Game: LIFE The Evolution Of Life On Earth Series

[Flaffy]

Inaccuracies and/or suggestions for improvement in the "Era 2 - Cambrian" figures. Hope this helps.
*UPDATED: 1/5/2021*

Spoiler

Cambropachycope -
- More defined legs (more spikes)
- missing forked leg



Goticaris -
- Front legs should be forked and spiky.
- Notice the distinct curvature of the legs.



Martinssonia - More defined legs (more spikes and segmentation)



Kerygmachela -
- Longer front appendages
- Longer spikes. More spikes.
- Smaller head, less round (also smaller mouth).
- Should only have a single tail.



Sarotorocercus - add lines to the swimming appendages to make them more detailed


Alalcomenaeus -
- More segments (12, excluding head carapace and tail).
- Smaller, unsegmented tail.
- 4 eyes that are under the shell



Sanctacaris -
- Eyes should be in a lower position.
- Bigger head in relation to body.



Burgessia -
- Top of the shell should not show the internal structures/organs.
- All gills and legs should be concealed under carapace.
- Longer tail.



Emeraldella -
- Body shape should be more round/oval, width tapering off rapidly at the end.
- Longer thin tail.



Helmetia - can be slightly wider.



Leanchoilia -
- Flippers under the body should be much larger.
- Whip-like appendages could be longer if possible.



Habelia - I think this one needs a complete remodel. Should look more like this:
- The current model is based on outdated reconstructions
- Should look similar to Sanctacaris, with longer legs and more spikes
- missing eyes
- missing the small legs near the head
- missing the 6 spikes on it's back
- missing legs underneath the body
- missing flippers on the side of the body




Naraoia - Add antennae


Acadagnostus -
- Mid section should be more detailed and defined.
- Instead of 4 side spikes, it should only be 2.



Peachella - long side spikes should originate from the mid section rather than the head.



Bristolia -
- Head spikes should have a smooth curve, and connected to the head carapace, should not look like antenna.
- Middle set of spikes should be directly connected to the body segments, rathering than coming out of the underside.



Paradoxides -
- wrong eye shape
- eyes should be positioned more to the sides.
- Curve of the carapace should be smoother.
-Head could be slightly bigger.


Kleptothule - I think this one also needs a complete remodel.
- Head should be more triangular and more elongated.
- Body should have 27+ segments.
- Remove the eyes. This trilobite was blind



Urokodia -
- should be less worm like.
- Needs to be flatter.
- Include the spikes on the head and tail shields.



Microdictyon -
- head shape inaccurate
- Head should not be bulbous. Should instead be like a featureless tube with 2 flexible arms.



Diania - Thinner body. Larger, longer legs



Aysheaia - The bumps on the body could be made slightly smaller.


Collinsium - should have 5 rows of spikes: 1 large middle row. 2 medium side rows, and 2 small flank rows.



Pampdelurion - I think the current model is based on the outdated reconstruction. Updated one is presented below:
- Frontal grasping appendage should curve forwards instead of backwards
- Frontal grasping appendage could use more spikes
- Head is too small
- Missing legs, it should have 11 pairs.
- Missing side flippers, it should have 12 pairs.
- Missing two small spikes on the tail



Metaspriggina -
- Transition from body to tail can be smoother / more gradual.
- Eyes should be positioned on the fleshy eye-stalks, looking up.



Myllokunmingia - Side fins could be slightly shorter


Yunnanozoon -
- Head is lacking detail
- Head should have 2 bulges/lobes
- Missing 2 small eye spots




Nectocaris -
- Tentacles could be longer.
- Line details on fins should not be present. The side fins should be smooth



Yohoia - Could make the flippers larger.



Haikoucaris -
- Position flippers under the body rather than spread out to the side.
- Shift eyes closer together.
- Slightly smaller head.
- Should look more like a Megacheiran and less like a Radiodont.




Pirania - Missing the spikes



Herpetogaster -
- "Head" shape could use minor tweaks.
- 2 branching appendages instead of one.



Echmatocrinus - Could add branching to the top appendages.



Dendrograptus - Needs more branching. Maybe have a few individual zooids poking out of their communal skeleton.



