Niche Genetics Guide

This guide will provide you information about Niche genetics. Basically, it's a collection of all genes and their dominant/recessive alleles. Are you up for creating the ultimate rainbow creature? :P

Please note that it's not a gameplay guide per se, even though it has some info on gameplay elements.

Notes

Hi there!
This guide contains information on all genes that your creatures can have in the game's release version. Aside from some missing images it is mostly up to date - provided the game doesn't receive any more major updates.

You are welcome to share your ideas on how to improve this guide! And if you notice any misspelling errors, feel free to correct me.
(Also, obtaining some colour combinations is a pain.)

Please note!
There's a minor thing with terminology that I should note.
Imagine you have possible eye colours Yellow and Green. The game itself would call both of them "genes", and while I've seen this use of the word before and it's probably even acceptable, they are actually alleles of the Eye Colour gene. (Although to be fair, in real Genetics both of these ways are technically incorrect, as attributes are normally affected by more than one gene, and genes don't always have two alleles.)
This guide will call alleles alleles, not genes, except where it will be more aesthetically pleasing.

In case you have any questions, feel free to comment!

Changing game version

If you wish, you can play older versions of the game using Steam's beta feature. Don't forget to back up your saves before switching the version - you can find them in C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\LocalLow\Team Niche\Niche - a genetics survival game\Saves.

To switch versions, do the following:
- Open your Steam Library;
- Right-click on "Niche" title in the library;
- Choose "Properties";
- Open "Betas" tab;
- Open the menu on top;
- Choose desired version;
- If your game didn't start updating automatically after this, try to restart Steam.

As "Niche" used to be an early access game, there were several of different versions available for trying and testing. Now there aren't, but you can still try to use the access codes.

To get access to an experimental or preview version, do the following:
- Open your Steam Library;
- Right-click on "Niche" title in the library;
- Choose "Properties";
- Open "Betas" tab;
- In the input field paste version's beta code and then click "Check code";
- If code is accepted, new version will appear in the menu above;
- Choose said version;
- If you game didn't start updating automatically after this, try to restart Steam.

Older versions codes:
(0.1) unavailable; used to be the same as the next one.
(0.2) "supermutation"
(0.3) "AccessBuggyJunglePreview"
(0.4) "buggy_mountain_preview"
(0.5) no code required; named "buggy_0.5_preview"
(0.6+) "release preview"
(epigenetics) "experimental_mutationsystem"

(can't confirm these codes myself anymore, so if you use them, tell me how it worked! :D)

Basic Genetics Information

Skip this part if you know how basic Genetics work.

First, here are some simplified terms used in this guide:
Alleles are different types of one gene. For example, Blind Eyes and Normal Eyes are both alleles of the Eyes gene. (The game itself doesn't mention the term, instead referring to alleles as "genes" as well.)
Phenotype is a combination of all active traits of one creature.
Genotype is a combination of all genes/alleles of one creature, both active and inactive.

When two creatures breed with each other, their offspring inherits one allele from each parent. Depending on the gene, two resulting alleles interact with each other.
In Niche there are currently three different types of allele interaction.

Dominant and recessive alleles
As you probably know, alleles can be dominant and recessive. Traits contained in recessive alleles will appear in phenotype only if there are two recessive alleles in the cell, and all other combinations will result in a dominant allele trait.

If A is a dominant allele and a is recessive, there are four possible combinations: AA, Aa, aA and aa. Only the last combination will have trait of allele a in phenotype.
For example, if you breed two creatures with Poison Fangs (recessive a) and Big Nose (dominant A) with each other, statistically only one in four creatures will end up with fangs:
Aa + Aa = AA, Aa, aA, aa.

For alleles with this type of interaction you can find the dominance order in this guide. In Niche it's mostly linear, with one allele always dominating all of the others, the second one dominating all of the others except the first, etc. Still there are some exceptions, which will be marked with an asterisk*.

Only one allele (co-dominance)
These genes have two active alleles and always result in a creature having traits of each of them. On the in-game genotype panel, both slots will be active.
The best example is the Paw gene: one allele of it is responsible for the left paw, and the other is responsible for the right paw. Co-dominance is also present in Fertility and Immunity genes.

Partial dominance
With this type of dominance the resulting trait depends on both of the alleles, being a value in-between theirs. For example, if a creature has Red Fur and Grey Fur alleles, its fur will be pale red, a mixed colour between red and grey.
In game this type of allele interactions is presented in various visual traits: pattern genes and various colours. The only colour gene which doesn't have colour mixing is Eye Colour.

