Steam
Store data
- UK price
- £11.75
- US price
- $7.79
- Positive reviews
- 93%
- Total reviews
- 41
- Release date
- 24 September 2026
Activity briefingSummary of recorded signals
Steam player data · App 4248790
Substrate: Emergence
- Single-player
- Adjustable Text Size
- Camera Comfort
- Color Alternatives
- #category_contrast_controls
- Custom Volume Controls
- Playable without Timed Input
- Save Anytime
Concurrent players0Most recent successful sample
Today's peak338/144 samples
Tracked peak27Highest retained daily peak
Steam rating93%41 reviews
Steam metadata
Game information
Details supplied by the Steam store
- App ID
- 4248790
- App type
- Game
- Developer
- Petri Dish Games LLC ↗
- Publisher
- Petri Dish Games LLC ↗
- Supported systems
- Windows · Linux
- Genres
- Indie, Simulation, Strategy, Early Access
- Release date
- 24 September 2026
- Last player update
- 24 Oct · 13:10 UTC
Steam store data
System requirements
Supplied by the developer on Steam
Windows
Minimum
- OS
- Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor
- 64-bit quad-core CPU (Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 3 or better)
- Memory
- 8 GB RAM
- Graphics
- DirectX 12 GPU with compute shader support and 2 GB VRAM (AMD Radeon 780M, Intel Iris Xe, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or better)
- DirectX
- Version 12
- Storage
- 1 GB available space
- Additional Notes
- The simulation runs on GPU compute shaders. Integrated graphics run at the Low quality preset.
Recommended
- OS
- Windows 11 64-bit
- Processor
- 64-bit six-core CPU (Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or better)
- Memory
- 16 GB RAM
- Graphics
- Dedicated DirectX 12 GPU with 6 GB VRAM (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT or better)
- DirectX
- Version 12
- Storage
- 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes
- A dedicated GPU allows larger cultures at the High and Ultra quality presets.
Linux
Minimum
- OS
- SteamOS 3 / Ubuntu 22.04 64-bit or newer
- Processor
- 64-bit quad-core CPU (Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 3 or better)
- Memory
- 8 GB RAM
- Graphics
- Vulkan 1.1 GPU with compute shader support and 2 GB VRAM (Steam Deck, AMD Radeon 780M or better)
- Storage
- 1 GB available space
- Additional Notes
- Vulkan is required. OpenGL cannot load the simulation shaders.
Recommended
- OS
- SteamOS 3 / Ubuntu 24.04 64-bit or newer
- Processor
- 64-bit six-core CPU (Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or better)
- Memory
- 16 GB RAM
- Graphics
- Dedicated Vulkan GPU with 6 GB VRAM (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT or better)
- Storage
- 2 GB available space
- Additional Notes
- Vulkan is required. OpenGL cannot load the simulation shaders.
Launch window
Released 24 September 2026 · Tracking from 24 September 2026
SteamWatch’s first observed day and week; tracking can begin after release. Top Sellers is Steam’s revenue ranking, not a sales estimate.
- Player peak
- 26
- Steam reviews
- 9100% positive
- Twitch peak
- Not recorded
- Price observed
- £7.05
- Top Sellers
- No appearanceNo ranked days
1 player-data day recorded in this window.
- Player peak
- 27
- Steam reviews
- 3097% positive
- Twitch peak
- Not recorded
- Price observed
- £7.05
- Top Sellers
- No appearanceNo ranked days
7 player-data days recorded in this window.
Peak 3Average 2Latest 0
24-hour and 7-day views use hourly peaks from ten-minute samples. Longer views use retained daily peaks. Up to 24 recent event markers are shown per layer.
Twitch
Twitch stats
Awaiting the first Twitch sample.
Long-term history
Monthly players breakdown
Calculated from SteamWatch samples
| Month | Peak | Gain | % gain | Average | Avg % gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 30 days | 27 | +1 | +3.8% | 4 | -81.4% |
| October 2026 | 9 | -18 | -66.7% | 2 | -82.9% |
| September 2026 | 27 | — | — | 10 | — |
Store price Regular price
Daily regional sweep
Regional prices
5 regions checked
| Region | Currency | Regular | Current | Discount | Historical low | Last change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United KingdomGBP · GB | GBP | £11.75 | £7.05 | 40% | £7.05 | No change recorded |
| United StatesUSD · US | USD | US$12.99 | $7.79 | 40% | $7.79 | No change recorded |
| Euro areaEUR · DE | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| United Arab EmiratesAED · AE | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
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| New ZealandNZD · NZ | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| PeruPEN · PE | PEN | PEN 33.49 | S/.20.09 | 40% | S/.20.09 | No change recorded |
| PhilippinesPHP · PH | PHP | ₱415.00 | P249.00 | 40% | P249.00 | No change recorded |
| PolandPLN · PL | PLN | PLN 55.49 | 33,29 zł | 40% | 33,29 zł | No change recorded |
| QatarQAR · QA | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| RussiaRUB · RU | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
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| South AfricaZAR · ZA | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| CIS (regional USD)USD_CIS · AM | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| Latin America (regional USD)USD_LATAM · AR | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| Middle East & North Africa (regional USD)USD_MENA · EG | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
| South Asia (regional USD)USD_SASIA · PK | — | — | Unavailable | — | — | No change recorded |
Positive rating92.7%
Positive reviews38
Negative reviews3
Positive reviews Negative reviews
Recent views use Steam's daily review activity. Longer views use weekly totals, retained by SteamWatch.
About this game
Description
Supplied by the Steam store
Cultivate evolution as you guide your cells to outgrow your rivals, experimenting with mutations to find genetic advantages in a richly simulated artificial life sandbox. Engineer chemistry and intervene tactfully with direct cellular controls. Each cell has a unique genome shaping its behavior and appearance. Some hunt. Some cooperate. Many go extinct.
Capsule art, logo and background art by Daniel Nartov
No two cells are exactly the same. All mechanics are inspired by real cellular biology, emphasizing emergent complexity. Cells have functional organelles defined by their genes. Genes pass down through generations, accumulating tiny mutations until they evolve into new strains. Resources drive behavior. Interactions create emergent effects you didn't predict. Simple organic systems combine into a living simulation.
Every mutation is visible. The cells fluoresce with life as they consume resources, replicate, and compete. Each color is a reflection of their genetic code.
Every gene mutates independently, and any cell can mutate to have any number of any gene.
Every cell's behavior is driven by a miniature neural network and genetic algorithms. Nothing is scripted.
Your cells aren't alone. Cultivate them to develop evolutionary advantages and outgrow the competition. Use chemistry as a weapon. Claim zones to control the resources your rivals depend on. Annihilate them.
Catalogue your unique strains and document their lineages. They become more valuable as they transform into super strains, dominating the substrate.
