Had a bit of fun tonight. Noticing that I am getting new items that I hadn't before and no medium crop plots, compasses or glass jar blueprints, but no higher level gear either. It was all grey or green. Of course, the sample size is small and so I remain optimistic. Lots more animals are around and one time I found myself inadvertently on the beach with 5 sabertooth's and a scorpion after me, wherein I almost died but remembered my shotgun. An Alpha Raptor appeared near our base in a usual location, which I dispatched as well.
Whew, good stuff!