eternal swallow
I have been playing The Hunter Call of the wild for as long as before Whitetail TRURACS remember now, I remember the first times playing in Layton Lakes and it was a top map of mine for a long time (Until Silver Ridge haha). And in my time of playing Layton has been progressively changed in many ways over the years, changing animal populations or adding Turkeys. But it hasn't hit me until I really started thinking about it, how Layton has been getting worse since its most recent change to it. I don't know if it is just me that can tell how empty Layton feels when you are searching for animals (unless you are grinding). The map way back then had many animals just everywhere, and I understand it may impact frames or what not, but I remember when Balmont was absolutely loaded with deer. Since most new hunters start in Layton, and the first thing they want to do is go hunting for some animals, I don't understand why elk and moose absolutely flood Balmont, unlike when it used to be flooded with Blacktail and Whitetail. It also impacts leveling up as a beginner, leveling up should be easy at the start, with easy animals to hunt, rather than the 50 trivial female moose instead.
How can Layton be restored?
I believe in order for Layton to be truly fixed, it would need some changes and additions to the map. The first being fixing animal populations, animal populations should be spread out more and truthfully there should be way more animals inside of Layton, Layton feels so bare sometimes. Fixing the populations for some animals would help a lot, for new or old players alike, adding more population numbers would also be great for the map, so it wouldn't be so bare bones for most of the time!
Backfilled Species
I believe there should be more animals added to Layton, such as backfills and entirely new species. I strongly suggest that Mountain goat and Mule Deer should be added to Layton, they fit perfectly inside of the map as well as it's geological location is correct. Let's all be honest here, the mountain/hilly regions of Layton are horrid to be in. This is mainly because there are little to no species that go there at all during their zones. This would be perfect for species like the Mountain Goat to go into, this also could be the return of the mountain goat's drink zones. As for the Mule Deer, I suggest they also be in the hilly regions, in similar areas as the Whitetail and Blacktail, but also could lurk the forests of Cheelah. Since the Mule Deer is confirmed for getting new racks in the coming future, this is not only a shot in the dark, but a great idea.
New Species
Since we are on the topic of species, I believe Layton could strongly deserve some more unique animals to it's name. Currently, Layton has 3 animals you can not get on any other map, being the Roosevelt Elk, The Black-tailed Deer, and the Jackrabbit. But what if Layton had slightly more animals inside of it? I think the two animals that could make Layton look more appealing is finally adding the American Beaver and to the game. The American Beaver's population could exist inside the lowlands of Roonachee, Balmont, and the Roonachee River.
Oh my god as I was writing this I just saw antother Layton Lakes Rework @gaunt spindle yours is brilliant mate ill add this onto that.
hexed stratus