We should have more flexicolour options for foliage. Now before you call me crazy for this idea, please let me explain why.
First of all, let me say that I am really grateful to Frontier for the foliage that we have in the game. There is a great diversity of plants and they are all high quality. Moreover, the amount and quality of plants in the game has drastically improved with almost each new update. However, flexicolour options are still limited to a few flowering plants, which I totally understand. I can imagine that there is a lot of work involved in making flexicolour items and to some it may seem fair that plants come in one colour as it maintains a sense of 'realism' in the game. Whereas plaster walls can realistically be made in every colour, you won't see a deep blue oak tree or a bright yellow coconut palm. Still, I think there are some reasons why we could have more options for flexicolour plants that go beyond just flowers:
First of all, let me say that I am really grateful to Frontier for the foliage that we have in the game. There is a great diversity of plants and they are all high quality. Moreover, the amount and quality of plants in the game has drastically improved with almost each new update. However, flexicolour options are still limited to a few flowering plants, which I totally understand. I can imagine that there is a lot of work involved in making flexicolour items and to some it may seem fair that plants come in one colour as it maintains a sense of 'realism' in the game. Whereas plaster walls can realistically be made in every colour, you won't see a deep blue oak tree or a bright yellow coconut palm. Still, I think there are some reasons why we could have more options for flexicolour plants that go beyond just flowers:
- With flexicolour, we will have more options for variation. It is common to use the same plant repetitively if it fits well. By using slightly different colours, we could still make it look a bit more diverse. In real life, plants also vary slightly in colour.
- With flexicolour, deciduous trees can be given autumn colours. I know there is a demand for seasonality in game (which is unrealistic to expect) and Planet Coaster had autumn variants for some species. For those building in temperate areas, flexicolour can really be a solution to creating a beautiful autumn landscape.
- With flexicolour, plants can be made to fit better in an environment. For instance, if you build in a mediterranean or desert area, most plants will have a red-brownish tint as a result of dust or sand.
- With flexicolour, dead leaves/plants can be made. While I love Frontier's plants, what bothers me (minimally) is that nearly all plants seem to be flourishing. In real life (and real zoos), many plants have at least some dead leaves. I would personally love to make banana trees with brown leaves to get a bit more realism.
- With flexicolour, there are more options for custom plants. If you're a bit familiar with the community, you will have seen many people combine in-game plants to create new 'species'. If we were able to recolour some flowers or leaves that are typically used for this (i.e. ponytail palm, common reeds), we could make more realistic alternatives for plants. This would not reduce Frontier's options to bring new plants to the game as there still are endless options for new foliage and we usually get only 2 per update.
