Agriculture - Some Guy's Perspective

[Some Guy on Requiem]

I'll preface this suggestion with what I feel to be a needed foreword. As one's intended tone can oftentimes be difficult to infer from text alone. It is not my aim to diminish the systems in place, or thought or work put into them; no matter how direct the writing which follows might be with its criticisms.


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Agriculture isn't in a great place where it stands. I would like to discuss why and offer some opinions on how that might change. We'll start with the bad:


First and Foremost, Agriculture doesn't respect your time. It's puts you on a clock--often as long as 90 IRL hours--where, if you miss the requisite tedious and repetitive tasks you've been assigned, any previous time and effort will be wasted. That's. Not. Good. It means a crop can fail because you had to cover an extra shift at work, or came down with the flu, or were asked out on a date.

Secondly, the act of farming isn't engaging. Whereas skinning involves hunting, geology tunnels through the underground and horticulture has you wander an expansive overmap, Agriculture hits you with a wall of gumps, clicking and backtracking for water/animal droppings. It's easy to miss a crop in those selfsame rows and have it die off.

Thirdly, though it encompasses the act of cooking as well, at current it offers no perks focused on making meals. That's something of a shame, when out of a list of some 18 perks the only ones related to being a chef are those that give you a small increase to infusion for your efforts. The rest being dedicated to marginally reducing how much farming you'll have to subject yourself to.


So, how would we fix it?


First. Fundamentally. I'd change the core gameplay loop around farming. Rather than planting seeds which you then need to babysit to the sometimes exclusion of IG interactions or IRL commitments I change farm plots to work more like claims. Characters being able to set down a plot which has its size/boarders determined by their skill in Agriculture. Managing the whole thing and all that's in it from one time and sanity saving menu.

Crops would come up like they do in public spaces like the foundry fields or wilderness: of their own accord and timers. Rather than failure and wasted time the concerns would shift to security and space--as your crops would no longer be safe from predation from wildlife or fellow players.


Second, we want farming to be engaging. And I think the answer to that is cultivars. Being able to cross one seed with another to produce food / reagents that give differing bonuses. Thus two well-known cooks would more than likely have particular specialties marketed to differing walks of life. A change that would in itself necessitate a shift in how cooking works:

My suggestion would be to, via a perk, have aspiring chefs work off menu to create bespoke dishes. No longer reliant on recipes (and able to save their own). Choosing ingredients, methods of preparation and the graphic of the final product. Even at 100 skill, the most ambitious dishes should still probably have a chance to fail.


Lastly, certainly not least and touched on above: the selection of perks. I'm in the camp that abilities that let you do new things are better than those that let you do old things at a few %'s better or eliminate busywork that probably shouldn't be there to begin with. So, here are a few suggestions off the top of my head:

Communal Farming - Add a friend to you plot who passively contributes some of their own Agriculture skill towards its upkeep and can interact with it's menu

Cultivars - Crossbreed plants and reagents to change the effects they bestow when eaten or cooked

Animal Husbandry - You learn to tame and tend to livestock, gaining access to eggs, wool, meat, dairy or pack animals if that's your preference. Other players can stable animals with you.

Landscaping - You can plant trees, flowers, cut grass and make footpaths. Maybe level uneven ground or dig ditches / moats.

Second-Breakfast - You can eat more, and enjoy the benefits of your two most recent meals rather than just your last.

[Glimmer]

Agriculture is already getting a massive overhaul and we’re all excited to see it!