This is what happens when you run an evolution simulation on an archipelago (🧬ES #4)

[@DukryGoser]

Never have I been so happy to watch polygons eat other polygons for the sake of becoming new polygons. 10/10 would evolve again.

[@_Gusza]

real polygons moment

[@PGB14]

PO L Y G O N

[@solsystem1342]

Eh, hem... polypog

[@_Radiator_]

you could say the prey was *polygone* ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡿⠋⢁⣀⡉⠛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡇⢰⣿⡟⢉⣦⣄⠉⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣧⡀⠙⢦⣿⠋⣠⣷⣦⡀⠙⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣀⠈⠳⢿⣿⡿⢁⣤⡀⠈⠙⠻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⢄⡀⠙⠧⣾⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠋⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣅⣀⣿⢦⠀⠈⠛⢿⣿⣿⣆⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡀⠀⠳⣤⡾⠙⠻⣿⡂⢠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣴⡏⠀⢦⣄⠈⠙⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣄⠙⠳⣦⡀⠉⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣤⡈⠛⢷⣄⠀⠙⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⡀⠉⠻⣦⡀⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣄⠈⠙⢷⣄⠀⢹⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣀⠈⢀⣸⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿

[@NoodleIDK13]

*polygon*

[@Arron_Mottram]

I noticed that plants and animals disappear after death and thought that in real life it would be a waste of energy. Dead plants could give growth to other plants nearby, and dead animal bodies could open a scavenger niche

[@jarnovanderzee2469]

The latter is already in the sapling

[@Hamburgerhuman]

Anitherbissue is that ground alge can compete directly with plankton even though the plankton isnt effected by the alge they shouls make thebplankton have a diffrent plane of existence like how grass was implimented

[@Slapbattler666]

Great idea!

[@FireTurkey]

​@darktheories3626 I totally agree with this, I do think an over abundance of alge should have consequences, though. Possibly reducing photosynthesis below it?

[@geomenda7159]

You actually can see animal corpses in the video (not sure about plants)

[@justmarcoriginal]

I just don't want the video to end, watching things evolve without knowing what they will evolve into is sooo satisfying! I love this game!

[@MerlorMerlor]

could watch this for 20 more minutes at least!

[@gamertardguardian1299]

This game dev is great, he is great in commentary videos and his game is great. Very cool guy

[@Arron_Mottram]

The last time I visited this channel was 2 months ago, at the hour when the previous video was released. Now, I decided to revisit this channel and, again, I see a new video that was released just an hour ago. I feel like a visionary.

[@aqilharmach6278]

Same

[@lilnuggz22]

I did the same thing lol

[@WildmanTrading]

Same man

[@Nworthholf]

May I kindly ask you to visit it daily so that we all have more videos to watch? :p

[@samueltrusik3251]

The chosen one, the bringer of content.

[@jamesvictore4304]

I actually felt a bit sad when I realized this video is ending. The narration was just so compelling, it left me wanting more! Can't wait for the next episode!

[@GuyllianVanRixtel]

Idea: Add skeletons, exo-skeletons, and lack of skeletons. The exo-skeletons could be either one like an insect or one like a clam. Or, you could make shells seperate.

[@GuyllianVanRixtel]

2nd Idea: Add camouflage. Basicly, if there is a creature with a similer color to a small area, it will reduce the chance of being seen. Though the closer the observing creature is, the larger the chance it is seen.

[@GuyllianVanRixtel]

2 more smaller ideas: Add an elevator music version of the theme while skipping ahead in time. Can't remember the second one, so ima just say fix the negative amount of creatures bug.

[@FireTurkey]

​@@GuyllianVanRixtelThe elevator music idea is actually so good

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like all of these ideas :)

[@Tpose_Clockman]

I'd like to share an idea as well. My idea is respiration methods, passive and active, active respiration requires lung, like mammals. Passive is just absorbing O2 from the air and reduces the creature's maximum size.

