STARBOUND TERRAFORMERS UPGRADE
STARBOUND TERRAFORMERS SERIES

This was later Retconned into the Transformers having actually been created by a deity figure the levers and pulleys thing turned out to be a theory they themselves had developed about their origins after having forgotten their true origin.

STARBOUND TERRAFORMERS SERIES

The Transformers (Marvel): In the original series series, the Transformers themselves were once described as evolving from 'naturally-occurring gears, levers and pulleys', a theory later dubbed 'atechnogenesis'.The Lamarck comparison is probably taken out because the writers assume the viewers don't know who Lamarck is (or don't themselves know of his theory).

STARBOUND TERRAFORMERS UPGRADE

If an upgrade to an existing model of robot is developed it can be incorporated as standard into future robots of that model when they are created.

Though wrong when talking about organic evolution, this makes perfect sense for mechanical evolution.

No one ever seems to compare the advancement of machines to the theory of Lamarckian evolution, which says that traits acquired by an organism over its life will be passed on to the child. If the setting also features a Robot Religion (especially of a Thank the Maker variety), expect jokes about them not believing in Mechanical Evolution (or perhaps the other way around). More serious authors will try to justify the Mechanical Evolution with Applied Phlebotinum like Nanomachines or self-learning algorithms less serious authors will simply toss out the words 'Mechanical Evolution' and leave it at that. Is a Crapshoot and/or Robot War story arcs, as a justification for why the machines want to Kill All Humans. The most important caste is likely to also be the most humanoid, or be a Master Computer. With mechanical creatures the 'market' becomes society a common result is a rigid caste system where various machines are built to specialise in particular applications. This is similar to real-life design, which is in a sense an evolutionary process success is defined by market factors, testing and other pressures successive designs build on those before them and attempt to improve or refine them to better fit the given application. It is seldom shown as the equivalent of the biological process rather, the mechanical species will be shown to actively design their own successors, or even 'evolve' within their current generation through self-modification. This is frequently used to explain the presence of Mechanical Lifeforms or Ridiculously Human Robots. Mechanical Evolution is the tendency in speculative fiction to apply the idea of biological evolution to mechanical devices, wherein later versions of the devices become progressively more suited to their niche ( or more likely just progressively better at everything).

Starbound terraformers