Devlog #5 - Farming

Hey Elyndrans!

We’ve mostly talked about the game’s story and action in our devlogs so far, but this time we want to focus on something different - farming. Since you can choose between going on quests or working the land, let’s dive into the farming side of things!

The Basics

If you’ve tried the demo, you know that farming is pretty simple. Just follow these steps:

• Till the land to make tiles. Sow the seeds. Water them a few times. Harvest. Repeat.

You’ve also got a few easy-to-use tools. To make farming smoother and more enjoyable, you don’t need to switch equipment every time you want to do something different. Just hit the space bar to get things done - except for watering, which demands clicking and holding your left mouse button. It's possible we'll change that in the future. You can sell what you harvest, and some items might also be useful for crafting.

The Details

Farming is pretty chill, and you can take it easy while making progress. But we know some of you want to be as efficient as possible, and there’s plenty to discover and optimize.

First up, soil deterioration. If you overwork the land, it might get mushy or barren. Right now, this happens randomly, but we might tweak it based on your feedback. We’re also thinking about adding more depth to the system - like factoring in fertilizing, watering, and planting the same crop repeatedly.

To fix mushy soil, just sprinkle some gypsum on it. It shouldn’t happen often during regular gameplay, but it’s good to keep some gypsum around just in case. This will help keep your fields looking nice and productive.

Next, plant synergies. Just like in real gardening, some plants grow better together. For example, basil helps keep pests away from tomatoes, while tomatoes give basil shade and support. Radishes loosen the soil and attract bugs that eat pests on lettuce. We’re working on similar pairings in the game that will boost your crop yields. We haven’t decided yet how you’ll discover these combos - maybe through experimenting or other in-game hints. Got any ideas? Let us know!

We’re also thinking about adding crop rotation and other farming mechanics, but it all depends on how the game develops and what players want. We don’t want to pile on features that might not get used, so we’ll see how things go.

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We hope you enjoyed this look into farming in Call of Elyndra. Some players might even make it their main gameplay focus, so we wanted to give it some attention. There’s a lot more to explore, like advancing the story through farming, and we’ll cover that in future updates.

Also, stay tuned for some big news coming soon! If everything goes as planned, we’ll be making a huge announcement. Keep an eye out - you won’t want to miss it!