So just how good is the normal Comm unit? How about ship comms?

[BretI]

So with the vast array of sentient forms out there with their various senses, just how full is the sensory data for a ‘normal’ comm channel?

We know it has video and audio capabilities.

Does the video include other wavelengths such as Ultraviolet and Infrared? Can you do a frequency shift on the video and/or audio in order to present frequencies that your senses can not normally detect?

Is there smell-o-vision?

Although humans have a limited sense of smell, there are plenty of ancestries that include scent as an imprecise sense. Considering humans have imprecise hearing, this idea really isn’t all that ridiculous for some of the ancestries.

How about tactile pads for texture?

What other senses should be represented? Do some of the races that detect thoughts find the normal comm channel lacking because that sense is missing?

[kaid]

I would presume com units would be designed for full use by the species that is making them. There is mention about the info sphere on castroval needing telepathy to access but there is an tech tool that allows those without that to access it.

I presume a species comm units would have a "display" and "interface" appropriate to their sensory capabilities.

[Driftbourne]

Sounds like what's needed is instead of a universal language translator, is a universal sensory translator or filter on the receiving comm unit to adjust for its owner.

I just checked my cheap $25 smartphone, and it's got 19 different types of sensors.

8 Senses That Animals Possess but Humans Don’t. There are some really strange ones in this article, like external taste buds.

[Christopher#2411504]

The 2E Vlaka Society description says:

Quote:

Like much of vlaka society, communication is shaped by diverse sensory experiences. Vlakas communicate with multiple senses whenever possible, including scent, and nearly all of them know how to communicate with both kinds of Vlaka sign language—one visual and one tactile—and sign while speaking. Vlaka text is grooved, so it can be read by sight and touch, with modern technological devices also integrating audio descriptions and smells as appropriate alongside their haptic touchscreens.

Smell is probably the most "shared" sense with that species. It is not a disability to be blind, deaf or both. But that is only because smell is shared by most.

Overall I think those details are glossed over. Lack of sight is not a problem for Vlaka because it is not supposed to be a problem for Vlaka Characters. Even the impact for Starfinding Vlaka is limited.

[BretI]

Notably blind Vlaka do not have the Blinded condition. That condition is for characters that are used to sight suddenly becoming blind. The blind Vlaka just always fail sight-based perception checks.

The Vlaka always having scent is one of the ancestries that I thought might support other senses over a comm unit.

[Driftbourne]

Tactile pads, are interesting, with the right keyboard or touch screen, you might be able to send and receive information a the same time. Smart weapons and tactile pads would literally work hand in hand together.