Hello,
I was looking at the Roadmap and noticed 'More challenging wildlife' under the animal interactions section and thought it would be worth discussing somewhat, specifically for the southern hemisphere (Hot Climates) as currently there is basically no challenging wildlife at all. The Hyenas are easily avoidable, and even when you catch one's attention they don't do much damage, more of a nuisance really.
So my suggestions:
- Hyenas should hunt (attack) in packs, Spotted Hyenas do this in real life, and it would make traversing through the savannah more perilous.
- Add Nile Crocodiles. I think these would work great as they are ambush predators. So when players are gathering clay, papyrus or fishing they need to be aware of their surroundings. They could also provide a new type of leather, which is hardier than normal leather, but has less durability (Croc leather needs to be actively maintained in real life).
- Add Hippos, similarly to the crocodiles, they stick to water, but in real life they chase people on land and are quite fast. Killing one should be quite the feat, so they should provide a lot of bush meat and leather.
- Regarding Lions, personally I am not a big fan of adding them (for challenge, I am all for as much biodiversity as possible). In real life they only attack/hunt humans due to lack of prey, old age or injury. The same goes for cheetahs and leopards, they just avoid humans altogether, and only attack when provoked.
- Add Snakes! I would like snakes in the game (and more reptiles in general). But for the southern hemisphere in particular, the Black Mamba, Boomslang, Tiger Snake and King Cobra come to mind. Gameplay wise players should be careful while walking around, but also when gathering grass, vegetables and stones. Killing and harvesting snakes could also add venom into the game, though I admit I cant think of many applications for venom or poison in the game as is.
Any other animal suggestions are welcome, these are just the ones I thought of.