Read by Council Agriculture in starmade

[haserd2]

So I was just thinking, wouldent food be a huge necessity in space for colonization efforts. we already colonize planets for factories, urban centers, or a mix of both. so why not add a system for farming in starmade. This would provide a use for blocks such as water (which is really only for decoration at the moment), and would open a new world of trade for these very important items. we could also see food vendor AI's for use on stations or ships, just like the current ai crew you can buy. would there be a possibility of adding this in one of the next updates or soon? as this seems like it is needed in a space sim since everyone needs to eat and drink.

 

[CyberTao]

I feel like any kind of hunger system would fall flat on it's face, I'll use minecraft as my example of how easily plentiful it becomes.

I like the idea of growing crops though, though I am one of those who like having a garden around whether it has a use or not. I imagine it may be heavy on the IDs though.

 

[MineCatFTW]

No no no. The food system in Minecraft was one of the things that ruined it for me, because it was when it changed from being a survival sandbox to a game trying to be many different things at once, and succeeding at none. So I say no on a food system. I don't want Starmade to end up like Minecraft.

 

[Viridis00]

So I was just thinking, wouldent food be a huge necessity in space for colonization efforts.

Absolutely. O Neil Cylinders in some cases are illustrated with small satellite modules around them dedicated to agriculture. Pic related. Star Made tech seems to be a magnitude higher than the early space colonization O Neil Cylinders and such were meant for though, so I think they'd be on or above Star Trek level tech with replicators for food.

While I'm one of the few who actually enjoyed hunger in MC when I played years ago, it wouldn't be a good idea for starmade because of the fact that most gameplay in Starmade is tailored to combat at the moment and not really much in the way of explicit gameplay exploration. If food were to be implemented it would need to be buff/debuff instead of life sustaining. Like continually drinking such-and-such liquid gives x-buff and y-debuff (or vice versa). That way if you want to just roll without food in game you can as you please. Making it a mandatory mechanic will just piss people off because it even pisses off people who played minecraft.

 

[BDLS]

MC hunger goes from "DAMN THIS IS ANNOYING AS SHIT I'M STARVING" to "welp, now it's just a nuisance to farm all this food to keep playing."

 

[Crimson-Artist]

some kind of agricultural farming would be awesome but not to feed our hunger. It would better suited for growing manufacturing components. maybe Yholes can be refined to create some kind of power source for power capacitors?

 

[Snk]

Food would be config edible(Ba doom tish), you idiots. If you guys don't like it, then you could always move to another server that better suits your purposes.

For vanilla, this is what I think:
Food is best dealt with using replicators. There's some in your suit that keep you alive, but just barely. You'd be prone to black outs when doing high-g maneuvers, slow response times, slower astronaut movement, etc. There'd be a replicator block, which would provide any kind of food you want to eat. Replicated food only gets your health up to 50%. At that point, you'd function normally.

However, there'd be grown food, which would have infinite varieties (Varies from planet to planet). Real food could get your hunger bar up to 100%, at which point there'd be some slight bonuses and some side effects.

What do you guys think?

 

[Valiant70]

So I was just thinking, wouldent food be a huge necessity in space for colonization efforts. we already colonize planets for factories, urban centers, or a mix of both. so why not add a system for farming in starmade. This would provide a use for blocks such as water (which is really only for decoration at the moment), and would open a new world of trade for these very important items. we could also see food vendor AI's for use on stations or ships, just like the current ai crew you can buy. would there be a possibility of adding this in one of the next updates or soon? as this seems like it is needed in a space sim since everyone needs to eat and drink.

You're not the first to suggest this, nor will you be the last.
[DOUBLEPOST=1426567974,1426567510][/DOUBLEPOST]On another note, why do people rip on Minecraft's food system? I've heard very few people who actually play the game complain about it unless they just don't know how to play the game and survive. Please recognize that people have different play styles, many of which benefit from food and similar supplies. Lots of people actually enjoy growing food, harvesting it, and eating it.
[DOUBLEPOST=1426568334][/DOUBLEPOST]

Food would be config edible(Ba doom tish), you idiots. If you guys don't like it, then you could always move to another server that better suits your purposes.

