You didn’t, @TheXenomorphian did:
I’d still like there to be some stylised popup saying you’ve achieved Multicellularity (but only during Mid multicellular when the game changes from Microbial with extra cells to its own thing) or for other stages just to let people know plus i love the pop up in the current stage of thrive with microbial stage (it helps to explain some stuff about why the hell a cell is doing there) The popups could be used to describe the process that leads to this stage like Awakening could say at the beginning
Congratulations you have achieved Intelligence (forgot the word that began with S didn’t bother to look it up) Now that you reached this point the time flow is shortening from millions of years to a few hundreds, as your creature stops evolving its body but its mind
There simple right? tells some of the people what stage they’re on (since imagine playing Thrive and reaching awakening only to find out due to early awakening having the same gameplay as Aware that you have unintentionally reached that stage and now you cannot evolve anymore you’d spend hours doping about as you would in Aware ) It also helps inform some of the aspects of the gameplay like how you must get more smarter and you no longer evolve, and it would still be somewhat a smooth transition Despite the popup (the popup could appear 20 seconds after you have achieved that stage so that you start out wondering what stage you’re in and wandering about then bam theres your exposition its still a smooth transition between the stages just a popup appears shortly after said transition
IDK my personal opinion remember i’m the man who would like to see Stellaris crisis events in Thrive so take this with a beaker of salt, Molten salt , Molten salt with a layer of solid salt above , and the whole room is filled with Salt gas , and you’re on a planet made of salt
Not to mention the timeline option from Spore… Maybe that’s a good idea to notify the player about when they approximately reached different stages.
I actually enjoyed the timeline function of spore though an exact copy would be a bit difficult in thrive (due to the larger amounts of editor changes needed to shape your creature) a way to do something similar in my opinion could be like one of those weird spore evolution videos where they basically have a black background and esentially speed show each variant your species has under gone throughout evolution
Though thats just a fun way to do it for those who want more indepth inspection the old spore timeline is fine
IDK how technology could be fitted within a timeline though another idea is there is a button in the menu that leads to the Timeline tree Within that timeline tree is a few tabs One is dedicated to your species and creature as its evolution has been, it’d only be valid till Awakening stage when you stop evolving by which point the Tech tab opens, The tech tab could have various bars representing different weapons for example Lets say one bar is Melee weapon beginning with a simple stone axe as you improve on it, the graph shows the changes but when you create a new melee weapon it shows a branch off (thus timeline Tree ) the same could actually be used for the regular life tree but that feels a bit different and another subject already covered
Though i can already hear the devs angrily typing
There’d be a hella large amount of bars
So to fix that perhaps instead of a dedicated Tech timeline it’d be split off into different tabs
One is for weaponry of all sorts
One is for Vehicles
One is for structures
One is for Function parts (as they can change too)
in the future there could be another tab for Space design timeline
It was only today while being amazed by the Slovakian landscape, that I realized stunning landscapes are something very few games can pull off, let alone randomly generated. My question is why. If you look at the landscapes of Spore, No Man’s Sky or some parts of unmodded Skyrim, the land often seems like a barren wasteland. More of a desert, rather than at least savana plains. I think the three main problems are the landscapes not being dynamic enough, the lack of diversity and the low quantity of the flora. Let me explain.
The landscape is not dynamic enough
When you look at the landscape in the games mentioned above, all you get is usually smooth hills and not much more. However, in the real world, landscapes are much more dynamic and there is so many ways the terrain can form, bend, crack, ascend and descend. I don’t think many games have pulled this of, hence I don’t even know of any game even attempting it. When was the last time you have seen a randomly generated waterfall? Stuff like that is what matter in creating stunning landscapes.
The lack of diversity
Another aspect is the fact that in most games there are usually just a few presets for flora on every planet and they are just scattered randomly across its surface. But in reality, even if you were to look out of the window right now, you would probably see dozens of different species of flora, even if you live in an urban area. One solution for this might be biome specific plants (which should be taken care of by the auto-evo). Each biome would have its specific flora and in some places they would blur together.
