So you all wanted flying animals? (evolution sim devlog 1-4)

Website: thesaplinggame.com/
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/99...
Itch: woseseltops.itch.io/thesapling
Newsletter: thesaplinggame.com/newsletter
Twitter: / thesaplinggame
0:00 Intro: substance over style?
2:39 Sittable trees
4:10 Gliding
4:50 Powered flight
6:44 Outro

[@bruhman109]

I cant wait to create a simple creature and plant let them evolve for 20 hours and watch the result

[@myrinsk]

ikr when i get the game im just gonna do that

[@rathosalpha]

When I try that my game crashs

[@bruhman109]

Mine to 🙃

[@ruudvandenhove6905]

i guess maybe cuz of not enough memory???

[@blacklight683]

style:gets more people to see it and come substance:makes people want to actually stay and discover more

[@theavacadoguy2640]

Will there be a way to cause natural disasters like in the end scenario where an asteroid hits and it wipes out all but the most adaptable creatures?

[@TheSapling]

Not in this update but it is definitely an idea I've been playing with for a long time :)

[@TheShadowCallers]

Ok RTGame.. lol

[@samuelbenefiel5362]

@@TheSapling hey, in your next update, can you make something for aquatic and/or fusorial lifestyle?

[@TheSapling]

@@samuelbenefiel5362 Hey Samuel, I try to never make promises so I can freely change my mind, but aquatic life in particular is indeed requested very often ;).

[@connorhaley3190]

@@TheSaplingthank you for keeping your promises

[@melvinmischievous3541]

I don't care about how polished a turd is. This has the framework to be amazing. Please, keep it up, make this happen. Don't overwork yourself and take care.

[@seal6015]

There are a couple things that might make the game better, and by better I mean more natural. Genders: Having male and female animals that need to breed, nest and reproduce there would be a crucial part of the game to make it more realistic, with the player possibly being able to add small differences, like the male having antlers to fight another male for alpha and being brightly coloured, while the female has dark colours to blend in. Herds, flocks, packs ect. for animals would make the game more interesting too, to see a herd of females watch as two males fight over the females would be exactly like deer. Snow: Quick and simple (by that I mean in writing this comment), snow would make the cold areas feel more accurate to being cold, with the trees and the leaves being covered in snow too. Weather: Rain, snow, storms, ect. which could change the animal's reactions to it's surroundings, for example the water could flood, causing the animals to move to a higher up location and possibly stay there. This would drive more mutation as the animals would have more reason to expand out and not stay in their tiny forested area. And probably the one that is needed the most... Thirst: Animals now need to drink to survive, like in real life. Rain could cause small pools of freshwater to appear for animals to drink away from the main lake where they could be killed, if it snows the lake could freeze, causing animals to dig to find water and the storm would flood it which I explained. You do not have to do ANY of this, it would just make the game more realistic, and this game aims to be realistic. If you like these ideas, use them if you want, if you don't, don't use them. I just enjoy suggesting things.

[@lourdthebluefoxie]

YASSSS

[@lorddonqweetle]

a sexual creatures exist so genders are not the most needed thing

[@seal6015]

@@lorddonqweetle Yes but very few creatures are asexual.

[@TheSapling]

Hi Tretch, thanks a lot, I love detailed ideas like these! Without making any promises, sexes, sexual dimorphism, nests and weather are all ideas I am thinking about a lot these days. Thirst will probably lead to very interesting events in the simulation as well, but would probably require an overhaul of almost all scenarios ;).

[@ultraapple3997]

@@seal6015 we know

[@caroline6218]

I just fond this channel a few hours ago and it’s amazing that all of this was made by one person! This is a really cool game! I really appreciate that the plants also evolve because in games like “Species” and “Spore” only the animals evolve. Having your own unique plant species adapt and develop into a forest filled with animals is just magical.

[@giuliagirl743]

And I would be happy if there’s the possibility of having a planet with plants with different colors like at least 1 to 3 of them will come to the surface

[@CyberSaurian]

Now I can make dragons!

[@connorhaley3190]

If they are light enough

[@alacer8878]

Man, I'm sad I'm just now finding this game, but also incredibly happy because I have all this fun content to play with when I buy it. A small suggestion- the ability to lay eggs in trees. I don't think I need to go into all the implications this could have in avoiding predators and incentivizing climbing/flight. You've got an amazing thing here man. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[@TheSapling]

Thanks! And eggs in trees are indeed an excellent suggestion for exactly the reasons you mention :) (but no promises)!

