Maybe you could add other interactions with the animals ? Maybe you could befriend them ? And you could also get seeds/materials from the plants, and make food with that for your animals ? Or potions ?
These are just some ideas, and I'm not sure if they are really good for your game, as this would add a more survival-ish side to your game. Let me know what you think ! :D
ive definitely thought about like...food, and using food both to eat and to lure animals...but i have yet to figure out a way to have that work with like, a lot of different animals, since they all have different ways of moving around. and it would obviously have to be an interesting thing for the player to do...
im pretty okay with leaning into the survival side of the game, thats kinda its minor theme alongside exploration...its the thing that makes exploration kinda interesting, and kinda scary.
You could also give the informations that you get from scanning the animals to the Earth/Space Station in exchange for stuff like boots, stealth suits, ... Or they could send you new parts of your base, like a laboratory to study the minerals, or a kitchen to cook things to lure the animals. I don't know, I'm just throwing some ideas :D
