The Alters: How do dialogue choices and marking previous choices work?

How do dialogue choices work in The Alters and how can they affect relationships with Jan's copies? This guide page focuses on conversations with alters and maintaining good crew morale to prevent conflicts and lowering work performance. Additionally, we've discussed the mechanics of previous choices and their significance when going for the best possible dialogue options later on.

• How to talk with alters?
• How to recognize previous choices?
• What else can I do to improve low morale?

How to talk with alters?

1. Talking to alters not only helps you understand mission objectives or exchange views, but they can also affect the morale and emotional state of Jan's copies. Hence, it is important to be careful when choosing dialogue options.
2. High morale with an alter can improve his efficiency. He will neither rebel nor get into fights with other characters. Low morale, in addition to worse work results (and increased risk of accidents), can also lead to unwanted quarrels and extreme cases, such as committing suicide or rebelling against Jan and the corporation at key moments in the story.
3. You should strive to understand the personality traits of created alters as best as possible, because each of them is unique in their own way. For example, Jan Technician, may react positively if you say that he is part of a team, but may won't like emotionless statements or those showing the corporation in a good light.
4. Alters' reactions are indicated by "bubbles" that appear on the right side during the conversation. Red indicates a negative reaction, while green - a positive one. The name specifies what kind of reaction it is; for example, it could be frustration, a worsening mood, or a greater desire to rebel against Jan's decisions.

How to recognize previous choices?

1. Marking previous choices can be a great facilitation during conversations with alters. It concerns not only previous playthroughs, but also conversations from earlier saves. If a conversation doesn't go according to your plan, you can load an older save (e.g. (from the beginning of a given day) to handle it differently and try to achieve a better final result.
2. The previously selected dialogue options are marked with a white outline around the purple icon - an example of such a dialogue option is shown in the screenshot.
3. Try to remember which dialogue choices were received positively with a particular alter. In case of a negative reaction, keep trying different options until you find one that is positively received by the alter.

What else can I do to improve low morale?

Conversations and dialogue choices are not the only way to improve the morale and mood of alters. There are other ways to achieve that, for example:

1. Setting up new rooms in the base - for example, a Contemplation Room (works best when combined with Jan Shrink), a Gym, or a Park with Bench.
2. Spending time together - Social Room is the perfect place for this. You can play beer pong or watch movies together (you need to find them first in the game world; they appear as collectibles). Watching movies can improve the mood of all alters.
3. Performing minor tasks for alters - they can ask Jan, for example, to build a specific room or conduct certain research.
4. Giving gifts - you need to find these items on an alien planet first. Gifting them to specific alters will appear as a dialogue option and the reaction will always be positive.
5. Serving high-quality food - it can replace the standard mush. It can be very beneficial to prepare a feast, even at the cost of using up a larger amount of resources.
6. Responding to emergencies - you may receive a notification that, for example, alters have gathered or are arguing in a specific location in the base. It's recommended to react immediately and try to defuse the situation.

See also:

1. Game guide
2. Best Alters
3. How to save the game?

The Alters

June 13, 2025

Rate It!

• Overview
• Guide
• Maps
• Review