A walkthrough of the systems TerraBot is being built around. This is a design preview, not live documentation: commands, numbers, and names can change before launch.
⚠️In development. TerraBot is not invitable yet. This guide describes the design in the repo's DESIGN.md so future keepers know what they are signing up for.
1. Overview design preview
You run a growing shelf of terrariums, each one housing bugs you caught, bought, bred, or fused. The game is an equal blend of three things:
Collection: discover and catalogue every species and trait combo in the Bug-Codex.
Care: keep bugs fed, hydrated, and happy so they grow and become breeding-eligible.
Competition: the rarest, biggest, and most complete collections climb the leaderboards.
Sessions are designed to be short and frequent: check your tanks, top up needs, roll a catch, check the shop rotation, get on with your day. The depth lives in breeding lines and codex completion, not in hour-long grinds.
2. The Trait System headline feature
Every bug is composed from layered traits rather than picked from a fixed list:
Species base (insect, beetle, spider, arachnid, winged bug at launch)
Body type · Pattern · Color
Appendages (wings, legs, horns, mandibles)
Size · Special trait
Each trait has its own rarity weight, and a bug's overall rarity is computed from the whole roll. Rare traits stack into rare bugs, and some combinations may only ever exist once. The art is composited from trait layers, which is why the sprite system is built as layers from day one.
Rarity tiers
The shared SpartanBots ladder: ⬜ Common · 🟢 Uncommon · 🔵 Rare · 🟣 Ultra · 🟠 Epic · 🟡 Legendary · 💎 Mythic. On top of the tier, every bug carries a procedural rarity score from its trait roll, so a one-of-a-kind combo is a brag even at low tier.
3. Terrarium Care core loop
Each terrarium and bug tracks five stats: hunger, hydration, happiness, cleanliness, and climate (temperature plus humidity, with per-species ideal ranges).
Feed species-specific foods, mist and water, clean the tank, and tune the habitat.
Well-cared bugs grow through size stages, unlock breeding eligibility, and produce bonus drops.
Neglect makes bugs unhappy and then sick. Sickness is recoverable: no bug is ever permanently lost to a busy week.
The care framework is planned to be shared with PondBot (one engine, two themes), so improvements to one game make both better.
4. Breeding & Fusion in design
Breeding Lab
Pair two compatible, well-cared-for bugs to produce eggs. Offspring inherit traits from both parents with a mutation chance that can introduce traits neither parent had. Long breeding lines are how patient keepers manufacture rarity.
Fusion Lab
Combine two bugs into a single hybrid. Fusion merges traits with a bigger mutation swing: a higher-risk, higher-reward path to combos that breeding alone cannot reach. The input bugs are consumed, so fuse with intention.
5. The Bug-Codex collection book
Every species and trait you have ever logged lives in the codex. Completion milestones grant rewards and badges, and the codex doubles as your trophy case: first discoveries get stamped with your name and the date.
6. Shops & Economy no pay-to-win
Soft currency (name in progress) is earned through care, breeding, dailies, and finds. Everything playable is earnable with it.
Rotating Bug Shop: daily and weekly stock of bugs, foods, decor, care tools, and cosmetics.
Drachmas are the shared SpartanBots premium currency, spendable across every bot, and they buy cosmetics, convenience, and premium shop stock. Never power.
One Patreon covers perks across all SpartanBots. No gameplay paywalls, anywhere, ever.
7. Leaderboards & Flexing in design
Rarest collection, biggest bug, most complete codex, and top breeder boards.
Terrarium decor and tiny bug accessories (hats are under serious consideration) for showcase flexing.
Light bug shows are being considered; competition stays leaderboard-and-collection focused either way.
8. The SpartanBots Ecosystem cross-bot
TerraBot shares its rarity ladder, premium currency, and Patreon with the whole family: AestherBot, TackleBot, GargoyleBot, and the in-development PondBot, BinderBot, and ServerPet. Planned crossovers include your rarest bugs appearing as cards in BinderBot.