There's really no incentive to want to play through Summer

[Ridley]

The only zombie I am fine with getting is Wilton and maybe his skelly crew.

[ButterStuffed]

I think another creature should be added to the mysterious pile trails that is exclusive to summer, something like a giant tortoise thing. That's all I got for the moment.

[Ridley]

Also, cicadas should spawn.

 

 

I would very much enjoy collecting cicadas for a practical/cosmetic use.

[Parrotoss]

Yes, Summer defiantly needs some perks. As stated before, things that fire brings about like ash and charcoal should have a greater use.

An alternative Mc Tusk party and seasonal birds are a big yes--maybe a phoenix?!

 

I like the idea of fire ants and salamanders--maybe ponds could evaporate and bubble into a wicked molten crater were salamanders--like frogs spawn, and they would drop red gem fragments? 5 fragments to craft a red gem? IDK...

 

Maybe to make things easier, alternative versions of existing creatures could come about--like a frozen mermaid koalafhant  that you must thaw out in order to kill it for a reflective shirt or something.

[RalphKastro]

I believe every Season, save for winter, needs more uniqueness.
In the vanilla game, winter was special because it was hard and had deerclops, pengulls, ice hounds and Mctusk. Summer was unique because plants could grow, it was peacefull and there were fire hounds.
Now the only really unique season is the winter with Mctusk, ice hounds, pengulls and ice. Autumn is just a relatively dangerless, Spring crops grow a bit faster, and Summer sets fire to stuff. Aside from the giants, there's no risk-reward exciting and optional activities in these seasons, just some natural risk, and the same stuff aside from that.

[DwerBomb]

I believe every Season, save for winter, needs more uniqueness.

In the vanilla game, winter was special because it was hard and had deerclops, pengulls, ice hounds and Mctusk. Summer was unique because plants could grow, it was peacefull and there were fire hounds.

Now the only really unique season is the winter with Mctusk, ice hounds, pengulls and ice. Autumn is just a relatively dangerless, Spring crops grow a bit faster, and Summer sets fire to stuff. Aside from the giants, there's no risk-reward exciting and optional activities in these seasons, just some natural risk, and the same stuff aside from that.

^that

Also, do fire hounds spawn in spring/autumn too?

[Amkar]

Also, do fire hounds spawn in spring/autumn too?

 

I believe so.

[DwerBomb]

I believe so.

Yep. I just got attacked by a fire hound in spring.

So Summer doesn't even have it's own hound type now...

[Deceiven]

Maybe there should be a new lake biome, present all year-round except in the summer where it dries up from the heat exposing a dry, cracked riverbed home to snakes, termite mounds and the great rattle-scorpion; a territorial beast which roams around the biome followed by a flock of buzzards seen as circling shadows on the ground - just as the ones seen in the desert biome - ready to scavenge any carcasses the rattle-scorpion spares, if you can defeat him and the buzzards which will swoop down and attack you throughout the fight he will drop his rattle tail as an item used to craft a maraca; a wield-able item which when shook attracts buzzards to your location ready to aid you in your next battle. - Buzzards will attempt to eat any food left alone for too long.

[Amkar]

Maybe there should be a new lake biome, present all year-round except in the summer where it dries up from the heat exposing a dry, cracked riverbed home to snakes, termite mounds and the great rattle-scorpion; a territorial beast which roams around the biome followed by a flock of buzzards seen as circling shadows on the ground - just as the ones seen in the desert biome - ready to scavenge any carcasses the rattle-scorpion spares, if you can defeat him and the buzzards which will swoop down and attack you throughout the fight he will drop his rattle tail as an item used to craft a maraca; a wield-able item which when shook attracts buzzards to your location ready to aid you in your next battle. - Buzzards will attempt to eat any food left alone for too long.

 

That... is a fantastic idea! The idea of lake that dries up is brilliant!

[Deceiven]

That... is a fantastic idea! The idea of lake that dries up is brilliant!

haha thanks, however I can't see Klei implementing something quite so big this late into the expansion

[Joshpro8423]

A Samurai Serpent?

A snake creature that spawns like Mactusks in certain places (maybe in deserts near hound mounds?) and comes looking for something to eat, like how Mactusks go hunting.