Developer note: I'm developing this solo with my background in cellular neuroscience and experience as a musician and abstract painter. All game systems, simulation architecture, visual designs, procedural art and audio designs are my own. The soundtrack is made by me with the help of a few of my friends. I write and maintain the codebase alone, using Claude Code and other agentic coding tools as my primary workflow. No art assets were created by generative AI, and nothing in the game is generated by AI at runtime.
Steam gallery
Screenshots
10 available
Observed momentum
Moving similarly
Compared with the latest two retained daily readings
Games with the most comparable recorded change in players, and where available Steam reviews and Twitch viewers. This is a data similarity, not a recommendation or an explanation of cause.
Steam store extras
Downloadable content
1 available
Steam store extras
Demos
1 available
Steam global stats
Achievements
0 achievements
No public achievements found.This game may not use Steam achievements, or its global unlock data may not be public yet.
Saved from Steam
Patches
71 tracked updates
New Map: VP-261021
Another new map, this one has protovirin which makes cells produce viral particles while alive and virin which produces viral particles on death. Its also cold and acidic. I'm still just experimenting with maps while working on other aspects of the game. Changelog: v0.4.9-65:Implemented:* A dividing cell can now gain a Cell Wall by mutationFixed:* Authored map previews showing blank patches on older graphics cards (such as the GT 710). They now show the whole map* The dish ground's pH colours looking too vibrant. The ground is slightly more muted* A large gap between the lab tabs and the EXCHANGE, TRENDS and GLOSSARY sub-tabs. The sub-tabs now sit directly under the lab tabs, with the page caption and readouts below them* Starters bought on the BioExchange coming from a seller with a made-up name, with the credits going to no one. SEB now sells starters and is paid for them (Early Acc...
Read full update on Steam ↗New Map: VZ2-261020
New Map VZ2-261020 has virin and zymogen-II and is hotter than normal. Testing out some 4 direction symmetry. v0.4.9-46: Reworked: * The IDENTIFY STRAIN card draws the M, E, ENTER and ESC keys in its footer as key glyphs instead of words Fixed: * The right-hand HUD docks overlapping, or the top of the COMPOUNDS dock running off the screen, when they held many rows. They now scroll instead * Start on a controller opening the pause menu behind the card that explains a cause of death. Start now does nothing until the card is closed * The glossary's left bar breaking the first time the glossary opens. It is now laid out again once the panel has restored its saved size * Not being able to dose a compound even though its slot said doses were available. A slot holding less than a full cell dose now gives the first selected cell everything it holds v0.4.9-59: Fixed: * The Attack Area order no...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.9-40
v0.4.9-40:Fixed:* Splicer gene values drawing over their bars, and the NAME YOUR STRAIN placeholder wrapping onto several lines. Values now sit beside their bar, and the name stays on one line* Lab STORAGE dose counts overprinting long compound names in a different text size, and CLEAR sitting far from its row. Names and counts now fit their row in one style, with CLEAR beside it* Lab tabs starting their sub-tabs at different heights, and the TRENDS gene list cutting its last card off with no sign it scrolls. Every tab now starts at the same height, and TRENDS shows a scrollbarRemoved:* The bright particle that flew off a cell when its compounds were extracted or spilled
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.9-38
My apologies, the last patch shipped with a premature change that broke the splicer screen. This was not meant to be included with the hotfix and has been reverted. v0.4.9-38: Fixed: * The bug report button staying on screen when Ctrl+F1 hid the HUD. It now hides with the rest of the HUD * SPLICER is its own lab tab again, and EXCHANGE is back to LOADOUT, STORAGE and BioExchange. (Reverted WIP change)
Read full update on Steam ↗New map: Z3sM1-261019
Hey everyone! I am going to be releasing a series of new maps to experiment with different designs and compounds. This weeks map, Z3sM1-261019, is cold, leans alkaline and has a highly acidic version of Zymogen-III Symbiotic which modifies digestive enzymes to have the symbiotic modifier. It also has mutagen-I. This patch also includes other minor improvements and fixes. Full changelog: v0.4.9-15:Implemented:* Many glossary entries open with a one-line plain description of what the term means, and there is a new Divide entry* Right-click steps backward through the team row in the creative cell picker, the sort order in the gene splicer and VIEW in the spectator pause menuReworked:* Compound crystals no longer dissolve when drained. A drained crystal keeps trickling compounds, and a saved dish gets back any map crystal that had dissolved* Digestive Enzyme shots stalling on soft open gr...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.9 - Simplicity Update Pt. 1
Hey everyone!I am calling this next set of weekly updates the "Simplicity Update" because I am focusing on simplifying the game as much as possible without removing mechanical depth. What this means is simplifying and consolidating UI surfaces, clarifying the core game loop, and streamlining mechanics which feel unnecessarily complex and confusing.There are also a bunch of new sound effects and soundtracks made by my friend, Nathan Bledsoe.In this week's update, one the biggest change you will notice is that the BIONET now functions as the home screen for every type of run and dish. Rather than making a bunch of different screens to navigate for each mode - career mode, endless mode, creative mode, and the TRIALS (WIP tutorial/story) - each of these is now given a space in the BIONET. The career mode path is more explicitly an elimination bracket, where 8+ labs enter and one lab remai...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.8-28
v0.4.8-27:Implemented:* A BUG REPORT button in the bottom-right corner of the menu screens, above the version number* A BACK button on the opponent browser and the creative cell picker, moved clear of the HUD's bottom-left readout* FILTER in the splicer steps through the gene categories, then back to every geneReworked:* The splicer is one view. The HARVEST and SPLICE switch is gone: clicking a gene in the gene list stages or unstages it, clicking a gene on the specimen marks it for HARVEST, and hovering a gene shows its description* Each gene in the splicer is its own copy. A gene a cell can carry several of is now spliced in beside the specimen's own copies instead of replacing them, and HARVEST and unstaging act on the one copy you click* The tutorial is now called TRIALS on the main menu, the Bionet board, the board's title and in Settings* Viruses and antibodies now also tell cel...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.8-26
v0.4.8-4: Implemented: * A MONITOR setting under GRAPHICS moves the game to another display when more than one is connected * BUG REPORT remembers whether you include logs and diagnostics * Absorption pseudopods reach for a nearby crystal other than Trophin, hold on to it and draw from it. A move or follow order makes them let go * The lineage page can show one strain's tree at a time on every tab, as LIVE already could * When a tutorial step is completed by ordering a cell somewhere, finding a crystal or finding the rival, that cell or crystal flashes, or the rival's zone glows * The ARENA LAB warns before a training run that it will slow your computer (Early Access only) Reworked: * Rival labs on the Bionet take their first zone, hold their zones, defend their germinal zone and are a bit more aggressive * Rival labs attack your Bionet nodes less often * Each rival lab's nodes on the...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.8-3
v0.4.8-2: Reworked: * Act 5's rival lab now holds its zone, takes neighbouring zones and harvests crystals (Early Access only) * Archaea give off the same heat as other cells instead of three times as much Fixed: * Act 5's rival archaea sitting still while their heat starved the player's cells (Early Access only) v0.4.8-3: Reworked: * Virus copies inside an infected cell show as small faint specks that fade in one by one Fixed: * Viruses from a cell that bursts or dies vanishing at once. They now drift for about 12 seconds, and related cells, not only exact copies of the strain, can be infected by them, take them in and be matched by antibodies
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.8 - A Viral Update!
