I was thinking earlier about the way the community center rewards work and honestly I'm not fond of how much gating there is. Why for example can't Robin just build me a greenhouse? Why can't I just repair the bridges with wood rather than needing to create bundles? I feel like the rewards for helping the Junimo or the rewards for helping Joja Mart shouldn't be gated content but instead be bonuses based on who they are. The junimo for example being magical beings of nature could give you buffs like increasing crop grow speed or the amount yielded at harvest or a boost to how quickly people grow to like you. Joja could give you special discounts and give a wider selection in what you can purchase. By doing this the rewards become more about giving you an advantage rather than gating content.
What's wrong with progressional content? What you are calling gated is actually to help progression. As in unlocking new things to explore or do over time rather than having them all open at the beginning. It just seems to me more like part in what the genre is. Time management that develops over time sort of thing; at one's own pace. As to the advantage thing... Unsure personally what to make of that. Interesting idea, but what it the point in it? ----If it was to give the juminos more function or things, then that would not add. That would simple be like swapping out for a new method. ----If it is simply for crop things, I think just adding more tools or things like that would be better; considering there are so many already that do those kind of things when you unlock them over time. ----If it is to add more RPG advancement type of thing normally found in a JRPG or story driven one, then I don't really know what to say beyond the simple fact it is a niche genre with its' own primary quirks already; usually. ----If it is to redirect things so juminos have more of a purpose and function, refer to the first thing mentioned. Also for me it would seem a bit too shallow to just have perks and bonuses that way. Reasons: I can already do improvement type things like what the bonuses offer without those sort of additions; Referring to the second thing. To me I like that unlockables are bundles. gives me reasons to do them. Perks and stat based things hold barely an interest beyond the normal skill system already in place. Can't say I wouldn't do them if such a thing would come about, but it would cause me to ignore the CC for quite a long time, since it wouldn't offer much a reward in the long run for reasons stated in this paragraph. In other words that really wouldn't be a reward to me, but just a mere bonus of some kind. Something that I view seems best in a skill thing. Now after saying that, I wouldn't mind something along those lines being in addition to what there is now. As in you finding the village they thrive in and you help them after the CC is complete, and from there, those that you help you will get bonuses for the day. Something like that. Maybe even going as far as limiting the amount of juminos per day you can help. Could be week based. Could be simply other rewards when going beyond the limited amount. Well there are plenty of ideas, just not sure I personally like a swap out that this topic is suggesting, even if the ideas themself; the jumino part seems feasible. Just appears amiss or something, like it not being a decent way or feel right it going about it that way. That is just what I think of it.
Except the progression is completely arbitrary. You must help these magical beings to build a greenhouse. Really? Why can't Robin just build a green house by me giving her a large sum of money and supplies, you know the same way the building progression system in the game already works. Same with the bridges. You can repair the one bridge down at the beach but nope, those others are completely impossible to do without magical help. It makes absolutely no sense and to top it off as a progression system it punishes the player for wanting to play their way. What if you just want to farm? What if you don't want to mess with the community center or joja mart just yet? Or what if you do but you just want to take your time with it. Well then you're out of luck because you don't get to play parts of the game because they've been locked away behind arbitrary tasks many of which are season dependent meaning if you happen to miss something you're now forced to wait a year. The greenhouse could be added to the current progression system with Robin (also possibly allowing us to place it anywhere and have multiple rather than being limited to one that must be in that spot). The bridges and repairing the bus could be done through a thing with Lewis where you donate money for town improvement. Removing the bolder could be done through a system with Clint. Adding the mine carts could be done in conjunction with Robin, Clint, and the adventurers guild adding both a more reasonable system and adding more community interaction as a bonus. All of these options would make far more sense and still leave them within a progression system meanwhile replacing the rewards from the Community Center or Joja Mart with things that still allow you to progress without locking away actual gameplay behind story progression.
@GreenWombat locking actual game play? that is a matter of perspective. What you describe is giving the CC a more bland purpose... So what would the CC be for then? That you didn't touch up on. sure many of the things could be set out to other people, but then what are the juminos and why are they there, and what are they for? You at least did a bit for them, but it only concerned them mainly as a swap. What you are suggesting is about as arbitrary as what you think the CC is. Meaning that giving the CC to have no purpose or short there of seems redundant and gives it hardly a reason to exist. Just guessing, but I think you misunderstood play your own way. It is not a complete sandbox. It is play your own way within the mechanics given. And since the CC and its' bundles & rewards are part of progression, that is a simple mechanic. So not every playstyle is playable, but there are a lot of playstyles that can be done already. Yes you can go pure farming and ignore the rest. Those extra things will not truly matter if that is all you want to do. If you only want certain pieces then you unlock the chain and get done the only one you want unlocked. The skull cave and desert is not completely neccessary for progression, it just makes things a bit easier or more easier to obtain. Namely the iridium. Iridium can be bought, although it may take a while; since the traveling merchant is pretty random. also the sewers is not unlocked by CC far as I know, granted that will take a small amount; and depending on what you do & how you go about it, it will take as long as you need. The mine cart system is just a convenience. You can already make a stable by default, you just have to have the materials. ores can be bought in order to upgrade to what is needed. The iridium tier isn't all that special far as I know, even if it is top tier. Since most things can be taken down with gold tools. The greenhouse was most likely done like that so you would have to put some effort into it just to get it. If it was merely a robin featured product... Then what is stopping someone having that within the first month or two, and even if it was set to after a year; that means most might be able to get that in the first month of second. It might seem arbitrary to slow down people in progressing to this or that, but that is the concept of the genre; it is a time management game. So certain things were meant to be extended in that way so that all the efficient things one would actually have to work for. Granted what you are suggesting does the same, but leaves the CC lacking more than it already does. So it wouldn't improve what we have now with your suggestion, it would remain the same thing and punish the CC for existing. I would rather see more improvements for the CC, or additions to it like end game things, and people using it. If the Joja route then there would be alternate things in end that happen; most likely how the NPCs handle that fact. Right now there is not much for the CC after it is finished, and not much for Joja after it is complete. The CC was the most basic thing in the genre, as there was always an old building to restore or chosen other route. The playstyles you have mentioned are possible, just mean doing it fundamentally a certain range of ways. The options are open. How long it takes is up to the player, and how much they really want to push. Also how they manage their time being one of the primary things. Pretty sure you already knew that... I personally take a laid back approach, as in turtling my way through the game. There will always be disadvantages and advantages to each playstyle no matter what. I just personally like the formula that is right now with the CC.