For vanilla, this is what I think:
Food is best dealt with using replicators. There's some in your suit that keep you alive, but just barely. You'd be prone to black outs when doing high-g maneuvers, slow response times, slower astronaut movement, etc. There'd be a replicator block, which would provide any kind of food you want to eat. Replicated food only gets your health up to 50%. At that point, you'd function normally.

However, there'd be grown food, which would have infinite varieties (Varies from planet to planet). Real food could get your hunger bar up to 100%, at which point there'd be some slight bonuses and some side effects.

What do you guys think?

Ok, now this is actually fairly well-thought-out and would be workable. You'd mostly need food to keep your character healthy enough to perform in personal combat (and maybe ship combat if G-tolerance actually gets added). Hardly anyone wants "run out = die, period" hunger in starmade. Minecraft did something interesting by using hunger to regenerate health as well, but Starmade can do better. In Minecraft, food is food is food. Some just keeps you full longer. Food that actually provides bonuses to this and that for a significant amount of time would be a good step.

 

[SkaireKrough]

My 7 yo daughter saw me typing on the forums earlier tonight and asked me to make a post in the suggestions listing basically this very idea. She actually gave me a list. I'll put the list at the end of post. So I open up the suggestion section and find 2 listings for this very thing on the first page, no need to search further to see if someone had brought it up before.

I personally would like the basic necessities for life (food, air, water ) to be part of this game, preferably as a server side option as to how hard-core it is. if they add agriculture animal husbandry it would be nice if it could also be done on ships and stations not just planets.

So here is my daughter's list

Please add to StarMade
plates
food
cups
drinking
space slugs
flowing water
hunger bar like Minecraft (she plays that too)
the ability for her character to lay down and sleep

P.S. I asked her about the space slug, she said she wants one for a pet in StarMade.

 

[Mariux]

We could have food as a simple trading item, not an actual consumable. I just like the idea of having space farms, but I don't want to be distracted from more important things like building by micromanaging such things as food.

 

[CaptainTaz]

Food as something that wont force me to make it would be nice, but I don't think adding food tediousness is worth it when Starmade could go in a much better direction.

Maybe food could be used for healing or buffs in personal combat, but not as sustenance.

(Off-topic reply incoming)

On another note, why do people rip on Minecraft's food system? I've heard very few people who actually play the game complain about it unless they just don't know how to play the game and survive. Please recognize that people have different play styles, many of which benefit from food and similar supplies. Lots of people actually enjoy growing food, harvesting it, and eating it.

I've played the game for about three years now, and I can confidently say the food system is an annoying little shit. I have to take the time and go out of my way to either:
>Find and kill a ton of animals around the map and/or bring them back and fence them to farm them, which is irritating
>Build a large enough farm to sustain my hunger and manage it instead of doing something more productive like building defenses or mining
>Keep lots of food in my inventory when mining for extended periods in order to not die of hunger, which reduces the amount of space I have for ores, loot, and the like.
>I have to take up some of the beautiful landscape to place a farm because I have to have it to live, or I have to dig for forever to have an underground one.

Some people may find it fun, but honestly I think it's a big time-waster that keeps you from enjoying the finer points of the game, like mining and building.

(/Offtopic)

 

[Snk]

Please add to StarMade
plates
food
cups
drinking
space slugs
flowing water
hunger bar like Minecraft (she plays that too)
the ability for her character to lay down and sleep

P.S. I asked her about the space slug, she said she wants one for a pet in StarMad

AWWWWWW

I've played the game for about three years now, and I can confidently say the food system is an annoying little shit. I have to take the time and go out of my way to either:
>Find and kill a ton of animals around the map and/or bring them back and fence them to farm them, which is irritating
>Build a large enough farm to sustain my hunger and manage it instead of doing something more productive like building defenses or mining
>Keep lots of food in my inventory when mining for extended periods in order to not die of hunger, which reduces the amount of space I have for ores, loot, and the like.
>I have to take up some of the beautiful landscape to place a farm because I have to have it to live, or I have to dig for forever to have an underground one.

