Hi everyone!
It's July already-- half of 2025 really went by in the blink of an eye! It's been a while since my last devlog, so I'd like use this monthly round-up to give everyone an update on what I've working on and what you can expect to see in Adapt in the near future. Let us dive in, shall we?
Progression
I’ve been working a lot on integrating progression systems into the game in preparation for early access. This system will partially replace the current DNA reward system with a new reward selector which will let players choose from several part upgrades / unlocks, or skip a reward in order to gain some DNA instead.
Players will now be able to upgrade and specialize their parts, with more upgrade slots and higher upgrade levels becoming available based on that part’s level. Parts will now be organized based on their primary use, organized by category: conflict, exploration, or social, with different activities rewarding parts and upgrades accordingly.
I’ve also got big plans for a new Lifestyle Tree, which will allow players more customization options. As players progress through the game, you’ll gain Lifestyle Points, which can be used to alter their animals behavior and physiology. Attributes like size and reproduction which are currently available in the game will be migrated to the Lifestyle Tree, and I plan to add many more upgrades; including parenting strategies, new dietary and thermoregulation abilities, buoyancy, respiration, migration, and improvements to social groups.
Technical Stuff
While less fun to show off, a huge portion of my time since the last update has also been invested in backend improvements to the game in preparation for release. With optimizations, data cleanup, and editor cleanup high on the list.
Importantly, I’ve also done a ton of work cleaning up the way the game loads and saves your game data. I’m happy to say this work is nearing completion, and that moving forward save data will become increasingly stable from update to update. Because the game will be in early access, data loss may still happen from time to time with major updates.
Upcoming
Lastly, I’d like to briefly share two other major improvements on the horizon!
Mutation
Working on all of these data structures recently has positioned me perfectly to do the needed preparations for mutation and variation. I’m happy to say that soon I’ll be able to implement more advanced forms of mutation into Adapt. With this change, players will see animals with slight genetic differences from their species roaming the world, and even breed with variations of their own species in order to potentially earn free genetics for their offspring. I consider this a critical system in any true evolution game, and I’m confident others will also have a lot of fun trying to find the perfect mate to give them those spiny babies they’ve always dreamed of.
The Region Map
Adapt will be getting a world map! A ton of work went into improving map generation last year, and I was careful to set everything up for a future map feature. You can a simple preview for this when generating a new map while starting a game above the generator panel; but I’ve got big plans do dig deeper into this system in order to create a robust and informative Region Map which will allow players to more effectively navigate the world, place marker, locate important resources and group members, and later, even create migrations or mark special locations like breeding grounds which will influence the behavior of AI animals.
Before we end today's blog post, I'd like to thank everyone for waiting so patiently for Adapt. It's been a long evolution journey and I am really excited to show you everything I've been working on. Please look forward to what's coming next to Adapt! Follow Adapt on X/Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and join our Discord to receive the latest news!