Since we're getting a lot of new members who need to know what's going on in order to contribute, I've decided to make this thread for Frequently Asked Questions, so that they can get answers without creating fluff threads that only last a day or so.

I have a really cool idea! Where do I put it?

Spoiler:

This project has been around for a while, so we've discussed a lot of things. You might have a really cool new idea, but 90 percent of the time that's an idea that has already been discussed. Before you post a new thread look around our forum and Our Wiki to see if we already covered that topic. If you don't find anything there, please post it in this thread before you dedicate a new thread to it.

I've checked the FAQs and Wiki, but haven't found an answer to my question. Where should I ask it?

Spoiler:
	If you don't find anything to answer your question, please post it in this thread before you dedicate a new thread to it. If you don't want to post it there, feel free to PM ~sciocont, US_of_Alaska, or any of the other forum moderators with your question.

Newcomer ask these general questions often.

What is Thrive?

Spoiler:
	Information about our game project and various web presences can be found here

When is the game coming out?

Spoiler:
	Thrive will be released piece by piece, so as soon as we have something playable done, we'll release it and begin work on other parts, plus debugging previous releases. The game has no release date because it will never be complete. There will always be things to add.

How much will the game cost?

Spoiler:
	Thrive is free and open source, and will be released under a GPL or CC share alike licence. This means that the game is open source- anyone can use it, edit it, change it, and release it, but they must credit the original makers and they must release it for free.

What will the game be rated?

Spoiler:
	Since thrive is free and has no budget, we cannot pay to be rated by the ESRB, PEGI, or similar organizations. Therefore, we will not have a rating, but we will caution that the game will contain violence to some extent, as it mimics the real world.

Can I play this on my Mac?

Spoiler:
	Our game is being written and compiled on linux, but we do plan to put out ports for Windows and possibly Mac computers as well, since most people don't run linux.

Is this game like EA/ Maxis's Spore?

Spoiler:
	In the general concept, yes, Thrive is a lot like Spore. However, upon close inspection, the similarities end. Yes, we do want to simulate the rise of a species from cell to civilization, but Thrive does many things Spore does not. What are these things? Read on.

These game concept questions come up a lot.

How do I play the game?

Spoiler:

There are a few different ways to play Thrive: You can play from first of third person in control of a single organism with Organism Mode If your organism evolves a social structure such as a colony or pack, you can then play from a third person omniscient viewpoint in Strategy Mode. A third mode, called Observer Mode, can be accessed late in the game. In this mode, you can simply move about your camera and see what's going on.

How do I evolve my species?

Spoiler:
	Change in your species can be produces manually through small direct edits with our Organism Editor. However, other species in our game evolve just as you do, but through a simple Procedural Evolution system. You can choose to hand your evolutionary fate over to the computer and use this system for your own species if you so choose.

How do I make buildings/ weapons/vehicles?

Spoiler:
	Thrive will have a technology editor that allows you to make just about any kind of device imaginable.

Can I play as an aquatic species?

Spoiler:
	Yes. On some planets, you will have to, since there will be no dry land.

Can I play as a tree?

Spoiler:
	You could play as a tree, but your options for gameplay would be quite limited.

Sometimes our forums can be a little confusing.
What is "Belgium"?

Spoiler:
	If you see the word Belgium somewhere odd, it's because of our forum censorship. When members attempt to use profanity, our forums gently nudge their foul mouths into the right direction with this charming Douglas Adams reference

I don't understand some things that seem to be technical terms- PPG, org, Direct Editing, FP, etc. What are they?

Spoiler:
	These are part of our forum lingo. It's necessary that we use these to save our fingers from breaking from typing too many things. Meanings for most if not all of these things can be found in our Abbreviations Dictionary

What does "QFT" mean?

Spoiler:
	QFT is short for "Quoted For Truth". Members use it after they have quoted someone to show that they agree with what that person said.

What are team leads/how do I become one?

Spoiler:
	Team leads are members in charge of knowing everything about a certain part of the game, and are moderators for that section in our forums. If you want to become a lead for something, you have to contribute a huge amount to that topic, and then apply for a lead position.

Other questions get asked by newcomers all of the time Here are some particularly memorable ones.

Can I become a civilized species underwater?

Spoiler:
	No. It's simply not possible for you do become an advanced civilization without metalworking, which is essentially impossible underwater. This topic is definitely not up for debate, since we've probably seen it spring up about six times or more during development so far, and come up with the same answer every time.

Can I live on a planet without water?

Spoiler:
	No. As far as we know, water is completely essential to life, so we're not going to try to simulate waterless life.

Can I change physics in the game?

Spoiler:
	No, since this would cause the environment of the game to collapse.

Can I make new elements/ chemicals?

Spoiler:
	No. All naturally occurring elements have already been discovered, and the unnatural ones have either been discovered or are too massive to exist for more than a few fractions of a second. You can't make new chemicals because chemical simulation is much too complex for our game to do.

On creating elements

I actually believe this should be possible. The biome system is based on compounds, and technically for development we will be experimenting with these compounds until life arises, no? I see no reason why a sapient race shouldn't be able to introduce "new" compounds into an environment just to mess with it.

In order to do anything, however, the compound must have some defined reactions with others otherwise it would be no fun!

Just my two cents.

I know you said it wasn't up for debate but what if your species evolved like Semi-Aquatic Mammal/Reptile then could you be sentient underwater?