My first island animal has evolved! (🧬Evolution Simulated #5)

Another video 'Evolution Simulated' series, showcasing simulation videogame The Sapling, where we follow one planet for a longer time. We study all the ecosystems that all evolve, and how they change over time.
Frequently asked questions: thesaplinggame.com/faq
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/99...
Itch: woseseltops.itch.io/thesapling
Twitter: / thesaplinggame
Website: thesaplinggame.com/
Fan initiatives:
* Discord / discord
* the-sapling-encyclopedia.fand...
* Reddit / thesapling
0:00 intro & recap
0:53 specialized plants
2:14 floating nuts
3:08 the first land animals
4:00 another land plant family
4:53 better feet and mouths
6:06 various evolutionary innovations
7:50 genetic drift

[@francispapillon3520]

Dude I bought your game, it's a dream come true honestly, I LOVE evolution simulation, I hope you incorporate even more complex and intricate elements 🥰

[@matthewbromm7552]

yeah i saw it yesterday and played immediately and its incredible

[@Darkdragonrexkiller]

@@matthewbromm7552 me too! i almost immediately bought it

[@noahdaanimalguy7673]

Wait this is a game? Cool!

[@sun2541]

The Sapling

[@martinromerostrack9138]

Is there civilization building?

[@myramadd6651]

I’d like to mention an event that my daughter and I encountered in this Game yesterday. She made grazing herbivores, so I designed a blood sucking predator. In a few generations some of these four legged predators became bipedal, and their body type mimicked these bloodsuckers even in color and pattern, but were still eating plants. Very cool

[@thespacedinos4037]

It looks as if the herbivores evolved to mimic the bloodsuckers so that they wouldn't be parasitized. Very cool!

[@ohgeeshcaro]

That's really cool evolution

[@lechking941]

@@thespacedinos4037 now THAT is a evo mechanic we know of. and i love when its accounted for in sims

[@pedrotbird5426]

I love this game, its like a combination between SimEarth and Spore and its brilliant

[@catowisdom1922]

if you like this check out Planetary Life. its similar but focuses on the SimEarth element more

[@thatguywhoanimids]

Yea

[@samueltrusik3251]

You should add zooplankton, or some other way to allow for animals, plants (And maybe other organisms) to arise from the same ancestor. Who knows? Maybe a type of organism that is completely different from animals, plants, AND fungi could arise in the Sapling!

[@callum5273]

this needs added

[@joemungus6063]

I believe in a previous video he said he wanted to add microorganisms for filter feeders and such. He just isnt totally sure how to add them yet. That being said fungus would be epic.

[@Loranzo_stuff]

He already added zooplankton and filter feeders

[@LuckyWolfUnleashed]

What if after a real long time a species turns into a tribe.

[@Chareddragon]

@@Loranzo_stuffHe added phytoplankton

[@Gnomable]

It's really cool those plants were able to propagate over water with floating seeds.

[@twerp_]

The same thing happened with palm trees and coconuts. So glad the developer added this feature to the game.

[@connorcrick4515]

dogg, the biggest reason i bought the game is knowing how wholesome you are and how relaxing your videos are, i love you man

[@Sideswipe_TotalWar]

I don't know if this is already a thing but i would love to see shells/other defences for land animals

[@user-rp6wf7fd9w]

No not yet he only really has spines and quill like parts

[@jakubgrono9070]

Ok hear me out, what if you cpuld choose what type of skeleton your begins has, at first you could make it so they have none and are basicly kind kf a worm but they could evolve a skeleton or exoskeleton and both would have upsides and downsides

[@Sideswipe_TotalWar]

@@jakubgrono9070 that would be awesome

[@user-rp6wf7fd9w]

@@jakubgrono9070 I think I he did kinda do the exoskeleton thing but I'm not sure

[@UruSxs9]

evolution simulated is epic

[@DaDodoDev]

It would be fun to see how the world would chance if Water raised, it got much hotter or something like that

[@archaye]

You can already do that in the game :)

[@DaDodoDev]

@@archayeyes but it would be cool if it was in the video (my computer isnt Great so it would commit death it i played the game myself) i just Think it would be fun if BAM half of all animals died and then a new form of animals would evolve

[@Jay2480]

I bet near the end he lobs a meteor down

[@DaDodoDev]

@@Jay2480 that would be so cool just imagine all the crazy things that could happen

[@colecampbell1906]

I'm pretty sure we're going to see that in real time over the next 50 years lol.