[@patricesmith11]

Have you thought about adding other types of vegetation like grass bushes or even carnivorous plants? And a way to Be able to specify what type of plant you want to create in the game?

[@TheSapling]

Thought about for sure, these are cool ideas! Not sure if, how, and when, though ;)

[@ultraapple3997]

Eeee... I don't Like thath idea. Just it riun game for me.

[@patricesmith11]

Well, I just thought of one way of pulling it off, maybe you could code the game to where you can add specific body parts to your plants which will automatically tell the game “ oh this is a tree” or “ oh this was supposed to be a bush”, basically you are telling the game what plant do you want to create which was what you did with the animals if you give an animal wings it tells the game that this animal is supposed to be a flying creature, you could be able to do the same thing with plants for example if you make your plant take on the appearance of a pitcher plant or Venus fly trap that it automatically tells a game that this plant is supposed to be carnivorous, you get the idea?

[@patricesmith11]

@Carson Tagle bugs sound like a good idea too

[@nick.3455]

@Carson Tagle yeah bugs would be good for the birds and other flying creatures as well as land animals

[@xeilot5358]

Maybe seasons in the game, where species will naturally learn to migrate between certain areas by flying in order to keep their temperature constant. Also, laying eggs in trees for both flying and climbing creatures, as a way to improve successful birth rates, this will cause egg eating predators to have to adapt in turn by becoming smaller to climb trees or learning to shake them. Also maybe trees should have a maximum weight as well, large creatures shouldnt be able to climb small trees.

[@TheSapling]

Hi Xeilot, thanks a lot for writing down your ideas! Very inspiring, and in many ways very close to what I've been thinking about for future updates; very good to know that somebody else besides me would be interested in this type of stuff!

[@theavacadoguy2640]

Yes we did, oh god yes

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

Yeeees!!!!!!

[@deadpoolrlz9685]

this is what spore should have been

[@alexanderfrostmourne2140]

Mate you're doing great! I hope that your game does really well, I'll be sure to buy a copy when it comes out in full and I have money of course. What I think would be a good thing for the game but annoying to implement would be insects and fish. Insects and plants are the lowest runs of the food chain and it would be very interesting to see what would happen if an insect species was hunted to extinction by three insectivorous animals Which led to many plants needing new polinators and watching them find new niches both animals and plants just an idea :)

[@roadie5316]

making the birds have hollow bones like they do in real life would make them lighter

[@helsyreason5274]

i know that aquatic life is one of the most highly requested things in the game, but what i would love to see would be some very basic social behaviors. i think it would make the game really fun.

[@OldOneTooth]

One advantage of flight to cross hostile areas to get to new favourable areas

[@ultraapple3997]

Oh no i see mr. molten milk scream bees!

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

Oh thath one. we all know he like bees.

[@itsjustalf7747]

Omg we can make bees >:))) it’s my new goal now

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

@Molten Milk you evil

[@ultraapple3997]

@Molten Milk evil!

[@jorgenieto9703]

Yes!

[@BlackJacket]

i just found this in my recommended and WOW does this look like an amaing game! i've put it on my steam wishlist and i hope to get it sometime soon

[@Nathan-my4db]

This game is awesome!

[@rainbow-qn6um]

i just found this video and im hooked, ive wanted something like this for so long

[@erlinacobrado7947]

Just some comments and suggestion: I've noticed that flying animals with bat-type wings hibernate or rest standing like birds. But this position is actually really exhausting if not really painful to their wings. I suggest that they should be able to hang upside-down from branches whenever available. Second relating to pterosaur type, considering they were pretty good quadrupeds, the pterosaur-style wing does not fold while landing and while walking on the ground. It would be cool to see the wing type fold while the animal is on the ground and trees and used like a leg while walking, which pterosaurs apparently did often.

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, these are very cool ideas!

[@xxlexidragonxx8716]

Can we get customizable sandbox worlds?

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

Thath is in devlog 5. Wesel (developer) told me.

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

I stil don't know wath is in dev 6, the final one.

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

Maybe fish...

[@itsjustalf7747]

@@majkatrebaticka2957 hopefully, this dude is going insane with adding stuff to the game

[@TheSapling]

@@majkatrebaticka2957 Doing a bit of expectation management here: devlog 5 will introduce a simple way to customize the current sandbox level a bit more. I can see why some players want a full blown terrain editor, but please don't expect it in devlog 5 ;)

[@alexzhukovsky8361]

This is amazing

[@flixwyvern]

It looks good. And this video dose make me intrested. Look like a relaxing game.