[@coryman125]

Been eagerly awaiting this since it was announced on twitter! I really love these videos, it's like digging up a nature documentary from an alternate universe

[@GandalfTheTsaagan]

I love how nauturally The Sapling manages to reflect real evolution even in its relative limitations

[@soumiabendelhoum3731]

Felt like an eternity for one singular sapling related video

[@TheSapling]

There will be 2 more ;)

[@Jonah-gi3ge]

Another the Sapling video, thank you Mr. Stoop! I'll finish it soon but first I want to share an idea with you: microbiomes. Nothing too complex, just a few still images of microbial looking lifeforms when you select the microbiome UI for a specific area. Along with these still images, you'll see some statistics. Things like infection chances for animals and plants (that's a whole other thing but I'm sure you get what viruses could potentially look like,) prevalence of specific kinds of microscopic life, etc. The microbiome functions as its own creature type, though with no real physical presence. You can edit the different statistics of a microbiome, these statistics can evolve randomly to better suit their environment, each microbiome has their own territory with a specific way of viewing it (like soil softness and temp view,) there are settings related to the microbiome you can adjust, the whole shebang for an organism type. Another big feature could be that a microbiome organism (technically multiple organisms but functions as one) has a minuscule chance to produce a very simple multi-cellular organism of any kind. It could be algae, plant, or animal depending on the environment. If you (the Sapling dev) or any other person reading comments saw this, thanks for listening to my rant. Just thought It'd be fun to share. And hey, it could influence the game a tiny bit. Like the butterfly effect. I have a bunch of ideas but I know the Sapling gets an incredible amount of suggestions so I don't want to add too much to the already massive "maybe under consideration" list. Cya, hope this made sense!

[@TheSapling]

Definitely reading comments like this, definitely makes sense, but as always: no promises :)

[@Sweepy_Games]

Cinematic tools is a great addition for The Sapling. It adds a ton of value

[@researcherchameleon4602]

Maybe the plankton should have both zooplankton and phytoplankton, so as it evolves, it not only develops plants, but also into basic animals, you could also make some species have eggs and young that float as plankton, and develop into larger creatures

[@cheezylettuce3360]

This is so epic. I remember when I first saw you making this game.

[@Trip-tw5dk]

Absolutely LOVE this narrative-style video! I have the game already but never enough time to go so in depth with the creatures and their evolutionary steps. Being able to watch you go through the process of cataloguing life's many steps is so amazing!

[@m_vilas]

I'm making my master's dissertation about evolution simulators and this is the best I found so far, thank you for making easier for me to get my degree

[@_Radiator_]

Love how this game has turned out so far, been waiting for another upload on the progress! So here I am. Great as always.

[@nils-peterwihlney8732]

Great video. I am really looking forward to see what else you come up with. Environmental changes are probably going to be difficult but it would be cool to see a desert, jungle, or mountainous terrain that distinguishes itself from the rest.

[@mansnilssonmoraeus1447]

A fun idea for the game is that algae that live in the deeper parts of the ocean evolve to become taller (and i mean taller than they can currently can) and become somewhat like kelp.

[@coalmine9666]

adding in that ring option is really fun. thats really cool.

[@amorachinchilla]

Excited to try out organism caps! There's been a consistent issue lately with the Sapling where it crashes any time I get over about 5000 years, and it's kept me from really sinking my teeth back into it. Great work as always! Excited to see how the rest of the series turns out.

[@TheSapling]

Hmm weird... a consistent issue you say? Well... if there's anyone who doesn't need instructions on how to write a high quality bug report it's you. Whenever you feel like it! :)

[@JP-ey9qb]

You are doing so well with this game, crazy to think I first started playing when the Flight update released. Its been awesome to see the game grow and your channel. You've gotten far better at making your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@gamingcat6034]

So glad to have a new evolution simulated video. Love the grass effect with the fading btw. (Also I’ve noticed that carnivores are still op and arthropod mouths are outcompeted by vertebrate almost always)

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for noticing!

[@zazermerkks8682]

Idea: a drop-down menu with a terrain editing tool, so you can edit the landscape and manually make rivers etc. And maybe an option to make things such as legs and arms larger? Good work btw, you’ve done so much already and I’m having a lot of fun on your game, I can’t wait for future work from you!

