I've been playing DS & DST for years and always feel down for farm plot that little yield and less caring needed
since the fishing simulator had been implemented in RoT
I enjoy the contents after I've learnt and get used to it, even feel I'm already super skilled on sailing and fishing
that makes me think would we have much more realistic farming simulator?
look at the farm plot we have now, they yield only one crop after days without giving care
or giving few manure and they pop out a crop in 1 second
to farm many crops and sustain a group of people, we need to build tons of farm plots ( I will not be talking Wickerbottom or Wormwood here )
and the farm plot is rarely used by players for food sustaining, even they are actually the only farming way in this Survival Game
most players more often use some tricky build to farm pigs and bunnymen to sustain entire server
here is my thoughts after combining some mechanics that is already in-game:
1. a) we should be able to watering farm plots everyday or every few days to speed up the crop grow
- if we don't water crops, they still grow but taking a bit longer time ( which stay the same as now )
- fertilizer like manure can be used once per crop life stage to get extra speed up instead of instant growth
b). empty bucket to support 1.(a)
- craft at science machine with woods and rope
- can be filled in water ( works like the oar, you can equip bucket and interact with sea or pond and get a bucket of water )
- equip bucket of water allow you watering crop in farm plot ( each bucket should be able to water few farm plots before it need refill )
2. farm plot yield 1~3 of same crops per harvest
- the main reason farm plot is down because they yield only one crop which is less efficiency to sustain food for groups or personal
- number of crops harvested should be like 1 crop(100%), second(50%), third(25%)
- for any fertilizer use to grow crop ( a fourth crop yield increase at 10% )
- (optional) Wormwood player have 25% chance to find one seed on harvesting and 10% chance to find 1 same type of seed as crop harvest
3. make a utility difference between Farm Plot and Improved Farm Plot
- Improved Farm Plot have 80% chance to keep crop watered( the effect won't happen again until player water the crop at third time )
- the crows might steal your crop after it fully growth
- a crop stolen from Farm plot happen at 20% per day if it's not harvested, Improved Farm plots at 10%
- a scarecrow protect farms in 6 tiles won't be stolen
4. an unknown random seed grow into a mandrake at 0.01%
- when the chance is triggered, the seed grows extra slow. Without giving care, it will be fully grown in 30-45 days
- a fully and healthy care will take 15 days to grow it
- it always yield only one mandrake on harvest, using fertilizer only speed up and no extra harvest