Ecosystem News

We did it! Ecosystem is ready to be released and will be doing so Tuesday March 16th around 14:30 GMT.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

To celebrate the release of Ecosystem the developer, Tom Johnson, will be live for an hour or so, taking a break from developing and spending some time playing and taking your questions!

After Tom has finished members of the Slug Disco team, the publishers of Ecosystem, will be diving into the waters and seeing what Ecosystems they can evolve!

Not quite sure what Ecosystem is all about?

Ecosystem is a god-game/simulation hybrid in which players design aspects of their underwater ecosystem - from the terrain composition and where the currents run to the placement of individual species of plant and fish within the world. Once the player has made these choices, the simulation takes over to help the plants and fish grow and evolve over time.

The underlying technology of Ecosystem means that it isn't just a video game version of the laws of ecology with pre-made fish models. The simulation actually determines the creatures in the game: their bodies, how they swim, and how they think and behave. All the creatures in the trailer evolved on their own in the game; none were hand-edited!

Other key features of Ecosystem are:

• Virtual creatures evolve on their own to adapt to an environment you create - At Ecosystem's heart are evolving virtual lifeforms, who grow from synthetic DNA and live in a physically-simulated ocean. This synthetic DNA encodes everything about a creature, from skeletal structure to skin, from joint-types to mental processes. The genetic code of a creature can mutate, combine, be spliced with other species, and be directly modified by the player.
  
• Movement is bound by the laws of physics - To swim, the creatures don’t just play an animation, they move like real sea-life, their limbs actually controlling their success in movement. The strongest swimmers pass their genes onto the next generation.
  
• Massive Replayability - The procedural nature of the game means that you will never have the same fish or environment twice, each new Ecosystem will be different from the last.
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Ecosystem is a god-game/simulation hybrid in which players design aspects of their underwater ecosystem - from the terrain composition and where the currents run to the placement of individual species of plant and fish within the world. Once the player has made these choices, the simulation takes over to help the plants and fish grow and evolve over time.

The underlying technology of Ecosystem means that it isn't just a video game version of the laws of ecology with pre-made fish models. The simulation actually determines the creatures in the game: their bodies, how they swim, and how they think and behave. All the creatures in the trailer evolved on their own in the game; none were hand-edited!

Other key features of Ecosystem are:

• Virtual creatures evolve on their own to adapt to an environment you create - At Ecosystem's heart are evolving virtual lifeforms, who grow from synthetic DNA and live in a physically-simulated ocean. This synthetic DNA encodes everything about a creature, from skeletal structure to skin, from joint-types to mental processes. The genetic code of a creature can mutate, combine, be spliced with other species, and be directly modified by the player.
  
• Movement is bound by the laws of physics - To swim, the creatures don’t just play an animation, they move like real sea-life, their limbs actually controlling their success in movement. The strongest swimmers pass their genes onto the next generation.
  
• Massive Replayability - The procedural nature of the game means that you will never have the same fish or environment twice, each new Ecosystem will be different from the last.
  

If you would like to sign-up for beta access you can do so by filling in this form: https://forms.gle/LWqX7uT6F8ko1zTV6

Some fixes in this update for common issues that have become apparent as the demo has had a wider audience.

• Fix: stored and player-made creatures have their neurological DNA overwritten on birth
  
• Fix: stored and player-made creatures pass the wrong DNA on to their children, resulting in extreme maladaption over time
  
• Fix: when you spawn a stored creature, it immediately splits into multiple 'species' even though they all descend from the same originator
  
• Allow modified creatures to mutate physiologically after enough generations have passed
  
• Fix: bug that could result in player-made creatures being culled upon maturation
  
• Fix: some issues with removing plants
  
• Allow changing brush size when removing plants
  
• Fix: plankton don't reproduce correctly if it's the first thing placed
  
• Fix: eggs, seeds and plankton sometimes phase through cave walls and ceilings
  

Hello everyone! Hopefully you've all been enjoying the updated Ecosystem demo. Some bug fixes have been released for it, detailed below:

• Fix: error on underwater shader causes sky to occasionally become visible
  
• Fix: missing texture error that could occur on player-created or stored creatures
  
• Fix: creatures fire out arcs of electricity
  
• Fix: player can rotate camera upwards to the point of turning upside down
  
• Fix: skin type displays incorrectly in creature editor
  

Ecosystem is a simulation game focusing on the astonishing processes of evolution, the intertwining systems that work together to bring life to the oceans and the emergent properties that spring from them.

Some fish-like creatures swim along a vibrant ocean floor

Start by crafting your submarine environment - your artist's palette is loaded with rock, corals and plants. The intricacies of the world you create will have profound effects on the creatures that will inhabit it. The tiniest nook may become a safe haven for eggs that drift on the eddies of the ocean current, or a vibrant kelp forest may provide food for herbivores and hunting grounds for their predators.

Current simulations are based on Lattice Boltzmann methods

Creatures in your Ecosystem run a full evolution simulation modelled after real-world science. Their body shapes and behaviours are subject to the processes of natural selection. Creatures will have a chance to pass on their genes to the next generation if they pass the gauntlet of tests life throws at them. Over time, traits caused by mutations in their genetic code will be passed on if they aid the species and naturally die out if they don't. The end result is life forms uniquely adapted to the environment you create.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Predators chasing their prey. Dramatic!

Ecosystem is being developed solely by Tom Johnson, developer of Enemy (2015) and published by Slug Disco Studios. The older demo for the game has been out for some time now and Tom has been collating feedback and adding an abundance of features, many of which are present in the newer demo that has been released as part of the Steam Autumn Game Festival! Ecosystem is planned for release in 2021.