Technology will advance as we make our way through Elyria's timeline. So you may start with hoes and mattocks and have to till the land yourself, then wooden plows might come about, followed by iron plowshares to make them more reliable, horse/ursaphant/trison-drawn plows etc etc. So that would be one aspect. Being able to afford these items as soon as they're researched could give you a big edge over competitors. Same with irrigation technology etc.

Then as we discover new continents no doubt there'll be a killing to be made for farmers who bring the first exotic seeds back to cultivate on the mainland. Just some thoughts of mine. :)

Generally for me almost every crafting or harvesting profession can get repetitive and boring and I feel farming will do the same. However with the introduction of mini games or perhaps random obstacles to overcome it help relieve some of the boredom. Perhaps you discover you need to prevent the migrating insects from ravishing your crops. Perhaps you have rocks you must remove in order to properly till the land. And every so often perhaps a blight sets upon the land that you have to deal with. These hardships coupled with the ever persistent research for new and better techniques my make the farming life less of a chore.

I too am wanting to start up a large farm with seed and possibly livestock. I know they are talking about research so there is the possibility of working with better tools, irrigation and feed for livestock. As for weather, I guess it depend on what biome you are in. Times of winter will make the grain farmer focus on other things. Perhaps he tends to livestock or maybe some other trade that helps him with his farm. There are so may possibilities.

I feel the farmer will also have to spend time negotiating with his purchasers, hiring help for protection from pillagers, I think there will be a fair bit to do.

The devs have already shown that they have mini games built in as part of various mechanics. Weapon crafting for example involves you actually tracing the outline of the weapon, so we may see similar things with farming. Granted, I don't want farming to be overly time consuming or complicated, I do want to have time to do other things.

Don't forget about Whack-a-mole!

I see 2 reasons why farming won't be as boring that contradict each other:

1 - It's not just planting a seed, waiting x hours, gathering and repeating. You will have to keep an eye on everything - is your crops watered, do you need to weed out unwanted ones, are they healthy or dying to the disease / insects / wild animals, can you improve their growth - add fertilizer, improve temperature, reduce humidity etc. So you will always have something to do.

2 - Quite the opposite, farms/gardens do not need you to watch them grow 24/7, if you set everything right you have time for other activities, so you won't get bored of it quickly. Especially since you will barely grow anything during winter.

How can you become farmer supreme:

(You build communism...no nvm that)

I believe first you will improve your own ability to do all the dirty work, with higher farming skill you plow/gather/plant faster and gather more stuff from a single node, but the potential and "endgame" will come from knowledge. Because of different biomes, different crops will grow faster or slower, so you will need to know what's the best for your current location, by farming for several years you will eventually learn what is the best moisture/temperature for certain plants, you will know how to create different fertilizers that are much better, maybe you will learn how to create some herbal "pesticides" to keep plants safe etc. In addition to that I wonder which profession has more potential to learn how to store food efficiently, since after farming you will need to keep food from rotting I see how more experienced farmers can keep food fresh for much longer time.

Also - never underestimate people need for decorations, I believe many people will want to have flowers or different flora in their house, so maybe as experienced gardener you know good way to preserve plants indefinitely.

Also - never underestimate people need for decorations, I believe many people will want to have flowers or different flora in their house, so maybe as experienced gardener you know good way to preserve plants indefinitely.

Ooo COE flower shop! :)

There will likely be a wide range of crops. Some will fare better than others in the right biomes and depending on the seasons and your level of care.

High end graphics invariably make it more enjoyable. After all, gazing across a beautiful field of golden corn, the warm embrace of the sun casting a soft golden glow as the plants gently sway in the wind... thats eye candy potential if done well.

Aside from that there's lots of minigame potential. You may even get small pests hiding across your crops waiting to be spotted :)

Posted By Hellmoon at 12:35 PM - Tue Mar 28 2017

Also - never underestimate people need for decorations, I believe many people will want to have flowers or different flora in their house, so maybe as experienced gardener you know good way to preserve plants indefinitely.

