A gene is a hereditary trait that is passed from parent to offspring. In Niche, there are 111 different genes, in 21 different categories, each of which affects a different body part, appearance or ability of the nicheling. These types of genes are:
Ear, Horn, Eye, Head, Body, Paws, Hind Legs, Tail, Albinism, Melanism, Fur Color, Eye Color, Horn Color, Pattern Color, Pattern, Pattern Shape, Pattern Density, Pattern Size, Blood Clotting, Fertility, and Immunity.
Genes in the mobile game could be found here.
Genetics Basics[]
Niche genetics are based on real genetics in animals, but very simplified. Each of the 21 gene locations in a nicheling's DNA string has a variety of different genes a nicheling can have (e.g. one gene location for different types of ears). Each gene consists of two alleles (=gene copies). Every gene is combined by one allele passed down from the mother and one allele passed down from the father. It's a 50% chance which one of a parent's two alleles gets passed down. There is only on exception to this: Blood Clotting, which is linked with the X chromosome. Since male nichelings only have a single X chromosome, they only have one allele for Blood Clotting which they will pass on 100%.
In general, any gene location can have two alleles that are identical (=homozygous) or different (=heterozygous). For most gene locations, only the more dominant allele will be expressed, while the other one is recessive and will be inactive. This is called complete dominance. Most genes in the game follow a linear order of dominance, meaning that there's one gene that's dominant to all other genes in that location and the line of dominance goes down until the lowest gene in the order that is recessive to every other gene. Therefore, dominant / recessive is always relative to the two alleles present - dominant refers to the “stronger” one and recessive to the “weaker” one (this has nothing to do with the strength or usefulness of the ability a gene gives the nicheling).
The dominant allele will be displayed in the upper gene slot and decides the phenotype (=outward appearance, but also abilities tied to the gene). The recessive allele in the lower gene slot is displayed in a darker shade, showing that it is inactive. Recessive genes are not part of the phenotype and do not give abilities, but are part of the nicheling's genotype – this means they remain in the DNA and can be passed on to offspring just as likely as the dominant gene - a 50% chance. Only when looking at the phenotype without knowing the recessive genes (e.g. in Blind Genes sandbox mode) will it seem like the more recessive gene is passed on less, because it is only expressed when a nicheling has two copies of the same gene, instead of one copy of the more dominant gene common in your nicheling pack.
Some genes do not follow the concept of complete dominance. There are two other types of dominance:
Incomplete Dominance means that two different alleles will combine and create a mixed phenotype. This is the case with Fur Color, Horn Color, and Pattern Color: having two different color alleles will result in a mixed color (e.g. Black Fur + White Fur = Grey Fur). With the Fertility genes, different levels of #Fertility will add up to a combined total.
Co-Dominance means that features of two different alleles will show up in the phenotype (imagine a flower has a red petal allele and a blue petal allele, resulting in a flower with some red and some blue petals[1]). This is how Paw genes work: both the mother's and father's gene will be expressed as one paw each in the phenotype!
Co-Dominance is also the case, in a technical sense, with Immunity genes. You could say that two different Immunity genes each offer their own type of protection which helps the nicheling to stay healthy. Without this co-dominant effect, a nicheling with only one type of immunity is having a reduced lifespan (see #Immunity)
Some genes can also get inactivated completely by other genes, affecting both alleles:
- If a nicheling has active Albinism, Melanism or "No Pattern", then all other pattern genes (pattern type/size/density/shape/color) are inactivated.
- Spiky Body inactivates tail genes.
- Bat Head inactivates ear genes.
Remember that inactive genes are still part of the genotype and can be passed on to offspring!
Mutation[]
- Main article: Mutations
All unlocked genes are able to be mutated into your population through breeding. Some genes are available to mutate from the start, while others must be unlocked by meeting a certain condition or completing a requirement. Unlocking all genes will earn you the 'Natural Selector' achievement.