[@sunburystudios8234]

Great update!

[@Tom-oy5uk]

Wow! That's so cool!

[@TeriiMelody]

I absolutely love this game

[@bruhman109]

Amazing

[@hansbyager5795]

this is amaysing!

[@roadie5316]

if animals evolve from the ocean onto land like in spore that would be really good for a trailer to

[@TheSapling]

Haha imagine just having an aquatic stage would make a lot of Spore fans get really excited already ;)

[@lizando1326]

@@TheSapling as a SPORE fan, I agree

[@P.o.t.a.t.o]

fish would also be epic

[@FeatheredCreature]

woah this game looks really cool

[@giuseppegangi4842]

Keep going!

[@pjenestratsienatie1876]

Arthropods with an exoskeleton and worms might be cool ideas to or maybe even corals. Small animals like parasites butterflies mosquitos would also be very interesting to watch evolve.

[@TheSapling]

Wihtout making promises, agreed!

[@user-cy4qu6ti8w]

Hope you can do more simulations :D

[@rathosalpha]

I love the game

[@GreenAgouti]

Nice!!!

[@user-we4bl5sr9w]

A character you could choose to play as to influence the game would be kinda neat

[@arturzimplayerpro2573]

Nice game

[@Dylan-Hooton]

I can't wait for this! I wonder if it will be on consoles as will. :)

[@TheSapling]

So far it's Windows and Linux only, but never say never!

[@roadie5316]

frog like animals that are very specialist for jumping would be cool to

[@omage3457]

4:07 yo it’s a velociprey

[@darknightstudios]

Something that would make this really nice is some sort of animation or emotions in the creature (especially eyes!). Having the creatures walking around with unblinking eyes is a little unsettling. The idea of the game seems really cool though! It reminds me of Spore. Something else that could make it look nicer would be textures on things to make it more clear what it’s supposed to be made of- like leaf patterns or a fur pattern on furry creatures, etc. This looks really neat, and i’m curious what this game’ll be like once it’s finished/and or updated fully.

[@TheSapling]

Haha interesting you mention the eye blinking... I can't decide whether to spend time on this or not. On the one hand, it makes the whole animation a lot more 'alive', on the other, only 5% of the players might zoom in far enough to even notice... from playtests I know that most players play very 'zoomed out'.

[@tanayaburnham6469]

I think the isheu was seeing a elefant with 14 muoths

[@epictwins8927]

this is basicly spore but more accurate with evolution, i love spore so i'll def buy this at some point (sorry for bad english, it's not my native language)

[@itsjustalf7747]

Dances in trying to make a noodle bird with no legs and 30 wings when it comes out*

[@FireTurkey]

Dances in derpy Quetzalcóatl time

[@lorddonqweetle]

they will still require legs along with there wings

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

10 months 20k 1.1k 143rd. Really cool.

[@wortwortwort117]

Since avians can sense the temperature and avoid it. I wonder if you could accidentally create Migration by shifting the locations of hot & cold on the map. The avian will sense the cold and avoid it, pushing them to a new location

[@TheSapling]

I have done that exact thing while playing around with the game ;).

[@LiamUlvi]

imagine being able to play as an animal.

[@brad4058]

This is what Spore should've been back then.

[@Zero-ok9ze]

Will there be aquatic and amphibious parts in the future?

[@TheSapling]

Hey ZeroZ, I try to never make any promises so I can change my mind without disappointing people (and I indeed change my mind all the time). Having said that, I like the idea of roughly following what players are interested in, and aquatic animals the most requested feature BY FAR ;)

[@roadie5316]

insects might be good for plant pollination

[@justinjulka8619]

What would be fun if you added swimming animals and for another thing that you could add is possibly different mouths

[@TheSapling]

Hey Badger Cast, I try to never make any promises so I can change my mind without disappointing people (and I indeed change my mind all the time). Having said that, I like the idea of roughly following what players are interested in, and aquatic organisms are the most requested feature BY FAR ;)

[@lorddonqweetle]

so what's next devlog? and will you ever fix reflectiveness because things like snow and eggs glow and rocks can become vary bright sometimes

[@TheSapling]

I've actually tuned down the brightness of snowy peaks yesterday... not sure to what extent it will fix things. Agree that white stuff can look a bit unrealistic at times.

[@zigrastical6646]

fish

[@justawhim]

Maybe you can have wings that trade speed for mobility like bumblebee and hummingbird wings

[@jamescox4638]

Have you considered adding chitin skin and arthropod bodyparts for small creatures to be similar to insects? What about the possibility of multiple children in exchange for an increased pregnancy time? Or the ability to communicate in creatures by way of pheromones or cries?