[@nils-peterwihlney8732]

Wonder if the creatures coudl adept to livign underground, developing into burrowers that dig through the soil and act as ambush predators like large ant lions.

[@TheSapling]

Wasn't really aware of this behavior, cool! (no promises ;) )

[@nils-peterwihlney8732]

@@TheSapling Not sure how well it would work but you could have the creatures' avatars disappear and be replaced with a moving pile of dirt. Maybe let them spawn burrows and possibly underground nests. No need to make the burrowing part visual since they will be below ground level.

[@The-realness-is-baffling]

Maybe you could add moons that affect the tides allowing animals from the sea to pass into inland lakes

[@Panzer_Sausages]

i love the nut towers 😍

[@Red4ty]

bro...

[@liammcgovern5027]

🧐

[@Kokorocodon]

You love dem what now?

[@nuke_man_ai]

Ow helllll nahhh 💀

[@sentienttapioca5409]

Also came here to comment on the nut towers lmao

[@fallencobra5197]

It’s insane how technology has advanced to make a game that can simulate evolution even if it’s only to an extent

[@HeyItsRonHere]

I've played as many evolution simulators as I can like DarwinPond, GenePool, Ecosystem (Steam) and I bought this game back in 2021. At that time it wasn't very far in development and had a bad framerate for me but I didn't refund it because I thought it could end up being one of the best evolution sims yet and I was right. I love how easy it is to see the world and creature data, that's the best part. When you run an evolution sim for a long time it can become difficult to understand what's happened without the game keeping track of some things, and this game does the best job yet at keeping track of every species progress. It also just runs good for me now and every update has been awesome.

[@korkee1111]

I'm seeing recent reviews saying their performance is bad or the game crashes at a certain population, what is your pc like?

[@bookbagfox]

You know you’ve made a good evolution game when you start seeing the same phenomenon as Darwin’s Finches.

[@verleptehenk]

Love these videos and your game, can't wait for the next one.

[@generalvikus2138]

I'd love to see you continue one series for 10 or 20 episodes instead of the usual 3. Or, if the ecosystem becomes too stable after a while, it seems like it would be a good idea to add random environmental variations to mix things up.

[@Deathlawli]

It really is amazing to see to see how big of an impact plants evolution can have on the rest of the biosphere, and it shows how great The Sapling is at replicating those real life events ! 😄 Also, I really love the unique conditions of this planet. With the planet ring still being a big element that shapes evolution in many different ways, even on the same island

[@GoldenEdits656]

I'm loving the series, keep it up!

[@robogromo3904]

Loving these videos, really looking forward to seeing what emerges

[@gamertardguardian1299]

Imagine if no mans sky had this much bio diversity between planets… its like every alien flora and fauna in that game is related despite living solar systems away. This is an amazing work of art, you are not only a very innovative and hard working developer, but also a good commentator, I look forward to your game and youtube channels future 👍

[@dier7144]

Nice job as always, very quick with this one! With each update the game gets better and better! I think it would be cool if you could add things like maybe aesexual reproduction, which could allow life creatures to reproduce without a partner but would drastically decrease the mutation rate, idk just an idea. Keep it up!!! FOR THE MILK BUG 🥛

[@lamotou4banana383]

Everything is Asexual bruh

[@claudiostraniero4919]

In this game All the creatures are already Asexual.

[@Candlemancer]

Since all reproduction in game is already asexual, it would be interesting to see the opposite: sexual reproduction where a partner is required but it allows much faster development of new traits

[@dier7144]

@@claudiostraniero4919 oh 💀in that case I’d suggest adding non asexual reproduction and have the current default have lower mutation rate

[@nuke_man_ai]

Long live the MilkBug 🥛 🐛

[@D-angelin.Moarar]

Simply awesome! Love the game and these well prepared videos are just the cherry on top!

[@bozoboysinc8287]

This man made spore 2 and I love it

[@Riptide1999]

Love this series! Hope you keep it up

[@gaytheoyes-qb1ze]

I’ve been a fan for a LONG time. I mean, REALLY long. I’ve been a fan since the first evolution experiment, which was before aquatic animals even existed! I love this series, so much.

[@little_man3021]

Just started playing your game and i love it! I literally went out of my way to buy more RAM for my machine so i can enjoy your game on a larger scale. Its incredible!