The low quantity
As I said before, any place in the games mentioned above feels like a wasteland or a desert. This is because of the frequency of the plants, which is everywhere the same and everywhere somewhat lacking. I want you to imagine a tundra, a desert, a taiga, a rainforest, a savana and compare the frequency of the plant-life in them. When it comes to creating a certain atmosphere, this is often overlooked.
̶H̶o̶w̶e̶v̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶.̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶e̶c̶r̶a̶f̶t̶.̶
What do you think? What are other steps to follow in order to create an atmospheric landscape to be remembered? Try looking some up to get some inspiration.
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We could work on the timeline now, with the microbe stage being worked on for diversity all from the player in 5.0. or later.
I really hate(d) comic expressions in games like spore and other evolution games. An example being a comic exclamation point or question mark appearing above an entity. In other games this is fine, it fits. But in evolution games I just think it looks… stupid. I have no other reason it just doesn’t fit I think. If we wanted to know a creatures emotion or reaction I think we should be able to click on it and find some sort of description along with an emotion.
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(Credit: DeadlyBlueApples, Game: Dwarf Fortress)
I assume emotional readouts would be something like this, though decidedly less verbose.
I would also like to see non-verbal expression of emotions.
Here are some universal markers that I have come up with.
Joy - The creature walks slightly faster and will often gesture to other creatures.
Sadness - The creature cares less about proper prosture, moving slower and ignoring others.
Combat - The creature’s stance is wider and aims its hands/claws/weapons at any foes.
Anger - The creature will frequently stomp and yell/point weapons at others.
Fear - The creature attempts to lower its form and will look around for any potential threats. The creature may also start shaking.
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The Scavengers from Rain World come to mind, they have really impressive, lifelike body language and i love them
scavs are funny
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Just gonna go on a quick rant here… rain world changed my perspective on games. Honestly it is the most beautiful game I’ve ever played. The gameplay is so well thought out and (no spoilers) when you finally discover things, or rather they discover you it provokes some age-old instinct somewhere in your brain. Obviously I’m exaggerating BUT NOT THAT MUCH. On one hand it’s a survival game, and on the other it’s dark and philosophical. I cannot stress enough how good of a game this is. Has rain world ruined all other games for me due to how good it is? Yes, yes it has.
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Not to double post but shut up.
If you do EVER play rain world once you reach the wall I highly recommend having mr. Blue sky playing on a constant loop. There are many reasons why and if you’ve played the game and don’t know what I’m talking about um then… do that
Add mr blue sky into thrive we can learn from spore’s mistake of not using it
would actually make for a good ending song once you’ve completely finished the game
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Mr. Blue Sky is owned and must be licensed for fair use (otherwise sue sue sue). Licensing costs money. Thrive is open-sourced, and doesn’t plan to profit from the game. The devs would have to pay out of their pockets for this feature.
Anyways, we don’t need mr blue sky. Have you listened to some of the Thrive tracks? They’re wonderful!
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Yes, but this is MR BLUE SKY. You can’t make this shit up man!
I joke. The thrive soundtrack is amazing. Is there currently an end of game soundtrack (for credits)?
One of Spore’s mistakes was too much compromise. The devs were split into two sides. One side wanted a full-on realistic evolution sim (basically Thrive’s goal), while the other side wanted a good creature builder. Compromises were made to integrate both ideas, and the result was lacklustre for both ends. Unfortunately, Thrive faces a similar dilemma, where you want the game to be as realistic as possible, but realism isn’t always fun. So the devs have to find the right compromise to make the game enjoyable, while also remaining true to the source material.
