Randomized Start Option

[__Fishy__]

I've been thinking about this recently and I think a randomized start could be a way to spice up the game. The option would give you a random day in one of the 4 seasons to begin your farm. This would fit into the lore because when you quit your job at Joja Corp, the player wouldn't just wait till Spring 1 to quit, they would quit at a random point because they couldn't take the lifestyle of a Joja employee anymore.

There could also be an option to have the farm type be randomized for a twist. The lore could be that maybe the player doesn't remember what the farm looked like because they visited when they were younger and forgot how it looked after so many years.

This would change the dynamic of the start and players would have to adapt to it and gives veteran players a change of pace in the beginning. This could also add a new category for players who chose to speedrun the game.

An example would be the player starts Winter 12 and either has to forage, mine, or fish since they cannot farm in the winter

 

[imnvs]

I like the randomized date... not so sure about the randomized layout, though. If you could do one, the other, neither or both, however, I'd be behind this 100%.

 

[liquidcat]

I like this suggestion! Would add more replayability

 

[Lappy]

Randomizing the start date could be tricky. Starting on Spring 1 gives the player the max amount of time to prepare for the winter. That is, to develop skills, earn money, and buy stuff to get through the winter. For example, to build barns and coops, animals to put into them, and hay to feed the animals.

Also, starting on the 1st of any season gives you the maximum amount of time to plant crops for that season. If you were to start on the 26th, for example, you won't be able to start planting until your fourth day.

Of course, that may just be the point - the challenge - especially for experienced players who have already played through a few times - of changing up your build order for the first few weeks/seasons on a new farm, even if you're inconvenienced by a "bad" start date.

Perhaps another option is for extra starting gold or buildings under certain circumstances, to offset the difficulty of the start date. For example, if you start in winter or late fall, you already have a coop with some chickens and a half-filled silo. But honestly, this feels like CA would have to take extra time to work out formulas for what's fair for any given scenario.

On randomizing the farm, besides the farm type (eg rivers, forest, etc.), how about randomizing elements within the map? For example:

• location of the farm house
• location of little lake (but still near the tillable land so you can easily refill your watering can)
• location of untillable tiles
• the ratio of maple/oak/pine trees

 

[Pottedplant530]

This seems like a great idea

 

[Kurachi84]

I use randomizers for randomizing, but if it'd be an official option, i'd love some characters based on randomizing SDV stuff!
Sounds like fun, playing with that option sometimes!