Scavenging gets you started, but it won't keep you fed for long. Farming is how you build a reliable food supply, and in Yugopunk, it's a proper system with steps and a real flourishing garden to show for it at the end.

Here's how it works.

Getting the Soil Ready

Before you plant anything, you need land that can actually grow something. The world's terrain is compact and rough by default. Shape and flatten it with a Shovel. Use a Pitchfork and Fertilizer to prepare the soil; you'll turn an ordinary patch of dirt into a garden that's ready for seeds.

It takes a little time, but once it's done, you can work with it. As your base grows, so does your garden.

Seeds and Fertilizer

Seeds don't appear in your inventory out of nowhere. You find them in the world by looting, same as any other item. Other ways to get them are to buy or trade for them at a merchant. They can also be found in nature such as the wild potato, but you will need to be lucky, seeds in the wild can be scarce. Once the vegetables are harvested, you will also receive some seeds. Hold onto every seed you find early on. They're important and easy to overlook.

Farming also requires Fertilizer. Similar to the other items, you can find it in the world or make your own in the Composter, a base device that takes organic items and converts them into Fertilizer over time. Rotten food, plant scraps, leftover ingredients: all of it goes in, and Fertilizer comes out. Basically, it’s your recycle bin. It's a good reason not to throw anything away.

Planting and Growth

Once you have prepared the soil and applied Fertilizer, you can start farming. Drop the seed into the ground, and the growth process begins.

Every plant goes through multiple growing stages. Harvesting plants in different stages will give you different things: produce, seed and fiber. Those vary from plant to plant and from stage to stage:

• Seedling

• Growing

• Adult Plant

• Dead

Each stage has its own visual representation in a different 3D model, so you can see at a glance how your crops are doing just by looking at your garden. A plant that isn't watered enough will take a long time to grow, so keeping an eye on your plots matters.

Watering

In the beginning, you can use simple but different ways to water the soil, such as bottles, water pouches or a watering can. Later, once your base has a working water system with a Rain Collector and multiple water storage options, you can connect a Sprinkler to it to make your life easier with a proper irrigation system.

How much water each plant needs varies. All this shows through its colors. If it’s underwatered or overwatered, it will become less vivid. Keeping your plants’ water levels at the perfect level will make them grow faster. Drought or a big downpour will have a bad effect on growth speed; you’ll need to keep an eye on the weather also.

The mechanic is straightforward once you get a feel for it, but it means farming isn't fully passive.

What You Can Grow

There are currently six crop types you can farm: Onion, Cabbage, Carrot, Red Pepper, Tomato and Potato.

Each has its own seed item, growing cycle and different requirements. Some take longer than others.

Cooking

The whole point of growing food is what you do with it after. Some produce can be eaten raw, and some goes into your cooking station, where raw ingredients become proper meals: Stuffed Pepper, Goulash, Paprikash, Pasulj, and more.

All organic items are perishable and don’t last forever. Eating them raw is the fastest and easiest way to consume them, but it will not restore your stats to the same level as a cooked meal. Preservation is also implemented in the game; it takes longer than eating raw vegetables, but it will make your effort put into farming worth your while, and the food will last longer in your storage.

When the organic matter is past its prime, its best usage is as fertilizer. Farming and cooking are designed as a loop. You grow what you need, you cook what you grow, and you eat well enough to keep you going forward.

Building a Real Garden

A patch of tilled soil, a pitchfork, fertilizer and a few seeds is enough to start, but nothing is stopping you from building something proper. Flatten the ground with a shovel and connect a sprinkler to the existing water system. Over time, you'll have a working garden that keeps your base stocked without needing to go out searching and looting for food every day.

A cared-for garden says something about a base.

What We're Working On

The farming system is functional, and we're planning to build on it:

• Fermentation & Distillation System – fruit farming (yes, this includes the rakija).

• Additional Herbs – medicinal purposes and tobacco.

• Birds and Pests – little annoyances while farming.

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Until next time,

Sunbox Games