[@TheSapling]

Hey James, thanks for writing down your ideas, super interesting! I guess for creatures with exoskeletons or insect like creatures in general the first step would be to have legs to the side, which would require a third mode to the procedural walking engine (current modes: primitive and below the body), which is why I skipped them for this updates. About the children, I guess what you mean is having multiple children *at the same time*, right? Interesting, haven't really thought about what it would do to the simulation. Pheromones is something I really wanted when I started this project years ago, but forgot about, thanks for reminding me! Animal cries are actually already part of the instinct system, although you as a player can only see (and not hear) them!

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

Please name this update *niche update* .

[@dj_9992]

What about Bug wings? I mean, Bugs have a kind of powered flight too... But it would be fine if they aren´t added because i LOVE the game! it´s just great.

[@TheSapling]

Hey DJ, thanks for your input (and compliments)! Without making promises, let's just say that I'm really aware that insect-type wings are currently not in the game ;)

[@lady-beanie5688]

I wish water creature will arrive

[@TheSapling]

Hi Otarie, no promises, but you are not alone... it's the most requested feature by far

[@marlonbasa664]

Can you add grass into the ground? If the forest develop grass will grow? Sorry for the bad English 😅 can you add falling leafs

[@TheSapling]

Hi Marlon, there currently are no super-small lifeforms like grass for performance reasons (imagine simulating millions of blades of grass), but it is requested often! I can see why people want it, so I hope to figure out a way to do it one day ;). As for falling leaves, we would need seasons, which is an idea I really like!

[@TheRandomWolf]

@@TheSapling could grass perhaps be just a paint color change that sits on the ground? And the color can change back to tan once an animal eats it

[@Skyypixelgamer]

@@TheSapling You could make the grass work not as an individual but will act as one big organism. Like let’s say the area of the grass is 100 feet instead of counting every blade of grass( having to click on every blade) but instead count the whole area as 1 organism ( clicking any where in this area will be like clicking on a single creature) Maybe these areas can reproduce to create more grass areas maybe they could die/die out or even evolve idk just an idea.

[@superdeadlyaxo1230]

Will there be a update 5o make them fly like hummingbirds

[@giuliagirl743]

Cool, also how about the possibility of adding ears and snout/nose, Becoming bipedal, And develop defense mechanisms such as spikes, an armor shell, venom and toxins?

[@TheSapling]

Armor shell, venom and toxins are not in the game yet, but (without making promises) cool ideas indeed.

[@pauljooste6190]

Have you tried to do underground

[@TheSapling]

The game has burrows as a nest type! Without making promises, I like the idea of having a special view for underground corridors, but it would be quite some work ;).

[@lorddonqweetle]

will feathered wings require the animal to have feathers in the first place? it would make sense, also maybe some things cant be devolved so when things get beaks they can only go to the primative beak instead of the primative head

[@TheSapling]

Hey EverLootion! Yeah if you don't have feathers the bird-type wings will look like a plucked chicken, and won't be able to fly!

[@KGI704]

Just an idea, but what if weight affected speed. So less weight is more speed.

[@TheSapling]

Hey, thanks for your suggestion! The relation right now is indirect (weight determines which legs you can choose, and legs determine speed); making the connection more direct might lead to cool things when playing with random mutations on, putting this on my list of things to think about :).

[@Potato-sg3wq]

ive been searching far and wide through your youtube channel trying to find out how the instincts mechanism works in more detail, please make a vid on it sir, i wanna know if the numbers prioritize the instincts or if it just follows whichever one randomly. also please add more instincts please, great game btw.

[@TheSapling]

Hey Potato, ah yes this is because the current instinct UI is in great need of an overhaul, so I'm avoiding showing the current version. The underlying mechanism will not change: it's a rule based system where you link triggers (like seeing a specific color, hearing a specific sound, feeling pain, etc) to an action (going away, attacking, calling). It checks the first one first, and if the trigger is not there, it checks the second one, etc. Does that answer your question?

[@Potato-sg3wq]

@@TheSapling it answers my question pretty well, i like to make really efficient designs of animals. i dont want to give suggestions because i love how the game is going already, but the main things i noticed might be unbalanced are the starting plant with nothing but fruit because it cant reproduce more than once, and the ears that give 5 heat resistance with no debuffs, its also pretty difficult to change temperature/water on the sandbox. Ive been wanting to play a game like this ever since i played Spore, thank you for making the experience possible!