Hurdia -
- Current model is based on inaccurate, outdated reconstructions.
- Eyes should be positioned higher on the head, on stalks.
- Head shield shape and detail needs refinement.
- Frontal spike on the tip of the head is too short
- Feeding/Frontal appendages inaccurate.
- Missing detail: A single spike should be present on the top of the appendage
- Missing detail: 7 vertical blades should be present on each appendage.
- Body needs a lot of fixes. It should look like Aegirocassis with double rows of flippers.
- Body should have 9 segments (excluding head and tail). Each segment should have 2 pairs of flippers. 2 flippers on top and 2 at the bottom.
- Tail segment should have a pair of horizontal flippers.





Parapeytoia -
- To my knowledge it is no longer classified as a radiodont, but rather a megacheiran. Therefore it should resemble something like Yohoia and Haikoucaris more.
- It should not look like anomalocaris



Laggania (Peytoia) -
- Missing the flippers on the bottom of its head.
- Can also make the head flow more naturally with the body.
- Flippers are currently too big and not in the correct shape and position.
- Missing a few segments as well.




Amplectobelua -
- Add head shield between eyes
- Head could use more detail.
- Head carapace is too long, should be short and close to the body.
- Missing the fins and legs near/under the head.
- Missing 5-6 segments.
- The grasping appendages resemble anomalocaris too much, missing lots of big spikes.
- The anatomy/structure of Amplectobelua graspers are quite different. Should have a large spike protruding halfway.
- Fins should not be equal in size, shape and length, see image 3 for reference.





Tamisiocaris -
- Emphasise the filter feeding appendages
- Filter blades needs to be much longer and far more detailed.
- Eyes could be positioned further back on the head
- Side flippers too small and irregular in size and shape, see image 2.




Useful graph for radiodont frontal appendage anatomy:

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[Oammararak]

@Flaffy Thank you. I will try to fix these. 
Some of the small parts may not be the same as the real thing. Because it will break easily. Just touch and it breaks. I will try to do my best.
If you find more creatures is wrong Please tell me I want to make it to the right thing.

[Flaffy]

O @Oammararak
Thank you!
And yeah most of these are just really minor things. But some like the Habelia and Kleptothule require pretty big changes as they currently do not resemble the species they're representing.

[Faelrin]

Well if folks are going to be point out anatomical issues then I'll mention these:

While reading up on stuff I saw that an Orodovician species of the sponge Choia had stalks, which was mentioned in a paper from 2006. As I cannot access the paper I'm guessing the consensus is that the Cambrian species would have been stalked as well? Anyone able to confirm?

Here is the illustration from wikipedia showing it with stalks:





Edit: All the same, the Choia would probably be too fragile to represent it like this in resin. Probably best to keep it the same, but probably worth sharing nonetheless.

While of course there is no tail itself for Dunkleosteus still, the Coccosteus tail it has typically been reconstructed with in the past has been questioned, if not outright debunked (until more evidence), where instead it likely had a more shark like tail due to its size and lifestyle to help it swim, to describe it simply. Here is the 2017 study on it:
https://peerj.com/articles/4081/

If I had to guess it's possible Titanicthys may have been similar to Dunkleosteus in this regard, but however I'm not entirely sure what the consensus on its tail's appearance is, as it is suggested to be a giant filter feeder as of late. Anyone have a better idea?

[ceratopsian]

I had noted the absence of long "feelers"  or "tails" on some of the Cambrian creatures and thought they would probably be too difficult to incorporate on the little bases. Same too with elements that ideally should look more feathery - I thought they would be impossible to recreate on models like these.

I hadn't put down most of the anomalocaridids on my working list because I found the side appendages/skirts too brief and stiff.

[Ravonium]

I wasn't able to back the Kickstarter while it was still up, but congratulations O @Oammararak and the rest of the forum for getting it towards its goal! 

[Crackington]

Blimey @Flaffy, that's a lot of corrections, are you sure you haven't missed one? 😉   

I guess it would be good to make them as accurate as possible, but as O @Oammararak and @ceratopsian  say, their small size will limit how much detail can be put in.

[Oammararak]

@Crackington @ceratopsian @Faelrin @Flaffy  Thank you. I want the miniature to be accurate as possible. The size of the miniature will increase a bit. That I can improve the detail as much as the Printer and the mold can do but it will be base on the touchable and it will not break too. 

@Ravonium  Thank you. If you like to support me. Please check here. https://oumcraft.com/

Now, I can fix the miniature with little time. I will fully start the miniature working on this NOVEMBER. I need to prepare a lot of paperwork and accounting with Kickstarter. And I'm create tools for manufacture.

