As with most things on this project, I often found myself spending more time playing it than actually coding it. Here's a look behind the scenes at the simulation interface that I used during the QA phase for the new terraforming mechanics in Replicant Space. All the internal rules and parameters for the engine are stored in a shared json file, so I could run the simulation with confidence that the in-game system would work the same way. On the left we have the seven environment attributes and the comfort ranges for our target species - in this case the Gwynhari. On the right, various terraforming devices are activated and adjusted. Thermal lances are pushing up the temperature, while aquifer taps are releasing underground water into the atmosphere, and a gas separator is carefully controlling oxygen levels. The world is always trying to drift back to its natural equilibrium, calculated from its gravity, orbital distance and mass, so you're always countering that. Let the atmospheric pressure rise too much, and you trigger greenhouse runaway. Get the biosphere index above 50 to activate natural toxin scrubbing. A range of coupling effects at different thresholds. And if the world is particularly stubborn, we can just drop a heavy Kuiper object on the surface or skim a carbonaceous rock through the upper atmosphere for some extra bio drama. Once the attributes are holding steady, the player can activate an atmospheric regulator to handle microfluctuations from solar flares and occasional tectonic events. Will hopefully put a nicer version on the website. It's good nerdy fun. #replicantspace #indiedev #gamedev