Biome Evolution | Deep Rock Galactic

For a long time I've been meaning to showcase the early biomes, watch them evolve from their super barren prototypes to full fledged environments. This covers most of everything up to 2024 June.
Gallery: ibb.co/album/JRkt23/sub
• Tip Jar: ko-fi.com/explorian
• Twitter: / explorianguy
• Twitch: / explorian_
Music:
TrackTribe - Forest Find (KZbin Audio Library)
Quincas Moreira - Don't Fret (KZbin Audio Library)
jin.x - jigsaw and heroin ( / jinkxbeats )
Jippy - BEAT TAPE 28. (jippy.bandcamp.com)
sam webster - Faraway Fairway OST (samwebster.bandcamp.com/album...)
Eirik Suhrke - Downwell OST (phlogiston.bandcamp.com/album...)
Calum Bowen - Pikuniku OST (calumbowen.bandcamp.com/album...)
Eirik Suhrke - Spelunky 2 OST (phlogiston.bandcamp.com/album...)
potato Teto - Pseudoregalia OST (potatoteto.bandcamp.com/album...)
Deep Rock Galactic OST
Pool Nation OST
Hot Lava OST
Burger Shop 2 OST
The Eternal Cylinder OST
Rage Racer OST
Blagmoz OST
Vib-Ribbon OST
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro + Preface
1:42 - How do biomes (actually) work?
5:58 - Djord VII (pre-alpha)
9:22 - Closed Alpha
15:28 - Magma Core
19:50 - Fungus Bogs
25:09 - Dense Biozone
31:11 - Radioactive Exclusion Zone
38:05 - Sandblasted Corridors
43:20 - Crystalline Caverns
46:11 - Shallow Grotto
48:24 - Salt Pits
52:20 - Glacial Strata
59:10 - Azure Weald
1:05:44 - Hollow Bough
1:12:25 - Caustic Mire (prototype)
1:14:24 - Sponge Cluster (concepts)
1:15:31 - Earliest Concept Check-up
1:18:25 - Devolution Sequence

[@explorianguy]

1:05:12 - this comparison got messed up - here's the fixed version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4OogGB9gNGVhcU

[@dannadx3840]

Breathers are also not a formation and are tunicates (predatory underwater sponges), megalodicopia hians in particular.

[@vampireguy24]

Constructive Criticism: I think rebranding to just Explorian and simplifying your icon to just a black helmet on a white background was a bad idea. Considering DRG's Season 5 and that, no offense, but people don't watch you for other games, they watch you for DRG. Your "Frog Days" video got 2.2k views in Two Months. This Biome Evolution video got 2.2k views in just Three Hours. Consider your priorities. I really think you should just go back to being DRG Historian or some similar name, like Dwarf Explorian or some such, and bring back your original, colorful, goofy icon. This new one isn't it.

[@ScoobyDreu]

@@vampireguy24 Consider your priorities when thinking about constructive criticism.

[@explorianguy]

@vampireguy24 I have considered my priorities and it's making videos on stuff I am interested in as opposed to meeting some "drg quota" for eternity, if I was in it for the views all of my videos would be about drg weapon loadouts and constant coverage of latest updates, each evolution episode takes many months of work - there's way easier ways to score '2.2k views' in a short amount of time drg videos wont be the only thing I'll make and it's as simple as that, you're free to come back only for my drg videos and never give my non-drg videos a chance if that's what you really wanna do, I will just keep making what I want although any complaints about my new logos are valid, might try to think of something else down the line but my design abilities are limited

[@vampireguy24]

​​​@@ScoobyDreuI did? I pointed out several things I saw as detrimental and unoptimized. It's called 'criticism' for a reason, I'm pointing out potential design flaws with my own perspective without just bluntly and rudely telling someone "This sucks, stop doing that" and have that be the comment. That isn't constructive, that's destructive. And in my continued opinion, his old icon is still better than his new "black helmet on white background".

[@hobsyllwin]

man that guy who drew those drawings must be really handsome and cool or something

[@Moses-gk7kx]

yeah

[@Draconis_Eltanin]

And a maker of a great webcomic, I think. That cool style is not from nought.

