DaftNESIV Excursion I: Planet Formation Exercise

[bestrfcplayer]

I like the sound of a life game.

As do I.

 

[GoodGame]

The upper cloudscape of Mergatayren is stained green by plumes of sun-loving microbes, floating above darker and denser layers of cloud where microbes specialise in heat-driven chemical reactions (advanced microbial life).

Man, I wanted autotrophs, not phototrophs! I'd have though autotrophs would be a no-brainer for a gaseous planet.

QUERY: Does anyone want to move to a life evolution game, simultaneous multi-cellular evolution on North and Mergatayren? Bonus powers would be awarded depending on what players did in the planet formation phase.

Sounds like fun if we keep in Edutaintment with a focus on true science.

 

[Haseri]

Phototrophs are autotrophs. 'Autotroph' means the organism doesn't need any other organism to produce energy, like plants or the chemovores that exist at the near sea vents.

 

[GoodGame]

My bad (and you've helped me study for an exam).

I meant I wanted chemoautotrophs to fix the gas in our gas giant.

 

[LightFang]

My bad (and you've helped me study for an exam).

I meant I wanted chemoautotrophs to fix the gas in our gas giant.

It takes a while...be patient.

 

[Daftpanzer]

OK guys, I would like to try a simple evolution NES with my unscientific methods, carrying on in this thread if that is OK. This will be centred only on North to start with (the sole surviving moon of Kalotherco), but other moons/worlds could open as new 'cradles' later on.

* We will deal with whole groups and families of species rather than individual ones.

* You will get to make one new evolution per turn, usually with no more than three new features/upgrades. Remember that more complexity usually needs more food and energy to sustain, so it might pay to ditch some things you don't need anymore. As before there will be no stats, so you have to see the updates for a description of what's what.

* Players can get a 'mana rating' which grows from having successful species. This mana can be spent for faster and better evolution, or you can spend it to try to terraform the world in some way.

* You will have secret evolution powers carried from the planet formation phase. North King obviously has a big overall bonus as this is his moon. The players of Kalotherco have more influence over tidal forces that heat the planet. Players from rocky inner worlds might have more luck with evolving skeletons and shells. Abaddon and Ig might have more luck with sudden eccentric evolutions. Cull has the power of greed and ignorance. Etc etc. I'd prefer to keep this behind the scenes rather than list it for everyone.

* If players make similar evolutions during a turn, they could be lumped together into the same new group/family, sharing any bonuses.

* To save time, I will not draw any failed evolutions that don't survive their first era, and there should be quite a few of these.

Now a description of this first cradle...

Spoiler :

North is a large moon, larger than the planet Mercury in our solar system. It has a gloomy, nutrient-rich water ocean with no land surface at all. It is very deep in places, deeper than Earth's oceans, but in some places huge volcanic spires reach almost to the surface. Below, there is a rocky mantle and a small, hot molten core. The top surface is mostly frozen over with a thick layer of ice, and this helps to keep out deadly radiation. For such an active world, much of the ocean floor is surprisingly flat - sediment simply builds up until it forms new rock, compressing and pushing the crust downwards until the lower part melts, and the recycled material finds its way back up through volcanoes. There are no real continental plates, but constant tidal stresses have created huge fault lines that allow heat to escape at a steady rate, and these faults are generally mirrored in shallower sections of ice on the surface.

Away from the larger faults and volcanoes, the ambient temperature can fall off sharply. Most of the heating comes from superheated water that is escaping back out of geothermal systems. But sometimes there will be massive blasts of volcanic gas and lava shooting right up out of the water. Most volcanic spires are destined to end this way, but for many years they will be a shelter for life, providing warmth and nutrients. Compressed volcanic gasses, concentrated brine water and other chemical soups can actually form separate 'seas' under the pressure of the deeper parts of the ocean.

