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

[Pillage Now]

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. 

 

[LadyBugWins]

Oh, dear.......I was stopping by to add to the list......but you have covered nearly everything I have been wanting to see implemented in the game since first stepping into Grounded. Well done! A few suggestions: boats.....those small canoe shaped leaves that dot the landscape near the berry bush, a paddle made from the boatmen's flippers,  or use the floating platforms as a raft.  And we are good to go! A chest made of scrap metal from the oak tree lab, add ice and we have a mini ice chest. Cool! 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.  (Could be only three or four slots, but like the equipped armor and weapon slots....so needed. Oh, yes.......the inventory nightmare mechanics has got to change.  I haven't watched anyone playing Grounded on You-Tube yet that hasn't come across this annoyance. (Usually with a few growls and moans to accompany their frustration.) Perhaps the top row being set aside for designated slots....those we equip and unequip most often, so that one stray sprig we picked up by accident doesn't stray into our favorite crossbow spot. If its on our quick-bar, it should have a designated home.  Just a thought.  Have fun!

[Pillage Now]

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.