FlowScape

Well, I haven't been using Flow Scape for that long, so it might still be a bit early for a review. However, I feel like I've understood everything well and if I notice anything else later, I can always revise it. And one thing I want to mention right away: Before I bought it, I read something in the reviews, but so far I haven’t once experienced the issue where placed elements suddenly go missing despite saving. If that happened more often, we’d be having a very different conversation. The toolbar/inventory menu and the save menu could use some slight improvements, I often press save twice because I’m unsure if it actually saved. To quickly add to that, yes the controls aren't always precise and could use a bit more fine-tuning. Some details and animations could also be more refined but as it stands, it's definitely sufficient and good enough. There is a discussion on Steam, with claims that the developer made false promises and that Flow Scape is an abandoned one with no updates in the past years or any planned for the future. Allegedly, the developer is only interested in working on their next game, which is quite similar and called OceanScape. I can't really assess the situation at this point, for me personally the software is functional enough to work with, but I do understand how it creates a strange impression when no updates have been released for many years. Apparently you can't export your creations to edit them in another software, but I haven't found anything claiming that this was ever supposed to be possible. However, I have read multiple times that you are allowed to use screenshots and videos for your projects without needing a license and that's exactly what I'm using it for, mainly for short stories. It also allows you to run an automatic camera sequence, making it a good tool for creative minds who want to craft their own landscapes for a presentation, event visuals or cover artwork. With a wide range of design options, it's ideal for artists, storytellers and hobbyist world-builders.

The game is alright, but honestly its just not enough. It feels a little limiting and for the price? You're better off spending it on something else. It doesn't get updated anymore either, so dont come back to check on it. Remove it from the wishlist, leave it alone. Glad I got it on sale, yikes.

No complaints, relaxing, useful, good price.

A landscape software... WITHOUT MEASURING TOOLS?! Flowscape has the same damnable issue as Zoo Planet - and the more you play, the more it becomes apparent in the loading screens... You can't do 'crafts 1.0.1' and take measures first to plan your build (unless you're willing to stack zebras on top of each other to gauge height...) I mean, how is anyone supposed to check actual line-of-sight and field-of-view if there is no way of making sure your subject is at the intended distance and elevation, in relation to your location??? How can anyone figure the right scale for each object in the composition? Trial and error? Considering there is no 'undo' button and that the eraser is rather 'all or nothing', that's self-flagellation. This alone makes Flowscape futile for both artistic reference and RPG-mapping (not to mention world-building...) But then, to add insult to injury, the 3D objects' scales are randomly incompatible too, forcing you to scrap an entire project when you realize that, oops, these houses cannot be scaled any smaller, which will make that cathedral look like a shed... And, oops, the only palissade dwarves all the motte towers on a large map... And of course, by default, there is no cow, no goat, no pig, no wheat, no ploughed field, no herb garden models, even though the software is labelled 'medieval'... Could Steam take down that tag, please? Please. Now, I get that not everyone wants to keep at least one foot on the ground when reaching for the stars... Their funeral. I still wish there was a warning like 'NOT FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO CULTIVATE THEIR CONNECTION TO REALITY THROUGH ARTISTIC ESCAPISM"