NESLife attempt #3

Daftpanzer

canonically ambiguous
Joined
Nov 27, 2002
Messages
6,641
Location
Portsmouth, England, UK

(The swamps of Falciria, during the late Imperieelian era)

The Idea:

Life is evolving on an imaginary world (very similar to earth). Players can create new species of things, either to compete with others, or just for ‘fun’ and to alter the course of evolution.

The people who create really successfully species will be rewarded with extra bonuses to spend.

During updates, I will try to decide which species do well and which don’t. Most species will go extinct at some point. The world will also change over time. There will be times of plenty, and also major disasters that wipe out many species.

I don’t want to continue with the first NESLife species as some people wanted (sorry). There were some anomalies in that game that I want to avoid now. Though you could say this game will be kinda biased towards the re-appearance of those creatures.

This is an experimental game, the rules will probably change as things move along! Any input or suggestions are very welcome.

Rules:

Anyone can create 1 new species per turn. No more than 1 species per person per update.

These new species are either A: totally brand new, or B: evolutions of existing creatures already in the game.

A: Brand New Species
You can start from scratch with an entirely new species, in which case you get *3* ‘genes’ to start with. Brand new species will be simple creatures evolved from protozoa/plankton etc.

These new species will be more and more primitive compared to the most evolved species. At this stage of the game, they will need to be very unqiue to survive. Most likely, they will not be able to compete with the more advanced lifeforms which have evolved over time. You'd have to be very inventive to get something that could survive and compete with just a few 'genes'.

To quote Lord_Iggy:
@Daft- I agree that whole new branches shouldn't be allowed, UNLESS someone wants to evolve something genuinely different and unique- for example, the Bathyscaper is very unique, it developed in the deep ocean- however, the Nitros could have easily evolved from the Wormy or some other blobster.

B: Evolved Species
Otherwise, you can pick any existing species to evolve further. You can add up to *3* genes to that species to make a new version - note that the old version will still survive unless it gets out-competed

As the game goes on, more and more evolved forms of life will appear with more and more genes.

At the same time, you can also remove up to *3* genes if you want to remove obsolete stuff / reduce energy needed to survive / make it cheaper to reproduce etc. Streamlining things like this is important when competition is fierce.

At this point in the game, anybody can create evolutions of anyone else’s creatures.

Some random NPC evolutions will also happen in each update.

To quote myself:
I guess it is more fun to start your own line of evolution, but I think the game has suffered from people doing that too much. You can still take an existing species and mould it into what you want, other players have done that very successfully and ended up with whole branches of their own.

Genes System

The idea is to provide something to describe and compare the creatures, without getting too technical. Creatures will have simplified ‘genes’ for moving, eating, reproducing, defence, attack, senses, as well as more subtle stuff.

These ‘Genes’ can be anything semi-realistic. I don’t want to get bogged down in specifics. But I reserve the right to disallow or simplify anything I don’t like.

Some very strange combinations are possible, but there must be good reasons for this or I wont allow it.

More ‘genes’ make a creature more complicated, and it will generally need more energy/food etc. So anything you add should help the creature to survive and breed.

Players who create really successfully species will be rewarded in the updates with an extra gene allowance to spend on new species.

I don’t pretend to be some kind of expert, im willing to change the effects of any ‘genes’ in the game, if there is a good reason too.

Default abilities:
You don’t need genes for all things. By default, all creatures can reproduce slowly, and have a very basic level of senses. But they cannot move or eat. The only type of gene that is definitely required is a source of energy, IE a way of digesting something. Actually finding and trapping that ‘something’ is another matter. As is avoiding predators etc.

Joining:

This NES does not require any commitment on your part. To join, you can just post a new species/evolution thing. Its up to you if you ever come back to see how it does.

New Species Template:
[reminder: this will be a very primitive species compared to stuff that already exists, you need to be very inventive here!]
(new species name) : (player name)
Genes (you can start with three): [reminder: one of these must provide a method of feeding/getting energy somehow!]
Description:

Evolution Template:
(new species name) : (player name)
Evolved from: (old species name)
Gene added (you can add 3, or 4 with bonus):
Gene removed (optional, remove up to 3 or 4 with bonus): [reminder: leave at least one gene for feeding/getting energy!]
Description:
 
Eras of evolution:

Note that there has been a continual change in quality and depth of the updates.

Spoiler The Beginning :

Situation at Update 0:

Life forms:


Warm water zone:

Blobsters and Slimeotrons are well fed, but Spongitas are more numerous. Dibbler is just surviving.

Cold water zone:

No species can survive here yet. Everything that ventures here ends up dead.

Land zone:

Empty also, apart from corpses washed up on the beach.