[@TheSapling]

@@Potato-sg3wq Thanks for your balancing suggestions, much appreciated :)

[@skateraptor12]

Microscopic organisms forming and influencing the ecosystem and environment?

[@TheSapling]

Hi Skate Raptor, without making any promises, indeed a cool idea. Not sure how to approach it without frying everyone's CPU though ;)

[@winterkindg2509]

Will you attempt to make burrowing possible for species, for example to avoid extreme temperatures?

[@TheSapling]

Hey WinderkindG, thanks for your suggestion! Without making any promises, it's indeed an idea I'm interested in.

[@DailyCorvid]

So is this out yet and is it any good?

[@greenercreations9772]

What game engine are you using? Unity, Unreal?

[@TheSapling]

Hey Greener Creations, Unity!

[@zigrastical6646]

what about carnivore birds can pick up and drop land (and i hope aqua)animals

[@TheSapling]

Without making any promises, I think that would look super cool B)

[@sayko-_-5082]

I feel like i am the only one that want tales for animals. your bird don't have tales and your animals to, tale is very imoprtant because you can make a tale for fight or flight or balance yourself. I feel like its a good idea to ad tale to the game. (just my suggestion)

[@TheSapling]

Hey Sayko, agreed! You can already add tails, but they don't have a function (and also the animation system doesn't detect them as such yet).

[@lourdthebluefoxie]

One answer *-b i r b-*

[@stephenharrisin]

Can you please make this beautiful game available on mac?

[@TheSapling]

Hey Stephen, there are no short term plans to add the game to other platforms, but if I ever change my mind, Mac will be the first, as it's most requested by far.

[@Meloria6969]

now, where are the fish?

[@yaboiiiogre1332]

Are you going to add aquatic habitats or semi aquatic animals?

[@TheSapling]

Hey Yaboiii Ogre, I try to never make promises so I can freely change my mind without disappointing people, but aquatic life is indeed requested very often :)

[@yaboiiiogre1332]

@@TheSapling All right, thanks for the clarification.

[@R.Daneel]

Make a game that evolves to survive in the Steam environment. :-)

[@josepablitoaurar7051]

Dude someone should give you money did you ask big game Studios for help ?

[@TheSapling]

Hey José, nope this is my personal project because it combines all of my interests (programming, 3D modeling, simulations, etc)

[@lampreygaming8407]

What if there was a set of mouths that made the creature a parasite? Like lampreys or leeches, basically with the right build can get pretty much free food. Though needing to sacrifice size, attack, and maybe even speed. I would love to hear what your thoughts on this concept is. Also as a player of the beta I do believe instincts need wotk. Great game otherwise.

[@TheSapling]

Haha username checks out :) . Blood as a food source (because that's what lampreys and leeches eat, right?) is indeed something I'm very interested in, as it allows for new interesting interactions between animals. Standard disclaimer: no promises!

[@toilet7088]

Aquatic species?

[@TheSapling]

Hey Toilet, thanks for your suggestion! Without making promises, it's indeed a cool idea and frequent suggestion :)

[@toilet7088]

@@TheSapling Okay.

[@spaceflight2145]

Can you add it to mobile or Xbox?

[@TheSapling]

Hi Sam, never say never, but other platforms are not my current focus. Also, the simulation is quite heavy (lots of moving things at the some time everywhere), so only really small levels would be possible on mobile. For Xbox: do you know any good simulation games on the Xbox for inspiration?

[@francogdpromaster123]

Will you make the game free :(

[@ngaar100]

My game keeps crashing. Any advice? ☹️

[@TheSapling]

Hey Paul, sorry to hear that! I'd love to work with you to figure out what is going wrong, either on the Steam forums or via email ([e-mail])

[@carteradams43]

how about "gasbags" that allow creatures to float in the air? Gas can be accumulated over time by eating food, as digestive processes produce it. Usually, gas is released, but it could be stored with rare mutations. creatures with stored gas can evolve gasbags. Many fish use gasbags to help them float in the water, so I don't think it's too far-fetched for creatures to evolve similar methods to float in the air

[@TheSapling]

Interesting idea! Kind of weird that there isn't even an animal that uses this for floating/gliding, when you think of it (as opposed to powered flight).

[@AnnamEmperor]

make it free

[@leothedinogamer3480]

first flying creatures. i bet the next update is the sea animals.

[@ultraapple3997]

First

[@majkatrebaticka2957]

😒 Wow