This video, made in partnership with Curiosity Stream, discusses the evolution of the game "Earth" during its open beta phase. The game started as a chemistry simulator and evolved into a complex, strategy-based game with multiple classes and abilities.
During the Cambrian meta, gameplay took place entirely within the marine biome, and the player base was dominated by arthropod builds. The most popular arthropod build was the trilobite, which was easy to play and had solid defensive stats. However, players eventually learned how to get past their defenses, and the trilobite fell in viability.
The Hallucigenia, a build that used spikes as a defense mechanism, was in the high C tier. Despite being a great strategy, it wasn't a threat to other players due to its small size and low mobility.
Opabinia, a grappler build, was in the B tier. It was successful due to its trunk, which gave it an excellent grab with extended range. However, after suffering heavy losses, Opabinia mains started to spec into heavier defenses, leading to a decline in its viability.
In the A tier, Haikouichthys, the first fish added to the game, was the only mobility-based build during the Cambrian. It had the first camera-type eyes, which were better at focusing and seeing through camouflage. Despite being small, it had potential that improved with the release of a future fish build.
Anomalocaris, a top-tier build, was the first to achieve this status in the game's history. It could deflect any attack and could use its tendrils to grab or flip its opponent, allowing it to attack their weak point for massive damage. However, it was so powerful that it was banned in the game's first balance patch, opening up new niches for other builds.
The video also mentions that the meta progressed rapidly after the open beta, with the addition of the terrestrial DLC and the unlocking of new abilities like flight. The source footage for this video comes from two prehistory documentaries, "Walking with Monsters" and "Leaps in Evolution," both available on Curiosity Stream.
1. The video was made in partnership with Curiosity Stream.
2. The game, Outside, underwent a development process.
3. During the game's early access alpha stage, it was primarily a chemistry simulator.
4. The game initially only had single-cell builds with limited interesting content.
5. Once the developers finished work on the first multicellular classes, the game started to gain traction.
6. The game released an open beta, which received significant attention and became known as the Cambrian explosion.
7. The video discusses the meta during Earth's beta and the most important abilities and stats at that time.
8. During the Cambrian meta, the developers hadn't released the terrestrial expansion pack yet.
9. Gameplay during this time took place entirely within the marine biome.
10. Mobility, intelligence, and stealth were not yet significant aspects of gameplay.
11. There were diverse builds to choose from during the Cambrian meta.
12. Arthropod builds dominated the Cambrian meta.
13. Arthropods had two perks that gave them an early lead: an exoskeleton and advanced eyes.
14. The trilobite was a popular arthropod build of the time.
15. The meta during the Cambrian explosion advanced rapidly, causing truly low tier builds to be forgotten.
16. Hallucigenia was one of the few builds that didn't run a carapace shell as part of its build.
17. Hallucigenia players opted for a different type of defense: spikes.
18. Hallucigenia wasn't really a threat and could be easily ignored by other players due to its small size and low mobility.
19. Opabinia was a favorite ancient build that was one of the first grappler builds to find significant success in the game.
20. Opabinia's trunk gave it an excellent grab with extended range.
21. Opabinia had excellent perception skills because it speced into compound eyes with five eyes, giving it full 360-degree vision.
22. Haikouichthys was the only mobility-based build that existed during the Cambrian.
23. Haikouichthys had the first camera type eyes, which were better at focusing.
24. Haikouichthys' internal skeleton gave them much more flexibility than builds with an exoskeleton head.
25. Haikouichthys was extremely small, barely outside the microscopic weight class.
26. Anomalocaris was the first build in the game's history to achieve top-tier status.
27. Anomalocaris could deflect just about any attack due to its armor and had a strong power stat to crack most other players' armor.
28. Anomalocaris could use its tendrils to grab or flip its opponent, allowing it to attack their weak point for massive damage.
29. Anomalocaris had the most advanced compound eyes of any build at the time, rivaling that of present-day dragonflies.
30. Anomalocaris ended up getting banned in the game's first balance patch.
31. The video source footage is from two prehistory documentaries: BBC's Walking with Monsters and Leaps in Evolution.
32. Both documentaries are available on Curiosity Stream, a streaming service.
33. There are over 2400 documentaries on Curiosity Stream.
34. The subscription to Curiosity Stream is $2.99 a month, but a full month of free access can be obtained by visiting curiositystream.com/tierzoo.
35. By subscribing, viewers support both the channel and general educational content.
36. The video was made by a developer who appreciates his patrons on Patreon.
37. The video ended with good luck to viewers until the next time.