Post by xolorhusd on Feb 24, 2018 15:47:12 GMT
Playing through Ark, I quickly came to notice a certain feature, that, while in that game mostly serves as a novelty or as a crafting component, could very well serve as an important feature in later stages of Thrive.
In the context of the earlier game, it allows for a very immersive and justifiable way in which the ecosystem continues to recycle and replenish resources. While it can bring concerns of all this waste matter clogging up the game engine, an easy solution is having it break down, to improve soil ratings, or simply have plant life grow from it. However it allows for many new niches for life to start its humble beginnings in.
Creatures would be able to use Feces, both directly and indirectly, as a method to obtain easy nutrients, already predigested by some other creature. For predators it allows for them to track and trail herds of grazers, or even 'active' individuals, via scent or sight. Territorial creatures could mark areas with feces, like wombats do, or how many primates do and throw or fling feces, like hippos. Animals prone to being burnt by the sun, or gobbled up might cost themselves in feces. And the industrious sort might use it as a binding agent or building material.
Plants can obviously produce fruits, and propagate their seeds this way. Yet, they can also use feces for nutrients, with the assistance of decomposers, or evolve other strategies to assist themselves.
For the player, Feces can be used to gauge the health of their creature, based on their level of sickness, starvation, or malnutrition, or even use this to see the fitness of a mate (A topic a plan on talking about in later threads.)
As for the cons, feces allows bacteria, viruses, and other parasites to propagate, and exploit your or npc organisms. Feces can also be a serious issue in later stages such as civilization, the space stages, and even during some apocolypse like events, yet can also be a saving grace. It can due to cramped conditions lead to be a quick vector for disease as mentioned before, or as a profitable way to increase efficiency in farms.
For now this is my two cents on the subject, and please feel free to add more to the posts down below for me and others to read, while we are bored sitting on the toilet.
In the context of the earlier game, it allows for a very immersive and justifiable way in which the ecosystem continues to recycle and replenish resources. While it can bring concerns of all this waste matter clogging up the game engine, an easy solution is having it break down, to improve soil ratings, or simply have plant life grow from it. However it allows for many new niches for life to start its humble beginnings in.
Creatures would be able to use Feces, both directly and indirectly, as a method to obtain easy nutrients, already predigested by some other creature. For predators it allows for them to track and trail herds of grazers, or even 'active' individuals, via scent or sight. Territorial creatures could mark areas with feces, like wombats do, or how many primates do and throw or fling feces, like hippos. Animals prone to being burnt by the sun, or gobbled up might cost themselves in feces. And the industrious sort might use it as a binding agent or building material.
Plants can obviously produce fruits, and propagate their seeds this way. Yet, they can also use feces for nutrients, with the assistance of decomposers, or evolve other strategies to assist themselves.
For the player, Feces can be used to gauge the health of their creature, based on their level of sickness, starvation, or malnutrition, or even use this to see the fitness of a mate (A topic a plan on talking about in later threads.)
As for the cons, feces allows bacteria, viruses, and other parasites to propagate, and exploit your or npc organisms. Feces can also be a serious issue in later stages such as civilization, the space stages, and even during some apocolypse like events, yet can also be a saving grace. It can due to cramped conditions lead to be a quick vector for disease as mentioned before, or as a profitable way to increase efficiency in farms.
For now this is my two cents on the subject, and please feel free to add more to the posts down below for me and others to read, while we are bored sitting on the toilet.