Info about Ecosystem: Official game description: Ecosystem is a game about life. At its heart are evolving virtual lifeforms, who grow from synthetic DNA and live in a physically-simulated ocean. This DNA encodes everything about a creature: their skeletal structure, their mental processors and even their combat prowess. Simulation ---------- The nervous system of a virtual lifeform is a pipeline computer where, every moment, data from sense organs passes through a network of neurons and finally contracts a muscle in a specific body part. Creatures swim just like real sea-life, applying torque at their joints to push against the water in a way coordinated to propel themselves forward. Evolution --------- To create life, you need only release a batch of these lifeforms into the water with random brains and bodies. Most will flail around aimlessly, but those that manage to move even slightly will get to have more offspring than the others. Ten generations later, their descendants will be talented swimmers. It’s really satisfying to see the creatures evolve in a real sense, guided by your hand in the simulated fluid of your own world. Combat ------ Whether it’s using electrical attacks to stun enemies or developing poisonous spikes to evade the jaws of predators, Ecosystem’s simulation features an in-depth combat layer. Each creature has a range of combat statistics that will determine their role in the food chain. As a species evolves and gains a foothold, it will need to adapt to survive attacks from predators or face extinction. Playing God ----------- If you want to take a more hands-on approach in your creatures’ evolution, a suite of tools are provided, unlocked as you progress through the game, to force certain traits in your species. From high level settings such as requiring a species to have tentacles, be a certain size, or have a set amount of body parts, to minute details such as determining the amount of drag or torque a creature may face when swimming, the simulation is yours to control. Sculpt Your Own Ecosystem ------------------------- Ecosystem features procedural worlds with a variety of options such as ocean depth and soil type, but you can go one step further and sculpt the terrain yourself, raising mountains or carving out dark caves for your predators to lurk in. Data At Your Fingertips ----------------------- For players who want to monitor their ecosystems closely, there is a lot of data at your fingertips. We’ve got you covered for all the statistics and analysis of your world that you could possibly want - from ecosystem overviews showing population charts for both animals and plants to phylogenetic trees for individual species, allowing you to track your species evolution. Share Online ------------ Ecosystem features Steam Workshop support, allowing you to share your species, maps and aquariums. Download other players' species from within the game and introduce them to your ecosystem and see if they have what it takes to survive. Release date: 8 Nov, 2024 Categories: Simulation, Environmental Simulation, God Simulation, Sandbox Creation, Base Building, Character Customization, Mod Support, Single-player - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Relaxing, creative ecosystem sandbox (weight 0.96): The game provides a relaxing and engaging sandbox experience centered around creating and evolving aquatic ecosystems. Players enjoy the creative freedom, emergent gameplay, and watching their unique creatures adapt and thrive. The game is visually appealing, easy to pick up, and offers a unique blend of simulation and creative design. - Robust, enjoyable terrain editing (weight 0.14): The game features robust and enjoyable terrain editing tools that allow players to create unique and varied underwater landscapes. The voxel-based environment and easy-to-use tools contribute to the game's creative appeal, allowing for the construction of detailed and lifelike environments. - Fun and easy to learn (weight 0.08): The game is fun and easy to learn, with simple mechanics that appeal to a wide range of players. The core gameplay loop is enjoyable and the game is accessible even without a tutorial. - Suitable for passive play (weight 0.08): The game is suitable for playing passively or while doing other tasks, similar to an idle game. Progress can be made by leaving the game running in the background, requiring minimal active involvement from the player. - Calming music, relaxing gameplay (weight 0.07): The game's calming music and relaxing gameplay create a chill atmosphere, making it suitable for unwinding and de-stressing. Many reviewers found the game to be a perfect way to relax after a long day. - Improved creature behavior updates (weight 0.07): Recent behavior updates have significantly improved the game, with creatures now exhibiting more realistic and diverse behaviors. These updates have led to more dynamic and engaging ecosystems, with different species adapting to different environments. - Consistent updates, improvements (weight 0.06): The game has received consistent updates and improvements, with developers actively adding new content and fixing issues. This ongoing support enhances the overall experience and demonstrates the developers' commitment to the game. Common complaints: - Creature editor is frustrating/limited (weight 0.47): The creature editor is clunky, unintuitive, and lacks sufficient customization options. Users report difficulty creating desired creatures, with limited head shapes, colors, and unpredictable mutations leading to dysfunctional and monstrous results. The absence of clear tutorials