[@TheSapling]

Thanks so much! Without makin promises, I like both ideas!

[@matterhorn731]

Woot, love these documentary style videos! Super fun! And love the geographical complexity of this particular planet. Patch dynamics in a landscape can play a huge role in shaping an ecosystem and altering the course of evolution. Also really cool to see the adaptive radiations as the first animals manage to leave their initial habitat patch!

[@koshmareq]

I checked for new videos yesterday, I'm so glad to see you back

[@GoldenEdits656]

I love this idea, I dont care if people find it boring, just watching some random evolution with commentary has got me hooked!

[@DrunkenIdaho]

0:15 those trees look amazing!

[@zetareticulan321]

Spore was the first evolution simulator I played.

[@x_MoonlitShade]

Hey man, just wanted to say that this video got recommended to me yesterday by the algorithm, and instead of watching it, I went back to the beginning and watched every single youtube video on your account. I bought the game only a couple episodes into the season 1 devlogs, and just caught back up to this video now. Great channel, great game, keep up the good work.

[@NeroTheAngel]

this game is like you play your biology lessons as a game. I mean with this game you can get at least the understanding of the basics how evolution works.

[@BlokHeadAnim]

Hooray!! I was so happy to see a new video in my feed. I always look forward to these.

[@Tom_Quixote]

This video made me evolve a new kind of eye so I could watch it more effectively.

[@lancemarcelo1225]

This is so amazing! I'm a biology graduate and I wish we had this game when I was a student to explain ecology, genetics, physiology, and biophysics.

[@understanding8511]

I love this game! I always sit back with my phone, watch KZbin, and check to see how my animals are doing❤️ I don’t care if all I do is watch, it’s still so interesting! Love the work you do :)

[@Patata17]

Lets go new sapling video‼️‼️

[@RockBoyy1]

It truly makes me wonder how things evolved on our planet considering the details you put in your explanations. I'm waiting for more videos in this type. It's like watching a Nat Geo documentary.

[@maxcasteel2141]

always love to see you put stuff out on youtube I could watch so much of this

[@yodaman8015]

this game is amazing looking, ive always wanted a evolution simulator. I gotta buy this

[@mirkociamp]

What a grand way of showing your game, congrats!

[@crescentgemini9093]

I've been WAAAAAIIIITYING!!!-... for an update! Glad to see more from you :)

[@graphictwitch-5355]

Really happy to see another installation to the series

[@kendraolvera6328]

you should add small bugs and they could work like grass so they would fly over a tile (or walk)

[@TheSapling]

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

[@stray1239]

he has returned

[@kerontherun]

Being a biologist and a worldbuilder I am fascinated by this game. You are doing grat work, keep it up! :)

[@dier7144]

You know it’s a great day when this man posts a new vid! Absolutely great as always, this games never fails to impress me. FOR THE MILK BUG!!! 🥛🐛

[@Nanobot_Swarm]

For the Milk Cult!

[@peterkart7281]

holy shit is that "Dier" from "The Sapling" Discord server????

[@FireTurkey]

Love the video! Glad to see your back. Have you thought about making it so microalge and macroalge don't directly compete fot space?

[@TheSapling]

Definitely, I really want to fix this too ;) (but as always, no promises)

[@kasparflueck]

Of the graphis and animations weren't so bad, this game would be incredible!

[@D-angelin.Moarar]

Awesome, looking forward to what happens in the next video!

[@1TooManyToons]

So happy to see a new video! Keep up the good work!

[@onetwo9500]

I love this low poly evolution sim! Effective and not laggy when population become big

[@josef4066]

i havent played this game in a while but its nice to see its growing

[@rigrug1]

I've been looking for a Spore like game for a while now. Can't wait to start playing.

[@Inf-1111]

This is the first time in a long time I will buy the game when it comes out, increíble work! It's like the Spore 2 We never got (kinda)

[@Fish_Still_Plays]

another great video from the sapling!

[@Slapbattler666]

Well done for making such a great game!

[@evev8208]

I would play this game for hours every day only if it didn't lag that much...

