Hello all
We’ve got some exciting news to share - we’ve been working on the highly-anticipated Farming feature for some time, and we’re now able to explain how the system will work in Boundless.
In the most basic sense, Farming will work around cultivating and harvesting various types of Crops. There are different categories of farmable material, and a wealth of variables which will need to be taken into account to run a successful Farm.
The different types of Crop are as follows;
Organic - the classic uncooked Food you’d typically find in Boundless. Think Earthyams and Starberries - or the new Kranut, used in Oils and other Recipes.
Inorganic - these are Fuel Items, including Resources brand new to the game, such as Goo - this is a means of producing Colour Sprays, which we’ll go into below.
In a later update, the plan is to expand the farming system with more types of Crops. These are known as Decorative - these will increase prestige in your Beacons and are the only crops which are temporary. Think flowers and other ornamental plants.
All Organic crops will require daylight to grow. Irrigation is another important aspect of farming, and so placeable water and lava will also be introduced with this system (lava is used to irrigate Inorganic crops). By extension, this means that Inorganic farms will be able to be grown underground.
Some grow down rather than up i.e from the bottom of a block rather than the top. Think vines (Starberry) or Stalactites (Goo) coming from the ceiling. I’m looking forward to seeing some great underground Goo farms for example.
Modifiers are in place to increase the speed and yield of crops. These include such variables as what the crops are planted in, what they are planted near, and their proximity to liquid. So for example, Earthyams planted in a certain type of soil, near another type of vegetation, and within a certain distance of water (or perhaps even partially underwater), will grow faster and more abundantly than those planted in a less efficient location.
There are a few new items that’ll help you in your farming endeavours. Firstly, the Hand Tiller is a tool, created at a workbench, which is used to increase the yield of organic crops by preparing the soil. Unprepared soil will still yield crops, but for the best results, you’ll want to get hold of one of these. There are two kinds of fertilizer too, with Oortian Mulch improving yield on organic crops, and the Hi-Octane Cultivator improving the results on both organic and inorganic crops.
Another cool new feature we’re introducing with this update is the Painting system. Goo kernels are found on Gem or Lucent Exoworlds, growing on cave roofs. Their base colour is determined by the rock they are found on (or sponge, which they like best - little pro tip for your there). The atmosphere in which they are farmed will provide a tint to the Goo Pigments which are then harvested.
These Pigments are then placed in the Pigment Processor, which mixes colours to produce an output colour in the form of a Spray. This Colour Spray is then used to paint natural blocks and props - think Wood or Stone. This will open up a new area of building, as players are able to decorate sections of their builds in the colour of their choosing. Doors, furniture, and anything else made of suitable materials can be coloured.
In an even more exciting development, you can start to experiment with Farming today, as we’re just lining up a testing update! Please see the release notes here. Enjoy!
I’m sure I’ll be sinking a lot of time into farming and painting!