In searching for ways to mix up compounds, especially in the beginning of a playthrough, I have more concepts for environmental events.
- Runoff - Occurring near coastal regions, such as shallow seas, tidal pools, and estuaries, this implies the release of sediments from land into water. Increases either phosphates/ammonia, iron, sulfur, or nitrogen in a given region. Multiple can be effected, but not necessarily true. This dramatically increases the rate at which compounds get added. Lasts for a given amount of generations.
- Upwelling - Occurring in the open ocean, such as for the epipelagic, mesopelagic, and anything in the water column above the ocean floor, it essentially operates the same as a runoff in introducing more of a given compound. Multiple can be effected, but not necessarily true. This dramatically increases the rate at which compounds get added. Lasts for a given amount of generations.
- Current Dilution - Occurring in any region, this indicates a shifting of currents to reduce a given or multiple compounds. Essentially the opposite of the above two. This dramatically increases the rate at which given compounds get removed. Lasts for a given amount of generations.
- Turbid Waters - Indicating a cluttering of the water in a patch, this lowers the amount of light available in a given region, capping it to a certain amount (perhaps anywhere from 50-80%). Lasts for up to three generations. Bonus points if in the future this includes more spawning of floating chunks, but obviously as of now, we don’t have the art assets for that yet.
- Increased Stratification - Whether due to mineral composition, current activity, or other reasons, oxygen is increasingly stratified in this patch. Oxygen is rapidly removed in a patch over a number of generations. Requires a minimum amount of oxygen in a given patch to have a chance of occurring - maybe 10%. Lasts for a given amount of generations.
These provide ways of increasing how volatile conditions can be. The rate at which these events occur can be incredibly common at the beginning of a game, representing the immaturity of your planet’s biogeochemical processes. This increases randomness, incentivizing players to respond to their environment as certain compounds rapidly increase or decrease in a given patch. After a while, the intensity and frequency of these events can subside, giving players a more steady rhythm and a baseline for how given regions in an environment behave in terms of their resource distribution.
This presents an alternative to introducing volatile conditions as opposed to just having compounds dramatically vary, which is a bit less realistic and a bit less predictable. This way, atleast players have an understanding of why certain compounds are scarce/abundant.
Ultimately, I think the ideal is - starting conditions, major flux, then your planet sets in on the result of this flux, with natural processes taking over to create a more standard experience later in the stage to expand on.
Beyond that, including events like glaciation that isn’t necessarily Snowball Earth, or volcanic events on surface patches, is also desirable.