The only problem with the Farming Controls. {Suggestion for the Developers}

[[DFS] ⇚Scribble⇛]

Honestly, the farming is done very well in this game for the most part, and with satisfyingly great detail. However, there is one problem that I see with it.

And that is, the Planting controls.
For such a crucial part of the Farming process, which requires precision to achieve a balanced spacing between all the saplings, the game has 2 things that only make that tougher. And it does not feel like that difficulty is meant to be part of the game, rather it's something that is caused by the game's mechanics. I'll address the issues here:

1.) Camera Angle changing while moving.

When you plant rice in an organized and efficient way, you want to be facing a certain direction and moving backwards while planting rice. However, I noticed that while the character is walking backwards, the camera always slowly rotates to either left or right. That really messes up with the player's movement, making it way tougher for them plant rice in a straight line because they often need to take breaks to reorient themselves, and they have to constantly try and keep the Camera steady.

2.) No indicator of where the rice will be placed upon pressing the button.

This is especially a problem because of the abilities you unlock later on, like planting 2 at a time, 3 in a row, or 4 rice saplings at once.
Having an indicator that shows where they'll be placed once you press the button would be very useful, especially since having to fight the rotating camera makes it even easier to mess up your rice placement while using these abilities.

That is all! Thank you for reading this, and I want to remind you that I do wholeheartedly adore this game and hope all the bugs in it get solved just so people can enjoy it even more.
In all honesty, it is out of love that I had to point this out.

And to the Devs, thanks for making such a wonderful and unique game!

[Minneyar]

While it would be nice for the camera to not drift when you're planting, for what it's worth, planting in straight rows doesn't actually matter at all. Only the average distance between seedlings matters, and it's very easy to get the distance balanced when you're planting 4 or 8 at a time even if they're not straight.

[phenir]

A rice planting indicator, while nice, isn't necessary after you have the grid, which you get almost immediately. After you plant a seedling, you should take note how many squares in front of you it plants. Usually it's right in front of you, sometimes it's one or two in front for high planting numbers. I've never not had nice even planting except when it switches planting style when I'm in the middle of planting a row quickly.
As for the camera, it's a little annoying but I understand why the developer did it. Like many of the other steps of raising rice, it makes it feel more like a person is doing it than a machine. Look at drying, sorting, managing the water level, or fertilizer. You don't know how effective any of these actions are until after you do them. I do think there should have been an upgrade though that prevents camera sway.

[F A T B $ $ $ R T D]

it is made difficult on purpose

[[DFS] ⇚Scribble⇛]

Originally posted by Minneyar:

While it would be nice for the camera to not drift when you're planting, for what it's worth, planting in straight rows doesn't actually matter at all. Only the average distance between seedlings matters, and it's very easy to get the distance balanced when you're planting 4 or 8 at a time even if they're not straight.

I see! Thanks for sharing that! I had no idea it worked like that I guess, I thought it was too precise due to the grid, and I thought we had to stay somewhat faithful to the distance shown on it. The skill says that it shows the "ideal" distance between seedlings, so what I do is that I try to place one seedling per square.

I guess it was a lot less precise than I thought, and since my perfectionistic side wants the best quality rice to grow, I stayed too faithful to the grid. Lol

Still though, fixing the camera thing would be a good addition to the game anyway, even if it works out with it being this way. Some people like me might like and prefer doing things properly and keeping a straight line going, so the camera not drifting in that area of the game would be a really nice addition.

[Ryvick]

Be great if this were an option to toggle. It's incredibly tedious and, no, tedious != difficult. It's just tedious. Game design should be focused on what makes it enjoyable. This is just a bad decision they should correct. The walking backwards and awkward view have to be managed either way. Dealing with a drifting camera, particularly with joysticks, is just not fun.