and ergonomic design further exacerbates the frustration. - Shallow ecosystem/evolution mechanics (weight 0.33): The game's ecosystem and evolution mechanics feel underdeveloped and lack depth. Evolution appears random and doesn't lead to meaningful adaptations, while the ecosystem simulation is limited and lacks complexity. Players express disappointment with the slow progression and lack of player agency in influencing evolution. - Clunky and unintuitive controls (weight 0.19): Players find the game controls clunky and unintuitive, particularly the camera controls. This makes navigation and interaction with the game world difficult and frustrating, hindering the overall enjoyment of the experience. The movement controls are also described as incredibly clunky. - Desire for more content (weight 0.12): Reviewers desire more content such as crustaceans and plant information. The game lacks the ability to create land ecosystems, limiting the variety of environments players can design. The reviewer wishes for more customization options for the fish, including more colors and head options, and less restriction of design styles to specific head options. - Frequent and severe crashes (weight 0.11): The game is plagued by frequent crashes, sometimes multiple times per session, even on high-end PCs. These crashes can be severe, freezing the entire computer and requiring a restart, rendering the game unplayable for many users. This is a critical issue that needs immediate attention. - Missing content and buggy (weight 0.1): Reviewers state that the game is missing content and is full of bugs. The game is so far from completion that it barely qualifies as a game. The current version of the game lacks substantial content. - Game overheats computer (weight 0.08): The game makes the computer very hot, more than most other games. Leaving the game running unattended for 3-4 hours on double speed almost destroyed the reviewer's computer. The game's price is too high. - Unclear interface and tutorials (weight 0.08): The game's interface and tutorials are poorly designed and lack clarity. Players find it difficult to understand the game mechanics due to insufficient explanations and unhelpful tutorials. The editor is also described as difficult to use, contributing to a frustrating user experience. - Evolution is hard to track (weight 0.04): There are too many factors driving evolution, making it hard for players to track. The game's performance degrades further as evolution progresses and more of the map is occupied. Evolution is not noticeable or quick enough; changes should be visible by the 10th generation, even at 2x speed. Gameplay feedback: - Ecosystem creation and observation (weight 0.57): The core gameplay revolves around creating and observing a simulated aquatic ecosystem. Players can design creatures, modify the environment, and influence evolution through environmental changes and genetic manipulation. The focus is on simulation and observation rather than direct control or gamified objectives. - Progression through ecosystem development (weight 0.31): The game features a progression system where unlocking new content and elements is tied to ecosystem development. Players earn 'life points' by successfully propagating species, which then unlocks new plants, shells, and other lifeforms to further diversify the ecosystem. - Unrealistic creature generation/evolution (weight 0.3): Creature generation and evolution can result in nonsensical or short-lived organisms. The limited creature design options and random mutations sometimes lead to unrealistic or dysfunctional creatures, making custom fish creation a more appealing option for many players. - Unnatural/illogical creature behavior (weight 0.12): Creature behaviors and adaptations often appear unnatural or illogical. Fish may swim in odd orientations or develop disproportionate limbs, and their actions may not align with their physical capabilities or environmental needs. - Lacks nuanced environmental interactions (weight 0.04): The game lacks nuanced environmental interactions and biome-specific adaptations. For example, cave adaptations should be more likely to occur in caves, and the point-based development tree should be based on biomes. - Terrain editor lacks precision (weight 0.03): The terrain editor lacks sufficient precision and control. Players need better brush scaling and more control over terrain placement relative to the base terrain height to create detailed and realistic environments. - Wants more biodiversity/customization (weight 0.02): The reviewer expresses a desire for more plantable biodiversity and customization options. They hope for more variety in both freshwater and saltwater plants, as well as more options for editing and customizing fish. - Requires immense patience (weight 0.01): The game requires a lot of patience and is intended to be left running in the background. This may not appeal to players who prefer more active or engaging gameplay experiences. Performance notes: - Significant performance and optimization issues (weight 0.29): Many players report significant performance issues, including lag, frame rate drops (even on high-end systems), stuttering, and crashes, especially as the ecosystem grows. Some reviewers hyperbolically state that the game requires very powerful hardware to run, while others point to poor optimization as the root cause. - Relatively less lag (weight 0.04): Some reviewers have noted that the game has less lag compared to other ecosystem/evolution simulators. However, the game may still experience lag in certain situations. - Conflicting reports