Gene Dominance Information

For convenience, here is a compiled list of allele domination orders for each gene.
The allele on the utmost left is dominant over every other allele after it, the second one is dominant over all but the first, etc.

Ears: Medium > Big > Round* > Bearyena (*Exceptions: Round dominance is parent-dependent: see corresponding Ears section)
Horns: No Horns > Ram > Savanna > Antlers > Megaloceros > Antenna
Eyes: Eyes > Shortsighted Eyes > Blind Eyes
Head: Derp > Short > Big > Cracker* > Poison > Platypus > Gills > Sticky* > Saber* > Bat > Purr* > Trunk > Bird > Bearyena (*Exceptions: Sticky > Cracker, Purr > Saber)

Body: Medium > Lean > Water > Toxic* > Spiky > Big* > Armored > Heat (*Exceptions: Big > Toxic)
Paws: one allele for each paw (upper for left, lower for right)
Hind Legs: Hind Legs > Webbed Hind Legs > Bearyena Hind Legs
Tail: Medium Tail > Swimming Tail > Fishing Tail > Stinky Tail > Tailfin* > Hammer Tail* > Scorpion > Peacock (*Exceptions: Tailfin and Hammer Tail dominance is parent-dependent: see corresponding Tail section)

Patterns: No Pattern > Dots > Mask > Stripes
Pattern Shape: B* > C > D > A* (*Exception: A > B)
Eye Colour: Black > Brown > Yellow* > Green > Blue > Violet* > Orange (*Exceptions: Yellow and Violet dominance is parent-dependent: see corresponding Eye Colour section)
Blood Types: Normal Blood Clotting > Hemophilia > No Gene

Information on specific genes can be found in other parts of the guide.

Attributes and Abilities

The following section contains information on all of in-game attributes and abilities.
The numbers in the brackets show minimal and maximal possible value.

Basic Senses

Eyesight, hearing and smelling give your creatures information on the world around them.
To change the perception mode, you can click on the button in the bottom right corner of the game screen, which will switch perception modes between eyesight, smelling and hearing.
Creatures can't perform actions on the tile they don't sense in at least one of the modes. For example, blind creatures can't move in eyesight mode if they are alone - but they can move in hearing and smelling modes.

Eyesight (0 - 2)
A range in which creature can see around itself.
The whole pack has shared vision.
Corresponding genes: Eyes.

Hearing (3 - 8)
A range in which creature can hear sounds.
Creatures can hear other animals.
Corresponding genes: Ears, Eyes, Head (Bat Head +3).

Smelling (0 - 5)
A range in which creature can catch smells.
Creatures can smell other animals and the plant life.
Corresponding genes: Head, Eyes.

Movement and Adaptation

While movement is less critical for survival than food gathering or self-defense, fast creatures have some nice advantages - too bad that being fast on the shore means being slow in the water, and vice versa. But if you're going underwater, be sure to grab some aquatic genes for underwater breathing.

Speed (1 - 6)
A max number of tiles through which creature can move with one action. Not that some obstacles like grass interrupt movement.
Corresponding genes: Paws (Runner Leg +1), Hind Legs, Body (Lean +2, Medium +1).

Swimming (0 - 8)
A max number of underwater/river tiles through which creature can move with one action.
Corresponding genes: Paws (Webbed +1), Hind Legs, Body (Water +2), Tail (Swimming +1, Tailfin +2).

Underwater Breathing (0 - 4)
Ability of the creature to breathe underwater - namely in the deep of the ocean, as for whatever reason rivers don't count as unbreathable.
Its value doesn't matter - creature either has it or not.
Corresponding genes: Head (Gills +2), Body (Water Body +2).

Flying (-1 - 8)
Ability of the creature to fly.
Despite what gene descriptions might have you believe, creatures with only one wing gene can't actually fly (nd don't have any flying ability on their skill panel).
Corresponding genes: Paws (Wing +4, Bat Wing +4), Body (Big Body -1).

Food Gathering

All of the abilities below allow creatures to gather food from different sources. Depending on the biome, some of these get more or less useful, but it's always good to have some creatures with cracking and collecting abilities, as these are quite helpful on any island.

Collecting (0 - 5)
Ability of the creature to collect food resources - primarily berries.
Its value affects the number of resource gained from one action as 1 to 1.
Corresponding genes: Paws, Head (Bird Beak +1).