Hey everyone! My focus has been on enhancing and simplifying the existing systems in the game, and as part of that effort I have improved the legibility of the genetic targeting-based mechanics, adding more cell body types, improved amoeba, and introduced the new archaea cell type (sized between bacteria and the eukaryotic cells). Also, compounds have been overhauled.There are a lot of changes in this week's update and I am working on a wiki to covering everything. You can already see some preview pages and read about the new compounds overhaul. I will have an announcement when more pages are ready, I just have to polish some things tonight.A sneak peak of the compounds overhaul. The wiki is a living design document and will update often. You can explore it here! Looking ahead, my main focus is improving the progression and difficulty of the game. I think its simultaneously too easy a...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.7-16
v0.4.7-13: Implemented: * ARENA LAB: SAVE a trained lab onto the MODELS shelf, and it takes a rival seat in your Bionet runs (Early Access only) * Custom trained LAB colors (Early Access only) v0.4.7-14: Reworked: * Main menu: destinations sit in two columns, PLAY and DATA, that open to the right * Main menu: an open column dims the other buttons Fixed: * Tutorial acts are won only by beating the rival lab, never by a death nobody caused * A lesson dish replayed from a creative lab keeps its fog * Losing a run no longer duplicates dishes on the Bionet * The run graph's TROPHIN band draws every lab, rivals included * Arena Lab: STOP ends the episode in progress * The PRESERVE hint stops showing after your first preserve * Lab home: an open drawer dims the main cluster v0.4.7-15: Implemented: * A new map joins the Bionet: RMHA-261008 * Map editor: TEMP BASE sets the whole map's ambient...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.7-11
v0.4.7-10: Reworked: * More of the game is translated in all 28 languages Fixed: * Arena Lab episode limit bar flashing when changed, and showing a hexagon when clicked (Early Access only) v0.4.7-11: Fixed: * The top-left HUD row of four buttons spilling past its plate at 100% UI SCALE * C opening Crystal Form as well as arming Slot 3, when older saved key bindings had both on C
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.7-9
v0.4.7-8: Implemented: * An episode limit on the Arena Lab page, from 1 minute up to 480 minutes, or OFF to let a match run until one side wins (Early Access only) * The procedural dish as its own choice on the Arena Lab map row (Early Access only) Reworked: * Arena Lab matches stop at 30 minutes by default instead of 8 (Early Access only) v0.4.7-9: Reworked: * The Bionet board zooms further into a dish * Identical crystals that overlap in a Bionet board dish draw as one mark Fixed: * Arena Lab not showing the compounds each lab holds, or how many extracts and doses it landed (Early Access only) * Arena lab using an old pause menu. It now has a full pause menu (Early Access only)
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.7
Hey everyone, This is one of the first major updates since Early Access began. Most issues appear to be around challenges in understanding the simulation mechanics, (a lack of) balance, and other sources of confusion. Looking ahead, my priorities are improving the clarity of existing mechanics, experimenting with more map types and reworks, and adding to the tutorial/story.I'm also working on a learning resource like a wiki that will exist both within the game and on the website to help explain the mechanics of the simulation in a clearer way. While I am working on that, I will continue frequent updates for the game itself. I should have a development roadmap ready soon. Expect many rough edges, as usual, and please report issues in-game through the bug report system or join our Discord. The in-game bug report system is also a great way to share feedback. I suggest turning off the log...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-47
v0.4.6a-38: Reworked: * Strain value: ordinary strains are worth hundreds, strong ones thousands, and extremophiles millions; the cryobank price and the sell ask use the appraisal INSPECT shows Fixed: * INSPECT showing 1,000,000 as the value of an ordinary cell * The bottom bar controls shifting far left, with a big gap after the lens row v0.4.6a-39: Fixed: * Amoebagen not working on cells with cilia or fewer than two vacuoles * Escape on the Bionet going to the main menu instead of opening the pause menu * The BioExchange price showing a second hex behind the figure v0.4.6a-40: Implemented: * DEPLOY with nothing placed puts your whole tray on the start ground; drag still places cells by hand v0.4.6a-41: Reworked: * The Bionet offers at most three onward options from a node, not four Fixed: * A ciliate's nucleus blinking when it is ready to divide, instead of visibly splitting in two...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-36
v0.4.6a-20:* Fixed a Plasmodium showing no preview in the Splicer, so it could not be spliced* Watching a lab's game now keeps your VSync and frame cap v0.4.6a-21:* Fixed crystals vanishing when you leave a dish and come back, and older saves get their map crystals back* Fixed the Discord icon on the title screen staying enlarged after leaving a menu* Fixed a long map name hiding the buttons in the map picker* Fixed the map editor saving a map whose zones have no shape v0.4.6a-22:* Act 3 of the tutorial is now playable v0.4.6a-23:* Fixed HARVEST in the gene splicer leaving the harvested genes on the specimen v0.4.6a-24:* Fixed cells picked up and placed back into the dish exploding (many-mitochondria specimens)* Fixed an amoeba fed twice growing into a giant orb* Fixed cells growing far past their vacuole capacity* Fixed the BioExchange order cards drawing a doubled hex* Fixed the tut...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-21
v0.4.6a-21:* Fixed crystals vanishing when you leave a dish and come back, and older saves get their map crystals back* Fixed the Discord icon on the title screen staying enlarged after leaving a menu* Fixed a long map name hiding the buttons in the map picker* Fixed the map editor saving a map whose zones have no shape| v0.4.6a-20: * Fixed a Plasmodium showing no preview in the Splicer, so it could not be spliced * Watching a lab's game now keeps your VSync and frame cap
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-19
v0.4.6a-18: * The game uses less GPU, most of all while paused v0.4.6a-19: * The Bionet zone card and the main menu caption now follow the UI color scheme
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-17
v0.4.6a-16: * Fixed map names disappearing from map selection after you leave the map editor * Status icons now sit just outside the cell membrane instead of a fixed distance from the cell centre * The Settings scrollbar is easier to see v0.4.6a-17: * Fixed the Settings page staying in the previous language after you switch language * The splicer now shows a gene's copy count before and after, including when a splice lowers it or removes it * A moving nucleus is easier to click
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-15
v0.4.6a-15: * Fixed the tutorial teaching Trophin division twice * The tutorial's "these are your cells" page now opens the window onto your cells * The inspector now opens at the tutorial step that needs it * The germinal zone step no longer pauses the game * The final story card now offers both the Bionet and the main menu * Act 1 now warns you to keep your cells spread out as they divide, or they overheat * Heat is less punishing: crowded cells slow down less before they overheat * Death messages now say when a cell starved while sitting on growth media, and when its own heat killed it * Status marks show their name on hover; the pH mark is now a red pH+ or pH- * The PIXELATE slider now steps through its presets * Gene filter: strains can be auto-named from the gene filter, a new trait tag lens, and every lens has its own button * Digestive enzyme mutations reach their maximum in h...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-14