on glitches (weight 0.03): One reviewer stated that the game is fairly robust and free from any bugs, while others stated that the game is glitchy and not optimized. This point has conflicting feedback, so it is difficult to determine the overall sentiment. - Long loading times (weight 0.01): Some players have noted that the game has long loading times. This can be frustrating for players who want to quickly jump into the game or reload after a crash. - Dated graphics (weight 0.01): Some reviewers feel that the game's graphics appear somewhat dated. This is a subjective point, but it may be a factor for players who prioritize visual fidelity. - Runs flawlessly on Linux (weight 0.01): One reviewer reported that the game ran flawlessly on Ubuntu 20.04 via Proton. This suggests that the game is compatible with Linux operating systems. Recommendations: - Promising, but needs improvement (weight 0.64): Many reviewers feel the game shows promise but is currently unpolished and incomplete. They suggest waiting for further development or a sale before purchasing. Some reviewers express strong positive sentiment, recommending it to players who enjoy relaxing simulations, evolution, or ecosystem management. - Good for casual, idle play (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for players seeking a freeform, idle, casual, and relaxing experience. It's also suggested as a low-intensity background distraction or an educational tool. - Improve simulation, analysis tools (weight 0.07): Reviewers suggest improvements to long-term simulation performance and analysis tools. They want to see more in-depth data on population stats, evolutionary trees, and faster time settings for extended evolution periods. - More aquarium builder than simulator (weight 0.07): Some reviewers feel the game is mis-marketed as an ecosystem simulator and is more akin to an aquarium builder. They suggest it may appeal to those seeking an aquatic sandbox experience, but not as a true ecosystem simulation. - Wait for a sale (weight 0.02): Some reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing the game. They feel the full price is a little too high for the current state of the game. - More technical demo than game (weight 0.01): One reviewer feels the current state of the game is more of a technical demo than a fully realized game. - Add online arena mode (weight 0.01): One reviewer suggests adding an online arena mode for predator battles. This point is a single suggestion. - Roleplay as God (weight 0.01): One reviewer recommends the game for players who want to roleplay as God. This point is a single suggestion. - Development may stall (weight 0.01): One reviewer expresses concern that development may stall, leading to a loss of investment. This point is a single concern. - Sea Monkeys are better (joke) (weight 0.01): One reviewer jokingly recommends getting Sea Monkeys instead, finding them cheaper and more entertaining. This point is not very constructive. - Weight-loss aid (weight 0.01): One reviewer mentions playing Ecosystem for hours as a weight-loss aid. This point is not very specific or constructive. Other player notes: - Simulation-focused, not very 'gamey' (weight 0.11): The game is more of a simulation than a traditional game, especially in its early access state. It focuses on realistic aquatic ecosystems and appeals to players interested in biology and observing complex systems. Some find it niche, likening it to a 'God complex' experience. - Promotes realistic, respectful ecology (weight 0.04): The game emphasizes ecological diversity and respect for nature, mirroring real-world plant and animal characteristics. This focus on realism and interconnectedness promotes a unique perspective on evolution, prioritizing cooperation over simple survival of the fittest. - Active developer, future content planned (weight 0.04): The developer is actively engaged with the community and has plans for future content, including new creatures and improved analytics. This suggests a commitment to addressing issues and expanding the game's features based on player feedback. - Niche title, early development (weight 0.03): The game is acknowledged as a niche title from a small studio, still early in development. This highlights the expectation of ongoing changes and the potential for the game to evolve significantly over time. - Short playtime, no story/grind (weight 0.03): The game is noted for its lack of a traditional story or grind, offering a different kind of gameplay experience. Additionally, the game time is short. - Genome saving, Steam Workshop support (weight 0.02): The game offers some lighthearted features, such as saving fish genomes and taking pictures, alongside Steam Workshop support for additional content. These elements add a layer of customization and community engagement to the simulation. - Potential Spore comparison, needs depth (weight 0.02): The game is being compared to Spore, with reviewers hoping it will offer more depth and complexity in its simulation of evolution. The concern is that it might become too simplistic, focusing on customization rather than realistic evolutionary processes. - Small player base (weight 0.01): The reviewer wishes the game had a larger player base. This is a popularity concern, not a critique of the game itself. - Non-specific, subjective comments (weight 0): These points are too vague or subjective to be useful feedback. They include personal anecdotes, humor, and broad statements without specific details, and do not contribute constructively to understanding the game's strengths or weaknesses. Emotions: No emotions}