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Your newly-created crew inThe Altersfind themselves thrust into a terrible and frightening situation, to say nothing of an unwelcome existential quandry. Keeping the base running, and everyone in it alive, means helping them keep their morale up in the face of overwhelming odds and crushing despair. The tools you have at your disposal for this are meager, but they’re enough to see the mission through.
If you don’t keep an eye on the Alters' moods, they may stop working or take more drastic measures to make their voices heard. Take these steps to avoid those dire consequences.
The Basics
Alters' moods aren’t tracked on a simple scale; instead, events and interactions will cause them to feel specific emotions such asJoy, Motivation, Frustration, or Rebellion.The feelings that are most prominent (usually the ones that have cropped up the most often and the most recently) will be at the forefront, affecting their overall mood the most. Since you don’t have full control over what the Alters feel, it’s best tomake it easier for them to experience positive emotions and steer them away from negative ones.
Day-To-Day Events
Alters' everyday routine can have a major impact on their overall mood.Missing meals or being forced to sleep on the floorwill quickly anger them, whilesurviving a crisis or rescuing Jan in the fieldcan give them a boost. The best way to establish a baseline for morale is toensure that there is a bed for everyone, and that there’s always at least one meal for eveyone(including yourself) before ending the day.
The Dormitory allows four Alters to sleep, while a Personal Cabin provides a bed and a mood boost for a single character. Since you’re able to have at most six Alters, two Dormitories is a slight waste of space.
When it comes to food,basic Mush is fine. There’s no penalty for feeding Alters the flavorless goo, but a proper Cooked Meal provides a slight mood boost to anybody who eats one.
Conversations
Your interactions with the Alters will change their mood based on what you say. It can be tricky to tell how different dialogue options will come off, andsometimes there is no good choice.The best thing you can do ispay attention to each Alter’s biogaraphy in the Quantum Computer, and attempt to understand their personality and values. If you say things that they agree with and make choices that they support, they’ll feel good about it… and the opposite is true as well.
Alters will also have conversations with each other, which can affect their mood either positively or negatively. Personality clashes are sure to happen, and you may be asked to take sides.
Gifts
Cargo Pods containing Jan’s old belongings can be found around the planet. When you find them, you cangive gifts to the Altersto improve their mood once. Not every item can be given to every Alter. Pay attention to the item description and each Alter’s biography; you can also check to see if a speech bubble has appeared over the Alter’s face on the left side of the screen, which usually means you can give them the new gift.
Entertainment
There are several room modules that you can add to the base that willprovide entertainment to the Alters while they’re off shift, increasing their mood without you having to do anything. Many of these rooms also have options for you to actively intervene,providing a bigger boost at the expense of time.
Social Room
The Social Room is thebest module overallfor maintaining morale, as it has two options for increasing Alters' moods manually;beer pongandmovie nights.Even if you aren’t present, the Alters can still hang out here after work for a boost, though it’s most effective on characters who areextroverted and enjoy a drink, like the Technician.
Gym
The Gym lets Alters work out between shifts, slightly improving their mood.Alters who like exercise,like the Refiner, will get more out of the Gym than others.
Park With Bench
If you find the holoprojector in Act 2, you can use it to create a park inside the base. This calming room lets Alters relax during their time off, and is best forAlters who enjoy peace and quiet, like the Scientist.
Characters can still benefit from a room that isn’t to their taste; the Scientist will still work out in the Gym occasionally, for example, but won’t get as much of a thrill out of it as the Refiner.
Contemplation Room
The Contemplation Room is best used if an Alter’s mood is extremely bad; if you think they’re on the verge of a breakdown,assign them to a Contemplation Pod.The Contemplation Room can treat up to two Alters simultaneously; they won’t do any work while they’re in the pods, but they’llgradually gain positive emotionsduring their treatment, hopefully stabilizing them.
The Shrink or the Guard can be assigned to oversee the Contemplation Room, causing Alters in the pods to recover more quickly. There’s no functional difference between which of the two you assign to this task.
Injuries And Death
Alters working outside the base are always at risk of injury, but that risk increases if they’re in a bad mood. If an Alter suffers aninjury or radiation burn, it will only recover if they’re inside the base - ideally resting. If they continue to work, the injury will worsen, and their mood along with it.
If you make an injured or burned Alter continue to work, they can develop aheavy injury, which will eventually kill them if it isn’t treated in the Infirmary. If an Alter dies, youdon’t get their Quantum Computer slot back, so you’ll be short-handed for the rest of the game.
Assigning an Alter to an Infirmary Bed will speed their recovery from either status condition. If the Doctor is assigned to oversee their care, they’ll recoveran astonishing eight times faster. Some injuries occur as part of story events, so even if you’re careful you should have an Infirmary at the ready… just in case.
