Swamp biome - additional fauna and flora ideas

[pether]

I really like the feel of swamp biome, but I think it is currenly not lively enough... I feel it should contain many lifeforms, but having only slugs, pacus and buckets seems barren for me. Of course, I get it, it is alpha, not everything is implemented etc and with this argument I am having high hopes for more plants, critters and morphs. Here I've got some ideas that might inspire devs for something new:

New Plant: Lily pad

Plant that grows in the bottom of swampy lakes of polluted water. It has no predefined height, instead it grows all the way to the lake surface. If at any moment depth of the lake changes, the plant always adjusts (same as pitcher pump intake). At the top of the plant we have 3x1 tile of the Pad, that allows dupes to walk on it without getting wet. It might also have a lily flower producing floral scent. It should have some kind of ability that allow it to spread and grow even after its pool was drained to another lake below it - maybe pacus can plant its seeds? or maybe it can plant itself when covered by polluted water? Or maybe single plant can spread its vines many tiles sideways, having many pads from single root?

New Critter: Swamp Leech

Aquatic critter that lives in polluted water. When dupe enters its pool, the leech dashes to and sticks to him. When connected to a duplicant, it drains his calories from him. Leeches produce iron ore from one's hemoglobin. Leech can attach to other critters as well, but don't drain calories from it unles they are happy/tamed (I don't want to kill every other animal in the biome). Morphs can be used in medicine.

New Critter: Mosquito

Annoying flying creature. It has very high reproduction rate, but must lay eggs in water or polluted water. Pacu can feed on its eggs. It bites dupes and other animals, spreading diseases and giving debuffs. It is allured by fully grown bog bucket, who can devour them to earn some buff (growth speed for few cycles?)

New Plant: Hanging Moss

Can separate rooms, acting like airlock doors. Or maybe it could filter polluted water/oxygen? Or maybe simple decor thing? TBH I'm not sure, but I feel that swamp need some moss...

New Germ: Fungi Spore

Fungus that can attack plants, stopping their growth. To heal the plant, farmer must apply medicine produced in med bay. Infected plants produce more fungi spores. Spores live in polluted oxygen and can travel in it to other tiles, to search for new victim

New Plant: Hugging Vines

Plant that cannot thrive by itself, it enters symbiotic relations with other plants. Vines crawl on ground several tiles from its root to find a friend. If there is another plant in this area, vines hug them to grow upwards. Only then, vines can produce seeds and food. Hugged plant is protected by vines from fungi germ or other dangers (lets say - if a plant had conditions to grow at the moment of hug, it will continue to grow even after temperature/pressure changes after that. But I am open to another ideas how to represent protection) 

Plug Slugs tweak

They are so fluffy they should be able to enter shreading station. Not sure what could they produce there, since it seems that fiber should not be a thing in that biome... Maybe cobalt ore, so farming them wouldn't drain our metals?

Any other...?

So, what do you think about those ideas? Would you change something for better balance? Or maybe you have other ideas

[goboking]

7 hours ago, pether said:

New Germ: Fungi Spore

Fungus that can attack plants, stopping their growth. To heal the plant, farmer must apply medicine produced in med bay. Infected plants produce more fungi spores. Spores live in polluted oxygen and can travel in it to other tiles, to search for new victim

I like this one.  I would only have it slow growth as opposed to stopping it completely, but I think the general concept is a good one.