Carbonate Seas

Carbonate Seas is the [?] world of Plants vs Zombies 2, released in an unknown update.
This world takes place during the Anisian period of the Early Triassic, roughly around 244-243 million years ago. It is set in the northern Nanpanjiang Basin of Southern China in the Guizhou Province, at a time where the local fauna and flora was slowly recovering from the Permian extinction and the platforms of carbonate deposition that flourished during the period where being slowly drowned into the sea before finally being buried
As expected, it takes place on the edge of one of these carbonate platforms, in a shallow unstable depression surrounded by 2 rocky mounds covered in corals, where lies a small underwater burrow used as the player's house, lined with pieces of driftwood to form a small alley and using a local crinoid as a mailbox. The board itself is visibly cut from the rest of the lawn, and the different tiles that compose it all have a deep blue hue that only slightly contrasts with the surrounding sand for the lightest. A few dasycladaleans are growing amongst the corals, and several pieces of bone here and there hint at the presence of aquatic animals
The zombies of this area are all based around marine reptiles of the time, most either riding them or using body parts to "dress up" as them. The lack of a constant ocean floor also forces most of them to swim and float
==Gimmicks==
While its underwater setting that disables fiery projectiles and turns Fire Peashooters back into standard Peashooters could be considered a gimmick by itself, Carbonate Seas only has a single mechanic that would be considered a "true" gimmick
===Platforms===
Each tile that composes the lawn is considered in-game as being a "Platform", and over the course of the levels, these will slowly collapse and disappear into the depths of the sea, slowly reducing the plantable space, often leaving at the end of the levels only a few remaining columns or even none on some of the more difficult ones, on top of killing the plants on them. Before they break, players can have an indicator of the time left by looking at their textures, which will present increasingly large cracks before breakage ; said breakage will usually happen by entire columns, though odd additional tiles may also disappear along them. A tile cannot collapse if the tile to its right is stil intact, though on some occurences it can collapse along it
If one desires to speed up the process, they can use a Trematopora
===Open Sea===
Once Platforms collapse, they leave behind a tile of Open Sea, which cannot be planted by conventional means, unless one uses flying plants such as Rotobaga or uses Mizzianchors. Zombies will cross through these are per usual, by swimming, and once dead their bodies will disappear into the blueish darkness of the depths
===Platform Collapse !===
"Platform Collapse" serves as the surprise attack of this world, and is introduced on Day [?]. It will cause one or more columns of Platforms to instantly collapse, defeating all plants placed on them no matter their current health and along the clouds of sands and debris several basic Zombopterygians will emerge. It can only occur up to twice per level, and will never concern tiles before the 3rd column which itself cannot collapse in this ambush.
==Audio==
The world's music mostly consist of soft piano with increased reverb, starting up slow and picking up the pace as the player progresses through the waves, adding more conventional pianos, violons, a bass, cymbals and a simple drum. Stereotypical sounds of bubbles as well as water can be sometimes heard in the background
==Game Description==
Take a dive back 243 millions years ago in the great seas of South China, and re-live the catastrophic events that sunk the great reefs of Guizhou ! Don't forget your harpoons and fishing rods because every local marine zombie is out to get you !
==Order of Events==
To unlock this world, the player requires a world key, which can be earned by completing any Gargantuar level in another level
In Day 1, no Platforms will collapse at all at the beginning, and through dialogue the player will be introduced to the setting as well as reassured as to the lack of oxygen-related mechanics despite the lawn taking place underwater. It rewards players with the Mizzianchor that allows them to place plants in the open sea
In Day 2, Penny warns the player of the unstability of the platform, and during this level, all tiles up to the 5th column will collapse at the time of the second wave, which will most likely require players to use their newly unlocked plant.
During Day 3, the Mixosaur Rider is introduced. It is a fast moving zombie that will jump over the first few plants it encounters, then continue without his ride
Day 4 introduces Special Delivery
Completing Day 5 rewards players with the Soapiaella, that fires bubbles that make zombies float over defenses but can also be manually detonated for high damage
During the course of Day 6, the Placodont Zombie makes his entry, as a though but very slow zombie that spawns from the leftmost columns still occupied by platforms and makes his way to the right, jumping off the platform once he reaches its edge. To counter him, players earn after this level the Tremoropora, which will shake the ground to deal high damage in a 4x4 zone but also cause a column of platforms to instantly collapse
The Lariosaur Imp is introduced during Day 7, and lacks any special ability besides the usual faster walking (in this case swimming) speed
Day 8 introduces Locked and Loaded
After completing Day 9, players will be greeted by turbidity currents, flows of sediments suddenly appearing seemingly from nowhere and hinting at the presence of something large that must have woken up from the depths and further destabilized the platform
The Gargantuar Battle happens on Day 10, in a level where ALL columns of the lawn will eventually disappear and the Garganthosaur makes his debut. Upon completion, a Pinata is earned
Within Day 11, the Atopodentatus Rider first appears, swimming fast towards your defenses and munching very quickly on plants, even dealing higher damage to defensive plants, on top of being slightly bulkier than the average zombie
Day 12 introduces Save Our Seeds
Day 13 introduces the new Brain Buster Ash Rains
Once Day 14 is completed, players will be granted access to the Drowned Hills, which serve as Carbonate Seas' endless zone.
The last day to introduce a new zombie is Day 16, which sees the Dinocephalozombie first appear, a rather slow but somewhat tough zombie that will pull plants towards him by biting them with his mount and eat them once they get in range
As of 24/07/2023, the Zombot fight has not been released yet, and Day 20 is only a standard Gargantuar Battle level.
