Hey pack!
Things are getting serious.
We decided on a launch date: Thursday, September 21st 2017.
That is just four weeks from now! Until then all new versions will remain on their separate branches. On launch day they will be pushed on to the main branch. Now we need all the help we can get to make sure the release version runs like a charm, so all new pack members discovering the game on launch have a great time experiencing it for the first time ^^
Please note: If you just want to play and enjoy the game DON'T play this version. This version is for bug testing and feedback. Your game will automatically update itself as soon as the update runs well and is pushed to the main branch.
Please help us test this version and report feedback here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/440650/discussions/1/1471969431578238854/
In case you speak German, French, Spanish, Chinese or Russian, please play the game in your language and report translation issues :)
The launch will be an extremly important event for Niche and our studio. We would love to keep adding more features to the game and really hope it will sell well enough to enable us to do so. All infos about Niche’s future here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/440650/discussions/1/1368380934282493056/
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What is new?
- Distinction between story and sandbox mode
+ selectable start islands in sandbox mode
- Tutorial (finally!)
- Steam achievements
- 5 available save slots
- Polishing and bug fixes
- Ui is completly reworked (It took me a while to get used to it xD)
- Localisation to French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian
(a huge thanks to our translators <3)
The tutorial includes a few references to the intro video (which is currently in production and looks awesome :D) which are probably a but confusing.
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How to get the update:
> right click on Niche in your library
> click on properties
> select the beta tab
> select the dropdown and choose “release_preview"
> the game will update, please wait (restart Steam if the game is not updating)
> play :D
> report bugs and leave feedback here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/440650/discussions/1/1471969431578238854/
If you are a Youtuber/Streamer:
Please inform your viewers how to access the update and let them know it is a preview version.
This update features a lot of new content and we had to rebuild the game quite a bit. Because of this older save files will unfortunately not be compatible with this update.
We are really curious to hear if the game runs well on your computers now since we hope to have fixed some of the performance issues.
Known issues (currently fixing):
- Some animal textures (mainly for right paws) are misplaced
- Blue bird fly around weirdly
- Title screen not fit for all screen resolutions
Thank you all very much for your time and support :)
Cheers,
Stray Fawn Studio
Niche - a genetics survival game
Team Niche
Team Niche
2017-09-21
Strategy Simulation Singleplayer
Game News Posts 49
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
Very Positive
(4067 reviews)
http://niche-game.com/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/440650 
The Game includes VR Support
Niche Content Linux [189.27 M]
Keep your tribe alive against dangers, such as hungry predators, climate change and spreading sickness. Resource management and smart breeding based on real genetics are key in Niche. All worlds and animals are procedurally generated.
Niche is played from a top-down perspective, giving the player a god-like view over the board. Rounds are represented by a day cycle, in which the player controls animals to move and perform actions (collecting food, scouting a new field, mating, attacking a predator, etc). Animals have a limited lifespan, which makes procreation indispensable. An animal’s characteristics are defined by its genes, which are being passed on to the next generation. The player is rewarded with gene points for completing given tasks and for producing offspring. These points can be spent to unlock new genes, which increase the possibilities for evolution. Challenges come in form of animals dying and dwindling resources. The game is lost, when a player's tribe goes extinct. In the next game a new world is generated, but the previously unlocked genes stay in the world.
Games that inspired us
- The Creatures series
- Spore (mainly the first stage)
- The Curious Expedition
- Black & White
- Don’t Starve
Educational aspects
While playing Niche, the player is introduced to the scientific mechanics of genetics (featuring dominant-recessive, co-dominant inheritance, etc). The game also features the five pillars of population genetics (genetic drift, genetic flow, mutation, natural selection, sexual selection). All knowledge is interwoven with the game-mechanics. This creates the effect of learning by playing.
- OS: Ubuntu 12.04+
- Processor: 2 GHz Dual CoreMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVidia 8800 GT / AMD 4670 or faster
- Storage: 2 GB available space
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