Sub-Species Before Gene Techs?

[gathomas88]

I'm not sure why. However, in my latest playthrough, it seems like I had *several* different sub-species of my founder race available to play around with, even before I researched the tech that's supposed to make this possible.

I first noticed it after I went to set the "preferred species growth" on a newly colonized world. There were several different varieties of my founder species to choose from; some that were "strong," some that were good at mining, some that were "communal," etca, etca. They all had the same name and portrait as my founder species as well.

Is this a bug, or a feature I just wasn't aware of (pops adapting to their environment, or something)?

I did have a migration treaty, so I'd be tempted to think they were half-alien hybrids. However, that wouldn't explain why they all had my species' name. It was also pretty early in the game for that, IMO (late 2200s, early 2300s).

How does that feature even work, btw? Maybe I just missed it, but I haven't seen an "inter-breeding" tech or AP so far.

 

[basserg]

Sounds to me like some of your species migrated to a neighbour and then got gene modded. The gene modded pops were then prioritized for growth on your planets via migration because they were the most underrepresented species available amongst your migration treaties. A product of the new weird growth system that equalizes all species in the galaxy.

 

[gathomas88]

Sounds to me like some of your species migrated to a neighbour and then got gene modded. The gene modded pops were then prioritized for growth on your planets via migration because they were the most underrepresented species available amongst your migration treaties. A product of the new weird growth system that equalizes all species in the galaxy.

Ah, okay, that makes sense.

And yeah, the whole dynamic with the new system is sort of weird. How exactly the "preferred species growth" feature, for example, is supposed to work, in universe, is kind of nebulous. I get that you can favor one species for immigration, but why does it keep alien pops that are already on the planet from breeding as well? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the "population control" feature in the species tab?

I frankly feel like we should have two different "population growth" meters, one for native born pops, and another for immigrants.

 

[MK1980]

yeah i think basserg is right - the most likey explanation is that those pops migrated to a civ that already had gene tech (maybe bio ascencion if they added more then 1-2 points worth of traits) and were altered there and migrated back to you later.