Daftpanzer
canonically ambiguous
A world much like our own, as it once was. On the surface, nothing much stirs, save for the restless waves. Perhaps some slimy scum here and there. The most advanced lifeform is a single cell; in the warm, shallow sea it swims along with a confident swagger. Humble and microscopic as it may be, this cell is at the leading edge of an unbroken chain of life that has already existed for billions of years. This versatile cell is packed with the latest nano-machinery, a toolkit of organelles for digesting scraps of biological debris that it comes across, burning oxygen and even making use of sunlight for some of its chemical reactions.
This cell and its kind are greatly outnumbered by the mass of simple bacteria that has thrived for eons. But life will not stop here. Bigger, better, more complex lifeforms await. And eventually, the blank canvas of the world will be filled with macroscopic life.
OK, so here we go again! For those that don't know, the way this works is that you put forward one 'evolution' per turn. Your creations don't require orders from you, and there is no long-term commitment on your part. However, you can get bonus evolution powers from having very successful or unique creations.
The changes from NESLife3 are as follows:
* We now deal with whole groups/families of 'species' at a time, rather than pretending to represent every individual species. Branching will still occur, but an evolution may now be handled as an 'upgrade' that simply adds to a family's abilities. Each family will be owned by only one player at a time, this can change depending on who has made the best input.
* To start off gently, we begin in the 'Cell stage', where Eukaryote-analogues have yet to branch into plants and non-plants. There are no hard stats yet, and in fact there may never be any hard stats at all, depending on how this goes. By default, you have the power to add one or two new features/improvements, and to make a similar number of reductions (streamlining is important, generalists don't always win).
Example evolutions are shown below. This is the kind of thing you should post. Someone may in fact copy these if desired, otherwise it won't actually appear in-game:
Archaeoblobus -> Blobster Mk1 (DaftPanzer)
(Note: although a new family may not actually branch out, please suggest a new name anyway!)
Additions: a number of cells have joined forces to create a small sphere with an opening, that regularly pulses to suck in water (and trap any tiny food particles it may contain).
Subtractions: none at this time.
Archaeoblobus -> Algae Mk1 (DaftPanzer)
Additions: while remaining as single cells, a simple form of photosynthesising bacteria has become incorporated into the cells in a symbiotic relationship.
Subtractions: none at this time.