Gradual Evolution
 A Neutral/Run/Run chao before and after the second gradual evolution. | |
| Related Website Pages | |
|---|---|
| Age & Appearance | |
| Chao Evolution | |
| Related Wiki Pages | |
| Evolution | |
| Age | |
| Alignment | |
| Animals | |
| Chaos Drives | |
| Relevant Chao Systems | |
| Dreamcast Engine | |
| GameCube Engine |
 | This section is currently a draft. Material may not yet be complete, information may presently be omitted, and certain parts of the content may be subject to radical, rapid alteration. In particular, the Infobox and Categories may be incomplete, or showing default values and images. More information pertaining to this may be available on the Gradual Evolution talk page. |
Gradual Evolution describes the changes in appearance that Chao go through as a result of Small Animals and Chaos Drives influencing them throughout the aging process. Gradual Evolution happens as baby Chao Age and comes closer to Evolution, as well as to adult Chao as they age after their Evolution. The Gradual Evolution process for baby Chao is an indicator of the First Evolution pathway, and the process itself for adult Chao is also known as Second Evolution. The two processes are very similar, with the biggest difference being that Alignment is an additional factor for child Chao, while it is not present for adult Chao.
Stats
Each of the 4 stats obtained from Small Animals and Chaos Drives influence the Gradual Evolution of a Chao. These are split into two pairs which are diametrically opposed; these pairs are Swim↔Fly and Run↔Power. Each pair has a Slider ranging from -1 to 1; Run and Swim are at -1 of their respective sliders, and 1 are Power and Fly.
The two slider system can be represented as a two dimensional graph, with one axis as the Swim↔Fly slider, and the other axis as the Run↔Power slider. A Chao's current Gradual Evolution values can be represented as a coordinate on this graph.
Small Animals and Chaos Drives influence
As a child, when a Chao receives an animal, it will move the related slider 0.1 point in the related direction e.g. a Chao receiving a Whale will have its Swim↔Fly slider move from 0 to -0.1, while receiving a Condor will move it back from -0.1 to 0. Chaos drives are similar, however they only move the slider by half as much at 0.05.
As an adult going through Second Evolution the sliders move half as much as they do for baby Chao e.g. animals will cause a 0.05 point shift, and Drives will cause a 0.025 point shift.
Evolution Strength
Giving animals or Drives to baby Chao close to evolution or very old Chao can have very obvious and immediate effects on a Chao's appearance (especially their head shape and Emote Ball). This is the effect of the Evolution Strength slider, which is another value central to Gradual Evolution. The value runs from 0 to 1.0 for babies, and 0 to 1.2 for adults; a Chao at birth has 0 Evolution Strength, as does a Chao right after its First Evolution. A greater Evolution Strength value makes the effects of the stat-sliders become more pronounced in a Chao's appearance. This slider only increases in value, and does so as a Chao ages and eats fruits, making Gradual Evolution more pronounced as Chao grow older.
For a child Chao, every bite of Fruit, regardless of type, increases Evolution Strength by 0.005, or 1/200. In addition, baby Chao will increase their Evolution Strength approximately every 2 minutes by 0.01666667, or 1/60. For adult Chao, every bite of Fruit increases Evolution Strength by 0.00125, or 1/800.
Adult Chao have less obvious behavior for their increase in Evolution Strength over time. While the increase is incremented for about every 2 minutes like with child Chao, the amount increased is based upon the garden the Chao is currently in.
- In the Chao Garden the Chao's Evolution Strength will increase by +0.004166666884, or roughly 1/240, about every 2 minutes.
- In the Hero Garden, Evolution Strength increase is doubled, to +0.008333333768, or roughly 1/120.
- In the Dark Garden there is no increase to Evolution Strength over time- only through feeding. This effect gives the player an amount of control over their adult Chao's Second Evolution, where Hero Garden will speed the process up, and Dark Garden will slow it down. This has also led to some players reporting Chao which have had minimal displays of Second Evolution, even at reincarnation age, likely a result of keeping the Chao in Dark Garden and not knowing the effects on Evolution Strength.
| This article needs further research. The content here has what we know so far, but further testing is needed to prove the points raised on this page. More information pertaining to this may be available on the Gradual Evolution talk page. |
It is unknown if SADX Gardens have any similar effect on Evolution Strength, or if the increases to Evolution Strength over time are constant across all three gardens.