[Armor tweaks and avoiding "The new hotness"]

I really love the fact that new armors are being introduced into Grounded on a consistent basis. With so many bugs it's not a wonder since there is so much inspiration. My only issue is that with a live service type game like this, that is ever evolving there is the potential for things to get designed into a corner. I call this "the new hotness" effect. Basically a lot of games put out new weapons and armor, and to incentive them, they make them increasingly stronger and better than previous armors. This makes sense as a long time player might want a reason to validate going through whatever steps are necessary to get the new armor, and also wants a reason to have it. Some people are completionists and will go for the new item regardless, but long time players might want a reason to replace the top tier armor they already own. And that is the problem. If you keep going that route you end up making it harder to introduce new armors and weapons that are significantly better or fill a role while also rendering older armors obsolete. Consequently you also make new players feel pretty crappy for owning anything that isn't "the new hotness". Grounded hasn't hit that level yet, but for me I see some of these things already happening. Things like the Spider armor used to be the new hotness. Then it was the Ladybug armor. It used to be the Antlion armor and now it's the Roly Poly armor. Or Termite maybe? I'm not saying there won't be top tier armors ever. That is understandable.  But older armors should be viable and necessary. Some times this happens. For example, regardless of the new hotness you NEED the Antlion armor to get past certain sections or explore them effectively or else you'll suffer the effects of the plain old hotness without its sizzle protection. That's good! But not every armor is getting that attention.

The other issue for me is having bonuses only apply to full sets, with partial sets receiving nothing. I totally understand this, but in some cases it makes whole suits of armor invalid. Mixing and matching anything with a gas mask means you lose a ton of bonuses in the Haze. Adding a diving helmet to anything does the same in the pond. This feels limiting. Why not have a partial bonus based on the number of pieces the player has with a full bonus and perk gained from a full set? This would open up build options for places like the Haze and Pond, while also benefitting new players that are trying to build a new set. If they can't build it all at once they can still wear it and receive a bonus.

I have some suggestions to try to make it so older armors can still be viable and in rotation, if not outright necessary. 

• Acorn Armor: This is the opposite of the new hotness right? This is like Fisher Price level armor. But the first time you got it you stopped feeling naked and afraid. It should still be viable! I would make a tweak where if you are by the Oak tree this armor offers camo. If you're by the Oak tree where acorns are plentiful and an enemy appears, standing completely still will make you seem like just another nut and they will not attack you. For anyone foraging near the tree it would be great to allow you to explore and gather without fighting. And for new players it would give them a gameplay mechanic that allows them to avoid combat while being absolutely terrified of getting caught. Red light, green light level fear. The less damaged your armor the better the camo, with the acorn armor being especially susceptible to fall damage, and battle damage almost completely breaking it.  
• Spider Armor: This used to be very useful but with the Quickness being a separate perk and better armors arriving it has fallen down. And it's one of the hardest challenges to get at first. How about a reworking? Instead of just quickness, and spiders not attacking you, what if wearing the armor also caused other bugs to fear you? In combat they would be more prone to run from you instead of maintaining aggro. This would make it viable for other uses. Or maybe instead of sticking to webbing in the field, you bounce off of it like a trampoline. That could make exploring spider laden sections more fun and interesting. 
• Koi Armor: Why this armor does not help you swim faster or have something related to the Pond itself is beyond me. It should be the go to armor in the pond. It feels odd donning it anywhere just for perfect block. I'm not entirely sure how to rework this but as it stands the diving bell helmet and a pair of flippers is the best armor choice in the pond and it offers no protection, but is still absolutely necessary to wear. Whereas this Koi armor seems niche in every area, and obsolete in the pond. Maybe a combo of swimming and breathing underwater that is not as good as the diving helmet and flippers but with the added plus of great damage resistance against those annoying diving bell spiders?

I understand there will always be something better and that having different armor tiers is a good way to give players something to work up to. I just feel that regardless of tier, each set should provide something, whether in terms of perks, ease of procurement, or  maintenance that keep them viable and useful as the game adds new items and evolves. 

[Base Building, Mounts, Boats, Wind, Cold and some other stuff]

On 2/12/2022 at 3:45 PM, LadyBugWins said:

 Sleeping bag to carry with you for those long journeys that require a sleep over along the way. A new carry bag or shrunken lunch-pail, with a separate inventory row for food/smoothies/bandages.  

These are great ideas. The lunchbox especially would fit right into the games theme. Maybe make it so you can customize it to some degree, if they add something like decal creation feature. More storage space would be great on long trips. I still want the tension of not being able to carry everything, but some upgrades to existing backpacks or other bags or satchels in addition to what you already have would be nice. Maybe the option to carrying a bookbag and let's say a lunchbox causes perks like The Quickness to be negated or lost while doing so. You can carry more but you're slower or you can't jump and move as easily. This could dovetail with your build and load out of choice. So if you like carrying a lot and know you can't move quickly and be agile, you naturally will create a more tank character build to let you survive. 

The sleeping bag would be a game changer. I like the fact that lean-to's stay created and in the locations you left them, but like you said on long expeditions into new places it would be great to have the option to sleep anywhere. Maybe the bonus isn't as significant as sleeping in a lean to to counter balance it. The sleeping bag could use grub hides and fuzz or something. And maybe add a mechanic where if you use a sleeping bag, there is a random chance that you can be woken up in the middle of the night by an attacking bug. So you still have to choose your sleeping area carefully to lower the odds of this happening. 

