Is it just me with these events...

I have not finished one in a bit...this veg one...not gonna either. I clear land, power feed, super grow...nothing...why bother...and just do my own thing

 

I long since gave up on events. There are too many, in too quick succession. You ultimately need to choose to be either an event farmer or a farm farmer, because you can't be both; you can't maintain a farm with a well-stocked barn that completes quests, and be a farm that successfully completes every event that comes along - at least not if you're playing for free and want to be at least partially independent (as opposed to buying everything at the market).

Personally, I only go all out for the Christmas events (which are my personal favourites), but everything else I will only do if I don't have anything pressing to do on the farm, and I'll still keep my regular structure of pens and trees, and plant event crops in whatever space remains. I no longer do events to finish them, but rather to get whatever little bonuses I can.

It's disappointing that I can't really compete - I'm a level 92 player who's been around since 2010 yet I still cannot complete events without ripping everything up and dedicating every waking moment to it (and sacrificing sleep). Perhaps my strategy is wrong, but if these events were done right, the "strategy" should be obvious. It seems like these events are increasingly becoming tailored to elite players who strategise for some time, discuss with others, and pay RL money for privileges those of us who don't pay don't have access to. An event like that every now and then is fine, but as I've been saying for close on 6 years (probably), this is marketed as a free game and so it should first and foremost be accessible to those who play for free. Unfortunately I no longer feel that free play and event completion coexist.

 

I work close to full time (single mum with older teenage kids), and I do manage to complete most events with 2/3 of the farm space. I do have a premium membership and pay for harvester. I don't think that makes a huge difference tho, mostly convenience. But it is 2/3 and sometimes all out for an event. It is how the events are designed, to be challenging for those that want that kind of commitment. Even back "in the good old days" it was just like that, the drops were just as elusive, crop:time ratio pretty much the same. The biggest obstacle in any event is the time frame, not the level of your farm. I say this in response to the "I'm a level xx and have played for xx amount of years" - it doesn't really matter much or often. Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn't.

One is free to to want the design and difficult of the event to be different and more in a casual way. Personally I'd like more variation of events for more relaxed farmers and those Squiggle calls elite players.

Actually this is what I am trying to do, (except I may not build up a large stock, I find that boring) but the quests does take a back seat. Out of 241 quests I have finished 125, farm is 2 years old. When I first started I bought some mystery stables and trees, and I got a nice amount from old friends too, so I think I was off for a flying start. I no longer buy stuff. It's not impossible, but it does take a lot longer time.

The only thing I would miss if I were to complete stop paying would be the harvester, the gift slots, and the free water. I still love watering lettuce.

Wise word.

But I still hope people who want change advocate for that.

Edit: I almost forgot, which does change a few things : I do buy PF here and there. Sorry I forgot that. But even that is slowing down as I dislike the breeding and breeding events more and more.

 

Great post Moraine and I agree with a lot, maybe most, of what you say. Only one thing though...

Premium sure, that's mostly convenience. But the harvester is a game changer for many. First year I played (2013) I spent no money at all. My event strategy back then was about figuring out how many days I needed to have the 1x1 plots with CAC, and how many days I could get away with doing 2x2 plots. Being stingy with my coupons I would usually have enough to do the events, but now, with so many more events I am sure that is impossible. Manually harvesting event crops in 1x1 plots 3-6 times a day takes a lot of time and dedication, and is no longer just a matter of convenience in my opinion. Personally I would not play this game without harvester, perhaps if I changed game style dramatically. But I like the events, so...

 

same thing here...I practically live on the farms...I use to always finish...now its hit or miss

 

As long as I can find enjoyment in the game and real life permits then I will play. I work full-time yet have some flexibility. I have times when rl work obligations mean for me that the game must be turned off. And the game being off may go on for days or weeks at a time. I have family obligations and a genuine love for them and they come first.

This farm has always been a totally free farm. I choose to spend -0- of my entertainment budget on any online game. However, if there was one single item I would ever purchase, it would be the farm equipment. I will joke with lady friends and every once in a while get a lady harvester. (I've learned they are more expensive than the game farm equipment though.) I will try and get anyone to click click click. The farm still has many hours of farm equipment coupons available to it in quests.

Events are rarely done to simply complete them and virtually no strategy is used. Work obligations rarely will permit planning to play a game for a week at a time. The number of events or sequence does not concern me because I cannot plan for them anyway. Events often play into one another and many have been completed by shear chance.

