SimEarth remake? (Not Spore)
May 13, 2008 5:30 PM Subscribe
Does anyone know if there's anything like a re-make, or any game that's very similar in gameplay/mechanics to SimEarth?
I loved SimEarth growing up, had great fun evolving molluscs to go into space (on Mars, no less!)
I know that Spore is going to be somewhat similar in that you get to evolve species and stuff, but I'm wanting something that's got a more wide-angle view of a planet.
Something that measures albedo, atmospheric composition, etc. Also, I'd hope for it to be either less ugly than SimEarth, or at the very least that it runs at reasonably modern resolutions (I'd be willing to deal even with 640x480x8bpp)
Oh, I'd prefer that it run in Windows, since I don't own a mac, and don't really have much of a desire to install linux.
But if non-windows software is all that's available, I'd still love to know about it.
I loved SimEarth growing up, had great fun evolving molluscs to go into space (on Mars, no less!)
I know that Spore is going to be somewhat similar in that you get to evolve species and stuff, but I'm wanting something that's got a more wide-angle view of a planet.
Something that measures albedo, atmospheric composition, etc. Also, I'd hope for it to be either less ugly than SimEarth, or at the very least that it runs at reasonably modern resolutions (I'd be willing to deal even with 640x480x8bpp)
Oh, I'd prefer that it run in Windows, since I don't own a mac, and don't really have much of a desire to install linux.
But if non-windows software is all that's available, I'd still love to know about it.
I'm not familiar with any titles off the top of my head, but a little googling led me to this page, whose "Software" link section sounds promising. The focus is on artificial life, but some of the links mention environmental models as well. The AI.Planet project sounds especially close to what you're looking for:
AI.Planet is a virtual world for artificial intelligence. The environment has water, land, suns, moons, and atmosphere. Plants, animals, fish, and insects can be added to create a dynamic ecosystem. Clouds, rain, wind, lightning, rivers, and icebergs naturally arise from the sun and other influences.
Not as rigorous a simulation as SimEarth, no, but I doubt you'll find another title even approaching its complexity.
PS: Spore will have a simplified environmental model, a two-dimensional axis between hot/cold and watery/arid. You can see this axis here (temperature increases from left-to-right, water increases from bottom-to-top). There will also be a limited form of terraforming available.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:29 PM on May 13, 2008
AI.Planet is a virtual world for artificial intelligence. The environment has water, land, suns, moons, and atmosphere. Plants, animals, fish, and insects can be added to create a dynamic ecosystem. Clouds, rain, wind, lightning, rivers, and icebergs naturally arise from the sun and other influences.
Not as rigorous a simulation as SimEarth, no, but I doubt you'll find another title even approaching its complexity.
PS: Spore will have a simplified environmental model, a two-dimensional axis between hot/cold and watery/arid. You can see this axis here (temperature increases from left-to-right, water increases from bottom-to-top). There will also be a limited form of terraforming available.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:29 PM on May 13, 2008
Spore, from the maker of all things Sim, Will Wright.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:33 PM on May 13, 2008
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:33 PM on May 13, 2008
Of course, I fail to read the title. Apologies.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:35 PM on May 13, 2008
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:35 PM on May 13, 2008
Evolution on Underdogs. Haven't played it; don't know how good a fit it is to what you want.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:51 AM on May 14, 2008
posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:51 AM on May 14, 2008
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posted by agress at 5:47 PM on May 13, 2008