![]() ![]() ![]() Some species, such as goldfish or loaches, can get to be quite large, so you really shouldn’t put them in tanks that are too small as that will restrict their growth at the cost of their health. Neither do you have to worry about fish growth. As I mentioned above, the game doesn’t penalize overstocking whereas in real life, doing so will result in plenty of dead fish. The game could really use more nano fish like your smaller rasboras. The varieties of fish available to you is a touch limited as well. I would have liked to have been able to manipulate those types of plants in a more realistic way in my aquascaping. If you bury the rhizome, it will start to rot and will kill the plant. Anubias species tend to prefer being tied to rocks rather than planted directly into the substrate because they produce rhizomes. I do generally appreciate the attention paid to rendering the plants you can add to your aquarium, but you can’t really layer anything at this stage, which is distracting. The game also doesn’t allow you to create true carpets as each plant occupies a particular section, and you can’t get them to overlap. You don’t have the option to add any shrimp or other invertebrates to your tanks, which is a real shame because shrimp are some of the most entertaining creatures you can toss in a tank. Review NotesĪquarium Designer is still fairly limited in terms of its offerings. That’s a bit too much reality for me, thanks. Therefore, if you’re gone for a good while, then you can expect to come back to find one or more of your finned friends floating at the top due to starvation. You’ll be required to feed your fish, and the game tracks real time. Your tank will be prone to some of the issues familiar to fishkeepers the world over, including algae, shifting water parameters, and generally keeping your fish alive. You can certainly compromise by overstocking your aquarium with zero repercussions. You aren’t going to be able to have a school of male crown-tail bettas, for example. In fact, I think the only real limitation you’ll face is from the fish themselves. Casual allows you to design your aquarium with very few restrictions. That said, the sandbox mode comes in two forms: casual and realistic. Aquarium Designer incorporates some elements of real-life experience here, but the game is far more permissive than the actual fish would be, which fits with the more stylized game experience. In real life, you probably shouldn’t put an Endler’s guppy in the same community tank with a tiger barb because the guppy’s tail will attract the barb’s attention. You’ll also have to watch out to be sure that you avoid placing conflicting species in a tank together. If you do choose to sink an hour or so into the campaign mode, you’ll find yourself adjusting the water’s pH and temperature levels, and those skills will serve you well when you are finally released to design your own aquascapes. Realistic mode requires you to check back in with your tanks regularly, monitoring the health of your fish as well as the water parameters in your tank. You have two options in the My Aquariums mode-realistic and casual. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for being able to design the tank of my dreams while still living in a house that barely sustains the three fish tanks I have. ![]() The game’s real thrill occurs when you move into the more sandbox-style game and design aquariums to your own specifications. One of the early quests involves designing an aquarium to resemble a child’s drawing, and it proved a touch more challenging than I’d originally anticipated. Could there be more involved in the campaign mode? Sure, but what the campaign mode does well is introduce you to the concepts of design rather neatly. This may come as a shock to you, but Aquarium Designer features a campaign mode, and I have to admit, I wasn’t anticipating enjoying it as much as I have. Regardless of whatever interest you have in actually owning an aquarium, you should give Aquarium Designer a try if only to enjoy the waves of peacefulness that will wash over you while you watch your digital fish. In some ways that makes your designed aquarium the ideal fishkeeping experience. That’s perhaps why I’m choosing to welcome in the new year with a low-impact, stress-free fish tank simulator, and I have exactly zero shame about that.Īquarium Designer lets you design and construct virtual aquariums without ever having to do a water change, handle an algal bloom, or worry about bioload. ![]() 2021 in many ways has been as difficult a year as 2020 was, and for me personally, it was entirely worse. I’m not ringing in 2022 with a bang here, but hear me out. ![]()
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