Maple Trees and Syrup?


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I was thinking the maple trees would reset at the end of winter if the sap will be harvested during winter to offset the lack of honey. hmm

You know, I was going to suggest this earlier today, but I became distracted and forgot.

So, yes, I agree with you. :)

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While I'm not overwhelmed by this suggestion, it does at least address the quantity per tree issue (by "dividing" the sap to get the syrup) and it allows for an immeditely result. My only suggestion is that we don't use the axe to acquire sap, but rather another item... something like a tap, but rather than waiting you would use it on the tree (like the axe) to drain sap. Maybe you hammer the "tap" into the tree, the tap loses % durability, you gain 1 sap puddle. Wash, rinse, repeat, until either all the sap is gone or the "tap" breaks.

I kinda mentioned the tap (not the first person mind you, that was suggested by ZaCormyr). Use of a hammer would be good for applying the tap, though I think there should be a waiting process for your sap rather than get it immediately. Sap doesn't drip too quickly I was reminded recently.

To avoid this, maybe we need to have all the sap come from the tree all at once. And simply have it that the size of the tree determines the amount of sap that you collect.

YES! And doing it to a small tree kills it! :D

I also want to say that, which the addition of seasons, that we should only allow maple trees to provide sap during autumn and once per year (i.e. only next autumn do the trees regain their sap).

That suddenly gives me an idea...you stick the tap in the tree during autumn and reap the goods in winter. If you forget then BOOM! Dead tree!

Yeah I don´t feel using an axe to gather sap is the way. Having a tap means there´s another item to craft, and another process to perform to acquire a resource, yay for more content!

I was suddenly reminded of reading about a well somewhere in the forums. Instead the well can be a hand pump and the tap can be used also to craft it! Multiple uses is good!

After some thought, I agree, can´t keep the tap in place on the tree for long. So, my thought is that you can only harvest the sap once the tree reaches full size, then the tree seeps sap out to show you it´s ready for harvest. Once you´ve collected the sap, there is no more seeping and the tree continues it´s life cycle.

Hmmmm, your wording made me think of something. Would you be able to retrieve the tap after the harvest in that case? Would the tree perma-die if you forgot to remove the tap? Or if you didn't have the proper tool to take it out! ...Okay, I'll try to refrain from mentioning more accidental causes of tree death.:rolleyes:

Maple trees

Syrup

Waffles

OH! And pancakes! :D

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you stick the tap in the tree during autumn and reap the goods in winter. If you forget then BOOM! Dead tree!

Since sap is only harvested once a year, it would great to interact with the maple trees at some point during the rest of the year. So yeah, I´d be totally into having to put the tap in during autumn or you´re screwed. Or maybe if you forget, you can only get a very small amount from cutting the tree down.

I was suddenly reminded of reading about a well somewhere in the forums. Instead the well can be a hand pump and the tap can be used also to craft it!

Hmm, a well for water? If so, I´d prefer to gather water while it´s plentiful in the spring and fall, another thing that if you forget, summer and winter might be super difficult.

Now, if there´s some kind of water tank to store water for summer and winter (although water would freeze in winter, so maybe before gathering some you gotta use a pickaxe on the ice), a tap could be used on the tank to fill buckets etc..

Would you be able to retrieve the tap after the harvest in that case? Would the tree perma-die if you forgot to remove the tap? Or if you didn't have the proper tool to take it out! ...Okay, I'll try to refrain from mentioning more accidental causes of tree death.

We were talking about how the tap might have durability, so yeah you´d take the tap out after harvest, but only so many times. I doubt it would be good to have the tree perma-die, if anything it goes back to the first stage of growth.

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I kinda mentioned the tap (not the first person mind you, that was suggested by ZaCormyr). Use of a hammer would be good for applying the tap, though I think there should be a waiting process for your sap rather than get it immediately. Sap doesn't drip too quickly I was reminded recently.

In reality, yes, sap from a maple tree collects slowly and that's why a bucket is hung from the tap to collect it over time. However, while I originally wanted to support this method so as to slow down the sap collection process, it has a flaw... the tree growth cycle.

YES! And doing it to a small tree kills it! :D

That's possible, or your character can comment that the tree is "still too young" and nothing happens.

That suddenly gives me an idea...you stick the tap in the tree during autumn and reap the goods in winter. If you forget then BOOM! Dead tree!

Between autumn and winter? Right now we don't know how many days comprise a season, but I suggested 30 days. We can assume that within that timeframe a tree would easily go through multiple life cycles, including "decayed". This is why I felt attaching something to the maple tree wouldn't work. Rather we need a more instant-results solution.