They could wear a Sombrero and have a small chance to drop it which is amazing in Summer. They can also drop Viper Fangs (maybe, or serpent fangs) which you can use to craft a weapon similar to the tentacle spike but poisons the enemy as well.

We shall call them, the "Desert Serpent Bandits" or something.

[forge]

A snake creature that spawns like Mactusks in certain places (maybe in deserts near hound mounds?) and comes looking for something to eat, like how Mactusks go hunting.

They could wear a Sombrero and have a small chance to drop it which is amazing in Summer. They can also drop Viper Fangs (maybe, or serpent fangs) which you can use to craft a weapon similar to the tentacle spike but poisons the enemy as well.

We shall call them, the "Desert Serpent Bandits" or something.

 

I love it. I would like it to have it's own hut place thing like McTusk has. Other than that is sounds great. 

[DwerBomb]

A snake creature that spawns like Mactusks in certain places (maybe in deserts near hound mounds?) and comes looking for something to eat, like how Mactusks go hunting.

They could wear a Sombrero and have a small chance to drop it which is amazing in Summer. They can also drop Viper Fangs (maybe, or serpent fangs) which you can use to craft a weapon similar to the tentacle spike but poisons the enemy as well.

We shall call them, the "Desert Serpent Bandits" or something.

SOMBREROOOOOOOOOO!

[Doctor H. Derp]

Everyone has already put in a lot of great suggestions in this thread, but I think I know of two ways to help differentiate the seasons: birds and hounds.

 

Maxwell says he had a lot of gems, but we only ever see 2 types in the hounds that spawn. Why not have other special hounds that come out in the other seasons?

 

Green gem hounds would fit almost too perfectly with Spring, orange gems for Fall. I could see how green gems might be considered overpowered by some, so maybe just yellow gems for Spring then?

Even if you're of the opinion that the ruins gems are so overpowered that they must be in limited supply and must only be able to be acquired from the Ruins, fine, but you could at least have a shadow hound with the purple gems, or maybe purple gems should be dropped by the Varg to kind of show it's the shadow hound?

 

Maybe it's just me, but I really liked what Klei did with being able to combine red and blue gems to make purple gems, and I liked how they made the gemology tab, and it almost sounded like they were headed down this path where you could have this little jewel cutting station where you could mix and match gems and I was kind of sad when they shied away from it...

 

 

As for birds, who didn't feel like they were walking into a new world the second a snowbird flew down? I think having seasonal birds might also help push the seasons apart more and make them each feel unique. Feathers don't need to necessarily mean new darts, could use snowbird and springbird feathers to make a lesser feather fan that would use the hand slot and help beat the heat kind of like the lantern is the handheld answer to darkness in the caves?

Hell, seasonal birds don't even need to be of the flying variety and we could go in a completely different direction. Make gobblers start spawning on their own without having to harvest berry bushes in fall for a sort of "Thanksgiving" feel, or maybe a pheasant/quail like bird that spawns in Spring? The Queasant?

[NewCezar]

Why not new seasonals koalefants?

[DwerBomb]

Why not new seasonals koalefants?

1) Because reskins of already existing mobs are boring and unoriginal.

2) What would you do with other two kind of trunks?

[oCrapaCreeper]

Why not new seasonals koalefants?

Reskinning something to look different would not really be preferred. 

[MycoLogical]

I agree entirely; winter is a pain but at least it adds new foes and items; summer really needs that.

[Hudxesonael]

What if Summer was the only season during which you could use Drying Racks?

[forge]

What if Summer was the only season during which you could use Drying Racks?

 

No no no no nooo. 

 

And by no I mean no.

[ConeyKrab]

What if Summer was the only season during which you could use Drying Racks?

 

Making the game more difficult without adding anything new and exciting? Uhh, no.

[DwerBomb]

What if Summer was the only season during which you could use Drying Racks?

Ehm, no thanks.

[Strangerdanger101]

What if Summer was the only season during which you could use Drying Racks?

[InaneDugong]

Yeah, I think too much time was spent on the challenging aspects of Summer itself (Overheating, mainly). So when overheating and smoldering structures become easy to deal with, what's left becomes dull.

 

This is the case with Winter too and always has been. Whilst I agree, you can't single out Summer under this reasoning. To be honest, if the tech required for Endo fires and Gears for flings/icehat, weren't so hard to procure, Summer would be identical to Winter (minus smoldering).