This would be an epic item or the reward for getting a badge. With it, a player would able to decipher the replies of Hive bots when you hail them. So, instead of getting "01000101101011111110001000" in reply, you'd see something like "Unit status: collecting ferric ore for Hive Queen CP-5712f in Dau I-3".

[Edit]: And thinking more long term, this would also open up the way for things like Hive NPCs and bots that give missions.

[APPROVED]

Yet if the message was that long then the binary would be much longer than it is currently.

its not like the hive would use the same binary system, so of course their messages arent as long.

evolved AI super-minds : very efficient language

st00pid mindless collector bots : small number of possible responses: 110000010101011="status code 23"

..take your pick?

Yeah, I doubt they'd say "Hi, I'm...", it'd be more like:

1.5712-F.23.3310

Which would still be
00110001001011100011010100110111001100010011001000101101010001100
010111000110010001100110010111000110011001100110011000100110000

Why would it be limited to ASCII?

Hey guys stay on the topic !

[godanm approved !!!!!!]

yo its a super idea ! hope devs will see it !!!!

Very nice hronek ! I LOVE IT !

[APPROVAL X2]

Perhaps the bots are saying something like this...

Prosus Assault GF-99814:
111100010110110001010010101010 "Did you see that new Queen? Man, she's HOT!"

Orne Guardian KJ-991226:
001101001001100101010101011000 "Yeah, as soon as she sets up a bastion I'm gonna make my move on her."

Prosus Assault GF-99814:
011000101100100101001011010111 "Dude, whatever. You couldn't even get that cute Orun's comm number last night."

Orne Guardian KJ-991226:
011100100011110011010110100011 "Shaddup, she totally wants my (L) port!"

That would be funny.

LOL lebermac.

I like the idea

[approved thingie stamp thingie thing]

loooooooooooool :)

/me rolls eyes at Lebermac and [Aproove's]. Also why cant we get a date with the Hive Queen? That Orne Gaurdian is putting his hopes 2 high. As the queen will probably kill him.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaa

01001001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101111 01100100 00101100 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01100101 01110010 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110

Thurisaz has a good point, but they would just have to give a number and then your device would merely know what that number meant.

who's to say that the binary response is the entire message? it could just be truncated by the ship's comm system. or be encoded in a way that *looks* binary if you don't have the translator. really, i don't think this is a big believability problem.

Harry said (in binary):
>
> I think this would be good, but it's a long term thing.

maybe, but it wouldn't require any new graphics or big AI changes. it'd just be a simple if/then in the bot's behavior and some new responses. all the status/ore/sector information is already there in the AI code, i think.

And when you get the item/badge, something like this could pop up in your mission tab:

<< Incoming transmission: TPG Headquarters >>

We've just received word that you've [insert achievement here]. Good work, pilot. Please accept a small measure of our gratitude. We're uploading our translations of the HiveSpeak communication protocols. With this translator package installed in your comm unit, you should be able to hail Hive bots and decode their responses. It's not always perfect, but it does the job. The translator is proprietory information, so don't let it fall into the hands of our competitors. We appreciate your assistance.

"TPG. The Name You Know, The Ships You Trust"

(TPG Corporation cannot be held liable for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from the use of this product)

<< End transmission >>

I included the "not always perfect" part because I can imagine situations where "Unit status: [untranslatable]" might be an interesting response.

[definitly approved]

Hronek any time u will add somthing to this thread u will receive my stamp !
:)

Nice idea! [Digital Seal of Approval]

The devs could definately explore some cool possibilities with this, especially with the upcoming hive behaviour modifications...

* Bots could report how long they have been in sector unharmed, thus a player would know how long until the next stage of hive infestation will occur, and can plan their attacks accordingly

* Queens might give away key hive positions

To expand on the idea, what about the concept of a hive radio... almost like a police radio where you can listen in on their communications. If equipped with this, you could get insight on what bots in that sector are up to... mining, defending, attacking traders, knowing how many Arklan guardians are tailing you through that ion storm :) Obviously it'd be useless without the hive translator, but it would be handy during major incursions into hive infested sectors.

The possibilities of intelligence gathering become endless if you can spy on the hive :)

[stamp of approval]™

Like it!!! Yep I like it a lot!

It goes along with my idea that there should be more items and upgrades to trick out your ships.