Sunday, July 4, 2010

Values and Uses of Animals in Farmville

Animals in Farmville fall into one of three general Categories. The first could be considered as Ranch Animals, but this Category would include Exotic Animals and any species that yields a product or income regularly. The second Category is that of Pets, and this definition in Farmville includes only those Animals who yield neither product nor income. Various breeds of Dogs tend to be the only Animals in the Pet Category. Other Animals that would be Pets in the real world, including Cats, should be defined in Farmville as Ranch Animals as a Cat yields a regular income whenever he/she is Brushed. The third Category would be Decorations. Although most Animals would not be defined as Decorations, the Carrier Pigeons would fall into the third Category as, although alive and indeed more mobile than most other Animals as they will fly without being prompted to do so, they do not yield Product, nor are they classified by the game as Pets.

Let me hasten to declare here that Farmville appears to be strictly vegetarian in nature, unlike some Facebook Farming Simulation Games that force a player to fatten specific Animals for slaughter. If, therefore, a player is a vegetarian, Vegan or Buddhist, he/she should have no moral qualms where Farmville Farming is concerned.

Ranch Animals, if they do not yield any specific Product, yield income through the act of interacting with them by Brushing them. Baby Animals, including Calves and Colts, will not yield Product but do yield income if you Brush them. Brushing follows a specific cycle in terms of time in the same fashion as any collection of Ranch Products.

In the Animal List, I have included both the Yield of the Animal and the price of the Animal if sold. Where very common Animals are concerned, the two often are equal, but in most cases, the value of the Animal itself is greater than the value of its Yield. Special Limited Editions are listed in a separate Category, as they will not be available after the time period for their Edition elapses.

Housing for Animals

There is a large selection of Buildings in Farmville. Some are Limited Editions but others are listed without restrictions in terms of time. Buildings can be ornamental or have specific uses. In general, the Buildings categorised as houses or homes are decorative in nature. Your Character cannot interact with them except to move them or sell them.

Other Buildings either are used for Farming, Animal Housing or Storage. In some cases, ownership of a Building with a defined use will unlock new options in terms of gameplay.

An early case in point is the Chicken Coop which allows the game to generate Mystery Eggs randomly based on the types of Chickens that are housed within. It is for this reason that I advise players to purchase a Chicken Coop as early as possible in the game.


Dairy Barn

The Dairy Barn serves as housing for any Cow in Farmville. Moreover, it will house one Bull as well. Bulls will not appear on the Menu at the Market and are Lost Animals that must be claimed. If you place a Bull in your Dairy Barn with your Cows, you can obtain valuable Bonuses, including Calves. You can claim more than one Bull, but you cannot house more than one in a Dairy Barn.


Stable


Unlike the Chicken Coop and Dairy Barn, a Stable when purchased is unfinished. You are obliged to purchase the skeletal outline of the Building and then to collect the Materials necessary to complete it. You can purchase the Materials for the Stable one by one, but most players prefer to receive these as Gifts from their Neighbours.

The price of the Horse Stable (unfinished) is:

Horse Stable
5000 Coins

The Materials required to complete the Horse Stable are:

10 Bricks
10 Harnesses
10 Horseshoes
10 Nails
10 Wooden Boards

Each of these Items costs 1 Farm Cash, which means that, should you choose the 'Complete' Option to finish the Barn immediately by purchasing all Materials from Farmville, the total Cost for Materials would be:

50 Farm Cash

The primary reason to own a finished Stable is in order to be able to collect the Wandering Stallion. As with the Bulls, the Stallion is a random 'Lost Animal' generated by Farmville, but unlike the Bull who can be kept outside if you do not own a Dairy Barn, you will not be able to place the Stallion if you do not have a finished Stable. As a matter of fact, you will not be allowed to 'Help' the Stallion by bringing it to your Farm unless you have a completed Stable.

If you have an unfinished Stable, the game may offer to give you some Materials,but I never actually received any of the Materials I was promised! There are a lot of glitches in Farmville, even after a year.

Even if you do have a Stable, the Stalliion will move on after a day or so to wander towards other fertile fields. He is unique in this respect.

Farmville's Description of the Stable is:

'If you have given the Wandering Stallion shelter for the night (or if you have a stallion in your stable), there is a chance your horses will produce a foal.

Having more horses of a particular type means a higher chance of finding a foal of that type!

You also have a chance of finding a useful item when you tend to your stables so make sure to check every day!'

There is only a chance that the Wandering Stallion will result in the appearance of a Foal, however. Sometimes, his gratitude will take the form of an amount in Coins.

No comments:

Post a Comment