Beetles vs. Thyme

[bunnzy]

I've planted a lot of elm, which spawns Thyme (apparently). I read up and made sure I planted a lot of lizard spawning cypress trees too.

I clear away the grasses so things can grow and spread.

But my f'ing gosh, there are like 1,000,000 beetles, more than any lizard can eat. And as I'm walking around I can hear them munching on the thyme. There are 52 squares of green there, plenty of room, but not one single bush can survive the beetle onslaught.

So it's day 18. I'm dying of poison. I can't get any thyme.

And because this game is just so slow, I fear that if I die I probably just can't be arsed to do this again until I can auto sleep through the night, run, speed up time etc. I've played for 10 hours total to get to this stage, i don't think I have enough time with all my other commitments to try another 10 hours, so please, help me!

Why are there so many beetles?

I'd really love some advice.

What I've done:
* Planted with much diversity, lots of lizard trees
* tried putting fences around trees, and surrounding greenery, but the beetles spawn inside the fences


Not one single f'ing thyme bush... :(

[UltraMusselMan]

I notice beetles spawn with flowers!! I was tracking the flower bloom time, when they appeared, a beetle also appeared at the same location, and the beetles started eating flowers in couples seconds!

I have no problem with beetles eating thyme because I plant the 3 types of trees mix together like a real forest.

[tiaralip]

Ok, there was a video posted in this chat which I found interesting. Lizards eat beetles. So you need to plant the trees that spawn lizards near the tree (and bush) that spawn beetles. This way they naturally keep population numbers in check. It's an ecosystem thing.

[Menyanthes]

I love the idea that you have to keep the ecosystem in balance.
It has become much easier since the last updates. Now lizards are really hungry and munch away many bugs.
If you plant a nice mix of trees with cypress trees next to the elm it should do the trick. Also take care to cut away grass and other plants as they hinder the appearance of more thyme.
Three cheers for mixed forests and stable eccosystems!

[Dylldophlo]

Originally posted by oldgrumpy:

I love the idea that you have to keep the ecosystem in balance.
It has become much easier since the last updates. Now lizards are really hungry and munch away many bugs.
If you plant a nice mix of trees with cypress trees next to the elm it should do the trick. Also take care to cut away grass and other plants as they hinder the appearance of more thyme.
Three cheers for mixed forests and stable eccosystems!

That doesn't work in my game.
I have planted enough cypress trees next to the elms, but lizards that these beetles should eat cannot be found there.
Lizards can only be found on cypress trees that stand alone.
The same applies to the oaks squirrels.
And please don't tell me about cutting grass.
Since the 1.3.0 update, my main occupation has been cutting the grass, everything else only happens on the side.
It's just boring now.
I feel like I'm running into a wall.
All the advice people give here is really well meant. But especially those of you whose save game is older and was started before version 1.3.0 should start a new game first before giving tips.
The game mechanics are different than before.
I enjoyed the game a lot, but after a while a point has been reached where the game is no longer fun.
Have fun and Happy Coding

With Leona I gave the game another chance, but I expect more from the game than just cutting grass. You don't really notice the farming of other materials and objects, because you just run after the dry grass to cut it.

[Bärbel-Sieglinde]

Originally posted by Dylldophlo:

With Leona I gave the game another chance, but I expect more from the game than ...

Since 1.2.6 I started a new game as soon as a new update was released. Sometimes it was challenging but in the end it worked. actually cutting grass never was a main issue.

Have you ever thought about to buy a software company so that they can code the one and only game especially for you?

[Dylldophlo]

Originally posted by klausdieterlieselmann:

Originally posted by Dylldophlo:

With Leona I gave the game another chance, but I expect more from the game than ...

Since 1.2.6 I started a new game as soon as a new update was released. Sometimes it was challenging but in the end it worked. actually cutting grass never was a main issue.

Have you ever thought about to buy a software company so that they can code the one and only game especially for you?

I don't know which game you are playing, but in the game I play you can't survive without constantly cutting the grass or you can't get ahead any other way.
I already know your phrase.
The problem has also been resolved, the solution is called uninstall. As I said, it was fun.

[Stormbird]

Originally posted by Dylldophlo:

All the advice people give here is really well meant. But especially those of you whose save game is older and was started before version 1.3.0 should start a new game first before giving tips.

......................

With Leona I gave the game another chance, but I expect more from the game than just cutting grass. You don't really notice the farming of other materials and objects, because you just run after the dry grass to cut it.