Ooo COE flower shop! :)

Now that may be a viable option.

I think CoE's farming will be quite fun due to several factors.

Weather will be a dynamic ever changing consideration for the aspiring farmer. Do you plant your best crops even though the sky is saying it will be a hot dry summer? Do you harvest early when the weather shows signs of a late spring blizzard? Weather alone will make farming more than a matter of "insert seeds in dirt and wait".

Other things that might add to the complexity of farming are Pests and Bandits stealing crops to eat (Or re-sell) right off your land! Maybe your farm is on a highly traveled route between towns and passers-by stop and pick your apples! How do you handle that?

Plant diseases are something else to consider as well. Will you be able to heal your dying corn crop or lose out on a season's worth of harvest? Will your potato crop catch the blight and rot in the ground before you even know they're hit?

Farmers will need to be smart in CoE (As far as I can tell!) in order to keep their crops safe, and harvestable!

Then of course, the flip side of farming the plants is selling the harvest! That may be another fun thing for farmers to delve into! Produce processing as well! Turn those grapes in to jelly and jam for instance!

Well, the last RL farm that I was on had a lot more things happening than just planting and harvesting. There were animals to breed and tend, food to prepare, candles to make, cloth to weave, clothes to sew, products to sell, ect... Farms are a beehive of activity. In CoE, we get to deal with bandits and maurading herds of animals trying to eat the crops. I also plan on farming in CoE.

Meaningful trade (non-trivial to transport goods over distance) Item decay (produce has a finite lifespan and will rot) Biomes and weather Survival mechanics (PCs, NPCs and animals need food)

So prerequisites are all things we expect to see anyway. How this factors in to advanced farming: Farming isn't about being able to grow something, it's about being able to grow large quantities and produce a surplus.

For this to be important we need only that everyone needs food and supplies, and that those things can't be stockpiled forever. So there's demand.

Advanced farming could be about maintaining supply in difficult conditions. Growing crops in a climate where they might usually struggle. Managing what you grow to survive harsh weather.

If certain biomes make some crops hard to grow, and it's difficult to transport produce over long distances, then good farmers can be in demand.

Add in some mechanic for altering the soil over time and we could really be on to something. Depending on irrigation, how you cycle crops, what you grow, what you put on the soil, how you work the ground, wildlife, etc. perhaps you can make the soil better adapted to growing certain things than it would naturally be.

This lets farmers build something up over time, make progress and get to where they have a much more "powerful" farm than they did before. Perhaps some ingredients which are highly prized can only be grown in useful quantities on a highly developed farm.

It also creates a stronger connection between the players and the land - not just the farmer but those who need their produce.

Finally, of course, it may make unscrupulous nobles cast envious eyes on that land if they need it, so extending far beyond simple gathering mechanics.

Posted By Selique at 2:19 PM - Tue Mar 28 2017

Then of course, the flip side of farming the plants is selling the harvest! That may be another fun thing for farmers to delve into! Produce processing as well! Turn those grapes in to jelly and jam for instance!

You bring up a good point, one of my favorite things to do in Stardew Valley was to turn my produce into something, mix different things to create mixed jams or pickle different things, exercise my creativity (like...ooo what if I put potatoes in the fermentation vat and not grapes, POOF vodka - or potato juice in SDV) - most multiplayer games don't support that, and if they do (like AA) they don't do it in a way that improves the farming experience.

Part of me feels like most MMO's are like, eh farming? It's a means to an end, it doesn't need to be fun because there will be other fun things to do with its output. WELL, I say it does and should be fun just like any other profession :P

Glass manufacture is a profession. Carpentry and building are professions. Potential to research hot-houses down the track?

What games have you played where you enjoyed the farming?

I would be interested to know what you guys think about the farming in Life is Feudal.