Genes and Gene Dominance[]
Ears[]
Ear genes affect the abilities Hearing, Cold Resistance, and Heat Resistance.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medium Ears | Hearing +3 | Auto unlocked |  |
| 2 | Big Ears | Hearing +4
Heat Resistance +2 Cold Resistance -1 |
Spend time in hot climate (30 Days) |
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| 3 | Round Ears | Hearing +3 | Invite animals with this gene to your tribe.
(Only available in Story Mode.) |
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| 4 | Bearyena Ears | Hearing +3 | Invite animals with this gene into your tribe or breed with a Friendly Bearyena |  |
Horn[]
Horn genes affect Strength and Weather Prediction.
Eyes[]
Eye genes affect Eyesight, Smelling, and Hearing. You will rarely start a storymode game with two nichelings that have 100% normal eyes.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eyes | Eyesight +2 | Regular Eyecolor |
| 2 | Shortsighted Eyes | Eyesight +1 Smelling +1 |
Regular Eyecolor |
| 3 | Blind Eyes | Eyesight 0 Smelling +2 Hearing +1 |
  |
Head[]
Head genes affect the abilities Collecting, Strength, Digging, Cracking, Feeding from the Bottom, Venomous, Strong Voice, Purring, Hearing, Smelling, Underwater Breathing, Distasteful Appearance, Poison Resistance, and Insect Collecting.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derp Snout | Smelling +2
Distasteful Appearance +1 |
Auto Unlocked |  |
| 2 | Short Snout | Smelling +2 | Auto Unlocked | |
| 3 | Big Nose | Smelling +3 | Perform: Explore on Grass (100) |  |
| 4 | Cracker Jaw | Smelling +2
Cracking +2 |
Perform: Crack (50) |   |
| 5 | Poison Fang | Smelling +1
Venomous +2 |
Unlocked after traveling to the Sleepy Reeds island. |  |
| 6 | Platypus Beak | Smelling +1
Feeding from the Bottom +1 |
Perform: Water Dig (70) |   |
| 7 | Gills | Underwater Breathing +2 | Perform: Swim (50) |   |
| 8 | Sticky Tongue | Smelling +2
Insect Collecting +2 |
Perform: Collect insects (20)
Spend time in: hot climate (20) |
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| 9 | Saber Tooth Fangs | Smelling +2
Strength +2 Distasteful Appearance +1 Strong Voice +1 |
Unlocked when found in
ice block. |
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| 10 | Bat Head | Smelling +2
Insect Collecting +2 +3 Hearing (but inactivates Ears gene!) |
Perform: Collect insects (40) |   |
| 11 | Purr Snout | Smelling +2
Purring +1 |
Perform: Lick (30) |   |
| 12 | Digging Trunk | Smelling +3
Digging +3 |
Unlocked when found in
ice block. |
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| 13 | Bird Beak | Smelling +1
Collecting +1 Digging +1 Insect Collecting +1 |
Perform: Fly (50) |   |
| 14 | Bearyena Snout | Smelling +2
Strength +2 Distasteful Appearance +1 Strong Voice +1 Inactivates Mane Color |
Invite animals with this gene into your tribe or breed with a friendly Bearyena. |   |
Body[]
Body genes affect Speed, Swimming, Flight, Strength, Defense, Stealth, Scentless, Stealth, Scentless, Poisonous, Underwater Breathing, Spikyness, Distasteful Appearance, Poison Resistance, Cold Resistance, Heat Resistance, and Heat Radiation.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medium Body | Strength +1
Speed +1 Stealth +1 Scentless +1 Heat Resistance +1 Cold Resistance +1 |
Auto unlocked. |  |
| 2 | Lean Body | Heat Resistance +3
Speed +2 |
Spend time in: Hot climate (50) |  |
| 3 | Water Body | Swimming +2 Scentless +1 Underwater Breathing +2 |
Perform: Swim (50) |  |
| 4/5/6* | Spiky Body | Strength +2 Scentless +1 Spikyness +1 |
Receive: Attack (30) |   |
| 4/5/6* | Big Body | Strength +2 Defense +1 Cold Resistance +2 |
Spend time in: Cold climate (50) |  |
| 4/5/6* | Toxic Body | Poisonous +2 Distasteful Appearance +1 Poison Resistance +1 |
Perform: Collect on Toxic berry bush (50) |  |
| 7 | Armored Body | Defense +3 | Unlocked when found in
ice block. |
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| 8 | Heat Body | Cold Resistance +4
Heat Radiation +1 |
Spend Time in: Cold Climate (35) |   |
*The dominance order of these bodies is not linear, but circular: Spiky Body > Big Body | Big Body > Toxic Body | Toxic Body > Spiky Body
Toxic Body Colors (Old & New)[]
| Color | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Blue |   |
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| Green |   |
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| Magenta |   |
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| Orange |   |
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| Yellow |   |
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Paw[]
Paw genes affect Speed, Swimming, Flying, Collecting, Strength, Digging, Cracking, Fishing, Defense, Stealth, and Cold Resistance. The genes are co-dominant, meaning both paw types will be present. Left paw genes will always come from the mother and right paw genes will always come from the father[2], though this is purely a cosmetic effect, as paws will give the same abilities no matter which side they're on.
| Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bearyena Claw | Strength +3
Fishing +1 |
Invite animals with this gene into your tribe or breed it in with a Friendly Bearyena. |   |
| Claw | Strength +2
Fishing +2 |
Perform: Attack (50) |   |
| Deformed Paw | None | Auto unlocked. |  |
| Digging Paw | Digging +2 | Perform: Dig (50) |   |
| Mammoth Feet | Cold Resistance +1
Defense +1 |
Unlocked when found in ice block. |   |
| Nimble Fingers | Collecting +2
Cracking +1 |
Perform: Collect (70) |  |
| Runner Leg | Collecting +1
Speed +1 Stealth +1 |
Auto unlocked. |  |
| Velvet Paw | Collecting +1
Stealth +2 |
Unlocked after traveling to the Rainforest island. |  |
| Webbed Paw | Swimming +1 | Perform: Swim (30) |  |
| Wings | Flying +8, if genes are identical | Invite animals with this gene into your tribe. |   |
| Bat Wings | Flying +8, if genes are identical | Invite animals with this gene into your tribe. |   |
Hind Leg[]
Hind Leg genes affect Speed, Swimming, and Strength.
Tail[]
Tail genes affect Swimming, Strength, Cracking, Fishing, Venomous, Attractiveness, Distasteful Scent, Poison Resistance, and Cold Resistance.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Condition | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medium Tail | Cold Resistance +1 | Auto unlocked. |  |
| 2 | Swimming Tail | Swimming +1 | Unlocked after traveling to the Oasis island. |  |
| 3 | Fishing Tail | Fishing +2 | Perform: Fish (30) |  |
| 4 | Stinky Tail | Distasteful Scent +1 | Perform: Collect on Smelly Fruit Tree. (30) |   |
| 5 | Tailfin | Swimming +2
Cold Resistance -1 |
Perform: Swim (100) |   |
| 6 | Hammer Tail | Strength +1
Cracking +1 |
Unlocked when found in ice block. |  |
| 7 | Scorpion Tail | Venomous +1
Poison Resistance +1 |
Spend time in: Hot Climate (50)
Perform: Attack (40) |
  Dotted coloring determined by horn color gene |
| 8 | Peacock Tail | Attractiveness +1 (only in males) | Perform: Call to attract wild animals (40) |     |
Albinism and Melanism[]
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No Albinism | None | Auto unlock | |
| 2 | Albinism | Albino Nichelings have white fur and red eyes. Albinism will mask pattern, eye color, fur color, mane color, and horn color. Albinism will also mask melanism – if a nicheling has two genes for albinism and two for melanism, the creature will visually be albino. | Impossible | |
| 3 | No Melanism | None | Auto Unlock | |
| 4 | Melanism | Melanistic Nichelings have black fur tinted with midnight-blue. Melanism will mask pattern, fur color, mane color, and horn color. | Impossible |
Breeding an albino creature will unlock the 'Albinism' achievement, and having a melanistic nicheling will unlock the 'Melanism' achievement.
