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4 fields or 5.

ElizabethKElizabethK Posts: 519
I recently upgraded my windmill to level 4 and I am having a hard time keeping it running constantly with my 4 fields at level 4. Do I need to get a fifth field (I would rather not because of the 18 workers required)? When I look at other farms most people have either 4 or 5 fields. Any input is appreciated. 8)
Post edited by ElizabethK on
«1345

Comments

  • Larino (INT1)Larino (INT1) Posts: 4,572
    edited 14.06.2013
    Well, if you cannot keep up I would indeed place another field. Levelling fields to level 5 doesn't bring so much extra and even having one new field on level 1 already gives so much more crops to use in your mill. I myself have 5 fields, currently almost all levelled up to level 5, just because I can and want to ^^
  • EricaJ (US1)EricaJ (US1) Posts: 202
    edited 14.06.2013
    I have 5 fields, though they are not all fully upgraded.

    I don't know whether keeping your windmill running constantly is a worthwhile goal. Mine (level 3) is idle at times, but I always have plenty of feed for my animals. Feed overproduction is sold at a loss.

    My operating costs vary as I buy expansions, build upgrades, etc., and I like to fill my storage with feed when my costs are lowest, so I don't need to produce as much when my costs are higher. Feed sitting in storage represents $ spent, and you receive no benefit from it until you give it to the animals. It's $ tied up in inventory.

    In my mind, there is no such thing as overproduction from fields. Any excess not needed by the windmill can be sold for a profit. That is not true of most of the other buildings, due to their interdependencies.
  • Daytona (INT1)Daytona (INT1) Posts: 425
    edited 14.06.2013
    I have 6 level 2 fields which I use to get 96 corn, 246 cabbage or 588 humused wheat each batch - deliberately too many for balance, but I found running a balanced, just in time, farm to be stressful, so with 6 fields I can easily create what I need and keep the mill (which is the farms bottleneck) running constantly. That and the fact that the cow feed seems to require this number plus a bit of daytime wheat, but cow feed is not a priority - chicken feed is.

    As Larino says, productivity per worker is better the lower the level. But new fields require more seed and take space.
  • AstragekAstragek Posts: 495
    edited 15.06.2013
    I got 5 fields, 1 level 5, 1 level 4 and 3 level 3's and they can keep up with the chicken feed production, although I do need to wait a bit with my mill when producing pigfeed
  • ElizabethKElizabethK Posts: 519
    edited 15.06.2013
    Thanks for the input everyone. With my 4 fields I can keep chicken feed going, but for pig feed it takes 45 minutes to run the mill for 36 minutes so I have a 9 minute lag. I only have 1 cowshed so I don't even need to run wheat every night. Right now I can keep everyone fed, but eventually it will get harder. I will most likely get the 5th field later on (I can also use it for rose seeds, beans etc. when I have them). Thank you again.
  • Gwendolen (US1)Gwendolen (US1) Posts: 1,268
    edited 15.06.2013
    I have 5 fields. Did it with 4 for a lóng time, but at a certain point the foodfarm started to use more and more wheat, so I put in another and am very content with it. I can easily keep my feed full enough, with flowers, cabbage and corn also almost full. Wheat gets used a lot during the day in the bakery, but still plenty to keep my cows fed.

    To get the picture complete: I have 5 chickencoops, 4 at lvl5 and 1 at lvl4, 3 pigs, 2 at lvl5, 1 at lvl4 and 4 cows at lvl4. My mill is lvl4 as well.
  • EricaJ (US1)EricaJ (US1) Posts: 202
    edited 15.06.2013
    Excellent points, Gwendolen.

    When you first get the flower farm, you'll want to supply it with wildflowers and wheat. I run a few rounds of wildflowers through my fields every day for the flower farm. I've also had some recent tasks to collect and supply wildflowers, supply wheat, etc. - and you need some excess field capacity to do them.
  • Gwendolen (US1)Gwendolen (US1) Posts: 1,268
    edited 15.06.2013
    Yep, when you have the flowerfarm, it gets even easier to have 5 fields. Five lvl5 fields render a little less then 100 flowers at a time, so that gets you up nicely.

