Introduction/Overview
Each player begins with a very, very basic cell. It contains nothing more than a cell wall, some bits of dna, and a nutrient soup. For the purposes of the game, however, they reproduce sexually. This cell has a certain amount of energy per turn, which is used to conduct various actions, which will be elaborated upon later. Various variables in the environment will change every turn- most will be announced, some will be unknown to the players, though not so severe that they will kill you off in a single turn. The goal is to drive all competing species into extinction. To achieve this, players must evolve their cells and specialize them for certain tasks. Each turn where a player successfully breeds, which will also be elaborated on later,, to represent the influences of sexual selection, they may change one existing characteristic of their cell by a small amount. New characteristics or organelles are gained or potentially lost via mutations, which will be built up by certain traits and random events, or by raising some traits to higher levels. Energy is gained by processing foods, up to a certain limit which is determined by various traits and the presence of certain organelles. Viruses may randomly attack player's cells, causing damage that requires energy to restore, destroying an organelle for one generation, or potentially harming dna, and with sufficient advantage in size or with some sort of attack method, players may attack one another.
Starting traits:
metabolism(+mutation +1/3energy gained + 2 max energy)-bottom level
dna protection(-mutation +maintenance)-bottom level
cell wall(+ virus defense +player defense + maintenance +size)-level 3
protein efficiency(-maintenance,- 1/5action cost -virus defense)- bottom level
antiviral capability(+ maintenance +2 virus defense)-bottom level
Reproduction(+1/3 trait point each breed, +2maintenance)-bottom level
maximizing any of these traits( there are 5 levels, changes listed are its effects when raised) will result in other traits and potentially organelles being acquired, and so on. A full list will not be provided, figure them out for yourself, but it is generally safe to assume that a higher iteration of a trait will have similar but not identical effects.
Gameplay:
at the start of a turn, if they bred the previous turn, all damage to a player is restored, and depending on their attributes, various traits will change, and some will be picked by the player to move in one direction or another. Each player declares his(anything gender neutral will be declared as he for the purposes of convenience) actions in the order he wants to perform them. For example, a player's action order might read as the following: Move, Move, photosynthesize, Attack (playername), Breed.
On each move order, a random event has a chance of happening, from encountering another player's cell to finding a chunk of dna that is randomly inserted into your own. All of these events can be modified by a player's traits and attributes.
List of Actions
Move- has a chance of triggering an event
Repair Damage- undoes a set amount of damage, for an energy cost. The ratio is 1 damage to 2 energy
Attack-Initiates battle, outcome determined by relative size and any attacking or defensive traits. Larger cells will be better able to envelope, while a sufficiently small cell may be able to infect and wreak havoc from the inside. Being a moderately sized cell carries no advantages, but also no disadvantages.
Photosynthesize generates food which will be processed into energy on the next turn.
Hunt- Your cell attempts to envelop a random non player cell. If successful, you receive food.
Infect- For smaller cells, this can be used as an alternative to breeding. Rather than being based on energy, the chances of success are based upon a cell's antiviral capability. A cell must have a size of two or less for this to work.
Breed-A cell attempts to breed with another of the same species. Chance of success is based on energy. You will receive 2/3 of a trait point by default, with an extra 1/3 each level of reproduction. Each full trait point must be spent when it is earned, fractions are held onto.
Mingle DNA- If successful, two players each have their traits averaged. Chances of success are based on total difference between traits, with each difference meaning a 5% chance of failure
All actions have an energy cost of two times the player's size, except for photosynthesis, which gives a 5% chance of mutation for every unit of food produced.
Alliances:
Players may form alliances by mingling their dna, which if successful averages their traits, and they become a colony organism- each cell acts independently, but mutations and trait points are shared. Trait points are averaged among all players, so if A gets 10 and B gets 5, then they each earn 7.5 points a turn.
The other form of alliance is a symbiosis, which may happen when one player is killed in battle, if both parties agree to it. The defeated player becomes a sub cell within the main cell, and can be assigned tasks by the main cell, but guides its own evolution. Organelles and the cell wall are only used by the main cell, and their effects apply to both.
I'm aware that this is definitely not an accurate representation of evolution, but I couldn't think of a better name for it. Please post if you have any suggestions or would like to play.
Sign-Up list (Will start at 20, or going a day without a sign up with more than 10)
RAM
lillipad
dwarmin
megaman
sheb
lemon10
fanofgaming
rawr
kaguro draven
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agith
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Topic: Pseudovelution- The game (Read 4525 times)