[@ShovelLettuce]

Is something going over my head or does that sound like you're the artist and you're complimenting yourself

[@JTelli786]

Thank you for including the Shallow Gratto! Everyone tends to forget that one, then again who can blame them.

[@rxlcs]

wow that living metal biome concept sounds so sick honestly, especially paired with Hobsyllwin's art, here's to hoping the concept is revisited at some point 🤞

[@prroagil1233]

whatya doin here 😛, there is not a lot of drg content creators, are they?

[@hobsyllwin]

It really is sick as hell sounding, though I do see why it didn't make the cut. From a conceptual/visual perspective it feels out of place next to the other biomes IMO, especially considering the only metal we see on Hoxxes that wasn't put there by outside parties are the relatively small gold veins. Sometimes genuinely awesome things have to be cut because they don't fit quite right, it happens! It would be really cool to see it in action regardless though.

[@aarondanigelis5396]

I think the living metal biome will be features in Rogue Core. Some of the early screenshots show large metal pillars.

[@kevinaosei]

@@hobsyllwin out of place how? its just different from what we have in game, but new content being different is the whole point

[@hobsyllwin]

@@kevinaosei There's a difference between different and out of place from a design standpoint. Hollow bough is different; the entire environment is wooden and full of sharp thorns, very DIFFERENT from the other biomes we'd seen before. However, it doesn't feel out of place because it still lines up with the base ideas of the other biomes, that being that despite being alien they feel very natural. All of the biomes thus far despite being alien are ones we could walk outside and find reflected in our real world. That and again, there is VERY little naturally occurring metal to be found on Hoxxes! Living Metal, in this regard, would feel out of place because not only does it lack that core theme of being a reflection of a natural environment in the real world, it also is an entirely metal biome in a place where there otherwise isn't any metal. I could see it MAYBEEEEE working if there were the implication that something had really, really gone awry and that this was not a naturally occurring environment for Hoxxes but instead something caused by outside forces. But as a normal biome? Not so much.

[@steyn1775]

5:26 bro just wanted to curse us with knowledge so he didn't had to suffer alone

[@craigperkins3682]

Explorian got hit with the simplified logo attack

[@explorianguy]

you can't get hit with a 'simplified logo attack' if you didn't have a logo in the first place

[@noahthecrazy1632]

⁠@@explorianguysure you can, it just doesn’t affect you until you make a logo

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

I feel Caustic Mire could function more uniquely if, rather than being mostly gas-based, the damage was floor puddles. It could give the effect of pools of brine like some of that concept art shows, differentiate it from the gas of fungus bogs (while it staying mostly on the floor keeping it distinct from the hot rock of the Magma Core), and generally make an interesting challenge. Though less abundance than sticky goo is probably a good idea, lest it lock whole caves away. Some of the concepts in the early biome lineup that remain unused interest me. Obsidian Halls reminds me strongly of a concept from the discord's suggestions channel which has stuck with me for a while, a region similarly named 'Iron Halls' where bullets bounce off the extremely solid walls of tight, reflective corridors. Earthquakes from the whole iron deposit (posed as a massive metorite's core) shifting and settling and large, crack-like cave formations from whole sections twisting and shearing pieces of the metal apart were also suggested. It could fit well as a combination of those Obsidian Halls and Living Metal ones. The idea of constant low ground cover with fewer larger structures posed in the Moss Chapel (which is a really cool name, by the way) and the Uranium Infestation concepts also is interesting. Azure Weald kind of does this, but another biome with the effect would be interesting, as it's a preexisting effect from certain areas of Salt Pits and Crystalline Caverns but could easily be used on varying colors and shapes for a completely different vibe. I'm picturing caves where these little crystal flecks everywhere are consistent in color locally, but the color gradually shifts over distance, giving an otherworldly rainbow effect. Might make minerals really hard to find, though. Hive Core strikes me as something that would be popular. There are already plenty of requests for some sort of flesh biome, be it another dead or dying superorganism, a hive like proposed here, or something like the plant-like flesh growth eggs and dreadnought cocoons exhibit. Another one-hit terrain region, perhaps shot through with solid bone-like growths, would be a nice addition as well, particularly if its cave generation leans far away from the wide spaces of Sandblasted. I really like Inverted Forest as a concept, but it'd be hell for spitters. If they ever add the sub-biomes suggestion - that being single rooms with vastly differing but related cave generation based on features of a region - it could work as one for another region rather than a full standalone. Other examples would be proper oasis in Sandblasted Corridors, a whole heated room full of Glacial Strata's red plants, and perhaps some rarer, stranger formations not relegated to specific biomes, things more in line with error cubes and the POQ rocks.