    When the flowerfarm first appeared, we were doing the wildlife project, so everybody was planting flowers like there was no tomorrow :) Was a very nice coincidence.
  • darconio2darconio2 Posts: 151
    edited 17.06.2013
    Consider buying all of your cabbage (it's cheap), and Wildflowers. Corn I do during events or mainly to stock up on coop food.

    Keeping your fields mainly on wheat may solve your problem.

    That said I would keep a sixth lvl 1 field in an area and tear it down and replace with an orchard during competitions, etc. You can build a field or orchard in 15 minutes if you have manpower standing by.

    I have never had less than 5 except at the beginning.
  • LoveTheThunder2LoveTheThunder2 Posts: 20
    edited 17.06.2013
    You have already gotten some very good advice, but I would add that given your level and your production facilities today, you probably do not need that 5th field...YET...but eventually you will need that 5th field.

    If you look at the farms of players at the higher levels (like over Level 50 or 60), I think you will find that most people at the higher levels have 5 or 6 fields. As you build more and more stables...chicken coops, pigstys and cow sheds, you will need more and more feed.

    I also really liked EricaJ's comment: She said, "I don't know whether keeping your windmill running constantly is a worthwhile goal."

    The goal is to have enough feed for the animals so you can get enough dung to keep making fertilizer so you can keep those orchards producing! That's where the real money is on the main farm.
  • nana28282nana28282 Posts: 133
    edited 17.06.2013
    I have 7 fields level 5 and my level 5 mill is always busy. I find I need them since I have lots of animals, and need more wheat to use in my two other farms
  • camii893camii893 Posts: 251
    edited 17.06.2013
    I have 5 fields (3 level 5, 2 level 4), 3 Pigs (2 level 5, 1 level 4), 4 Cows (all level 5) and 5 Chickens (all level 5) and a level 4 Mill.

    I would definitely recommend at least 5 fields - I am constantly growing on them for the mill and for both secondary farms - also even if my feed is full I tend to still sell the excess and make feed - even though it's sold at a loss - you earn xp from your mill and this helps to level up.

    You also need to take into account that if in a cooperative - having 5 fields will help out with the projects.
    Also, events always need stuff grown on fields - so the me fields you have the easier the event is going to be.
    If you want to do a mission - it will also help to have the fields.

    As for the gourmet and flower farms - they will also use wheat, flowers and cabbage - I'd recommend setting up what you want for later now.

    Also - some tasks you have ahead of you will be 3 pigstys at a certain level and then later on also 4 cowsheds at level 5 and they give great xp's

    I would definitely go with 5 fields - but that is just my opinion :)
  • Kat Nip (GB1)Kat Nip (GB1) GB1 Posts: 3,796
    edited 17.06.2013
    My main farm has a level 2 workshop on it so I find that the 10% reduction in the amount of product required for the mill means that I can run with only 4 level 5 fields without too many problems. Though I can function with only 4 fields, I actually have 5 level 5 for the reason you've mentioned Camii, to help out with cooperative projects.

    Kat. Kittie_by_otomosc.gif
  • camii893camii893 Posts: 251
    edited 17.06.2013
    We're cooperative legends aren't we Kat - Always thinking of our team! :p

    Forgot to mention - I have a level 2 workshop and a level 4 water tower...
  • ss02092ss02092 Posts: 772
    edited 17.06.2013
    Great Kat and camii...

    I also used to build additional buildings to help during the projects and event. After the end i will tear them down...

    At one time i had 9 fields and my running cost was nearly +200... Its okie since i got the stepup just for a day... And stopped running silo, compost and mill... Then reverted back to -100% after that...
  • camii893camii893 Posts: 251
    edited 17.06.2013
    I always... Always... always keep my running costs at -100%

    Like to make sure all my cooperative members are aware of the benefits too.. It's amazing how much cash you can make when all three farms are at 100%
  • ElizabethKElizabethK Posts: 519
    edited 17.06.2013
    All great advice, thank you everyone. It has been very helpful. :)

    I am trying to determine what my final farm will look like so I know what to add with each expansion. Right now I hope to be able to have 9 orchards, 5 pigsty's, 6 chicken coops and only 1 cowshed (5 pigsty's can maintain 3 orchards a day, 3 chicken coop's can maintain 3 also, 4 cowshed's can maintain 1 orchard a day).
  • ss02092ss02092 Posts: 772
    edited 17.06.2013
    Elizabeth... just wait for the next update yaar...