v0.4.6a-14:* Fixed right-click orders not working while a tutorial card is open* Fixed your caustic cilia cells killing your own plasmodium's branches* The tutorial's crystal circle now goes away once that compound has been taught* The tutorial camera now holds on the collector, and frames it close enough to see its highlight* Rival labs play harder: their fed cells keep seeking food, every lab takes perks, and they no longer lose cells extracting compounds they cannot use* Creative: crystal sources can be erased in the live dish again (Ctrl+click, or erase mode)* Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) translations reviewed and corrected
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-13
v0.4.6a-13:* Fixed a crash on AMD integrated Radeon graphics* Fixed a crash on AMD graphics cards shortly after a dish starts* Fixed Act 1's contaminant coming back after you kill the last one, so the act can be won* Fixed the dose key doing nothing on a full cell in Act 1's "Divide your cells" step* Fixed CAPTURE GERMINAL ZONES staying at 0/1 while you hold every zone* Cells need more energy to divide, so the dish fills more slowly* Cells give off less heat* Bacteria bloom more slowly and give off half the heat* The cell tooltip now names amoeba reproduction fragmentation and plasmodium reproduction budding* The notice on unfinished tutorial acts no longer shows a date. I am working on two new maps that will be ready soon.* The wishlist card on EXIT now appears only in the demo* Act 1: the eat step points at the nearest crystal
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-11/12
Crashes should be greatly reduced now. Please see previous posts for full changelogs as -8/-9/-10 were all uploaded to the snapshot branch only. If you are still experiencing crashes, I have added some improved logging to help pinpoint the possible causes. v0.4.6a-12:* Fixed a crash seconds after starting Act 1 on Intel graphics* Fixed every held culture coming under attack again each time you return from a battle* Fixed dishes on the Bionet overlapping into clusters and their names printing over each other* In Act 1, if you struggle to kill the plasmodium, the tutorial now tells you to spread your cells out* The Bionet voice is softer and less harsh v0.4.6a-11:* Caustic cilia now damage a plasmodium's branches as well as its bodies, so a plasmodium network can no longer refill a wounded body from the rest of the network forever* Fixed the LANGUAGE button on the title screen opening S...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-10
v0.4.6a-10:* The Bionet voice is quieter* More of the game is translated in all 28 languages* Fixed your starting cells swimming away from each other at the start of a dish, so the tutorial's cells stay in view* Fixed the tutorial locking your controls, such as dosing, while the BIONET is talking* LANGUAGE now sits alone in the bottom-right corner of the main menu and opens Settings with the language list open* The tutorial's camera pan tip no longer says "Your current objective."* Fixed one of your cells flashing the attention pulse lesson after lesson in the tutorial; the pulse now marks only the one thing a message points at* Clicking the tutorial card now advances it, the same as NEXT* The caustic cilia lesson now pulses only cells that have caustic cilia, not ordinary cilia* Each stop of the organelle tour pulses only the part it is about, and the cytosol card no longer flashes t...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-9
v0.4.6a-9:* SPLICE now selects the specimen it makes instead of clearing the preview* Fixed TEST STRAIN, STORE and DESTROY acting on the wrong specimen when the base was selected from the LOADOUT* Fixed a spliced specimen showing the wrong picture* Fixed ABANDON DISH in a TEST STRAIN dish also abandoning the lab's unfinished BIONET dish and pulling out its specimens* Fixed a BIONET dish never ending when the LAB's cells were wiped out before you reached their GERMINAL ZONE* Fixed dragging on the BIONET moving the view the wrong way* Fixed gene chips such as CAU and CHM overlapping in INSPECT* LANGUAGE is now on the main menu; in the pause menu it is shown locked* Fixed switching language leaving parts of the game in the old language until a restart* Fixed long single words in menu buttons, such as the German ÜBERSPRINGEN, shrinking far below the words beside them* Fixed button text sp...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-8
v0.4.6a-8:* Fixed a long wait the first time a dish loads* Fixed BioExchange drawing behind the dish's chemical labels and the icons above cells* Fixed the win, wipe and welcome pages of the tutorial showing raw codes such as {hi:cells}* Fixed a lab made with NEW LAB starting in the tutorial* Added improved logging for hunting Intel/Linux crashes
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-7
I have gotten a few crash reports from systems with outdated drivers. Please try updating your system drivers if you are experiencing crashes at launch. On Linux ensure that Steam launches the native Linux build. Proton is not supported! v0.4.6a-6:* Fixed the live cell previews in the Splicer being gone* Fixed the tutorial board camera orbiting below the plane, where the grid disappears* Fixed TUTORIAL framing the whole BIONET instead of focusing the next act* Fixed the dish temperature reading 0 on low-end GPUs, freezing every cell on spawn* Fixed nutrients reading 0 on low-end GPUs* The bug report success screen now shows the report's id and opens the defect ledger channel* Fixed both BUG REPORT tooltips v0.4.6a-7:* Fixed Act 2: cells mutate a lot, fast, out of the player's control* Fixed NEXT missing from some tutorial cards* Act 1: new steps have you zoom in, tour how energy enter...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-5
v0.4.6a-5:* Fixed a move order sending cells to the far side of the map when the ordered cells divide* Fixed a large move order hanging the game* Fixed the BIONET floor flickering when the camera rotates, and its wells are now shallower* The Splicer VAL column is now headed DRIFT* The Next Idle Cell hint on the key strip now reads Cycle* Fixed TEST STRAIN using up the tested specimen; SAVE AND EXIT and SAVE CULTURE are no longer offered on a test dish* Fixed plasmodia near a barrier edge that ciliates could not reach to kill* Fixed ciliates stopping short of barriers* Fixed the LANGUAGE dropdown being cut off and unable to scroll, which could lock a player into a language* Bug reports now include the active language and whether it is machine translated* The credits now list each person once* Fixed the tutorial blocking clicks on the dish and HUD while an explanation is on screen
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-4
v0.4.6a-2:* Edited the storylines of act 1 and act 2 of the tutorial* Tutorial now teaches death when the first cell dies* Tutorial lines, the glossary and the BIONET now use the word dish instead of node* Bionet voice and typing sounds are now quieter* Fixed small groups of 3 to 10 cells heating their area and dying quickly* Cells in a group move order now each plan their own route, so the group no longer packs tightly enough for mitochondria heat to kill it* Fixed queued move orders crossing paths between legs* Fixed player cells not seeking out trophin* Pheromone now shows as emerald on the dish so it no longer looks the same as azide* The BIONET now has a floor under its dishes for orientation* The BIONET Entity card now sits in a bottom corner beside the HUD, out of the way of what you are looking at* Fixed the BIONET showing dishes as open after rivals had already filled them* O...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a-1
* Saving a cell to the Biobank from the dish now keeps the name you type * Cells moving in a group or freshly divided no longer die from pressure just by touching each other * Fixed cells pulsing ready to divide but stuck at 0% readiness until the game was paused
