The Big Book fo "WHY????"

Using this thread to answer a lot of common newbie (and others) questions:

1. Why are some things so much cheaper to buy than to make???
The most common answer is that some people have trees or cloud rows that produce these items. There are trees, for example, that produce goats milk, cows milk, honey and pheromones (perfume trees). You can trade for these from other players during the next Gift and Trade event (sadly, these events are infrequent -- once or twice a year). There are cloud rows (https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/faq-magical-beanstalk-cloud-rows.7452/), available to anyone in the Tree of Wisdom (https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/faq-magical-glade-and-tree-of-wisdom.10491/) that produce albino bats and, brown pigs and pheromones (as well as sugar, salt and floral wire -- ) Other trees and cloud rows were won in the past through events or as bonuses (for buying big BB packs, for example), but are no longer available.

Prices might temporarily jump for events. Events that require a lot of mill time may make the prices of feed rise temporarily as people stop making feed, but those prices will almost always go back down right after.

Some people have "jumbo" pens that produce low level breeding animals (halfinger horses, for example) instead of regular base animals. These are won in the gigantic express (another lottery, so BE CAREFUL!)

Other than that, occasionally people just want to get rid of items, make mistakes

2. Where is my cloud row????

To open cloud rows at all, you have to open the beanstalk. You can earn the rows in events before having the beanstalk, then any you have won will appear as soon as to finish the bean stalk quest. NOTE -- you have to add deco items to make the cloud row actually "work". These items can be earned in farmer quests, bought (with CC or BB), gifted to you, won in events or (occasionally) earned as other special prizes/bonuses. Further note, many event cloud rows are "themed". If there is a grey "picture" on the row instead of a white cloud, then you need to have the specific deco item pictured. If the cloud is white, then you can put anything on it.

Be aware that the first rows you will see are those everyone gets. Some of those are locked until you buy them with BB. Page down to see other rows.

3. Why can't I put [beach chair, hi bear nation.... extravagent jury] on my row?
Is there a picture? If so, you need that specific item to fill the spot. Check all your fields to make sure its not "hiding", but if you really don't have it, then you will have to wait for the next gift and trade event (and hope its not one of the excluded items). I have heard that some items can come in the pirate cove chests, but be warned.. the chest is a lottery, you pay and then have a chance at any one of the items on the list.

Is the items upgraded? Upgraded items cannot be placed.

Free items -- some free items, mostly the 1 X 1 items, (the Buddha statute, flower bouquet, etc.) can be used on cloud rows, but many (beach chairs, Hi Bear Nation) cannot. If you are not sure, delete it into inventory and check, But be cautious -- some of the free items can be placed when you first get them, but once "used" (run out), will disappear if deleted.

4. When will they have another Gift and Trade/Baby Boom/Gigantic express event?
Baby booms have tended to come along with breeding quests (that can, of course, change)

Gigantic Express and Gift and Trade events come very infrequently. You just have to wait and see. WARNING -- DO read through the FAQs carefully and also visit strategy forum for ideas before participating in these!!!

Renzo's fair, special sales all come more regularly than the above items, but are not on a regular schedule.

Moonlight mania comes roughly once a month. Its a mini event, but is put on the preview calender.

5. What are these strange items????
Probably event crops. Check the FAQs for details on the specific event. Note that it sometimes takes a bit for items to disappear after an event ends, but they will eventually be traded for EP/CC or whatever is stated in the event FAQ

5 Why can't I get .............?
EVENTs:
Generally, you have to be a specific level to complete particular event level in the "regular" fashion, mostly because you won't be able to get the crop/animal/fruit needed until you reach that level. However, there is often a "cheat" or "get-around" allowing you to use BBs to fill that level. BE VERY CAREFUL, suggest thoroughly scouring strategy forum for suggestions before considering!


6.How do I get [tree, animal, workshop)?
Regular items are gained by leveling up. See FAQs for details.
Baharama items are gained by opening up specific runes in the monkey temple. Note that you do not have to open the chambers completely in "order". You could, if you wanted, just keep opening new chambers and not open any additional statues until all the chambers are open, BUT since sugar cane and parrots don't offer that much BEP, you don't want to do that. You may, however, wish to skip some runes. Visit the thread on Baha in the strategy section for ideas. https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/bahamarama-strategies.12291/

Rare pens are harder, though easier now than they used to be. See the FAQs. Here is the link for rare animal pens. Trees are roughly the same. https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/faq-rare-animal-stables.10515/

Jumbo pens come (as far as I know) only on Gigantic express. See FAQs when it comes around. (It always changes a little.)