    Dont know what prodiuction facitlity they might add... Based on the new poduction facility determine the best time to add another field. (I think you will add another field).

    If it takes lots of space and workers no need to wait for the next farm purcase...
  • ElizabethKElizabethK Posts: 519
    edited 17.06.2013
    Time to rethink everything once we know what the new building is :S
  • darconio2darconio2 Posts: 151
    edited 17.06.2013
    Consider buying all of your cabbage (it's cheap), and Wildflowers. Corn I do during events or mainly to stock up on coop food.

    Keeping your fields mainly on wheat may solve your problem.

    That said I would keep a sixth lvl 1 field in an area and tear it down and replace with an orchard during competitions, etc. You can build a field or orchard in 15 minutes if you have manpower standing by.

    I have never had less than 5 except at the beginning.

    Do not try to keep Happiness at max at lower levels. It does not always make sense, despite advice by Camii

    see here.

    http://en.board.goodgamestudios.com/bigfarm/showthread.php?69202-Successful-farms-without-buying-gold&p=795093&viewfull=1#post795093

    I am surprised at the amount of bad advice given sometimes.
  • suzon (SKN1)suzon (SKN1) Posts: 32
    edited 17.06.2013
    How do you get all those fields , I`ve just started and I`ve only got one ?
    Susanne,Denmark
  • montuosmontuos Posts: 1,275
    edited 17.06.2013
    Susanne, you build them; it's the yellow hardhat icon on the main menu. There will be a task to show you how, and you need to make sure you have 10 free workers first.
  • ElizabethKElizabethK Posts: 519
    edited 17.06.2013
    @darconio ... I completely agree with you.

    I don't have my happiness near -%100 (I read you need around 300 total happiness for this which would be impossible without spending gold), but do try to get my total happiness to never fall below 50. So I agree with you that for lower level players it is a bit insane to strive for complete happiness at the sake of other more important things, I would rather add an extra orchard than I couple of decorations. You still make money... I actually currently have a running cost of +%12 because I built an extra house and 2 fields to get through the task of collecting cabbage, yet I am still making money, not quite as much though so I wouldn't recommend it normally :)

    So I do think people should strive for complete happiness on their final farm, or as close to it as they can get. However, there does need to be a balance, and just try to keep happiness as high as you reasonably can.
  • ss02092ss02092 Posts: 772
    edited 17.06.2013
    suzon at the start you are bydefault given one field.... You can build field from the build menu... (the yello cap in the bottom).

    Build menu also provides you options to build houses needed for workers and decos which brings happineess to the workers....
  • EricaJ (US1)EricaJ (US1) Posts: 202
    edited 17.06.2013
    ElizabethK wrote: »
    I don't have my happiness near -%100 (I read you need around 300 total happiness for this which would be impossible without spending gold), but do try to get my total happiness to never fall below 50.

    That number is... misleading.

    The values we see for decorations are, I think, relative, and are there for reference. Those values along with a lot of other factors are fed to a big hairy algorithm to calculate the numbers you see when you mouseover the happiness bar. I believe that something around 320 listed as Total is what will get you -100% operating costs.

    I tried chasing that golden -100% OC for awhile, but finally gave it up - and am doing much better as a result. I had been holding off on some building plans - waiting, always waiting to buy extra land for more decorations... or waiting to level up to unlock better decorations.

    I finally went ahead and built the two additional houses I'd need to construct 2 L3 pigsties and another L4 apple orchard. After all the construction dust settled, my OC had changed from -97% to -76%. Oh noes!

    So I calculated the actual operating costs for a typical day of operating my farm at -76% OC - and it comes out to $25,008.