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6a
v0.4.6a:* Updated act 1 & act 2 of the tutorial with player feedback to improve clarity and pacing* Splicer surface moved to its own screen and reformatted. Extract allows for removing single genes without destroying specimens* Mutagenic compounds now produce more distinct mutations. There was a bug where they would mutate all genes at once rather than their targets* Plasmodia survivability buffed overall. Budding plasmodia no longer pay an extra starvation drain, and branches now respect pH damage* Pathfinding no longer sees walls through fog* Inspector layout reworked for clarityEarly Access:* Included map editor, accessed from the lab bench. Custom maps can be loaded into the BIONET. (The map editor is currently my rough internal tool and I will improve it over time)* Included LAB Arena where the Rival AI can play each other to train themselves
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.6: Watching over the BIONET
Hey everyone! Early Access starts this Thursday, September 24th! I am excited and incredibly nervous. I have a bunch of cool stuff planned for Early Access; content updates will start right away and I'll have the development roadmap updated by Wednesday night. I know I said v0.4.5 would be the last demo version, but here we are with v0.4.6 of the demo! I decided not to have a specific cut-off date for the demo and instead it'll keep getting updates just at a slower and more limited pace than the full version. Due to a hiccup with Steam, v0.4.6 has to be on a separate Demo branch temporarily. Right-click in your library > properties > Versions & Betas > Select v0.4.6. This update is deserving of a major version bump because I've replaced the unfortunate tutorial with a story-driven mode instead. Writing these levels takes quite a bit more time so I am only including the first two in th...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.5a-7
v0.4.5a-7:* Gene fragments and antibodies now carry a specific gene rather than abstract genetic signature* Extract gene fragments gives extracted genes that can be used in the splicer* Locked starter strains now show what unlocks them on the tooltip* Globulin pushes cells more towards antibody production with ER genes* Flagellate contract made available at the start of a new lab
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.5a-6
At the request of OMEGAcrab992 in Discord I've reenabled contaminants as an optional setting in the lab bench and creative lab, and some bionet nodes will have no rival lab AI and just contaminant cells. There are also some other bug fixes: v0.4.5a-6:* Re-enabled contaminants. Available as optional new culture settings from the lab bench/creative lab* Lab bench no longer shows bionet cultures in the CULTURE list* Lab bench cultures exit to the lab bench* Placing cells via seed is refused when the placement area isn't suitable* Newly placed cells have a 0.25s survival grace period* Splice correctly spends specimens from the cryobank* Preview cells that die on spawn are respawned automatically * UI fixes
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.5a-2
v0.4.5a-2:* Fixed delivery contracts never completing. Contracts now say the specimens come from the Cryobank.* Renaming a strain should now show the new name everywhere.* Fixed a spliced specimen being lost if you pressed RESUME soon after splicing.* Fixed enzyme shots hitting the cell that fired them.* A large cell with an Explosive enzyme no longer sets off its own shot.* Improved memory use during long runs.
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.5a-1
v0.4.5a:* Fixed various tutorial hard locks. - Some locking bugs may still occur. When encountering a game locking bug during the tutorial, you may skip it. - The tutorial is being worked on and will be replaced. Added a notice in-game.* Fixed cells stalling before division and daughters shrinking each generation. Daughters now regrow to full size; the parent pays for the division.* Fixed deaths reporting the wrong cause or no cause at all.* Fixed cells taking acid damage in neutral dishes, and adaptation firing on tiny temperature changes.* Lysocysts should no longer conflict with digestive enzymes. Enzyme firing is now driven by the cell's ATTACK behaviour.* Crystal consistency improvements* Rival labs retrained: all four play differently and deploy their full tray. Fixed contested dishes that never resolved or auto-won.* Fixed Bionet board panning, doubled card hexagons, missing po...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.5
Hey everyone! I uploaded v0.4.5 and it has some major improvements, especially around the game flow and UI consistency. I took a risk and removed zones as the main game mode, replacing it with biomass-based scoring. I'm still working out the kinks but I think this will end up feeling better and more natural; however, I will wait for feedback to make a final decision. This will be the last major Demo version, although I will continue to patch it and make tweaks where necessary. I will continue addressing any feedback in sub-version patches as always. I expect to have a patch ready in the next few days that will improve the rival AI further, that will be in v0.4.5a. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with the demo yet but I plan to leave it up so its available permanently, and I won't leave anything broken. Thank you so much to everyone who has played the demo so far and left fee...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.4a/b/c
v0.4.4a:* Added skip button to tutorial section* Fixed various tutorial hard-lock bugs* UI layout bug fixes* UI navigation improvementsv0.4.4b:* Improvements to the first Bionet map: - Improved balance (the rival side had a major advantage) - Fixed bug where victory condition would be met without ever encountering the rival germinal zone* Cryobank behavior fixes. Strains are now deducted from the Cryobank immediately when deployed in a culture* Improved plasmodia branch behavior and greatly reduced crawl speed (should be nearly stationary)* Fixed various tutorial hard locks* Fixed various cryobank hard and soft locks* UI fixes and consistency improvements* Other various bug fixesNOTE: The current rival AIs are dumb prototypes. More advanced opponents will be trained. v0.4.4c:* Added maps: METAMORPH-I and METAMORPH-II (Note: while I am updating the bionet, they won't be easy to find; o...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.4: Divide & Conquer pt. 2!
Hey everyone! I am here once again to share a new update for the demo. I have been focusing a lot on improving the onboarding and accessibility of the game and in that spirit I have fleshed out the tutorial much more with dedicated tutorial levels for each mechanic. I am still adding levels, but the core lessons should be enough to teach the foundations of the game. I think it will be a massive improvement over the last version. I also have been finding areas where the mechanics have gotten a little bit bloated and confusing. I decided to cut nutrient completely because they added complexity without much benefit. I also clarified the core game loop in career mode to be an arena-style RTS where you capture your opponent's germinal zone to win. A player must hold a germinal zone or will be eliminated after 30 seconds. The compound system is still being built but it's already functional...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.3a
* Mutations reworks: - Background mutation rate is lowered - Increased magnitude and prominence of rare, large single gene mutation "divergence events" - Divergence events are named* Cryobank strain cap can be increased via biomark unlocks, converted to list instead of honeycomb display* Cells with no mitochondria now produce much more heat from metabolism* Plasmodia growth buffed so they no longer stall after just a few division* Added more spawn guards to protect against specimens being dropped
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.3: Divide and Conquer!
