Da_Matteo

Busting open a fence would be amazing to expand the yard, and an "Under House" Biome, after the under shed was so terrifyingly brilliant. House Spiders... *Shudder*

Requests: Infected Wolf Spiders unique loot - Currently no tangible incentive to kill them, so I don't. But I want to need to (also makes plugging the haze more worthwhile if it opens up new loot/weapon/armor paths). Hoping the introduction of the IBM will open more paths to unique infected gear and builds. Additional Default Difficulty Setting for Whoa! (Toggleable on custom) - Infected Wolf Spiders increased roam range (similar to Wolf Spiders at night, but all day, every day). Gone are the days of feeling safe on your random strolls... *Shudder*. This also works in tandem with my loot suggestion above, cos currently Infected Wolf Spiders are not scary, too easy to just avoid in the areas they normally are, and there's no incentive to actually kill them. Having them free roam means you constantly have to keep your wits about you in a much larger and more unpredictable space. (Even a Whoa!+ mode in future could implement this I guess - unlocks after beating the game perhaps?) Faction Reputation Display - A simple UI to show which insects are p****d off and could raid your base + cooldowns on ones which already have. Sort Inventory button mapping - PLEASE, let us map a button to instantly sort inventories, rather than having to navigate to the sort button on screen (particularly annoying on controller!!). Even just a PC mapping would be appreciated as I use ReWASD. After playing the Resident Evil 4 remake and being able to instantly sort inventory with a simple press of L3, playing Grounded and now having to manually sort inventories is painnnnnful (and much more frequent!). Vertical Ziplines - This would be cool to replace people's makeshift jump towers. Unlocked with the ZIP.R? Direction Configurable arrow at the top to show exit direction(similar to jump pad arrows) or just exit the way you're facing. ZIP.R Alternative - Would be cool if we could replace the Aphid ZIP.R with a battery powered one, even if it's only cosmetic. Personally, the aphid wheel kills some immersion, because it is a littttttle bit ridiculous (although cute and some people will love it), with there being powered buildings/labs all over the yard, a powered tool wouldn't not make sense. Character Dialogue - When talking to BURG.L etc. the playable character currently says nothing and your responses are purely text based options. This is annoying on mulitplayer games because other players on the server cannot see your responses, but can hear BURG.Ls replies only. Feel like this may have been a bit of an oversight, particularly on multiplayer sessions. My friends playing for the first time, had absolutely no idea what was going on, because they were only hearing 50% of a conversation. It would also make these conversations so much more engaging, as well as making the characters more engaging too, with each having their own personality to the standard responses. Armor Set Bonus Info - Please show the armor set bonus name on individual armor items, from experience on multiplayer, new players have no idea armor set bonuses even exist Bugs: Infected Wolf Spider getting stuck constantly under the oak, rarely ever comes out now. Infected Gnats near sandbox spawning and dying under water level (I've emailed support team on this with video) Sandbox shade is broken (I've emailed support team on this with video)

Honestly, some things on this list are brilliant. And it's a bit disheartening that instead of some of these great creature ideas, we just got the same insects but retextured in both of the last 2 updates.... Water Fleas, Ladybugs, Orb Weevers, Stinkbugs, Mosquitoes, Mites, Roly Poly... All creatures we've had since the pond, but were added as "New content" in their new variants in both major upper yard updates. Boo.

Agree with all issues here. Me and my girlfriend both playing on PC, wired connection, very low ping, experience rubber banding a LOT. And bugged animations, one of us floating in the jump animation. Unable to interact with items, because on the hosts game, they're not actually stood where they think they are... It's a mess.

[10/04/2021] Updated to include the following: Additional bug reports Getting stuck in "Block" mode when using mouse and keyboard. Can switch to a ranged weapon and be fine, but switching back to any melee weapon is still stuck in a block position - Only seems to trigger during combat. Once it has triggered, using hotkeys to switch between tools is very unresponsive as well. End up stuck in block, unable to do anything during combat - Game breaking. Insects have suddenly started to get 'stuck' a LOT more often since the most recent update. 0.8.1. Ladybugs, wolfs, ants, everything, in places they wouldn't previously. Suggested updates Movable zipline anchors (sometimes a zipline doesn't work as well as we thought, and want to move it slightly. Setting up a zipline shows both (The direction of travel from your point of origin and the speed you would move/time to reach other side). Placeable 'red' blueprints, to allow building from top down. They turn blue when supported. Ladybug shield. Sprinting auto-disables crouch. New Insect boss: Queen Bee Leaf boats (can be left as an object in the world, but can also be picked up to inventory Update to my suggestion for a Dragonfly Glider (Tier 3) to add the ability to 'flap' for further distance (like a double jump). Half walls Spiders can climb vertically (I saw one doing this, I was certain it was a bug at first, but it kept returning back. It was up the lamp near the oak tree, and it was freaking amazing - I hope this is where this feature is currently being tested). Significantly Improve AI, insects should know how to re-route themselves around the terrain to get to you. An Acorn Lift/Elevator, running off of silk rope and an anchor (similar to zipline anchors but directly above the 1x1 space). A telescope (inventory and base) (bugs life style, water droplet in the end, rolled up grass).