[@Doktersocks]

I'm the happiest dwarf alive.

[@connorludwig8472]

Judging by your pfp, your more like the angriest medic

[@SandwichGamesHeavy]

Same

[@bluescout766]

You are a Medic, Harry

[@user-lc8ed5rg1t]

This is more rewarding than the healing?🎉

[@ThiagottLhcas]

We are

[@vizthex]

man, i hope they add all the biomes on that list at 1:10 to the game one day. the Hive Core and Living Metal sound cool af, and the Sponge Cluster reminds me of something from Subnautica (would love to have it in DRG).

[@D-Lock-8]

Hive core could be seen in rouge core Living metal sounds like rival terraforming hoxxes

[@themrfives]

Living alien metal reminds of the ELS from the Gundam 00 movie. I wonder if there was some inspiration there. I would say I doubt it but I definitely wasn't expecting The Last Jedi to be a biome inspiration so who knows. Though I could see ELS-style Living metal feeling out of place in DRG, even in the early days. So it wouldn't suprise me if that's why it got cut.

[@D-Lock-8]

sponge cluster is probably why we won't get a water biome

[@vizthex]

@@D-Lock-8 how?

[@vellss3524]

That Azure Weald and Salt Pit combo looked stunning I wish I could play on it.

[@B_Skizzle]

Seriously! Purple, red, and white is my absolute favorite color combo.

[@RakastanPorkkanakakkua]

Billion Dolar idea based on 5:03 Deep Dives or something in the same vein with these "remixed biomes". That is it.

[@d15p4tch6]

I'm pretty sure there's a mod that has a lot of additional modifiers. One is called "Chimeric Zone" or something, and it mashes two biomes together.

[@migueeeelet]

Would be funny if it was a brew effect

[@nibulsheep8214]

19:36 Dystrum found !

[@anotheramber7074]

I really hope they'll end up giving us something similar to living metal in rogue core, its such a cool concept! especially the idea of dead enemies turning into metal and becoming "part of the environment"

[@aydinmakesthings]

Not gonna lie, I'd KILL to get those old Xeno Fossils back. Something is so bad ass about seeing a dead huge glyphid!

[@nickr8662]

I would love to have that old sandblasted corridors back, it’s a beautiful sight to be sure. If console had access to modding I would change it to be more like that.

[@Hokuhikene]

38:50 Sad that GSG never thought of the idea to make those plants a 1x only pick up grenade.

[@elias0240]

Give them the same physics properties as the snowballs and seeker spheres on the space rig, and you’ve got yourself a unique, biome-specific grenade!

[@AveryHyena]

Hoxxes is not the only thing dwarves say differently to mission control For example, dwarves say "buhbarnacles" and mission control says "baah-barnacles"

[@Fourger14]

I always took the different accents to be an exaggeration of their different lifestyles. Mission Control has become more posh after working a bit more with management directly compared to the dwarves who are still miners.

[@exer3]

when does mission control even talk about the barnacles

[@AveryHyena]

@@exer3 In the season 5 narrated trailer

[@exer3]

@@AveryHyena oh thx

[@VoxAstra-qk4jz]

I think its that the less "proper" miners are playing with the alliteration of bha barnacles, with one of the voice lines being "ba-ba-bha barnacle down", whereas mission control has to be professionally on comms, and says it the "correct" way.