    I also calculated the additional net profit from those 2 L3 pigsties and L4 apple orchard whose staffing created the drop in my OC - and it is $106,949.

    Unique situation, perhaps - but aren't they all?
  • camii893camii893 Posts: 251
    edited 18.06.2013
    ElizabethK wrote: »
    All great advice, thank you everyone. It has been very helpful. :)

    I am trying to determine what my final farm will look like so I know what to add with each expansion. Right now I hope to be able to have 9 orchards, 5 pigsty's, 6 chicken coops and only 1 cowshed (5 pigsty's can maintain 3 orchards a day, 3 chicken coop's can maintain 3 also, 4 cowshed's can maintain 1 orchard a day).

    Elizabeth - to let you know in advance there is a task that gives about 1,100 xp points for having 4 level 5 cowsheds... Just something to think about :)
    darconio2 wrote: »
    Consider buying all of your cabbage (it's cheap), and Wildflowers. Corn I do during events or mainly to stock up on coop food.

    Keeping your fields mainly on wheat may solve your problem.

    That said I would keep a sixth lvl 1 field in an area and tear it down and replace with an orchard during competitions, etc. You can build a field or orchard in 15 minutes if you have manpower standing by.

    I have never had less than 5 except at the beginning.

    Do not try to keep Happiness at max at lower levels. It does not always make sense, despite advice by Camii

    see here.

    http://en.board.goodgamestudios.com/bigfarm/showthread.php?69202-Successful-farms-without-buying-gold&p=795093&viewfull=1#post795093

    I am surprised at the amount of bad advice given sometimes.

    darconio... I said I make sure all my cooperative members are aware of this. As in, aware of the benefits. Like EricaJ stated - all situations are unique.

    Aiming for -100% happiness will mean that the only thing you pay for is the seeds you use on the farms.

    How is it bad advice to lower the cost of productions so that you don't pay anything when you run your cherries, pigs, cows, apples, mill, silo, composter and chickens?

    It's terrible advice to buy your cabbage and wildflowers - 56 cabbage costs me $115 with a fully upgraded field, to buy that you are going to have to pay $2,520... That is terrible advice and going to cost you an extra $2405.

    For example for every 2,329 cabbage you buy - I save $100,000!

    As for wildflowers - I sometimes buy them if I am desperate - But why spend $10 on something when you can spend nothing?
  • darconio2darconio2 Posts: 151
    edited 18.06.2013
    @Camii893,
    Sigh.....
    It's terrible advice to buy your cabbage and wildflowers - 56 cabbage costs me $115 with a fully upgraded field, to buy that you are going to have to pay $2,520... That is terrible advice and going to cost you an extra $2405.

    Please look at the title of this thread and try to see what the topic is.

    It may be easy for you to keep up with growing everything with all your level 5 fields but this person is looking for ways to keep up with their lower level mill.

    The only practical advice you have to give them is increase their happiness. :(

    Seriously.

    Some people actually like to feed their animals. This means that they have to keep that mill running constantly at that level, or they could miss some nice orchard payouts.
    As for wildflowers - I sometimes buy them if I am desperate - But why spend $10 on something when you can spend nothing?

    At LEAST you are admitting to doing this horrendous act yourself (on occasion).

    I am not telling this person to give up any chance of ever growing Cabbage or Wildflowers, but at least my advice is a little better than "don't worry be happy (increase happiness)".

    So insult my advice all you like, but you have admitted to doing what you are arguing against.
    For example for every 2,329 cabbage you buy - I make 1 million dollars!

    Then I must make more money than you. If I WERE to buy my cabbage which i do not need to because I have max level fields and max level mill then 2,329 cabbage would likely last me weeks. In which time I would make tens of millions of dollars. I am not understanding your math.

    To buy 2329 cabbage, which could fill up my storage 3+ times would cost just over $ 100 000. Again I do not buy it all the time, but would if necessary. I would continue about this, but I am unclear what you were trying to express here. Obviously you got your math wrong.

    sigh..
    How is it bad advice to lower the cost of productions so that you don't pay anything when you run your cherries, pigs, cows, apples, mill, silo, composter and chickens?