[30/03/2021] Updated to include additional info on sections 2-6, particularly section 4. Added section 7.

This post will cover the below areas and will be updated from time-to-time. Big props to the devs thus far, I absolutely love this game and cannot wait for full release. Creatures Base Building Armor/Weapons/Gear Gameplay Balancing UI Adjustments Misc. Bug Fixes 1. Creatures First and foremost, I believe all creatures should have 3 items each within their drops (barring aphids, and the other tiny critters), and the drops should be random for most (similar to ladybugs not always dropping a head). This makes it more challenging to farm for the parts you want and prolongs gameplay. Bosses (if added) should have more, to promote taking on multiple times for rarer drops. Mantis [New] A high tier enemy with the intended purpose of being a very late game enemy. May not need to be hostile, but packs a punch if provoked. The main appeal to taking on a Mantis, would be to obtain its arms, allowing the creation of the Tier 3 sword. Mantis Head - Wall Mount | Helmet Mantis Arm - Mantis Blade (Tier 3) Mantis Parts - Misc. incl. repairs Butterfly [New] Non-hostile creature, similar to bees. Main purpose of provoking is for their wings, providing a repairable glider (Tier 2) with significantly better horizontal movement than the tuft. Butterfly Wing - Butterfly Glider (Tier 2) | Wall decoration | Curtains | Rugs Butterfly Antenna - Base items | Misc. Butterfly Parts - Base items | Misc. incl. repairs Wasp [New] As soon as we saw bees, we wanted wasps too. A more hostile variant of the bee, similar to mosquitoes but more active during the day rather than dusk. The main appeal to taking on a Wasp, would be to obtain the parts required to create the Wasp Javelin, a Tier 3 Spear. Wasp Head - Wall mount Wasp Stinger - Wasp Javelin (Tier 3) | Base Ballista spear (see section 2) Wasp Parts - Misc. incl. repairs Dragonfly [New] Non-hostile creature, but incredibly hard to hit as they're very agile. Only killable by the best archers, also promotes the use of stronger tier arrows as less shots required. Main purpose is for their wings, providing a repairable glider (Tier 3) with better all-round movement than the Butterfly glider (mentioned above). Dragonfly Wing - Dragonfly Glider (Tier 3) Dragonfly Abdomen - Misc. Dragonfly Parts - Misc. incl. repairs Beetles [New] Would be the main source of a new tier of armor/shields (Tier 2), and with there being such a wide variety of beetles in the real world, different variants could exist in the game besides just bombardier, the bigger being stronger and more rewarding. (Have to use only hammers on a stronger variant (or boss variant) to break their armor perhaps? This would also make the insect hammer more of a necessity, which is otherwise not that useful currently, barring mint mining). Beetle Head - Wall Mount | Helmet Beetle Shell - Beetle Armors (Tier 2) | Beetle Shield (Tier 2) Beetle Parts - Misc. incl. repairs Moths [New] The main purpose for killing moths would be to obtain their eyes (yum), to enable the create of moth goggles, allowing increased vision in the dark. Although, this could be implemented as a perk, thus moths would probably be obsolete. Moth Eye - Moth Goggles Moth Parts - Misc. Centipedes [Shudders] [New] A creature that would really test my nerve. Would make spiders not the only creature in the garden to fear. Centipedes are natural predators and quite frankly, terrifying when seen up close. A creature that's venomous, can regrow its limbs, is fast... What's not to love. Due to the probable difficulty of getting these to work in the game due to their length, would be good to have them mostly under the surface, free from grass or in very open outdoor areas. Centipedes would be a very late game enemy, hostile and deadly. They would provide the parts to create a Tier 3 shield and armor, surpassing the defensive capabilities of the Ladybug armor (which needs a nerf - covered later). Centipede Head - Centipede Helmet (Tier 3) | Wall Mount Centipede Exoskeleton - Centipede Armor (Tier 3) | Centipede Shield (Tier 3) Centipede Antenna - Misc. incl. repairs Centipede Parts - Misc. incl. repairs Wolf Spider [Rework] Wolf Spider should become a Tier 3 enemy (so to speak), due to it's difficulty. Wolf Spider should, in my opinion, provide access to a Tier 3 bow, Tier 3 dagger and potentially top end Tier 2 armor. They're currently the kings of the garden, and the rewards for defeating them, needs to feel very worth it. At least until a stronger enemy