qqman
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
Comparison · Analytics
fossilsim vs modeltime.ensemble
A side-by-side editorial comparison of fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
fossilsim vs modeltime.ensemble: at a glance
What is fossilsim?
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
FossilSim is a mature R package for simulating fossil records on phylogenetic trees, and its release cadence reflects that: long gaps punctuated by a single capability addition. The last four releases span three years, with the most recent being a compatibility sync to its companion Shiny front-end rather than new functionality. The core simulation surface has been stable since 2022.
What is modeltime.ensemble?
modeltime.ensemble wakes after four years, and the work is all tune 2.0 compatibility.
modeltime.ensemble builds average, weighted and stacked ensembles over modeltime forecast models. After a four-year gap it shipped twice in a fortnight during August and September 2025, both releases devoted to tracking breaking changes in tidymodels' tune package — new resampling column conventions, key uniqueness across resamples, recipe preparation. The tidyverse dependency was dropped in the same pass.
fossilsim vs modeltime.ensemble: editorial side-by-side
fossilsim
0.0ANALYTICS
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
◆ Current state
FossilSim is a mature R package for simulating fossil records on phylogenetic trees, and its release cadence reflects that: long gaps punctuated by a single capability addition. The last four releases span three years, with the most recent being a compatibility sync to its companion Shiny front-end rather than new functionality. The core simulation surface has been stable since 2022.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from sampling mechanics toward simulating what the organisms actually were. Version 2.2.0 taught the package to handle occurrence data for occurrence birth-death models; 2.3.0 then added trait simulation under Mk, BM and OU, which is a different kind of output than fossil ages. Since then the work has been maintenance and keeping the FossilSimShiny GUI in step, suggesting the authors consider the current model set feature-complete.
◆ Prediction
The pairing of the 2.3.3 release with a FossilSimShiny version bump points to the GUI, not the library, as where the next visible work lands. The entries do not show enough activity to predict a specific new model family.
modeltime.ensemble
0.0ANALYTICS
modeltime.ensemble wakes after four years, and the work is all tune 2.0 compatibility.
◆ Current state
modeltime.ensemble builds average, weighted and stacked ensembles over modeltime forecast models. After a four-year gap it shipped twice in a fortnight during August and September 2025, both releases devoted to tracking breaking changes in tidymodels' tune package — new resampling column conventions, key uniqueness across resamples, recipe preparation. The tidyverse dependency was dropped in the same pass.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package whose forecasting capability was settled by 2021 — recursive ensembles, per-series calibration — and whose recent life is dictated entirely by upstream tidymodels churn. New contributors did that compatibility work, including one from the tidymodels side. It now requires tune 2.0.0 and modeltime.resample 0.3.0, pinning it to the current tidymodels generation rather than straddling versions.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to follow the next tune or modeltime.resample breaking change rather than to introduce new ensembling methods.
Alternatives to fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either fossilsim or modeltime.ensemble.
constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
austraits
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
See all fossilsim alternatives → · See all modeltime.ensemble alternatives →
Recent activity from fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agomodeltime.ensembleRealigned for tune 2.0.0 resampling changes
- 11mo agomodeltime.ensembleDrops the tidyverse dependency ahead of tune 2.0
- 2y agofossilsimCompatibility bump for FossilSimShiny 1.1.2
- 4y agofossilsimBug fixes and documentation cleanup
- 4y agofossilsimTrait simulation arrives: Mk, BM and OU models ⚡
- 5y agomodeltime.ensemblePer-series calibration IDs and parallel refitting
- 5y agofossilsimOccurrence handling for the occurrence birth-death model
- 5y agomodeltime.ensembleRecursive ensembles for single and panel series ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is fossilsim better than modeltime.ensemble?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fossilsim and modeltime.ensemble are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to fossilsim?
Top fossilsim alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fossilsim alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fossilsim-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to modeltime.ensemble?
Top modeltime.ensemble alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "modeltime.ensemble alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/modeltime-ensemble for the full list with editorial commentary on each.