# Theory **URL:** https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/c/theory/17.md [Latest](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/categories.md) --- ## [Background science links](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/background-science-links/623)
**Author:** [@tjwhale](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/tjwhale)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2022, 9:57am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/background-science-links/623 "2022-04-24T09:57:44Z")
This is a thread for collecting links to useful scientific concepts and examples of species on Earth. Environment Here is some information on a relative shallow (570m) hydrothermal vent. Information on abiotic oxygen … --- ## [About the Theory category](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/about-the-theory-category/46)
**Author:** [@system](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/about-the-theory-category/46 "2015-05-18T15:14:37Z")
Technical discussion about game mechanics, from population dynamics to planet generation. Complex systems are the topic in question for the theory category. These include (but are by no means limited to): evolution, pr… --- ## [Sulfur metabolism](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/sulfur-metabolism/1129)
**Author:** [@Mr42](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Mr42)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 3, 2026, 10:33am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/sulfur-metabolism/1129 "2026-10-03T10:33:22Z")
Let’s talk Sulfur metabolism Since 0.4.0 the only process responsible for utilization of sulfur was Hydrogen Sulfide Chemosynthesis which allowed players to turn hydrogen sulfide and CO2 into glucose. 6 CO2 + 12 H2S = … --- ## [Quick theory on Neuron cells/Axons](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/quick-theory-on-neuron-cells-axons/1282)
**Author:** [@Rathalos](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Rathalos)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/quick-theory-on-neuron-cells-axons/1282 "2026-09-22T23:00:38Z")
As I am planning to implement mechanics for the Axon organelle in the Multicellular Stage, and considering it’s listed for the upcoming 1.7 release, I took the time to read through the surface-level view of these topics … --- ## [Theoretical background on the multicellular stage](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theoretical-background-on-the-multicellular-stage/1202)
**Author:** [@Rathalos](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Rathalos)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 1, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theoretical-background-on-the-multicellular-stage/1202 "2026-04-01T13:05:44Z")
So, looking into design for the multicellular stage made me want to dive into the literature a bit. So I figured I might as well post my observations publicly. At the least, I will probably be using this to refer back to… --- ## [Land Biomes in Thrive](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/land-biomes-in-thrive/1124)
**Author:** [@aaronmkersh](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/aaronmkersh)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/land-biomes-in-thrive/1124 "2025-11-15T23:29:29Z")
There hasn’t been any discussion yet that I can find on how land biomes / patches will be defined in Thrive. Recently I’ve embarked on a quest to define what future soundtrack themes we will likely need (forum post on t… --- ## [Patch Map Design Discussion](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/patch-map-design-discussion/597)
**Author:** [@Untrustedlife](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Untrustedlife)\ **Replies:** 132\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/patch-map-design-discussion/597 "2025-08-31T17:13:43Z")
This is a thread for discussing how we will design the patch map, whether it will be side on or top down, etc.(Offloading discussion from discord) --- ## [Theorist Member Areas of Expertise](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theorist-member-areas-of-expertise/1090)
**Author:** [@Juuzo\_Lenz214](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Juuzo_Lenz214)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theorist-member-areas-of-expertise/1090 "2025-07-10T18:05:15Z")
I mentioned this in the discord yesterday, but I believe that we can make things easier for everyone by listing all members of the Theory team by our various fields of expertise as well as other fields we have some knowl… --- ## [How Big Should Space Be?](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/how-big-should-space-be/1049)
**Author:** [@Gamedungeon](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Gamedungeon)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/how-big-should-space-be/1049 "2025-03-17T01:16:16Z")
How big do we want space to be? It is entirely possible to simulate entire galaxies: That does come with a couple of drawbacks though. It’s far too much for a player to ever interact with Those simulati… --- ## [The Role of Life in Shifting Environmental Conditions](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/the-role-of-life-in-shifting-environmental-conditions/1076)
**Author:** [@Buckly](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Buckly)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/the-role-of-life-in-shifting-environmental-conditions/1076 "2023-12-02T22:09:09Z")
One of our long-standing plans for Thrive is to have organisms in the world effect resource availability through their actions and processes. This would allow us to simulate not just the evolution of species, but the evo… --- ## [Game Balancing](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/game-balancing/450)