is added to the game. 2. Base Building Issues to be resolved: The ability to place a stair railing AND a diagonal wall beneath it. Currently there is no ability to have a triangle wall at the base of your stairs (to hide the gap below) and also have a railing on the stairs to prevent falling off. It's one or the other and it makes stairs look off. Hoping this gets resolved in a future update. Sometimes I cannot place a fence on the edge of flooring (scaffolding below). There does not appear to be any obstruction and is just in a few spots - not sure what the cause is but could not workaround. Future additions I'd like to see added: Weed Stem: Stairs & Floor Stone: Walls Clay: Walls Defensive items: Ballista (spears created using wasp stingers - see above) Curtains/Rugs: Created using Webs/Petals/Butterfly Wings (see above) Aphid running wheel (once pets added), could also produce a small amount of power once powered buildings are added in the future. Decor items that can be placed on top of tables (i.e. flower pot, small torch) Additional chair/table/bed options More random stuff similar to the basketball hoop 3. Armor/Weapons/Gear Armor Abilities - Descriptions More of a description is needed in game to show what each piece of armor does, as well as an explanation on the 'set bonus' ability. Shouldn't need to Google this stuff. Ladybug Armor - Nerf Needs a nerf once higher tier armor is added into the game (see Gameplay Balancing notes below). Currently is far too strong and too easy to obtain for it to be the best available armor in the game. Instantly makes all other armor obsolete and ruins the feeling of 'progression'. Personally, I'd like to 'need' to obtain the Koi scale armor etc. in order to eventually obtain the next best. Spider Armor - Buff Wolf spiders are the main enemy in the game, but currently aren't super rewarding to defeat (see Gameplay Balancing notes below). Ladybug armor is far easier to obtain than spider armor, and nobody in the right mind is taking on a wolf spider without ladybug armor, especially on hard difficulty. Therefore, the spider armor becomes essentially obsolete immediately. I've played hundreds of hours and never once felt the need to craft spider armor over my ladybug armor. It looks cool, but there's no appeal to choose it over ladybug. Ant Club - Nerf Needs a nerf once higher tier armor is added into the game (see Gameplay Balancing notes below). It's both too easily obtained and too powerful. I think the damage output is fine, but it makes other weapons in the game feel immediately obsolete. Harder enemies should grant better items. That's not true here. 4. Gameplay Balancing The main issue currently, is the 'journey of progression', which I have touched upon slightly in section 3 above. But will dive much deeper into here, starting with a general overview and then highlighting some specific examples which negatively impact every playthrough I have on Grounded. Within survival games where gathering and upgrading is an essential part of the game, there needs to be a so called 'journey of progression'. What I mean by this journey is: (1) you start with nothing (2) you gather enough very basic resources to conjure up some basic weapons and armor (3) you take on lower leveled enemies to obtain slightly better weapons and armor (4) you venture to more dangerous areas to obtain different basic resources (i.e. Koi scales) for slightly better armor/weapons (5) you then use this new gear to take on stronger enemies for even better armor/weapons [Step 4 and 5 can cycle] (6) eventually, after time and effort, you obtain the best armor and weapons in the game This journey simply does not exist in the current state of the game. The journey goes awry after step 3... Whereby you grab an ant club by killing a couple soldier ants, kill a ladybug with your club and acorn armor, shoot a few berries, and make ladybug armor. Suddenly, after a couple of hours, you have the best armor in the entire game and one of the best weapons, and all other armor and most weapons are immediately obsolete and will never be crafted or used by you. I've used all weapons to test them out, but I've never willingly sought out a spider fang dagger, or larva blade, because my ant club is superior and much more obtainable and the mint mallet is exceptionally easy to obtain with the protection offered by a very easily obtained ladybug armor. A POTENTIAL FIX: We have already seen things locked behind BURGL chips, which is good and prolongs gameplay. But I believe there should be some sort of 