Messenger Unleashed Question

[BlackUmbrellas]

While I've played through the Horizon Signal DLC (both a complete run and a few partials), I don't have the patience to test this and I couldn't find an answer combing through the files.

During the "Messenger Unleashed" chain of events, how does the game determine what portrait to use for the Messenger-altered species? I gather that there might be a pre-set portrait for each phenotype, but I can't track down where that list is stored in the game files.

What I'm curious about is if it differs at all for the Militarist vs. Pacifist alterations- my insects seem to become the roach/scarab portrait no matter what they started as when the Militarist version plays out, and I know humans become the especially-alien humanoid portrait for the militarist change.

Is this ever different?

EDIT: If people could share what the Messenger Unleashed event changed their portrait to, I'd really appreciate it!

Spoiler

Humanoid:

Mammalian:

Arthropoid:

Molluscoid:

Plantoid:

 

[henzington]

I have read that it will turn humans into blue tentacle people.

The one time I completed the event my bird people portrait stayed even after the final event.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

I have read that it will turn humans into blue tentacle people.

The one time I completed the event my bird people portrait stayed even after the final event.

Which bird portrait?

 

[Mummolus]

Warthog people become horse people, for what it's worth.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

I have read that it will turn humans into blue tentacle people.

The one time I completed the event my bird people portrait stayed even after the final event.

Warthog people become horse people, for what it's worth.

Out of curiosity, did you experience a shift to Militarism, or Pacifism?

 

[henzington]

Neither i was Fanatic Individual and Materialistic

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

Neither i was Fanatic Individual and Materialistic

When the Messenger Unleashed event triggers and your POPs are all transformed, they experience an Ethos shift- usually to Fanatic Individualist / Militarist, but if you already have the Militarist Ethos for your civilization, they become Fanatic Individualist / Pacifist.

 

[RossMorris]

Can confirm my beautiful militarist humans became peace loving, tree hugging tentacle over-brains.

Still debating if I will purge them.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

If anyone wants to help flesh out what information is available on this, would you mind sharing the portrait that the Messenger Unleashed event changed your species to?

The ones I've identified so far:

Spoiler

Humanoid:

Mammalian:

Arthropoid:

Molluscoid:

Plantoid:

 

[Mitchz95]

Can also confirm the humanoid one. Haven't played it with the others yet.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

On a related note, I resorted to save editing to make sure that my species changed to an RP-friendlier portrait after the event fired- I also used this to make the Tomb World Habitability trait and such standard to my entire species and not just the homeworld POPs at the end of the event chain.

It was a bit of a pain but once you know what to look for, not that bad.

 

[SoundwaveUK]

I played as Individualist Militarist Spiritualist.

Originally had the cutie Snail portrait, and got changed to the Molluscoid with the tentacles coming out of its mouth, that reminds me of Cthulhu. On my phone so can't do a picture. EDIT: oh wait, it's my profile picture. Forgot about that haha.

I selected the option to roll out the genetic changes to my entire race as well. My ethics stayed the same.

 

[smjjames]

I haven't had a portrait change for my avian species that I play.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

I played as Individualist Militarist Spiritualist.

Originally had the cutie Snail portrait, and got changed to the Molluscoid with the tentacles coming out of its mouth, that reminds me of Cthulhu. On my phone so can't do a picture. EDIT: oh wait, it's my profile picture. Forgot about that haha.

I selected the option to roll out the genetic changes to my entire race as well. My ethics stayed the same.

It probably changed to the one without a "face"- it's very seaslug-like, blue with all these layered "petals" and little tentacles?

Also, are you sure that you didn't get the ethics change? It doesn't change your government's ethics- just your population's.

I haven't had a portrait change for my avian species that I play.

Which portrait do you use?

 

[smjjames]

Which portrait do you use?

It's called slender 3 internally I believe, it's the one with the whip-tentacles with claws on the end and sort of looks like a feathered dragon. Pretty sure I haven't had the portrait change when using that one.

 

[Chirs]

In my run with a reptillian empire it turned from

Spoiler: this

Spoiler: to this

 

[SoundwaveUK]

It probably changed to the one without a "face"- it's very seaslug-like, blue with all these layered "petals" and little tentacles?

Also, are you sure that you didn't get the ethics change? It doesn't change your government's ethics- just your population's.

I have added some screenshots for you. The first is my original species. The second is my main species after the portrait and trait change, where the ethics remained the same. The third is at the completion of my quest, where my Home System changed into a sub-secies with Tomb World preference.

Spoiler: Original Species

Spoiler: Regular Species Change

Spoiler: Tomb World Sub-species

 

[pheonicia]

Spoiler

to

Spoiler

Are you sure it doesn't just randomly select another portrait of your phenotype to use?
Edit: after rereading your post, I will add that my species was a fanatic individualist/materialist.

 

[smjjames]

Question to those that are seeing the species portrait change, do you also have portrait mods? Just wondering if that might somehow prevent it from changing.

Anyways, here's the before and after for the species I play:

Spoiler: before (and original species)

Spoiler: after (this is species wide)

As you can see, there's no species portrait change. Maybe this just happens to be one of the 'messenger species'? I can take a quick dive at the text file for the Horizon events (already been through the events, so, not a spoiler for me).

edit: I don't see anything in the text file that looks like it would initiate a portrait change. I don't know why it isn't happening for me while others are.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

Are you sure it doesn't just randomly select another portrait of your phenotype to use?

As you can see, there's no species portrait change. Maybe this just happens to be one of the 'messenger species'? I can take a quick dive at the text file for the Horizon events (already been through the events, so, not a spoiler for me).

edit: I don't see anything in the text file that looks like it would initiate a portrait change. I don't know why it isn't happening for me while others are.

I can't for the life of me find where the game defines the portrait change- I do know its there, though, and it seems predictable.

Every Arthropoid I've played through with has become the "beetle" portrait. For the plantoids, the portrait I initially ascribed to them was a mistake- I misremembered from an AAR and upon checking back, their experience lines up with yours (which means at least two people have experienced their plantoids becoming the same portrait).

Humanoids have all been reported to become the most "alien" of the humanoid portraits.

Currently the only disparity I've seen is what @SoundwaveUK experienced- what he changed into is the portrait that the person who documented the entire event chain started as, but my suspicion is that it might not give you a different one in that event normally (see: @smjjames remaining as the "feather dragons"). I'm not sure about that one, really- if his POPs didn't get an Ethos change as part of the event chain, he might have had a bug.