That’s really useful feedback to know that the gif is working! It’s also good to know it is both fun to watch and play, that makes for good video content and virality!
I agree completely that the controls should be kept as simple as possible, so you can just mindlessly play without needing to micromanage.
There was a suggestion to be able to split the swarm which is treading the micromanaging line but I think if careful, it could work quite well. What do you think?
Upgrades are a fantastic idea, it never even crossed my mind! I never even considered a maximum swarm size either, I was stuck for ideas on how I could stop the game getting too laggy when you have more and more locusts.
I will look into idle games to see if they have anything that could be useful mechanically in here too, that’s a great shout.
I agree completely that care must be taken to prevent creating a mush. It would be tempting to put a brown stalk on each leaf to add contrast but now that you mention it, amongst the swarm of brown locusts I think you’re right, it would be too much.
Also, would you be interested in testing future versions / projects?
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to write such detailed feedback, it’s given me a lot to think about!