    Again... Look at the topic of this thread. This person has a hard time fitting fields in as it is and you are suggesting they decorate more? Huh?

    Happiness does not need to be 100%

    I will use some of what I have already written elsewhere so I do not need to explain it all over, and you obviously did not read the link to it.

    Getting happiness to 100% is ridiculous. Imagine you are lvl 40... Why go out and spend millions of dollars on upgrades when the lake and others unlock at lvl 47. You can only get half your money back if you sell stuff back.

    I can make 750k a day with running costs around -25%. Trying for 100 % would make me delete something worth more to me or I'd be buying decorations on verge of out dating.

    OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE RECOMMENDING 100% HAPPINESS ARE NOT MATH PRODIGIES.

    Lets say your happiness is only 43% and it cost $743 to plant a field of wheat.

    you are still going to sell that field for $2850 and get $2107 profit.

    Now Imagine you are trying to keep your happiness at 100% as some (not so smart) people here are suggesting and you are level 32

    A lvl 32 can buy lots of Nice CozyPicnic areas for only $90 000 each. So you think Happiness is the greatest thing and go out and buy 10 of them for $900 000 (almost a million).

    Now how many Wheat crops would it take if you multiplied my wheat profits by 3 (not that you would get that much).

    You would need to grow 142 6 hour wheat crops to pay for your Decorations IF you earned 3 times as much as me on them (which you wouldn't).

    Now a SMARTER PERSON might tell you to coast on your happiness until you can afford the Ice Cream trucks which are the Max happiness for Dollars on a 4X5 Square, and then again it might be better to then wait util you can affrd lakes.

    Chasing happiness is not always the smartest choice for people leveling as has been suggested.

    Ask those people giving this advice how many "Cozy Picnic Areas" they bought, and then ask them why they have not sold them back for 45k a pop.

    Good advice follows rules of common sense, and in this case that is derived from math.

    I am not trying to make those advising 100% happiness look bad, but their thinking is flawed and they are giving bad advice.

    Then when you get to some items like Flower farm Where the profit for 10 hours (lvl 1) is $46 000, and only a few thousand to start it. The profit is already 20 X anything you might save if you have -100%

    I think maybe people think that they are doubling their money or something crazy as I cannot understand all this flawed math.

    There are too many scenarios to calculate each. Imagine you needed an almond orchard to run a $100+k recipe but did not have room because of decorations. Then you would be losing out on several million dollars a week.

    You would need 29 Cherry Farms running 24/7 to match that kind of profit.

    There are situations where higher happiness can help, but it can also be a bad thing

    Another thing. I have 8 cow sheds, 2 Pig stys, and 2 coops and I am overflowing with POO which is the real currency of the game, and I am not yet level 50

    My 5 orchards (3 apple,2 Cherry) can go 24/7 and I still stockpile fertilizer. I was running an almond orchard off it as well but decided im too low for upgrading restaurant to that lvl so demolished it.

    @ ss, (someone in other thread)
    . there by i can save 70K only from the cherry orchard... 70K is profitable only when compared to 45K
    so you can save 25k more a week in this situation. How many weeks will it take someone to buy a lake ($125k after selling it back to game), that they will now demolish to put up a Tea garden.

    5 weeks of savings .... for something that is now gone.... sigh.. so sad. Now someone letting happiness slide and holding off on lakes could save $125k on a lake and be more profitable by waiting 1 week for an event.

    Trying to convince anyone to get -100% on costs across the board is silly.
    see this link....

    From EricaJ,
    Originally Posted by ElizabethK
    I don't have my happiness near -%100 (I read you need around 300 total happiness for this which would be impossible without spending gold), but do try to get my total happiness to never fall below 50.
    That number is... misleading.

    The values we see for decorations are, I think, relative, and are there for reference. Those values along with a lot of other factors are fed to a big hairy algorithm to calculate the numbers you see when you mouseover the happiness bar. I believe that something around 320 listed as Total is what will get you -100% operating costs.

    I tried chasing that golden -100% OC for awhile, but finally gave it up - and am doing much better as a result. I had been holding off on some building plans - waiting, always waiting to buy extra land for more decorations... or waiting to level up to unlock better decorations.