Cracking (0 - 4)
Ability of the creature to crack objects - namely, acorns, seashells and coconuts.
To Do: confirm if different values affect the number of resource gained.
Corresponding genes: Paws (Nimble Fingers +1), Head (Cracker Jaw +2).

Digging (0 - 7)
Ability of the creature to dig to get food.
To Do: confirm if different values affect the number of resource gained.
Its value affects the number of resource gained from one action as 1 to 1.
Corresponding genes: Paws (Digging Paw +2), Head (Digging Trunk +3, Bird Beak +1).

Fishing (0 - 6)
Ability of the creature to fish.
To catch any special kinds of fish (lonely fish, not swarms), creatures have to have fishing ability better than a corresponding fixed value: for example, 4+ for a Razorania.
Corresponding genes: Paws (Claw +2, Bearyena Claw +1), Tail (Fishing Tail +2).

Feeding From the Bottom (0 - 1)
Ability of the creature to find food at the bottom of the ocean/rivers.
To Do: confirm if different values affect the number of resource gained.
Corresponding genes: Head (Platypus Beak +1).

Healing

A very small section for abilities which allow player to heal their creatures. While the main source of healing effect in the game are healing plants, some creatures themselves can assist their hurt packmates.

Purring (0 - 1)
Area of effect ability that can be performed by a creature with Purr Snout. Affected creatures receive a status effect (indicated by a circle icon above the portrait) and regenerate health (needs confirmation about healing effect: amount, how long it lasts).
Corresponding genes: Head (Purr Snout +1).

Offensive and Defensive Abilities

Everything that you'd want to have before meeting many predators of the world - be it stealth or tough hide, everyone needs to defend themselves somehow. Nice way to gain a lot of offensive potential is to breed a couple of hybrids, as their special genes give quite a lot of attack power. Just make sure you don't overdo it, as they are also slow and not helpful with food beyond fishing.

Strength (0 - 12)
A value of damage which can be dealt with one attack.
Corresponding genes: Horns, Head, Body, Paw, Hind Legs (Bearyena Hind Legs +1).

Defense (0 - 3)
A value of damage negated when creature is attacked.
To Do: confirm if different values affect damage negation 1 to 1.
Corresponding genes: Body (Armored +3, Big +1).

Venomous (0 - 3)
Ability of a creature to poison enemies with its attack.
Poisoned enemies will take damage each turn for a fixed number of turns.
Corresponding genes: Head (Poison Fangs +2), Tail (Scorpion +1).

Poisonous (0 - 1)
Ability of the creature to poison anyone who attacked it.
Corresponding genes: Body (Toxic Body +1).

Spikyness (0 - 1)
Ability of the creature to hurt anyone who interacted with it, including - in case of licking - its own pack members.
Corresponding genes: Body (Spiky +1).

Strong Voice (0 - 1)
Allows creatures to growl at enemies. Growling causes the predator to target other animals instead of the one who growled. This includes other pack members, meaning that the growling protects only the one who growled, not the whole pack.

Camouflage (0 - 7)
Ability of the creature to stay visually hidden. Always changes depending on location, namely, the colour of tiles.
Being on a tile with grass always gives +2 camouflage.
To Do: confirm effects.

Stealth
Ability of the creature to stay silent.
To Do: confirm effects.

Scentless
Ability of the creature to go unnoticed by smell.
Rollimg in the mud gives creatures +3 Scentless.
To Do: confirm effects.

Distasteful Scent
Affects probability of being attacked by predators focused on smelling.
To Do: confirm effects.

Distasteful Appearance
Affects probability of being attacked by predators focused on sight.
To Do: confirm effects.

Passive Abilities

These allow better adaptation and survivability - especially the immunity. Low temperature resistances can hinder your progress on particular islands, and bad immunity levels can easily cause a game over. Poison resistance is nice to have around as well, especially when there are toxic berries around.

Poison Resistance (0 - 2)
Ability of the creature to not get poisoned. Allows safe gathering of poison berries.

Cold Resistance
Ability of the creature to resist cold temperatures - basically, to not get frozen.
To Do: confirm effects.

Heat Resistance
Ability of the creature to resist hot temperatures - basically, to not get overheated.
To Do: confirm effects.

Fertility (0 - 6)
Ability of the creature to procreate (see corresponding section of the guide).
Higher fertility gives better chances for successful mating.

Immunity (0 - 1)
Ability of the creature to resist sickness (see corresponding section of the guide).
However, it doesn't help against being infected by another already sick creature.

