The game sucks right now, help me fix it.

[Undercover Cheese]

Hello everyone,

I made this thread because I see that a lot of players are not happy with the game, neither am I happy with it at all, and I want to fix that. I also want to make very clear to everyone that I am never going to stop working on this game until it is actually out of early access, properly released and finished with the vast majority of players happy with it.

I don't really have an excuse for why the game has become worse, other than to say that life in the last few years has been challenging for a lot of people, myself included, and this has led to me not doing my best work or thinking clearly about the game in a lot of aspects. I am now in a position where I am sadly starting again in life and I want to give Fishery a rebirth too.

I am making this thread so we can all have a larger discussion about the game because I have found myself replying to a lot of similar issues in different threads and it makes sense to try and lump them together to have a larger discussion and people can keep coming back to this thread to share their thoughts instead of making a new thread about certain issues which get a lot of discussion already. I also don't want people to fear making a new thread about a similar issue because of forum rules etc.

Right now I am feeling rather stuck with the direction of the game and I am not entirely sure what players want or expect from a game like this anymore. I have been thinking about this game for literal years of my life and I need some help from people who have not been in that position.

So if any of you have the time, it would be helpful if you reply to this thread and share your current opinions about the game in terms of what is not fun for you and/or what you think would be fun to have the game be like. I obviously can't just implement everything that people suggest but it will give me an idea of what parts of the game are on track and what parts of not satisfying. It will also help me see the game from perspectives that are much different from my own. Then I think I can make some meaningful progress that does not disappoint everyone.

I think I'll kick things off by saying that I get it that everyone hates the new user interface and a simpler, minimalist version would be preferred. Okay, I'll endeavour to do that and I'll make some work-in-progress posts for you all to see and comment on as I change it.

I look forward to your feedback.

[nanarocxie]

One thing I noticed that keeps me from playing long term is how quickly the tank parameters change within sometimes seconds to minutes. I think if you were able to make it to where the game wouldn't progress so fast with the chemistry it would be a banger. I still love the game but that part for me is kind of off putting. Not to bring up another game but Fish Game kind of does this pretty simple. Honestly both games brought together I think would be awesome even if not practical. One instance I was played Fishery and built a beautiful ecosystem I thought and came back 5 minutes later and everything was dead but one fish. It just feels like you're constantly going through a cycle crash each time you play.

[RealNerdguin]

I think the biggest flaw is communication with the community. Also I'm unsure if you are the sole developer but if you are possibly inviting a second person to the dev team.

[Undercover Cheese]

Originally posted by nanarocxie:

One thing I noticed that keeps me from playing long term is how quickly the tank parameters change within sometimes seconds to minutes. I think if you were able to make it to where the game wouldn't progress so fast with the chemistry it would be a banger. I still love the game but that part for me is kind of off putting. Not to bring up another game but Fish Game kind of does this pretty simple. Honestly both games brought together I think would be awesome even if not practical. One instance I was played Fishery and built a beautiful ecosystem I thought and came back 5 minutes later and everything was dead but one fish. It just feels like you're constantly going through a cycle crash each time you play.

This is good, thank you.

Originally posted by RealNerdguin:

I think the biggest flaw is communication with the community. Also I'm unsure if you are the sole developer but if you are possibly inviting a second person to the dev team.

Specifically what could I do better to communicate with the community?

I am the sole developer, I'm not inviting a second person to work on the game but I am asking players to tell me what they dislike about the game and what kinds of changes would make them happier with it. I'm just a bit stuck with certain aspects of the game at the moment and I need other people's opinions.

[bazzboda]

I am partially reply to this in reference to the question you posed in another thread/topic about whether a career mode is actually something that appeals to the player base.

Personally I don't have any interest in a career mode, I am essentially solely interesting in the sandbox mode. I don't know if it has been implemented yet but I am exited about the option to have branches and rocks draw from and access a material/texture pool(that we can apply to said objects) so that we can create our own fused hard scape structures.

One thing I would say is I would prefer that the game focus on getting more fresh water content before starting on salt(or releasing salt at a much slower rate until the fresh water content is more stocked). Splitting content between largely incompatible life seems like it would have a lower payoff since they can't be mixed together. Maybe some brackish fish would be good.

I will post a more detailed reply in a few days.

[VIP∑R]

I'm a sandbox player too. I'd like to be able to have full control of my tank size and make it as ridiculously big or small as I want, allow me to actually play in those 3d backdrops like the beach and deep ocean (Just make an invisible barrier that I can control). Maybe add an aqarium backdrop, like make the tank look like its in an actual aquarium building (dark like the deep ocean one with majority of the light coming from the tank)

Giant bivalves (Tridacna gigas), mola mola, rays etc (basically big fish, but not whales). More crustaceans and coral variants too.

basically give me more toys for the sandbox.

[PuffTheDankLord]

I want to start by saying it kind of broke my heart to learn that you aren't happy with this game because I LOVE this game. I've been playing it for like 4 days straight now LOL. One of the best aquarium building games on the market IMO, and I was shocked at how little information could be found about it online.

I really enjoy how the game is realistic but stylized at the same time. The balance between realism and cozy is very charming (kind of sad to learn there used to be more features around water parameters, but I can understand the need to lean into the relaxing/minimalistic aspect more for players who find balancing water chemistry stressful). i love the effort and thought put into every aspect of this game.

Personally, I like how each plant, fish, coral, etc. has its' own demands and maintenance requirements that correlate closely to their real life counterparts so that each tank has to be carefully thought out. I love the challenge of trying to build complex and functional ecosystems that look nice then the reward of watching them just exist.

IMO having to spend money on things makes it more satisfying when the tank is finished and keeps players from getting bored too fast. Unlocking stuff like plants, decorations, and fish also keep players engaged, but i do wish it would tell me in the item menu what's new and what was already there cause' I was going crazy "is that a new cichlid??" "I swear that watering can decoration wasn't there before" LMAO

some things I might recommend adding or changing:
-being able to select and sell one element at a time such as only the fry, adults, juveniles, etc.
-in-game camera to take photos
-I'm content with just building tanks and selling stuff but a lot of people like an end goal to work towards, so maybe something like a set of tasks to accomplish or people to build tanks for
-improved ai for the creatures; personality wise or interactions with their environment
-"new" label on unlocked items or creatures
-reward system where you unlock special items
-auto feeders (balanced where they can cause algae just like real life if dosed wrong)
-make floating plants float but not move around
-floating decorations (bobber, boat, duck, etc.)
-obviously add all the plants and creatures ever (such as marine cleaner shrimp and crabs)

overall, i love this game as is but I'm excited to see where it goes.

if you made it this far, thank you and i will post a picture of one of the tanks i built soon