After completing it, Penny warns the player as well as Dave of tremors coming from the direction of the nearby South Indochina block, and that they must flee an incoming eruption from that direction. After wishing farewell to the local "Fishies and gummy worm-looking thingies", they both embark along the Player for the next world in line.
==Levels==
Carbonate Seas contains a total of 20 levels, with 3 newly unlocked plants as well as 9 new zombies
Days	Plants 	Zombies 	Flags	Notes 	Prize
1 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag Zombopterygian 	One 	Platforms collapse up to the 6th column 	Mizzianchor
2 	Choice with Mizzianchor 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag Zombopterygian 	Two 	Platforms collapse up to the 5th column 	Money bag / Carbonate Seas Piñata
3 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianMixosaur Rider 	Two 	Platforms collapse up to the 4th columnIntroduction of Mixosaur Rider 	Money bag
4 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianMixosaur Rider 	Three	All platforms collapseSpecial Delivery 	Money bag
5 	Choice with 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianMixosaur Rider 	Three	Platforms collapse up to the 3rd column 	
6 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianPlacodont Zombie 	Three	Platforms collapse up to the 5th columnIntroduction of Placodont Zombie 	
7 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie 	Two 	Platforms collapse up to the 2nd columnIntroduction of Lariosaur Imp 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
8 	 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie 	Two 	Platforms collapse up to the 3rd columnLocked and Loaded 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
9 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie 	Three	Platforms collapse up to the 2nd columnIntroduction of the Platform Collapse ! ambush	Note
10 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie 	Four 	All platforms collapseGargantuar Battle 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
11 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpPlacodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider 	Two 	All platforms collapseIntroduction of the Atopodentatus Rider 	Money bag
12 	ChoiceEndangered plants : 5 on the 3rd column	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianPlacodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider 	Three	Platforms collapse up to the 3rd columnSave Our Seeds 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
13 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider 	Three	Platforms collapse up to the 4th columnAsh Rains 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
14 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider 	Four 	Platforms collapse up to the 4th column 	Drowned Hills
15 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie 	Three	All platforms collapseLocked and Loaded 	Money bag
16 	Choice with 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur ImpMixosaur Rider, Atopodentatus Rider, Dinocephalozombie 	Two 	Platforms collapse up to the 1st columnIntroduction of Dinocephalozombie 	Money bag
17 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider, Dinocephalozombie	Three	All platforms collapseSpecial Delivery 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
18 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Dinocephalozombie 	Three	All platforms collapseAsh Rains 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
19 	Choice 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider, Dinocephalozombie	Four 	Platforms collapse up the 2nd column 	Carbonate Seas Piñata
20 	Mizzianchor, 	Zombopterygian, Conehead Zombopterygian, Buckethead Zombopterygian, Protorosaur Flag ZombopterygianLariosaur Imp, GarganthosaurMixosaur Rider, Placodont Zombie, Atopodentatus Rider, Dinocephalozombie	Three	All platforms collapseGargantuar Battle (placeholder) 	World Key
==Brain Busters==
===Ash Rains===
In this unique Brain Buster, plants are delivered through a conveyor belt, and the entire lawn is darkened from nearby ash falls, making zombies as well as plants difficult to see. Fortunately, players are provided with Blovers, which can clear out ash for 5 columns (though it will return after 15 seconds), Hurrikales, which have a similar affect but only work on a lane, and Pepper-Pults, whose attack disintegrate into the water but will light up a small 3x3 area around them, essentially acting as makeshift Planterns
It is played on Day 13 and Day 18
===Special Delivery===
Special Delivery is a Brain Buster that is a conveyor-belt level with the plants given via said conveyor-belt. Being a conveyor-belt level, no sun and sun-producing plants will be given. Starting from Big Wave Beach, most of its levels are featuring new plants.
It is played on Day 4, Day 10 (Gargantuar Battle) and Day 17
===Locked and Loaded===
Locked and Loaded is a regular Brain Buster that starts with the plants already chosen, and the player has to use them to defeat the zombies.
It is played on Day 8 and Day 15
===Save Our Seeds===
In the Save Our Seeds levels, the player has to protect the endangered plants marked by a striped tile and his house too. If the player lets one of them be eaten by the zombies or disappear in some way, he will lose. Otherwise, it is a regular level, which the player can choose the plants to protect the endangered ones.
It is played only on Day 12
===Drowned Hills===
Drowned Hills is Carbonate Seas' endless zone, unlocked upon completion of Day 14. To remain balanced, the procedural level generator will always generate with a certain Collapsible Platform/Placodont Zombies ratio to remain as fair as possible and will make players start with Mizzianchor already unlocked. After reaching a certain amount of levels, all columns of platforms are guaranteed to fall throughout the level
==Related achievements==
==Gallery==
CarbonateSeasLawn.jpg|Concept sketch for the lawn, done on paper
CarbonateSeasMockup.png|Quick Paint-made mockup for the lawn
==Trivia==
*The world was at first going to use real world sediment flows known as Turbidity Currents as a gimmick to reference their prominent appearances in deposits of the real-life Nanpanjiang Basin, but this was scrapped for being overly complicated
*The fauna featured in the world is mostly based on that of the Guanling Formation; it is technically located north of the Nanpanjiang Basin and not a part of it but contemporary of the platform drowning events and a good point of reference
Category:Uncleared page