[@s.13.c]

My favourite series from The Sapling 🙌🙏

[@blazednlovinit]

8:32 One of Stalin's quotes that always made me laugh was "Quantity... has a quality all of it's own"

[@Kiwi_Smosh]

Its finally here... in all of its glory!

[@Shell_shocked_boi]

I hope some day this will be playable on Mac

[@trey_2012]

same

[@LuckyWolfUnleashed]

After this, I have an idea, make it so you can add moon(s) that effect behavior (when (moon is full) do (howl)) and life, water plants must be able to survive when they are not in water, and trees must be able to withstand a small current when sea side.

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like these kinds of ideas!

[@Brosquini]

You should add hiding, you could have it so smaller creatures can hide in dense plants, tall grass or if you ever choose to add stuff like rocks and fallen trees or even just burrow underground

[@TheSapling]

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

[@lancemarcelo1225]

I hope (though I think this will be hard) microorganisms, fungi, parasites can be added

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like all of these ideas :)

[@samueltrusik3251]

I do truly hope that more adaptive systems get added, allowing organisms to adapt more along a gradient of changes, rather than between a few specific options. At least in some areas, where it makes sense.

[@demolisherman1763]

I always love seeing how these ecosystems develop, especially since my computer can’t handle running simulation this complex

[@Gamecles]

I'm really happy to see this game pop back up on my feed after so many years. I had forgotten about it until this video. I do have a question though; is the mutation system so robust that starting with one algae OR 1 plant and 1 viable body plan for an animal that if left alone long enough, the game could evolve full ecosystems with complex bodyparts, new limbs/branches, and different instincts? I just bought it and only played a bit, but the mutations I saw only swapped existing bodyparts and didn't add anything new.

[@TheSapling]

Hey, thanks! Everything you see in these videos was achieved with 0 intervention from my side! If you're not getting similar results, and you want to learn why, feel free to post about it on the Steam forums, people there are often quick to help out (and I learn a bit how to make the game more intuitive)

[@nonsensicalhumanoid]

I was just thinking that I should check that roadmap of when you planned to start work on the next Evolution Simulated video. I guess I don't need to!

[@gem9535]

Love these videos.

[@hugonegrete6325]

You made such a beautiful game

[@guairescp6847]

I am not sure how possible this is. But continental drif and climatic change are irl important evolutionary engines, so some way to simulate that would be amazing

[@garnaudiz]

Haha, I love these kind off videos so much

[@happysmilesworldandgames8755]

The game version of national geographic

[@michealking7707]

Love these videos 😊

[@etele8179]

Spore was part of my childhood and I have always wanted a game based around evolution and this seems to be the game I was waiting for! I have re-watched this video a few time and now I am opening steam to buy this. Thank you for making this game/simulator!! 💚🌱🦠

[@Slapbattler666]

I Cant wait for the next episode.

[@CharliMorganMusic]

I really like this game. I Performance is bad and there are a lot of issues, but I really believe in what it can be, so I always check in every few months to play it.

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for your feedback! If you have some time, and didn't do so already, love to learn more about the issues you describe via [e-mail] !

[@RegularBiscuit]

one day i will be able to run this masterpiece, until then these videos are amazing

[@AmyRadiance]

Would there be a way to implement the “regions” or “habitat zones” that you show in the video into the actual game? I think they would be very interesting and help with visualising how creatures and the environment interact with one another. With or without, the game is great

[@TheSapling]

Thanks for your input! As you might know, the game shows *possible* habitats during placement of organisms, but not *actual* ones. I definitely like the idea, but it would require some problems solving, as it would require extra (location) data to be stored and processed to know where animals actually live.

[@AmyRadiance]

@@TheSapling I was thinking that it could work similarly to how the epoch system works but instead of tracking when species exist, it tracks where. Either that or regions are calculated at particular time intervals by finding an area of high density of a specific creature, and then checking the adjacent cells and moving outwards until it reaches a value lower lower than a specific density. Then updating regions at a regular rate (say once every 500 years or so). You could possibly use clades rather than species so that regions are less numerous and have greater diversity.