Yes locking gameplay. The greenhouse is an element of gameplay because of the unique abilities it has as a building. The bridges lead to areas of the game world inaccessible otherwise, the bus leads to calico desert which has a mine and multiple characters inaccessible otherwise, and the glittering boulder needs to be removed before you are allowed to pan. This isn't a matter of perspective those are gameplay aspects which are gated by the bundles. And no I am not suggesting removing the purpose of the community center. I'm suggesting removing the arbitrary rewards that block off gameplay and replacing them with alternate rewards that instead improve your ability to do things in the case of the junimos or reduce your cost of doing things in the case of Joja. A boost for example that cuts grow time in half, or a boost that increases your ability to build friendship, or on the joja side a 50% discount in cost of purchases or a 50% boost in sell value. These are not small things that have no value these would easily give plenty of purpose to the community center/working with Joja (outside the intrinsic story purpose the those already have giving them a default purpose as it is). As to what's stopping someone from having the greenhouse within the first month? Try the same thing that stops someone from maxing out their house in the first month. Cost. I'm not saying just hand it to the player for nothing. It should have a cost like all the other buildings which would obviously be balanced based on it's usefulness. And to finish off yes this change would improve what we have now. From a thematic stand point the rewards would make more sense. From a choice standpoint there's now more tangible differences between choosing Joja Mart vs the Junimos which as it is currently are the same thing with different text. From a gameplay standpoint it allows players the capability to work towards and access to the gameplay elements without gating it behind bundle progress and time restrictions that comes with those bundles. From a community stand point it adds more ways to interact with the villagers. And from a content stand point it adds a whole batch of new upgrades that you can acquire for your farmer.
Extra areas does not equate to game play aspect. It is as it is, an extra. game play is not limited by extras far as I see it. The greenhouse is just an extra as well that only serves as a convenience. Panning is just an extra thing to do. I know you not suggesting to have all unlocked at the beginning, but the way your suggesting it almost appears that way, as it reduces the time it takes; hence making it short. So yes in a perspective it would be arbitrary since a lot of people seem to rush through the game as is. I am not one of them, but do see a lot that post mentioning along those lines. To me it is making the CC somewhat less useful done that way, or rather not enticing to complete. What would be the reason to ever complete the CC? To have extra abilities or stat oriented things. That to me is arbitrary, and seems more geared towards those min/max type of game play. The CC would not offer much of a reward for myself in the way I play. Stat boosts and the like is not much an incentive for me. Granted that is only my "perspective" on it. All the suggestion does is relocate the gating to somewhere else. Yes having some of the townsfolk being the people to go to in order to do something is still a gate to by pass. Also it would monetize certain aspects of the game to be samey. The CC would be more of a stat catcher of sorts and not an actual reward. More like that is all the CC would be for, is something that could be better done with equipment or alternate thing like sprinklers, fertilizer, and the like within the mechanics already in game. Yes I can see some good and bad of it. And yes it is arbitrary to someone with a different perspective and obviously different playstyle. All this does is change playstyles around making a different set of playstyle while diminishing other playstyles. Hence my use of the term swapping things. So it is questionable in what it would actually improve in the game. Also of making the joja and CC different means theoretically forcing a player to have a couple save files in order to experience a piece of gameplay that would be gated behind which route you choose. It is basically swapping where the gates are. Probably why the routes are similar, so that people can experience it all in 1 save file, while the story part would take to having 2 separate ones. This just adds onto instead of just being the story change, it will be also content or context change that needs a separate save to experience both. Less open in that perspective. I think it is better to have story changes more locked in having separate files, rather than functions. That is arbitrary extension, kind of what Terraria did with its alternate biomes. However since that was stat based to begin with and the concept was procedural it worked for it. In this genre the mishap of the old ones in it was time. Since that has been alleviated by endless play there is not much reason to force a player to have multiple files to experience what the game has to offer beyond the story elements. In the older things in the genre there were many gated things, and each game did it in a different way beyond the actual time limit thing. What I am getting at is, that it would feel a bit arbitrary to have separate files for different stats, for a game that doesn't revolve around such things. The only stat it revolves around mainly is the time management. That is a player choice. Then there is story which is another primary thing of the game. Granted it is up to the user to create such a story through imagination and interpretation, which is the reason that makes more sense to have multiple files for that very reason. In a Fantasy Farm Life game it is usually about the players own interpretation guiding them through story. why so many story elements are left pretty broad and open for interpretation best they can be. And again it is all my own perspective, and how I for the most part see it. It is the reason I like the idea as an addition to what we have rather than swapping.
