Hey all, first time posting on this particular board.

So a little while back I tried to build a world loosley based on hollow earth theory with a complex pantheon and a big deal about sentient/sapient zombies who retained their memories of life.

Basically, it was just a few cool ideas strung together, and it provoked a lot of unintended consequences that I feel left my players feeling dissatisfied with the overall product. Due largely in part to poor planning and an amnesia story (the players are from the inner earth but weren't supposed to know it) I was heavily unprepared for a number of circumstances. Such as: How do these "good zombies" heal. I don't want to follow the God of this realm, but one of another, what do? Can we go here instead of there?

In short: I don't think that setting can be salvaged. I'll be taking it either into low-effort mode while I start building an entirely new one, or cancel the current one completely.

I've learned a lot from these mistakes, but I'm interested in getting advice on what other mistakes I could still make, even if I think I've thought it all through.

The setting so far is a pseudo-earth a la FFXIV. (See picture below). The goal is to create a complete world that once created I can consistently use for every game. The game system is D&D 5E, and I'd like to avoid messing with classes too much.

The magic system is based on a transitive particle that can be morphed into any other particle to produce physical effects and things, although mages don't understand it on such a granular level. They just understand that all things contain aether and that it's mutable and subject to will.

I've got a lot more about different cultures, but I'm mostly concerned with certain trappings of world-building rather than seeking advice for my world specifically.

Spoiler: Hydalean
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Note: The main game takes place on the African shaped continent, but shares extremely few cultural or geographic similarities. The Sahara region is mostly snowy mountains, dragons, and elves, the Egyptian region is mostly forest with elves and humans,
south is a grand desert full of gnome/dwarf children trying to summon demons, and the west is full of gnome/dwarf children hanging out with sea orcs.

Oh and catgirls. (The landmasses to the east however are very Chinese/Japanese however)