Farming

Until recently, most of the food and materials in Highland Hearth came directly from the world. The only other way to get food was through animal farming production, another key part of the farmers role is of course farming crops!

The aim was to create a complete little loop:

• Prepare some land.
• Plant crops.
• Watch them grow.
• Harvest crops.

Making a Farm

The first step is designating a farm area. Farms aren't fixed, pre-built plots, so the player can decide where they fit best within the settlement and how much land should be given over to them.

Once the area is in place, farmers can begin turning it into something useful. I like that this keeps farming connected to the same flexible building and work-area ideas used elsewhere in the village.

An empty field doesn't look like much at first, but it gives the village a new kind of promise. It is a piece of land that can become part of the settlement's food supply rather than another resource node that will eventually run out.

Preparing and Planting

Once a crop is selected on the Farm target panel UI, farmers don't just walk to a field and make crops appear. They first prepare the soil, which gives the work a much clearer sense of progression and makes the field feel like it is being actively developed.

At the moment I've added only 4 (very scottish) crops while the rest of the system settles, potatoes, cabbages, carrots, and swedes (or neeps for us modern scots).

Watching Things Grow

One of the most satisfying parts of the system is watching the crops grow over time. I put a lot of work into the pixel art for each stage of the crops, so I hope you enjoy them! They move through growth stages instead of being planted and harvested immediately, giving the farm a reason to remain part of the player's attention even when nobody is actively working in it.

Seeing the same field change from prepared soil to rows of growing plants makes the passing seasons feel more relevant too. Farming has its own rhythm, and the village has to live with that rhythm rather than receiving food on demand.

Harvesting and Storage

Once the crops are ready, the farmer can harvest them and collect the produce. This is where the field starts feeding back into the rest of the simulation.

The harvested food doesn't just vanish into a counter. It needs to be moved back through the village and deposited into storage, where it can eventually be used by the wider settlement.

This uses the same task and hauling systems that already connect the other professions. Farmers can focus on the work in their fields, while the resource system and labourers help move what has been produced to the places where it is needed.

A More Reliable Village

The farming loop is fully functionally working but it requires balancing, which can only come from playtesting over time. However I can say it already changes the way a settlement feels. Manual gathering is useful at the beginning, yet a growing village needs systems that can keep producing after the nearest trees and bushes have been exhausted.

Farms provide that first step towards a more reliable source of food. They also introduce new decisions around land, workers, timing, and storage, all of which should become more interesting as the seasonal systems continue to grow.

There is still plenty I'd like to add, especially around more crop varieties and the way different seasons affect what can be grown. For now, though, seeing farmers prepare a field, tend their crops, and bring a harvest back to the village feels like the beginning of a much more complete food system.