Some business on Yan'me

[Deleted]

So, this might make for a nice little discussion...otherwise I will just have to see what the rest of the staff have to say about it.  For one, I have no idea on how to go about naming a Drone.  I haven't looked at anything other than Halo Nation, but it seems to consider them nameless...that seems somewhat impractical at least as far as RPing goes so I was wondering if anyone has dug up any other info on Yan'me naming conventions or have any ideas on how one might go about naming a Yan'me.

The other business is how we do the ranks.  Of course, I understand an Ultra leads a swarm...but are we considering them to be shielded?  For that matter, are they considered high enough in the hierarchy to wield Plasma Rifles and other Sangheili-operated weaponry?

Discuss!

[Arbiter124]

Ranks: They have shielding in ODST for Ultras and Majors, and they have been seen with Brute Plasma Rifles in ODST, so there is a possibility that they wield Sangheili Arms PreSchism.

[Deleted]

I understand that, but Halo: Reach approaches it much differently. I've been tossing the idea of making one around in my head and I don't have the slightest clue how to even name the thing. Might it be like the Huragok (names like lighter-than-some or something)? I would think such naming conventions would work well and distinguish a yan'me slightly from the rest.

[David]

Remembering the drones are a hive like mentality, Im not sure they would have names really.

[Deleted]

I understand that, but it's somewhat lame to have that be the case. Not to mention we could infer that drones could possibly give nicknames to each other even if they aren't actually given a true name. They are a rather intelligent species, replacing the Huragok as mechanics and engineers where necessary, so I could see it being viable that they have nicknames such as "He-who-flies-fast" or something.

[Arbiter124]

I think at one point Kart had a Drone named 'Driftsoar', so perhaps they give each other more tribal titles rather than Huragok type names.

[Deleted]

Tribal titles? To be honest the huragok type names are in that same category...just look at native american names which vary from "Daystar" to "One That Walks On Four Claws".

But still, that gives me an inkling to the fact I may be on the right track with how they may do with the nicknames.

[Spartan 999]

Honestly, I have no clue about most of this, but I just wanted to say that it's spelled Yanme'e.

[BetaWülf]

Even with a hive mind going on, they might have distinct names based on physical appearance.
As an example backshine might be a very shiny Yanme'e, or one that is missing a limb might be referred to as trio.

That's my thoughts.

[Huka]

I would say for the Yanme'e names, they don't really need names amongst themselves, recognizing each other by pheromones and such like other insects. When the other Covenant species interact, they are mostly like designated by hive and swarm; ex. Sixth Combat swarm of the Lamenting Consecration Hive or Thirteenth Maintenance swarm of the Harbinger of Absolution Hive.

Individually they probably given nicknames to remember better, especially the leading Yanme'e.

Weapons-wise, they have been using plasma pistols and needlers. Plasma rifles are officer weapons and high-ranking Unggoy can use. So I suppose the Yanme'e Ultras can too.

Energy shields, Yanme'e majors would have lesser shields that last a good quarter of an assault rifle clip while Ultra shields would last against most of a clip. Not very strong due to their easy replacement factor but good enough to survive to flew while their more common kin fall like flies to a turret.

*Huka's thoughts*

[Jakob]

They really aren't meant for characters. Complaining they aren't characters would be like complaining the flood aren't, they just don't work as individuals.

[Deleted]

Jul 21, 2013 18:27:35 GMT -6 Spartan 999 said:

Honestly, I have no clue about most of this, but I just wanted to say that it's spelled Yanme'e.

Duly noted, 999.

They really aren't meant for characters. Complaining they aren't
characters would be like complaining the flood aren't, they just don't
work as individuals.

I'd disagree.  By that reasoning, a Mga'lekgolo wouldn't make for a good character due to them being a collection of tiny worms that work in conjunction.  Other than that, I think the flood are a bad comparison...they are directly connected to the gravemind and have no sense of anything other than killing and collecting biomass.  Yanme'e do work with a hive mind, but they have some sense of self-preservation and I can guarantee they have individuality to some extent, given they all will have different life experiences.  Not to mention there is no complaining about them "not being characters", rather this is a discussion about them for my own thoughts on making one as well as anyone else who might be tempted to a Drone.  Not to mention I've seen it done in ages past pretty well (Killer Frog, although the thing was more luls than anything else), just like I've seen Mga'lekgolo done well too (Hunterelite).  So get outta here you dirty, dirty, Human (just kidding if you didn't realize).

[Killer Frog]

I remember way back when we didn't really put that much thought into it, and so when I made my drone (first ever on the site <3) I just sort of threw out a generic sci-fi sounding name. Seeing the hive mentality they have though, I'd assume they really wouldn't have that much of a naming process. The Arbiter trying to reason to them during HALO 3 hints that they have some sort of individuality or some sort of higher, controlling intelligence. For the sake of roleplay, I'd assume more on the end of individual. That being said, they're hive insects also, so their form of individuality would be very different from ours.