'wall' in place for armor and weapon progression too. Not one that is linked to the story progression though... Currently we gain immediately access to weapons and armor from simply analyzing the relevant parts, which I do like the idea of, but there needs to be another 'step' in my opinion. Something that stops players from simply skipping past everything to immediately seek out the best of the best (ladybug armor in the current state of the game), and in a game where insects can often become stuck and unable to fight back, it's very easy to exploit and obtain overpowered gear without the appropriate effort being put in. A 'wall' would prevent this, and force players into a 'journey' before gaining access to tier 2, tier 3 etc. weapons and armor blueprints. Further specific examples of where the 'Journey of progression' doesn't exist: Sunken Treasure BURGL Chip Obtaining the sunken treasure BURGL chip requires the best diving gear, and by the time you obtain it, you have very little need for the BURGL upgrades the chip unlocks. It seems a bit backwards and the rewards are something that have never tempted me, as I'm done with the pond before I obtain the chip and raw science required for the upgrades. Wolf Spiders These are the strongest creatures in the yard, but the rewards do not scream the same story. You can obtain a spider fang dagger, which is barely stronger than the larva blade and sits within the same Tier as the ant club, albeit, it's a faster weapon. It's just not worth it and becomes significantly obsolete once the mint mallet is acquired. And far less desirable to obtain once the ant club is very easily obtained. Once I've got my ladybug armor and mint mallet, I have no need to take on wolf spiders or much reason to even try as they offer me very little. Yep they do offer access to a better bow as well, but it's not enough. Killing wolf spiders should be the pinnacle achievement, and the rewards for doing so should scream the same story, but they do not. Koi Scale Armor It's just a bit pointless? Fairly tedious to obtain, but not that rewarding. Whenever I go underwater, I'm taking my breathing gear and fin flops 100% of the time, not Koi Scale Armor (also, why don't they provide any swimming bonuses at all). And on the surface, it's no match at all for ladybug armor and is even similar to petty acorn armor. 5. UI Adjustments Updates coming soon [WIP] 2x quick access wheels for controller. "Y" to switch between melee and range weapon, hold "Y" to sheath. (A ranged and melee weapon can be equipped at the same time in the inventory screen and toggled between easily) 6. Misc. Upgradeable backpack Find collectable items/backpacks around the garden allowing 1 additional inventory slot each for all characters. Maybe have each BURGL chip unlock a map with the locations on? (and make them only obtainable once the chips are handed in to prevent players quickly grabbing them all at the very start of the game). Bosses Fixed locations, can be fought multiple times, an appearance variation, implement some sort of 'drop table' on them, with the hopes of killing and obtaining their rare item. Hard Mode+ Everything included within Whoa difficulty, but with the addition of: Only 1 dropped backpack at a time, if you die retrieving, it's gone. Armor fully breaks upon death, if you don't have the items to repair in storage, you may have trouble getting backpacks back, especially in places such as the hedge, the pond, ant hills etc. No auto-saves, sleeping saves only. Enemies have bigger health pools (not more Damage, nobody likes being 1 hit) Enemies are faster (running and swimming) Enemies have better visibility, harder to creep near to a spider without being seen. Do not think they should instantly spot you, but they should investigate your location from further and not give up as quickly. 7. Bug Fixes [WIP] Intentionally left this section to last as probably fully aware of most. Insects getting stuck, both inside objects such as logs (aware we have a way to reset them), and also during combat, making them easy prey. Spiders, stinkbugs, bombardier beetles and ladybugs should all be able to force the terrain (grass, clovers etc.) out of the way in order to get to you. Ladybug charge attack should chop straight through grass and such, way too easy to exploit the ability to make it stun itself on the terrain. Clovers!! There is very little more irritating in the game than trying to walk and getting stuck by a clover. They're meant to be weak a flimsy, but the human body can't brush them aside?

