Splime and Niklas, thanks so much for making those charts!!! They must have taken a lot of work. They look really good
Era 9: The Polaric Era
This era is named after the large increase in bio-diversity that occurred mainly in the polar regions, both on land and in the sea. According to the scientist Lord Iggyian Vermillion III, a decrease in harmful solar radiation occurred at this time, allowing more plankton to thrive in the cooler, nutrient and oxygen rich regions of the ocean near the poles. The amount of plankton in the cooler waters now exceeded that of warmer regions.
New Evolutions:
Winners:
Slithery finally took over from Wavy as the most abundant creature in the ocean. Despite already being many tens of millions of years old, it began to thrive in the cooler seas where plankton was increasing.
Flying Fang also thrived in all areas of the ocean, only being held back by its higher energy demands and the fact that it lacked any kind of cartilage/skeleton or gills to make the most of its muscle power.
After millions of years struggling to survive, the Hunter line of evolution had much more success with the appearance of the
Blue Hunter. It thrived in all seas of the world. Its main prey were the ancient, abundant Wavy and Slithery species.
Surferdid thrived in shallows and on the shore. Its claws and exoskeleton still made it almost immune to attack from all the predators of this era. It still had plenty of food in the sea, though the land plants proved quite difficult to eat, especially in the temperate land zones.
Like Surferdid,
Geluryte was doing well in all shallow-water and coastal regions (its ancestor the Scuteryte still existed in the warm shallows, and its long-lost cousins the Pondurytes still lived quite happily on the deep ocean floor). It was being held back only by its higher energy needs and lack of digestion efficiency.
Yuckius Shaggus was able to breed in huge numbers. It was little more than an eating and breeding machine. Its only defence remained its off-putting taste, which no predators had been able to ignore. Thankfully for other plankton eaters, it remained confined to warmer waters.
Obstoalgae won the battle against Fenal in the colder coastal zones. As it evolved from Silicoalgae, it already had large numbers in place when the first Fennel began to spread to the cold. It was also half as complicated as Fenal, while actually being more efficient at photosynthesis in many ways. All this, combined with a moderate level of defence, resulted in the Obstoalgae doing rather well.
Endangered Species:
Braciola was practically extinct already. It was helpless against the Blue Hunter, and made a tasty meal for it. A tiny population was clinging on, thanks to its simplicity and low energy needs, and the abundance of little baby Slitherys which it could catch in its tentacles.
Juggernaut wasnt completely replaced by the new Behemoth species. A small population of Juggernaught remained in the open ocean zones, where it faced a dangerous level of competition for plankton.
Extinctions:
Pincerdid,
Purple hunter,
Yuckius Hungus,
Leafy land-spike,
Esturyte,
Microcap,
Pro-Finner,
Flying Fin,
Silicoalgae,
Spikester,
Super Coneworm,
Vegesuck,
Omniwang: all replaced by their own evolutions.
The population of
Ragsting slowly dwindled away to nothing in the face of more evolved parasites.
Zobbler-22 couldnt tackle land plants like Surferdid could, and couldnt eat other creatures except its own kind the others were either too well armed, armoured, or buried underground. This evolution never really got going. Luckily the old Zibbler-21 still survived.
Zones:
Warm Shallows:
Large numbers of plant-eaters are constantly cutting swathes through the underwater forests. Diversity and competition remain high.
Cold Shallows:
An increase in plankton and the appearance of the Blue Hunter have changed things here. Diversity and competition have greatly increased during this era.
Open Ocean:
Much the same, except for a slight decrease in Wavy/Slithery numbers.
Temperate Land:
The most fertile areas of coastline are dominated by the acid/spiky plants. But the Zeeboo and Luchen both have a foothold in less fertile areas, thanks to their roots, allowing them to survive in areas where the others cannot.
Cold Land (New!)
Obstoalgae takes over from Silicoalgae and keeps Fenal numbers to a minimum. All that green looks tasty to the Surferdids, its just a bit to acidic to be able to eat too much of it
Bonuses:
Plant award: Obstoalgae.
Niklas gets +1 gene bonus.
Animal award: Blue Hunter.
cvlowe gets +1 gene bonus.
Innovation award: Fenal.
TerrisH gets +1 gene bonus.
Survival award: Scuteryte.
Lord_Iggy gets +1 gene bonus.
Genes Appearing in this Era:
Immunological warfare basically the ability to overcome the enhanced Immune System defence of other species, especially if this gene is at a higher level than their defences.
Leaves (actually appeared last time but forgot to mention it
) this will help photosynthesis efficiency a little, but it is more about competing with other plants of a similar size. By putting all your photosynthesising bits nearest sunlight and higher up etc, you make sure you get the full benefit of sunlight, while other plants will be left in the shade.
Species Stats: (please check before evolving etc)
*Stats post link*
A reminder: mass extinction may still occur at any time
Problems:
@Mauritania (not really a problem but just to let you know) I added +1 size to your tree species to make use of your delayed bonus.
@Disenfrancised, Ive still kept swimming for your creature. Otherwise its just parasitical threads as I understand it. Which would fall out of the range of this game.
Very very nice Niklas and Splime, these must have taken a while to do. They look great!
