We’re back again with our latest tri-monthly release of Thrive! This update brings to you a long awaited feature; The further adaptation and specialization of otherwise familiar parts. That is to say, part upgrades are finally here! As of now, only one upgrade exists, which provides cilia with a brand new functionality for players to experiment with. This and more, will be elaborated upon further into the post.
As always, to get the newest version, either download the free launcher below, or purchase Thrive on Steam or Itch.io to support the game’s development.
Thrive 0.6.1
Our developers have worked hard to bring you an expanded Thrive experience. We’ve outlined the major changes in this devblog, but you can see the patch notes for a full list of features and bug fixes.
Part Upgrades
With the introduction of part upgrades, individual parts of the cell can now be customized to introduce new and innovative functionality. This allows players to further adapt to a playstyle of their choice in increasingly deep and interesting ways! Contrary to what the name implies, the upgrades system will rarely if ever introduce a purely positive effect. Every change has it’s tradeoffs…
As of now, only one upgrade has been implemented; The new pulling cilia variant augments your engulfing ability by pulling in prey from further away. The more upgraded cilia you have, the stronger the pull!
Performance Benchmark Test
A new tool has been developed to test the limits of a player’s device. This benchmarks test puts your PC through a gauntlet of performance-intensive situations and records the results for you to consider. Notice anything odd about the results? Let us know!
Other Notable Changes
- Patch notes are now shown in the main menu first time when playing a new Thrive version
- Added buttons in main menu and the pause menu to open the link for reporting bugs
- Added new auto-evo exploring tool features (exporting data, running multiple worlds in a row + others)
- Evolutionary tree now works for freebuild games started with a fossil
- Added day/night cycle tutorial
- It is now possible to rebind and see controller buttons in the options menu
You can read the entire list of changes in our patch notes.
Looking Ahead
With a rise in performance issues and complaints from players, the next update is looking to be performance-focused with much of our effort going into optimization of Thrive. Unfortunately this means that it may not bring anything significant to the gameplay table.
There’s still a few features that didn’t quite make it into this release potentially to be followed through for the next, such as part unlocks. With functionality for upgrades added into the game, you may also expect more interesting options for present parts to become available!
Want to hear more? Come join us in our upcoming developer Thrivestream to ask us whatever you like, and celebrate the new release!