List of Bugs identified (following recent patch) Dew Collector - Spawns water once but then never again. Insect Spawning inside Solid Objects - The longer I play, the more bugs I notice are 'stuck' inside objects, such as rocks, or tree branches, it's starting to become an issue.. A bug respawn upon sleeping would be good to resolve this? Insects Teleporting through Walls (Note: I have not noticed this since the Larvae spawning on base fix, but I suspect it is still an issue just now less frequent) Spiders and the Lab - Frequent for spiders to get stuck in the entrance to the lab, or just sit and wait outside the lab, making it impossible for newer players to get out. Think this should be made a safe zone somehow. Plant Fibre is Obtrusive - When I've been cutting grass, and there's a lot of plant fibre rolls on the floor, my character struggles to walk because they block your path and you find yourself fighting against them all. Plank Huck sometimes hurts the thrower - Not sure why this happens, but when you huck you sometimes take a lot of damage from it. (Base Building) Walls are... Unpredictable - I can spend almost an hour setting down blueprints, to then find where I wanted to put a wall is impossible, ruining my entire plan. Sometimes the walls can be 50% under the ground, which is good, other times, they can't be 1% under the ground - this is particularly noticeable on rocks. (Base Building) Wall Height - Sometimes my walls will look fine, then I'll come back to my base, and the wall behind my stair case has the jagged top, meaning it comes through the floor, blocking the path to get up. UI Improvement Suggestions (Xbox Controller) 'Back' (change view) button does WAY too much - It takes way too long to scroll through all the menus just to get to my inventory, to then have to move through my items, and then enter the RT menu to do something with an item. Allow option for left and right on d-pad to scroll through select items, rather than just being able to assign each button to 1 item. Add a quick button for 'drop', for example Press X, inside the inventory screen, especially useful for multiplayer when sharing items quickly with friends. Add a "hold button", for example Hold X, for destroy item inside the inventory screen (then a pop up asking to how many to destroy in the stack, or all). Make it so that we need to Hold 'Back' button (change view button) to access the crafting screens, and just Tap 'Back' button (change view button) to open the inventory which is by far the most used. Save Menu Layout - Separate screen for auto saves, and ability to name manual saves. Equipped Gear - Please please please, make it so that equipped gear does not stay in inventory, and introduce the normal RPG gear screen! Balance Improvements Multiplayer Balancing - On 4 player multiplayer, water is extremely difficult to manage - spawn rates should be balanced depending on number of players. Dehydration and Starvation isn't punishing enough - As a survival game, and these being the only 2 resources that need managing, I'd expect the game to punish you more for not maintaining them properly. A good example is Fallout 4 Survival mode, whereby, the more dehydrated or hungry you get, the more punishing the effects become. (I understand this would be bad to introduce as of now due to balancing issues and water spawning issues, but something for the future?) Sleeping (Hunger and Thirst Bars) - Hunger and Thirst when sleeping makes no sense, they always go to a fixed value and can even increase over night? The fall should be dependant on number of hours and starting levels of the hunger and thirst metres before bed. As of now, I find myself letting my characters bar just drop to zero because eating or drinking before bed is completely pointless. Sleeping Need - This should be introduced imo. As well as more sleeping furniture which reap better results, i.e. well rested. Additional Content Suggestions A Weather System Rain Water easier to find on grass Water collector fills up if unsheltered Different insects appear (e.g. worms as they do irl) Potential movement penalty inside puddles? A clover leaf 'floating boat' to compensate for the increase height of water in areas of the garden? (and to avoid water insects from below). Raindrops can hurt if gets very heavy - clover umbrella for protection? Sun Water need falls quicker Water more scarce (Evaporation) Different insects appear (or more frequently, i.e. bees, wasps, mosquitoes) Damp areas of the map start to dry out somewhat Map Expansions More dungeons to explore (like the hedge branch system and also underground), with puzzles and unique rewards at the centre (Not just raw science, it's a great idea and all, but it's not that exciting after a while). Hidden entrances around the map with mysteries/clues inside (and more unique enemies). Quests Not just 'collect this' or 'kill that', but something meaningful... e.g. we need to build this device, collect these parts so we can construct this or further out research etc. similar tasks but with more purpose and have it lead somewhere. BURGL Rewards Selection is currently limited, feel like this could be fleshed out a lot more. As of now, Raw Science feels extremely pointless and I have very little motivation to try and find more. Backpack Upgrades - A rare upgrade, potentially obtained via BURGL after a series of quests? (following research mentioned in my 'quests' section?) - Adding additional inventory slots. Level Up! Some form of levelling system, even if just for combat... Rewards for higher levels such as for Archery, increased bow draw speed, or arrow recovery chance. And for Melee, less weapon degrading, critical hit chance, stun change, evasion chance or damage reduction chance. etc. Would make it more worthwhile taking on more bugs in combat rather than purely for gathering purposes. (Base Building) Wall Height Options - Options to remove the jagged top from walls would be nice, it causes big problems as they tops come through floors a lot of the time when the bottom floor of a structure doesn't have the same skeleton as the floor above. The same can also be said for doors - the top of which peeks through the floor above. (Base Building) Use Furniture - The ability to use chairs etc. in the future would be nice. (Base Building) Colour Options - The ability to use items from around the garden to dye walls etc. or add painted décor to them. New Insects (I know, obviously! - But here's my ideas) Ant Queen (ant nest boss) Flying Ants *Shudders* Wasps Worms Water Skeeters Diving Beetles