[@romansharp1712]

Yes! It's going to be a damn good hour and a half

[@bugjams]

4:07 Anyone else think this looks fucking awesome? Especially fitting for Glacial Strata, I think. I'd love to see certain rooms in certain biomes have the ability to generate noiseless. It doesn't even look unnatural, it just looks majestic. I want to stand there in-game and just admire the smoothness of it all. 27:22 I'm pretty sure these are supposed to be based on _Lithops,_ or the "living stone," which is actually a type of succulent plant! 31:29 Not a formation, but a deep-sea tunicate - an animal! They're in the phylum of Urochordata, which makes them closely related to humans and other vertebrates!

[@DenSporetrix]

Wait a minute... The the danish word for dirt is "jord" and the name of earth is "Jorden" And also the danish word for dwarf is "dværg"... I think Djord VII is meant to be a pun. Or maybe they were being very uncreative that day like who knows.

[@ReapeeRon]

This is really cool, and you must have put a lot of time and effort into this. It turned out amazing, Great video Explorian!!

[@orion9997]

I really love a lot of the old designs, I wish we could see them adapted as modern biomes. Generally the amount of stalagmites & stalactites, and also their length, looks great and imo should be brought back in more biomes. Coral fans, using similar tech to the fungus bogs mushroom structures, and smaller coral objects could up the diversity of the biome even more. While basic, I think the site 11 shale area should be brought back, just gray stone and dirt, small roots, sparse brown grasses, and mushrooms, befitting of a classic dwarven mine. The game is arguably missing a "dark zone" considering darkness is a mechanic. A "hadal zone" with black, reflective rock and a bioluminescent theme with a thick fog which actively makes light sources dimmer would feel very unique compared to all the other biomes. I know the devs have unfortunately outright said no to liquids, or liquid physics, but I think waterfalls & trickling water vfx & audio could go a long way for environmental atmosphere. Reusing the tech from molten rock in magma core to decorate biomes with more stone types would also be cool, for example cooled lava flows and obsidian in magma core, or a rough, dark material for geode shells in crystal caves.

[@dankmemer5699]

Man I'd kill for that living metal biome. I hope it will be included in the rogue core

[@Hilly_Billy15]

Great video Explorian!

[@TheRepulsionGel]

48:42 So that's why Salt Pits would remind me of that shot in particular. Interesting info, thanks!

[@firespitter_6199]

Magma core biodiversity/lots of plants initially could be representative of volcanic soil or like thermal vents underwater hosting a lot of organisms etc

[@scann5183]

This is probably my favourite video of yours, extremely interesting info sprinkled with bits of light humor make it great :)

[@helohel5915]

Feels like some of the unused concepts like living metal are gonna see a little use in Rogue Core. Since that game is going to be less organic and more rock and stone based (like the corestone crawlers, they seem very minerally) I think it'll be revisited

[@thewanderer1317]

The trawler makes me think of the kraata from Bionicle, creepy

[@NP7_16]

This is just wonderful! Thank You!

[@sedniia483]

Havent watched yet but already know it's gonna be a blast with tons of nice informations to fill my DRG-fan brain. I really hope they will add more biomes in the future ( I asked on the dev stream and unfortunately they said it was far from a focus point, which is sad because i firmly believe biomes gives a lot of replayability )

[@donvoltonus8898]

Now I want a Spatial Distortion mission modifier, where it takes cave gen and elements from one biome, and the looks from another to make hybrid monsters. (Or something like "Border Patrol" Where the cave system is made of two different biomes)

[@mushroom1206]

caustic mire sounds so cool to me like i want pools of solfuric water guizers and heated springs i think it would be so cool

[@Creepercraft945]

The best hour and 20 minutes ever.

[@el_Malik42]

The sponge cluster biom looks a lot like the rock pocks blisters, but scaled up to a whole biom.

[@galacticmosquito8934]

Your usage of The Eternal Cylinder's music does not go unnoticed

[@sabre0smile]

In one of those earlier builds, the big salt cubes had no internal face-generation, so breaking through them just visually bugged out

[@kenbarber2774]

I would love a biome that's essentially the inside of a giant living organism. Not so much the metal one, but more so like the rift worm level from Gears of War 2.

