Topic

Ur-ian biodiversity, or The Way in Which Groddle Meadow Sucks

not sure if Ur-ian is the right adjective, but the matter of biodiversity is something i've been pondering on for a while now, way before the recent developments in the natural resource industry and beautiful balanced world camps.  not what i want to talk about, but it is a good context for why it's important.

trees growing in specific areas is still a relatively new feature of the world, and it feels like it could stand for some balancing.  as the original tree killing incident highlighted, gas plants in particular have been under-represented, as they have so far mostly grown in areas with few patches.  and although groddle meadows is beautifully illustrated, the fact that only cherries and bean trees grow in the region makes the scenery woefully dreary!

there have some great ideas lately about alternative earth sources and types of patches that could help keep things interesting.

varying tree art would help so as to avoid the 'row of identical bean trees' syndrome, as would getting the tree lifecycle properly balanced, although this is likely a more long-term project for the devs. 

should there be more kinds of trees?  or fewer trees in general?

anyway, i realize that the biodiversity situation is likely more a symptom of what stoot mentioned in another thread, that the devs have only recently gotten the underlying technology platform and toolset of the game in order.  but i would still be interested to hear your thoughts. :)

Posted 20 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • My thoughts are the game is just fine-jeez give the poor devs a break!
    Posted 20 months ago by Holly Waterfall Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the devs are fine, i don't really think groddle meadow sucks, and the forums are not for giving breaks but discussion of game elements as the world is shaped.  thanks for your thoughts though!  ;D
    Posted 20 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think the trees planted in set locations are fine, they fit the bill. In future locations yes, yes, I would love to see new trees. Different fruit trees like apple, so we don't have to buy from a vendor. I'm all for sufficient game play. Branching out..excuse the pun! Done the line somewhere different trees would be lovely.
    Posted 20 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • edited for spelling..Down
    Posted 20 months ago by tweetypie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I recently planted 3 blueberry shrubs in front of my house. Blueberries like acidic soil and the native soil in my area is basic. No problem, just dig a big hole fill it with acidic potting soil from the nursery and viola, I already am getting my first blueberries. Catch my drift? If you want gasplants in Groddle perhaps you should import 20 Ur soil and dig a hole.
    Posted 20 months ago by Smackem Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's not much need for gas plants, is there? 

    Posted 20 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The diversity of the types of trees doesn't really bother me at the current scale of the game. You're never more than a 4 minute walk from whatever you need. As the game expands, I'm sure the tree population will, as well.

    But varying tree art would be slick! Awesome idea.
    Posted 20 months ago by Lyndon B Johnson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lyndon - I must walk very slowly, I often take way more than 4 minutes to get from one area to another. I often am distracted, maybe that's why, but sometimes I don't bother w/the projects because it takes too long to get there if I'm on the other side of the world. I'll have to get better at using the subway maybe.
    Posted 20 months ago by Gizmospooky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Gizmo - To be fair, I haven't actually timed it. I say 4 minutes because I noticed I could go from projects near the tower to the caves before the song changed in iTunes. I admit it's a fairly rudimentary stopwatch. But I think you'd be surprised how small the map seems if you set the little GPS and beeline to the destination.
    Posted 20 months ago by Lyndon B Johnson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Tweetypie, you don't need to buy apples from a vendor. Harvest cherries and use the fruit changer.

    Back to the main issue though, yes, I would like to see more types of trees, especialy "object" trees like paper and gas.

    And you do need gas for egg seasoning. I suspect that alchemy and cooking, etc may need it later, as a big planned expansion of skills has been mentioned. Part of the reason I planted a gas plant and a spice plant in my tallish crest house- beans and cherries and bubbles are common in the area, but I have to travel quite a way to get spice or gas.
    Posted 20 months ago by Murri Subscriber! | Permalink