Thank you for all ref. and what should it be. This project really need all of you to help me develop it because I want every one get the best thing. 

The update of wrong eyes position.

Spoiler

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[Faelrin]

O @Oammararak Great job with that new pre-order website. It looks very nice and easy to navigate.

[Oammararak]

@Faelrin Thank you. I will improve this to the next project. It is too confuse to normal user for type number of the character and calculate by them self.

[Flaffy]

"Era 3 - Ordovician" suggestions for improvement:

Spoiler

Ampyx - Pygidium should be larger (the fused "tail" segment). Reduce size of the round bulges on the sides of the cephalon.


Furca - Make the head shield more fused/connected, and less like individual appendages. Position the hole to the back of the shield rather than the center, and the hole should be smaller.
F. bohemica

F. pilosa / mauritanica(?)


Hoplolichas - Eyes should be curved instead of round. Make the big spikes on the side of the cephalon more prominent. Reduce roundness of the spiky bulge.
If possible, include the elaborate middle protrusion coming out of the head. It's quite a unique feature to this genus.



Astraspis - The ridge on the top should be slightly less prominent. Make the transition from the head to the body smoother, more gradual. Maybe make the head shield more oval / less angular?
Tweak the eyes so that it doesn't look like it's popping out of the head.



Megalograptus - Make the main eyes slightly smaller. Include the 2 smaller eyes on the top of it's head. Reduce head size. Make the tail flatter (not the end spike though).
If possible, add more spikes to the grasping limbs.


Aegirocassis - Needs a MUCH bigger head, the top head shield should be as long as the body.
The top shield shouldn't pinch off like that, it should taper off gradually.
Filter feeding appendages should be longer. Distance between dorsal and ventral flaps should be wider. Flaps/fins could be smaller.

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[Flaffy]

The update of wrong eyes position.

Spoiler

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That looks a lot better than before! 

[Oammararak]

@Flaffy Thank you. I note all of these.

[ceratopsian]

I submitted my list.

I really would like to add a few fish before the orders close....

[Oammararak]

@ceratopsian You will not miss this. I will update every week. 
Now I'm working on Precambrian.

[Flaffy]

"Era 4 - Silurian" Suggestions for improvement part 1: *UPDATED: 1/5/2021*

Spoiler

Crotalocephalus -
- Head shape is a little off.
- The frontal bulge needs to be larger, taking up more of the headspace.
- Sides of the head should take up less space. The eyes are positioned in a lower position.



Mimetaster - Legs should end in sharp points rather than rounded paddles.



Brachyopterus -
- Shift eyes closer together.
- Excluding tail and head, it should have 12 segments, currently it only has 7.
- Add 2 missing eyes on the top of the head.



Furcacauda -
- Eye should be closer to mouth.
- Tweak the gill slits into more primitive gill openings, positioned close to the eyes.



Loganellia -
- Flatter, wider, similar to the top view of a whaleshark.
- Head shape should be more square.
- Body should flow seamlessly into the pectoral fins, similar to an angelshark.
- Lower portion of the tail should be longer than the upper portion. Smaller eyes.
- Don't forget to add the anal fin.



Thelodus -
- Similar issues to the Loganellia.
- Include rough scales.

3D model reference: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/thelodus-ebef408b825f4637929e16fd049f0768


Phlebolepis -
- Pectoral fins can be bigger / extend further along the body.
- Rounder body shape.



Polybranchiaspis -
- Shape of hole between the eyes could be improved, should resemble a frowning face, the hole curved slightly downwards.
- Eyes can be shifted closer to the head-hole.
- Head shield could be made rounder too.




Tremataspis -
- Smaller eyes, position them closer together.
- The head armour is one solid piece on the real animal, maybe remove the hexagon patterns on the head shield.
- Sensory patches (the parts with the scale detail) could be made smaller.
- Head shape could be slightly flatter and longer.



Dartmuthia -
- Flatter & longer head.
- Smaller eyes positioned closer to each other.
- There should only be one pit/hole between the eyes.



Ateleaspis -
- Requires major changes to the head
- Needs to be much flatter and wider, it shouldn't platform like that.
- Almost like a smooth guitarfish. Fins could blend with the head more.
- Eyes could be smaller.
- Remember to add the distinctive dip in the skull behind the eyes.

