Customize Language Barriers with lb_settings

This tutorial will show you how to customize Language Barriers using the provided lb_settings.cfg file. It assumes no knowledge of coding or modding, and only requires you to use a text editing program (such as Notepad++, TextEdit, or Atom).

Note that this tutorial was written for Language Barriers v1.1.8, and still works with v1.1.9. It is not yet supported by v2.0.

Open lb_settings.cfg

Open lb_settings.cfg with any text editor of your choice. Your computer (either Windows or macOS) should come with a text editor pre-installed. To make things easier for the future, I recommend associating the .cfg file type with your text editor, so that you can double-click it to open. 

Once opened, the file might look like gibberish to you, and that's OK. I'll show you what all of it means below.

[LANGUAGES]

The settings under this section are used to enable and disable languages. A value of 'True' means the language is enabled, and a value of 'False' means it is disabled. All languages are enabled by default, and Simlish cannot be disabled.

If a language is disabled, it means that occult types and traits will be ignored when assigning it to sims. For example, if you change line 4 to 'Sixami = False', then aliens will no longer be assigned Sixami, but rather the language of whatever world they live in. Keep in mind that this does not entirely get rid of some languages, since they are still associated with specific worlds. See the next section to learn how to deal with that.

If you have already played with the mod installed, you must run the cheat 'fklb.reset_all' for your changes to take effect. Note that this cheat will reset all native languages for every sim in your current save, even ones that you have set manually. 

[REGIONS]

The settings under this section are used to set the languages associated with different worlds. This is limited to residential worlds only (i.e. you cannot set a language for Batuu, Granite Falls, or Selvadorada).

You can change the language of any world you'd like, to any one of: Simlish, Sixami, Selvadoradian, Windenburgish, Toki Sulani, or Komorebigo. This will make it so sims that live in these worlds speak the associated language.

If you have already played with the mod installed, you must run the cheat 'fklb.reset_all' for your changes to take effect. Note that this cheat will reset all native languages for every sim in your current save, even ones that you have set manually.

[RANDOM SKILLS]

These settings affect the way that language skills are randomly assigned to sims.

Enabled: If True, then language skills will be randomly assigned to sims. If False, then sims will not spawn with any language skills, and will instead just speak their native language.

Realistic: If True, then skills will be assigned by taking a sim's home world, age, occult type, traits, and native language into account. If False, then language skill assignment will be entirely randomized, and equally probable for everyone.

Played sims: If True, played sims will be assigned random language skills as well. If False, random language skills will only be applied to NPC sims.

Base chance: The percent chance that a sim will have another language skill. This value must be an integer between 0 and 100. If using the realistic system, keep in mind that there are numerous multipliers that are used to determine which sims are going to be bilingual, so the actual percentage of bilingual sims is going to be higher than this base chance. I recommend sticking to a value between 5 and 15.

Max per sim: The maximum number of language skills that a sim may spawn with. This must be between 1 and 5.

[ACQUISITION]

This section has only one setting, which affects the skill level required for a toddler to acquire a language natively.

Skill threshold: When a toddler becomes a child, they will acquire all languages at or above this level natively. If no languages are at this level, they will just acquire their highest language instead. This must be an integer between 2 and 10.

If there is anything you do not understand, or you need help for any reason editing this file, please leave a comment on this post or reach out to me on Discord.