So, sometimes the surface ice will be blasted apart violently. The moon has a relatively thin atmosphere and the surface is highly radioactive, usually killing anything trying to make use of the extra sunlight, but these regular openings allow oxygen to filter into the water. On this world, oxygen has been created by the sheer amount of radiation hitting the surface and breaking apart molecules like water and CO2, and so most life has already evolved to cope with it, if not actually make use it. As for sunlight on this world, the sun is much further away (4 AU), and often has to shine through many metres of ice, so this is a rather weak source of energy - at least an order of magnitude less than experienced on the surface of the Earth, for example, but still enough to be useful. The shadow of Kalotherco can also obscure the sun for much of the day.

PHASE 0

Bacteria and nanobacteria, very similar to Earth's, have already evolved and colonised all kinds of niches, from the surface ice right down into the rocky crust. Multicellular life is now starting to emerge on three main branches, evolving from the order 'Protogeno' which can be considered a boundary between cooperative colonies and true multicellular life.

Protogae species are the first 'plants' and exist on the underside of the surface ice, usually along the shallower (and thus brighter) fault line zones. While most cells have organelles for photosynthesis, some cells are hardier and specialised for drilling up into the ice and acting as anchors, while others simply spread out under the ice or exploit any cracks that are found.

Protoauph species get energy from heat and chemical reactions, and are the most abundant kind of multicellular life at the moment. They have an outer layer of cells to protect and regulate the sensitive inner cells where various complex reactions take place. And/or, they have symbiosis with different species of bacteria. These life forms are to be found anchored to volcanic vents or freely floating in hot plumes of water. Some species have evolved many flagella and are the most mobile life forms so far.

Protodid species exist mainly on the sides of volcanic vents or on the ocean floor, though some trawl the undersides of the ice. They eat bacteria and debris from other life forms. An outer layer of cells provides insulation and pulsates to provide movement, while the inner cells handle digestion. Some species have evolved sensitive antennae, to smell out their food, and even have a few neurons to process the information, the beginnings of a nervous system.

OMG SOMETHING IS EVOLVING:

Daftidae evolves from Protodid
Daftidae species have evolved extendible parts of their outer body that act as grasping limbs, or flippers. They have a more ordered, segmented inner body with improved digestion abilities, though still lacking any kind of proper mouth. They are larger than their ancestors and will attempt to absorb and eat living things.

 

[Haseri]

Haserauph evolves from Protoauph
Instead of living symbiotically with the bacteria, unlike its ancestors, this group now eats the bacteria through absorbtion, where ever it can be found. They are a mobile species, their flagella not really more developed than the Protoauph's. Later species of the Haserauph group have thick walls, except for one segement known as the 'gate', where the bacteria are absorbed through.

Summary:
Switch diet to bacteria (gets more energy than using ambient heat and chemicals)
Thicker cell walls (with one segment free to absorb bacteria)
Slightly better flagella.

 

[Kal'thzar]

Thzarian evolves from Protogae

A slightly more efficient 'ice drill' allows the Thzarian species many advantages, in shallower areas they have evolved to drill either closer to the surface for greater access to sunlight or have evolved to drill out a habitable 'home' in the ice and are better protected from predators last of the shallow Thzarian is the use of a drill to prey upon other Protogae and take their sun spots. In Deeper waters the more efficient drill has opened up areas that were to hostile to other species of Protogae.

OOC: First time playing in one of Dafts bacteria games. Anyway hope that's all in order, I've only done one change and I want to see how it turns out before I start getting more playful.

 

[Cull]

This is AWESOME.

Can I do it, or is my planet not sufficiently advance enough?

 

[Daftpanzer]

Thanks guys!

@Cull, we are evolving life on North, but everyone can join in.

 

[badunoff]

Sorry, I am dropping out. Nothing to to do with the new game. I think its great.

 

[GoodGame]

It takes a while...be patient.

