Status report 2
Finally, gameplay! I finished the gene-expression system.
I tweaked the code to randomize the basic genome for the above screenshot, so you can see what it looks like with an enemy that isn’t the default, un-evolved grunt.
Currently it seems to me that there are a lot of evolutionary dead-ends which kind of make the enemies a bit gimped, like if they get all the defensive genes and none of the offensive ones. But that’s kind of a gameplay feature, seeing as the player is well served to try and cull the more dangerous enemies, thus forcing them down an undesirable path and prolonging the game.
That, and if one of those nigh-indestructible enemies suddenly develops a dangerous mutation like “attack cooldown decreased by 30%” or “attack type changed to shotgun” (both real), the player is in a bit of a pickle…
Next up: do the wave/level system.