Many of you wanted to know a little bit more about gameplay, particularly some of the more innovative elements in the game, so in today’s update we wanted to present you with a few of the in-game features that we are currently working on. Core mechanics are on the hotplate in this humble serving of in-game tech, particularly our new simulation engine which will be responsible for the simulation of dynamic, living worlds in The Universim. We have named it the Prometheus In-Game Engine™.

Posted by Crytivo on May 5th, 2014

Update 10: Prometheus In-Game Engine™

Many of you wanted to know a little bit more about gameplay, particularly some of the more innovative elements in the game, so in today’s update we wanted to present you with a few of the in-game features that we are currently working on. Core mechanics are on the hotplate in this humble serving of in-game tech, particularly our new simulation engine which will be responsible for the simulation of dynamic, living worlds in The Universim. We have named it the Prometheus In-Game Engine™.

Prometheus will simulate various environmental conditions and changes on the planet, based on the season and timeline. On the first planet, “Mother Planet,” we will have 12 months in a similar manner to Earth. Temperature and weather effects on the planet will vary, based on the different environmental biomes. For example, the temperature in deserts will be much higher than that found in other biomes. Our goal is to make everything dynamic in respect to the particular simulated environment you are playing in. Every time you place an Epicenter (City), it will grow differently based on the conditions around it. Temperature and other conditions will affect population growth dramatically. If it is extremely cold, and you don't have the proper research to counteract this, such as fire and/or cloth to name a few, you will begin losing your population to the bitter nature of the environment. The same kind of effects extend to things like food. You will not be able to harvest much food during winter, this primarily affects the earlier stages of development, so you had better store food in advance. Some winters will last far longer than others. For example, one year you might experience a mild winter, but it will last longer than usual. The next winter could be extremely cold, but it will only last for a month or two. However, there is also a chance to experience ‘deadly’ winters which can ravage your civilization for up to 6-8 months. Research, planning, and preparation will always help your civilization to fight off whatever winter may come.

Prometheus will also simulate different kinds of dynamic events, such as tornadoes, storms, earthquakes, meteors, disease, and more. Things like meteor impacts will not only leave craters on the planet and wipe out everything around it, it will also trigger fires and various secondary effects. Trees around impact-zones will be set on fire, and this fire will spread dynamically, making it extremely dangerous for nearby Epicenters, farms, and other structures. You can stop this fire from spreading too far by wielding your Creator Abilities, which allow you to do things such as dragging storm clouds to affected areas. You could also be lucky enough to have Prometheus simulate rainy weather conditions around the impact zone, causing the rain to snuff out the fires. New clouds will be generated above oceans and they will travel dynamically. Clouds have a dynamic nature as well and possess the ability to become storm clouds at any time, producing rain and lighting which can also trigger fires. Based on wind direction and speed, it will change the position of the clouds and control the spread of fires. But remember, you are a god and you will have the tools to control this. However, you had better be prepared to face the consequences for changing environmental conditions too often.

Every planet you encounter in the game will be dynamically generated by Prometheus. We will also have a number of predefined ones to experiment with new gameplay and conditions! Planets will have a certain set of characteristics, such as size, biomes, temperature, atmosphere, and resources. All planets will also have varying environmental model sets such as stones, trees, mountains, animals, and so on. Every planet will be suitable for terraforming and colonization. We can’t wait to see what kind of planets you discover and how you handle them! Certain planets will be highly unstable; for example, you may come across a planet that will have a ticking timer attached to it. These planets usually have incredibly unstable cores that are ready to explode, or their sun is going to go supernova in a few minutes. It is up to you to decide if you want to risk it all and attempt to harvest the precious resources from the planet before time runs out and transport them back home, or just let it die in peace. Some planets might have unsuitable conditions in this scenario and you will need to terraform them first. You will most likely need to place atmosphere generators to generate air and thermal controllers to regulate and alter temperatures on the planet. It is not going to be an easy process, but the reward may just be worth it!

Planets will also likely be inhabited by living creatures. You may come across incredibly friendly animals in your travels, which just so happen to be a great source of food for the deadly predators that will stalk your crewman from the moment they arrive. You will encounter many planets with alien wildlife that you have never seen before! The same thing applies to the flora and vegetation. We will have a massive variety of trees, bushes, and other plant life. Including, yes you guessed it, predator trees with teeth and a thirst for blood. Your people had better not come too close to these beasts! Trees will be linked directly to the oxygen level on the planet. Without them, your people will not be able to survive! Every tree will generate a certain amount of oxygen based on the planetary conditions.

We plan to add a lot more detail to the different planets in the game. We will have tons of easter-eggs and secrets on the surface of the planet for you to discover. We all understand the importance of performance and stability in a game of this size, and our developers are investing a lot of time into the optimization and proper implementation of these features. Prometheus should become the main platform for absolutely everything in the game, and that is why it is our primary concern at the moment. We want to eventually create tools that will help the community mod the game and improve it down the road as well. We know you guys can be unbelievably creative and we plan to keep the doors open for you!

Share this update wherever you can! Send it to gaming news blogs, your friends, share it on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and so on. We need your help and we know that we can build something really awesome together with you. Thank you all again for your continued awesomeness and support! You have all been amazing!

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Crytivo Games Team