Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

Thorware · 2018-03-19 11:45:48

The backbone of a village is its food supply. Without a solid food supply, everyone dies. Why then do villages constantly spring up around carrot patches in the grasslands? Carrot patches need water, and there is no water in grasslands. Water must therefore be shuttled back and forth all day in rabbit skin pouches. Such a waste of time! And if there is ever a break in your water supply chain, perhaps while you are nursing several infants, God help your village.

I can think of three reasons this happens. First, fertile soil is in grasslands, so it's natural to want to just dump the soil near where you found it, then think about building your farm there. Second, farming in grasslands just seems intuitive based on real life, it seems like a fertile place. Third, grasslands are where the berry bushes are, so there is a bit of supplemental food while you are just starting your farm and getting your bearings.

But wild berry bushes in grasslands work best for supporting lone explorers and small expeditions, not village populations! They have huge diminishing returns in a growing village.

The most lively and stable villages and towns I have spawned in have all shared one feature in common: They are in the swampland! There is plenty of water all around, making watering the carrot patches easy, which is the key to producing food constantly in a location that does not move, eg a village!

When I see a small grassland farming village, I tend to try to migrate the dirt patches into the nearest swamp. I know that future Eves that stumble upon my swampland farms have a much better chance of building a stable village there than if they found the grassland farm.

One problem is that it can get cluttered in the swamp with all of the massive and messy-looking trees. If you have access to an axe, chop down all of the swamp trees. There are two types, and they produce absolutely nothing when you click on them, so they are safe to simply chop down with prejudice. (Of course future updates may incorporate something with these trees and make the decision to completely deforest the swamps regrettable, but I must operate within the ruleset I am currently given.) Once all of these trees are cleared, it will feel MUCH more roomy. There will be plenty of space to build a nice village, plus plenty of chopped wood nearby for steady crafting fires, and eventually making boxes/carts and floors.

Plus there is very easy access to reeds for baskets and compost, both extremely useful in a fledgling village!

The easy access to water also helps speed along composting and the domestic berry bushes that support it, making your village quite stable. And of course there is no rule that milkweed must always come from the grasslands, build a big old milkweed patch right in the swamp!

The biggest drawback to this strategy is poor access to grassland trees for starting fires or acquiring important wood. For this reason you still really ought to have a grassland in quick walking distance from your base. But just centering your base in the swamp (near several ponds) instead of the grassland will produce much better results! Try it out!

lesslucid · 2018-03-19 11:55:28

Not really a counterpoint so much as a supplemental one: food is a transitory benefit. Clothes are a lasting legacy. Clothed people consume much less food, so while you definitely want to build population centres near somewhere they can eat, it's also good to have them close to someplace they can hunt rabbits and harvest milkweed. Milkweed can be farmed just like food, so if you can grow food, you can also grow milkweed. Rabbits, though, need rabbit holes, which are found in yellow plains.

Thorware · 2018-03-19 12:16:17

lesslucid wrote:

food is a transitory benefit. Clothes are a lasting legacy.

Unfortunately, clothes are also a transitory benefit.

As careful as you and I might be to lay out our clothes properly before we die, eventually our painstakingly crafted clothes will get in the hands of a noob who will forget to feed himself while farming and die suddenly while standing on a farm tile. Or perhaps he's unaware that you should not die while standing on a pile of bones. In either case, and perhaps other blocked tiles I am not aware of, you will simply despawn along with all of your clothes and equipment. Goodbye hard work.

While at first I thought like you, that clothes are a permanent way to invest in the future, the reality is quite the opposite. It's common to spawn into a village with five sets of clothes, only to watch famine wipe out your less experienced family members, ultimately leaving only two sets of clothes behind. These days I view planting ideal village locations as a better future investment than crafting clothes. Other good investments are crafting tools, baskets, and carts, as those tend to stick around.

As for building your village near plains... while certainly nice, it's not a necessity like grassland for fire and kindling. Rabbits are much easier to murder en masse and transport back home in batches. Plus a constant supply of them is not needed, just enough to get clothes and backpacks up for everyone.

Last edited by Thorware (2018-03-19 12:24:42)

Joriom · 2018-03-19 13:08:49

My basic rule of a thumb when deciding on a good spot for village:
- on swampland or on border of one - next to at least 5 ponds with at least 5 more if you travel for a bit.
- directly next to grasslands, so we can start fire without problem, get some milkweeds and berries to plant or grow wild for compost
- somewhat close to yellow plains for carrot seeds, wheat and rabbits. Traveling for rabbits is fine, but there is limit to how far you can travel efficently without hand carts.

Triangle of Swamp-Grassland-Prarie borders with ponds nearby is sweet spot.

Also, dont get baited just by a swampland biome itself - they are not all the same. Some of them might be big but have only 2-3 ponds which will not sustain a village! Its better to kill of stprouting cililization in bad spot and starve to death than make them suffer in long term.

Helperguy · 2018-03-19 13:27:55

Joriom wrote:

My basic rule of a thumb when deciding on a good spot for village:
- on swampland or on border of one - next to at least 5 ponds with at least 5 more if you travel for a bit.
- directly next to grasslands, so we can start fire without problem, get some milkweeds and berries to plant or grow wild for compost
- somewhat close to yellow plains for carrot seeds, wheat and rabbits. Traveling for rabbits is fine, but there is limit to how far you can travel efficently without hand carts.
Triangle of Swamp-Grassland-Prarie borders with ponds nearby is sweet spot.
Also, dont get baited just by a swampland biome itself - they are not all the same. Some of them might be big but have only 2-3 ponds which will not sustain a village! Its better to kill of stprouting cililization in bad spot and starve to death than make them suffer in long term.

thats right. the best place is between wild berrys(green), water(swamp) and rabbits(yellow)

reason:
-if there is a noob spreading clothes, there will be rabbits and milkweed
-if there is a noob destroying foodfarm, there will be wild berrys

thats it. clothes and food are both basic for rebuilding communities.
Always build floor from wild bushes to wild bushes for very hard times.

One Hour One Life Forums

#1 2018-03-19 11:45:48

Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

#2 2018-03-19 11:55:28

Re: Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

#3 2018-03-19 12:16:17

Re: Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

#4 2018-03-19 13:08:49

Re: Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

#5 2018-03-19 13:27:55

Re: Build your farm/base in the swamp! Not grasslands!

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