Another sin of the gaming industry is in-game purchases as in dlcs. They are simply a disgrace. Why must you pay for a game FULL PRICE (easily as high as 80$, without counting the “deluxe edition” scams which are just an excuse to increase the price to 3 figures), and then have to pay for more features? I already paid for the game, give it to me fully, not in chunks, which I pay for individually. It’s as if you order at a restaurant, and instead of giving the full order, which you pay for in full, you get the main course, with the desert as an “add-on to your experience”. Fortunately for the consumer, a̶n̶d̶ ̶u̶n̶f̶o̶r̶t̶u̶n̶a̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶s̶, Thrive is free, and so, downloadable content is futile.
And don’t get me started on microtransactions. “Just pay 5 real moneys, and you can get 8000 goodbux in the game, for free!” Some are pay-to-win, which is disgusting and unethical and encourages gambling and why aren’t loot boxes illegal yet? It also completely ruins a game when they put obscene mechanics to encourage spending, like setting up competitive bots, or making wait time reeeeeeeaaallly long, or making stuff absurdly expensive. One example of this is the mobile app Seabeard (it also uses addiction mechanisms, sad and wrong). I used to be hooked on this thing for hours, everyday, and I stopped once I realised I was literally planning my day around an app game, so uninstall was its fate, and good riddance! This doesn’t really have anything to do with Thrive, other than the Thrivium april fools thread, I just needed to vent my frustration somewhere.
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I know it’s been a while and I’m double posting, but hear me out.
What’s the number one reason for games to get boring? Is it the lack of things to do? Or is it the length of the play through?
No, a game gets boring for only one reason: it gets repetitive. Take minecraft for example. Now, people would say that minecraft is a limitless game, so it should never get boring, right? Wrong! What’s the first thing you do in minecraft no matter the world? Punch tree, make wooden pickaxe, make stone pickaxe, make iron armour, make iron pickaxe, make diamond pickaxe, go to the nether, get the blaze rods, spend 385 hours fighting endermen, go to the end beat the dragon.
What I described is the natural progression of every minecraft world. Do you see a problem? I do! It’s tedious and unchanging. The landscape doesn’t matter, it only makes those few actions slightly easier or slightly harder. So, how do we fix that? Every play through has to be different. I don’t like the fact that only one suit of armour is objectively better, there should be ups and downs for different situations. Maybe iron armour burns you in the nether, while you freeze while wearing it in the snowy biomes, so you have to wear leather. small changes like these make the game more challenging and unexpected.
What I’m trying to say is that Thrive must not fall into the pit of boredom with repetitive play throughs. What’s the reason for each new play through? Does an herbivore play differently from a carnivore? What are the benefits and downsides of a warrior race?
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I see what you mean, but I think Thrive already has a bit of leverage. What I mean is mainly about the world generation. There are already so many variables that the finished game is planning on having I’m certain that most playthroughs will not be the same.
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I agree here, even on the current, relatively bare bones version, most playthroughs differ a LOT from each other, due to the cells evolving in different ways. (For example, a game where a lot of toxin organelles have spawned plays way differently to one where the biggest issue is smaller bacteria hoovering up the compounds)
I can only imagine the replay value of when world generation is added, since something there are a lot of variable that can have massive effects on the world itself. (For example, if a planet is further away from its sun, there will be less energy that comes from plants, making it way more important to use everything some prey has to offer)
You could even implement something like that in the difficulty when starting a game, where if you pick a higher difficulty you’ll start in a more fertile world. (Closer to the sun, (more available energy) slower turn speed, (less chaotic tides) higher circling speed around its sun, (shorter winters) etc.)
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I would like difficulty to not affect the AI’s advantages. With that I mean like easy difficulty handicaps the AI (less MP and resources), normal being equal, and hard making the AI cheat. If the AI is affected by difficulty it should only affect how intelligent / aggressive it is.
Essentially I don’t want stat boosts due to difficulty, only AI competency. It’s best if AI isn’t affected at all, only other factors.
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I think most people see this as the ideal. One issue is that for some games it’s too hard to make the AI smarter than a person. For example in CIV 5 they have to let the AI cheat because it’s too computationally expensive to make it smarter than a person.
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