Want Feedback on Farming and Harvesting

Hey everyone, now that Alpha 3 has been out there for a whole day, I wanted to check in with you on how the farming/harvesting modules are working out. Specifically:

– When you start the game, how do you select where to put your settlement down?
– What UI commands do you use to harvest trees/berries?
– What’s your workflow for creating farms?
– Which crops, and how many of each, do you plant?
– Has anyone yet managed to get two-headed corn?

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I quick start the game, mainly because I only launch the game to test out my mods.

I use the harvest selection tool, on the menu bar.

If you mean how I create farms, I go depending on how long I want to play. If I’m only playing for a short amount of time, I make a small farm. If I am playing for a longer amount of time, I make larger ones (with multiple farmers).

I usually pick a single crop, as I want that to be my town’s famous produce.

I never knew it existed.

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This is exactly the sort of data I was looking for. :wink: Keep 'em coming!

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May I also add that with the multiple farmers, they don’t try to get the same spot, it doesn’t glitch or anything. They just gracefully create the farmland as a team.

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No real method to my selecting a starting place in the starting screen, sometimes just do a quick start. Within the map I get, I just look for a place that is reasonably flat, has some berries nearby and also has some trees.

Just recently discovered hotkey H, drag and drop. Love it.

Usually I have my carpenter create the hoe first for fear of my settlers starving. I get my farmer to create two farm plots, one for turnips one for corn, about this size


and close together like that.

The what now? I don’t think I’ve even seen my farmer harvest any regular types of crops. Have been distracted by bug reports, suggestions, and some game freezes/crashes.

Ooh! Silly me, had not even considered that! Will have to try that next game. Bedtime now, unfortunately.

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i usually find a decent amount of bushes so that i can ensure some food ( at least 6 if possible )

I use the harvest tool for large selections and the button on individual trees and or bushes when i just want one taken down.

2 farmers 1 turnip field and 3 corn fields ( usually about 6x10 or something like that )

Not yet O.o i will edit if i do

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– When you start the game, how do you select where to put your settlement down?
When I want the game to launch quickly (for example to try mods) I use the Quick Start option. But generally, to test new functionality or old bugs I use the New Game option.
I look for the first/second level of terrain down the mountain (because I find more critters there), and a place which has trees but has a clear empty space to build or make a farm (with farms there’s not that much need for berries).
– What UI commands do you use to harvest trees/berries?
I used to click on them and in their harvest button, but now those buttons are gone. If I want to chop several trees I use the harvest command, it helps a lot, less micro-management.
– What’s your workflow for creating farms?
I get the hoe from the carpenter, sometimes I create more than one farmer (if they’re 4 or 5 it’s super fast to create a big farm :smile: ). But I usually don’t make them big, I normally make several little farms varying the crops. Though I haven’t tested enough, because of those bugs… Probably in the future I’ll make medium/big farm plots nicely fenced.
– Which crops, and how many of each, do you plant?
I usually plant more turnips than corn, because I know corn takes more time to grow, and I don’t usually play past the 3rd day u_u
I plant more than enough for my settlers, as they eat like two turnips each when they’re hungry… I think.
– Has anyone yet managed to get two-headed corn?
Not yet, mainly because I plant more turnips. [quote=“Alfie, post:2, topic:6006”]
I never knew it existed.
[/quote]
Another one that doesn’t watch the livestreams ¬¬ …

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It’s not that I don’t watch them, it’s that I can’t. :smile: I can never catch them, they’re mostly during the week.

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Watch the archives! When you have spare time. It isn’t necessary to watch them entirely but it’s really interesting to see the development like that.

