Hey there Glassdev, as hhyyrylainen has mentioned, the idea of environmental events is not new around here, but nonetheless your concepts here are a breath of fresh air on the subject! A good practice for keeping things neat and tidy here on the forums is using the search bar to identify if your topic or similar topics already exist before creating a new one.
By geological hotspots I assume you mean a global increase of compounds concentration localized in a whole patch rather than spots within the patch. If so, a rise in compounds during a generation or two might not have a particularly noticable effect on the player or game itself. However, if we ever introduce a system where compound concentrations are able to dynamically flow into nearby patches, this idea could potentially prove to be a pretty cool feature and could have a larger impact on the game and player. Either way, there’s not anything to lose by implementing this should we desire it.
Personally the way you explain the invasive presence event doesnt sit right with me. I feel like it’s somewhat against the concept of Thrive to artificially grant a species benefits such as exclusion from predation. I’m also somewhat unsure of the MP bonus it could grant as it could potentially conflict with the simulation aspects of Thrive, but some others may like the MP. That being said, invasive species are a very real part of nature, and we could certainly implement events that would introduce foreign species to another patch. An example could be an irregularly strong current blowing some species from one patch to another. Weither they survive or thrive in the new patch is another story.
Local eutrophication sounds interesting! Thrive is currently lacking in environmental dangers at the moment, with only cold patches featuring damaging ice shards. However, the issue with this idea as you have noted lies in how hard it can be to visualize a lack of oxygen in water. I would certainly not want to force the player to rely on UI elements to detect this, as it would be akin to navigating an invisible maze! And some particularly inattentive players may not realize why they are suddenly not getting the energy they need. I’m for the idea if we can devise a way for the player to “see” the zones though! If we cant, we could potentially recycle the idea with actual “hot spots” for the pangonian vents patch, places where the water is much too hot for the player to survive which could be represented by bubbling water and perhaps a red glow.
Visual elements for the report menu? Yes please! I’m completely on board with that idea as it would make it much easier for a player to understand the changes that have occured in the patch, especially when the amount of species has become high.
I enjoyed reading your ideas, and look forward to much discussion with you in the future!