Musgro Farm

Hey Everyone!In my last update I outlined part of a major system being added to the game - District Ranks. I also noted that there was more to this update and some additional features that it would support. With these changes now releasing to the alpha builds, I wanted to talk more about the rest of this update and some of the impact it will have on the later phases of the full game.If you haven't read the previous update, I suggest you do, as there's a lot of context there around why these things are being added and the thought process behind them. The short version is that I think the existing demo content sets a good foundation of the "early game" and basic game mechanics, the alpha shifts more towards the mid-game with challenges around moving items between a few Districts, but neither addresses the late game or how your farm will work on a larger scale.The previous post also revealed that this coming system would include Districts having their own Ranks, permitting you to unlock different Upgrades, and that different Districts would likely end up specializing in different tasks. This leads to the next part of this update:Alternative District CentersWithin the Logistics Tech Tree, you'll be able to unlock alternatives to the standard District Center. Each type of District Center will change the focus of its District. These Centers change what can and cannot be built in the District, allow for unique buildings and functions within the District, and each have a different set of District Upgrades with powerful scaling to support their focus.The standard District Center will work the same as every other District you've seen up until this point, and will likely be your most frequent choice. Its main focus is on production, with Upgrades that increase things like Production Speed bonuses, Waste Reduction, and Input, Collection, and Sale Truck throughput.Planning your District choices will become a core part of the late game - as your farm increases in size, it will be...

Hey Everyone!It's been a while since I've posted an update, so I wanted to share my current thoughts on the state of the game, what I'm currently working on, what my next steps are, and how those play into the upcoming initial release.TL;DR: In case you're just here for a quick answer, I'm working on adding a pretty large system to the "simulation" underlying the game in order to pave the way for the last major additions to the game that I think are crucial for the first release. It's taking a bit longer than I expected, in part due to the fact that I am making sure this change supports some of the other upcoming changes, and partly because it's also become a part of my validation of some performance changes as well.If you'd like a bit more detail and clarity, I'll explain with the rest of this post ;) It's a long one though!Current State of Musgro FarmI think the best place to start is with my thoughts on the current state of the Demo & Alpha.I believe the Demo itself gives a pretty solid "early game" which outlines the intention of the game and the core mechanics. I think it does a good job showing that you'll be growing crops, and that those need to be "processed" and combined in order to produce more complex items. It also shows that shipping them around with trucks can work, but won't be the most efficient approach to the game. It demonstrates that connections with adjacent neighbors will be important, and that finding efficient layouts will be helpful in building an efficient farm. It also demonstrates by the end that recipes are going to get a bit more complicated.I believe the Alpha then demonstrates what the "mid game" starts to look like. You unlock more Districts / "grid tiles" and start to see some of the challenges associated with multiple Districts. It also demonstrates some more complicated recipes. Right now it really only has a few "mid/late game recipes", but I think those recipes exemplify the next layer of challenges - It's infeasible to fit the ...

Hey everyone!It's been a while - I've been hard at work over on the Alpha build, building new systems, gathering feedback, and moving things along towards the full release. Today I'm sharing a couple of updates, including a hefty update to the demo, and a bit of an update on the plans for release.The demo update includes a few of the new systems and QoL features that have made it through Alpha testing. There's a new system which can automate purchasing upgrades, a new copy/paste feature, a remastered version of the main menu theme, and a bunch of other changes.Plot ManagementFirst up, let's talk about the new Plot Management system!Plot Management is a set of technologies in the General tech tree which allows you to organize your plots into Management Groups. These groups consolidate the floating plot icons, show a bunch of combined production statistics and panels, allow some new behavior rules, and provide the ability to automatically purchase upgrades.In general, groups are most useful for individual areas or layouts that aim to produce a particular item. Each group declares a "Focus" item, which will be displayed as the groups icon, and will determine what production rates to show in various places in the UI.For example, if you've got a layout producing Aromatic Vegetables, you can consolidate the plots into one Management Group which displays production status and statistics for Aromatic Vegetables. The group's floating icon will then show the Aromatic Vegetables icon and it will color its ring to display the current production status of all the Packagers producing Aromatic Vegetables. Opening the panel for this group will also highlight the overall Aromatic Vegetable production rates and the value of those produced items.Automated UpgradesOnce you've made a Management Group, you can also enable certain automatic upgrades for that group. These options will initially allow the group to automatically purchase Plot Level and Worker upgrades, and you can unlock oth...