Boats or kayaks would be so much fun. Like you stated, the parts present for other pond gear like the Boatman's fins are already in the game. They could add some more fear and tension with the giant koi by having it attracted to boats on the surface of the water. So you have your kayak but you have to be vigilant or you could suddenly find yourself getting gulped down by a giant fish. 

[Base Building, Mounts, Boats, Wind, Cold and some other stuff]

I've been playing Grounded since the beginning. Lot's of fun. After playing through Subnautica and No Man's Sky I was looking for something like those two. Grounded has many similarities I enjoy with those two titles plus new ideas that add a lot. So with that said I just have some feedback and ideas I'd like to share.

• I love base building and Grounded has a system that is really versatile so far. My suggestion to improve it would be adding a detached camera view for base building. This was something that was added to NMS and it really improved creativity and quality of life. Basically what happens is by hitting a button (maybe clicking in an analog stick) while in build mode, the camera can be freely flown around a build site within a certain range. When you're trying to place objects intricately, in high places, or trying to blueprint items in either situation, you don't have to physically place your character in a position to do so. It makes building a lot easier and takes away the tedium of trying to get in position instead of purely concentrating on your build.
• Certain building pieces don't connect in ways that would seem intuitive. An example of this is are the triangle pieces that connect in every way to each other except to make a square. That may seem arbitrary, but not only would it add additional aesthetic flair to be able to use two triangles in that manner, it would also allow more options in choosing to fill in gaps in flooring or roofing.
• Can we get some floor lights, or a way to cast more light across flooring that doesn't just necessitate placing light sources closer to the ground?
• The inventory system is nice and I like the hot key wheel. One thing that drives me nuts is my personal inventory constantly shifting depending on what I use and what I pick up. What I mean is I would like items that I pre-arrange in the bookbag to stay in those slots. The game has no pause and only so many hotkeys. Sometimes during while trekking I find myself in a situation where I have to find something vital that isn't hot-keyed and/or make an on the fly inventory decision concerning space. With things constantly moving it makes those moments more frustrating than fun. If I place something in the bag in a certain slot please leave it there. 
• Can we make it so the in game aiming reticle is actually the center of my character? When building or aiming it seems the dot is not centered to my character in the third person view

Now as for gameplay suggestions I have a few. Maybe these have been repeated elsewhere as have the above suggestions concerning building or the UI and inventory system. Apologies if that's so.

• Mounts. Training certain animals to be ridden, including Ladybugs who could help to haul wood stems and planks via the pallet and, my personal fav, Bee's. The idea of having a Bee mount that you could care for and take to flying around the map would be great. Considering that it has to carry you as well there could be a limit to how far it could go before its stamina runs low. Training and feeding your pet would give it more stamina, and in the case of the bees maybe you could unlock new maneuvers for it ( Do a barrel roll anyone?). You could also craft armor, saddles, saddle bags, bridles etc for these pets
• Wind gusts that you can learn to ride to get to parts of the map faster with whatever gliding tool you have. A wingsuit would be awesome as well. But just having wind gusts that appear at certain times of day in certain sections that can be ridden as ferries to particular places, would make exploration fun and introduce another wrinkle to the "learning the terrain" aspect that I really like about Grounded
• A cold biome in a cooler. Recently in the "Into the Woods" update, there is a mint box that you have to manually open. Maybe make it so the cooler at the picnic table has a similar but more complex mechanic and once you open it you have access to ice. There could be a mechanic that works like the sizzle for cold. I am sure Obsidian is already working on this. But chunks of ice would allow us to make a fridge to store food and keep it from spoiling. And maybe ice can be something that allows you to store more water when going to hot zones.  Every biome should have a bug, which can be a problem with cold temps but there is the arctic midge. It's harmless to people but it looks absolutely terrifying, go check it out. 
• Boats and rafts. I have my base on the lily pads and I even have a dock, but sadly no boats. It would be great to be able to construct a kayak or small rowboat to get around on the pond in style and allow me to ferry supplies like grass and wood stems from other places. It could open up a new series of perks and tools to acquire. Seafaring mutations. Anchors and oars to create. Kayaks and boats made out of lighter more durable material to create.
• A climb button would really be helpful. Even if it were contextual. Again I'm on the pond and getting out of the water onto a lilypad with the camera alone is sometimes an exercise that just isn't fun. Having my character just grab the edge of a surface to host themselves up in those situations would be a huge plus
• I'd love to see glass added as an item to build with. Glass and Quartzite. A city guy like me dreams of building a small hub of alluring downtown spaces that gleam in the sun to invite potential tiny consumers to buy my wares. Having skyscrapers made of metal and glass, or chic beach bungalows in a minimalist modern design would be great
• Lastly you can never have enough furniture options. Seriously one of the  worst feelings in base building is having a huge space, or multiple rooms and buildings and very little to furnish them with. They end up barren. There are people who love carving their own miniature furniture pieces for doll houses and the like, and they fetch a lot of money for a reason. Please give us more recipes for furniture. Maybe even include a marketplace where people can build and sell their own unique pieces to  other players for similar items or some other form of currency?

That's all I got right now. Love the game, excited to see it grow and interested in any feedback or thoughts people have regarding any of these ideas.