Most important to me of all: If at anytime the game remotely begins to feel like work, .... off goes the game. This game is for enjoyment and I can get paid RL funds to work.

I agree with others that there is no correct way to play this game. However, I have learned that there is an efficient way to play this game and that every aspect of the game may be done well simultaneously if done efficiently. Each to their own and I respect that. I have been fortunate in being able to apply what I have learned in real life in analyzing this game. And for me this application of skills is an enjoyable academic review and little more. When it remotely becomes work or boring, all must stop.

I have found no end to the use of EV analysis in the game when viewed as a whole and simple applications of EV analysis in events.

The breeding aspect of the game captured my imagination after an extended period of time. The farm does not purchase anything including power feed and I am often tempted to do so. Capturing nearly 378,000 breeding results from others allowed a fairly precise understanding of the breeding activity in this game. And my time was applied consistently in locating the information. Yet such an understanding is virtually useless to me in my rl work; this is a game. Time was required and we never seem to have enough time available in order to do all we wish to do.

Many wonderful players have been met while playing this game. As long as there is enjoyment for me in playing this game then I will continue. Whenever that enjoyment ceases ....... goodbye.

 

It would be useful if you could give a few details... Time and/or no harvest machinery seems to me to be the most likely obstacles. You imply that lack of time for the farm is not the problem. Do you buy machinery? Or is it farm space that is the problem? I have the impression (might very well be wrong) that you have a lot of stalls/trees or something that you don't take down for events. Is that the problem?

 

Agreed. Unfortunately, not everyone does. It would be nice if those who don't have the same desire or ability to commit could still enjoy an event every now and then that they had a chance in. The events are very much tailored towards a specific group of players and if you don't fall into that demographic of commitment, time etc. you are left out. It's a shame.

Drops-wise I agree, but events these days seem to call for much higher quantities of crop (despite not reducing growing time or event length). There also seems to be a much bigger reliance upon mill products; almost every event now includes mill products, whereas 8 years ago this was not the case - of course they had a place in the game, but not every event. If you can't grow the required amount for milling these days, you can't compete - it again locks a lot of people out of the event.

Farm level makes a huge difference in events. A higher level player has more experience and, importantly, resource access that lower level players don't. Higher level players are more likely to have a greater stock of buffs (for example), and be experienced in how to set up a farm and use those buffs in the most efficient and effective way possible. A lower level player may not be aware of the best and most fruitful use of farm space or buffs. Further, a higher level player will likely have more stars etc., enabling them to collect more water and manure. Completing an event with a maximum storage of 550 manure vs 100 is a very different thing. They likely have a greater stock of supergrow, and for events which require barn items, are more likely to have these items a) at all and b) in the quantities required. They will have more animal pens, so more manure sources. They will have more CCs to buy manure, pheromones, animals, crops etc. from the market. At a primitive level, they may have access to more land than lower level farmers, who are yet to unlock various lands or sections of land. Farm level rarely determines whether you have access to the events, but it makes a surprisingly large difference in the extent to which you can participate.

 

hi,
I dont take the magical glade---well on rare occasions I do...I will clear the green meadow for an event.
I have my fields as 1x1. I use CAC, Easter Marmalade, zucchini bread, carrot bread and obatzda(for sugar)
I have buffs from the 202 cloud rows
I am a level 163
I will use power feed in the beginning and super grfow.
I have the premium package which includes so I have all the planting and harvesting tools.
I always have power spins so I will use those until I get a plus 1
All my lands are opened
Baha I am 414 and I will take down 2 of the fields to plant crops that grow there...

So thats my farm...I know if I throw a bunch of money I wont have a problem. I will buy the power feed and always have tons of super grow

So whar can I improve on...always open to suggestions...

 

Totally agree.

Yup, when it's becoming a chore - away it goes. Life have enough "Must", "Should", "have to", don't need fun to become one of those

I have to confess my memory is after CAC was introduced. Before I vaguely remember events. I think there has been very little variation of numbers, it's all a ratio game, number of fields, days of the event. BUT yes the milling is a new found love of BP, hate it. Totally rigged to help the sale of the mill subscription. Wish I could rent out my mill for cc. It's idle a lot of the time.

Only up to a certain point. You need long time crop for drop boost, and you need trophies to be of a high level. I rarely use manure unless it's really long time crop and I need to tweak it to fit my life. Water - addicted. SG and SSG, it helps, but not huge amount is needed, and not every time. One do need Cac for the events I think. For those that is a bit eager, it's not hard to earn those CC. If one pays attention to the market, there is a lot of Cc to be made. For those of us that find the market boring, it's much harder.

