Let’s revive this topic because we should make a master list of all microbe biomes and then add them to the wiki (there were a few topics on this so apologies if I revived the wrong one).
We’ll track the progress on this on this GitHub issue: https://github.com/Revolutionary-Games/Thrive-Organization/issues/17
Then these are the wiki pages that we’ll update with the final lists:
http://thrivegame.wikidot.com/biomes
http://thrivegame.wikidot.com/gdd-microbe:appendices
Alright, so let’s nail down some specific values for each of the stats that TJ listed above, as well as any other ones we may think of.
Biome Name:
Sunlight (% Intensity): Light will appear in the environment ranging between a set of intensities. It speeds up chloroplasts, but at higher intensities can also damage cells that haven’t evolved pigments to protect against solar radiation.
Temperature (°C): Heat will appear in the environment ranging between a set of temperatures. It speeds up thermoplasts, but at higher temperatures can also damage cells that get too close and aren’t evolved to withstand high heat.
Currents: How strong the water currents are, affecting the need to evolve more movement organelles or not, and how quickly compounds circulate throughout the environment.
Salinity (% Ratio of salt to liquid): Cells that are adapted to high salinity need to evolve their membranes to migrate into low salinity biomes. (This might be an unnecessary variable to include)
Pressure (atm): Cells that are adapted to high pressure need to evolve their membranes to migrate into low pressure biomes.
Acidity (pH): Cells that are adapted to regular pH need to evolve to tolerate highly acidic or basic environments.
Compounds: A list of compounds and how common they are.
Visuals: The colours and VFX of the biome.
Notes: Any other notes about the biome.
Current List
-
Deep Ocean/Abyss
- Sunlight: 0%
- Temperature: 0-6°C
- Currents: Weak to none
- Salinity: Medium
- Pressure: High
- Compounds: Oxygen (High)
- Visuals: Dark blues and blacks.
- Notes: Oxygen levels are high because of cold oxygenated water flowing in from polar melting. Salinity is lower and currents are weaker in the deep ocean (confirm this). At these depths water pressure is very high. Organic detritus falling from above?
-
Hydrothermal Vent
- Sunlight: 0%
- Temperature: Up to 400°C near the vents, 2-4°C a few meters away
- Currents: Medium
- Salinity: Medium
- Pressure: High
- Compounds: Hydrogen Sulfide (High), Iron (High), Manganese (High), Methane (High), Ammonia (High)
- Visuals: Dark blues and blacks mixed with streaks of grey and white and red/orange/brown.
- Notes: The sunlight and oxygen levels are assuming the hydrothermal vent biome is in the deep ocean. It may be worth considering overlaps of biomes? (like a hydrothermal vent on a coastal shelf). Hydrogen sulfide, iron, manganese, and methane are all chemicals that make good fuel for chemosynthesis.
-
Coastal Shelf
- Sunlight: 50-80%
- Temperature: 10°C?
- Currents: Medium
- Salinity: High
- Pressure: Low
- Compounds: Oxygen (Medium), Iron (High), Manganese (High)
- Visuals: Lighter blues and greens.
- Notes: Near the surface of the ocean the sunlight penetrates enough to provide warmth and light, but also deadly UV radiation. Oxygen here is close enough to the atmosphere that it’s level is more in equilibrium with the atmospheric level. Salinity is high near the ocean surface because of a high amount of evaporation, and pressure is low. Dissolved minerals are common along the coast.
-
Tidepool
- Sunlight: 75-100%
- Temperature: 14°C?
- Currents: Strong
- Salinity: High
- Pressure: Low
- Compounds: Oxygen (Medium), Iron (High), Manganese (High)
- Visuals: Lighter blues and greys/yellows/browns.
- Notes: The tidepool is completely exposed to the warmth and light, but also deadly UV radiation, of the sun (which could potentially lead to extremely fast mutations). Oxygen here is close enough to the atmosphere that it’s level is more in equilibrium with the atmospheric level. Salinity is high near the ocean surface because of a high amount of evaporation, and pressure is low. Dissolved minerals are common along the coast. What makes the tidepool distinct from the Coastal Shelf biome is that it is filled with strong currents from the waves, and a high amount of nutrients and minerals carried by the currents to the shoreline.
To-Do
Underwater Cave?
Cavern
Polar Sea/Ice Flow
Ocean Surface?
Notes
- Iron and other minerals common near fresh igneous rocks near magma activity and lava beds
I will also leave a section open for global climatic trends, such as the oxygenation of the oceans, ice ages, etc. The earth was a very turbulent place during the microbial life period and the environment was in constant flux. These changes can lead to big changes in what is considered common in each biome (for example deep ocean would probably have no oxygen in the early stages of life).
Climatic Trends
Oxygenation Event
Snowball Earth / Ice Age
Ocean Acidification
These links have a lot of relevant info and ideas on the topic: