Update 20: Farmhands

👨‍🌾Farmhands Update

Introducing the new Farmhand system—a game-changer for large-scale farming! Hire and manage workers to tackle manual tasks across multiple acres with ease.

Core Farmhand Features

• Worker Management: Assign farmhands to tasks across your farm simultaneously via a dynamic task queue.
• New Tool Categories: Farmhands bring optional tools for each task type—Plow, Sow, Cultivate, Amend, and Harvest—designed for multi-cell operations. (Classic instantaneous single-cell manual tools remain available!)
• Skill Progression: Farmhand tasks take time to complete but they gain experience over time, increasing their work speed. Unpaid wages reduce efficiency—let it drop below zero, and they’ll quit!
• Daily Wages: Workers are paid daily, not per task. Track total wages in the Farmhands tab or detailed finances report.
  
• Area Task Assignment: A new way to handle manual tasks over multiple cells:
  • First click selects the starting cell.
  • Second click confirms the final cell, defining the total area.
  • This complements the existing single-cell clicking option and tractor auto-drive system, giving you more flexibility without replacing anything.

• New Tools & Interface:
  • Assign workers over an area using one of the new tools.
  • Cancel tasks by hovering and right-clicking (or gamepad alt action).
  • Visualize farmhands in the new Farmhands tab in the top menu.
  • Monitor worker queues on the left-hand menu when a tool is active.

• Worker Details: Names, XP, visual traits, and building assignments are saved and displayed.
• Efficiency Boost: Spend Reputation Points to train workers and improve performance.
• Management Options:
  • “Move To” button: Jump to a worker’s current position.
  • “Terminate” button: Fire underperforming farmhands.
  • Hire new workers individually or max out your roster directly from the Farmhands tab.

Farmhand Task Queue

• Hover over queue elements to highlight the active acre in the world.
• Click to move to the selected acre; right-click to cancel a task.
• Top Queue Button:
  • Left-click the top button to collapse all elements.
  • Right-click to cancel all tasks at once.

🏠 Farmhand Housing

New Building: Farmhand Housing Boost your maximum worker capacity by constructing and upgrading farmhand housing.

• Adds +2 worker slots by default.
• Building Cost $7950
• Upgrade Level 2: Costs $15,000 and adds 3 workers (5 total).
• Upgrade Level 3: Costs $37,500 and adds 7 workers (12 total).
• Right-click the building to upgrade.
• Housing widget shows current upgrade costs and land requirements.
• You can also hire workers directly by clicking on a housing building.

🚜Farmhands & Tractors

• Tractor Drivers: Tractors now require an assigned farmhand to operate.
  • Assign workers to tractor barns via left-click; unassign with right-click.
  • If no worker is assigned, an idle farmhand will be pulled automatically (if available).

• Visual Updates: New tractor driver model and improved tractor barn widget rendering.
• Upgrades: Right-click barns to enhance functionality.

Performance Optimizations

• Converted tractor skeletal meshes to static meshes for better performance.
• Added shared vertex-animated wheelbases for tractors.
• Implemented ISM spatial culling for tractors.
• Optimized worker vertex animation system.

🌦️Sky & Weather Updates

• Crop Growth: Crops now grow at night (Overall game speed rate adjusted for balance).
• Time Flow: Smoother night-time speed-up mechanic.
• Visual Enhancements:
  • Improved rain VFX performance; rain no longer spawns while paused.
  • Brighter skies on cloudy days with reduced cloud coverage.
  • Enhanced visibility on foggy days.

• Weather System:
  • Weather updates daily at noon (no random shifts or changes during pause).
  • Hover over weather icons in the top menu for tooltip names.

• Ground Effects: Added wetness and snow coverage visuals.

🧰 Quality of Life Improvements

• Berry Harvesting: Berries are now harvestable with the standard manual harvest tool (separate berry tool removed). Farmhands can also harvest berries using the harvest action.
• UI Refinements:
  • Condensed tab buttons for a cleaner layout.
  • Notification widget warns when no workers are available.
  • Tool menus auto-close when deselected for clarity.

• Soil & Fertilizers: Unique colors added to amendments and fertilizers for easier tracking; redundant tooltips removed.
• Building Icons: Updated tractor barn icon to distinguish it from housing and warehouses.
• Tutorial: Rewritten for clarity and updated with farmhand features.
• Cosmetics: Can now be placed on tilled land with a new “clear land” status setting toggled.
• Feedback: Added UI blink animation when upgrades are blocked by low Reputation Points.
• Finances: New notification offers loans when funds run dry (if available).
• Building Widgets: Only open when no tool is selected to prevent accidental changes.
• Home Barn:
  • Now upgradeable via right-click as well as in the license menu.
  • Slightly smaller mesh for better worker/tractor visibility.

• Cost Tracking: Building expenses moved from “Misc” to “Buildings” category.
• Main Menu: Added graphics settings (weed mesh quality, day cycle visibility, dark mode UI).

🎮 Controller (Gamepad) Improvements

• Exit tool with the right face button. Press again to re-enable the last selected tool.
• Cursor now appears when no tool is selected for easier navigation.

🐛Other Changes & Bug Fixes

• Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed jam processor selecting blackberries.
  • Corrected berry harvest mesh update timing.
  • Resolved tractor visualization issues post-home barn upgrade.

• Main Menu: Removed depth-of-field blur; added farmhands to the start screen.

I hope you enjoy the new Farmhand system—an optional layer of depth to enhance your farming experience! Whether you stick with classic single-cell tools, rely on tractors, or dive into managing a workforce, the choice is yours. Let me know your feedback as I continue to grow and refine the game. Happy harvesting!

Jimi - Jimi Games