Head

Head gene mostly affects creatures' feeding method and smelling ability, with some of the head types also adding special qualities like underwater breathing or poison resistance.

Head gene has dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are fourteen different head types, including one hybrid and one prehistoric.

Simple allele dominance order:
Derp > Short > Big > Cracker* > Poison > Platypus > Gills > Sticky* > Saber* > Bat > Purr* > Trunk > Bird > Bearyena

*Exceptions: Sticky > Cracker, Purr > Saber.

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Short Snout (formerly Normal Snout)
+2 Smelling


Big Nose
+3 Smelling


Derp Snout (formerly Spit Snout)
+2 Smelling
+1 Distasteful Appearance


Poison Fangs
+2 Venomous
+1 Smelling
+1 Poison Resistance


Cracker Jaw
+2 Cracking
+2 Smelling

Gills
+2 Underwater Breathing


Platypus Beak
+1 Smelling
+1 Feeding From the Bottom

Saber Tooth Fangs
+2 Strength
+2 Smelling
+1 Distasteful Appearance
+1 Strong Voice
Prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.

Bearyena Snout
+2 Strength
+1 Distasteful Appearance
+1 Strong Voice
+2 Smelling
Hybrid gene. For information on hybrid genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Digging Trunk
+3 Digging
+3 Smelling
Prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Purr Snout
+1 Purring
+2 Smelling

Bird Beak
+1 Collecting
+1 Smelling
+1 Digging
+1 Insect Collecting

Bat Head
Deactivates Ears gene slot.
+2 Insect Collecting
+2 Smelling
+3 Hearing

Sticky Tongue
+2 Insect Collecting
+2 Smelling

Ears

Ear types primarily affect hearing range. Almost all of the ear types have the same +3 hearing and give no other effects with the exception of Big Ears, which grant +4 range, increased heat resistance and decreased cold resistance.

To use hearing, switch the map view by tapping a big button with a creature head icon on the lower right part of the screen until it highlights the ears on the icon.

Ears gene has dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are four different ear types, including one hybrid type.

Bat Head makes ears inactive.
Derp Snout head causes all types of ears to look similar, although bonuses of ear types remain unchanged.

Simple allele dominance order:
Medium > Big > Round* > Bearyena
*Exception: Round Ears and Medium/Big Ears dominance is parent-dependent - if the offspring inherits Round Ears from mother and Medium/Big Ears from father, then Round Ears is dominant. Otherwise (if Medium/Big Ears is inherited from mother and Round Ears is inherited from father), Medium/Big Ears is dominant. It doesn't matter which allele parents themselves have active (mother with dominant Round Ears and recessive Medium Ears can still produce an offspring with dominant Medium Ears).

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Medium Ears
+3 Hearing


Big Ears
+2 Heat Resistance
-1 Cold Resistance
+4 Hearing


Round Ears
Round Ears are unlocked through the story mode.
+3 Hearing

Bearyena Ears
+3 Hearing
Hybrid gene. For information on hybrid genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


All ears look similar on Derp Snout:

Horns

Horns grant boosts to strength (or, in one case, a weather prediction ability) and have no negative effects, which makes them very useful to have. All common types of horns have the same effect of +1 Strength, and the only difference is their looks.

Horns gene has dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are six different types of horns, including one prehistoric.

Simple allele dominance order:
No Horns > Ram > Savanna > Antlers > Megaloceros > Antenna

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No Horns
No effects.

Ram
+1 Strength


Antlers
+1 Strength


Savanna Horns
+1 Strength

Megaloceros Horns
+2 Strength
Prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Antenna
+1 Weather Prediction
To use weather prediction, open creature's Skills panel (top button next to the portrait) and hover your cursor over the Weather Prediction icon.

Eyes

Eye gene affects creature's eyesight and smelling ability: the worse the eyesight, the better the sense of smell. It is the only gene which can affect eyesight.
If you're in a situation when you only have blind creatures, try changing to smelling/hearing modes.

Eye gene has dominant and recessive alleles. There are currently three different eye types.

Simple allele dominance order:
Eyes > Shortsighted Eyes > Blind Eyes

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(Normal) Eyes
+2 Eyesight

Short-sighted eyes
+1 Eyesight
+1 Smelling

Blind eyes
+2 Smelling
+1 Hearing
+0 Eyesight

Body

Body types primarily focus on resistances and defenses, and are useful when adapting to harsh climates or avoiding predators.

Body genes have dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are eight different body types, including one prehistoric.