**Author:** [@tjwhale](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/tjwhale)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2023, 8:15am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/game-balancing/450 "2023-10-21T08:15:01Z")
Here is a copy of a post from slack about balancing the speed of different cells. I’m happy to discuss or explain more any time, all feedback welcome. Specific example of movement speed. I downloaded the most recent T… --- ## [Evolution of Early Planets](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/evolution-of-early-planets/445)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/evolution-of-early-planets/445 "2023-09-19T01:04:22Z")
The transition of planets from molten masses of rock during their inception to worlds with oceans and continents and the first life involves several major natural phenomena. I think these are important to the Microbe Sta… --- ## [Theory on Size and Osmoregulation Topic](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theory-on-size-and-osmoregulation-topic/1047)
**Author:** [@rsaavedra](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/rsaavedra)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/theory-on-size-and-osmoregulation-topic/1047 "2023-07-07T15:53:10Z")
Hey, I don’t really know if there is any more elegant way to call theorist’s the attention, this is the only thing I came about with :sweat\_smile: If there are any histologist or cell biologists among the Theory Team’s … --- ## [Nick's Auto-Evo Algorithm (Episode 1)](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/nicks-auto-evo-algorithm-episode-1/629)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/nicks-auto-evo-algorithm-episode-1/629 "2023-05-03T15:02:59Z")
Nick’s Auto-Evo Algorithm I’m only calling it Nick’s for now since I don’t know whether it’ll work. If we decide to go with this it’ll just be the Auto-Evo Algorithm. Table of Contents I will update the Table of Content… --- ## [World Tiling/Grid](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/world-tiling-grid/1017)
**Author:** [@HyperbolicHadron](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/HyperbolicHadron)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/world-tiling-grid/1017 "2023-04-05T17:01:12Z")
I feel that this topic will be divisive enough to require a separate discussion from the rest of the world generation threads. Also, it is primarily a game design issue, and this can affect how the art assets are created… --- ## [Metabolic Rate System](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/metabolic-rate-system/952)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 27, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/metabolic-rate-system/952 "2023-03-27T20:25:12Z")
Background I’ve been wondering a lot about the transition from microscopic to macroscopic, and how we will design gameplay as an early 3D organism. We have a very good understanding of what Microscopic organisms function… --- ## [Variants of the welcome message text for different start types](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/variants-of-the-welcome-message-text-for-different-start-types/994)
**Author:** [@hhyyrylainen](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/hhyyrylainen)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/variants-of-the-welcome-message-text-for-different-start-types/994 "2023-02-27T14:11:42Z")
Currently the welcome message is as follows: On a distant alien planet, eons of volcanic activity and meteor impacts have led to the development of a new phenomenon in the universe. Life. Simple microbes reside in th… --- ## [Planet Generation](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/planet-generation/182)
**Author:** [@tjwhale](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/tjwhale)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/planet-generation/182 "2023-02-13T14:42:01Z")
So I’m starting on a prototype to generate a planet for the microbe stage. This prototype is going to be super stripped down (and even then it’s pretty crazy). One of the first steps is to compute the habitable zone for … --- ## [Microbe Evolutionary Strategies](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/microbe-evolutionary-strategies/939)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2022, 7:32am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/microbe-evolutionary-strategies/939 "2022-08-28T07:32:56Z")
You know, its an interesting exercise to think what what niches/roles/builds we want to promote, and what evolutionary strategies we have available to achieve those builds. This area is a perfect crossover of science int… --- ## [Realistic Planetary Simulation](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/realistic-planetary-simulation/935)
**Author:** [@Gamedungeon](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Gamedungeon)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 20, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/realistic-planetary-simulation/935 "2022-08-20T03:03:04Z")
A while back I started prototyping planet simulation, but while digging through research papers I hit roadblocks, and eventually, life got in the way. This thread is about those roadblocks as well as planet simulation in… --- ## [Scientific Species Naming System](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/scientific-species-naming-system/931)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/scientific-species-naming-system/931 "2022-08-17T02:05:04Z")
