The differences between Oceans and Evolution
about 5 years ago – Fri, Apr 05, 2019 at 01:05:13 AM

Hi Backers, 

We see you want more explanation of the differences between Oceans and our game Evolution. Conveniently, there's a new review of Oceans that focuses on these differences (by respected reviewer Space-Biff), so now's a good time to discuss them.  

Here's the final sentence of the review: 

"In place of another Evolution, Oceans is far more than a sequel, and far better."

It was heartening to read that, because that's been our goal since we started designing Oceans in 2016. The first decision we made was not to re-skin Evolution. We had three reasons:

• As players, re-skins underwhelm us.
• As designers, previous Evolution games have taught us how make better games. We wanted to use that knowledge. 
• Our Evolution games are theme-first games, and marine life is different from life on land. We'd end up with a different game by letting the theme guide us. 

So that's what happened. We won't cover all the differences between the games here, but here are three big ones from the review (the quotes in bold italics below are excerpts from the review):

#1 - A new game architecture 

"That switch from simultaneous to turn-based play is neither a whim nor “fixable,” because it’s integral to the way Oceans functions. It’s the oxygen-enriching respiratory system that keeps this thing swimming. And in the end, it swims better because of it."

Evolution has rounds (and phases within rounds). Oceans doesn't. In Oceans, players take turns. The motivation was thematic: 

In Evolution, you evolve species in one phase, and then feed them until there's no more food in a separate phase. But that's not how real evolution works. Real evolution features ebbs and flows of various food sources while species are evolving, which in turn drives those ebbs & flows. By combining those elements in each turn, we recreate that interdependency, which establishes a new strategic and tactical framework. Here's how the review linked above sums it up:

"First, it’s far more dynamic than Evolution’s focus on having everybody descend upon the watering hole in a gluttonous frenzy that sometimes rewarded player order over everything else...Second, this transforms the ecosystem from an ever-changing teeter-totter into something that can and should be cultivated and mitigated." 

#2 - The Deep creates discovery and wonder  

"The basic idea is that eventually a second deck is unlocked, the DEEP DECK, which deserves to be written thusly because it’s everything that Oceans’ regular deck is not. For one thing, the cards within are unique. Each and every one of them. No repeats. And more immediately, they’re devastating."

One of the coolest things about real oceans is that large swaths of them are mysteries to us. How do we put that mystery in a game, and make it awesome? 

Previous Evolution games have tight, small trait sets, with multiple copies of each trait. That makes the species pretty knowable. The core trait set in Oceans is the same, and if you want that kind of experience with Oceans, you can play the game with just those traits. 

But when you include The Deep, you get a different experience.

To recreate the mysterious (and even mythical) qualities of deep sea species, we made a system to accommodate a large number of unique, powerful traits you don't see often. So players can evolve rare, surprising things. 

That's The Deep. At the same time, we've put much work into making sure these powerful cards don't imbalance the game: each card has a cost, and there are aspects of population dynamics that keep any species from getting too powerful. For example: overpopulation of a too-successful species causes population collapse.

#3 - Nurturing an ecosystem, rather than hanging on for dear life 

"Unlike the immediate extinction of Evolution’s creatures, species in Oceans only die off at the end of your turn. This provides a crucial window for recovery. With careful feeding and the right traits, you can stave off disaster, even saving multiple species."

Many iconic marine species are predators. To feature them, we'd need to build a game with lots of predation.   

But that left us with a problem. One knock on Evolution is it can feel too harsh. Well-timed predation of your species can be devastating.

So, we wanted to make a game with MORE predators (for theme's sake) that was LESS harsh. That was tricky, but we did it.

First, because predation happens all the time in the game, it doesn't feel like a special malicious event that exists just to upset you. Instead it feels part of the natural ebb and flow of things. 

But more to the point, we've made it harder for species to go extinct. So predation is in fact rarely devastating. That makes you feel more like you're nurturing an ecosystem, rather than hanging on for dear life.  

More...

These aren't the only ways Oceans is different. We haven't talked about the scenarios, new ways traits combo together, and the way populations age, significant differences all. We hope to get to that stuff in the future. 

A hearty, repeated thank you for your support and feedback. We're listening to all of it using it to improve the game and this campaign.  

Finally...

If you're excited about where Oceans is going, and feel we're treating you right, please share this campaign. It will help us tremendously (and there's a ton of stretch goals to unlock yet). 

Thanks everyone,

Nick Bentley (campaign manager and one of Oceans' designers)

New Scenario Card design, thanks to you.
about 5 years ago – Tue, Apr 02, 2019 at 12:15:05 AM

Hi Backers,

As we've watched your feedback roll in, one of the more frequent suggestions has struck a chord with us: many of you think the scenario cards are too plain. We've been staring at them and have decided we agree. So we're redesigning the look. 

This is how the scenario cards used to look before you politely told us they kind of sucked:

And this is the new version we're working on:

This design isn't final, and the image is a little low-res, but you get the idea.