Hey everyone! I am very excited to share another Alpha build, this time built around territorial domination! A lot has changed, and some things will be a bit rough while I patch the holes.The biggest challenge that I have been facing is that the game is confusing. Previously, I thought this was just an issue with the tutorial and onboarding, but over time I have realized that the tutorial is confusing because the game is pretty disjointed right now. I have been trying out lots of different ideas, and that means that there hasn't been a single coherent direction. I am changing that now. I have pushed back the Early Access release date to September 17th since I want to take my time getting these changes right.The Substrate is rich in precious trophin. Cells spread zone to zone to extract it. Feed your cells trophin and they will rapidly mutate.Territorial domination helps focus the game...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.2a: UI refinements, tutorial pacing, nerfed contaminants and more
v0.4.2a:* Gameplay & Balance: - Creative mode only: Place cells on demand in cultures. Ctrl + space opens the cell placer - Tool consistency changes: particle density is now consistent across all tool radii and is set by intensity - Improved effectiveness of antibiotics and viruses at high bacteria counts - Reduced amount of dense substrate left behind by dead cells - Motile cells have longer life spans - Gentler contaminant events* Legibility: - Changed economy tickers to show strains rather than genes - F1 now toggles all HUD panels off without hiding the HUD fully. ctrl + F1 hides the HUD completely (for screenshots/cinematics)* Other: - Improved optimization for the strain registry - Added WASD/arrow key panning to lineage tree views - F1 now toggles all HUD panels off without hiding the HUD fully. ctrl + F1 hides the HUD completely (for screenshots/cinematics) - Re-drew HUD icons...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.2: Major tutorial, UI and Gameplay Updates!
Hey everyone! I've just updated the demo and main app to v0.4.2. This will be one of the last major demo updates before Early Access starts. This is a big update.Tutorial overhaulI've attempted another rework of the tutorial, with improved pacing and details. I hope that it helps clarify the game for anyone who found the learning curve too steep to get started. Gameplay changesOne of the biggest gameplay changes is the new compound system. In career mode, you no longer have an endless paintbrush/particle/crystal tool. Instead, you have to harvest compounds from the cells that you can then use to modify the environment. In creative mode you can fully customize the compounds, so it is basically the same tool as before except with a wider range of options for the paintbrush, particles and crystals.In addition to this, I have reworked the economy a bit so you should notice more consistenc...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.1: New tools and controls!
v0.4.1:* Improved controls (need testing): - Selections can now be filtered via the inspector - Right-click sets a waypoint for your selected cells to follow, up to 128 cells per order - Waypoint orders persist when selection changes - Apoptose order moved to Delete (rebindable) - Shift + select adds to selection, ctrl + select removes (works with box select) - alt + left-click dettaches plasmodia from their network, reattaches them to a nearby network, or makes them grow a new network depending on the context - double-click now works on plasmodia too, forcing them to spend energy to grow faster* Added automatic strain naming: - Tag distinct genes. Defaults to one gene, but more can be added. Preferences should persist - Customize shorthand for genes in the glossary - M and E now confirm, so double tap either to quickly register/preserve cells from new strains* Improved lineage trees...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.0b
v0.4.0b:* pH tolerance and temperature tolerance gene mutations changed from multiplicative to additive to try to improve the bias of cultures towards acidification* Replication cost now scales with population density so overcrowding should be less of an issue* Added the ability to remove crystals. Right-click while holding the crystal tool deletes any crystals near the cursor. NOTE: The dense substrate and remaining environmental effects persist. It is just the emitter that gets removed* Fixed contracts that require culturing cells in specific environment presets* Fixed sugar specialists never appearing* Increased visibility of diet specialization* The Objectives HUD now favors showing completed objectives that are ready to be claimed Something that you may notice if you play a lot is that cultures almost always acidify. The intended design is that there is a dynamic mixture of pH th...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.0a
v0.4.0a:* Improved HUD behavior for different aspect ratios* Cursor tooltip hides on drag (F2 to show/hide)* Added attribute examples to "show me" guides* Blocked killing cells during tutorial to prevent accidentally breaking it* Compacted nucleus inspector display* Fixed plasmodia particle production stopping prematurely* Fixed plasmodia immortality bug* Minor description tweaks* Substrate visual adjustments - neutral substrate is a soft violet, pH coloring takes priority, and nutrients now just add a subtle tint As always, if the new version causes any issues, you can switch over to the previous branch for the previous build.
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.4.0
v0.4.0:* Tutorial overhauled to be goals-first* Contracts reworked with new objective types* Widened cell temperature tolerance bands* Added strain valuation breakdown on strain tree with per-gene value* Added proper DPI resolution scaling to all UI elements* P to pause now works while tools are active* Seeding from the Cryobank now correctly exits menus to the dish and arms placement. Escape to cancel* Various bug fixes and visual tweaks
Read full update on Steam ↗Substrate: Emergence Demo - v0.4.0 "Synthesis"
Hello everyone! I have just updated the demo and base app to v0.4.0. I will be closing the playtest now that Next Fest is starting, but don't worry! The demo is the same build and I will still be updating it as usual. This just gives it a permanent home on the store page. If you haven't wishlisted Substrate yet, now's the moment, it really helps the game get seen during the fest. And if you can hop in during the first day or two, that early activity is what pushes it in front of new players. Thanks again to everyone who has been participating in the playtest, I really can't say enough how grateful I am to see anyone engaged with something I made the way that this community has been engaged.
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.5
v0.3.5:* Bacteria rebalanced to reduce the amount of active attention they require. Bacterial blooms are more rare* Reduced maintenance cost burden so labs can comfortably afford significantly higher cell counts* Biomarket, contracts, Cryobank, and glossary panels all merged into one "Manage" screen with tabs* Scaled down culture sizes significantly for improved population dynamics* Improved plasmodia lifecycle to be more dynamic* Adjusted mutation rates for improved variety* Tuned strain classifier to hopefully improve strain coherence. Watching results* Added substrate brush. Allows for direct modification of the environment* Substrate nutrient composition is no longer static* Various Amoeba fixes aimed at making them viable. Previously, Amoeba almost never would appear and wouldn't survive due to various issues* Increased bacteria base size for visibility* Increased digestive enzym...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.4a - Hotfixes
v0.3.4a:* Fixed sterilization not blocking bacteria spawning* Rebalanced contamination rates to be less demanding* Fixed bug where abandoning contracts could result in net positive Biomarks* Mutagen now unlocks upon tutorial completion* Fixed bug where specimens wouldnt be added to Cryobank from Biomarket orders* Updated contracts to reflect recent changes
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.4: More gameplay changes!