Since we’re all working on some heftier other features all over the place, from sound to graphics to programming, it’s nice sometimes to have a fun and light feature to work on to destress. This is one I’ve been working … --- ## [Cell Specialization (Early Multicellular)](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/cell-specialization-early-multicellular/925)
**Author:** [@NickTheNick](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/NickTheNick)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2022, 8:51am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/cell-specialization-early-multicellular/925 "2022-08-14T08:51:37Z")
Overview I think one of the key elements that will be needed to make 2D Multicellular more fun is a natural incentive to evolve different specialized cell types. For example, there ought to be more benefit to a single ce… --- ## [Multicellular Stage: Status & Ideas?](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/multicellular-stage-status-ideas/668)
**Author:** [@Phrenotopian](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Phrenotopian)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2022, 7:06am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/multicellular-stage-status-ideas/668 "2022-07-21T07:06:34Z")
So I was curious to hear what the state-of-affairs is with regards to the Multicellular Stage. It’s because I have some rough proposals myself that I’m (for now) considering writing up somewhere, but I also don’t wanna r… --- ## [Dr.Geneva Answers Our Questions](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/dr-geneva-answers-our-questions/896)
**Author:** [@Nunz](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Nunz)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2022, 10:15am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/dr-geneva-answers-our-questions/896 "2022-06-20T10:15:32Z")
Some background before we get started here: Dr.Geneva is a Genomics Scientist who researches and has written publications on topics such as Evolution, Genomics, Computational Biology, and Reptiles in general. He used to … --- ## [Segmentation in Multicellular Stage](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/segmentation-in-multicellular-stage/891)
**Author:** [@Gamedungeon](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Gamedungeon)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 9, 2022, 8:03am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/segmentation-in-multicellular-stage/891 "2022-06-09T08:03:06Z")
Segmentation is a significant component in the evolution of many species. The current suggestions about starting a new limb being expensive would make it nearly impossible for the game to evolve millipedes and other many… --- ## [Narotiza's weird simulation experiments](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/narotizas-weird-simulation-experiments/890)
**Author:** [@Narotiza](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Narotiza)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 8, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/narotizas-weird-simulation-experiments/890 "2022-06-08T21:12:38Z")
So for a while I’ve sort of been brainstorming an alternative form of a unified population sim/auto-evo which focuses on smooth changes over time, rather than the large jumps that currently happen every editor cycle. At … --- ## [Aquatic macroscale evolution](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/aquatic-macroscale-evolution/866)
**Author:** [@stingpie](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/stingpie)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/aquatic-macroscale-evolution/866 "2022-04-14T20:09:47Z")
Ok, I think we’re approaching a point where it’s time to start talking about simulating more than just rigidly attached cells. Without doing softbody simulations, the best alternative would be skeletons. So, I’ve built a… --- ## [Adopt a directed evolutionary approach](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/adopt-a-directed-evolutionary-approach/811)
**Author:** [@84634E1A607A](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/84634E1A607A)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/adopt-a-directed-evolutionary-approach/811 "2021-11-10T16:45:42Z")
The current evolution algorithm of organisms is completely random. But we know that each entry into the editor represents 100 million years of evolution. During this time, natural selection should have eliminated many un… --- ## [Refactor compound density logic](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/refactor-compound-density-logic/831)
**Author:** [@Maxonovien](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Maxonovien)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 31, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/refactor-compound-density-logic/831 "2021-10-31T21:23:29Z")
Hello everyone, While working on my global compound diffusion model, I realised that the gaseous compounds in the patches (nitrogen/dioxygen/carbon dioxyde) were encoded as proportions relative to one another, e.g. 70% N… --- ## [Global Compound Diffusion Model (GCDM)](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/global-compound-diffusion-model-gcdm/820)
**Author:** [@Maxonovien](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Maxonovien)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 11:53am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/global-compound-diffusion-model-gcdm/820 "2021-09-19T11:53:59Z")
GCDM: Part 1 - Isolated patches and constant production Hello everyone, here is (at long last) my attempt to draw a diffusion model for compounds, that operates across the patches, and finally allows for them to evolve … [Next page](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/c/theory/17.md?page=1)