[@arwathepearledone6729]

Did you see any improvement in fps? I have 16gb and this game runs really bad for me to the point that it s unplayable

[@TheSapling]

Thanks! The game can be quite memory hungry indeed :/

[@little_man3021]

@arwathepearledone6729 32gb is definitely an improvement, managed to get a planet around 3/4th size up to the 80th millennium before fps started to tank, after that I suggest just scaling down the creature count. Things evolve a tad slower but makes the game run WAY better.

[@little_man3021]

@TheSapling dude don't apologise whatsoever, your game is one of the first few that managed to captivate me so quickly, I wanted to upgrade my actual machine for a better experience, literally two days of playing and I could already tell I needed MORE! take it as a massive compliment and keep the good work up bud I love it!

[@seabass1872]

Finished my last exam and came home to this! What a treat!

[@Belownegative]

LETS GO I LOVE IT WHEN YOU POST A NEW VIDEO

[@gorelex64]

Thanks for another great video!

[@tangentfox4677]

I really love these videos, thank you.

[@joeldeakin2003]

Please make these videos longer! They're too good

[@Vexeov]

This is so awesome dude!

[@Mollie-qn3kr]

your dedication to your craft is really inspiring!

[@leonym7441]

First non minecraft video watched within 24 hrs of recording. And the Sapling rocks

[@samueltrusik3251]

FINALLY MORE SAPLING CONTENT

[@gamingcat6034]

This is such a great game I can’t even describe it. Can’t wait for the next update. (Also if grass could get ways to survive higher temperatures it would be nice btw)

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for your input!

[@majorjuggler488]

Keep it up my guy💥💥💥

[@dinodare1605]

I think I'm going to buy your game. Im usually skeptical about buying early access games this soon in development, and when I first subscribed to your channel I was already holding myself back since I'm a lifelong Spore player... But since then you've showed such remarkable progress and have a great pace for your work! I love how you make a narrative out of the gameplay that you do (a lot of devs can dev but can't engage as much as other content creators). I'd buy this game as-is, because even if you dropped it tomorrow, even this version would probably be worth money (but please don't drop it).

[@TheSapling]

Haha no way I'm dropping this, it's my most successful project ever ;)

[@ibukondo3657]

Bought the game. I'm excited to dig my teeth into this

[@Isopod_enjoyer999]

Great Video! I have a couple of ideas for the game -S*x (so sexual selection occurs) - Turning animations for motile creatures - Fungi - Exoskeletons/Hard skin -Shells/Body plates - Symbiotic relationships (Mutuaism, Parasitism, etc)

[@gamertardguardian1299]

sex mod when?

[@thisismyBOOMSTICKx3]

sex mod when?

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like all of these!

[@josh8901]

Each episode has me hooked *grabs popcorn* Also the game is as beautiful as it has ever been! So much eyecandy 👀

[@itscj7530]

this is like a spore v2 combined with sandbox, absolutely love it!

[@darrUV]

LOVE THIS SERIE

[@elektro860]

Can't wait for the next vid

[@foogriffy]

this is really cool. wishing you success with this game

[@TheSapling]

Thanks!

[@regndeer]

ITS GOOD TO BE BACK

[@Memeened]

I made a world with 3 large islands and several smaller islands, and plants evolved on the SMALLER ISLANDS FIRST wow

[@Controlled_Khaos]

these things give me chilllllllssssss

[@ionutmarin2485]

This is one of my favorit video of yours

[@ElijahSmith]

thats so much better than most other popular simulators!

[@Psychodog_]

Why is this channel so underrated

[@CoolLampShade]

Can’t wait to buy this game, can’t believe it was made by one single genuinely good hearted person, usually games of this quality are made by giant companies so it’s nice to see you doing this all by yourself. Also do you think doing it solo has made decision making easier or more challenging, because on one hand there is no debates between people, but there is only one person really making the ideas.

[@TheSapling]

Way easier; I can't imagine convincing an entire team of people to take this unusually geeky approach ;)

[@CoolLampShade]

@@TheSapling Good luck working on future updates, I’m buying the game soon

[@eu2282]

Amazing video, amazing game 🎮

[@scottthesmartape9151]

If I had steam I would buy your game 3 times because I’m broke but also because I love it so much

[@JackRoney]

I wonder if the loss of complex eyes in that isolated species towards the end was actually advantageous--as it prevented them from seeing food across the ring-shadow and freezing to death in an attempt to reach it. This could be comparable to insects losing their wings (in real life) in windy island environments where any insect that flies is very likely to get blown into the sea. so cool!

