[A17] I Can't Believe It's Not Growing There

[Mehni]

Devilstrand, Corn and Healroot now require at least 140% soil fertility.

Here's the thing. It's way too easy to dedicate massive tracks of land to a single cash crop. It's never really a choice of what to grow where when the answer is always "Just use Rich Soil". This mods limits your choices and makes you think. Do you grow Healroot to patch up injuries or grow Devilstrand and rely on its strong armor values? Is it worth it to enclose that far away patch of rich soil to grow some Devilstrand? Do you really need food that badly anyway?

Yes, it makes the game a bit harder. More challenging. I hope it makes the game more interesting for you as well.

Note that you can still make a Growing Zone with it on all soil types, but colonists will only sow it on Rich Soil or in Hydroponics.

Steam link here.

A17 release attached to this post for logged in members.

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[JustALittleCrazyTalk]

I like the idea of restricting them but I don't know about the execution. It's map dependent, on a flat tundra map this is basically a QOL mod, on a mountain desert you might not have any fertile soil at all in the town area.

[Mehni]

Yeah, that's a valid argument. I'm not fully satisfied with the execution either, and I'll likely tweak it in the future.

I know it's better balanced against the easier biomes, where you have a ton of fertile soil at your disposal. You might not be able to grow any Devilstrand in the desert, and have to rely on hydroponics for Healroot. Even on the Tundra, you'll probably have to jump through hoops to get enough of both Devilstrand and Healroot.

And that's fine by me.

Devilstrand isn't a critical resource, it's just a good and strong material. Full Devilstrand outfits is a yardstick for "I made it", but I've had plenty of very successful colonies without the stuff. With a limited supply, there's now a decision. Who's the most valued member that gets their Devilstrand outfit first? Who doesn't get one at all?

Thanks for your feedback!