[@benismann]

17:14 - i swear chimneys used to explode on breaking too...

[@SandwichGamesHeavy]

This video was so entertaining! Thank you for still making drg videos!

[@toopers9437]

This video is so well made bro

[@cosmicwrench]

biome

[@randykeeling1916]

Super cool video, thanks

[@Dummkopf02]

I think the hole pronunciation thing is probably just the "rural" version and the official version. Like some one saying "I ain't okay" vc "I am not okay"

[@Moldeyawsome12]

Before we (hopefully) get new biome(s), I hope all biomes get a once over with some new small additions to bring them up to the level of detail in Azure/Bough. Some don’t have too many unique flora or fauna

[@zo0ot404]

I know what I’m watching for the next hour. Great video

[@muffincatgames]

Actually finally seeing Caustic Mire was a super weird almost closure for me? I absolutely agree Hollow Bough was the better move for DRG at the time, but Caustic appealed more to me in terms of style from day 1. And it's actually kinda wild to see it, as I had assumed at this point it was a safe bet to call it canned. I definitely can see it had a way to go with colours and some more unique features, but I am in love with the crevasses fr. Hopefully Robert does come back to it, as I would still love to play in that biome

[@opportunity-kfpairlines6716]

Bro casually dropped the best DRG video on the platform

[@-ShanWasTaken-]

I have no words to describe how happy i am after seeing this video recommended

[@burningcaiman208]

major R&S moment

[@SomeCrow]

i love hollow bough and I will die on this hill

[@briishcabbage568]

tasty vines :)

[@Doktersocks]

Watch the stabber vine, it'll stab your frickin face off

[@cytoid7062]

It's literally green apple, the biome, thanks to Jadiz deposits

[@chasecook6073]

I hate this biome. I can't think of any biome more annoying than this one.

[@KR420MZN]

Yeah, you will die a lot xD

[@vizthex]

another banger video! can't wait for creature evolution.

[@raeelemental7084]

13:31 that looks eerily similar to the swarmling spawner...

[@FinnishArsonist]

kind of a shame that those blue crystals in Sandblasted Corridors didn't survive. I love areas with crystals in deserts, it just has such a neat contrast with the sand

[@doorframe2315]

41:38 1:00:49 who’s joining?

[@retey8982]

Karl

[@doorframe2315]

@@retey8982 dart god

[@matlo25]

Lets go new vid

[@thelemonsheep7257]

This rocks my stone

[@bernadettemontembault665]

Was wondering during the whole video : did the number of pickaxe hits to break terrain stay the same in each biome from the start ? Or did some biomes change along the way ? Mainly curious about sandblasted corridors, since one hit terrain is exclusive to there, so i'd like to know if that feature was there from the start or not.

[@explorianguy]

sandblasted always was one hit, while the other early access biomes were three hit (seems like some placeholder value), biomes released through updates have always been two hit kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6nIfKiEYtSIg9E

[@bernadettemontembault665]

@@explorianguy thanks for the answer ! Very kind of you to post the video with the showcase too, love how you go above and beyond for accuracy, really doing Karl's work. It's amazing to me how much work and info you pack into your videos, great job !

[@vorpalshortsword4504]

You're my favorite DRG youtuber

[@kevinaosei]

can we get a weapons evolution? also i would love to see sponge cluster one day, i can clearly see the idea, a humid biome, full of fleshy squishy bubbles that pop when you shoot them. something that looks similar to the planet from the start of the guardians of the galaxy game

[@Graveler28]

sponge cluster could easily be turned into a rockpox biome

[@machineboot6748]

Not to be that guy, but what about the salt cube pillar formation that can happen in the Salt Pits? I remember quite well there being a salt crystal formation that's multiple cubes stacked one ontop of the other, usually reaching the ceiling, although not always. kinda suprised to not hear it mentioned

[@littlehivetyrant2383]

Finally a relaxing video to mine to

[@Nemesis2005]

