Hello, new and returning members.
I’m sure you have seen many abbreviations on the forums, and wonder what they mean. This thread will lay all the abbreviations and their meanings out for you.
A
Auto-Evo - The system in game which controls organic, planetary, or technical evolution
B
Behavior Editor - Part of the OE or TE where a player sets up AI and special animations for a tech or organism
Belgium - The worst profanity in the universe, used instead of all others by seasoned members who remember the old forums and their censors
C
CE - Culture editor
D
Darwinian - Refers to the current theory of evolution through natural selection
Direct Edit- A controversial action, constantly under debate, in which a player can make a small change to their organism by accessing the Organism Editor during gameplay
E
Editor - Any in-game content editor such as the OE, TE, PE, CE, etc
ETO - Environmentally Transient Organism- an animal that moves in between biomes regularly
F
FP- Function Part; see below
Function Part - Something that adds function or abilities to a Tech Object. Think of a car. The Function Parts in a car would be the engine, wheels, axles, fuel container and control mechanisms. The rest of the car is simply structural or aesthetical, but do not add function or abilities to the car. Function Parts are included in the game to allow for objects that are too complex for players to create or for the Tech Editor engine to understand to be included in Tech Objects. There will need to be a variety of Function Parts, and they will need to be able to be textured with different materials and have shape and size changes applicable to them.
G
God tools - A panel of tools which give the player God-like abilities which are unlocked over the course of gameplay
GM or God mode - Once a separate mode with god tools (see above). The concept of God Mode has been dropped, in favor of simply using the God Tools mentioned above, but God Mode is often referenced.
H
I
Invention - This is a minor, more specific breakthrough by your people. Inventions spring off of Researches. For instance, the Research Athletics leads to the Inventions of Combat Sports, Field Sports, Team Sports and Water Sports. Not all civilisations will invent all of these types of sports, thus Inventions help to diversify nations.
J
K
L
Lamarckian - Refers to Lamarckian evolution, an outdated theory of evolution that assumed mutations were created by an animal’s actions and passed on from there
LAWK - Life As We Know it
Levelling - Levelling up a Research or invention is where the player improves the technologies or discoveries they have made. The related Function Parts will become more efficient, powerful, durable or otherwise improved for their purpose. Related bonuses to SCs or nations will be increased.
M
Manakin - A poseable “manakin” representing an organism that can be loaded into the Tech editor to provide a template to build around. A common typo, actually spelled “mannequin”.
MC - Military Center. Like a Society Center, except that it is for the express use of the military.
N
NPC - Non=Playable Character (organism)
NPN - Non-playable Nation (faction)
O
OE - Organism editor
OP- Original post, aka the first post on a thread
Org. - Organism in gameplay
Org. Mode - Organism mode, the mode of gameplay in which a player controls a single organism
P
PE - Planet Editor
PPG - Procedural Planet Generator, an engine in the game that decides what a planet can be like.
Procedurals - Pieces of code that use algorithims or formulas to approximate real-world results, used for textures, gaits of animals, evolution, etc.
Q
QFT - Quote For Truth - someone has quoted a post because they agree with it.
R
RTS mode - Strategy mode
Research - This is a major breakthrough by your people. Researches can be thought of as technologies in other games, however the word technology or tech is too similar to Tech Object, and could more easily lead to confusion.
Research Points - Research Points are used by the game to know when a Research or Invention will be discovered. Researches and Inventions will be discovered when the player reaches a certain quota of Research Points or by chance after a slightly lower quota.
S
SC - Society Center (a staple of Strategy Mode gameplay) Basically, any city or town your species lives in.
Share Code - A string of text which can be read by the game to create an organism, or anything else made in the game’s editors*. To a person reading it, it will ideally be fairly clear which sections represent what part of the organism/object. The name ‘share code’ refers to its use as a way of sharing an in-game object in a way that can be easily copied and pasted via a forum or similar website from one game to another, as well as, of course, its code-like appearance.
Strat. Mode - Strategy Mode, the mode of gameplay which is much like an RTS
T
TE - Technology Editor
Tech - Technology used in gameplay
Test mode/test grounds/test space - Referring to the area/mode inside an editor in which organisms, AI, and technology can be tested
TO - Tech Object; see below
Tech Object - Something used by the people to perform or help perform a task. Tech Objects can be anything from weapons to buildings to spaceships. Tech objects are created by the player in the Tech Editor or selected from premade Tech Objects and run through some manner of evolution algorithm that is yet to be determined. Tech Objects are granted abilities through their construction and Function Parts and are given tags by the player or AI in order to show what they should be used for. This will stop the AI trying to go to sea on a furnace.
U
V
W
X
Y
Z