Guitarfish:



Cephalaspis -
- Missing the sensory patches.
- Eyes could be made smaller and closer together.




Boreaspis -
- The head on this one also needs a remodel.
- Needs to be much flatter, shouldn't be platformed.
- Should look more like a shield and less like an arrowhead.
Pectoral fins should be larger, rounder and positioned very close to the head. Body + tail could be thinner and longer.




Doryaspis -
- Head shield should be much larger, longer and more oval.
- Body should be smaller.
- Scales should be larger, almost like pangolin armour plating.
- If possible, the saw-like rostrum could be narrower in width.




Eugaleaspis -
- Slightly flatter head.
- Include the markings on the head shield.
- Make the side protrusions angle backwards more.
- Eyes could be slightly smaller.



Andreolepis -
- Head too small, should take up at least 1/4 of the length.
- Head shape incorrect, too round. Should be more angular.
- Head/gill details needs refinement
- Eyes should be positioned at the very front of the head
- Mouth was large, extending far past the position of the eyes
- Pectoral fins should be positioned further back
- Should resemble Cheiracanthus strongly.

Bottom two pics are of Cheiracanthus




Birkenia -
- From this angle, I can only identify 2 lateral "lines" on the body. It should have 3 (or 4?) lateral lines.
- On the top of the fish, the scales should change direction/orientation around a third of the way along the body; rather than halfway as depicted on the figure.
- Slope of the head could be smoother and more gradual.
- Cannot tell from the angle, but if the figure doesn't already, the fish should have 8 gill openings.



Pharyngolepis -
- Orientation of rod-shaped body scales could use some edits.
- Top row should be "leaning" towards the tail.
- The rest would be opposite from the top row, and "leaning" towards the head.



Jamoytius -
- The current model is based on old reconstructions.
- Side-fins were not present on the real animal.
- Should only have a dorsal and anal fin.
- Should have more than 6 gill openings.
- Extended tube like mouth was not present on the actual animal. Probably should resemble a larval lamprey rather than a segmented worm.




Lungmenshanaspis -
- Needs big changes to the head ideally.
- Head needs to be much Flatter and narrower.
- More defined head anatomical details, currently it looks rather lumpy.
- Longer side protrusions/wings.
- Hole between the eyes shouldn't take up so much space on the head.
- Eyes should be smaller
- Eyes should be much closer together, on the top of the head rather than on the sides



Sanchaspis -
- Head shouldn't platform like that, needs to be flatter, almost shovel-like.
- Eyes could be slightly smaller and less protruding.
- Hole between eyes could be slightly larger depending on preference.




Parameteoraspis -
- Head shield shouldn't platform.
- The slope of the head should be smooth and gradual.
- Pectoral fins should be positioned to the side of the head shield a little more
- Fin shape could also be larger and more rounded.




Ischnacanthus -
- Eyes should be positioned close to the tip of the head.
- Head should be longer.
- Both dorsal fins should have membrane.
- Pectoral fins could be larger.



Turrisaspis - C. Fredrick Mullison's Turrisaspis is a good reference.
-  Top spike and side spikes on the head shield seems to be lacking the serrated edge.
- Head detail could use refinement, especially the lines.
- Shape of the head shield should almost wrap around the pectoral fins, even more than it is currently.




Cheiracanthus - I think it needs a complete remodel. Current model does not look like Cheiracanthus.
- It should look like a stocky Ischnacanthus.




Climatius -
- Similar problems to the Ischnacanthus.
- Eye position should be much closer to the tip of the head.
- Head is too short, should be longer
- Top of the head could be smoother.
- Pectoral fin could be repositioned slightly further back.
- Ventral spines on the belly should be paired. It shouldnt be a single row.



Brochoadmones -
- Is it possible to emphasise the large spikes of the fish? Currently this defining trait seems to have been lost in the sculpt.
- The head could be more angular, with its eyes smaller and slightly closer to the front of the head.
- The mouth could be less extensive, brochoadmones was not known to have a large mouth.




And what do you think of making the Brochoadmones have a more "shark-like" appearance?
Something akin to a Rough shark. The scales on Brochoadmones were very small, like a shark. So maybe the current method of detailing is not an ideal way to accurately represent the species, as on the model, the scales are very big.
(scale bar 1mm)



Parexus -
- The head on the model is too round, it should be more pointed, like a dogfish.
- The 3 ventral pairs of fins are too big in size.
- The large dorsal spike should be more prominent (taller, thicker rounder). Right now it is too thin.
- Body shouldn't curve like that.



