Improvements for Mississippi Acres Preserve

[rough trout]

It's no secret that a large portion of the COTW community considers Mississippi Acres to be a very mediocre and underwhelming map. The only interesting and unique species on this map is the Alligator, and even the Alligators aren't very interesting anymore now that we have the Crocodiles on Emerald Coast which are a more interesting crocodilian to hunt. There are a lot of animals that could be added to this map in order to make it more exciting and fun to hunt on, especially small game and waterfowl.

Species that could be backfilled onto this map:
Wood Duck
Mallard
Coyote
Gadwall
Northern Pintail
Bobcat (if they get changed to only spook animals that are Class 4 and below)
North American Beaver

Potential New Species for Mississippi Acres:
Swamp Rabbit
Virginia Opossum
Nutria
Blue-Winged Teal
American Black Duck
Nine-Banded Armadillo
Groundhog

Mississippi Acres has the potential to be a great waterfowl and small game map. All of these species can be found in Mississippi and would be fitting additions to this map. By adding these waterfowl species, this map could be transformed into a North American waterfowl hunting paradise, able to contend with Salzwiesen Park and Revontuli Coast for the title of COTW's best waterfowl map. The addition of new small game animals would also help to make this map more diverse in terms of its fauna and give players more reasons to keep coming back to this map.

Note about Bobcats: I would only want to see them get added to this map if their predator-spooking behavior gets changed/reworked. I think they shouldn't be able to spook animals that are above Class 4. If that change gets made, then I'd love to see them be added onto Mississippi.

I'm going to post some more information about each of the potential new species that I mentioned in my original post

Swamp Rabbit (Class 1)
The Swamp Rabbit is a species of Cottontail Rabbit found in the swamps and wetlands of the southern United States. The largest of the cottontail rabbits, it is similar in appearance to the Eastern Cottontail that we already have on Mississippi Acres, but it has distinctly smaller ears and orange-colored hind legs. The swamp rabbit is most abundant in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, but it also inhabits many other parts of the American South. Its habitat is largely dominated by regions near lowland water.

On Mississippi Acres, I think the Swamp Rabbits should be found in the areas that are more of a swampland environment, with the Eastern Cottontail Rabbits being found in the areas that are on higher ground that are less wet.

[rough trout]

This map shows a rough approximation of where the Swamp Rabbit could be found on Mississippi Acres - the yellow areas are places that could have Swamp Rabbits, the red areas are where the normal Eastern Cottontail Rabbits would live.

Nutria (Class 2)
This is a large herbivorous semi-aquatic rodent from South America. It is an invasive species in the United States, especially the American South. They are very aquatic animals that resemble a small beaver. They have orange teeth and a long skinny hairless tail like that of a rat. They would be found throughout the wetlands and waterways on Mississippi Acres.

Blue Winged Teal (Class 1)
This is a small species of duck found throughout North America. It would be found at the various ponds, lakes and marshy areas in Mississippi Acres. Alongside the other ducks, this duck species would help to bring some much-needed life to the numerous bodies of water on Mississippi Acres. It could also be added to Silver Ridge Peaks.

||Image Credit: Alan D. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com||

American Black Duck (Class 1)
This is large species of dabbling duck that is native to eastern North America. It inhabits coastal and freshwater wetlands. The American Black Duck is also a species that could be added to New England Mountains. It is also closely related to the Mallard, and a variant that is a Mallard hybrid could be a rare plumage type for this species.

Groundhog (Class 1)
Also known as the Woodchuck, this species lives throughout the Eastern United States in a variety of habitats, such as small woodlots, low-elevation forests, fields and meadows, and pastures. Many of these habitats are common throughout Mississippi Acres. These little critters would live in burrows the same way that European Rabbits do. They could also be added to New England Mountains.

The Wood Duck and Northern Pintail are both coming to the game with the new Alberta Preserve. Both of these species would be great backfilling options for Mississippi Acres, especially the Wood Duck which has been a highly-requested species for a long time.

the Gadwall and Mallard would also be great additions to Mississippi Acres in order to further expand this map's waterfowl roster. Also the Gadwall is only on one other map currently (Salzwiesen Park) and they could really benefit from being on a second map.

[rough trout]

Potential Mallard range map for Mississippi Acres

[rough trout]

Potential range for the Northern Pintail on Mississippi Acres

[rough trout]

A rough approximation of the potential range for Coyotes on Mississippi Acres - they would be found throughout the map in the swamps, crop fields, and some forested areas. They would stay out of the nastiest parts of the swamps that are infested with Alligators, and also wouldn't live in the dense forests further north and east, where Bobcats would be the dominant predator.

Potential Bobcat range for Mississippi Acres - they would be found in the dense forests in the eastern and northern parts of the map, wherever there is enough forest cover to support them. There would only be about 16-18 of them across the entire map.

[rough trout]

Potential range for the North American Beaver on Mississippi Acres - they would probably only have riverbank lodges on this map, since I don't think EW would want to make huge changes to the terrain on this map in order to include beaver dams and beaver ponds. Also the river system on MA is big enough that beavers building dams on it doesn't really make much sense

[rough trout]

Potential Gadwall range on Mississippi Acres

Potential Wood Duck range on Mississippi Acres

[rough trout]

Potential range map for the Nutria in Mississippi Acres - they would have invaded the entire central river system along with some nearby swamps and lakes, as well as the areas along the banks of the larger river that surrounds the northern and western parts of the map.

