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Steam News21 March 20263mo ago

v0.2.3 is on the Alpha Branch

# v0.2.3 is on the Steam Alpha branch! I had some fun with this update and went pretty deep with the biomarket simulation and contract generation.

Full notes

Full Substrate: Emergence update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

0 fixes4 additions2 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • Events
  • UI and audio
  • Balance
addedI also added a little more to the tutorial (you can reactivate it under the advanced settings tab) and changed some names to better match the theme. v0.2.3:
changedContract: reward upon completion
addedContracts build on each other, creating unique progression paths. A contract for evolving a new strain might lead to a future contract for evolving a variant of that strain.
addedNew strain portrait generation system
changedVarious balance tweaks and bug fixes
addedAdded debug console

Substrate: Emergence changes

addedI also added a little more to the tutorial (you can reactivate it under the advanced settings tab) and changed some names to better match the theme. v0.2.3:
changedContract: reward upon completion
addedContracts build on each other, creating unique progression paths. A contract for evolving a new strain might lead to a future contract for evolving a variant of that strain.
addedNew strain portrait generation system
changedVarious balance tweaks and bug fixes

# v0.2.3 is on the Steam Alpha branch!

I had some fun with this update and went pretty deep with the biomarket simulation and contract generation. Contracts come as either grants, which are upfront funding and a penalty for failure, or standard contracts which payout on completion. The biomarket has some calculations to simulate the value of cell strains based on their individual genes and some archetypal weights that respond to market demand.

Contracts need some work but they should progress with you as you complete them

I also added a little more to the tutorial (you can reactivate it under the advanced settings tab) and changed some names to better match the theme. v0.2.3:

  • Lab Mode:

  • Tutorial additions

  • Biomarket: buy and sell strains with supply/demand simulation

  • Cell value based on gene traits and archetype value (simulated)

  • Contracts: procedurally generated objectives with dynamic progression

  • Grants: upfront funding with interest penalty on failure

  • Contract: reward upon completion

  • Providers progress as you take on more work

  • Contracts build on each other, creating unique progression paths. A contract for evolving a new strain might lead to a future contract for evolving a variant of that strain.

  • New strain portrait generation system

  • Various balance tweaks and bug fixes

  • Added debug console

  • Name changes:

  • Species -> Strain

  • Creative Lab -> Theoretical Lab

  • Credits -> Biomarks

  • Stock -> Inventory

Source

Steam News / 21 March 2026

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