Making a Sagan 4 submission can be a daunting task. There are so many choices for ancestors, biomes, and prey items that newer members can become overwhelmed. But once you have an idea, following these steps should help you manage it.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 2:
Creating your Species
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1Confirm which version of Sagan 4 you wish to make a species for and read the rules.
- Sagan 4 Alpha, Sagan 4 Beta, and Mason each have a completely different set of biota to work from.
- Sometimes, only some of these will be open for submissions.
- They each also have slightly different rules that need to be followed; for example, Beta has a flyway clause allowing flighted species to fly across small bodies of water to reach nearby landmasses as though they were connected, but this isn't allowed in Alpha or Mason.
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2Look for inspiration.
- This can take a while if you are new to the project, but in the meantime you get to build up your knowledge of Sagan 4's species, which might help you.
- One method is to browse the list of extant species until one catches your eye and you're inspired to make a descendant. The Sagan 4 Alpha wiki also provides introductions to major groups linked on the front page, which can aid you in this task.
- Alternatively, you can also use a submission prompt provided by another member.
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3Decide where your species will live using the current map. Make sure to write down each biome.
- This can be a range, from either just one biome to the maximum allowed within the rules.
- It will need to be connected to the ancestor's current range, which can be seen on the current ecosystem page.
- It is recommended that you use your art program of choice to edit the map and color in what biomes your species will be in to ensure they're all connected.
- When making a larger range, things get more complicated. The rules state that a species may be in up to 3 "types" and 3 "flavors". "Types" refer to temperature types, which include tropical, subtropical, temperate, subpolar, polar, and montane, while "flavors" refers to the "kind" of biome it is, including arid (desert), plains/steppe, scrubland, woodland, and rainforest. One can think of this as a grid, with temperatures on one axis and the moisture level of the biomes on the other, and a species with a "maxed out" range would have biomes fitting a 3x3 square. For example, a species that is in temperate, subpolar, and montane temperature types and the plains, scrubland, and woodland biome flavors may be in biomes labelled as Plains, Steppe, Highvelt, Bush, Prairie, Rocky, Temperate Woodland, Lowboreal, and Highboreal.
- If this is confusing, feel free to just ask other Sagan 4 members for help.
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4Decide what organisms your species will eat. Make sure to write it down as well.
- Chances are, you already figured out if your species eats meat, plants, or both when inspiration struck.
- Look for suitable food items in the biomes you already chose for your species to live in. Also be sure to check the "groups" section for the continent for additional cosmopolitan food options; analogues to insects and some plants will often be found here.
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5Write your species' description.
- It is recommended that you do this in a program like Word or Notepad, or in something like Google Docs.
- This should generally consist of a summary of how your species evolved (eg. "Some (ancestor name) started living in the desert and evolved shorter fur and bigger ears") and some general information about its lifecycle, feeding behavior, and social behavior. If it is a plant, information about the species' preferences for light level and soil quality is recommended.
- Make sure to also use the form provided in the rules. Some details like your species' respiration or reproduction method probably won't change compared to its ancestor, but its size, diet, and habitat likely will.
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6Draw your species.
- You may use any art tool or program for this. Note that tools which use pre-made parts such as Spore, and AI tools which might contain unlicensed training data, are not allowed.
- Don't worry about quality too much--as long as the moderators can tell what it is and it doesn't contradict anything, it's probably fine.
- Try to avoid stylization that might obscure basic anatomy (eg. cartoonish, exaggerated body parts and rubber hose limbs). Someone may make a descendant of your species later with only your art to go off of and could take these stylizations literally.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:
Submitting your Species
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1Navigate to the correct submission location and start making a post.
- If you are a new member, you will want to find the new member submissions or "How To Join the Sagan 4 Team" thread and start writing a reply.
- If you are already a member, you will instead want to navigate to the Organism Submissions subforum for the chosen project and make a new thread.
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2Put the artwork you made at the top of your post and paste the required information and description you wrote under it.
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3Click "preview" to make sure your post will display the way you want it to, then click "submit".
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4Wait for feedback.
- If you are unfamiliar with forums, you will need to refresh the page to see if anyone has responded. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days depending on how busy submissions are.
- While waiting, you can work on other submission ideas.
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5Respond to feedback.
- You will receive comments informing you of errors that need to be corrected.
- Sometimes you will only need to fix spelling, but sometimes you will be asked to provide more information or explain something better.
- If you are told that a feature doesn't work and why and you can't come up with an explanation, it is best to change it rather than argue about it.
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6Await approval.
- Once all feedback is addressed, your species will probably be approved.
- This might take a while, but don't be discouraged. Sometimes, moderators will just be busy with a large volume of submissions and not be able to get to yours right away.
- Once your species is approved, congratulations, you have successfully created and submitted a species to Sagan 4!
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Tips
- If you're new to Sagan 4, it's a good idea to start small while you're still learning the rules. For example, a desert- or polar-adapted version of an existing species is unlikely to be a controversial submission.Thanks
- Feel free to ask for help if you need it! Many of Sagan 4's active members will be willing to lend you a hand.Thanks
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Warnings
- Make sure that the species you are making a descendant of is extant before working on your submission! Extinct species cannot produce new descendants.Thanks
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