Some people may find it fun, but honestly I think it's a big time-waster that keeps you from enjoying the finer points of the game, like mining and building.

(/Offtopic)

I actually loved Minecraft's food system. It's a challenge to keep yourself fed. It is a survival game. Why didn't you just play creative?




Also, I think my idea is better suited to Star made. Star made is more high tech and has more things to do - there's simply less time for food.

 

[Valiant70]

Spoiler: Another Note About Minecraft (off-topic)

No offense to anyone's gaming taste, but I tend to regard people who complain about Minecraft's hunger system as noobs because it is SO ridiculously easy to build a little 9x9 block garden with water in the middle that will supply more food than you'll ever eat. On top of that, you get a lot of steak (best food in the game) as a byproduct of raising the cows for leather to make books to make an enchanting station. Afterward, you can continue to breed and butcher the cows for fairly large amounts of experience to use on your new enchanting table. If you don't enjoy farming and husbandry, you're missing a big part of Minecraft survival. You might as well play in creative or peaceful mode, or download Minecraft Beta 1.7.3. I won't argue that Minecraft's huger system is bland at times, but it's far from game-ruining.

The only reason I can think of that you wouldn't like a hunger system is that getting food isn't fun, or that it distracts you from things you'd rather be doing and offers no benefit. A good hunger system should: 1) Licit interesting resource production 2) Allow you to meet your basic needs with little or no effort 3) Offer benefits beyond staying alive, perhaps at increased cost 4) offer a hint of realism in a way that benefits gameplay

Considering the high technology in starmade, it is highly unlikely that even traditional or hydroponic farms would require manual labor to operate. If they do, you could always give NPC crew the ability to do it when the system is added to the game. Replicators would simply be zero-labor but as Snk said, they should also offer zero benefit besides remaining functional. The emergency replicators in the suit would prevent death from hunger, giving a (sci-fi) realistic excuse for leaving starvation death out of the game (although it could be allowed as a config option).

Calorie burn is a way to give a hint of realism while benefiting gameplay. Depending on their activity, astronauts's bodies may burn more or less energy. I suggest that astronauts should have to eat (on average) once an hour to remain at optimal performance and about every half hour to maintain buffs from food. Here are some ideas for burn levels. Keep in mind these are just ideas and may need to be changed.

• Astronaut sitting idle: get hungry after 90 minutes.
  
• Sitting + build mode: get hungry after 90 minutes
  
• Flying ship out of combat: get hungry after 80 minutes
  
• Astronaut standing: get hungry after 60 minutes
• Flying ship in combat (high stress): get hungry after 60 minutes. Adrenaline rush may sustain astronaut more than normal while fighting. Debuffs will still occur, but are mitigated.
  
• Astronaut running: get hungry after 40 minutes
• Astronaut fighting/recovering from injury: get hungry after 30 minutes. Adrenaline rush may sustain astronaut more than normal while fighting. Debuffs will still occur, but are mitigated.

Reducing burn will allow the suit replicators to keep the astronaut somewhat more functional. This way shipwrights, the one group of players most annoyed by hunger, will be mostly unaffected by it as they're not using the astronaut's physical body much anyway. In addition, the astronaut should eat from the suit replicators automatically when the hunger bar is below comfort level to avoid distracting our shipwright friends.

 

[Megacrafter127]

and I can confidently say the food system is an annoying little shit

please, general, there is proof there are children in this thread :P

My 7 yo daughter saw me typing on the forums earlier tonight and asked me to make a post in the suggestions listing basically this very idea.

 

[CyberTao]

I actually loved Minecraft's food system. It's a challenge to keep yourself fed. It is a survival game. Why didn't you just play creative?