Fur Color[]
Fur color genes affect the overall color of a creature. The creature's fur color will be a mix of the two genes due to incomplete dominance. For example, two white fur genes will produce a white animal, and two black fur genes will produce a black animal, but a black gene and a white gene will produce a grey animal. Fur color can also provide camouflage in different environments. Mixed fur colors stack the camouflages of both colors, which would be co-dominance.
| Gene | Effect |
|---|---|
| White Fur | Snow Camouflage +2 |
| Beige Fur | Savanna Camouflage +2
Sand Camouflage +2 |
| Moss Brown Fur | Grassland Camouflage +2 |
| Yellow Fur | None |
| Red Fur | None |
| Red Brown Fur | Mountains Camouflage +2 |
| Chestnut Brown Fur | Savanna Camouflage +2 Grassland Camouflage +2 |
| Black Fur | Jungle Camouflage +2 Swamp Camouflage +2 |
| FUR COLOR COMBINATIONS | White | Beige | Moss | Yellow | Red | Red Brown | Chestnut Brown | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White |   |
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| Beige |   |
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| Moss |   |
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| Yellow |   |
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| Red |   |
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| Red Brown |   |
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| Chestnut Brown |   |
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| Black |   |
Eye Color[]
Eye Color changes the color of a creature's eyes. It is a cosmetic gene and has no other effects.
| Dominance | Gene | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Eyes |   |
| 2 | Brown Eyes |  |
| 3 | Yellow Eyes |   |
| 4 | Green Eyes |   |
| 5 | Blue Eyes |   |
| 6 | Violet Eyes |   |
| 7 | Orange Eyes |   |
Horn Color[]
Horn Color expressed in Purr Snout, Bearyena Claws and Hindlegs, Hammer Tail and Savanna Horns.
The colors are White, Black, Brown, and Red. Due to incomplete dominance, the Horn Color is a mix of the creature's two genes. Horn Color genes affect the color of the horns, but also the color of a bunch of other body features:
- Bird Beak and Platypus beak
- the nose on Sticky Tongue
- nose and whiskers on Purr Snout
- claws on Bat Wing, Claw, Bearyena Claw, Digging Paw
- Hammer Tail and the pattern on Scorpion Tail
Pattern Color[]
Pattern Color genes affect the color of a nicheling's pattern and the mane color on male nichelings. Due to incomplete dominance, the mane and pattern color is a mix of both Pattern Color alleles.
| Pattern Color Combinations | White | Beige | Brown | Red | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White |   |
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| Beige |   |
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| Brown |   |
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| Red |   |
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| Black |   |
Patterns[]
The pattern system has four gene types affecting the nicheling's phenotype: Pattern, Pattern Shape, Pattern Density, and Pattern Size. Density and Size are incomplete dominance, allowing for a lot of different combinations. If you want to see an overview of the combinations possible with patterns, the Niche Pattern Project is located here!
Patterns also affect camouflage when the nicheling is standing on certain tiles.
| Dominance | Gene | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | No Pattern | None |
| 2 | Dots | +3 camouflage when the nicheling is standing on a jungle tile |
| 3 | Mask | None |
| 4 | Stripes | +3 camouflage when the nicheling is hiding in long grass |
Pattern Shapes[]
Each pattern has four distinct shapes: A, B, C, and D. These types influence how the pattern looks. Pattern Shape genes don't follow a linear dominance hierarchy like all other genes, instead it's a circular order of dominance:
- A is dominant to B,
- B is dominant to C and D,
- C is dominant to D and A,
- D is dominant to A.
Special Patterns[]
Pattern Shape C in combination with the Mask Pattern is associated with a Raccoon pattern, earning an achievement. (Pattern Color White + Pattern Color Black, Fur Color Black, Pattern Shape C, Pattern Mask, Pattern Density Thick or Pattern Density Very Thick, Pattern Size Big or Pattern Size Huge.)
