A comprehensive reference for every mechanic in SpeciesQuest. Click any topic to explore it in depth.
Competition, hybridization, symbiosis, or parasitism — how your species meets others defines its fate.
Every tick, species sharing a tile roll for encounter resolution. The type of encounter is determined by your aggression gene, their aggression gene, and a stochastic modifier. Outcomes are never fully predictable — that is by design.
Both species fight for the tile's resources. Combat strength, size, and defense determine who loses population. The loser may be pushed to migrate or go locally extinct.
Rare event where two compatible species merge gene pools, producing a subspecies. The hybrid inherits averaged genes but may gain a unique emergent trait.
Positive-sum outcome. Both species gain a food or reproduction bonus. Symbiosis is more likely when both species have low aggression and high social scores.
One species drains resources from the other without direct combat. Stealthy or low-strength species default to parasitism when they cannot win direct fights.
The species that has inhabited a tile longer gains a small defense bonus in competition.
A species vastly outnumbering a rival gains a combat multiplier. Numbers matter.
Summer favors aggressive expansion. Winter pushes species toward hibernation-like behaviors, reducing encounter frequency.
Rare traits like Pack Hunter, Venomous, or Armored directly modify encounter outcomes beyond the base gene calculation.