I actually found mining to be more challenging than securing food. The only time food has ever been an issue, is when I was playing some multiplayer minigame.

Getting hungry during ship combat is why I dislike the idea of hunger in SM. Isolated to astronaut mode (a series of buff/debuffs and max health modifiers) would be fine though imho, provided you couldn't just spam eat everything to gain every buff ever.

If we are talking about growing crops and status buffs, why not a cooking and meal mechanic? Players could eat 1 meal every hour (online time, cooldown stops when you log out) for a buff that lasts 40some minutes (server time, logging out doesn't pause it). You could use the meal to customize the buffs the players would get, adding more reasons to grow different crops, rather than just spamming the 1 that gives the biggest buff.

 

[Valiant70]

If we are talking about growing crops and status buffs, why not a cooking and meal mechanic? Players could eat 1 meal every hour (online time, cooldown stops when you log out) for a buff that lasts 40some minutes (server time, logging out doesn't pause it). You could use the meal to customize the buffs the players would get, adding more reasons to grow different crops, rather than just spamming the 1 that gives the biggest buff.

That sounds pretty good to me. Cooking sounds interesting. I'd like to have a decent galley onboard my ship.

 

[Proxy_PlayerHD]

why could food not just regenerate health? I mean when you are low on health and there's no healing-station next to you... just eat a banana or an apple. and other comments said that food could be somekind of "trading item".

 

[CyberTao]

and other comments said that food could be somekind of "trading item".

A trade item needs a use, something that would remove it from the system. If all we had was an input, it would soon grow to a point where it was worthless.

The more common something is, the less it is worth. If we can endlessly grow something, we need to be able to endlessly consume it. Eating it would allow a small outflow, bio fuel would allow a larger one potentially (But you know how people react to fuel, even if it's non-mandatory).

 

[jayman38]

Another outflow: feeding animals food to farm them for other kinds of materials (raw crystals or something like that, not food)

 

[whooplaah]

I want to link to this thread because just putting in a hunger/farming mechanic by itself would be lame. If you want to add in hunger and farming then astronaut mode needs an overhaul first, as suggested here:
http://starmadedock.net/threads/starmade-as-an-astronaut.5086/page-4#post-90955

Several different people have said that they dislike the idea of hunger bars for various reasons. I think that Starmade's current state attracts a certain type of player with a certain type of play style. What is really being debated here is whether Starmade should incorporate different play-styles or not. I'd like the game to be more than just an arms-race to the biggest ship.

I would like to see a hunger system. But again, only after/when astronaut mode is expanded.

Additional Thoughts:

Spoiler

A farming system would give a purpose to many different blocks, and would make space stations more interesting now that we'd need a stable supply for all our faction members/NPC crew.

In the link above there are suggestions for alien life. Also here: http://starmadedock.net/threads/big...es-and-unidentified-entities.6341/#post-90965 Cultivating alien species as an expansion to astronaut mode would need some sort of food mechanic, and stringing together DNA chains to create our own species could benefit from additional protien/carbon chains.

I played a game called Starbound that has farming/hunger that only gives a buff (you can't starve to death) - this made the entire farming system almost pointless. My quickbar and inventory space and time was better allocated to more meaningful items.

We don't have to worry about surplus crops like in Minecraft because Starmade shops and trade systems are much better. I freaking hate Minecraft village trading. In Starmade, farming crops = trade good = money = ore = shield. This seems much more realistic that spending FP to respawn asteroids once a System has been mined dry.

I'd also suggest putting in a crop-health mechanice. As in real life, if you keep growing the same crops in the same soil year after year you get soil depletion and are more likely to develop diseases - meaning that future crops are more likely to fail without some sort of intervention. I might have a super-productive 100x100 farm, but if the rate of disease is 1% then that crop will have roughly 100 sick plants which could easily kill the whole patch.

A hunger system would provide an alternative battle-mechanic during faction wars. If you can blow up the farm and shoot down supply runners then the players will start to starve to death (or starve into debuffs at least). Or we could bring out diseased plants into their crops.