Mid-game agriculture question

[Trueblue1878]

I'm just wondering how do people cope with keeping the large plots of land planted? I don't really understand how we are meant to expand when we have no hired workers.
It feels like just keeping on top of the work at the family farm is enough.
Maybe I'm missing something. Do we get to buy bigger sowing and plowing attachments or something?
Would love to hear people's strategies for mass farming and how you actually manage to do it.

[bartiss]

You are not missing anything.
This is "just" one of many bad design decisions we made along the way.

You are not meant to expand AND try to work all your landplots by yourself.
That's simply impossible unless you cheat or use Own Rules mode with timeflow speed set to realtime. And even then it would be too much work.

What you are meant to have is: FUN.
If you want to try to turn entire Zalesie into an enormous plantation, do it.
Otherwise just work as many fields as you like (and are able to manage).

Yes, there was supposed to be "helping hands" mechanic when we started, but we had to change plans and now you can upgrade several landplots into farms.
They will produce the goods you choose and sell them to the market (you only get your share in money).
So it kind of is "hiring a workforce" mechanic.

Permissions are just steps towards such an upgrade.
We discussed dropping permissions but decided against it both for backwards compatibility sake and because our early access players already paid for most of them.

[TheOriginalMark:-)]

@bartiss Things you could do that would help a little

Tighten up the steering on the tractors. I know these old tractors had pretty loose steering, I've driven them, but with only the keyboard and no support for steering wheels it's impossible to drive in a straight line.

Make the plough a bit better so that it does not miss so many random spots (seems to work better going north that south for some reason).

Make a proper attachment mechanism for equipment to the tractors, rather than the current "elastic bands" system that seem to be used.

---

I only farm a small strip in the field next to the farm, about 20 metres by 80, just enough to fit 100 oat and 100 wheat, and it takes me the whole of a day (ie a MONTH) to plough and fertilise it.

Don't get me wrong, I love this game, its originality is beguiling but sometimes the fun becomes sheer frustration.

I'll grant you that "sheer frustration" does pretty accurately simulate a farmers life though.

[Trueblue1878]

Originally posted by bartiss:

You are not missing anything.
This is "just" one of many bad design decisions we made along the way.

Personally I just think they need to add workers and it becomes a great design decision. Look at how Medieval Dynasty have done it.

You are not meant to expand AND try to work all your landplots by yourself.
That's simply impossible unless you cheat or use Own Rules mode with timeflow speed set to realtime. And even then it would be too much work.

Yes, I was going to ask is there a way to slow down time and make the game less pressured?

What you are meant to have is: FUN.
If you want to try to turn entire Zalesie into an enormous plantation, do it.
Otherwise just work as many fields as you like (and are able to manage).

I just want to play the game to its fullest potential and that seemed like the logical endgame goal but feels like they've maybe changed their mind and decided to "downsize" the game a bit?

Yes, there was supposed to be "helping hands" mechanic when we started, but we had to change plans and now you can upgrade several landplots into farms.
They will produce the goods you choose and sell them to the market (you only get your share in money).
So it kind of is "hiring a workforce" mechanic.

I'll try it out thanks. But I would rather be able to have more control and interaction with the other plots.

Permissions are just steps towards such an upgrade.
We discussed dropping permissions but decided against it both for backwards compatibility sake and because our early access players already paid for most of them.

I hope that you decide to expand these things rather than simplifying them tbh, or else it just feels like a short adventure game with a flavour of simulation while it has so much potential to be much longer and both an adventure game and a simulator!

Cheers

[bartiss]

@Trueblue1878
Adding a real workforce means:
1. New management layer (hiring, paying, assigning tasks, firing)
2. New NPCs with an AI actually doing the things you told them to
3. Dealing with "player managed to produce 10000000000 carrots" kind of issues.
4. All the things I didn't realize yet :)
Miedieval Dynasty team can afford it. We can't :(

The only way to control the flow of time is to start a new game with "Own rules" on.
You get a new menu that let's you disable animal diseases, product rotting and even the death itself.
The downside is you will not be awarded any achievements in this mode.

I'm not exactly sure we need to make Farmer's Life longer. We can see many player already passed 200 hours mark :)
Steam says average play time is above 24 hours.

Still, we don't plan to cut out or simplify anything. On the contrary. There are new things coming.

[Facka_ASCQR]

Originally posted by bartiss:

You are not missing anything.
This is "just" one of many bad design decisions we made along the way.

You are not meant to expand AND try to work all your landplots by yourself.
That's simply impossible unless you cheat or use Own Rules mode with timeflow speed set to realtime. And even then it would be too much work.