Potential range map for the Blue-Winged Teal

[rough trout]

Potential range map for the American Black Duck on Mississippi Acres

Potential range for the Groundhog in Mississippi Acres. From what I've seen, it seems like they only inhabit northern parts of Mississippi in real life, so I decided that they should be limited to the fields and forests in the northern parts of this map.

[vale estuary]

A game bird that we hunt here in south Alabama is purple gallinule I don’t know if Mississippi acres is set in the right place for them but if so they would make a great addition

[rough trout]

It might be a little too far north for them but it's probably still possible if I had to guess

MA seems to be based on western Mississippi and probably not in the southern part, so it might not be the best map to include them on

[vale estuary]

Mississippi acres feels a little more northern to me since it’s missing palmettos and the cypress trees are kinda small but southern magnolias put it somewhere south/central so I’d say it’s in between Vicksburg and Greenville

[rough trout]

that makes sense, I was guessing that it's probably in that same general area

so maybe the Purple Gallinule would make sense then. I probably won't add them to the species list in my original post but they are still a possibility.

[vale estuary]

purple gallinule are there but normally fall or winter

And MA doesn’t really feel like fall or winter because if I remember right the cypress trees still have their leaves

[rough trout]

yeah it feels more like late summer to me

although I don't think Green Winged Teal would be that far south at that time of year, so it's hard to say for sure

[vale estuary]

But we already have the model and there could be a permanent population so I don’t really mind

[rough trout]

yeah same here, I think it's fine

I think MA definitely needs Wood Ducks, and some other waterfowl would be a nice addition too

[vale estuary]

Definitely, I was a little disappointed with the map when it came out I do like most of the species on the map but they should’ve put more into duck hunting

Making the alligator since it was new probably took a lot of work and that’s why we didn’t get the waterfowl map we wanted

[rough trout]

One more new species that would be a nice addition to Mississippi Acres would be the Nine-Banded Armadillo. This species has recently been expanding their range further north into the Southeastern United States, reaching as far north as parts of Missouri and Tennessee. Mississippi Acres would definitely fall within their modern range and they would be a great addition to this map.

[rough trout]

Armadillos would probably inhabit the whole map, and there could potentially be new side missions that require the player to hunt them, because they are often considered a pest in agricultural regions.

[rough trout]

Mississippi Acres needs Wood Ducks. They would be an absolutely perfect addition to the map.

They should really be on more maps imo. At least Mississippi, maybe NEM and Layton too. They're just such beautiful ducks and deserve to be on more than one map.

[stray heath]

Reskin the Wood Duck to create the Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) for the Japan map https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1110817492277923850. Both belong to the same genus, Aix.

[rough trout]

yeah Mandarin Ducks would be a great addition with a Japan map. Maybe someday they will come to this game.

[rough trout]

here's the full list of potential backfills and new species for Mississippi Acres

[rough trout]

Another species that would be a perfect new addition to Mississippi Acres would be the Virginia Opossum. This North American species of marsupial is common throughout the eastern United States. They could live in the forested habitats of the map, along with the farmlands as well. When confronted up close they would "play possum" and pretend to be dead, a mechanic that could make this critter very fun and unique to hunt in the game. I think this species would fit in perfectly with all of the other species that are already on this map and the environments that are present on Mississippi Acres. They could also be added to New England Mountains as well, occupying the forests and farmlands in the southern parts of that map.

[rough trout]

Potential range map for the Virginia Opossum on Mississippi Acres

[sage glade]

I also would really like to see gators and crocs not spook waterfowl I know that might be unrealistic but I’ve tried hunting green winged teal on the map and they don’t even land they fly away before even getting close enough for me to shoot them

Plus when I spook the gators on pourpose they seem to spook things even when there underwater

[rough trout]

honestly that would be nice for gameplay purposes, or they can just decrease the spook distance for birds when predators are around to just make it less of an issue.

[sage glade]

Bump

[rough trout]

bump for a better Mississippi Acres

[devout girder]

Yes, it only needs more birds like gadwall and wood duck perhaps mallards then it will be a great mal

[rough trout]

⬆️

[gritty lodge]

30!!!

[heady parcel]

👆🏼

[bronze moth]

Coyote needs rework

[devout girder]

Idk man it recently got one and yeah it’s skinny but in some areas the coyote is skinnier than the regular ones that we see, i could be a little bit thicker but nothing crazy, it’s not dire

[rough trout]

a remodel for them would be really nice

[bronze moth]

they still are way to small

[devout girder]

How big should they be, class 3?

[bronze moth]

No i mean the model is small, i do think they should be class 3 but there model needs to be bigger, there weight is also so small

[devout girder]

thats what i meant too

[bronze moth]

i never knew they got a remodel but they still need one

[devout girder]

Agreed

[rough trout]

bump again

[bronze moth]

its so shocking how possum are not in the game 💀

[devout girder]

Dude honestly, they would fit so well into mississippi

[bronze moth]

Real

[rough trout]

bumping this back up again

[worldly elbow]

👍