Biomass Density

Biomass Density is a parameter that determines the density of biomass energy per unit of terrain squared (E/u2). It can be seen as the general fertility of the simulation space.

As the simulation is a closed system, the total amount of energy available to the simulation can be calculated with the following formula:

TE = Biomass Density * Simulation Size2

Where TE is the total amount of energy.

The maximum total amount of plant pellet that can exist given a set of settings can be approximated with the following formula :

This parameter can be found in the world options.

Effect on the Simulation
This parameters directly influences the maximum and total amount of energy available in the simulation.

Since biomass is nearly all converted to pellets at the start of the simulation, you can approximate the initial number of pellets in a simulation using the following formula:

No. of pellets = (Biomass Density * Simulation Size2 - 5000E) / Average Pellet Size

As a result we can see this setting will directly drive the initial count of pellets.

A value that is too low would make it hard for a sustainable lineage to develop and take hold, as the initial pellet density would be too low. Of course, as mutations are random, there is always a slim possibility that a beneficial mutation can develop given a sufficient amount of time. But still, lower values for this parameter tends to make survival less likely and will require a longer amount of time for a sustainable lineage to take hold.

Inversely, a value that is too high could be problematic by producing an overabundance of pellets. By itself this isn't too bad on computer performance, but it presents a risk that the initial spike of Bibite population count (as a sustainable lineage starts reproducing and spreading across the simulation space) would become excessive and present a heavy load on the machine the simulation is running on.

the default value given is considered the best value to allow Bibites to conserve energy enough to evolve, while also allowing there to be a healthy amount of competition from other Bibite lineages.

Experimentation is encouraged, as some experimentation is needed to find the right value, other parameters can also be used to reduce the initial spike while trying to provide a "welcoming" environment for a lineage to take hold.