What you are meant to have is: FUN.
If you want to try to turn entire Zalesie into an enormous plantation, do it.
Otherwise just work as many fields as you like (and are able to manage).

Yes, there was supposed to be "helping hands" mechanic when we started, but we had to change plans and now you can upgrade several landplots into farms.
They will produce the goods you choose and sell them to the market (you only get your share in money).
So it kind of is "hiring a workforce" mechanic.

Permissions are just steps towards such an upgrade.
We discussed dropping permissions but decided against it both for backwards compatibility sake and because our early access players already paid for most of them.

How do you upgrade plots to farms?
Do I need to complete all the quests in order to get that option?

[Cop Unit 12]

View most of the farm fields as Forestry. Trees take some time to grow and don't give you a ton.

[cattyh28]

it is doable, but I have done it by using the whole plot, plus the large plot to the left and relying heavily on fruit farming and an incorporated apiary, so I do not have to replant that bit every year, The biggest issue is manure, because collecting that takes too much time, and as my chosen animals are horses and sheep due to time constraints, the sheep have taken the lead in manure production.

Sheep also value interesting fields apparently, they hated the front of the property but they have a woodland pasture now and they seem to quite like that. If you have a lot of land, you just plough anew until you have collected sufficient manure to replenish last years. You won't have fields of stuff by any means due to the seed buying restrictions anyway.

It is more of a market garden game than a farming game really, I have taken it as a challenge to see how much one person can do in a day, which means poor Kasimir doesnt have much time for fun or chasing girlies but he does have a spectacular orchard. Ideally you would spend March prepping the land, April sowing seeds you had hoarded all winter, May catching up with everything else and your mornings are basically wiped out with animal feeding.

I've become a lot more fuel reliant since I expanded which is a bit of a worry. Was it intentional that Fluffy doesnt like sheep??? He demanded to be switched to the cow pasture by repeatedly breaking out and pooping everywhere until I switched him. He seems much happier now..

[Tregon]

Originally posted by cattyh28:

it is doable, but I have done it by using the whole plot, plus the large plot to the left and relying heavily on fruit farming and an incorporated apiary, so I do not have to replant that bit every year, The biggest issue is manure, because collecting that takes too much time, and as my chosen animals are horses and sheep due to time constraints, the sheep have taken the lead in manure production.

Sheep also value interesting fields apparently, they hated the front of the property but they have a woodland pasture now and they seem to quite like that. If you have a lot of land, you just plough anew until you have collected sufficient manure to replenish last years. You won't have fields of stuff by any means due to the seed buying restrictions anyway.

It is more of a market garden game than a farming game really, I have taken it as a challenge to see how much one person can do in a day, which means poor Kasimir doesnt have much time for fun or chasing girlies but he does have a spectacular orchard. Ideally you would spend March prepping the land, April sowing seeds you had hoarded all winter, May catching up with everything else and your mornings are basically wiped out with animal feeding.

I've become a lot more fuel reliant since I expanded which is a bit of a worry. Was it intentional that Fluffy doesnt like sheep??? He demanded to be switched to the cow pasture by repeatedly breaking out and pooping everywhere until I switched him. He seems much happier now..

Fuel thing means you should start chasing girls. Lovely Sophia keeps filling my pantry with fuel cans and forces me to drag them out and I do not yet use so much fuel it would be all consumed.

But eventually... Regardless, she is quite lifesaver providing fuel.

[cattyh28]

yeah but everyone seems to end up with Sophia to avoid racing, I had set my heart on Helen since I do not have the option of putting him with henry and having a big old gay flower farm

[Tregon]

Originally posted by cattyh28:

yeah but everyone seems to end up with Sophia to avoid racing, I had set my heart on Helen since I do not have the option of putting him with henry and having a big old gay flower farm

I did not choose her due to racing, but for fuel and ammo. :)

[Suelyn]

Originally posted by bartiss:

We can see many player already passed 200 hours mark :)

*sniffs disdainfully* beginners :P

Originally posted by Tregon:

I did not choose her due to racing, but for fuel and ammo. :)

I have to agree, I always end up choosing Sophia (I've tried them all in various play-throughs), the fuel she provides is simply far more useful than any of the other wife benefits, plus you get the reduced prices buying permissions from the Mayor.
Besides, you get nice rewards for completing the marriage questlines for the other ladies in addition to your wife, so I certainly am not avoiding any racing (or fistfights with super granny).

[cattyh28]

Poor Sophia