Simple allele dominance order:
Medium > Lean > Water > Toxic* > Spiky > Big* > Armored > Heat
*Exceptions: Big > Toxic.

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Medium Body (formerly Normal)
+1 Strength
+1 Speed
+1 Stealth
+1 Scentless
+1 Heat Resistance
+1 Cold Resistance

Lean Body
+2 Speed
+3 Heat Resistance
+2 Stealth
+3 Scentless

Big Body
+2 Strength
+2 Cold Resistance
+1 Defense
-1 Heat Resistance
-1 Flying

Toxic Body
+1 Poisonous
+1 Distasteful Appearance
+1 Poison Resistance
Toxic body also affects creature's primary fur colour, overwriting Fur gene.


Water Body
+2 Swimming
+2 Underwater Breathing
+1 Scentless


Spiky Body
Deactivates Tail gene slot.
+1 Spikyness
+2 Strength
+1 Scentless


Armored Body
+ 3 Defense
Armored Body is a prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Heat Body
+1 Heat Radiation
+4 Cold Resistance

Paws

Paw types affect a wide range of creature abilities, most of which are related to food gathering, combat and movement. They are essential for survival of the pack, and having a variety of paws is generally helpful for adapting to different surroundings.

Paw genes only have one allele for each paw. On the gene info panel, the upper paw slot is for the left paw and the lower one is for the right paw. It doesn't matter which one is which in relation to dominance - you can have a creature with claws on its left paw and a wing on its right paw, and vice versa.

Currently there are eleven different paw types.

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Deformed Paw (formerly No Paw)
No effects.


Runner Leg
+1 Speed
+1 Collecting
+1 Stealth

Velvet Paw
+2 Stealth
+1 Collecting

Nimble Fingers (formerly Berry Paw)
+2 Collecting
+1 Cracking

Claw
+2 Strength
+2 Fishing


Digging Paw
+2 Digging


Webbed Paw
+1 Swimming

Mammoth Foot (formerly Mammut Paw)
+1 Cold Resistance
+1 Defense
Prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Bearyena Claw
+3 Strength
+1 Fishing
Hybrid gene. For information on hybrid genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Wing
+4 Flying if genes identical (if creature has two Wing genes)
+4 Flying

Bat Wing
+4 Flying if genes identical (if creature has two Bat Wing genes)
+4 Flying

Hind Legs

Hind legs affect movement on land and underwater.

Hind legs gene has recessive and dominant alleles. Currently there are three different hind legs types.

Simple allele dominance order:
Hind Legs > Webbed Hind Legs > Bearyena Hind Legs

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Hind Legs
+2 Speed
+1 Swimming

Webbed Hind Legs
+2 Swimming
+1 Speed

Bearyena Hind Legs
+1 Strength
+1 Speed
+1 Swimming

Tail

Tails boost a variety of different abilities, from food gathering to movement. They are useful for specialization and adaptability.

Tail gene has dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are eight different tail types.

One of the tail types, Peacock Tail, changes its effect depending on the creature's gender.
Also notice that Spiky Body gene deactivates tail effects.

Simple allele dominance order:
Medium Tail > Swimming Tail > Fishing Tail > Stinky Tail > Tailfin* > Hammer Tail* > Scorpion > Peacock
*Exception: Tailfin and Hammer Tail dominance is parent-dependent - if the offspring inherits Tailfin from mother and Hammer Tail from father, then Tailfin is dominant. Otherwise (if Hammer Tail is inherited from mother and Tailfin is inherited from father), Hammer Tail is dominant. It doesn't matter which allele parents themselves have active (mother with dominant Tailfin and recessive Hammer Tail can still produce an offspring with dominant Hammer Tail).

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Medium Tail (formerly Fluffy Tail)
+ 1 Cold Resistance


Stinky Tail
+1 Distasteful Scent


Swimming Tail
+1 Swimming


Fishing Tail
+2 Fishing


Hammer Tail
+1 Strength
+1 Cracking
Prehistoric gene. For information on prehistoric genes refer to the corresponding section of the guide.


Peacock Tail
+1 Attractiveness (on males)
No effect (on females)

Scorpion Tail
+1 Venomous
+1 Poison Resistance

Tailfin
+2 Swimming
-1 Cold Resistance

Fur Colours (part 1)

See examples of the colours in the next section of the guide!
(Characters limit is painful with tables.)

Fur colours affect the camouflage attribute.
Unlike with most of the genes, alleles of the Fur Colour gene are partially dominant - the resulting colour is a mix between two allele colours.
Currently there are eight different main fur colours, which allows 36 possible colour combinations in total. All of the combinations you can see in the table in the next section of the guide.

