hi dev you should watch Terra Nova it may give you some ideas chuckles you never know when a gate may malfunction or where it could send you or when. Keep the juices flowing. A book, movie or game you read watch or play will always be a part of you. Here’s another idea in every game world that has woods there’s no dead or rotting wood why don’t you create a creature like a gollum that eats the dead wood and your party are the ones that finally stumble upon one cleaning the forest. Chuckles the Gollum’s could be turning the wood they eat into some type of resource you need. But be warned they could also be protecting the wildlife or something else. Do you find the gollum on a dead world and save them? Or they could have been hunted by other species to be slave labor and you go and save them then relocate them on the planet that you found the dog. Well take care.