[@redneckchemistry]

Some things I think would be super cool in the future are freshwater, ice, and camouflage mechanics

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, agreed

[@GhazMazMSM]

I have a suggestion. What if you took the world editor customization to another level by having players be able to create landmasses with a specific shape in mind? Like carving rivers and lifting mountains.

[@TheSapling]

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

[@Nanobot_Swarm]

Always great to see an evolution simulated vid. All Hail Before The Mighty MilkBug 🥛 🐛

[@CDiPaola04]

This is a world of aquatic trees and stoner fish. Love it

[@cayzap4828]

i saw this videos thumbnail without watching it or realizing what game it was, which made me want to get an evolution game, i got this game, then realized that the video is about the game i just got

[@lilriverofsoup7695]

I love your game, some weird things that could be added is the ability to downsize to insects, swamp, and beaver behavior. (This is a lot just some ideas that might be cool)

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like all of these ideas

[@cinnamonsunshine9653]

this guy's method is beautiful, please follow. the game is a good price. we need undrstanding of biology from this perspective. thank you for community

[@OscarJustian]

Will there be a feature that shows the range of a particular species from a zoomed out view in the future? Love the game, I think it has a lot of potential!

[@TheSapling]

Range as in where it lives most often? Without making promises, it's an idea I like!

[@Symbols_Cipher]

Is there a decay system? If an animal dies, eventually, the meat will decay and give nearby plants an energy or growth boost. I think that would be a cool feature if it isn't already one.

[@TheSapling]

Not right now, thanks for your feedback!

[@Symbols_Cipher]

@TheSapling one more thing. Maybe you could add carnivorous plant types, take venus fly trap, for example.

[@BooleanDisorder]

Oooh,this looks like an actually interesting evolution game

[@gamingtitan0]

Please I love this can you just tell me the name of the website

[@TheSapling]

store.steampowered.com/app/997380/The_Sapling/ :)

[@dylanherrera5395]

i feel like a good (but possibly hard) addition would be plate tectonics, which in real life played a big role in evolution and life jumping from continent to continent

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, it's an idea I like! Indeed technically hard to realize though

[@TheGreatBlob24]

In the next update you should add diseases because a lot of the time in this game animals die of old age, but in real life that basically doesn’t happen and most die to other things like disease

[@Nanobot_Swarm]

True, even in medicine there is no "dying of old age"

[@Leyva0scarVRL]

Just look at the previous videos in the channel

[@TheGreatBlob24]

@@Leyva0scarVRL ?

[@Aaaaaaarrrpirate]

I love the aquatic plants! They look like mangroves

[@pedrovinicius3981]

Just a few questions. Will the game also have things like animals with shells, sponges, cnidarians too? Like to simulate the Eudicarian, and to give the game much more life. Will the game also have a way to choose the size of the planet? And will the game have a Mobile version? I wanted to play, but my laptop doesn't work anymore.

[@Leyva0scarVRL]

Yeah no movile version is ever coming lol

[@TheSapling]

Without making promises, I like the ideas of shells, sponges and cnidarians! You can already choose the map size at the moment (but it doesn't influence anything else like gravity etc). About a mobile version, see here: thesaplinggame.com/faq

[@Flutterwhat]

Tried out the game based on this video. Controls with anyone who have HOTAS plugged in are messed up, couldn't find out how to place down the alge in the first scenario. will revisit in some years. Please consider unlocking sandbox out of the gate.

[@TheWilyx]

I think this is probably much more difficult to do... but it would be great to see some sort of rudimentary plate tectonics...

[@woofwood_]

Currently alge n plants are separate from animals, but i dont see how you could implement having a connection between them, and the animals already get enough fame.

[@MagicalNick]

Bro i love this videos

[@nejmizrendom]

Add creatures that can float like ducks, lillypades, geese and swans Also animals that can dive but also float if they want to like walruses

[@TheSapling]

You're going to like the next episode ;)

[@Tpose_Clockman]

Speaking of the next episode, when will it be released?

[@Sunflower96163]

LETS GOO NEW EVOLUTION SIMULATED EPISODE

[@theRealEvoLife]

Nice showcase my man, my brother, my brother from another mother! 🌱