Bay 12 Games Forum

Dwarf Fortress => DF Gameplay Questions => Topic started by: ChaosFollowing on March 21, 2008, 03:25:00 am

Title: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: ChaosFollowing on March 21, 2008, 03:25:00 am
According to the wiki, the following crops only grow naturally in Wet biomes:

Muck Root, Kobold Bulb, Rat Weed, Fisher Berry, Rope Reed, and Sun berry.

I just embarked twice, first time on a marsh, second time on a swamp...and my seven herbalists are bringing in Wild Strawberries, Prickle Berries and other supposedly Dry crops.

Which biomes(as shown on embark screen) will give me immediate access to Wet crops? Or is this currently bugged?

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: Kagus on March 21, 2008, 03:33:00 am
They aren't biome tags, they're location tags.  [WET] plants grow on the banks of rivers and ponds, [DRY] plants grow farther away from water sources.


At least that's what I've garnered from my admittedly limited testing.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: ChaosFollowing on March 21, 2008, 03:46:00 am
Any idea of the distance to the river that counts as Wet, and whether irrigation works?
Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: Kagus on March 21, 2008, 08:32:00 am
One to two tiles away from the water's edge.  It may extend as far as three, but I'm not sure.  I also don't know about irrigation, but it might work.


Heh.  That could lend itself to a whole new style of farming.  Just get a bunch of herbalists, set up a massive area with water-filled channels, and then just harvest the wild plants.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: puke on March 21, 2008, 09:01:00 am
i wonder if this works with aquafers.  you could dig down to one layer above, and then lay down a grid of dots that channeled down to the water.  like rice paddies or something.

The real money crop needs to be in a "good" biome.  of course i dont think you can eat it, and there are probably faster ways of making money.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: BurnedToast on March 21, 2008, 03:17:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by puke:
<STRONG>i wonder if this works with aquafers.  you could dig down to one layer above, and then lay down a grid of dots that channeled down to the water.  like rice paddies or something.

The real money crop needs to be in a "good" biome.  of course i dont think you can eat it, and there are probably faster ways of making money.</STRONG>


I assume you mean sunberries? They can only be picked in a good biome, but they will grow anywhere and the elves bring them (or seeds) all the time for me. Also, yes they can be eaten (and cooked) as well as brewed. However, while the alcohol is the most valuable alcohol it's still not worth THAT much - 5 per unit, if I remember right, hardly a cash crop.

As for the original post, the humans will almost always have access to rope reed and fisher berries, rat weed and muck roots seems to be slightly more rare but still they sometimes have them. You can order seeds from any plant the humans have access to so you can get them (and grow them) anywhere.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: ChaosFollowing on March 21, 2008, 08:33:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by Kagus:
<STRONG>Heh.  That could lend itself to a whole new style of farming.  Just get a bunch of herbalists, set up a massive area with water-filled channels, and then just harvest the wild plants.</STRONG>

Yeah, my dwarven druids wouldn't mind pure-gathering sun berries, if only I could maximize the output. I might have to test to see if channels affect Wet plant growth.

If it works, you could leave the pathing relatively intact by building water supply passages and channelling one square every few feet.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: Kaelem Gaen on March 22, 2008, 10:03:00 pm
Wait, so I don't necessarily have to grow my sun berry crops in a good biome, or along a pond? the [WET] is only for plant gathering designation?
Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: BurnedToast on March 23, 2008, 09:29:00 am
quote:
Originally posted by Kaelem Gaen:
<STRONG>Wait, so I don't necessarily have to grow my sun berry crops in a good biome, or along a pond? the [WET] is only for plant gathering designation?</STRONG>

Correct. For now anyway (I imagine farming will get an overhaul eventually) you can grow any above ground crop anywhere you want as long as you get the seeds from somewhere.

The exception is mountain biomes which I don't think support any crops at all.

Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: Kaelem Gaen on March 23, 2008, 04:20:00 pm
Eh, I might do it just for SnGs plus if/when Farming gets fixed like that, I won't lose my crops.
Title: Re: Farming: Dry versus Wet biomes
Post by: Kidiri on March 24, 2008, 11:07:00 am
quote:
Originally posted by Kagus:
<STRONG>Heh.  That could lend itself to a whole new style of farming.  Just get a bunch of herbalists, set up a massive area with water-filled channels, and then just harvest the wild plants.</STRONG>

Or you could just wait until you've got at least one of each and put up a 3 by 3 farm plot per crop and increase effectiveness.