Dazenith

The idea of a "bad" body gene is interesting. But the penalties are uneeded. Simply having no bonuses would already be far weaker than existing bodies.

I kind of like B the most. Stats though I'm torn since I like the proposed Fluffy Ears with similar stats.

Longer limbs is a larger stride. Yes smaller bodies have less mass to move but if their limbs can only cover half the distance per stride they'd have to make two strides in the same time as the larger body. This can become really inefficient. That's why they only get +1 Speed. This is the difference between let's say a Beagle or a Chihuahua (small bodies if a bit smaller than my intended size) and a Greyhound (lean body and fastest dog breed) and a German Shepherd (medium body). I can also use wild cats for an example lynx and caracal (small body), cheetah (lean body and fastest land animal) and cougars and leopards (medium body) Most small animals have far larger litter sizes than bigger animals. There are a few reasons for this but one could be said that smaller animals need larger packs to make up for the fact that they get preyed on. The other is the fact that a smaller body is quicker to develop and requires fewer resources to do so. Only the smallest animals can have hundreds of young at a time. Spiders and Small Fish And as you get to the larger end having more than one baby is uncommon to very rare. Elephants, Rhinos, Bears. Small animals do not eat a "lot" more. They do in fact eat less. However they do not eat proportionally less because they have a higher metabolic rate to keep up their internal temperatures. However this game doesn't take into account size and metabolic rate and such for how much each creature eats. And with regards to Gathering the same could be said of the Bird Beak how does it offer any advantage in gathering over any other kind of mouth? Anywho. I kept those as alternatives as they could make for more interesting and specialized creatures. At the very least I'd like to see a small body body added because why not? We have both Antlers and Ram horns that are no different in terms of gameplay. We have both medium ears and round ears that both offer +3 hearing and no differences. Then of course there are the myriad of coat options and patterns. (Which some do have effects but by large don't)

So we have a variety of bodies and some which are of different sizes but there are none that are explicity small. So introducing the Small Body type, It would have the following stats: +1 Speed +1 Flying (only if it has wings) +3 Stealth +2 Scentless +3 Heat Resistance -1 Cold Resistance +1 Camoflague This body could be useful in making some sneaky small critters that avoid conflict. The additional heat resistance for being small would be useful in very hot maps like Deserts. Because the small body would be light it gives a boost to flying if it has wings. Since however they have smaller limbs they do not gain any additional speed over the medium body. Lastly being able to make a cute small Nicheling seems rather fun to do. Edit: Old stats were not distinct enough and the other bonuses were not favoured much so I lowered Scentless and added Camoflague because it being small would make it harder to see. Let me know what you think. Old stats for reference: It would have the following stats: +1 Speed +1 Flying (only if it has wings) +3 Stealth +3 Scentless +3 Heat Resistance -1 Cold Resistance Other bonuses: +1 Gathering +1/2 Fertility These bonuses would be in place of the higher Scentless or Heat Resistance making this body type more unique. A smaller body might be more nimble in trying to gather from bushes. Smaller animals generally have larger litters of babies thus an increase to fertility.

I would suggest that they give: +2 Fishing, +1 Strength, +1 Speed. This way they wouldn't replace any existing legs in their roles entirely and would both allow Nichelings that can't fly to still move with them whilst still giving a boost to flying creatures with the strength and fishing.

I had to upvote because carrots are my favourite vegetable. But in all seriousness having a vegetable food source would be a nice alternative that I don't believe has been added yet. Edit: Oh yeah and instead of adding a new ability for "Picking" I would think harvesting Carroots would use Digging.

I too would love to see this added. Having the ability to create custom maps is one of the things I like a lot in games especially strategy based ones. This could also tie into the request for Challenges with Win Conditions. Being able to either hand craft or define some parameters for the island would fit well together.

I like the idea. But I think these stats would be more appropriate: +2 Smelling, +1 Strength, +1 Digging Gathering and Defense seem a little out of place for this head type. And this allows it to have a decently good smelling without it being overpowered.