It's been a long time, but XenoBloom has been updated to version 1.6, with the biggest addition being a new game mode: Deduction mode!
In deduction mode, you adjust the environmental conditions, and watch what happens. Then you answer questions based on your observations.
For example, the game might ask, "What condition does this plant need to grow", and it will give you three choices. It's up to you to figure it out. So you try turning one of those conditions on, and see if that plant grows, like this:
OK, well it's not that one...maybe this one:
Yep, that's it, the answer is water, so you click the little squiggly water icon at the top, and go on to the next question.
The game might also ask what condition kills a certain plant, so then you would need to grow it first, and then try to kill it with some other conditions. It's a fun experiment in deductive reasoning ;)
What about the next update?
That's going to be the really big one!
There will be lots of new plants, some of which will have never-before-seen behaviors.
And you know what else?
STEAM ACHIEVEMENTS! That's right, true Steam integration is finally possible.
Except for maybe this:
Some reviews have questioned whether XenoBloom is truly about evolution. It is certainly *about* evolution as a subject, but it does not *emulate* evolution. While that might be an awesome idea, it is way outside of the scope of this project.
Others question my "scientific knowledge" because I use the word "Plants", even though the game contains bacteria, worms, and fungi. It's a generalization, folks! The game also contains things that have no earthly analog. I call those plants too.
ːsteamsaltyː ːsteammockingː :2017eyeball:
Coming to Mobile and The Curse of Yendor!
Hey, it's been a while since there's been any public announcements about XenoBloom, but the game still lives! I've shown XB at several gaming events in the Washington DC area, and I've even converted it into an educational game about soil science.
I'm also working on porting a mobile-optimized version of the game to Android, so that you can grow your garden on the couch, on the bus, or in class (just don't get caught...but if you do you can tell them it's SCIENCE!)
But the big news is that "The Curse of Yendor" is releasing on steam 02/17/17
"A sword and sorcery adventure where your magic shapes the world. A Classical rogue-like with a modern feel. A challenging game with clear goals and important tactical decisions. A deep experience that's easy to use. Kill monsters, get loot, solve puzzles, complete quests."
XenoBloom 1.3 : Local Co-op and Selective Evolution!
I am very excited to unveil local co-op for XenoBloom! Tend your garden with a friend or family member. Just plug in a joystick/gamepad, and start digging, planting, and harvesting together!
A = Breath Of Life
B = Shovel
X = Harvest
Y = Net
video=youtu.be/hzTMEpPKRy0
Also new and exciting to this version is the fact you now have a choice as to which plant evolves next.
The winter content has been removed.
There are still more exciting developments coming soon to XenoBloom.
Announcement to Announce the coming Announcement!
This is an announcement to announce that there will be a big announcement soon. The announcement will be in reference to an update, which will be announced at a later date. I will be the one who announces it, and you will read the announcement. If you would like to see what all this announcing is about, you can look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh70ezvJzsU
...Or you can just wait for the official announcement...
For those of you who might worry about the impact of this impending announcement: Fear Not! When you read the announcement, you will realize that using the updated content that is announced is entirely up to you.
The date of the announcement shall be the twelfth of December, two thousand fifteen. Prepare yourself!
Halloween update and "Not Your Space"
In a few days, the Halloween update will come down. If you haven't played it yet, get it now! If you love it, you might want to turn off auto-updates ;)
But the big news from Ibology right now is that "Not Your Space" , a customizable sci-fi real time strategy game has just been announced, and is on Kickstarter and Greenlight
It's going to be an awesome game (it's already pretty great). Here is the art style Not Your Space will have once funded:
XenoBloom is a wonderful experience of zen growing and strategy, but sometimes you just need to blow up spaceships. NYS comes to the rescue!
XenoBloom gets a ~ S P O O K Y ~ update!
Get in the Halloween spirit with XenoBloom 1.13
The world has undergone a total overhaul, and 10 new "plants" are available for growing ...
for a limited time!
Without giving too much away, here is a sneak peak:
To access the new plants, you will need to start a new game, in whichever mode you choose.
Also of note, the new plants will not affect "Ecological Mode".
Try it now, this won't last forever!
XenoBloom 1.1 Released!
Just two weeks after the Steam launch, XenoBloom receives its first major update!
Features:
* New "Ecological" mode: More of a puzzle game, ecological mode is an entirely new way to play, where you attempt to balance the ecosystem using your plants.
* New functions in "Experimental" mode: If you hold down [shift] in experimental mode , you can now trigger a wide variety of events, like erosions, mutations, extinctions, and more.
