Progress Update 9/20/2025

Some important progress has been made, though this week's dev build isn't as feature-rich as prior weeks. Perhaps most immediately noticeable to gameplay - species you target for endosymbiosis are now much less likely to go extinct, making the unique unlock mechanic much more viable. Some work on the graphics side of things, including improvements to visual current graphics and some behind-the-scenes progress on terrain assets, are also a nice treat.

Further work is expected related to Thrive's entity component system this upcoming week. After that, conversion to Godot 4.5 - which has some very useful fixes and graphics additions - will be important. Please enjoy this week's progress!

Programming

• New Devbuild for Patreon Supporters
  • Added a miche for endosymbiosis target to stay in. This makes endosymbiosis much easier as the target species stays alive.
  • Improved the visuals of the particle trails in the surface patches
  • Fixed microbe backgrounds being very dark in OpenGL mode when blur is enabled,
  • Updated translations

Graphics

• WIP improvements to current/particle handling.
• Some WIP terrain-related chunks have been worked on this week.

Gameplay

• Species you are pursuing in endosymbiosis are now much less likely to go extinct, making the mechanic a lot more consistent and reliable.
• Some further discussion on developer visions for Thrive, with theorist Juuzo-Lenz214 posting their overarching vision
• Further expansion on potential multicellular concepts.
• Some discussion on ways to hook up certain parts to auto-evo.
• An overarching concept on the macroscopic editor has been posted on the development forums.

Sound

• Nothing substantial.

Theory

• Nothing substantial.

Outreach

• Nothing substantial.

Other

• Please welcome our newest artist, DevonHalstonDraedle!