The Universim is a unique gem, a beautiful experiment in godhood that leaves you wanting for more. It’s quite similar to other strategy games, but the presentation is exquisite, making it stand out from the rest of the herd.
If you like RTS games with more emphasis on survival and city building and less on the military, try it. However, I did find Universim to be a tad overwhelming and the tutorials lacking. So, here are a few tips to help you get started:
Table of Contents
1. Reservoir Placement – Space out your reservoirs. Nuggets tend to wander off from your village. If they become thirsty, they’ll have to return to the village, which makes them unhappy. Placing them throughout the world instead of clumping them together ensures a steady supply and happy nuggets.
2. Diversified Food Source – Do not rely only on fish and meat. Start the game off with at least two Fishing Hubs and one Eatery. Construct a farm as soon as it’s unlocked. I have been using this setup since my first playthrough, and my nuggets never go hungry.
3. Don’t Overthink – Do not micromanage everything. Build the Town Hall when it’s available and leave the administrative duties to your nuggets.
4. Always Research Something – Universim has a comprehensive research tree. Make sure you’re researching something at all times. You can only research one technology at a time but can queue up to four of them at once, so take advantage of it.
5. Survival of the Fittest – Make sure to destroy exile villages whenever possible. Although there is a trade option available, they might likely betray you or turn against you. Raze them in the early part of the game, or you’ll have to spend 300 CP to get past the protection bubble.
How to Repair Buildings
In Universim, you can repair buildings using the Rejuvenate creator power. However, later in the game, you’ll have to build the Engineer Hut that automatically repairs buildings within a specified radius.
A broken house indicator appears on top of buildings placed outside of the Engineer Hut’s radius. You’ll have to repair them manually using Rejuvenate, or you can build a second Engineer Hut to support them.
You can move buildings all you want before placing them, but once you’ve set the foundations, they can only be destroyed.
Using Creator Powers
Open the creator power with the middle click button and scroll through them until you find your power. Once you have the right one, hold the left control and click on the target to use your power.
You can also open the creator power menu from the bottom left part of the screen.
Tip: Always make sure to equip a non-harmful power like planting trees, trickle effect, etc. This will prevent you from accidentally thunderboltting your village.
Taming Animals
To tame animals on a farm, select the tame button and leave them. The person assigned to the farm will eventually walk over to the animals and tame them automatically. You’ll receive a notification once an animal is successfully tamed.
Finding Lost Nuggets
Here are four ways to find lost nuggets in Universim:
1. Searching manually – Undoubtedly, the most labor-intensive way to search for your nuggets. It takes longer and can be frustrating, as some of them can wander far away from your village. Fortunately, there are alternatives.
2. Search from home – Keep clicking on the huts until you find the home of the lost nugget. Now click on its avatar and select the green ‘Fly To’ option and you’ll be directly teleported to them.
3. Quests – Random quests may pop up from time to time. There is a small eye icon on the quest detail screen and clicking on it will take you to the nugget in question.
4. Nuggets List – Finally, you can open the nugget list at the top right corner. Look for the concerned nugget, click on the blue action button beside their name, and select the ‘Fly To’ option to teleport to them.
How to Increase Population
Universim increases population gradually over time. Keep the nuggets happy and keep providing for them. Don’t let them dehydrate or go hungry. Protect them from natural calamities and they’ll reproduce at a steady pace.
You can, however, speed things up by using the Cupidon creator power on compatible couples.
Use Divine Powers to Attack Exiles
To attack exiles, you need to use divine powers from the Wrath menu. Every power costs Creator Power Points, with Lightning (25) being the cheapest and the Meteor Shower (300) being the most expensive. To attack, simply select the power, hold left control, and click on the target.
You’ll be notified whenever an exile village appears in the world. If you have spare points, strike them with lightning to raze the village. If you don’t want the competition, it’s best to destroy other civilizations in their infancy.
A protective bubble spawns on top of the village once they finish building a temple. It protects you from your divine powers and at that point, you’ll need to pepper the bubble with meteor showers to bring it down.
The Lake Cleansing Quest
The Lake Cleansing quest is triggered when a lake turns toxic for the first time. To cleanse the lake, use the Trickle Effect Power on top of it and the quest will be completed.