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Camouflage Bonuses:
Moss Brown: +2 on swamp (blue/green) and grass (light green)
Beige: +2 on savanna (yellowish green) and sand (light yellow), except when in the water
Red: TBA
Black: +2 on jungle (dark green)
Chestnut Brown: +2 on grass (light green)
Red Brown: +2 on savanna (yellowish green)
White: +2 on snow (white)
Yellow: +2 on savanna (yellowish green) and sand (light yellow), except when in the water

Camouflage bonuses don't stack for double alleles, so Moss/Moss fur still gives only +2 on grass.
However, mixed fur colours have bonuses from both of main colours: for example, Yellow/Moss fur gives +2 on both grass and sand.
All fur camouflage bonuses are inactive on teleport tiles (the set of tiles around the island teleport).

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Other genes that affect colours:
Toxic body type overwrites fur colour genes, resulting in the Toxic Body's special colours.
Albinism and Melanism overwrite all of the colour genes (see corresponding section).
Water body type used to result in a blue overlay for the creature's colours, but it was changed with one of the updates.

Note for Mutation menu: if you put fur colour gene in the mutation slot and mutation happens, only one of the fur colour gene slots will have the mutated gene, the other will be inherited as normal.

Side note: Huge size patterns cover almost half of the creatures' bodies. If you're going for a particular colour palette, keep that in mind. :D

Fur Colours (part 2)

Table Note: CB = Chestnut Brown, Moss = Moss Brown, RB = Red Brown

	Black	Red	Yellow	CB	RB	Moss	White	Beige
Black
Red
Yellow
CB
RB
Moss
White
Beige

Albinism Fur


Toxic Body colours (outdated?)
Fur colours for Toxic body type depend only on pure random chance.

Albinism and Melanism

Albinism and Melanism are genetic conditions which affect colouring of organisms.
Organisms with albinism develop decreased quantities of a pigment called melanin, resulting in paler colouring of their body. Similarly, organisms with melanism develop increased quantities of melanin, resulting in darker colouring.

In Niche there are two slots for Albinism/Melanism gene and two alleles for each: Albinism/Melanism and No Albinism/No Melanism respectively. The latter two are dominant, so creature will have albinism/melanism only if both slots have Albinism/Melanism allele.
Creatures with two Melanism and two Albinism alleles will have albinism.

Creatures with albinism have pale red eyes and are almost completely white otherwise.
Creatures with melanism are completely black except for their eyes, horns and additional elements such as claws, spikes, etc.
Both melanism and albinism hide patterns and mane colours.

Creatures with albinism and melanism (old version)

Patterns

Patterns affect creatures' looks and camouflage attribute. Patterns have four corresponding genes: Main Pattern, Shape, Size and Density.

Main Pattern

Main Pattern gene affects the basic looks of the pattern and its camouflage properties.
Currently there are four main patterns.

Simple allele dominance order:
No Pattern > Dots > Mask > Stripes

No Pattern
No effect.
Deactivates all of the other pattern related genes.

Stripes
Increased (+3) camouflage when hiding in grass.
Stacks with the standard grass camouflage bonus, giving +5 in total.

Dots
Increased (+3) camouflage in Jungle biome (dark green tiles with a leaf texture).

Mask (formerly Panda Pattern)
Gives no camouflage. Only looks.

Pattern Shape

These genes affect shape of the pattern.
The dominance order of these is the same for every type of the pattern.

Simple allele dominance order:
B* > C > D > A*
*Exception: A > B.

Examples
All of the following examples are from my Sunflower pack, and all of them have 2x Medium Density and 2x Medium Size alleles.

	A	B	C	D
Dots
Stripes	-		-	-
Mask

Pattern Size

This gene affects how big the details of the pattern are.
There are following Pattern Size alleles: Tiny, Small, Big, Medium, Huge.

Pattern Density

This gene affects how dense the pattern is.
There are following Pattern Density alleles: Very Thin, Thin, Medium, Thick, Very Thick.

Both Pattern Size and Pattern Density alleles are partially dominant - the resulting pattern is a mix of two alleles. It doesn't matter which allele is in the upper slot and which is in the lower: Huge/Tiny pattern is the same as Tiny/Huge.

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It's worth noting that patterns of the same type, density and size still may have slightly different positioning depending on the creature's model. It seems that the texture of a pattern is stretched over creatures' bodies, which changes positioning of the details, their size and form, etc. For example, male and female creatures with the same genes will have different positioning of dots/stripes on their bodies.

