Lack of World Variety

[littlebunnylover]

Anyone else really disappointed with the lack of variety on seed worlds? There's 24 essences... and yet only 6 world types. And I'm definitely not missing any - the achievement for creating a perfect world for every single world type unlocks when you create each of the perfect seeds, of which there only 6. At first it seemed like the worlds were so varied and exciting, but then it very quickly begins to repeat the same stuff over and over again. Just makes it not really fun anymore.

[Pesky]

By mixing my own seed recipes, I have found animals and plants which were not in any of the Perfect Seed worlds. They do resemble things I've seen before, just with antlers instead of ears, or different coloured fur, or flora with hands instead of heads. So if you're looking for something new make up your own whacky recipes.

I do agree that these variations are similar to the others. All the animals are quadrupeds, for example. But there has to be some limitation to the (procedural ?) routines for object-growing.

I had a complaint similar to yours about the underground worlds of ASTRONEER. Two or three of the planets have outstanding amazing underground ecosystems which are a delight to discover. But other planets have just minor variations on standard fungi and crystals.

[littlebunnylover]

I do make up my own recipes, but that doesn't change the fact that there are only 6 overall types of worlds (with pretty minor variations within the same type).
Heck, I think Spore had more variety than this, and that was 13 years ago. It seems like they focused too much on things that had to be individually curated and didn't set up much procedural generation and randomization, leading to results that are quite interesting, but very limited in overall variety and thus quickly repetitive.

[PlasteredDragon]

The OP is 100% correct. The sameness in this game is oppressive. I would go so far as to say there aren't even six types of worlds -- there's essentially one.

Every world shall have:
* two quadrupeds -- a dog and a buffalo
* three insect types -- a worm, a legged critter, and a fly
* three types of trees -- note, a tree may be cosmetically odd (you might get a cactus, a shroom, or an eyeball thing) but they are essentially "trees"
* three types of shrubs -- again some cosmetic variation
* three types of flower
* grass -- yes even an icy or a desert world ends up covered in grass when you are done
* decorations -- for the most part these do nothing useful or interesting, they are just static
* some fish (which all look essentially the same, apart from minor cosmetics)

It's a sad thing that once you have seen a few worlds in this game, you've essentially seen them all.

Hey guys -- what about a world with no trees at all? How about an animal that isn't a dog or a wild cow? I can put 48 watery essence into a seed and I still end up with a flat world covered in grass. No appreciable difference in the number, size and variety of pools or wet areas. All worlds are essentially flat with some variety of outcroppings.

This game suffers from a severe lack of variety. This by itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when they couple that with 24 different essences and the act of "brewing up" a world seed out of any formula you like, it really sets the expectation that there is going to be a large range of outcomes. But there aren't. There's one, see above. Everything else is just minor cosmetics.

[dom]

I don't agree. The worlds all look quite different, and you don't know what they will look like until you build them. I'm not hooked on this "perfect world seed" thing, there is no actual perfect world, they are just set as a goal to achieve. Some of the hodgepodge worlds are more interesting. And I don't agree that there are too few items, rather I think there are too many to keep track of. I suppose it depends on how you play the game, and what it is you enjoy. I love the visuals and art work. And by the way, some of the random items that appear can be interacted with or entered. I didn't realize that until someone pointed it out, they are not all that way.

More different animals would be nice, although the variations on the theme are whimsical and inventive. Actually keeping more of them would be nice too. But - I have never played any game where I didn't wish there was more of this or that. I like the game, I don't like platforming though and wasn't expecting that. I am no good at it and never will be, it's a physical thing with my hand coordination, they don't react to my brain fast enough. That part is frustrating to me.

[littlebunnylover]

The people disagreeing seem to be a little hung up on the perfect world thing. I mention the perfect worlds only to bring attention to the achievement you receive for making them, which directly confirms that there are only 6 world types (you make 6 and the achievement tells you that you now have created every type of world). So even the developers admit that in a game that's supposed to be full of creativity and variety, with 24 different essences to play with, you can really only make 6 worlds with any substantial differences between them.

It's great that some people are happy with that, but others like PlasteredDragon and I are disappointed.

[dom]

Have you tried making a bunch of hodgepodge worlds? They are never the same.

[spielerinchen]

the perfect worlds are boring
some of the strange seed worlds are quite different
& yeah, things repeat, but there are some combinations which are off & some make a very fine mixture, even if similar they are not the same, like i have two princessy worlds, one is the rather typical but calmingly bluish while the other has everywhere crazy eyes on the trees
but i wish the icy worlds would get an update, those are the most sad, i had only one icy world which was fine, every other was more odd & bleak than anything else

btw
if you are dissatisfied with the worlds, make a suggestion on Grow discord

[littlebunnylover]

I don't think either of you actually read my comments. You still seem to be hung up on the perfect worlds.

[PlasteredDragon]

Have you noticed every world when finished is covered in grass? Doesn't that strike you as repetitive at all? Why isn't a desert world covered in sand? Why isn't an ice world covered in snow and ice? Why isn't a water world covered in water?

Ppl saying "every world is different" apparently haven't created enough worlds or are very caught up in superficial differences.