Hello! For this update I was mainly focused on fixing and refining the central gameplay loops and removing some frustrating aspects. In my opinion it is a noticeable improvement over the last build, especially now that insta-death is no longer really a thing for labs.Culture maintenance felt too punishing so I've flipped it, and now there is a reward for keeping your populations low. You are meant to be able to afford high population maintenance for a time, but I want the focus to be on playing with the sandbox tools to keep populations low while driving interesting evolutionary outcomes. The Colony count in the HUD is sort of like a golf score, its how far below the "par" population count you are.I also removed a lot of the unnecessary (and annoying) Biomark costs. Biomarks are basically just your score, so I've tried to simplify it a lot. Costs purely come from the upkeep cost of yo...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.3: New tutorial!
Hey everyone! I have been working on updating the tutorial and reinforcing the game loops, so I hope this update helps to clear up a lot of the confusing aspects of the game. I look forward to hearing everyone's feedback!v0.3.3:* Added guided tutorial (WIP)* Cryobank rework - now limited to 7 unique specimens preserved at a time* QuickStart moved to new lab option* Harvesting cells with G now immediately sells them for scrap. Selling cells is far easier* E to preserve cell (will prompt you to name the strain if untracked)* Increased initial funding to $10,000* Population maintenance scaling is harsher and now you must actively manage your population* Creative mode fixes* Visual tweaks* Various bug fixes
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.1b
v0.3.1b: * Bug fixes * HUD improvements * Tutorial improvements * Visual tweaks
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.1: Major gameplay changes
Hello again! After collecting the first bits of feedback from v0.3.0, I've made a few big changes that I wanted to announce here.To give career mode a clearer and more challenging goal, I've made Biomarks more important, in a few ways. Now, cultures will have an ongoing maintenance cost, which scales with culture size. This means that there is no longer an infinite money loop where your cultures can just explode in population without consequence. You'll have to think more about population scaling and make pruning decisions in order to maintain your culture. Other actions will also cost Biomarks, such as harvesting your cells. I might have to buff cell values to compensate, but this should make Biomarks and carefully curated collections feel like something actually meaningful rather than just "number go higher". I also want to emphasize agency by making the placer tools more of a focus...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.3.0 "Pathogenesis" is here, with a new tutorial and UI! (WIP)
Hey everyone! It's been exactly a month since the last update, and there is a lot to share. Most of the feedback has been from playtesters who are confused, so I have been working on a new tutorial to hopefully help out with that! I also have been working on streamlining the UI and improving clarity wherever I can. This is still a work in progress, but it's enough of an improvement over the last build that I've decided to release it so that I can start getting feedback. The tutorial is definitely not finished, but the start should be much, much better than what was there before. The new UI is a much different style than the old one: I'm especially fond of the New Culture screen: There are also a bunch of new features to discover, and a glossary that I've been drafting! Unfortunately, older saves will likely be broken. I recommend deleting all labs, cultures and saved strains, and then...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.8 is Live!
Hey everyone, v0.2.8 is here! There is a new UI, as well as a bunch of improvements and new features. While some of the newest features and cell types are still WIP, there are plenty of improvements that enable more selective evolution and creative lab shenanigans. The tutorial format has also been reworked, so I am especially looking for feedback on ways to improve the tutorial's content to be easier to understand and navigate. v0.3.0 will be the next major feature update. Until then, I'll be working on polishing and finishing the existing features. Here is the full changelog: v0.2.8:* Added crystal system: persistent environmental generators* Balance tweaks: - Reduced organelle maintenance cost - Reduced movement cost by 10x (was previously 5x+ base maintenance cost) - Increased collector attraction speed - Plasmodium branches take damage from enzymes - All cells now have some basal...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.7a
I've continued working on getting the simulation stable in the long term. Performance still drops but I'm pretty sure that it's from slime mold's being unbalanced now, so I'll be working on that next. I ran the simulation over night last night and found some more GC leaks, and fixed most of it today. I haven't had a chance to run it for very long, but so far memory use is noticeably lower and doesn't climb nearly as much, so I think it's a big improvement there. I'll have to run it again overnight to confirm. New in v0.2.7:* Balance rework and fixes: - Plasmodium network maintenance costs increased. Networks are no longer effectively immortal, overextended branches prune naturally - Substrate nutrient generation adjusted to produce more of a patchwork with greater nutrient variation - Explosive enzymes now deal damage at all pH levels - Crystalline + explosive combo now deposits subst...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.6b
v0.2.6b:* Stability improvements: - Fixed memory leaks causing gradual degradation over long sessions - Fixed various death/spawn lifecycle edge cases that could cause errors* Performance improvements: - Significantly reduced CPU cost of slime mold networks at scale - Fixed GPU upload path running at full cost every frame - Particle system now scales to actual cell count instead of fixed max* Consistency improvements: - Fixed moving cells becoming unclickable - Fixed strain renaming creating duplicate entries - Fixed strain naming prompt appearing when harvesting on already-tracked cells - Fixed first plasmodia not growing branches in some cultures - Untracked strain variants now count towards contracts* Balance tweaks: - Added nutrient sliders for finer tuning of nutrient composition. Nutrient diversity slider now controls variation, 3 sliders control amino/lipid/sugar. - Sparser def...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.6 - Improved Lab Mode
This is a bigger update than usual that improves the functionality of Lab Mode. Contracts are more functional now and serve to guide you in exploring the simulation. The Strain Registry is also more functional in tracking your own collection of discovered strains. Changelog: v0.2.6:* Major contracts rework: - Improved coherence of objectives, progression and rewards - Better integration with player's strain registry - Fixed impossible objectives and display bugs - Still highly WIP, but much more functional* Major rework to the strain classification system to improve consistency* Added first Mutagen: UM-1x. Each dose increases the culture's mutation magnitude by +1x* Added rare cryochondria mutation to mitochondria. Blue mitochondria that cool the environment. (0.5% mutation chance)* Unblocked blastocysts: transmembrane organelles that are launched as projectiles that burst on contact....
