Progress Update 6/7/2025

Progress on feature implementation is slower this week as our lead programmer enjoys their vacation. However, discussions and balancing work needed as we approach 1.0 has kicked off. Great balancing work on GitHub, coordinated by wonderful volunteers and our game design team, has began to polish some aspects of Thrive, which will continue as the Microbe Stage finishes rounding out.

Programming

• No new dev-builds this week as our lead programmer is taking their vacation. However, progress on balancing efforts can be seen on our GitHub, and is discussed in the gameplay section below.
• There are a number of bug fixes in progress for making the multicellular cell type editor perform name validation, making the multicellular engulfing system use the correct engulfing cell, and changing the cell icon in the multicellular editor when its color has changed; all started by dligr.

Graphics

• Nothing substantial.

Gameplay

• A new development forum post discussing early priorities ahead of 0.9, the stage finalizing updates.
• Balancing work on the mucocyst, by GitHub contributor 0HyperCube, revamps how mucilage storage is utilized. This makes the ability more appropriately balanced in both the player and CPUs.
• Some initial balancing work on agents, including speeding up the speed of projectiles and increasing damage for some agents. This should make utilizing agents more manageable, and more threatening from CPU.
• Balancing work on engulfment, requiring the size discrepancy between engulfer and engulfed to be greater. Some tweaks to digestion, paired with an increase of movement speed in eukaryotes, could potentially make heterotrophy a more nuanced, comfortable, and engaging experience.
• Some balancing discussion related to the nucleus on the development forums, with a prototype by community contributor domin2ktr. This can potentially reduce the immense burden placed on the player by building up for the nucleus.

Note that balancing is a continuous process, and current changes in those pull requests don't reflect finalized numbers or design decisions. Feedback is welcome on the mechanics being balanced.

Sound

• Nothing substantial.

Theory

• Nothing substantial.

Outreach

• Nothing substantial.

Other

• Nothing substantial.