Try this: make a world with 48 sticky, 1 of whatever you want, and 1 of something different. You are going to get a syrupy eyeball world. Now try a world with 48 spongy. You get a syrupy eyeball world. Now try 48 smelly. Eyeball world. Now try 48 squishy -- eyeball world. All 4 of these essences yield essentially the same world.

Warm, prickly, dry, or parched give "desert" worlds -- you gonna get cacti.

Abundant, comforting, lush, and tranquil -- you gonna get trees and shrubs that have leaves.

Icy, bitter, sparkly, watery -- you still gonna get trees with leaves but you will get some snow decorations.

Cute, lively, dreamy, playful -- "princess" worlds, you get outcroppings suggestive of castle spires.

Tasty, mysterious, soft, and mushy -- "mushroom" worlds.

That's it. That and the "strange" worlds.

But if you then take these six "types" of worlds, they all end up following the same recipe I outlined in my earlier post. There will be NO WORLDS that don't have a dog and a buffalo on them, unless they are strange worlds. Every non strange world will have a few types of trees, a few types of shrubs, a few types of flowers, a few types of fish, a dog, a buffalo, 3 basic types of insects, one type of grass, and some random decorations.

The essential problem here is that 24 essences suggest great variety -- and there isn't great variety, there's actually a whole lot of sameness. You could throw away 18 of the essences and still have pretty much the exact same game. That's depressing.

[Thiablue]

Like others, I make up seeds with the most random combinations possible. Remember, there's an achievement for Strange Seeds. Seeds can have 3-5 essences--there are LOTS of combinations to make. Every time I think I've seen everything, something new comes out of an odd combo seed. I just made a Strange Seed that ended up being a Sandcastle World. Maybe, if we ask nicely, the Devs will put some of the cool things that pop up on the Worlds into our game. Maybe join Discord Grow-Suggestion chat and ask for changes. The Devs are very responsive.

[spielerinchen]

Originally posted by littlebunnylover:

I don't think either of you actually read my comments. You still seem to be hung up on the perfect worlds.

& you didn't read ours
if you didn't want to talk about perfect worlds, then why did you mention it ?
what do you have to say about Strange Seed Worlds, was mentioned now several times
& what's with combinations ?
i mentioned Perfect Worlds because i find them boring, i don't have any because of that & as i wrote, i have two completed worlds, both not perfect, not even strange but which are similar but still different

& again, if you want additions to the world variety, make a suggestion in the Grow discord, the devs are active & take those into consideration

[spielerinchen]

Originally posted by PlasteredDragon:

The essential problem here is that 24 essences suggest great variety -- and there isn't great variety, there's actually a whole lot of sameness. You could throw away 18 of the essences and still have pretty much the exact same game. That's depressing.

there is no "essential problem" with the world generation

can it be improved & maybe add some more variety & maybe make them prettier ? sure
would it change significantly the whole gameplay ? nope

& if you are as depressed by the limited variety, then as i wrote - ask for more variety in the Grow discord, maybe you get lucky & the devs widen the world generation

the only thing i would really want to see about world generation is actual snow & icy worlds turning from black, gray & colorful to crisp white, atm it's the reverse

[littlebunnylover]

Originally posted by spielerinchen:

Originally posted by littlebunnylover:

I don't think either of you actually read my comments. You still seem to be hung up on the perfect worlds.

& you didn't read ours
if you didn't want to talk about perfect worlds, then why did you mention it ?
what do you have to say about Strange Seed Worlds, was mentioned now several times
& what's with combinations ?
i mentioned Perfect Worlds because i find them boring, i don't have any because of that & as i wrote, i have two completed worlds, both not perfect, not even strange but which are similar but still different

& again, if you want additions to the world variety, make a suggestion in the Grow discord, the devs are active & take those into consideration

I did read yours, and it made it clear that you didn't read mine.
Not sure why you're so intent on hyping up the discord. If the devs are selling on Steam, they need to pay attention to their customers on Steam. I don't want to join the discord and I'm not going to do so. You don't have to harp about it in every single comment.
I find it pointless to respond to you further, due to the aforementioned lack of reading that you appear to do.

[PlasteredDragon]

Originally posted by spielerinchen:

Originally posted by PlasteredDragon:

The essential problem here is that 24 essences suggest great variety -- and there isn't great variety, there's actually a whole lot of sameness. You could throw away 18 of the essences and still have pretty much the exact same game. That's depressing.

there is no "essential problem" with the world generation

Refusing to acknowledge it as a problem doesn't mean it's not a problem. :-)

Guys -- you don't need to "defend the game". I'm sure the devs value feedback good or bad. World generation is very same-same -- if it wasn't my point about the world recipe above would be refutable. But it isn't. Because it is true. I noticed it only after creating a few worlds. Now I am 20 worlds in and it is oppressive -- and yes, I've tried all sorts of wacky recipes.

[spielerinchen]

Originally posted by littlebunnylover:

Not sure why you're so intent on hyping up the discord. If the devs are selling on Steam, they need to pay attention to their customers on Steam. I don't want to join the discord and I'm not going to do so. You don't have to harp about it in every single comment.
I find it pointless to respond to you further, due to the aforementioned lack of reading that you appear to do.

the game is being played not only on Steam but also on consoles, so for all platforms makes discord sense

& you are being just obstinate with your claim i didn't read your post, but suit yourself if you can't cope with a different opinion