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.5
v0.2.5:* Reworked contract system to offer more depth and variety (Still very WIP, needs feedback and testing)* Adjusted weighting and masking for automatic strain grouping* Increased digestive enzyme damage* Fixed contract timer bug where time-based objectives would be impossible due to their timer being too short* Fixed major performance bug where hidden panels were being redrawn every frame* Fixed cells losing size, strain identity, and division progress on save/load* Fixed various Theoretical Lab bugs caused by stricter Lab Mode rules* Fixed bug where explosive enzymes would set dense substrate to 30% regardless of initial value* Implemented suspected fix for desynchronization between interaction areas and visual position of cells and organelles at high cell counts (monitoring result)* Gated "kill all cells" hotkey behind warning* Visual tweaks
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.4
v0.2.4:* Expanded tutorial and adjusted explanations for clarity (need feedback)* Added pop-ups to major panels on first open with WIP drafts of explanation blurbs* Continued work on contracts. Fixed some contracts being impossible due to the culture lacking prerequisite cells, tweaked progression and available objectives. Contracts now automatically detect if an objective is completed on acceptance. (Contracts still highly WIP, contain placeholders)* Continued work on cell portrait rendering (WIP, slightly less broken)* Added live valuation counters to strain cards* Fixed duplicate starter strains appearing in registry* Made drag-to-move more forgiving* Cell collision improvements. Should reduce snapping behavior.* Added single-save-per-culture enforcement to lab mode* Tutorial objectives should no longer reset on save/load while in-progress* Fixed Biomarket panel flashing whenever a...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.3a
v0.2.3a:* Lab Mode fixes: - Removed spacebar spawner from lab mode - Added main menu button to resume last active lab - Made button to open saved labs more obvious, now says "LOGIN" - Improved lab save structure, fixes culture bleed between labs* Strain tracking fixes (formerly species tracking): - Strain Registry now correctly saves marked strains across *all* labs (excluding creative lab, that should use the catalogue) - Starter strains auto generate in the strain registry upon lab creation - True cell portrait rendering (WIP, currently broken) - Improved stability of automatic groupings* UI tweaks* Tutorial mission fixes - need to be verified* Minor Contract fixes (Still very WIP and contains placeholders)
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.3 is on the Alpha Branch
# v0.2.3 is on the Steam Alpha branch!I had some fun with this update and went pretty deep with the biomarket simulation and contract generation. Contracts come as either grants, which are upfront funding and a penalty for failure, or standard contracts which payout on completion. The biomarket has some calculations to simulate the value of cell strains based on their individual genes and some archetypal weights that respond to market demand.Contracts need some work but they should progress with you as you complete themI also added a little more to the tutorial (you can reactivate it under the advanced settings tab) and changed some names to better match the theme. v0.2.3:* Lab Mode: - Tutorial additions - Biomarket: buy and sell strains with supply/demand simulation * Cell value based on gene traits and archetype value (simulated) - Contracts: procedurally generated objectives with d...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.2.1
v0.2.1 Preview is Live!Hey everyone! I just put v0.2.1 up, which polishes up from v0.2.0. Both the Alpha and Default branches were updated. I moved v0.1.10a to a new "Previous" branch too.v0.2.0 had some big changes:NutrientsI've replaced generic energy particles with three nutrient types: aminos, lipids and sugars. There is a new world creation slider, "Nutrient Diversity", which controls how evenly nutrients get distributed in each generated zone (setting the slider to 100 makes the distribution ~33% for every nutrient everywhere, setting it lower creates zones that are rich in one or two nutrients). Nutrients are denoted by color: aminos are green, lipids are yellow and sugars are blue.The current nutrient system flows as follows: collectors (typed or generic) -> vacuole (untyped, can store only one nutrient type at a time) -> mitochondria (different efficiency per nutrient) -> cyt...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.1.9a is live!
v0.1.9a hits a few major milestones: I observed some interesting and unique cell strategies emerge when a species of cells evolved that used the heat generated by their mitochondria to kill other cells and feed. Eventually, these cells replicated too much and killed themselves off, being replaced by stationary, bulky cells with large energy reserves. This is exactly the kind of unexpected emergent behavior that I have been hoping to see happen since starting the project. Also, I finally got culture saving and loading to a functional state, as well as manual placing of saved species. Finally, all world types have been consolidated into one chunk mode with dynamic sizing, and world creation sliders have been improved. I feel more confident than ever that development is on the right track and I can't wait to continue building. Up next is the nutrient overhaul which will introduce typed n...
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.1.6
v0.1.6:* Major performance improvements* Enzyme combat improvements* Energy particles visual adjustments* Slime mold fixes* Experimental new game settings (Placeholder UI)* pH and temp deposits updated* Memory usage improvements* Various bug fixesKnown issues:* Mitosis jitter during fission* Enzyme particles buggy* Population balance off (boom/bust cycles)* Performance degrades at high cell counts* Save/load broken (inconsistent)* Chunks worlds broken (large/open)
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.1.5b
I am pushing v0.1.5b to the alpha branch, it's got a few new sliders for new games but the UI is a bit broken. I wouldn't go above ~20 cells per species yet, and starter mutation rounds will also stall startup. v0.1.6 might take a bit longer than usual but I feel like there are just a few remaining blockers to having a stable simulation 🤞
Read full update on Steam ↗v0.1.5
v0.1.5:* Fixed bug causing blank substrate with DX11* Performance improvements
Read full update on Steam ↗Alpha v0.1.4
v0.1.4 - Stability MilestoneThis update focuses on simulation stability. Cells now maintain correct phenotypes, survive and die as expected, and ecosystems can run for extended periods with real emergent dynamics.Key improvements:Major phenotype bug fixesMajor simulation stability fixesHardware compatibility adjustment for integrated GPUsPerformance and stability improvementsThe build is still rough, and there is still a lot of work to do, but I'm now able to focus more on new mechanics and content instead of chasing fundamental bugs. I'm pretty excited :DIf you'd like to help test, join the Discord and fill out the play tester application form: https://discord.gg/VpTJbH2h9X
Read full update on Steam ↗Alpha v0.1.2
* Major fixes for bugs blocking cell life cycles* Initialization bug fixes* Visual tweaks and improvements* Minor performance improvements* Adjusted chunk loading in large & open world modes
Read full update on Steam ↗
Game activity
Recent changes
Steam events and SteamWatch observations
- SteamPatch
New Map: VP-261021 ↗
Another new map, this one has protovirin which makes cells produce viral particles while alive and virin which produces viral particles on death. Its also cold and acidic. I'm still just experimenting with maps while…
- SteamPatch
New Map: VZ2-261020 ↗
New Map VZ2-261020 has virin and zymogen-II and is hotter than normal. Testing out some 4 direction symmetry. v0.4.9-46: Reworked: * The IDENTIFY STRAIN card draws the M, E, ENTER and ESC keys in its footer as key gly…
- SteamReview activity
1 new Steam review
1 positive · 0 negative.
- SteamPatch
v0.4.9-40 ↗
v0.4.9-40:Fixed:* Splicer gene values drawing over their bars, and the NAME YOUR STRAIN placeholder wrapping onto several lines. Values now sit beside their bar, and the name stays on one line* Lab STORAGE dose counts…
- SteamPatch
v0.4.9-38 ↗
My apologies, the last patch shipped with a premature change that broke the splicer screen. This was not meant to be included with the hotfix and has been reverted. v0.4.9-38: Fixed: * The bug report button staying on…
- SteamPatch
New map: Z3sM1-261019 ↗
Hey everyone! I am going to be releasing a series of new maps to experiment with different designs and compounds. This weeks map, Z3sM1-261019, is cold, leans alkaline and has a highly acidic version of Zymogen-III Sy…