Grounded Update Concept
What Is It?
This project is an attempt at creating what I believe to be a valid and appropriate concept for an update to the Open-World Survival game 'Grounded' created by Obsidian Entertainment.
What's In It?
This project includes art and models (handmade and AI generated) of many items and features that would exist in this hypothetical Grounded Update, as well as descriptions as to how they would function.
Why Do This?
I started this project out of love for Grounded, and desire to see how the game could tailor more to my expressionist side when it comes to videogames.
I also wished to see if I could effectively create viable content for a game of this make, considering it to be one of my favorites.
What Is This 'Update'?
Flight Or Dye!
This major update to Grounded would introduce two new mechanics to the game.
Gliding
Using newly introduced gliders made out of bug parts, the player is able to travel long distance without losing altitude as they would with Dandelion Tufts. They can also use them to GAIN altitude without having to build, allowing them to access otherwise difficult areas.
Painting
Using paint blobs this update would bring, the player can now paint many décor and structures, walls, floors, furniture and even parts of armor.
The main purpose of this update would be to further allow people to customize their base and playthrough to their own liking, really let the expressionist in them shine through.
(A take on the saying/popular song name 'Ride or Die')
The Coop
This update would bring a new structure in the game, 'The Chicken Coop'. Placed in the far confines of the Moldorc Highlands, brushing up against the fence, a small coop containing a chicken can be found.
Using Tier III Bomb Arrows, the player can break the latch keeping the chicken inside, setting it free and letting it roam the yard.
Inside, they can find bugs, a research station, the new fertilizer 'Chicken Poop' and more!
What's New?
New Structure: Chicken Coop
New Enemy: Lice
New Equipment: Gliders and Paint Brush
New Mechanics: Gliding and Painting
New Data Items
Ok. What EXACTLY Is New?
New Structure: Chicken Coop
This is a large structure found in the Moldorc Highlands, it contains a freeable Chicken, a Golden Milk Molar, a BURGL chip and other Data Items. It is also the location to get Paint Globs.
New Enemy: Poultry Lice
Found in the Chicken Coop, as well as constantly around the Chicken once freed, is an ant sized insect that specializes in stabbing attacks. It's health is similar to that of a larvae. It drops 'Sludge' upon death, which is renamed Grub Sludge, Lice are a new way to obtain the common ingredient required for smoothies, and lessen the need to spend mass amounts of time farming grubs.
Here is what it could look like ->
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New Fertilizer: Chicken Poop
Acting as the best fertilizer in the game, and a big reason to free the Chicken, it's poop both increases green thumb chance and decreases growth time by a large amount with each use.
Small amounts of it can be collected each time a clump of it is spawned and broken with a Tier II or above hammer
New Equipment: Ladybird Hang Glider and Moth Wings
These pieces of equipment will allow the player to travel longer distances while losing less altitude
Made with Ladybird parts, Silk Rope and Bug Rubber, the Ladybird Hang Glider allows players to travel twice as fast as the Dandelion Tuft, while only losing 1/3 of the altitude .
Made with Moth Fuzz, Scales, Silk Rope and Clover Leafs, the main purpose of the Moth Wings is not to fly far, but fly high. Attached to the players arms, they can flap them somewhat endlessly to lift themselves high into the sky. Getting where they need to be in a fraction of the time building would have taken them.
New Items: Coloured Paint Globs
Collected from the palette on top of the Chicken Coop, Paint Globs can be deposited into the new 'Paint Mixer' Utility Structure alongside with Dew Drops to create paint.
Paint Globs take a day after being broken broken with a Tier II hammer to respawn.
New Structure: Paint Mixer
The paint mixer is a medium sized Utility structure that is crafted with Acorn Shells, Silk Rope, Weed Stems and Acid Glands.
When filled with Dew Drops and a Paint Glob, it creates 5 paint containers that are used alongside the new Paint Brush tool in order to paint surfaces.
Inserting multiple paint globs will yield more paint containers, and mixing glob colors will create different colors of paint.
The Paint Mixer can also simultaneously be used to dye armor and select items such as the aforementioned Gliders.
New Tool: Paint Brush
The Paint Brush is crafted with Feathers, Springs and Sap. It is used alongside Paint Containers made with the new Paint Mixer Utility to paint structures, furniture and surfaces of walls/floors etc.
While equipped, specific colors of Paint Containers can be selected by pressing the 'L' key, similar to switching arrows with Bows. In this same way, a 'remove' tool can be selected, used to remove paint from things at no extra cost.
To prevent accidental use, painting takes 1 second for each use.
New Data Items & Molar
A BURGL chip can be found on the paint palette, this chip contains the crafting recipe for all new items and structures, as well as 2500 Raw Science.
There is an audio log found in the partially damaged Field Station hidden inside the coop. It reads:
"Chickens, I. Hate. Chickens. While they are more tolerable when on a silver platter, and a lot quieter than their Rooster counterparts, I digress, they are a nuisance. I thankfully won the argument, leading to us only having one, not FOUR. But everyday I must endure Thor's bickering of eating eggs for breakfast everyday, and my little Sarah's obsession with painting over them ,and keeping them in her room until they ROT. Building the coop together was nice though, I guess it HAS been a while since I was able to spend some quality time with the kids... hmm...
Oh well, it was good timing, the Coop. 'Henny' yes. That IS her name, kept finding and destroying my field stations! I swear, the day my children lose interest, we're having chicken schnitzels for dinner."
A Golden Milk Molar can be found on the window of the side of the coop opposite to the Palette. It can be built to, but the player is heavily encouraged to take advantage of their new Gliders and fly towards it, a hole in the coop was created to help guide the player.
New Creature Behavior: "Stalking"
As is a common trope in many insects, many of Groundeds hostile creatures will now stalk players upon noticing them, assuming the player has not noticed THEM. This involves only becoming aggressive towards the player upon being looked at. Stalking creatures are purposely quieter to allow themselves to get closer before being noticed. These creatures will attack almost immediately upon being spotted.
considering some of the creatures in this game, and level of horror this feature could introduce, it will be a toggle-able feature in the gameplay settings, but it will be turned on by default.
Item Name Changes
As previously mentioned, 'Grub Sludge' will be renamed to 'Sludge' as the new Poultry Lice enemies will now also drop it.
Additionally, 'Crow Feather Piece' is now renamed to 'Feather Piece' considering the Chicken will also now drop them.
New Permanent Change + Cutscene
Similar to how plugging the Weed Killer with gum has permanent changes such as Burr Weed spawning, the spreading of Infected Creatures and the opening of the IBM Den, freeing the Chicken brings changes lasting the entire game, most good however.
- The Chicken will now freely roam, killing bugs it encounters, letting you raid their corpses.
- It will occasionally drop feather pieces for you to collect, and poop for you to break and use for fertilizer.
- It will constantly have lice on/around it that will attack the player.
- It will instantly kill the player, similar to the Koi Fish, upon being provoked or entering it's FOV.
- It gives the player access to inside the coop which would otherwise be difficult to enter.
Upon breaking the latch to the coop with a bomb arrow, this cutscene will play.