I restarted the game with the Leona character. I had a rough start because all the dead trees in the starting area gave me only 3 seeds (and 2 of those were cypruses) but now, after a bit of management I am at the point where i do not have to worry about any ressource. Food is abundant, land is getting green and I am starting to cultivate large fields of thyme and sage in order to prepare for the moment the Iggdrassil gets unlocked. So yea, I can safely say to others that balance and success in the game is achievable as long as people know what they are doing.

Recently I watched a Youtube video where a guy was struggling to keep his character fed and detoxicated for days but guess what; his GF count was at 15. And all that he was doing was walking from one of his few trees to another checking if anything spawned while keeping seeds he obtained in his chest. I feel people make this mistake all the time and then come here and complain at the game.

Green Project is about planting trees, never stop inproving your Green Factor. Half of your problems will miraculously vanish if you have multiple spawn locations.

[phantasie]

After I've saved my old save file I restart with Leona, two times or three times...I allways died 'cause I've not enough thyme.
I tried with Leon and I had a bit luck to get enough seeds. After a while the food was ok but the problem is allways the thyme. With Leon I died 2 times.
That's not so funny evry time it's too difficult to get enought thyme because of the damned beetles. I have squirels and enough Lizards but they aren' hungry enough to eat the most beetles.
I hope the ants will help.

[Sheltraks]

I recently noticed Onion-Soup also cures a small amount of illness. I guess you can also eat them just for the detox as it goes for anything else. And as you said here, squirrels reduce 5 tox also.

[Ayjilanth]

To limit the amount of beetles, you have to plant at least 2 to 3 times more cypress than you have elms. Not only having a lot of cypress ensures that you have enough lizards to eat beetles, but you can also more easily craft total curative in the lab with all the toxic and mutagenic mushrooms you have (respectively brown and blue shrooms).

[wyrme10]

I found that after i got through the first ring of goo that if I planted an elm far off (such as to open the mine or cemetery) as I or lizards killed beetles a higher percentage of their limit would end up at this further tree. I found y'alls suggestions after getting that toxic panic (eat 2 squirrels today just beat a beetle to the thyme next day) hoping to get below 50. So, if the seeds don't let you stay cypress heavy move an elm out of range for the bugs migration and it seems to collect them. I am sure that all cannot be contained that way but would appear to make recovery a touch easier.

[Catmoby]

Despite all the Strategies that are suggested, I agree that this is an inappropriate problem in this Game, which makes it pretty unbalanced.
I saw 1 new Thyme one Day, while 2 Others had disappeared when they were there like 1 Realtime Minute ago. How could this happen?
I found the Answer when I saw a Beetle spawning for 1st Time:
They usually spawn 2 Tiles from a Thyme, and immediatelly target it to eat it, a Progress that happens within 2 or 3 Seconds.
So in 1 Realtime Minute they may eat 3 Thymes, 3 Tomato Plants and 2 Corns, if all of those are in Reach of 10 Tiles.
Lizards are way to far from eating Beetles like that at all.

At this Point the Game is definitely unbalanced.
Forgive that there's like 100 Times more Grass/Hay to harvest than Branches to make General Waste, then Compost. And forget all the other "Bugs", these are usually fine.
Getting Food and Water is not that bad Issue, you just need Experience while Playing, but by that, there's no Frustration Factor.
But the Way the Beetles act is definitely inappropriate.
I need 1 Place on the Map which I really have to keep an Eye on, to save Thyme, but the Rest of the Map usually makes Thyme and other Plants disappear 2 Times as fast as they can respawn. And planting more Elms rather makes more Beetles than more Thyme.

It is a really rare Matter of Luck to find Thyme somewhere else than on a Field that's permanently observed by Players, and if it's the Case, they rather vanish than increase.

About the Betles should some of the following Things be done by the Developers:

- Spawn less
- Eat less
- Walk slower (Look how chillfull Ladybugs walk!)
- Eat each others (IMHO makes more Sense to them than to Caterpillars)
- Don't target Plants so intentional
- Make Lizards target them more intentional instead.
- Give them a Hunger-Cooldown, which makes them ignore Plants for some Ingame Hours after spawning/eating, limit the Stuff they eat
(See how it works to Farm Animals)
... I also could suggest the Thyme Plants to spawn more often,
(See how many other Plants & Mushrooms spread!)
maybe to give randomly 2 Thyme Items by harvesting (Like the Mushrooms sometimes), but there are many other Plants that may quickly extinct by the Beetles, Such as Tomatoes, as I mentioned.

Will the Devs read that or do I have to suggest it to a certain Adress?