Oh, this is cool and thoughtful of you!
Honestly, since the game is mostly based around the animals- It would be cool to see more ambient / NPC critters in the maps. Kind of like- The swimming Salmon in Kibou Ridge, or the secretive snakes in some maps. Also, I think it would bring life to the maps, if there were more shards / auras... Like what we had in Fluorite Plains. Those little stars floating up to the sky? They may be passive, and the detail is unnoticeable... Although, the movement is what brought that magic / atmosphere to the maps.
You know how you sit by a campfire, roast marshmallows, and at times just watch those burning, bright ashes shoot to the sky? Usually you walk by, and say; meh, it's just fire. Nothing interesting. But there are times, when you seek comfort and relaxation. You come back to that fire, and just observe... how the flames peacefully dance in tune with nature. It's soothing. Especially, since FeralHeart is mostly about RolePlays, and people love chilling- this would be a good and maybe- a cozy addition~ x'3
So yeah! I think NPC animals ( be it in form of textures / particles / shards ) and more auras / shards - will do well. It's simple for developers, you can easily flip the colours of the same shards to fit any map! Is it a blue cavern with blue crystals? Add blue auras! Is it a Tropical Forest with hidden treasure / gold in the map? Add golden auras to mark the 'X'!
Though... It's just my point of view, however. Personally, I think this is what the old players miss, after all.
Since I am one of those players, too.