Overview of Early Macroscopic Progression

[Deus]

@Rathalos

I think we already tell the story of freely available organic compounds dropping at the start of the Microbe Stage?

I could have been more clear with the vocabulary instead of using “compounds”, as I was primarily referring to algaes, cyanobacteria, stromatolites, etc. that would compose the microbial mats that were ubiquitous at the time. Though using compounds was more inclusive of players who maintained metabolisms like the consumption of iron (likely consuming dissolved iron) or sulfur (likely consuming dissolved sulfur). I think a “normal” Thrive playthrough would have such bizarre diets fadeaway within a few generations of the macroscopic, but there will likely be some players who maintained metabolisms these functions.

@Rathalos

I think it is important to remember that we want as many things as possible to carry on from the Multicellular stage, so things like poisons should be remembered as part of the design from the start in my opinion.

Fair point, but I would think it still would likely be a few generations before such tools can be utilized in the context of predation, as advanced musculature or harder structures would take a bit of time to show up. Even if we had some ability immediately unlocked to make physical contact or something damaging because of toxins, there would probably also have to be some other investment needed to get a mouth or something to consume larger structures.

@Rathalos

Especially if you’re comparing this to the Ediacaran: I think there should be a possibility of “absorbing compounds through surface area”, but those would be (near-)sessile organisms, almost equivalent to autotrophs. The more obvious “active food-gathering playstyle” would be eating micro-organisms from the seafloor or water. (again, Kimberella)

I was thinking of absorption here just because Dickinsonia itself was likely a motile species without a mouth. Organisms like this appeared to be scraping and consuming microbial mats off the floor with its entire underside, so I think consumption without a mouth should be possible and probably relatively common among motile organisms at first - likely via a skin type/attribute setting.

Mouths I think would then add an additional benefit - maybe an ingestion percentage increase, and the ability to eat larger organisms which could allow more active predation?

In terms of filtering as we are more familiar with, I agree that it should be something seen in basically sessile organisms.

@Rathalos

I think here it is important to think of where exactly we want the transition from Macroscopic to Aware be. In my opinion, with some of the things you mention here, we’ve already crossed over.

Good point, and I do agree with something like the Cambrian Explosion representing the beginning of the Aware Stage.

I agree with you there on defining the end stage of the Macroscopic. The issue is that traditionally, the Aware Stage began with the creation of a nervous system under the assumption that the transition between 2D and 3D would be smooth. Now that we are going with a more definitive jump in scale - to a point where some sort of extremely simple nervous system will almost be assumed to exist - that’s a bit less of an applicable endpoint.

I guess a good cut-off would be the centralization of the nervous system (having some sort of “command center”, whether it’s a bit more decentralized as in octopi or a bit more centralized in arthropods and vertebrates).