I am. It's just that I think chemoautotrophs would evolve before phototrophs, in a complex gaseous envrionment




@DAFTPANZER:

1. North sounds like Europa.
2. Surface radiation means nothing is growing on the surface if DNA is how the cells work. Anything on the surface will die of mutations within hours/minutes. Possible exception would be these guys.
3. Oxygen made by radiation will involve lots of ionizations, which means lots of free radicals will be around. Those are pretty dangerous to life, so there'll need to be enzymes to repair the DNA damage and also enzymes to try to convert the radicals into things that are friendly. e.g. Unless they're like the above guys.
4. The friendlier way to make oxygen will be from the undersea volcanic vents I think, if possible.
It might also come from the byproduct of other organisms' metabolism.
5. It might help to track the inputs and outputs that each species needs. Useful for building the ecology too.


GoodGaminella will evolve from protoauph. Single-celled, round, with many flagella, I enjoy long spiralling swims in the bubble trails escaping the vents. I exude confidence with an outer slime coat made of complex sugars, to temporarily latch onto rocks to enjoy a nap. I'm aware of my environment through a dedicated chemotaxis organelle to sense my favorite gas inputs: H2S (hydrogen sulfide) and CO2. I also smoke CO2, and urinate SO4 streams. I'm not especially social, but I sometimes swim in dense clouds with my own kind, to have a a vibrational jam session, playing my flagella in 2-part harmony.

Here's me:

Spoiler :

http://blog.targethealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/130.jpg

 

[Luckymoose]

Uckimite evolves from Protogae:

Abandoning the drilling techniques of some of the protogae the Uckimites rely on thick oozes produced by their waste products to clump large colonies together in cracks in the ice. Noticeable by the naked eye as spots of green slim these colonies rely on fast reproduction to carry on their genetic material.

 

[Cull]

Protodid IS EVOLVING INTO:

SHENGATH

The Shengath's is larger than the Protodid by around 1.8 times, and as a result, has far superior movement speed, and higher nervous system, capable of identifying easy prey from the weak. Shengath has also developed a semi-mouth, and is capable of eating anything it can get its "hands" on.

 

[Abaddon]

Protodid--> Ogaevore

With the veritalble boom in plantlife, something evolves to eat it. Herbivore101!!


I'll get a lot more exciting once I've set off all the various niches of life I think there are needed. Btw, will you do npc evolutions too?

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Trellinikae evolves from Protoauph
Members of the family Trellinikae continue to metabolize chemicals around volcanic vents. They anchor themselves into these positions, and have developed an array of piercing flagellae. These are used to defend the Trellinikae from encroaching lifeforms, and then for drawing the deceased inwards to be ingested into a simple digestive sac. Having multiple sources of nutrition helps Trellinikae to both survive in marginal regions, and to grow to significant sizes where food is plentiful.

The body plan of a typical member of Family Trellinikae is pointedly conical, with rings of flagellae surrounding it, existing in the greatest concentrations around the mouth at the tip. Various openings along the length of the body also allow chemicals into and out of the metabolic core of the being, safely protected by the defensive exterior.

 

[Thlayli]

If North has an appreciable atmosphere and magnetosphere it can avoid severe radiation exposure from the parent giant, in theory.

Also Goodgame, don't heckle Daft too much. He knows enough about biology.

 

[GoodGame]

If North has an appreciable atmosphere and magnetosphere it can avoid severe radiation exposure from the parent giant, in theory.

Also Goodgame, don't heckle Daft too much. He knows enough about biology.

Its free advice, not heckling.

 

[Luckymoose]

Its free advice, not heckling.

It's a NES not a textbook. If you want to have fun you can't expect Daft to do fourteen months of research for each update.

 

[1stcitizen]

Citizoa evoles from Protodid
With tiny, tentacle-like antenae (which are also used for agile locomotion), the Citizoa has a modestly advanced nervous system, but do to its filter-like mouth, it is restricted to eating mostly plant matter.

Summary-
Sensative fins/tentacles
Advanced Filter mouth