So galactic

[@digital-black]

can't belive they've made pride flags for the bioms

[@flodthelunatic5678]

I want to see the Shallow grotto again and play real missions in it

[@user-iu4jl6cg4n]

Nooo the illusion is broken, i have been forever infected with forbidden knowledge how am i ever gonna oh look mushroom

[@temmie9430]

5:14 i actualy think this looks kind of pretty

[@Maethendias]

i didnt even know about the glow plant

[@jaydenlobbe7911]

I want the Living Metal Biome to be in the game, it sounds so awesome >:D

[@WillBM0]

4 minutes ago is tax evasion

[@loafofbread9400]

Did you find this funny

[@LukeMaster12-ITA]

I wonder what's next. Creatures evolution?

[@Qreamey]

Exquisite.

[@Danthepanman1]

Big buff men

[@hobsyllwin]

real

[@fly-in_glass.]

Babe, wake up

[@youraverageteaenjoyer]

I wonder how difficult it would be to mod in a new region

[@ayhumann]

400 views in 30 mins bro is doing a good job 👍

[@AnnoyD]

Mixed biome mission coming?

[@Duskcosmog]

Just like exploding plants, I too explode. Especially at the zoo

[@lrobin-is8dg]

YES THE VIDEO IS REAL NOW

[@rara3538]

My favorite part is when people get lost on Morkite missions because "we start from up and go down" is not clear enough lol

[@cakes1831]

23:55 what the, they do that?

[@llmkursk8254]

Okay, plain spaghetti is really good. A more apt description would be biting into an unscented candle. Waxy texture that isn't pleasant, but the lack of taste is the real kicker. In any case, Living Metal sounds like the biome with the highest potential to get reused for a new biome, especially considering its potential metallic color schemes using non-valuable metals such as rusty copper and iron all over.

[@explorianguy]

you can still enjoy plain spaghetti (drg without biomes), but adding even just salt (closed alpha era biomes) makes it pop a bit more, then add all sorts of flavoring like tomato sauce and cheese (modern day biomes) and it'll become something more - a fulfilling meal

[@llmkursk8254]

@@explorianguy I'd argue spaghetti with butter, salt and pepper is Sandblasted Corridors. The lack of vegetation, with only a couple of unique items sets it apart from the rest in its own way. Still pissed they took out the cacti though. It's a desert biome! It should have cacti!

[@adwans1491]

Instant youtube Classic

[@mrpopcornman3410]

15:44 What species are those on the right?

[@lostmarble540]

more youtubers should add stuff just to mess with their viewers' heads

[@dudek1537]

I love spaghetti. Pls don't ruin it in my mind for me 😢

[@surrealsnoozer3557]

I feel like something is missing from the video: the hit counts of the terrains of each biome. When and how did these change with builds?

[@explorianguy]

here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6nIfKiEYtSIg9E

[@surrealsnoozer3557]

@@explorianguy Thanks a lot

[@bilkk]

i got jumpscared by spelunky 2 soundtrack

[@RadiantRobin-ey5np]

wait what happened to the rare blue and white xenofungus in fungus bogs

[@explorianguy]

it became ultra rare

[@itsKimi]

5:05 am i the only one who want mixed biomes generation now ?

[@user-ve3rf8eh6b]

1:09:38 "and need to be desloged wif boolephs" Please don't take any offence with that. I just found the pronounciation funny at the moment.

[@8Phobos8]

We eating good today, boys!

[@digital-black]

oh shit it's the 25th already?

[@engineerfromtf2eatingabage1]

Wow. Just ...

[@CoolSs]

i am still kinda sad that escort duty caves generation got shrunk down. it used to have those cool big rooms imo, they were so unique in each biome. sadly after they nerfed it. it look so boring. and worst of all, escort duty is still imo one of the hardest DRG type of mission and for the wrong reasons (in solo at least)

[@doug73121]

cool

[@Franzeba]

I like caustic mire

[@manboy4720]

beta cave leech versus chad cave vine

[@HexagonThatReallyLikesVinegar]

nah i want those xenofossils back