Sometimes effects of pattern genes might seem rather unintuitive. For example, a creature with Mask D, Huge/Huge size and Thin/Thick density is almost completely covered by its pattern, while the same creature but with Thick/Thick density is not.

Pattern Colours

Pattern Colour gene, which was formerly knows as Mane Colour, controls creature's mane and pattern colours. They give no gameplay effects whatsoever.

Similar to fur colours, pattern colours are mixed from two allele colours. There are currently five main pattern colours, which allow 15 colour combinations in total.

Notice that manes are visible only on male creatures, and for patterns to appear creatures have to have a pattern gene.

Eye Colours

Eye colours do not affect anything gameplay-wise and are purely cosmetic.

Mixing of the colours present in fur and pattern genes does not apply to the eye colours. Instead, Eye Colour gene has recessive and dominant alleles.
Currently there are seven different main eye colours, plus a special one for albino creatures and an additional iris effect for blind creatures.

Simple allele dominance order:
Black > Brown > Yellow* > Green > Blue > Violet* > Orange
*Exception: Yellow/Violet dominance is parent-dependent - if the offspring inherits Yellow from mother and Violet from father, then Yellow is dominant. Otherwise (if Violet is inherited from mother and Yellow is inherited from father), Violet is dominant. It doesn't matter which allele parents themselves have active (mother with dominant Yellow and recessive Violet can still produce an offspring with dominant Violet).

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Black Eyes



Brown Eyes



Blue Eyes
TBA

Green Eyes



Violet Eyes



Yellow Eyes



Orange Eyes



Albinism Eyes (old version)
Appear when creature has albinism.


Melanism Eyes (old version)
Used to appear when creature has melanism, now unavailable.

Horn Colours

Horn colours are purely cosmetic.
Horn colour gene affects not only the horn colour itself, but also the colour of creature's claws (which sometimes looks very jarring), spikes and other similar additional elements.

Like with almost all of the other colour genes, Horn Colour alleles are partially dominant, so the resulting colour is a mix of two allele colours. Currently there are 4 different horn colours.

[pictures below are outdated, but still look true]
Red + Red


Red + Brown


Red + Black


Red + White


White + White


White + Brown


White + Black


Brown + Brown


Brown + Black


Black + Black

Blood Types

Blood types are important for creatures' lifespans, as creatures with hemophilia - inability of the organism to create blood clots - will be at higher risk of dying from wounds.

Blood Type gene has allosome alleles, meaning that male creatures always have only one: the other slot for them is occupied by No Gene. Females have two alleles and cannot have No Gene.
Blood Type gene has dominant and recessive alleles. Currently there are 2 blood types.

Simple allele dominance order:
Normal Blood Clotting > Hemophilia > No Gene

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No Gene
There's no gene. No allele. Nothing.

Normal Bloood Clotting
Animals take low damage from blood loss.

Hemophilia
Animals take high damage from blood loss.

Immunity

Immunity affects each creature's vulnerability to diseases - if the creature has two of the same immunity alleles, it gets sick immediately after its birth and continues to be sick for all of its llifespan, taking damage each turn and infecting others if they stay near when turns change.

Immunity gene's alleles are named by different letters of English alphabet from A to K. The only exception is Home Island immunity type, which is represented by a star.

In the old versions there used to be symbols instead of letters on gene icons, and I'll leave them to stay on the list (I liked them).

There are following Immunity genes:
A (●)
B (▲)
C (▮)
D (⬟)
E (=)
F (∥)
G (+)
H (┴)
I (┳)
K (⫾)
J
Home Island (★) - unique immunity gene which appears in Adam's (starting male creature in the story mode) genotype.

Fertility

Fertility is creature's ability to procreate and affects chances of a successful mating.
Fertility alleles are co-dominant, meaning that both alleles are active and their effects stack.

If a creature has Infertile + Infertile alleles in its genotype, it cannot have children and can't even try to mate. Having a lot of low fertility alleles in a pack's genotype can be very dangerous.

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High Fertility
+ 3 Fertility

Normal Fertility
+2 Fertility

Low Fertility
+1 Fertility

Infertile
+ 0 Fertility

Prehistoric Genes

To obtain prehistoric genes, you have to find a dark blue ice block on any snow island and break it. As a result, you'll set free a new creature which has one random prehistoric gene in its genotype and will immediately join your pack.
Prehistoric genes are rather recessive, but after you breed a creature with the gene in its phenotype, said gene will also appear in the mutation menu, making it easier to obtain afterwards.

