Not only can the target move, but it’s also likely trying to eat the ants that are trying to climb onto it. Some of the in-editor intricacies of the titan climbing system A modification of the “cart” system used to let leafcutters climb plants will let other kinds of ant climb plants to harvest from aphids, and indeed move them. Some new aphids will be added to the game – these ones will live amongst foliage instead of roots. Like many ant species, fire ants are resourceful and one of their many sources of food is honeydew that they milk from aphids.
![beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth](https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/hp-srping.jpg)
Remember that the fire ant levels take place in swampy conditions so expect plenty of water to be present in its final form! It looks fairly bland right now as we haven’t decorated it with the swamp flora just yet – we’re not quite ready to show that off, but you can imagine how it’ll be with plants such as the Venus flytrap populating its shores. With no further context, we thought it’d be fun to show you a little in-editor preview of what one of them looks like from above.
![beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z3e9Md5Rhhg/hqdefault.jpg)
The layouts for the fire ant missions (and even missions beyond that) are completed at this point. The exact details of the gaster flagging are yet to be tested, but it’s likely to be an area-of-effect ability that will help them make up for their small stature. This intimidating chemical and visual threat display / territory marking is effective enough to see off most competition. The 3 kinds of Monomorium minimum – soldier, queen and worker Although small (very likely the smallest ants that will ever be in the game), they are fierce and territorial – they wave their gaster (hind section) in a technique called “flagging”, which releases secretions from their poison glands. The little black ant ( Monomorium minimum) is a tiny North American ant species that your fire ants will come up against. It is a voracious hunter of ants, and your Solenopsis invicta are very much on the menu. A fast daytime hunter, its large compound eyes scour the landscape as it also feels for vibrations. The six-spotted tiger beetle ( Cicindela sexguttata) is a common sight in the undergrowth of North America. We announced this critter some time back, but now we have completed artwork to show you.
To that end, we stick to the old development adage of “when it’s done” – and as soon as we have a date we are 100% sure we can hit, we will be very loud about letting everyone know. We do not do estimates for big content releases – we’ve done that in the past and since game development is very unpredictable in how long certain tasks will take, we’ve ended up disappointing people before and end up having to push estimates back further. Since we’re talking about the 4th tier levels, it’s worth reiterating our policy on release dates. It’s exciting to be able to see some of the denizens of the swamp ready and in the game! The 4th tier levels take place in a nature preserve known as the Green Swamp in North Carolina, so all of the creatures in the 4th tier levels are either native or invasive to that place in real life. With our artist Matt on a big drive to complete lots of 3D models, textures and animations for the fire ant update, we have a few new creatures to show off to you.
![beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth beat harvest level in empire of the undergrowth](https://styles.redditmedia.com/t5_3d78t/styles/communityIcon_d2k7dtvmhd061.png)
A screenshot from an upcoming extra level – Cramped 4th Tier Creatures