I was suddenly reminded of reading about a well somewhere in the forums. Instead the well can be a hand pump and the tap can be used also to craft it! Multiple uses is good!

Something like that sounds about right, it could even be a completely made-up gadget along these lines. Then when you use it the device would lose some durability (say 5-10%) and you would get a number of sap equal to the maturity of the tree. Then later you could use the crock pot to turn 1-4 sap into maple syrup.

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I think its about time I responded to you guys. Sorry for the wait.

Since sap is only harvested once a year, it would great to interact with the maple trees at some point during the rest of the year. So yeah, I´d be totally into having to put the tap in during autumn or you´re screwed. Or maybe if you forget, you can only get a very small amount from cutting the tree down.

Tiny amount gained for forgetting? Sounds good to me. Hm, what if you get a tiny amount due to creatures that like sap waking up in spring? Maybe you won't get any at all if you don't get to them in time because it will be eaten by then.

Now, if there´s some kind of water tank to store water for summer and winter (although water would freeze in winter, so maybe before gathering some you gotta use a pickaxe on the ice), a tap could be used on the tank to fill buckets etc..

The tank might have frozen though, so maybe you need to light a fire underneath for a bit before you can retrieve the water via tap.

We were talking about how the tap might have durability, so yeah you´d take the tap out after harvest, but only so many times. I doubt it would be good to have the tree perma-die, if anything it goes back to the first stage of growth.

Thinking back, having the tree die permanently wasn't a good idea on my part. Oops.

In reality, yes, sap from a maple tree collects slowly and that's why a bucket is hung from the tap to collect it over time. However, while I originally wanted to support this method so as to slow down the sap collection process, it has a flaw... the tree growth cycle.

That is a problem. Maybe the maple trees should have a longer cycle than regular trees (how long is their cycle anyways?)Of course timing when you put taps on them would have to be near perfect. Thinking of a solution is just bringing up more problems (or I'm not thinking straight, I should stop staying up so late.)

That's possible, or your character can comment that the tree is "still too young" and nothing happens.

I like that idea better! :)

Between autumn and winter? Right now we don't know how many days comprise a season, but I suggested 30 days. We can assume that within that timeframe a tree would easily go through multiple life cycles, including "decayed". This is why I felt attaching something to the maple tree wouldn't work. Rather we need a more instant-results solution.

Oh, I see what you mean. So the idea for longer growth cycles may not work anyways :( Unless the sap could be harvested 24 game hours after inserting the tap?

Something like that sounds about right, it could even be a completely made-up gadget along these lines. Then when you use it the device would lose some durability (say 5-10%) and you would get a number of sap equal to the maturity of the tree. Then later you could use the crock pot to turn 1-4 sap into maple syrup.

I was thinking more along the lines of a water pump, but that idea that you could use that on the tree is intriguing. And why stop there? This device could be hooked up to other (multiple) fluid sources to obtain [x item], not sure what else could be suggested to use it on though. Maybe also this could be the instant result giver for sap, rather than waiting on a tap to drip slowly. I imagine it would need lots of resources to craft it as well.

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Maybe the maple trees should have a longer cycle than regular trees (how long is their cycle anyways?)Of course timing when you put taps on them would have to be near perfect. Thinking of a solution is just bringing up more problems (or I'm not thinking straight, I should stop staying up so late.)

Honestly, I think trees should last a year, at the end of winter the trees are in the withered state, in spring they start the growth cycle over again.

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Honestly, I think trees should last a year, at the end of winter the trees are in the withered state, in spring they start the growth cycle over again.

This was probably a balance issue to let players recover from deforestation, but even so the growth cycle still seems too quick for my tastes. As I haven't studied the current tree growth cycle suggesting a change would be premature. Still, I do think trees need a seedling stage at the current growth cycle speed, just to prevent players planting/harvesting immediately.

Also, while trees do lose their leaves during winter (not evergreens, obviously) I don't think they should become withered (last cycle). Even in nature it doesn't work that way, and I personally like the idea of wandering out into the forest during winter to cut down a tree for essential light/warm. It's very seasonal. :)

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yeah i agree, the withered thing was just a way of having the cycle end and the end of winter. i was up most of the night with my boy puking so it was the best idea i could come up with right after opening my eyes lol

my wanting the trees to have a longer life cycle fits with my idea that the map should be much larger. larger map means more trees out there which means they can have a longer life cycle, or any life cycle at all (since, like i said before, trees normally live for thousands of years)

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