[@TheSapling]

Interesting hypothesis, I think you might be right!

[@FirestoneProjects]

not gonna lie, I wish these were added in the game -Invertebrate Limbs -Plant-Like Animal And Sponges -Animal Microbes -Color Mutations(Ex: Albinism, Leucism, Melanism -Sapient Intelligence -Cannibalism -Abyss, Trenches, Deep Sea -More Details Like Colored Spots, Stripes -Dimorphism(When The Genders Look Different From Each Other) -Burrowing Animals

[@Leyva0scarVRL]

i don think sapience really works well in this game, i feel it should focus on other things

[@FirestoneProjects]

@@Leyva0scarVRL DANG

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like nearly all of these ideas!

[@voxsq]

Pretty smart way to advertise your game tbh lol. I'm thinking about buying it as it looks very interesting.

[@arwathepearledone6729]

I runs really bad

[@TheSapling]

Haha yes these videos really help with sales... accidental advertising ;)

[@gaymedievaldruid]

Second video i watched, instantly hooked! Also i cant believe your gake reinvented dolphins

[@myramadd6651]

I have a suggestion for another factor to add- continental drift. That way isolated populations can suddenly be forced together.

[@TheSapling]

thesaplinggame.com/faq :)

[@emical4449]

I think one cool feature would be if phytoplankton could evolve into zooplankton, and then animals and phytoplankton into plants and vice versa.

[@DefinitelyNotLongmaze]

I'm starting to suspect that we're all living in version 90000 of this game

[@cedricl.marquard6273]

I am a simple man. I see ploygons evolving and eating each other. I subscribe.

[@ChonkersCentral]

I adore this game, and I have it on steam. Now all I need is a computer that can actually run it 🤣

[@GandalfTheTsaagan]

Now things are picking up the pace

[@lordtent3476]

i love your game concept i bought it

[@biggestfanof300]

I love this game, I love this kind of "people watching" type of games. Mixed with spore, and generally great evolution mechanics, it's fantastic. If you're interested, there is another channel here on KZbin in which another person is working on a project called Bibites. It's a 2D version similar to this allowing population of a space with organisms that have complex mechanics like metabolisms, and develop evolutionary changes based on their environments. I'd definitely check it out if you haven't already. For your game, do you plan on going micro with how basic of an organism someone can start with, such as single to multi cellular organisms? What about the ability for the starting flora/fauna to start at their common ancestors before diverging? I realize this ads a good amount of complexity to the necessary mechanics, but again, I'd be foaming at the mouth being able to watch over something like that.

[@TheSapling]

Definitely aware of the Bibites project, indeed! As for 'going micro', I really like the idea, but no promises :)

[@FADUKA96]

I love this series And i thought this one gonna be longer to upload But im not complaining tho

[@beckettcarter8679]

Me going back to rewatch the series so I can catch up:

[@Shonyu043]

I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@zaflowgalactic]

This is cute, hope to see more diversity over time. I wonder if there will be birds,

[@fabricreative1930]

YEEEEEEEEAAAAASSSS

[@Useless_Science]

I , what do i even respond to the phrase "Tower of Nuts" Cant wait for that to be taken out of context.

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

I would love to be able to try this game out. Unfortunately I have a Mac and no money to get a PC. 😞

[@ohgeeshcaro]

It would be cool if there could be a setting where continent movement could be turned on so the world can change as you play and if you skip your whole planet could look different

[@EternalCrystalOfSeas]

IM HERE WITHIN TWO HOURS

[@Magikarp_With_Dragonrage]

Have you considered adding alternation of generations to the plants' reproductive systems? it will create a very interesting dynamic with the mutation rates in plants vs. animals!

[@TheSapling]

Definitely (and not just for plants)! Without making promises, love this idea

[@user-yj4sd1fz6n]

Cool

[@92xhqi88]

Waiting to buy this game to when there will be more features, more details, more animations, but it still is so cool!

[@AshtonScripts]

the heads should bob around and look around if its instinct is looking for something, the tail should be able to wag as an instinct and other animals would be able to observe when another organism is wagging their tail so it'd be a means of communication

[@TheSapling]

Fully agreed, the animations are really low quality atm :/

[@megazillasaurus]

Can you do a video like this where you mutate the animals into the direction you want?

[@megazillasaurus]

And have the widest variety of soil softness and temperature possible?

