I think so far this concept sounds good, but I think it is missing quite a major part of what we have been planning. Cause and effect.

I think a major part of Thrive is seeing your species evolve because of what happened to you in game play. For example if you were killed by the crushing jaw of another organism then your next generation will have a tougher epidermis. If you were out-swum and consequently eaten then your next generation will be faster at swimming (Longer fins, more streamline etc).

We need to know what mutations are available for species and how they can be attained.

Now we have vaguely determined more or less how you will become a certain phylum IE assimilate lots of heat eaters in cell stage and you will be Thermosynthetic.

Somehow (TBD) your multicellular colony will become a base creature depending on the phylum/kingdom etc you are in (Which is not chosen by the player but is chosen by cause and effect)

No heres my concept for these base creatures, and how they effect evolution.

Spoiler:

Base Creatures There will be lots (200+) Base creatures. All base creatures are different, and are categorized into different kingdoms depending on their energy intake (Photosynthetic, Respiratory, etc) and general form (Determined by the shape of your late multicellular colony perhaps). These base creatures have a HUGE number of possible mutations that can be applied, but each set of mutations is different for each base creature and VERY different for each kingdom and phylum. Gameplay Example For example, a Respiratory base creature is a worm-like critter. It lives on the sea bed just beneath the mud. To attain energy it eats algaes and diffuses oxygen from the water across its skin. During game play a large crab-like predator eats my worm because I was too slow to escape, too soft to resist the jaw etc. This 'activates' certain mutations which I can apply at the end of the generation, assuming I get there. I start again and this time I manage to find a mate after eating enough algae. I am greeted with a screen like the OE, with a 3D model of my worm and a list of mutations I can apply. Mutations There are 2 types of mutations. General Mutations and Special Mutations. General Mutations are always there and do not need to be activated via cause and effect. These include things such as Digestive efficiency, Respiratory efficiency, size etc. They could also help get rid of unused mutations, IE reducing the size of an unused tail due to energy expense. These mutations are 'cheap' and do not really require much Diversity Points to 'purchase' as these kind of factors effect all of your species. Special Mutations are mutations which you can apply only after they have been activated. Ok now... Read carefully: They can only be activated if the opposite of the said mutation selected against the individual you were playing as. Example: The mutation "Increase epidermis toughness" was activated because an organism killed mine because its epidermis was not tough enough. These generally require more Diversity Points to apply. As I apply these mutations I can see visual changes to my species. The Epidermis gets thicker, which is linked to a stat increase, as I increase the speed I see the worm grow longer. What mutations are chosen Now depending on your kingdom and Phylum (The base creature you began as) you will only be able to attain certain mutations. For example you wont be able to grow branches and leaves if you are respiratory. You won't develop a digestive system if you are photosynthetic or thermosynthetic. Phyla will also have different sets of mutations. For example if you phylum is an like an arthropod you are likely to develop exoskeletons, remain relatively small in size etc. Now what if after you have applied these mutations you can then spend excess DP on direct edits of certain parts of your creature just like the OE? With limitations of course. Just a thought... Cause and Effect Anyway several generations later and my worm is still a bit slow but it has a very tough skin and is now very slightly poisonous to the crabs that keep eating me. I am larger too, and don't spend as much time hiding in the mud, as my species now tends to eat the larger kelp like plants. As my digestive system has become more efficient I notice that now I don't regurgitate waste products out of the mouth, it comes out a tube from the back. I see the instinct bar glow as a fish-like predator nearby charges towards me and as I am still too slow I fail to escape. Diversification In the next generation I devote most of my DP to speed, and on the Model of the worm I see lots of tiny leg-like things begin to form, much like a velvet worm. Back in the game and now much more mobile I am able to outrun many more predators. Not always though. I am not so good at burrowing underground anymore, and notice some familiar yet smaller worm like creatures burrowing to escape the predators. These worms shared a common ancestor and applied different mutations to what I chose (Random special mutations were activated and were selected randomly with general mutations). They are now effectively a different species. The crabs that keep eating me are different too. Some of them have applied a much stranger set of mutations (Its chosen randomly not smartly) including a larger claw size which my species is able to slip through. This species loses DP points and several generations later I don't see anymore large-clawed crabs, they must have gone extinct. Death and Extinction If you die, you will begin at the start of the generation. You will lose Diversity points. If you die too many times in a generations (The number will be relative to your DP of the last generation) you will become extinct. You will begin at the start of the LAST generation.

If this pseudo-Darwinian come Lamarckian thing is what we are going for we will need to determine all possible mutations each phyla could possibly evolve to.

Ta