Hey guys, my name is NickTheNick, and I am one of the developers of the open source game Thrive. The game isn't really finished, although we have some early releases out (I'm not entirely sure what the expected level of completion is for games to be posted here, sorry if this doesn't meet that), but I wanted to see what you guys thought of it so far and whether you are interested in helping out. The following is a pretty lengthy description to tell you more.
OverviewThrive is a free (as in both libre and beer), open-source game (code under GPL licence, content under CC BY-SA) currently being developed by an online volunteer team called Revolutionary Games. Drawing inspiration from numerous simulation and strategy games (in particular the original concept behind the PC game Spore), Thrive is a game about a species’ evolution from unicellular organisms to galaxy-wide space travel, though for the moment we are heavily focusing on only the microbial section.
Our team seeks to accomplish two major goals: create engaging, compelling gameplay that respects our players' intelligence, and remain as accurate as possible in our depiction of known scientific theory without compromising the former.
We are currently looking to get new people to join the project with experience in game development. Obviously, getting new people will make development easier and faster, but it will also help in creating a self-sufficient community that we can trust to continue the project into the future.
http://revolutionarygamesstudio.com/ Gameplay BasicsThe player controls a species from its origins in the primordial ooze, all the way towards becoming a spacefaring civilization. The different stages of the game correspond to the different stages of this process, spanning across different genres of gameplay. The transitions between the stages will be a seamless as possible.
Some of Thrive’s major features will be the editors. These will be present throughout each stage, allowing the player to have a direct hand in interacting with their species. Early on this will be controlling the evolution of their species as the generations pass, and later the player will be designing the technology used by their civilization.
In the microbe stage, the player’s species is a unicellular organism exploring a tidepool populated by other microbe species, simpler life-forms and floating organelles. Distributed throughout this environment in various forms (including other microbes) are compounds necessary to a species’ survival, such as oxygen, glucose and ammonia. The player must collect these to keep their own ATP stores (equivalent to energy) high – organelles inside microbes simulate their metabolism, with compounds combined, stored and converted in accordance with known organic chemistry. Some of these can even be turned into agents/toxins, which influence surrounding microbes in a variety of ways.
Once enough of a certain compound (under debate) is collected, the player can enter the editor. Mutation Points act as a mutation currency, preventing wild changes to the organelles and shape of a microbe within one generation. New organelles (unlocked from the environment) can be added based on a hexagonal grid, and eventually upgraded to be more efficient. With one generation’s changes complete, the player re-enters the environment. At the same time, AI microbe species will be evolving via a procedurally generated interpretation of Darwinian evolution (affectionately called Auto-Evo). Their generation time can be modified beforehand to change the difficulty, as the player will be directly competing with them for resources, or working with them in a symbiotic relationship should they so choose. Eventually this feature will grow in importance, with agent signals released by microbes to keep colonies intact. This is the first step towards multicellularity, needed to progress to the next stage of the game.
Who We’re Looking ForThere are several different skillsets we are looking for at this time. These include (in no particular order):
- Vector Artists: The in-game GUI is for the moment largely a placeholder, and a huge amount of work is in order for later stages’ interfaces. We use CEGUI in conjunction with Lua scripting, so anyone with additional knowledge of XML or UX we will likely beg to join. Even if you’re not familiar with CEGUI, you can still help design basic concepts or mock-ups, or even learn the process of implementation yourself through this tutorial.
- Programmers: Our custom engine is programmed in C++, while scripting is done with Lua (using LuaBind). We’ll soon be tackling some fairly difficult implementation, but most work, generally quite easy, is in Lua. We are also looking for a developer specializing in Mac conversions, as our releases so far have only covered Windows and Linux. A full list of code dependencies is available to view on our GitHub repository.
- 3D Modellers: Skill with almost any major tool will do, and we’ll eventually need particularly talented artists able to create models which look good even under heavy deformation. We use Ogre3D for graphics rendering, and a tutorial for prospective modelers focused on Blender can be found here.
- Animators: Linking with the above, the ability to animate 3D models will be incredibly useful, and even those who specialize in other areas will be helpful in creating more features of the game, such as updated opening cutscenes or GUI animations. Accompanying knowledge of the code required for dynamic animations (for instance changing between two animation types seamlessly) will help considerably when rendered organisms are involved.
- Technical Writers: Our Wiki is in dire need of an update, and those who can take ideas and present them in an orderly manner for reference or implementation in future are invaluable in keeping it updated. Specialist knowledge of the concepts in question is advantageous but not required, so long as you are able to gather and present information effectively.
Our goal is to create a self-sufficient community of artists, coders, designers, and others to continuously work on the game. In the longer run, we are also looking for a variety of other skilled members. Any of these would be welcome:
- Concept Artists
- Foley Artists
- Musicians
- Project Managers
- Promoters
- Theorists
- Translators
- Web Developers
Those with only ideas to give and no ability to implement them are likely to be turned down, as this has been a major recurring problem in the project’s history. Consequently, we’d prefer it if you can give some evidence of your skill in a particular area.
A full list of development areas, along with instructions on the application process, can be found here:
http://revolutionarygamesstudio.com/get-involved/Current Progress
Though we are only a short way into the development process, we do actually have some early releases out (the most recent of which can be found
here). It includes the following features:
Microbe Stage
- Player cell and movement
- Basic compound system
- Simple compound and compound emitter models
- A few organelles (including one unlockable one)
- AI microbes with different AI species
- GUI
- Microbe editor (with Mutation Points)
- Music
- Sound effects and ambience
- Damage and death of microbes using toxic agents
- Saving and loading
- Predation
- Camera zoom
- Microbe division
Current Goals Our current short-term goal is to refine and eventually complete our current unicellular game stage. In this part of the game, the player controls a single cell in a fluid environment with the goal of surviving in their often dangerous ecosystem long enough to reproduce and therefore ensure the survival of their species. The main game mechanics focus on the chemical warfare between cells and the coevolution of both antagonistic and mutualistic relationships between and within these species.
Future MilestonesAs of now we have completed early versions of the GUI and sound effects, though these are up for improvement at the hands of those with the necessary skills. Our next major build will include population dynamics, a grid representation for environmental compounds, and fluid dynamics. Depending on the number of talented modellers we gain, this may also include procedural microbe models and microbe deformation. Start game customisation is also planned.
Once these milestones are passed, the aim will be to add the much-anticipated AI evolution mechanics, create more assets to go with a code-complete baseplate (such as more organelles, environments and toxins), balance gameplay (to actually make it fun), increase the game’s popularity and recognition throughout the internet, and polish all other aspects of the microbe stage. By then, we hope to have a sufficiently large and well-known team to continue onwards to the multicellular stage, which as of now doesn’t have much of a definitive concept.
Other Important Information Links:
Fast facts:
- Uses the GPL version 3 or later and CC BY-SA.
- For both Linux and Windows (with Mac support coming later).
- Uses Ogre3D for graphics, CEGUI for GUI, LuaBind for scripting and OpenAL for sound.
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