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for your input, will consider!

[@heello2u465]

are you going to add fossils or other things? or in a sequel? like black sand from a volcano or the effects of decayed matter or crushed seashells becoming white sand would be good in a sequel.

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for describing your ideas! :)

[@markymark303]

one issue this game has is seasons changing the water height, because a land plant will evolve, then die because the ocean raised before they have enough time to spread inward. so yeah, in real life rising and lowering tides were one of the key components to life evolving on land (applies more to plants) (low tide so left stuck on land? evolve to become more land resistant!)(because it slowly transitions between high and low tide instead of just suddenly switching states, some areas are above water longer, so your slightly more air resistant one will be able to go more inland, but OH?! less time in water? become MORE air resistant! and MORE! until it's capable of surviving COMPLETELY on land! then the animals will go on land because "sea food with competition, see food with no competition, go to competition-less food!")(why did I feel the need to explain that this is a paragraph now) but in the sapling, it seems as if tide is DETRIMENTAL to the evolution to life on land. I see multiple solutions to this so you'll just have to pick one. the solution I came up with is making it so that algae and plants have some overlap in terms of height of the water level, another would be giving land plants a water height tolerance stat thing, and if it's already in the game, just make it so land plants start with it VERY high, if it wouldn't fit, then make other stuff to give it that ok I ned to stop typn by!

[@markymark303]

oh and also being able to type in a number for alot of the sliders. (like the random mutations sliders)

[@markymark303]

and being able to edit the planet more directly other than volcanoes so I can have island easily-er

[@TheSapling]

Thanks so much for your input and insight, I think you are correct!

[@Chareddragon]

What I’d like is to have fossorial and arboreal organisms. But to have that you’d need large plants with vide branches for arboreal life. As for fossorial behaviors, organisms would need to be able to interact with the land. I’d also like benthic aquatic organisms and maybe sessile organisms. Finally I’d like to see horsetail, leptodendron and bryophyte like plants. But that might all be too complex to code.

[@TheSapling]

Climbing in trees and sitting in branches does exist! I've never seen it evolve naturally though :/

[@yodaman8015]

i'm not sure if its already in the game, but i think a intelligence stat that allows animals to develop behaviors for different things would be cool.

[@yodaman8015]

as in tactics

[@yodaman8015]

also a bigger map with more temperature change would be cool (maybe a desert biome too?)

[@TheSapling]

This one is in the FAQ :) thesaplinggame.com/faq

[@LuckyWolfUnleashed]

What if after a real long time a species turns into a tribe!

[@valent1no763]

It'd be so epic if this came to xbox I'd buy immediately

[@christosdoesthings]

Once the animals expand to all islands, you should lower the ocean level and see the faunal interchange.

[@PaulUrbanski]

Finna trade in my eyes so I can stay south of the shadow

[@thehumaneasteregg5471]

Do you think caves would be good for this game? There could be a toggle for a camera that looks underground, and cave adaptations like lack of eyes and skin pigment. And while i have suggested this before i would love marsupial parts like pouches and hopping legs. One more thing i would love is someting like armodillo scales, porcupine quils, and shells.

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like all of these ideas!

[@j.w.-]

I want more!!!!

[@DiplexMitten]

i love this series i'd love to play but i dont got the funds rn, but soon i will

[@georgeholroyd709]

Do you have a video where you explain the technicallities of how you simulate evolution? I have just bought it and I am really enjoying it.

[@TheSapling]

I think the devlogs come pretty close to what you want :)

[@TacoGuy1]

What if you added thermal vents and chemosynthetic life forms? That would be an amazing feature.

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, it's an idea I like!

[@busted2623]

Can you add parasites and virases

[@joeis18]

Guy, you've gotta get some investors.

[@SultanPotato]

Will you add intelligent life eventually?

[@adonai4493]

I have the suggestion of adding limitations to animals that influence their growth. Like oxygen levels or whatever they breathe. The higher the bigger the animals can be. And animals with long necks having no tail to counter balance seems awkward

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like these ideas!

[@amargarrex5808]

If you are going to make an update with many bug fixes and optimization improvements, I recommend adding a few invertebrate features, this could be the bug update (taking advantage of the fact that bug in Spanish means error and bicho, a simpler way to call to insects, arachnids, centipedes and millipedes)

[@TheSapling]

Haha I like this idea

[@myramadd6651]

I think it would also be cool to make carnivorous plants