I have made this thread because in trying to come up with a way to implement bioluminescence, it will be required for the Great Oxygenation event to be implemented first.
With Microbe stage somewhat close to being completed, it is time that I think we should start discussing the implementation of The Great Oxygen Event.
For those who don’t know what the great oxygenation event is, here is a summery from ChatGPT:
The Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is a term used to describe a significant period of Earth’s history, which occurred around 2.4 billion years ago. During this time, there was a massive increase in atmospheric oxygen levels, which had a profound impact on the evolution of life on Earth.
Prior to the GOE, the Earth’s atmosphere was mostly composed of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, with only trace amounts of oxygen. The oxygen levels were so low that they could not sustain most forms of life as we know it today.
The primary cause of the GOE was the emergence and evolution of photosynthetic bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, which are capable of converting sunlight into energy and using carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen as a waste product. Over time, the oxygen produced by these bacteria began to accumulate in the atmosphere, eventually leading to the oxygen-rich atmosphere we have today.
The GOE had a profound impact on the evolution of life on Earth. The increase in atmospheric oxygen levels allowed for the development of more complex and diverse forms of life, including animals. It also led to the formation of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful UV radiation.
However, the increase in atmospheric oxygen also had negative consequences for some organisms that were not adapted to an oxygen-rich environment. Some anaerobic bacteria, which do not require oxygen to survive, were unable to compete with the new oxygen-utilizing organisms and became extinct.
Overall, the Great Oxygenation Event was a critical turning point in the history of life on Earth and has had a lasting impact on the planet’s evolution.
The Great Oxygenation Event is an important part of Earth’s History and it is important that we get it right in Thrive.
My suggestion is that just like how Glucose depletion works in the current game with all cells (can one of the devs enlighten us on how Glucose balancing works?), the amount of photosynthesis cells can raise oxygen levels and deplete carbon dioxide levels.
Not only would this allow the eventual implementation of bioluminescence (see my posts in the bioluminescence thread), but it would also introduce further balancing to photosynthesis gameplay.
This would have an adverse effect on the game world as it would damage the health of anaerobic organisms (life that does not require oxygen to survive). This increase in oxygen would be toxic to them. This is scientifically possible because oxygen is a highly reactive molecule that can damage cellular components and cause oxidative stress.
I think the best way to implement life in this oxygen rich world is if you are in a high oxygen patch, which would eventually be all of them, you would need to use organelles that use oxygen. This would allow you to lower your internal oxygen level. This would have similar gameplay to a Fromsoftware poison swamp, where you are required to use consumable items to stay alive. This poison swamp technique would be interesting gameplay wise, as it would make players take different routes around the world map if they don’t want to pass through an oxygen rich patch.
An example of an organelle that could be used for this is a proto-photosynthesis organelle that I suggested here:
Anyways, I would love to hear your suggestions about how The Great Oxygenation Event should be implemented. Please correct me if I’m wrong in anything my post contains.
What do you think the danger threshold for oxygen should be?
Any ideas on how we could keep track of the player’s internal oxygen levels? Please keep in mind Thrive is made in Godot.
Edit:
Just found I video that goes further into depth on The Great Oxygenation.
It says that the Earth went into an ice age. Maybe when the Great Oxygenation Event happens in Thrive, all the surface water biomes should become arctic biomes.
Edit 2:
Since the video says that iron used to rust as green prior to the increase in oxygen, maybe we can make the iron compound green in low oxygen patches.
I’m not super versed in code but maybe we can use an if statement
Iron Original code
“iron”: {
“name”: “IRON”,
“volume”: 1,
“isCloud”: true,
“isAlwaysUseful”: false,
“isEnvironmental”: false,
“canBeDistributed”: true,
“digestible”: true,
“colour”: {
“r”: 0.45,
“g”: 0.098,
“b”: 0.02
},
Iron Code suggestion (not clean, maybe not be actually what would be used)
“iron”: {
“name”: “IRON”,
“volume”: 1,
“isCloud”: true,
“isAlwaysUseful”: false,
“isEnvironmental”: false,
“canBeDistributed”: true,
“digestible”: true,
“colour”: {
if (oxygenCont > x) {
“r”: 0.45,
“g”: 0.098,
“b”: 0.02
} else {
“r”: 0.02,
“g”: 0.45,
“b”: 0.098
}
},