7. Why are some players able to finish events so quickly?
Set aside those who use BB to "buy" their way through. (not saying there is anything wrong with that, just its obvious), the short answers are that older players have stockpiles of most regular items and can instantly donate them to events. Most also already have upgraded harvest trophies put into their living legend runes on the tree of wisdom, many have howie donuts or other bonuses that speed up crops. They set up their farms before the event so that they get their longest running crops, high level trees and pens ready to harvest just AFTER the event starts. And, finally, to grow the event crops, they have Carrot Apple Chutney (CAC), turn their fields into 1 X 1 plots (because CAC gives 2 extra items per plot ) and maybe use suzy supergrow ( the propeller item, increases yield by a percentage). For a full explanation, review both the general event strategy threads (here is one https://board-en.farmerama.com/index.php?threads/general-event-strategies.10970/ but note, there are others... ) and, in particular, the thread specific to the event helps (an older player will inevitably post a thread with suggestions specific to the events shortly after the event FAQs are posted -- READ IT !!!) Again.. read the strategy threads about events!!! And above all -- READ THE STRATEGY THREADS about events! For those wanting to delve further, there are also threads on specific issues such as refinements, maximizing cloud rows, etc.

Note that none of the strategy threads are official. Occasionally, particularly if things are changed, there might be errors, but the newer threads in particular are pretty accurate (once in a while, even more accurate than the FAQs, since volunteers have to update those)


8. What do I do with BB/Powerfeed and these other things.. why do experienced players want them so badly?
Again, there are strategy threads that go into this in depth. However, each of these is hard to come by if you are not wanting to just go out and buy them with real money. The BEST idea is to hang onto these until you know the game pretty well, have visited and read through the strategy forum threads on this topic and others. (note I am not referencing these threads because they are constantly updated and added).

Powerfeed is for breeding. You CAN use it to speed up production in workshops and pens, but about the only time this makes sense is if you have to do that to complete an event in time or if you don't mind spending some real money on the game.

People tend to save BB for rare pens/trees and special cloud rows, but again.. opinions vary.. READ the appropriate threads posted in this forum!

9. REAL MONEY?
Some players play entirely for free. It is definitely possible, but takes a lot of time and patience. Most who do this consider it a challenge.

Some people seem able to plop down money constantly without much regard. They naturally advance quickly, have lots of "stuff". Although free playing is allowed, it definitely is the paying players (even those who just play occasionally) who keep the company and game going.

Most spend a little bit of money, carefully. As with BBs, opinions vary WIDELY, but the most common preferences are to use money for the automatic harvester function, to buy cloud rows and maybe other special items (pets, etc. -- see the FAQs). Unless you are in the "don't care what I spend" category, do look through the strategy forum and just pay attention to comments others make in the feedback and strategy sections before deciding what to buy. (again, I am not referencing any specific thread because there are many and they constantly change).


10. AMOUNTS NEEDED/PLANTING:
there are a total of 700 1X 1 plots in all fields (including 188 for Baharama). and 167 2 X 2 (including 40 for Baha)

To maximize event crops, start with 2 X 2. With suzy super-grow (the propeller) and Carrot Apple chutney, you then get 9 per 2 X 2
If you start with 10 seeds, you get 90 first round and 810 the next, more than enough to switch to 1 X 1. (1X1 maximizes CAC since it give 2 extra per plot)

If you start with 5 seeds (events having 2 crops usually give 5 each), then you get only 45 the first round, 405 the second, but by the third round you have enough. HOWEVER, note that each crop will usually mature in a different time and often the event requires different amounts of each, so plan out accordingly

11. Why did my thread/post disappear?
1. Did you receive a warning? If so.. heed it and review the rules. (Both general forum rules AND rules for the specific forum, because they differ?

Did you "double post" (post one thread right after another, even on very different topics?). Did you keep the entire post of someone else when responding?

