Happy World Oceans Day everyone!

We were recently approached by WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conversation who in partnership with Curve Games are running a World Oceans Day Charity Sale to raise aware for their charitable work and honestly, Ecosystem is such a great fit for this that it was an immediate yes!

During the sale Ecosystem will be 10% off, with a further 10% being donated to WDC.

Alongside the sale we are running an open beta for the next major update to come to Ecosystem, the Evolutionary Sandbox Update.

We spoke about the update in Development Update #10 so if you want to get the full rundown of the update you can check out that post!

As always with our betas, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND backing up your save files as we can't guarantee they will stay compatible with the main branch version of the game.

You can back up your saves by locating them at: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\Documents\Ecosystem - to back them up just copy them to another a folder, for example your desktop, then when you revert back to none beta version of the game, if your save doesn't load you can copy them back to your Documents\Ecosystem folder.

You can use the games Discord server to provide feedback (which is preferred) or the Steam community forums on the pinned post.

You can opt into the open beta by choosing it on the Betas tab (accessed by right clicking the game in your Steam library, and choosing properties).

Patch notes for the beta are below, and if you would like to learn more about WDC you can read more about them below :)

PATCH NOTES
v0.27

FEATURES
* Allow for adjusting higher level properties of the environment and creatures: Drag, Aerodynamics, Mass Density, Muscle Density, Neuron Energy Cost, Maturation Time, Lifespan, and Mating Period.
* Allow specifying parameters that creature evolution will be kept within: Size, Dimensions, Body Part Count, Body Part Types (Fins/Tentacles/Tailfin), Skin Color/Brightness, and enforced Symmetry of various types.
* Add several creatures to the creature menu that serve as examples of what can be done with the parameters. These example creatures and the parameters themselves are unlocked via the research menu.
* Allow for much greater variety of creature size and color.
* Symmetry is much more common and less likely to be broken by mutations.
* Mature creatures now have a medium-priority behavior in which they attempt to keep themselves upright while swimming.
* Interaction options can now all be accessed whenever a creature is selected in addition to being on a separate menu. Also new interaction options: cull species, and speciate based on individual.
* It is now possible to set hard caps on the population of a species, numbers that it will never go below or above, allowing the player to ensure, for example, that a species never goes extinct.
* Players can now revive a creature if it died while selected.
* When heads are very thin, like a manta ray, they should appear more natural and less 'wooden'

FIXES
Fix: Sometimes the spawn species sound effect cuts off.
Fix: Editor could get into an invalid state under certain circumstances if you canceled the screenshot.
Fix: Editor randomize button does not pick the best head for the body.
Fix: When editing a creature near the ground, it's possible for the camera to get gimbal locked.
Fix: Creature selection box could get stuck on red after using the editor.
Fix: Carrion could sometimes hang around a long time after loading due to saving its lifetime parameter incorrectly.
Fix: Culling species from the Info Panel would sometimes miss individuals who were just born.
Fix: Improve performance on Info Panel.
Fix: Creatures with mutation rate set to zero still seem to mutate due to some of the effects of DNA combination in mating.
Fix: New limbs are more likely to be hooked up to nerves that actually function and less likely to trigger invalid physiology removal prior to birth.
Fix: Rare case where creatures could stop steering when pathing towards the mating grounds.
Fix: water can sometimes flicker off and on in the creature view.

KNOWN ISSUES:
Uprightness option on Evolutionary Parameters Menu does not do anything, as this behavior is always fully on.


About WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation

https://uk.whales.org/

WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation is the leading global charity dedicated to the conservation and protection of whales and dolphins. We defend these remarkable creatures against the many threats they face through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research and rescue. Our mission is to share the wonder of whales and dolphins with people all across the world, and inspire global action to protect them. Our vision is a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.

WDC has offices in the UK, US, Australia, Germany and South America and currently works on a range of campaign areas including:

• Stopping hunting and commercial whaling. Around 1,500 whales and dolphins are hunted each year
  
• Ending the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity. There are around 3,600 whales and dolphins held in captivity across the globe.
  
• Preventing the accidental entanglement and death of whales and dolphins in fishing gear. Hundreds of thousands of whales and dolphins are accidentally caught and killed in fishing gear each year.
  
• Creating healthy seas and safe homes for whales and dolphins. 81% of all whale and dolphin species have been affected by plastic pollution.