Notice that there can be more than one ice block on a single island (the author personally has seen three blocks on one island, at least in one of the previous versions).

There are six total prehistoric genes.

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Armored Body
+ 3 Defense


Hammer Tail
+ 1 Strength
+1 Cracking


Megaloceros Horns
+2 Strength


Mammoth Foot (formerly Mammut Paw)
+1 Cold Resistance
+1 Defense


Sabertooth Fangs
+2 Strength
+2 Smelling
+1 Distasteful Appearance
+1 Strong Voice
[outdated picture]


Digging Trunk
+3 Digging
+3 Smelling

Hybrids

Hybrids are creatures which were born through cross-breeding.
Currently the only species with each creatures can breed are Bearyenas (formerly known as Carnivores).
To achieve it, first you have to find a baby Bearyena. They are usually protected by adults, but when the adult is deceased, you can befriend the baby. Once it grows, it won't attack your pack and your female creatures will be able to breed with it.

Even though you can't see genetics of Bearyenas, your hybrid creatures will always have some of its specialized genes in their genotype.

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Bearyena Snout
+2 Strength
+1 Distasteful Appearance
+1 Strong Voice
+2 Smelling

Bearyena Claw
+3 Strength
+1 Fishing

Bearyena Hind Legs
+1 Speed
+1 Strength
+1 Swimming

Bearyena Ears
+3 Hearing

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Bearyena Genotype

According to some experiments, Bearyena genotype is fairly consistent.

Bearyena Ears x2
No Horns x2
Normal Eyes x2
Bearyena Snout x2
Big Body x2
Bearyena Claw x2
Bearyena Hind Legs x2
Medium Tail x2
No Melanism x2
No Albinism x2
Moss Brown + Black fur
Black eyes x2
Any horns colour (can be more than two alleles)
Any pattern colour (can be more than two alleles)
No Pattern x2
Any pattern shape (can be more than two alleles)
Any pattern size (can be more than two alleles)
Any pattern density (can be more than two alleles)
No Gene + Normal Bloodclotting
Low Fertility + Infertile
Two different immunity genes

Credits

Thanks to Niche Wikia[niche.wikia.com] and its users for the idea of showing gene dominance order with > symbol and terms "co-dominance" and "partial dominance". :P

Thanks to PurpleTartan for finding pink eyes. X)
Thanks to shodgson58 for the info about immunity gene E and new prehistoric genes.
Thanks to Rho for the help with bearyenas' genotype research!
Thanks to lark.backwardswalk for their info on Purr Snout!
Thanks to Mickmane for help with updating gene info! :D
And thanks to everyone else who commented with information about the genes!

And of course thanks to Sheevee for being a great developer! :D And answering a lot of my questions, too.

Feel free to comment with your ideas how to improve this guide. And hilarious gene combinations.

[COSPLAY 101]

Thank you for this guide! I'm working on a school related activity for an hypotetical class which would play this game as an introduction to heredity. It saved me A LOT of time and makes it extra easier to create new types of questions that I could be asking the would be group!
I think I'll mention your ID name in my final work since I've copied, traduced (in french) and pasted it in my own "teacher guide" for the game :)

[Grasser]

Now I know that you can make hybrids

[Oken555]

Bearyenas have the black eye color gene and the medium tail gene- unless the medium tail was in inactive genes lol.

[Time Walker]

Yes. I think i should just let it be

[Mickmane]

I think Adam can have recessive horns (Eve can have almost anything), but I don't think it's worth it to spend the time (and excessive food use) breeding in those traits, when you just have to do a certain action n times to unlock each of those genes.

I don't like restarting for genes, I take them as they come.

[Time Walker]

Well I posted in wrong guide, this was ment to be in the travel guide oops.. But here
it is: If you chose traits not available in the mutation menu right at the start, ex: swimming tail or horns, begin to reset your save until you get an Adam and Eve with fully dominant or at least one recessive trait. This makes it much easier to breed the traits in, but it may take several attempts."

[Mickmane]

The guide doesn't mention Adam beyond his special immunity gene, and not Eve at all.

[Time Walker]

Oh. ok so i missunderstood the guide a bit

[Mickmane]

You don't get different Adams (only fur might vary). Eve is random.

[Time Walker]

How rare is it to get a different adam? When i delete and make anew save it seems that he is exactly the same as the last one....