If you really don't understand you can post a POLITE and positive question asking "why?" or you can try sending an in-game message to someone asking (again, politely) if they know why. However, note that you will not be able to object or protest, only ask for clarification. Also ONLY mod answers are official. Other players can only really offer opinions.
Because the mods try to give only official and accurate information, they may not be able to immediat

2. If you see an [edit] to a post, then you said something mods/farmerama considers inappropriate. The most common reasons are you used foul language or an irate/angry tone. Non-native writers of English should particularly be cautious, both in their own words and in their understanding of what others say. Its easy to misunderstand posts intended to be helpful or humorous, in particular. Don't be quick to assume "the worst" . Most people mean well. Even if the post is not 100% positive, the intent is almost always to offer improvement. Again, if you really and truly do not understand, you can ask (and it might be worthwhile if you are worried about a repeat), but be sure you are just asking and not challenging or arguing.

3. Is the thread old? It might have been moved to the archives, harder to find, perhaps, but still there.


12. Why aren't I getting the information/ answer I want from mods AND how trustworthy is other player information?
Remember that ONLY mod answers are official. Other players can only really offer opinions. Many players are very well informed, but be cautious. This is PARTICULARLY true when there are major changes. (which are not always fully announced) Until the mods give information, consider it all rumor.
Because the mods try to give only official and accurate information, they may not be able to immediately provide details the players want. They try hard not to make mistakes (though of course they occasionally do.. and will admit it in those cases!) Usually responses come in a few hours, but not always. Remember that the mods are all volunteers with their own lives,, have issues/emergencies, etc. (they even take vacations! [gasp]). Also, sometimes Farmerama admins don't necessarily give mods all the information we wish to know or may take a while to give it out, for all kinds of reasons. Again, patience, manners, remembering that mods are volunteers helps a lot. If a mod does make a mistake, remember .. they are human!

In general, information posted in the strategy section is accurate. Errors tend to be "called out" and corrected pretty quickly. However, its still good to be cautious. In many cases, there are different opinions about things and well, no one can help if you misunderstand something because you read too quickly or only bits and snippets of a thread/post. Player information posted in other threads may or may not be accurate. (mod information should always be accurate, though they can make mistakes like anyone else.)

Remember that the "Grapevine" (or whatever the rumor thread is now named) is stated to be RUMOR, unverified. Sometimes you can get hints of things to come, but many times there rumors are just wrong. Be particularly cautious about specific suggestions for crops, animals, etc. The more general the information, the more likely its true.

 

Woody you did a very good work writing this.

 

Great info Woody

 

Thank you!

 

Why is it the one thing you need is still in the old notes not yet "fixed all purty" in newer notes?

One thing you can add as I know I am always going back to it, why does planting in a certain way give me more than just using 1x1 or 2x2"s? "that whole 1x1's go to 2x2's then back to 1x1's.
I know it's somewhere in my notes.........

 

Hi keltic !

1x1, 2x2 makes a difference only if you have activated the Carrot Apple Chutney or Pumpkin Jam.

CAC gives you 2 crop in addition to the normal crops. 2x2 gives you 5 crops. With CAC it gives you 5 + 2 = 7. But if you split 2x2 field as four 1x1, you have four 1x1. Each 1x1 gives you 2 crops + 2 from CAC. Therefore four 1x1 will give you 16 crops.

Which is greater 7 or 16 ? Even if you minus the seeds sowed, you get 6 from 2x2 whereas 12 from four 1x1 fields

So for the same amount of space you get different harvest numbers.

Any more doubts ?

 

Hello 12ss12,
I need to write better, what I mean is to add to the big book of why would be a link to the thread that tells how to start event seeds, I know I am always going back to my notes on it, as I was learn't how many more seeds you get fallowing the formula. Just my thought that it would help the new, just a thought.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about 100keltic
We only start with 10 event seeds these seeds planted in 1X1's with CAC will give you 40 but if planted in 2X2's you get 70.
2X2's are better to start event seeds.
Personally I save my SG and suzy's for events (using a total of 100 of each) using just 2 rounds.

using CAC, suzy's and SG
Round #1 10 seeds planted in 2X2's yields 90
Round #2 90 seeds planted in 2X2's yields 810 (more than enough for all fields to transfer to 1X1's)

compared to using 1X1's still using CAC, SG and suzy's
Round #1 10 seeds planted in 1X1's yields 60
Round #2 60 seeds planted in 1X1's yields 360 (not quite enough and you've still used 70 SG and suzy's)

 

Sorry keltic, I misunderstood your question.
AnnTAngel, you have hit the nail on its head. Precise answer.
d5aisy thanks for the additional explanation.

 

I did not want to repeat older threads, just highlight some questions that keep coming up. However, I have
added it, (thank you annangel and keltic)


Again, thank you all for your help and kind words!