I hardly ever post on forums. The fact that I'm doing so speaks to me about how annoyed I am. In a single word; Frustrated. I apologize in advance for the prodigious usage of capslock.
There is no simple guide to follow on making it so that you can peacefully integrate vassal species into the Hive Mind. I've now gotten to the point where I can (taken two days of playing) and I have to say that the pre-requisites involved and time it takes makes it almost impossible the first time you try. And even though I now can integrate vassals, the process is annoying, difficult, arduous etc.
Effectively you have to unlock a whole bunch of Ascension perks. I think that you need to get at least three? but not entirely sure, I've unlocked 4 now so yeah, definitely doing all this stuff late game. Then after unlocking the required perks, you then need to research some technology, but as we know tech choices are randomized so yet another layer of frustration there. I figured out though that once I got to a certain perk level, I just canceled the in progress research and then I think I got lucky in that the Gene Modification (if that is what it is called) was available.
So the process to integrate non Hive Mind species into the Hive Mind is very roughly as follows;
1) Get heaps of perks - I think you need Engineered Evolution and Evolutionary Mastery (pretty much last 1/3 of game). So you can have heaps of Vassals but cannot integrate them for ages.
2) Research Genetic Engineering (I think this is the one).
3) Integrate a subject.
4) The instant you finish integrating pause the game and save.
5) Click the More button then Species.
6) Select the race you need to modify, it will have "Undesirables" in the column named "Rights".
7) Click Modify then ONLY SELECT HIVE MIND to add it to the list of traits. (Only modying the race so that it adds Hive Mind will cost very little, meaning the gene therapy time is very low, do not make the mistake of trying to create the perfect race here, people are being EATEN whilst you faff about!)
8) Select the planets to apply this to, select all the planets this race is on and then click Modify.
9) We are NOT FINISHED! SAVE YOUR GAME!!!!!!! SAVE THE BLOODY GAME NOW!~!!!!! If you are playing Ironman, then sorry, but you may have to use THE WORKAROUND *1.
10) Select the "Set Rights" button for the race you need to modify.
Important note - This game is bugged. Sometimes modifying these settings WILL NOT WORK but it will still PRETEND that it has worked (changing their race policies) so it will lock that policy from being modified again but without changing it to what you need so that your people stop being turned into food.
11) Select "Citizenship" and change to "Full Citizenship". If this worked then awesome. You should still probably modify their other rights, but this is the main one to stop them being food.
*1 THE WORKAROUND
Oh, so selecting the option for Full Citizenship didn't work? Now your people are still being converted to food and you have to wait 10 years to fix it? Also you are stupid because you want achievements and so you are playing on Ironman and cannot revert to a save before when the stupid game goes mega buggy stupid? Here is what you do;
1) Find the smallest Vassal in your empire.
2) Trade all planets that you just integrated to the small empire.
3) Start the original process again, but now wait again forever because the small empire is now massive with so many planets.
Important Note: sometimes THE WORKAROUND does not work. Recently I tried this to fix the citizenship selecting bug, the race did transfer to the Vassal. But they were now stuck on purge mode. So bad luck.
It should be easier then this to be a good/nice Hive Mind. Please fix.
There is no simple guide to follow on making it so that you can peacefully integrate vassal species into the Hive Mind. I've now gotten to the point where I can (taken two days of playing) and I have to say that the pre-requisites involved and time it takes makes it almost impossible the first time you try. And even though I now can integrate vassals, the process is annoying, difficult, arduous etc.
Effectively you have to unlock a whole bunch of Ascension perks. I think that you need to get at least three? but not entirely sure, I've unlocked 4 now so yeah, definitely doing all this stuff late game. Then after unlocking the required perks, you then need to research some technology, but as we know tech choices are randomized so yet another layer of frustration there. I figured out though that once I got to a certain perk level, I just canceled the in progress research and then I think I got lucky in that the Gene Modification (if that is what it is called) was available.
So the process to integrate non Hive Mind species into the Hive Mind is very roughly as follows;
1) Get heaps of perks - I think you need Engineered Evolution and Evolutionary Mastery (pretty much last 1/3 of game). So you can have heaps of Vassals but cannot integrate them for ages.
2) Research Genetic Engineering (I think this is the one).
3) Integrate a subject.
4) The instant you finish integrating pause the game and save.
5) Click the More button then Species.
6) Select the race you need to modify, it will have "Undesirables" in the column named "Rights".
7) Click Modify then ONLY SELECT HIVE MIND to add it to the list of traits. (Only modying the race so that it adds Hive Mind will cost very little, meaning the gene therapy time is very low, do not make the mistake of trying to create the perfect race here, people are being EATEN whilst you faff about!)
8) Select the planets to apply this to, select all the planets this race is on and then click Modify.
9) We are NOT FINISHED! SAVE YOUR GAME!!!!!!! SAVE THE BLOODY GAME NOW!~!!!!! If you are playing Ironman, then sorry, but you may have to use THE WORKAROUND *1.
10) Select the "Set Rights" button for the race you need to modify.
Important note - This game is bugged. Sometimes modifying these settings WILL NOT WORK but it will still PRETEND that it has worked (changing their race policies) so it will lock that policy from being modified again but without changing it to what you need so that your people stop being turned into food.
11) Select "Citizenship" and change to "Full Citizenship". If this worked then awesome. You should still probably modify their other rights, but this is the main one to stop them being food.
*1 THE WORKAROUND
Oh, so selecting the option for Full Citizenship didn't work? Now your people are still being converted to food and you have to wait 10 years to fix it? Also you are stupid because you want achievements and so you are playing on Ironman and cannot revert to a save before when the stupid game goes mega buggy stupid? Here is what you do;
1) Find the smallest Vassal in your empire.
2) Trade all planets that you just integrated to the small empire.
3) Start the original process again, but now wait again forever because the small empire is now massive with so many planets.
Important Note: sometimes THE WORKAROUND does not work. Recently I tried this to fix the citizenship selecting bug, the race did transfer to the Vassal. But they were now stuck on purge mode. So bad luck.
It should be easier then this to be a good/nice Hive Mind. Please fix.