Pattern Shape D in combination with the Mask Pattern is associated with a "panda" pattern. (Pattern Color Black, Fur Color White, Pattern Shape D, Pattern Mask, Pattern Density Thin, Pattern Size Small)
Blood Clotting[]
The blood clotting gene affects how much damage occurs from bleeding after being injured. It is a sex-linked gene; females have two copies and males only have one. A male with hemophilia will always pass it on!
| Dominance | Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Normal Blood Clotting | Animals bleed normally. | Number of generations (10) |
| 2 | Hemophilia | Animals receive heavy bleeding rather than bleeding. | Auto unlock |
Fertility[]
Each nicheling has 2 alleles of the fertility gene. Fertility genes work by incomplete dominance, a nicheling's fertility is the sum of both copies of the gene; e.g. an animal with a high fertility gene (+3) and a medium fertility gene (+2) will have 5 fertility. Breeding success depends on the fertility of both partners; infertile animals (0 fertility) are unable to breed at all. Fertility also affects the likelihood of twin births, with higher fertility meaning a higher chance of twins. The highest amount of fertility is 6 (per creature) and 12 in a pair.
| Gene | Effect | Unlock Conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Fertility | Fertility +3 | Number of days survived (100) |   |
| Normal Fertility | Fertility +2 | Number of days survived (50) |   |
| Low Fertility | Fertility +1 | Auto Unlocked |   |
| Infertile | Fertility 0 | Auto Unlocked |   |
The chances of a mating attempt resulting in a pregnancy for each possible sum of fertility in the pair of breeding nichelings are summarized in the table below:
| 2 Fertility | 3 Fertility | 4 Fertility | 5 Fertility | 6 Fertility | 7 Fertility | 8 Fertility | 9 Fertility | 9 Fertility | 10 Fertility | 12 Fertility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≈19.3% | ≈26.2% | ≈33% | ≈42.9% | ≈51.5% | ≈61.3% | ≈69.4% | ≈75.8% | ≈83.2% | ≈93.5% | =100% |
Immunity[]
Each nicheling has two alleles for immunity, which are co-dominant. A nicheling with any two different Immunity genes is healthy. A nicheling with two identical Immunity alleles is born with a genetic illness. As genetic illnesses can't be cured, it causes them to live for half the amount of days they normally would, and they can infect other nichelings with a Cold.
There are 12 immunity genes, one of them the special Home Island Immunity (symbolized by a star instead of a letter). Immunity J is the rarest immunity you can get in the game, as it is almost always found exclusively in the jungles.
| Immunity | Image |
|---|---|
| Immunity A |   |
| Immunity B |   |
| Immunity C |   |
| Immunity D |   |
| Immunity E |   |
| Immunity F |   |
| Immunity G |   |
| Immunity H |   |
| Immunity I |   |
| Immunity J |  |
| Immunity K |   |
| Home Island Immunity |   |
Special Genes[]
Prehistoric Genes[]
To unlock these special genes, you must travel to the mountain biome and find an ice block. Once the ice is broken, a nicheling with one of the prehistoric genes will appear and join your tribe. Unlocking all six prehistoric genes will earn you the 'Ice Age' achievement. Breeding a single creature that possesses the Sabertooth Fangs, Mammoth Feet, Hammer Tail, and Megaloceros Horns genes will unlock the 'Prehistoric Hunter' achievement.
Hybrid Genes[]
Hybrid genes are unlocked by breeding a nicheling to another species. Currently, nichelings can only breed with bearyenas. The 'Hybrid' achievement, which requires breeding an animal with 12+ strength, can only be achieved with bearyena genes.
Potential/Unknown Genes[]
There are a few genes that show up through console commands but as of now are unavailable through normal gameplay and are not rendered.
| Gene | Effect | Unlock conditions | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triceratops Shield | N/A | N/A |   |
| Snow Body | N/A | N/A |   |
Trivia[]
- Accounting for every possible gene combination, there are a total of 4.86466 x 10^24 (4.86 septillion) total possible female nichelings and a total of 3.24311 x 10^24 (3.24 septillion) male nichelings. The difference in possible male and female nichelings is due to blood clotting only appearing once in the genes of males.
- Though Adam in Story Mode always has the same genes, there are a total of 2.02538 x 10^17 (202 quintillion) possibilities for Eve.