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- Please note that this guide currently applies only to the 1992 Super Nintendo version of SimEarth; certain features may be referred to in different names and or are not present in other versions, and vice versa. You may include guides for other ports of the game or differences if inclined.
SimEarth: The Living Planet was published in 1990 by Maxis. A version was created for the Super Nintendo by FCI in 1992. Please note that throughout this guide, terms will be presented exactly as they appear in the game. For example Alt is used in place of Altitude in the game, so it will be expressed as such here.
Gameplay
SimEarth is an interactive simulation in which you can mold and shape a planet down to every peak and canyon that you choose.
The beauty of the game lies within the fact that, unlike most games, there is no real objective or goal to attain. Thus, creativity can be prevalent, and possibilities are limitless.
In SimEarth, your planet has a life of 10 billion years, after which the sun supernovas, turning your entire planet to desert. Unlike the PC version, it is actually possible to continue playing beyond this point.
Placing objects and performing certain actions in the game requires energy, which is represented in omega units (Ω). Actions are carried out through a series of menus, which contain available options to use.
The edit menu contains a wide variety of objects which can be placed in your planet, and actions that can be performed in an area on your planet.
Biomes
- Rock (50Ω): Bare rock; the absence of biome. Life cannot survive here.
- Arctic (50Ω): Glaciers and shelves of ice. No lifeform can survive here.
- Boreal (50Ω): Cool, pine forests. Every land life can thrive here.
- Desert (50Ω): Hot, arid climates. Only reptiles, dinosaurs, and insects and thrive here.
- Grass (50Ω): Temparate, flat prarie in which every lifeform can live comfortably.
- Forest (50Ω): Temperate areas populated with many trees in which many lifeforms thrive.
- Jungle (50Ω): Humid forests, product of high rainfall.
- Swamp (50Ω): Hot, humid wetlands in which many sea-life, as well as land-life creatures can survive.
Lifeforms
Sea Life
- Bacteria (50Ω): Single-celled organisms (prokaryotes).
- Amoeba (100Ω): Multi-cellular organisms (eukaryotes).
- Starfish (150Ω): (Starfish)
- Crab (200Ω):
- Octopus (250Ω):
- Fish (300Ω):
- Whale (350Ω):
Land Life
- Trichordates (400Ω): Tricordates are beings with three spinal cords, which became extinct long ago. They have a chance at survival in SimEarth.
- Insects (450Ω):
- Amphibians (500Ω):
- Reptile (550Ω):
- Dinosaur (600Ω):
- Birds (650Ω):
- Mammals (700Ω):
- Carniferns (unavailable): Carniferns are mutated, carnivorous plants, which can occur only naturally. Having an abundance of insects allows for these lifeforms to develop.
Civilizations
- Stone (500Ω): The first level of organized culture.
- Bronze (1000Ω): The usage of agriculture allows for higher populations.
- Iron (1500Ω): Further advancements allow for even higher populations. This time period represents the dark ages to the renaissance.
- Industry (2000Ω): With the beginning of the technological time scale, the use of fossil fuels is having a detrimental effect on the environment.
- Atomic (2500Ω): Cities which make use of Atomic energy. Overuse of nuclear fuels can cause radioactivity.
- Inform (3000Ω): Representative of present-day modern cities in which the flow of information is important, and computers are a significant part of everyday life.
- Nanotech (3500Ω): Cities set in the future in which miniaturisation has taken a predominant role in science and medical technology.
Terraformers
Terraformers are devices used to alter conditions of the planet. If a terraformer is destroyed, it no longer functions, and conditions will revert.
- Biome (500Ω): Produces biomes in the area surrounding where it is placed.
- O2 Genr (500Ω): Produces oxygen into the atmosphere for life to survive and can lower the planet's temperature.
- N2 Genr (500Ω): Produces nitrogen into the atmosphere.
- Vapor (500Ω): Produces water vapor, thereby increasing rainfall.
- CO2 Genr (500Ω): Produces carbon dioxide, which allows plant life to thrive and can raise the planet's temperature.
- Monolith (2500Ω): An extraterrestrial tool that can be used to spark intelligence into lifeforms, making them civilized. The monolith has a 1 in 3 chance of being successful.
- Ice metr (500Ω): A large meteor comprised of ice that can be used to create oceans on a dry planet.
Events
- Storm (50Ω): Violent storms which originate in oceans.
- Tidal (50Ω): Massive waves of water which destroy cities and devolve lifeforms.
- Meteor (50Ω): Meteors make large craters and add dust particles into the atmosphere.
- Volcano (50Ω): Volcanoes can be used to raise land quickly, in the creation of land masses. They also put dust into the atmosphere.
- N-Bomb (50Ω): Atomic bomb detonations that destroy all life and cities in their area and render the land unusable for a long period of time.
- Fire (50Ω): Fires destroy all life, cities, and biomes, reducing the area to bare rock.
- Equake (50Ω): Earthquakes, used for changing the direction of the magma flow.
- Plague (50Ω): Mass disease outbreaks that destroy cities.
Raise/Lower land
- Raise (50Ω): Gently raises the land in the area surrounding the cursor.
- Lower (50Ω): Gently lowers the land in the area surrounding the cursor.
Examine
- Examine (5Ω): Allows you to receive information about a specific area on the map. Pressing A will call up a window displaying any lifeforms and cities which occupy the area, terrain, altitude, and temperature.
- Special Case: In scenario planets, you must examine the present to open it.
Other game events
The following list describes events, in addition to those of the events menu that may occur during the game based on the simulation. These events are unavailable to you.
- War: Occurs when resources in the area are scarce. Any cities which are involved are destroyed.
- Pollution: A problem of industrial age cities. Occurs when population density becomes too high.
- Sea Pollution: Oil spills which can occur when an industrial age population is travelling in the ocean.
Scenarios
- Aquarium: The game's first scenario, in which you must develop life to intelligence.
- Cambrian Earth: Earth of 550 million years ago. You are to develop life to intelligence.
- Modern-day Earth: Earth of 1990, plagued with problems of war, pollution, and disease. You are to develop technology to the nanotech age and trigger exodus.
- Mars: You have 200 years to terraform and colonize Mars with a biomass of 25000 and a civilized population of 1000.
- Venus: You have 500 years to terraform and colonize Venus with a biomass of 25000 and a civilized population of 1000.
- Ice Planet: A planet covered with snow and ice. As with Mars, you must heat the planet and make it capable of supporting life. You must develop 25000 biomes and 1000 civilized souls all within 500 years.
- Dune: A desert planet populated only by reptiles. You must develop a biomass of 25000 and a civilized population of 1000, within a 500 year time limit.
- Earth 2XXX: Robots have taken over the Earth! You must find a way to destroy them and redevelop the planet to 25000 biomes and a civilized population of 1000. You have limitless time.
Cheats
- Scenario Select: On the main menu, move the cursor to Scenario and hold L, R, and X. Press A and a scenario selection menu will appear.
- Special Menu: Watch through the introduction until "Press Start" appears. Hold L and R and press Start. You will now get a different menu from which you can view all Gaia windows, performs sound tests, and view the ending.
- Robots: Setting off an N-Bomb in a Nanotech city will destroy it, allowing the robots to escape and develop as any other lifeform. These lifeforms can survive anywhere and are not mentioned in the game's manual and are unavailable otherwise.