Adapt Dev Log, (Dec 2024)
Hello everyone!
The New Year is fast approaching, and it seemed like an appropriate time to share some of what I've been up to behind the scenes the last few months, as well as what’s planned as we continue pushing towards Adapt’s Early Access release in 2025.
Next Update - Jan 2025
Medicine + Healing Changes
With the introduction of Shelters, I thought it was a good time to make some significant changes to Healing that I’ve been planning for some time. Animals no longer passively heal over time… at all… From now on, animals must rest, eat, or consume medicinal objects which can now be found around the world. Each works in a slightly different way:
- Consuming new medicine objects provides a powerful healing-over-time effect.
- When resting, animals recover health according to their habitability score.
- Eating edible food while hungry now restores a small amount of health
Habitability
I've re-implemented the habitability system to directly affect animal well-being. Animals living outside their preferred temperature range may overheat or become too cold, negatively impacting stamina and health regeneration, depending on the severity of the conditions. An animal’s temperature range can be altered primarily via genetics related to temperature regulation, but they can also cope with environmental stressors by seeking shelter, which we’ll talk about below. In the future, I’ll also be exploring other passive benefits for animals inhabiting suitable environments.
Shelter Improvements
Shelters will now provide the ‘Sheltered’ benefit, which provides animals with a substantial habitability boost based on the quality of the occupied shelter. While sheltered, animals receive both increased benefits such as Health / Stamina regen, and reduced negative impacts from the environment. The next update will include several new Shelter types, including stone dens and tree hollows, with more shelter types planned for the future.
Upcoming Features
We’ve got plenty of exciting updates in the works that need a bit more time to fully develop, but I wanted to share some details about the major additions coming in 2025. Keep in mind that these features are still in development, so some details may change as they take shape.
Progression
Adapt’s progression system has been a long time coming and represents the final major feature required before Early Access. This system will provide the necessary structure for the game’s main loop, enabling players to discover and unlock new parts, adaptations, and—in future updates—new skills and traits to further customize their animal’s playstyle and niche.
Unlocks
Players will gain access to new genetics by completing activities during gameplay, such as winning a conflict, succeeding in social interactions, and exploring their environment. When an unlock is gained, players will choose from several options, generally including a level upgrade for one of their current genetics (if available) and a selection of new parts to unlock. Players will also have the possibility to skip an upgrade and simply receive some DNA instead.
Quests
Daily quests will allow players an additional means to gain access to new unlockable genetics as a reward for completing their daily goals. Quest goals include activities related to socializing, competition, foraging, exploration, reproduction, and general survival. A new quest can be selected each day, and rewards will generally be themed based on the quest type. I’m still exploring different kinds of activities to include as Quests, so I’d love to hear any thoughts or ideas you all would be excited to see.
As I mentioned earlier, these are some big features that touch pretty much every other part of the game. With that said, things are coming along nicely, and I’m excited to get these features into Adapt and share them with all of you! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and be sure to stay tuned, as 2025 is looking to be a big one for Adapt!