You've helped us make Oceans a little more lovely. Thank you.

p.s. If you think we're doing right by this game and by you, please share this campaign with wild abandon. It will help us tremendously.

Wood Fish, more about The Deep, and coverage of some unlocked stretch goals.
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 09:30:47 PM

Hi Backers,

As mentioned in the last update, the most asked-for item in this campaign, by far, is wood fish tokens. So you can now get a complete set of 215 wood fish as an add-on, for $14. We don't have fish meeples painted with the final colors to show you, but we do have a photo that will give you an idea of their form: 

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More about the thinking behind The Deep: 

We've noticed through our years of testing the Evolution games there are lots of players who gravitate to fantastical traits. 

In making Oceans we realized we might leverage the weirdness of (and mythology about) deep ocean creatures to create traits that are a little more "out there". 

So The Deep is intentionally less scientific than the rest of the game. Some Deep traits reflect reality pretty closely, others not so much. The cool thing about the actual deep ocean is there are so many weird critters down there that if you don't know much about it, it can be hard to know which Deep traits are real and which aren't.

Note you can play Oceans with or without Deep traits. If you play without, the game is tight, clean, and balanced. If you play with the Deep traits, it's hairier, weirder, and can be more swingy. So you can choose what kind of game you feel like playing.

Some Unlocked Stretch Goals

We've unlocked a LOT of stretch goals, so let's talk about a few of them. I won't cover all unlocked stretch goals in this update, but I'll some personal favorites. If someone else at North Star were writing this, they might pick a different set, as we all have different ideas about what's cool.

Extremophile 

This trait is our excuse to put a Tardigrade (AKA Water Bear) in the game. An extremophile is a creature that can live in harsh conditions and there are none more extreme than the Tardigrade. They can survive in space, and they can also survive near total desiccation for a decade. That means they can dry out into a husk, rehydrate a decade later, and carry on like nothing happened. 

They can and do live just about everywhere (including the deep ocean), and they'll probably be around long after humans have gone the way of the dodo. Good luck trying to drive a species with this trait to extinction (Spoiler: you can't).

Mass Migration

This is a scenario card, which causes players to exchange species with one another. I like it because it causes a major strategic shift in the game, BUT it's one that you can see coming, and you can plan for it. Long-term planning is head twisty and different with this scenario in play.

Bioluminescent Lure 

This Deep trait one of the more aggressive in the game. Besides representing a real, iconic adaptation from a deep ocean species (the anglerfish), it's the only trait that allows you to eat another species when it's not your turn. If another species attacks one of yours, and you have the bioluminescent lure in your hand, you can reveal it and turn your attacker into your prey. It can be devastating to that species. 

Hybridization

I already shared the image of this in a previous update because it's one of my favorite illustrations in The Deep, but it's also one of my favorites in terms of gameplay. Hybridization allows a species have the same traits as a species next to it. As a result, it's the only trait in the game that allows you to have the same Deep traits on more than one species (each Deep trait card is otherwise one-of-a-kind).

Of course there's much more to talk about, but that will have to do for now. Stay tuned... 

Nick Bentley, campaign manager and one of Oceans' designers

FUNDED. Major thanks for our best campaign start ever! Also: Wood for Fish
about 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 01:08:36 AM

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Thank You Oceans Backers!

Thanks from the bottoms of all our hearts for making Oceans a success so far. We've been working on the project for years and it's gratifying you see value in it. We've never had a campaign raise so much in one day, or even close.  

We want to make sure you come away feeling great about having helped us make Oceans real. It would be hard for us to make a game like this without your support here.

To that end, we're listening to your feedback. The biggest item:

Wood for Fish

The most common request so far is for wood fish tokens. We hear you.

We're now working on a way to provide wood fish as an add-on. We hope to have the details squared away in the next few days. We'll let you know as soon as we do. 

Also, a number of you have asked for a different color scheme for the deluxe acrylic tokens. Note the color scheme pictured in the campaign isn't final (we've now captioned the image to make that clear), and we see your point. We'll work to make sure the color scheme is as beautiful as possible before going to print. 

HUGE thanks to our testers

Since November, over 2000 games of Oceans have been logged by nearly 200 different playtest groups, most of them by a core group of 50 playtesters who donated more of their time than any reasonable person could ask for. There is no way to make a game like this without that kind of effort. Playtesters: thank you. 

Stretch Goals

There are already a slew of unlocked stretch goals to cover. We'll start covering them tomorrow, as your humble campaign manager has to finish his launch day work, have a heart attack, and maybe sleep.

Finally

In the meantime, know we're reading every single comment and message. Early on there may be delays in our responding because there's so much work to do. Thanks in advance for your patience. 

In addition, note we won't be able to honor every request. We receive hundreds of requests, but each addition to the campaign increases the logistical risks in fulfillment. There are many requests we won't be able to honor, to ensure we don't fail you in the fulfillment stage of the campaign.

Thanks, 

Nick Bentley (campaign manager and one of Oceans' designers)