    I finally went ahead and built the two additional houses I'd need to construct 2 L3 pigsties and another L4 apple orchard. After all the construction dust settled, my OC had changed from -97% to -76%. Oh noes!

    So I calculated the actual operating costs for a typical day of operating my farm at -76% OC - and it comes out to $25,008.

    I also calculated the additional net profit from those 2 L3 pigsties and L4 apple orchard whose staffing created the drop in my OC - and it is $106,949.

    Unique situation, perhaps - but aren't they all?


    So Buy Cabbage and Wildflowers are a decent solution. Any advice to get your farm to 100% happiness is just a bit crazy.
  • camii893camii893 Posts: 251
    edited 18.06.2013
    darconio,

    This below was my advice in relation to the topic thread...
    camii893 wrote: »
    I have 5 fields (3 level 5, 2 level 4), 3 Pigs (2 level 5, 1 level 4), 4 Cows (all level 5) and 5 Chickens (all level 5) and a level 4 Mill.

    I would definitely recommend at least 5 fields - I am constantly growing on them for the mill and for both secondary farms - also even if my feed is full I tend to still sell the excess and make feed - even though it's sold at a loss - you earn xp from your mill and this helps to level up.

    You also need to take into account that if in a cooperative - having 5 fields will help out with the projects.
    Also, events always need stuff grown on fields - so the me fields you have the easier the event is going to be.
    If you want to do a mission - it will also help to have the fields.

    As for the gourmet and flower farms - they will also use wheat, flowers and cabbage - I'd recommend setting up what you want for later now.

    Also - some tasks you have ahead of you will be 3 pigstys at a certain level and then later on also 4 cowsheds at level 5 and they give great xp's

    I would definitely go with 5 fields - but that is just my opinion :)

    Advice is an opinion and you do not need to go around and insult every single persons opinion throughout this post and others. I have had enough of it and you really need to stop belittling everyone and only accepting your own point of view as the golden one.

    As for the -100% happiness was in reply to a comment made by ss0209 about occasionally having his happiness at +200% for cooperative projects..

    You would realise this if you took your head from your behind and actually read these threads with a positive open mind and thoroughly read them.

    Everyone has a different opinion and advice to give - it is about time you start to respect that darconio.
  • darconio2darconio2 Posts: 151
    edited 18.06.2013
    @ Camii893,
    It's terrible advice to buy your cabbage and wildflowers - 56 cabbage costs me $115 with a fully upgraded field, to buy that you are going to have to pay $2,520... That is terrible advice and going to cost you an extra $2405.

    Please count how many times you said I gave terrible advice in the above quote.

    You then go on and ADMIT you sometimes buy crops when "desperate" countering the advice you are admonishing.

    Now you say.
    Advice is an opinion and you do not need to go around and insult every single persons opinion throughout this post.

    Yet it is okay for you to tell me I give terrible advice twice in as many sentences?

    I mostly agree with posts here. It was your post 17 that I have a hard time swallowing.

    Some people have suggested that it makes sense to get -100 production costs by increasing happiness. This is bad advice based upon math which I have shown.

    It is sad that it does not appeal to your sensibilities, but after seeing many posts advocating -100% costs something needed to be said. So shoot me because I am good at math.
    You would realise this if you took your head from your behind and actually read these threads with a positive open mind and thoroughly read them.

    Nope. I still see bad advice.

    It started on post 17,
    by Camii893,
    I always... Always... always keep my running costs at -100%

    Like to make sure all my cooperative members are aware of the benefits too.. It's amazing how much cash you can make when all three farms are at 100%

    That was the post that is so terribly misleading, and why I have explained the math. Otherss have as well (EricaJ, etc).

    If you don't like being corrected why speak in a public Forum, especially with advice that is not great.

    Hope your members are as bad at math, or maybe they are agreeing so you don't kick them out.
  • aussiefarmgalaussiefarmgal Posts: 228
    edited 18.06.2013
    Darconio, are you intentionally trying to insult those who have a different viewpoint to you?

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