No Idea, you do more than I do. I do take down the glade and waterfall if I think I will struggle (RL, the strategies on the forum).

I love discussing these things. Although I might not change my mind much, I find great wisdom in others perspectives. And There is always room for improvement.

 

Me2 is there different confec and bakery items I should use? I have insomnia so I even harvest during the nite.

 

It seems that you are not in lack of resources or time as you say.
It must be something else then.
If I understand correctly you maintain one field in the main farm and one Baha field for trees.

Are your problems related to the crops or the drops?
If it is crops then either you are not allocating enough space for the event or not collecting frequently enough.
As you say not collecting frequently enough is not the case

If it is drops then you probably only need a nudge in the right direction.
A simple example:
Maintaining animal pens with a 2x2 size is not drop efficient compared to 1x1 fields with equivalent timed crops.
You can only get 1 drop out of a 2x2x space.
The effect is much more apparent when the drops required in an event are large, as in the current event.

 

So, do you use both green meadow and main field? Or only green meadow?

With both green meadow and main field, machinery, 1x1 plots, CAC, 10 super grow and 10 suzys super grow, most events are doable IF you have enough time to harvest and resow. I know because that is how I finish events. The first thing I do when a new FAQ is out is to check the total crop number (I never worry about drops). With 400 1x1 plots total on main and meadow, one round of growing event crops yields a net result of 1200. I take out my calculator and divide the total crop number by 1200. The number I get is the number of rounds of event crops I'll have to grow. Then I divide that number by 5 days, to see how many rounds are needed per day. (I use 5 and not 6 because one first needs to build up the enough starter seeds, and I like to know I can finish a bit before the deadline, so I calculate with 5 growing days.) Then I check the number of rounds per day and the growing time of the crop, to see if that is realistic.

Example: The veggie party required a total of 20,000 crops. Divide by 1,200 crops per round, 20,000/1,200= 16.7. I round up to 17 and divide by 5 growing days, 17/5= 3.4. So I need two days with 4 rounds and three days with 3 rounds, 2*4+3*3=17. Growing time of the event crop was 4.5 hours, reduced to 3.6 hours with water. Three rounds of that per day is not a problem for me. Fitting in 4 rounds a couple of days should be fine too, but if not there are other options. I'll probably squeeze in a full round the first day after getting enough starter seeds (events start at 2pm my time), and I'll be able to get a last round on the day the event ends. If I'm desperate I could even grow event crops overnight a couple of times (again, I don't have to worry about drops). Thus I have a plan, get at least 3 harvests a day and squeezing in a couple more should not be a problem.
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@elimeno, can you see where it breaks down for you? Do you plan how many harvests you need a day? In the veggie party event, could you get the three harvests a day? If so, was it difficult to get the two extra harvests? Or did you only use the green meadow for event crops? If so, it is clear that you need more land to finish events.

Only thing that helps with event crops is CAC (or PJ, pineapple cake etc. but they are obviously not so good), and of course harvest bonuses from the wheel if one is lucky enough to get that.

 

I used to be of the opinion that if I paid to play, it would cease to be fun and I might get wound up when things don't go as they should.

I finished working in February and hoped to spend more time doing other things but it didn't quite happen that way. Because I could, I was spending way too much of my precious free time farming. I have had this farm since 2010 and still love it as much but with all the fields there are these days, I spent a lot of time doing mundane things and rushing or missing the fun stuff. I have also missed finishing a few events due to my inability to do everything in the time given.

I decided i would try out the special offer of harvester functions which seemed reasonable. It did not include the CR nor the breeding functions (except the harvester part) but I was still sold!

I could not go back to using my harvester coupons only when absolutely necessary and manual harvesting/planting etc other times. It was a choice, give up the farm I love completely or pay for the harvester functions. And you can probably work out which I chose!

I can do all my farm "work" within about one hour a day, including my two non mechanised farms (though they don't do much, about 5 minutes each one daily) and I can either do other things or dabble about on the farm with long term projects. If an event requires more crops, then I can easily rip out an extra field and put it back after.

I still won't buy anything with real money that helps me finish events, not that I have a problem with that, it's just that I prefer to work out my own strategy and achieve my goals without paying for it.

I suppose this is what BP hopes for - farmers get fed up with doing everything by hand so knuckle under and put their hand in their pocket. Yes, this is supposed to be a free game and I have played it for eight years that way, now I am retired, I want a bit of luxury on my farm!