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I guess I could do that… I should start doing that, actually. Maybe I could learn a thing or two… :smile:

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And remember Alfie, sleep deprivation is fun! Late-night, mid-week livestreams are a slight nuisance for us Europeans but just too dang irresistible :slight_smile: after all, you missed Tom’s corn anatomy lesson… :corn:

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Usually somewhere near a few berry (quince) bushes. Priority is usually in some sort of circle of trees however.[quote=“sdee, post:1, topic:6006”]
What UI commands do you use to harvest trees/berries?
[/quote]
Click and drag harvesting

Game workflow. Place Banner → Harvest berries and a few trees → Promote Carpenter → Make Hoe - > Promote Farmer → make a 5x5 plot → make 10x10 plot → make another 10x10 plot

Usually two 5x5 plots of turnips, one 10x10 of rice and one 10x10 of corn[quote=“sdee, post:1, topic:6006”]
Has anyone yet managed to get two-headed corn?
[/quote]
I thought it wasn’t implemented. o.o

Also something odd. I noticed that in the last release turnips satisfaction was 20 and 24 while corn satisfaction was 12 and 14. Isn’t this backwards since corn takes longer to grow it should have a higher satisfaction? Haven’t check for this release though.

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That’s what I do, but I guess I’m not fully up to date yet since I didn’t know about two-headed corn. Maybe tonight :slight_smile:

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In the three games I have started (Release 92)…

– When you start the game, how do you select where to put your settlement down?

Bottom level near a wall and six or more berry plants.

– What UI commands do you use to harvest trees/berries?

Menu bar and draw box around berry bushes.

– What’s your workflow for creating farms?

I make a Carpenter right away to get the hoe. Then I tell my people to harvest berries, then cut a few trees. I then promote a worker to farmer, and make farms. I then make six mean beds.

– Which crops, and how many of each, do you plant?

I plant four farms of 10 plants each, 2 beets and 2 corn. I accidentally got a mixed farm this game.

– Has anyone yet managed to get two-headed corn?

No.

Additional feedback: The carpenter needs to be fixed to the level of the farmer. He does nothing once you have made six beds. Also I no longer make a trapper because of the lost worker. Four workers is really small amount to construct any number of buildings.

Edit: The random planting and harvesting seems really odd. Working a row, is ancient practice in farming. It looks really weird to see the farmer randomly pick the next place to work.

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A few berry bushes, with the ability to farm I will now choose a slightly more wooded area rather than ensuring I have 6 berry bushes. I will usually try and place it somewhere between a lot of trees and a nice open space so that I have a good area to build on.

I use the button on the toolbar, haven’t quite mastered hotkeys yet, they’ve always been a bit beyond my capacity as a human being.

Harvest wood - Harvest berries - upgrade carpenter - build hoe - upgrade farmer - place farms.

I usually place two 10 x 10 plots down, one for corn and one for turnips (settlers need variety!), next to each other with a 2 block gap between them.

Nope! The corn gods obviously don’t appreciate my fine farming form.

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So far I have seen this in every screenshot of farming, It looks a bit odd that the farmers randomly till squares inside the farm plot. It would look more natural if the farmers would till an entire row and then work their way across like a typewriter.

Of course harvesting would occur as individual plants matured.

As far as replanting the field, what is everyone’s opinion?
Should the field be replanted once everything has been harvested like IRL?
Or should they replant individually as plants are harvested so there is always peek efficiency?

I would like the replanting to happen all at once at the end.

What does everyone think?

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Yes, I noticed the random tilling as well, looks pretty odd (and it takes longer then working down one row would as well).

As for harvesting/planting, I also would like it work on a per-field basis (ie, harvest the whole field, then replant the whole field). If a player wanted more control then they’d create smaller plots and stagger the planting.

-Will

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from what i can gather it’s using the same pattern as it would use when building a wall. So it maybe that they will implement a proper tilling program or algorithm or whatever it may be that does that action. ( also note the fact they build the farm with a hammer). But yes would be nice for the farms to make more sense .

Another thing is they tend to do all the fields that ripen so you end up with them walking over different fields to harvest which is a little annoying as they then take a lot longer to harvest. i would much prefer them to harvest a field at a time.

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Thanks for all the feedback, guys!

The farmer totally used to farm row by row. We’re not sure which optimization tweak to the pathfinder caused him to go crazy like this, but we’re looking for the source. So, there’s still a chance that it’s all about aliens.

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Aliens wiped the farmers brain and implanted a new Ocd trait that makes them want to plant the whole field all at once, hence constantly changing directions in a desperate attempt to fulfill their programming?

I also seen a hint of some alien technology while digging into the game files. Some unimplemented Farmer Coordination Board. Research suggests that it is an"Advanced communication technology directs and organizes farmers." Sounds sketchy :wink:

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