Farming

[Kevin]

So... I made some pretty radical changes to the way that the farms work in the latest update. Specifically:

All farms only take seeds now (no more item duping) Veggies are in general less satiating (something coming in the next build will help you offset this) Farming takes longer, in general Higher tier farms grow seeds faster Farming gives you one random vegetable (which you can actually see once it is ready to pick) Vegetables have various properties (this will become more important in an update or two) Farms become infertile after a couple of uses, and need to be refertilized before they will work again You can fertilize growing vegetables to accelerate their growthI'm also thinking of adding a way that you could get specific seeds from vegetables that you have grown, if you wanted to grow something specific. (this isn't in the game, currently)

Once you guys have played with the new mechanics a bit, would you mind sharing your thoughts? I wanted to make the farms a) less overwhelmingly effective, b) less turtle-prone, and c) more hands-on. Are these changes a step in the right direction? Edited October 17, 2012 by Kevin

[Toaster Fu]

I think that with some foods being nerfed and having, atleast for me, to run really far for manure it feels like all I have time to do is look for food or starve. I know the game is called don't starve but it's a little tiresome.

[cptCalavera]

Just build som pigs houses nearby for easy manure :)I like it, I think the starving bit really hasnt been an issue, this makes it so its not really effifient to just hang out around ur camp. Still think that getting meat is a bit to easy.

[Toaster Fu]

The rocks for the pig houses are about four BIG islands away and I don't have enough food to make the trip, hence the dilemma. I haven't tried all the new foods so I may be missing something, but I have 32 berry bushes next to my camp and I can eat those in two days.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Toaster Fu

[cptCalavera]

Ah, I can see the problem then. No single rocks closer by? Also there should be plenty of food on the way to the rocks if you have to cross four islands.

[Toaster Fu]

Nope no rocks and besides I'd need three, and one island is a swamp two of them are those thick forests with no food, but one of them does have a few berry bushes just not enough to live. I guess you could say I'm stuck between a lack of rocks and a hard place. But let's not derail the thread with my problams.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Toaster Fu

[cptCalavera]

I would go for a bunch of frogs in the swamp.Anyways, getting a little side tracked. :)About the farms, I think there should be a bigger material-build-difference between the farms. As of now, there is no real point in just saving up for the simplest farm when the medium and advanced is just a few pick ups away.Other than the estetics ofcourse.

Edited October 17, 2012 by cptCalavera

[Kevin]

I would go for a bunch of frogs in the swamp.About the farms, I think there should be a bigger material-build-difference between the farms. As of now, there is no real point in just saving up for the simplest farm when the medium and advanced is just a few pick ups away.

Good point.Currently, there is a significant research cost for the upper tier farms. Once you have them all unlocked, there's not a lot of reason to build the old versions. I should probably differentiate them more. Maybe low level farms are susceptible to rabbits, but can hold more poop? Maybe certain types of vegetables are more likely to grow in different tiers?

[Toaster Fu]

A farm upgrade system would be interesting. There's one farm that you can build, but let's say you specifically want grapes then you could add something to help grapes grow. It doesn't have to be a deep system just some simple upgrades.

[LadyD]

NoooooI hate killing the beefalo but they are such a good source of meat.:(Now I have to hunt them but I likes them.:(Not sure about the new farming system.I glad for the manure idea. Seems like a good one.Not sure about the levels of farms now. They seem need differentiation like you said.The vegetables being lower means I have to spend a lot more time hunting for things to eat. A LOT.Also makes it hard to roam from island to island without running out supplies. Some islands have no food. Which makes it VERY hard.

[Excess]

Farming may be harder now, but remember that its not the only food around. You can still stock on rabbits if you are planning a trip. Whats that? Planning? How do you cook that?

[hwarnack]

So pretty much stock up on flowers, seeds, and manure. I like it. Not sure if its new or not but you can dig up berry bushes, sapling, and grass and replant them at your camp. Just figured that out on my end.

Edited October 17, 2012 by hwarnack

[Toaster Fu]

Ya that's new, I already have 32 berry bushes. Surprisingly not OP.

[cptCalavera]

You can also dig away those pesky rabbit holes when there happen to be to many at an otherwise nice camping site.

[LadyD]

i need to eat those...

[hwarnack]

I did it a few times and it forces out the rabbit then you corner it and bam easy kill. It was in an area were it was impossible to tell which rabbit belonged to what hole.

[sinmist]

I have made giant grass and twig fields lit by fires. I have a massive farm plot field too and tree farms. I'm basically just playing farmville at this point.

[Excess]

My world has a beefalo field right next to a swamp with 2 ponds, and just north of that there's a pig village. So, yeah, I'm stocked on every kind of meat you can think of, FOR FREE! Battles everywhere, it's just insane. I haven't explored almost nothing of my map. I've started farming just to see how it was tweaked, but I won't need vegetables for at least 3 reincarnations more

[Toaster Fu]

I haven't explored almost nothing of my map.

So you have explored your map?

[JoeW]

I think he means that he hasn't not explored nothing that isn't not on his map.

[Toaster Fu]

Ah I see.

......

[cptCalavera]

Haha, good one Toaster :PBack to farming:I think that since berries grow on bushes, they shouldnt also be on the farms. Carrots you can also find in the wild, but they disappear after you pick them. I would like to see them grow back in the wild rather than having them on the farm. But I also see the common sense in farming them, they are carrots after all.And I like the idea of deciding what kind of crop you want to grow on a specific farm. There are a few solutions to this. One is that maybe when the farm is depleted and need new manure. If the first thing you put on it is a vegetable, the farm will produce only that vegetable until you put a new one on there.

[TETLEE]

Ciao!Now that farms can only make produce from seeds, I like it , it makes things more interesting, with the old "magical farm" system (growing your own meat!) things got to easy and too boring very quickly, the new way, is a lot better in my opinion!And also the new tree creature brings a whole new welcomed feeling of fear!I haven't been able to kill it yet so thank god for meat effigy's!Lee x x

[LadyD]

I burned my grass field down when i set that tree monster on fire....I have to admit this new arrangement of farms means i have explored very little. I am having to turtle down to get enough food stores so I can even consider travel.

[Toaster Fu]

So ya I had a MAJOR derp, I didn't know you could cook berries. So instead of 160 hunger points worth of berries I now have 320 points of berries. Make a pretty big deference hunger wise.