Suggestions: "Obvious & Not So Obvious Ways To Improve Grounded"

[Pieter Clark]

Okay! First, let me just say bravo and thank you for what has already been a super fun game to play! (and we're still in early access). With that in mind, I have some suggestions of things to improve overall enjoyment of the game and some suggestions for future development. If you read this and like my thoughts be sure to drop a like so Obsidian will notice it. Lets get started.

The Obvious Things:

• The sap collectors. Stop making us pick the sap up one at a time! There should be some mass collect option. Please!
• We need an elevator option! Everyone who's a true master builder wants to make at least one "floating" base. That is EXTREMELY difficult without an elevator to bring up materials with. Even if it were for only building materials would be better than nothing, since I cant climb ladders and hold materials at the same time.
• Hatches! - Just as doors are to walls, hatches should be to floors.
• Fire Arrows. This one just makes sense. There ain't no way in hell that in a world where I was shrunk and had to fight inse... had to fight SPIDERS that I wouldn't be lighting them on fire with some Molotov ****tails and/or Flaming Arrows. "Kill it... Kill it with fire!"
• A boat or raft. There should be a steerable raft of some sort that we can use to fairy around on the pond with.
• Spider's Doom - Like the Ant-nihilator but for spiders. (I'll tell you what, if I were really shrunk I wouldn't be worried about how to better kill ants. What I would be studying? Spiders!)
• Tier 3 Axe - It should be a two handed item and it should be clippers. Made from ant mandibles or something that makes sense.
• This one should go without saying but we all want a entire crow armor set! I'm sure you're working on it already so that's not really why I bring this up. I bring this up because it should be obvious that we *want* armor sets for literally everything we can kill! (Or at least any predator). I know we aren't gonna get everything. An aphid armor set is probably never gonna see the light of day. And I get it! Some critters don't have strong enough hides to make armor sets out of. Like aphids and mosquitoes. That makes perfect sense. But some obviously can! and should taken into consideration. (IE: The Stinkbugs, The Bombadier Beetle, The Larva).

 

The Not So Obvious Things:

• The Four Leaf Cover!
  • The lucky four leaf clover should be a harvestable material. As to what for... there are a few options I could see right off the bat. First, you could have building parts that only can be made with "lucky clovers" and they could provide some sort of structure bonus or maybe just be really fancy (similar to the feather roofs)! Second, a luck tower. This would basically function as a booster for nearby structures. The mushrooms gardens would grow faster, the stem walls would be sturdier, the dew collectors would collect moisture more often. Etc. Etc. Essentially an enhancement beacon. Third, a new smoothie that gives you a percent chance to dodge attacks (or something, extra % crit, etc.). 
  • All these are nice but personally I would suggest option 4, a tier 2 shield! Just imagine it! Having a 4 leaf clover shield!! That would be super cool! As far as its bonuses there are tons of things you could do for it. It could just have more durability and a bigger threshold before getting stunned. Wielding it could give you the percent dodge bonus I mentioned. Though, I think it would be cool if (ya know, since its like all magical and lucky) it regened its durability given time out of combat! That would be sick!!! Lets be honest, farming weevil meat gets annoying. Its not hard. Just boring. It bogs down the game. So a solution to that would be awesome! (Plus there is still a chance you break your shield in combat so its not a cure all shield!)
  • Option 5: I'm not sure that I really recommend because I'm sure many players, myself included, would abuse the heck out of this so there would need to be limitations somehow. But it would be awesome if you could make a 4 leaf clover beacon that stopped enemy spawns in a certain radius. This would let players build bases in cool areas where we otherwise wouldn't be able to. A great example is under the tree. Everyone planned on building their base there until they learned that not 1 but 2 wolf spiders spawned there! I still think option 4 is the best but figured I'd put this in here for food for thought.

 

• The Haze Reaper!
  • So I am stealing an idea from William Akhurst Hultz's suggestion (so please go read his too) but tweaking it a little here because I think he missed some things. "Here's the idea, in the haze roams a praying mantis that has been affected by that weird fungus that's all over the place there. He attacks on sight with slashes, lunges, and stabs with his "scythe like" arms and occasionally flies up for a moment to come crashing down with a huge slashing attack." The loot that comes from slaying this beast could be his mantis arms that the players could craft into a two handed scythe weapon that would fit under the "assassin" mutation. I think having a two handed assassin weapon would be very unique and provide something new and exciting for the assassin players! A possible name for the boss could be the "Haze Reaper" and the name of the weapon could be "The Reaper's Claw".
  • Additionally, this boss would drop the materials necessary to build "The Reaper's Mask" a mask that, like the gas mask, blocks the damage from the haze zone. However, unlike the gas mask it would not weather down given use. (Of course it can still take damage if you are attacked, like any other armor piece). This would give players a viable option to build a base in the haze zone (WHICH EVERYONE WANTS TO DO!!!) but as of right now its just not viable. Making us have to kill a boss (possibly 4 times for everyone on the squad) to get it would really make us feel like we earned it! Please consider it!
  • (Should be a summons boss like the brood mother)

 

• Hopper's Doom!
  • Okay so the name of this one is bad but the idea is good! (Also kinda obvious but I felt it belonged down here anyways) We have all these tadpoles swimming around and no frogs?! Dat don't make any sense... lolz. So! I suggest a three tiered new hostile creature "Frogs" that have a new deadly attack! A tongue attack that pulls players in right next to the frogs! Let me tell you, I abuse the heck out of a bow and a high rock! So an enemy that could pull me down from my safe high ground, down right next to him!! That would be scary and fun to deal with!
  • The first tier would just be your generic pond frogs. The frog equivalent of the orbital weaver.
  • The second tier would be poisonous frogs, aka "Poison Hoppers", that would be the frog equivalent of wolf spiders. These would obviously have poison attacks but as frogs poison usually comes from their skin I suggest not having its tongue attack be poisons us and instead make its melee attacks apply the poison.
  • Okay so we've talked about frogs but now lets think bigger. A boss enemy. The Toad! Like the frogs he would be able to pull you in with a tongue attack but would also have a variety of other attacks. Other possible attacks could be a long jump up that ends with him crashing down where you were last standing when he jumped dealing a big aoe slam attack, a croak attack that if your in front of him dealing that melee damage would pushes you back off him and on your ass! and of course a venomous attack! Spiders aren't the only small creatures known for their venomous touch! Some of the deadliest poisons on earth are from frogs and toads. Don't let that go to waste.
    • (Should be a summons boss like the brood mother)
  • Loot Ideas:
    • An suit of armor that each individual piece increases your jump height but when worn as a set give you immunity to fall damage! Come on! It makes perfect sense!!! And who doesn't want to jump and land like a superhero?!
  • Regardless of the tier list I came up with, frogs should be an enemy in some way shape or form. Looking forward to it.

 

• Ice!
  • Idk what for and what its benefits will be but I want to make ice! and maybe a freezer? Make it hard for me to achieve too pls! Maybe the freezer could just keep food fresh longer or something. Idk. I just want ice! Thx.

 

PS: A personal shoutout to whomever over there at obsidian gaming drew the weird chef man as an easter egg for us more adventurous players! That **** made my day! Hilarious! Thank you!

Edited August 26, 2021 by Pieter Clark