A good way to look at it would be... uh... well I'd see a highly collectivist society. They work only for the greater good of their hive (and in extent any entities its affiliated with) without any sort of individualist tenancies. The way I see it, they live in a society that has a concept of self, but very little regard for it. Sure they feel, they think, but like I said its more in the nature of "myself related to the group" instead of "the group related to myself" that you'd see in any other species. They would lack the sexual urges of the other species (I doubt the individuals capable of breeding would be on combat missions), they would seek companionship in different ways. One could see them being very clannish. They would be very close to their brood-mates, seeing their siblings as their only true companions, their queen as their leader and their mother. Due to the hive mentality and the extreme efficiency it brings along, things like being sad about a dead comrade and brooding in general would be unheard of (or probably seen as a sort of mental illness). Drones from other hives would be things to work with, but not kin. Inter-hive relations probably wouldn't mean much to the common drone. Inter-species relations wouldn't mean much at all to billy every-drone I'd expect, and while its been stated in fluff that they don't really like engineers one could assume that drones have a sort of pride. Being bred to do one thing and one thing only, I can assume seeing some one else do it better than you would piss you off quite a bit.

Oh boy I sure do miss world-building like this! Much like any other type of hive insect it would be safe to guess that every drone was born for the job he was given. There would be no chance of advancement for a drone further up in society. That being said, they would also lack a concept of ambition, so that really wouldn't bother them that much. A drone would be born to a specific task and probably either assigned to a "unit" that needs his talents (soldier, engineer, scientist, caretaker) as the need arises or they would be grown unit by unit for specific tasks. The first seems much more likely, because the second would leave 'floaters' as a unit looses more and more people.

Back to the topic of names, I'd assume they either wouldn't have names at all (wouldn't really have that much of a need for them) or they would be very 'numerical' in nature. Think Roman naming conversions, each hive would assign more or less a number to a successive drone depending on its intended goal. So for a proposed naming conversion you could give them alpha-numeric designations, example 100m-03-w. The first three numbers would be an individual number, designating the individual from others of similar task in the same swarm, the letter next to it would be their rank. The second digits would be the swarm number. Third letter would be the task designated for that swarm, in this case a warrior. So our proposed name would represent the 100th minor in the third warrior swarm for that hive. Numbers would be recycled as population increases and individuals die. It could be a mark of pride to carry the designation of and individual that did something particularly fantastic for the hive.

Other potential naming processes could come from position. Higher up individuals might adopt a name during interactions with other species and hives. A diplomat talking to other Covenant species might adopt a name in their language when interacting with them as a sign of solidarity and familiarity. Ultras in the military might adopt a Sangheili name when dealing with Elites as a sign of respect and ease for their commanding officer. When interacting between hives they might add their hive name as a sort of family name. So our little minor 100m-03-w might add his hive name Glortht (just throwing shit out) when interacting with other hives, to avoid confusion if he ran into another drone named (or designated) 100m-03-w.

Oh geeze, I forgot how much I love world building... Almost all of this is speculation, so don't take this as cannon.

[Deleted]

I have one thing to say, Killer Frog.



That is all...
P.S. Other's thoughts on this would be good.  I'll have to process all that and think about my actual opinions on it haha.  But that was very in-depth and useful, thanks everyone for your opinions thus far.

[BetaWülf]

Here are more examples of what I meant.

Gloweyes-Has very bright eyes
Hardshell-Has a thick exoskeleton
Biter-Has a tendency to bite
Thorax-Is worthy and wields the hammer Mjolnir
Longwing-Has long wings
Brittleback-Has a very thin exoskeleton
Shorthooks-Has short hand hooks
FecalMajor-Is a highly disliked Major
Glow-Did not stopped glowing after emerging as an adult
Dark-Has a dark exoskeleton
smalleyes-Has smaller than average eyes
Fatax-Enjoys jelly too much
Blue-Is blue but is a Minor not an Ultra
Roughridge-Has very rough ridges on his plating
Leaper-He leaps often when walking

I felt I needed to elaborate more, so I did. I hope this is helpful, they are all original but feel free to use them if you want.

[Deleted]

I think a combination of the naming conventions KF spoke about, IE Roman naming conversions, being named due to position outside the Hive, and what betawolf has talked about with nicknames would all be viable depending on the given situation or certain varying hive mentalities. Maybe an official info thread to pound out Site canon would be a good idea, although I will want to talk to duffle about it and see his thoughts on the matter.

[Killer Frog]

If the staff wants it I could go back and finish the different Covenant cultural info things I was writing a while back. If I recall I had finished one on troop organizations, Elite culture and Jackal culture. The ones I finished appear to have gone the way of the dinosaurs though.

[Deleted]

Military hierarchy has already been covered for the most part, as you can see. However, I love seeing stuff on the various cultures and wouldn't have a problem with you doing so. That being said, I'd shoot the whole of the staff a PM for a collective opinion on it.