Offacolus -
- Excluding the head carapace and tail, it should have 8 body segments, the model currently only has 5.
- Head carapace should be larger and longer.
- Shell is missing details, e.g. sunken regions, ridges, shoulders, spiky nodes.
- Diagram below labels where the appropriate anatomical detail is, and the reconstruction shows how the details would've looked.




Hughmilleria - Almost perfect
- Could you add spikes to the middle 4 pairs of legs?
- Seems to be missing a segment, the model (excluding head and tail) has 11, whilst the animal had 12.
- 7th segment should have a light U-shape to it.
- If possible, include the small raised ridge on the tail.



Pteraspis -
- Head shield too small/short, should be a long, angular, oval-like shape.
- Mind the head details, currently the eyes are in a rather awkward position, they protrude too much to the sides.
- The transition from the eyes to the frontal spike should be smoother and more natural.
- Body too thick/stocky.
- Stiff, wing like protrusions could be slightly shorter, and transition smoothly from the head shield.
- Large spike on the back of the head could be angled backwards more rather than upwards.
- The spikes on the back should not be uniform size. The first 3 should be enlarged, and the rest are small and diminutive.
- Tail should be hypocercal.

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[Crackington]

@Flaffy , you should go for a quality control job for Safari or Collecta, or better still Schleich!  That will improve standards somewhat! 😉

Seriously though, slightly worried that if poor O @Oammararak has to make all these corrections she will be so busy we won't get them for 5 years! They already look pretty good to me, which is why I've backed the project.

[Oammararak]

@Flaffy Thank you for your hard work. I will improve as I can.
@Crackington    Thank you for worrying about me. Yes, I will use a lot of time and I want to finish this project fast. I sculpt all of these 1-2 years. I can not hire 3D sculpture the lower cost to hire is $120 per character. That I work all of these alone for possible in the budget. I have to remodel and resize every character before make a master. That is a good time to improve and fix in this step. It will be harder and more cost to fix these after make master and mold. Please help me to confirm the work. If you see some character is out of acceptable. Like missing eyes or some part is not right. 

My progress is on Era-2 now. If you find anything can not accept please tell me.

This is my story of this project. That I have a recommend to cut out on day2.

Spoiler

   My family is doing a business of import CNC machines, sells CNC machines and spare parts, and my service is making metal mold for the customer. I like to collector of miniature board games. I have many of my own miniature board games design. I like to watch the discovery. One day I watch the Origin of life, and when I was young I like to play a video game about evolution. That I think it will be cool to make a game and can play as the origin of life, explore the ancient world, and evolve to the many species in the past. I am starting to learn about fossil and many creatures and start to learn how is the earth begins. I am starting to do a prototype by using my family resource.
   My intention was to create a creature at its origin until it evolved into a dinosaur. I'm working until the Devonian period, Suddenly my father tells me to stop to rune my life with this game, my father says "It's absurd and fanciful, who will interest in this game?" "Stop now and prove it to me this game will be want." That made me stop at the Devonian and cannot continue to be a dinosaur.
   But with your support. That I can make this project to come out. 

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[Faelrin]

O @Oammararak Quite an interesting story there. Thank you for sharing. At least you know now that there are those of us here, if not elsewhere that are interested in this game project of yours, and hope to see it succeed (not just with the kickstarter either). I for one would love and hope to see it expand beyond the Paleozoic someday, if not at least beyond the Devonian and into the rest of the Paleozoic. I truly do love all types of prehistoric life, so I really appreciate what you are trying to accomplish here (aside from the opportunity to I fill in some gaps for my collection, with the many obscure genera you've picked). It's certainly ambitious and is clearly a labor of love that's had much thought and time put into it.

If I recall correctly you were also inspired by EVO: Search for Eden right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.V.O.:_Search_for_Eden

I really think it's sad there hasn't been more games like that, other then Spore, although much more fanciful, (or aside from the fact EVO itself has never seen a re-release somewhere that I can think of),  so yet another reason I really appreciate what you are doing here.

[SBell]

O @Oammararak thanks for telling us your story. I'm glad we were able to offer support to both your project and you yourself.

What kind of molds does your family make? As in for plastics casting? Always wanted to know more about that process.