Reus is a game about the connection between nature and humanity. Some of these relationships are obvious. People found some wild cereals, domesticated and planted them in farms, and 600 years later we have cornflakes. But as other links are not so obvious...
Biodiversity
Enter biodiversity. A hot topic nowadays for sure! Since we wanted to have many different biotica and encourage the player to try different setups, biodiversity seemed like a great topic to turn into a game mechanic!
What does biodiversity do for humanity? As we researched the topic, the answer was not so obvious. Humans have thrived in places with relatively low biodiversity, like arid subtropical regions or colder plains. While rainforests, easily the most biodiverse places on our spiff little planet, have commonly made it hard for us to develop. Biodiversity also means more different pathogens and parasites to take care off!
Nature around Abbey Games. Pretty, but not the epitomy of biodivserity.
But biodiversity also creates new opportunities and keeps ecosystems stable. New plants like coffee or cacao that only exists in spefic niches. Biodiversity allows for more specialization and ecological stability.
Apex Biotica
In Reus 2, biodiversity plays a support role. Every unique bioticum you place in a Biome, will raise it by 1. Some biotica have symbioses that give even more biodiversity. They are more useful to nature than humanity, so their yields are often quite low!
Biodiversity in the top. Every instance of a biome has its own biodiversity.
Basically, Biodiversity is an upkeep for the stronger, more special biotica. Other biotica, especially the Apex Biotica, use this biodiversity. The stronger the biotica, the more biodiversity it will need. The Lapis Lazuli for example is a powerful desert Mineral that benefits greatly from gems around it. It does need 5 Biodiversity to be active though!
The Lapis Lazuli, famously used by ancient Egyptians in many of their jewelry
Rainforest
But not all biomes use Biodiversity in the same way! The new Rainforest biome has a different take. The Apex biotica are cheaper, and there are more biotica that give bonus Biodiversity. However, many biotica scale on how much extra Biodiversity is avaliable! Take the Gumbo-Limbo, which gives more Science for bonus Biodiversity.
In the rainforest, you might want to maximize that Biodiversity instead of using it all up!
The Gumbo-Limbo is a useful tree for the ecology, and very hurricane resistant to boot!
Biodiversity makes its entry into Reus 2 as a new mechanic. More than before, you will have to keep an eye to what you place. Spamming the same biotica combo over and over might no longer be the best way forward!
Looking forward to play? Let us know in the comments or on our Discord!
- Adriaan and the Monks at the Abbey