We’ve decided to give it a few more weeks of polish and bug-fixing before we send it out, so we’re moving the Alpha 5 date to Oct 24th. Alpha 4 is available now at strangeloopgames.com/eco however, and all buyers will get all future versions (including a Steam key).

Here’s a look at a few of the new things coming in Eco Alpha 5.

Dynamically growing plants:

New biomes, including desert:

Biomes are driven by the underlying ecosystem simulation, which is composed of dozens of individually simulated layers that interact:

Biomes will actually change depending on the climate, and a world wracked with CO2 pollution will have sprawling deserts that take over farmlands.

We’re building ways to view and understand all the connections in this simulation, as doing so will be required in order to successfully build a civilization in the game without bringing the world to ruin. Beyond understanding it yourself, you’ll need to convince others of what is happening and the right course of action for the player-run governments to take. In Eco, climate is not just a scientific challenge but a social one.