More stable straw

[dunkleosteus 2,425]

I hope that the food will be along the lines of grain, a crop like alfalfa or pasture space.  Straw is used more for animal bedding than food, as it's the byproduct of production and doesn't have much nutritional value.

My grandfather grew up on a dairy farm before becoming an engineer, and when he visited a few weeks ago, I took the time to talk to him about how animals are raised, to get an idea of what sorts of feed animals would need. Hay makes up the largest proportion of most animal diets, although they really enjoy grains. However, if you fed the animals too many grains during the winter, the gut bacteria will change and it will have trouble grazing on the grass in the spring.

[Omicron 62]

Animals will require food to live. The reason for this is to limit how many animals you can support. Different animals will require different types of feed. You will be able to stockpile feed for the animals to eat as they please. When a chunk reloads after being unloaded for a long time, animals will not die immediately, but will have to consume a quantity of food relative to span of time they were unloaded with in a certain amount of time of reloading.

 

This sounds very appealing. Is that aimed at B79 or will it be a "future feature"?

[dunkleosteus 2,425]

This sounds very appealing. Is that aimed at B79 or will it be a "future feature"?

The difference between those is usually whether I'm pretty sure I know how to implement it (which I am). If I can find the time, it'll be for b79.

[EternalUndeath 1,208]

The difference between those is usually whether I'm pretty sure I know how to implement it (which I am). If I can find the time, it'll be for b79.

#Hype

[transcengopher 349]

To come the time when logging out would not only make all food in your storage disappear, but also all your animal die of starvation. 

[Omicron 62]

Ostensibly, if you provided a large enough grazing area, a certain number animals should be able to support themselves. Extra feeding would be required to house more animals in a smaller pen than would usually be sustainable.

[transcengopher 349]

Ostensibly, if you provided a large enough grazing area, a certain number animals should be able to support themselves. Extra feeding would be required to house more animals in a smaller pen than would usually be sustainable.

Grass growth does not tick in unloaded chunks. Animal hunger does, however.

You then have to take time sitting in your pen literally waiting for the grass in your pen to regrow enough for you to log out/leave on a mining trip.

[Maga 99]

Grass growth does not tick in unloaded chunks. Animal hunger does, however.

You then have to take time sitting in your pen literally waiting for the grass in your pen to regrow enough for you to log out/leave on a mining trip.

 

The exact same problem exists with tree re-growth. You have to sit around in a forest you logged waiting for saplings to generate or build in the forest of the wood type you want. Players who want to build on the plains or use many different log types are left high and dry. It's sad, but it's also off-topic. I just hate it and wish that there was a good fix added.

[Kittychanley 1,002]

The exact same problem exists with tree re-growth. You have to sit around in a forest you logged waiting for saplings to generate or build in the forest of the wood type you want. Players who want to build on the plains or use many different log types are left high and dry. It's sad, but it's also off-topic. I just hate it and wish that there was a good fix added.

 

A key point to keep in mind: You only have to be there for the random ticking part of the sapling growth. Saplings have different timers on them for how long before they start the random ticking (average of 10 in game days). That timer is just based off of the in-game clock, and the chunks do NOT have to be loaded for that part of the growth to happen. So you can actually plant your sapling farm, then go wander about and do your stuff until the timer is up, and then you can come back and wait for the random ticks to happen, which is usually pretty quick considering I often have a whole bunch of the stupid things popping up in my face as soon as the first one grows and I start chopping everything down.

[Maga 99]

A key point to keep in mind: You only have to be there for the random ticking part of the sapling growth. Saplings have different timers on them for how long before they start the random ticking (average of 10 in game days). That timer is just based off of the in-game clock, and the chunks do NOT have to be loaded for that part of the growth to happen. So you can actually plant your sapling farm, then go wander about and do your stuff until the timer is up, and then you can come back and wait for the random ticks to happen, which is usually pretty quick considering I often have a whole bunch of the stupid things popping up in my face as soon as the first one grows and I start chopping everything down.

Not referring to sapling farms where you place and wait. I mean the generation of fresh saplings based on grass blocks ticking in loaded chunks that you mentioned will work in B79

 

Probably best to take this one elsewhere as it has little to do with the OP.

[protestthehero 2]

My grandfather grew up on a dairy farm before becoming an engineer, and when he visited a few weeks ago, I took the time to talk to him about how animals are raised, to get an idea of what sorts of feed animals would need. Hay makes up the largest proportion of most animal diets, although they really enjoy grains. However, if you fed the animals too many grains during the winter, the gut bacteria will change and it will have trouble grazing on the grass in the spring.

 and thats how we got e-coli O157:H7, feeding cows corn.

[TonyLiberatto 364]

 

Also, the animal's hunger should effect it's productivity.

So a hungry chickens will give less eggs, hungry sheep gives less eggs wool(woopsies.....), hungry cows give less milk, and hungry pregnant animals should give less young, or have a chance to not give birth at all. Really agree with this

 

Breeding animals should be automatic, and not be just 'shove grain down the animal's throats.'

Instead, animals should breed on their own when full and healthy. Strongly disagree, even in old times procreation on farms was not left to chance. Animals were bred on purpose and with an intention.

 

What if we could have some kind of code marker that would identify an animal as domestic and as a domestic animal it would then have the hunger bar. (Maybe the change would be related to the player interaction like the first time you feed an animal.)

It should also be impossible to harvest any kind of animal product with out feeding then and making then domesticated not counting killing for meat.

I like the idea of having Hay blocks behave like charcoal blocks ( The same way as when you use a shovel and 1/8 of the block is shaved off) so an animal would eat 1/8 of a hay block.

Now animals should always prefer to eat green grass and only eat hay if no grass is available.

One way to prevent the player from just leaving a bunch of hay on the field and not having to ever feed the animals again would be to having hay stacks have an expiration date of one year.