Horizon Signal

[Cheese Sir]

So I've gotten this twice in a row now on Necrophage starts. I restarted after the first one, and I don't know if I have a save far enough back to end the event early on this current save. I dunno why I went with it, I thought maybe it would turn out different I guess. But, I digress. The point here is that this event is absolute garbage if you already have one of the traits that it's supposed to give. All it does is change the look of my species. Maybe it's not as big a deal as I'm making it out to be, but I spent time making my species look like that for my Necrophages for a reason and it just throws that right out the window. Also, for some dumbass reason, if you are Authoritarian, it gives you the option to fully purge your entire home world of pops. lmao. Dunno how anyone thought that was a good idea. By the time I've this this point in the chain both times this is effectively 75%+ of my entire population (of my main species). Awesome, my capital is now just tanked into a garbage world covered in empty buildings. I honestly wish there was a mod to just remove this thing, it's annoying and not worth it (I haven't seen one in my cursory searches). I've read in another thread that there is some way to force the Horizon Signal to trigger via normal gameplay, maybe I'm doing whatever that is without realizing it? Hopefully with this "Custodian" team they will be able to actually make all of these events make sense and work with any possible species/origin combos.

[Ryika]

The event isn't meant to "make sense" from a minmaxing perspective, it's meant to be cinematic and interesting. If you're not roleplaying, simply choose the good options, and that's it.

Or if you don't want to deal with it, use one of the around 275 chances to opt out out of the question chain that the events give you during the early phase of the thing.

[Cheese Sir]

I'm not trying to min-max, dunno why you would think that. I said I'd want to completely remove it. The entire reason I dislike it so much is it changes the design I chose in the first place.

[Ryika]

Yeah, so opt out of the event chain then.

[Scyobi_Empire]

If you kill the Worm you get something interesting.

[Tiasmoon]

The first event requires researching the anomaly it spawns. There's a number of times you can pause the event chain and just not progress it.

That aside, how would it be useless if you ''already have the traits''? Those are by far its weakest benefits. The Messenger is also completely optional and doesnt have to be done to finished the main event chain.

If you dont want your species to change, then simply dont pick the optional parts of the event chain that change your species.

[galadon3]

It was a "free-DLC" so it still counts as its own DLC (called Horizon Signal) you can just deactivate it in the DLC-menu. Its what I did.

[mss73055]

You don't have to. You can outright ignore the signal. AI will not get this quest, it's just there for you. Ignoring it is far less harmless than ignoring the barbarian encampment at your doorstep.

If you don't study the messenger your population will not turn militaristic.
The worm will add 9 planets to your home system. How this is garbage you tell me.

You purging your own population was not the brightest thing. Gets you a nice -1000 debuff on all your relations, too :D

[Elitewrecker PT]

Originally posted by Cheese Sir:

I'm not trying to min-max, dunno why you would think that. I said I'd want to completely remove it. The entire reason I dislike it so much is it changes the design I chose in the first place.

Launcher - DLCs - deactivate it

[alangriffith]

Originally posted by Ryika:

The event isn't meant to "make sense" from a minmaxing perspective, it's meant to be cinematic and interesting. If you're not roleplaying, simply choose the good options, and that's it.

I never get it because of roleplaying.

There's no type of Empire I ever run where after a mysterious voice / black hole eats one of my scientists, I would then sacrifice a second scientist to the black hole (sure you get some tech points but it isn't even described as a 'reward' for the sacrifice, just that as you watched them die you also detected interesting radiation you could study). Not only would my 'good' empires not send a scientist to his death, but my 'evil' empires aren't going to sacrifice their greatest minds to some weird voice that doesn't even give any form of threat or promise of reward.

If you refuse to sacrifice the second scientist, none of the other stuff happens (or at least never has for me).

[Sardorim]

Originally posted by Cheese Sir:

I'm not trying to min-max, dunno why you would think that. I said I'd want to completely remove it. The entire reason I dislike it so much is it changes the design I chose in the first place.

Then ignore the signal.

[Terijian]

yeah idk 15 planet home system and amazing habitability sound like the best thing a necrophage could ask for lol

[Tragopan]

Horizon Signal is one of the better events in the game and I use it to roleplay probably more than any other. The gameplay bonuses are extra.

That said, it is completely avoidable if you don't want to do the event. It is also completely avoidable to transform your whole species' look if you don't care for the trait points.

If you do care for the free traits then some things to keep in mind to help with your roleplay of the worm:

There are two parts to the transformation. The part that changes your portrait and gives you Intelligent, and the other that makes you Repugnant and Physics scientists. The former will automatically apply to all your main species. The latter only applies if you are on a planet and it will apply to all planets within the capital system. I often avoid the latter via habitats or a ring world origin. A note: you can only have one scientist trait (Physics, Engineering, Sociology). The event will replace whichever one you have with Physics if your capital is on a planet.

On the portrait change itself... the portrait will always change to a predetermined one from each set. If you try starting the game as the predetermined one I think it has a second predetermined one it will fall back on rather than keep the portrait the same, but I do not know what every portrait will turn into. Only know a few.

While I agree that it would be nice to have a way to get the traits without changing your portrait.. it's also not a big game bonus since the traits do take up trait points, so it results in a niche species trait use/gamey use of trait stacking for what is essentially a trade off for Intelligent.

[mss73055]

Heck if you load all your starter species on your home planet this is the one and only way to ditch your starter species :D

[NixBoxDone]

I don't get the problem here, really.
The Horizon Signal event is entirely optional. You can disable it so it doesn't even appear, you can ignore the event if it does appear, there's a bunch of stages where you can either opt out of part of it (by executing the scientist that researched the messenger) or all of it (by doing that and attacking the Worm instead of letting it do its thing).

In short, any effects of this event you don't like, you basically did to yourself.

[Lady Crimson (RIP)]

It's honestly a great event in terms of min-maxing for giving you a whole tomb world capital space (with like 10+ planets).

There really aren't any downsides besides you living on a tombworld, losing a number of scientists ( a worthy sacrifice) and a period of faction upheval that will pass.

It's one of the best events that you can choose to stop at any point by not continuing to sacrifice scientists so really don't see why you'd hate it as most people go through games trying to get it.

But you do what you want.

As others have said you can also just flat out disable it if you don't like it, but it's my favorite event probably, next to the Nivlak.

And you're right, purging your own pops is a HORRIBLE idea, and you don't have to do it! That's just an option lol.