Era #1: The Fangsterous Era

Era #2: The Flagellatious Era

Era #3: The Oculus Era

Era #4: The Skelospikus Era

Era #5: Profusion Event #1

Era #6: The Cranius Era

Era #7: The Terranic Era

Era #8: The Dentic Era

Era #9: The Polaric Era

Era #10: Profusion Event #2

Era #11: Mass Extinction Event #1

Era #12: The Simplavoric Era

Era #13: The Amphoric Era

Era #14: The Spitezepodic Era*

Era #15: Profusion Event #3*

Era #16: The Tranic Era*

Era #17: The Xevronic Era*

Era #18: Mass Extinction Event #2**

Era #19: Profusion Event #4*

Era #20: The Armtupleran Era*

Era #21: The Imperieelian Era*

Era #22: The Knoganic Era*

Era #23: Mass Extinction Event #3*

Era #24: The Gregarixian Era*

Era #25: The Glaciavalic Era*

Era #26: The Lupivian Era*

Era #27: The Snoscapian Era*

Era #28: Bariothoric Boundary Event*

Era #29: The Reinizonic Era

Era #30: The Gorgathic Era

Era #31: The Gigatuplian Era

Era #32: The Oolian Era

Era #33: Mass Extinction Event #4

Era #34: The Galorexian Era, part 1 and part 2

(*images deleted by hacker are now replaced! - was a problem with eras 14 to 28)
(**couldnt replace some images due to them going missing from my backups!)
 
Evolution Template:
Name: Drooler
Evolved from: (if any): Dibbler
Genes (2): Crawling x1, Eating Dead Things x1
Gene added (max 1): Sponge Eating X1
Gene removed (optional, max 1):
Description (optional): Sponge-ivore.
 
YEAH BABY I AM SO IN! :w00t:

Dibblenip: Abaddon
Evolved from: Dibbler
Genes (2): Crawling x1, Eating Dead Things x1
Gene added (max 1): Slimeotron eating x 1
Description: Has legs to move around on the sea floor, where it finds decaying dead things to eat. Observed to nibble on Slimeotron colonys in the absence of decomposing matter.
 
Gotta join one of your NESes sooner or later, this one seems sufficently simple. ;)

Evolution Template:
Name: Cryotron
Evolved from: (if any): Slimeotron
Gene added (max 1): Cold Resistance
Gene removed (optional, max 1):
Description (optional): The mineral-rich cold waters provides plenty nourishment for photosynthesising organisms who can survive there.
 
Name: Driftwood
Genes (max 2): Woody bodyx1, Photosynthesizingx1
Description (optional): Looking much like a piece of moss on driftwood, this organism grows a wooden "hull". It floats just on the surface of the water, so the photosynthesizing parts are near to the surface, closer to the light than other photosynthsizers. The wooden body not only floats the organism, but makes it so that only very strong creatures are able to break through to the edible parts, discouraging eating.

Hope it's okay.
 
Evolution Template:
Name: Fangster
Evolved from: Blobster
Gene added (max 1): Fangs
Gene removed (optional, max 1):
Description (optional): The Jawster has become a more threatening predator than its Blobster cousins. It has developed movable calcium carbonate daggerlike-growths around its mouth, ideal for catching, spearing, and killing its prey- prey being anything large it runs into. Of course, when none can be found, the Fangster is still totally happy to eat the thick sludge of algae found on the water's surface.
 
Name:Sucky
Genes (max 2):Sucker Mouth x1, Complex Stomach x1
Description (optional):Sucky is anything but. A semi-large floating mass, it sucks in the occasional Slimatron or Blobster but it thrives on the Sponges, its stomach specially adapted to extract all their nutrients.
 
Slimeotron Dry: TerrisH
Evolved from: plankton!
Genes (2): Photosynthesis x2
Evolved Gene: Water Retention X1 (limited ability to survive out of water, though for a limited amount of time)
Description: Photosynthesising green goo with the ability to grow in tidal zones
 
Name: Licky
Genes: Eats Anything x1, Chloroplast Extractor x1 (or just CE if that's too powerful)
Description: The Licky floats around eating anything that gets in its way. If it happens to eat photosynthesising organisms, it can extract the chlorophyll from them and graft it on themselves allowing them to photosynthesise as well.
 
Name: Huhuwanapi
Genes (max 2): Photosynthesis, Hard exoskeleton
Description (optional): The Huhuwanapi is a crateure that lives on the bottom of costal waters becuase of the fact it is too heavy to be near the surface. It has to stay in shallow waters becuase the Huhuwanapi is a creature that depends largely on the sun to survive.
 
Name: Slimeotron Mk II
Evolved from: Slimeotron
Gene added (max 1): Mass Reproduction x 1
Description: Has become much more efficient at reproducing, meaning that many more can be formed with the same amount of energy.
 
These guys look cool.

Spongita Tanegashima: MjM
Evolved from: plankton!
Genes (2): Plankton Eating x1, Mass Reproduction x1
Description: Immobile, spongy living tissue that sifts out plankton from the water. Spawns large numbers of drifting larvae that settle and become new sponges.

MjM, all animals are common property. You can make an evolution of the Spongita, but I don't think you can claim it for yourself alone.
 
You don't 'take' it, you evolve it.

Ah. Well then,


Spongita Carnvivorous: MjM
Evolved from: plankton!
Genes (2): Carnivorous x1, Mass Reproduction x1,
Extra Genes (max 1): Strong stomach acids
Description: Immobile, spongy living tissue that sits idly by, as to not distract prey. When any living organaism gets close enough, it will suck it in. Once a lifeform is stuck inside the Sponge, it is virtually impossible to escape.
 
edit: just realised this old stats post was still here... after about 6 months, lols. Sorry for any confusion. Stats are now to be found attached to each update as text documents, since they would now span about a whole page of the thread.
 
Yay! Looking forward to the update!

I picture my guy having pretty irregular fangs, as the struggles of its prey will sometimes break them (though they grow back). Also, he's pretty unevolved, so the teeth may well be just growths going in fairly inconsistent directions.

Perfect look for a terror predator.
 
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