Progress Update 11/22/2025

The big news for today is the release of Thrive 0.9.1! This is the first of our smaller updates leading up to the big 1.0. Highlights include a new array of patch events, a newly overhauled MP calculation system and a new intro cutscene when you choose a panspermia start. Notably, all the previous bugs with the new save/loading system should be fixed. There are also plenty of auto-evo and balance changes. With the shorter release schedule on these updates, there has been less intensive testing, so please report any bugs you find! Feedback thread is linked here.

Programming effort this week was focussed on overhauling the MP system (again), to re-enable some previous functions that were disabled to prevent infinite-MP exploits.

Over on the Development Forums there was discussion on land biomes and macroscopic stage parts. In this author's eyes, our members, old and new, are too busy implementing things into the games right now to spend time on the developer forums!

We are also still accepting applications to the outreach team. If interested, please send an application: Link

Programming

• New build of the day (BOTD) (available to Patreon supporters):
  • Reimplemented the MP calculation system (again)
  • Added player population visualization dots on the map
  • Amount of ammonia in patches now dynamically changes based on consumption and production
  • Removed inbuilt Harmony mod support as it was not working
  • Partial mod support should be now usable, which had been broken since the Godot 4 upgrade. Harmony using mods don't work on Linux but they should work on Windows now.
  • There's a different intro cutscene now when starting with the panspermia starting location
  • Stopped the player death timer when engulfed if the player has stored toxin as the player might be able to escape thanks to it
  • Fixed compound storage durations display not correctly taking special storage space into account
  • Endosymbiosis GUI is now grouped based on whether the species are present in the current patch or not
  • Added forwarding of failed input processing to the error popup GUI to prevent some types of game problems being ignored by it
  • Made the error popup GUI ignore more engine errors
  • Improved the microbe AI handling of escaping damaging hydrogen sulfide
  • Auto-evo now takes reproduction cost into account
  • Instant kill protection against damage is now a disableable difficulty option
  • Tweaked the engulfing sound to make it loop better
  • Updated gdUnit4 C# package to 5.1.0-rc3
  • Updated code checking tools version
  • Updated translations

Graphics

• A new intro cutscene for the panspermia start. I am not going to upload it here, so be sure to start up a panspermia game to see it!
• We now have an effect to show your population in patches with scattered dots:

Gameplay

• Auto-evo now takes into account the need for autotrophic species to collect ammonia and phosphate.
• Ammonia levels are now dynamic: consumed by all life and produced by species that have nitrogenase or nitroplasts.
• Some continued discussion on land biomes.
• Discussion on concepts for macroscopic parts.

Sound

• Nothing substantial.

Theory

• Nothing substantial.

Outreach

• If you wish and feel that you are capable, please feel free to apply to the Outreach team!

Other

• Worldbuilding on the Hexaquill for the loading screen stories.