The game already has animals "you have to survive with", we have Sharky, Allyca, Tilopina, Snoober, Muthus, Hydrequs, Arbatillo, and Carachnid, that all spawn in the wild on the various worlds in different combinations, and which can also be custom crafted using genetic traits that make DNA samples.

As for animals/monsters/aliens/humans/viruses/bacteria/spam/eggs/chips/beans/etc. that "you have to survive against", the devs have been pretty clear the game won't be going down that route, their vision for the game, particularly during the terraformation process, is entirely based around Player versus The Environment gameplay - mostly because there are plenty of other games in this same/similar genre that do include some kinds of action/combat/shooter gameplay elements, so not having any of that makes this game unique and stand out in the crowd.

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Are there plenty of people in this games community that would like to see at least some kind of action/combat/shooter gameplay elements included?

Sure, of course there are.

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Do I personally think the game would benefit from more action/combat/shooter gameplay elements?

Honestly, no, not really. I think the devs made the right choice by not going down that route.

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That said, it would be quite interesting to hear other folks opinions on this though.

No thx.
There are many other games in that genre if you want violence. PC is just you against the environment and yourself, I find that very refreshing

No way - there are enough (too many?) games already in this direction and most of us are happy, that the devs did not go this way. No PVP - no survival in this was, and we are happy.

NO from me either, I like that the Devs decided against this being part of the game
if you want this type go play ''Star Rupture'' this will give you what you want.

There are many, many other survival games which contain all sorts of conflict and violence and I have some of them myself, e.g. The Forest which is in my Steam backlog and Green Hell which I have on Switch.

I don't want to engage in that kind of stuff all the time though, and the peaceful nature of Planet Crafter is a major part of the appeal for me. I had it wish listed during EA and back then the developers made it clear they had no intention of adding enemies to fight and I'm glad they've kept their word.

Originally posted by flint74:

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That said, it would be quite interesting to hear other folks opinions on this though.

I don't think Planet Crafter would be the awesome game that it is if it included conflict of any sort other than with the nature of the world... there's literally hundreds and maybe even thousands of games out there that have already gone that route, I find the fact that the devs decided to buck this trend highly refreshing...

I mean, honestly, isn't there more than enough conflict out there already, both in games and in real life?

I enjoy the niche this game has created by being non confrontational, aside from some tense emails. There are plenty of games out there where you have to shoot things, or build fortresses to keep the wildlife or baddies out, not to mention jump scares galore.

I get in the mood for this one when I feel like building and relaxing.

Originally posted by flint74:

That said, it would be quite interesting to hear other folks opinions on this though.

I'm with everyone else who says this game doesn't need combat. It has a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere focused on satisfaction with only the grim narrative weirdly clashing with it. Active danger and violence would clash even worse. More people would be put off by a game that couldn't decide what it wanted to be trying to be everything at once than it would pick up new players.

Lore wise why would you make dangerous creatures near you in the early stages of terraforming?
They might add them later in safari zones for hunting purposes but probably not until the first colony is completed and not near the colony

They would also likely add predators to keep the animal population balanced

There you are, you've built your premium base out on the middle of the large lake on Planet Prime, you're all set up with all the farms and automation and everything and life is looking real good, and then you spot the unstoppable wild herd of size 5 Sharky's swimming out towards you like they're all hungry and you're on the menu...

Pure nightmare fuel... :P

just mod it in lol