" for a sim with the first name "Anne Marie"). Any cheats that require the <sim name> value will use the currently selected sim if no name is provided.
• <level> → Must be an integer value between 0 and 10. This denotes the skill level associated with a language.

Native language cheats

• fklb.add <language> <sim name> → Adds a native language trait to a sim. Does not remove any existing native languages.
• fklb.remove <language> <sim name> → Removes a native language trait from a sim. Does not add any other languages. This cannot be performed on a sim that only has one native language.
• fklb.swap <language> <sim name> → Removes any existing native languages from a sim, and adds the one specified.
• fklb.reset <sim name> → Resets all native languages of a sim.
• fklb.reset_all → Resets the native languages of every sim in the game.

Language skill cheats

• fklb.set_skill <language> <level> <sim name> → Sets a sim's skill in a language to a particular level. If you enter a level of 0, the skill will be entirely removed from the sim.
• fklb.reset_skills <sim name> → Resets default second languages for a sim, including guaranteed, inherited, and random second languages.
• fklb.clear_skills <sim name> → Removes all language skills from a sim.

Hidden trait cheats

• fklb.enable <sim name> → Enables LB for a particular sim, making them experience language barriers when talking to sims they don't share a language with.
• fklb.disable <sim name> → Disables LB for a particular sim, making them immune to locked interactions and miscommunication events.
• fklb.add_multilingual <sim name> → Adds the "Native Multilingual" reward trait to a sim.
• fklb.remove_multilingual <sim name> → Removes the "Native Multilingual" reward trait from a sim.

Utility/debug cheats

• fklb.audit → Outputs a list of all sims and their linguistic profiles to the LanguageBarriers.log file. You probably won't have a use for this, but it can be helpful in figuring out if something isn't work right.
• fklb.debug → Toggles debug mode. Debug mode outputs more information to the log file, and is helpful for me to figure out what the root cause of an error might be. You shouldn't ever have to enable this, unless I ask you to.
• fklb.total_reset → The nuclear option. Resets any and everything associated with Language Barriers, including hidden things that LB uses in the background. This should only be used if you suspect that something has gone very wrong with the mod, and you want to reset it without uninstalling and reinstalling. If you ever feel you need to use this cheat, please reach out to me on Discord so I can figure out the cause of what's going wrong with your game.

Other changes

Tweaks

• Toddlers in the active household should now automatically inherit language skills from their parents, like all other toddlers do. This can be switched off, but has been enabled by default.
• The icons for communication buffs have been updated, so you can now visually tell the difference between misspeaking and mishearing.
• The chance that communication buffs increase to the next level has been decreased from 0.5 to 0.2.
• The base chance that communication buffs are positive has been increased from 0.2 to 0.25. Note that this change isn't super significant, since a sim's individual personality will influence whether a buff is positive or negative much more significantly.

Bug fixes

• I finally took care of the visual glitch that makes sim's moods rapidly change while earning communication buffs. You should not see this anymore.
• Fixed a minor issue that would occasionally cause the Simlish interaction in Simlingo Mobile to appear on its own, rather than in the Simlingo Mobile menu.
• Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause the native language cheats to disappear from sims.

Conclusion

Not the most exciting of alpha releases, but a necessary one. Language Barriers v2.0 is now finally in a place where I can release it to a wider audience, and beta will begin in a couple of days. It is very important that this version be fleshed out, so please, if you notice any issues, let me know ASAP.

Please note: If you are not yet a Patron and would like to save yourself a couple dollars, you can hold off on signing up for a couple of days. When beta begins, LB v2.0 will open up to Pancake patrons, which is $2 USD / month rather than $4 or $8 for the higher tiers.

[Alpha Download link has been removed to reduce confusion]

PLEASE NOTE: THIS POST IS OLD. LANGUAGE BARRIERS IS NOT IN ALPHA. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE MOD FOR FREE ON MY WEBSITE.