Have you thought of adding this to the herbivore/carnivore code?
Have a limited number of plants that are automatic spawns, and every few hours have them run a check on their current size, and if it is above/below a certain number, they either add 1 to their current size, or they have a random chance of dropping a seed a defined distance away. (or both)
The seed then does a random check daily and has a 30% chance of sprouting into a seedling (plant at size 1), a 50% chance to do nothing, and a 20% chance to die.
Players walking within a certain distance of a seed (if they are not of the druid or ranger class) create a chance to kill the seed, thus creating areas lacking plant growth due to player traffic.
Herbivores then run a check when they are hungry on nearby plants to see if they are edible by the species, making animals go toward forest areas, and away from areas that are often inhabited by players.
Carnivores will follow the food, and will go away from player areas as well.
This can make a constantly changing world, and will make interaction with NPCs much less stagnant. Druids and Rangers could even pick up seeds, since they wouldn't die when they walked near, and spread plant life to other areas. Druid spells could effect seeds to make them sprout, or trees to make them blossom and spread seeds.
Just an idea- I wish I could code it.
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