* Four individual save slots Now you have one save for each game mode, allowing you to manage several different worlds at once. Previous save-games are no longer compatible.
* New DNA pickups Occasionally when you harvest plants, they will emit a bonus DNA particle. Quickly grab this with your new "net" (right-click) for extra power and evolution.
* New Random Events Several new types of random events have been added, like tectonic shift, columns, and mineral deposits.
* Added some fun new visuals You'll see... :)
* STEAM GUIDE And in case you didn't know, there's a XenoBloom steam guide, written by me, explaining all the new stuff, and a lot of the old stuff. This will continue to grow with the game
All plants will USE a certain element like water or sunlight, and also PRODUCE an element. Mature plants will produce more than they use.
Use your plants to max out all conditions.
You have unlimited power to change the ground or your plants' characteristics. However, you can not change the individual conditions, and harvesting plants will not evolve new life.
In the first level, you have 'worms' and 'tall grass'. Grass provides oxygen and consumes nitrogen. Worms use oxygen and make carbon. As carbon and oxygen build up, the conditions will improve, and life will explode across your world.
Achieving balance requires strategy.
The conditions on the left now show whether they are rising or falling. This is determined by what your plants are using and making. You will see two new faces here, if a condition gets very low or very high. In order to advance, you must get all possible faces to 'ecstatic'.
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NEW EXPERIMENTAL MODE POWERS
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XenoBloom update 1.1 adds lots of new controls to experimental mode.
Please note that you must hold down the [SHIFT] key to make these work.
• G: Creates a new random ground map
• K: Kills all plants
• F: Fills everything with dirt
• R: Removes all dirt
• Q: Changes a random survival condition (on the left)
• X: Soil expansion
• E: Soil erosion
• C: Form columns
• D: Mineral deposits
• T: Tectonic shift
• 1: Changes the social behavior of a random plant
• 2: Changes the elevation trait of a random plant
• 3: Changes the direction of growth of a random plant
• 4: Changes the fitness of a random plant
• 5: Causes a random plant to go extinct
• 6: RANDOMIZES ALL TRAITS OF ALL PLANTS!
XenoBloom: The First 48 Hours
XenoBloom has been on steam for 2 days now. Sales are good, reviews are positive, and the plants are GROWING!
In the interest of not confusing potential customers, I created a new video. It tells you what XenoBloom is and, just as importantly, what it is NOT.
XenoBloom has always been about two things: plants and cellular automata. But from some of the things people are saying, at least part of that may change. It was never my intention to have any kind of animal life in the game. Worms were a happy accident. But I still don't foresee the addition of any true animal life.
However, one suggestion I find intriguing is the idea of a more intricate and detailed interaction between the existing life forms, and the conditions that keep them alive.
As it is now, all the "conditions" like sunlight, water, wind, and nitrogen, are controlled by the player, and to a lesser extent, by random events. But these conditions are really just ways of manipulating the cellular automata layer on which the force of life is based. They are not meant to truly mimic those natural forces.
As you can see in the picture above, taken from "Scientist" mode, the conditions on the left are really just settings for cellular automata, and whether a cell with a certain number of neighbors will live or die. In the example here, a living cell with exactly 5 neighbors will die, but if it had 3, it would survive. But any "dead" cell with exactly 0,1,2,4,or 6 neighbors would "be born" (come to life). These kinds of interactions are what give cellular automata its amazing emergent properties.
But what I am conceiving now is a mode where the environment is truly interactive. Several new characteristics would need to be added:
<*>"needs" : each plant will require one of the 9 conditions to be at least "tolerable" before it can grow
<*>"hates" : each plant might also have an aversion to a certain condition, meaning that it can not grow if that element is too high.
<*>"uses" : this plant dimishes the amount of this condition in the environment. For example, plants might use up water or phosphorus.
<*>"adds" : this plant adds this condition to the environment, some realistic examples being oxygen and nitrogen.
One barrier to "adds" is that it would be very difficult for plants to add "wind", "sunlight", or "radiation" to the environment. Of course, on an alien planet, I can envision some pretty strange new plants right? A lightbulb plant, a windmill plant! This idea intrigues me, and will almost certainly make its way into the game.
From a marketing standpoint, XenoBloom needs to reach new audiences. It is a very "niche" game, but I think it has a potentially wide appeal. It is completely non-violent. My 6 year old daughter has fun with it. It also has scientific and mathematical tie-ins. There are 3 new markets right there :)
Thanks so much to everyone who has bought the game, rated it, written reviews, and posted screenshots. This is great! I have lots of things I want to put into XenoBloom, and from the looks of it, so do you!
