You don't get access to the mountain quarry until after at least one year, while the hill-top quarry is available right from the get go. Minecart doesn't give you access to the mountain quarry, by the way. It's fixing the bridge.
I don't see any of the maps as pointless their additions are just a buff that one can choose to use or not.
yeah, bridge unlock the quarry. but the mine cart lets u travel there in a much faster manner. without it you have run all the way there from your farm, lol. iirc, i unlocked the quarry rather early, although i hardly used it...
You can make the same argument however about the Forest Map, however. Being to get Hard Wood you need a Gold Axe, and you have to travel to that hidden forest, repeatedly. Like the Quarry, it's something you can unlock later, and provide nearly all the same benefits. So in that respect the Forest Farm is also pointless. As I said on my post however, these quirks are more of a bonus, for early game, not exactly late game. You're picking up the unique farms, for a unique experience, and the beauty of the farm itself. As I already said, the Wilderness and Default Farms are technically the best two farms. The rest are really for looks, their benefits are all short term really. The Wilderness you get the bonus of being almost as big as the Default Farm, but have a slightly less Square Farm, with monster spawning.. hence why I called it #1 of the new Farms, yet still claimed the Default as the "Best."
I really like the River. It's just so pretty. Sure there isn't much place to farm, but like.. fishing. Fishing is also one of my favorite things so combine that and walking across the river (Which idk but everytime i do i just love it) and it just really makes the river map my fav.
yeah, i agree that the new maps offer a more aesthetic values than functional. i might have looked too much into the functional qualities over the rest, lol.
I liked the forest map until i realized something i had forgotten the hard way "oh yeah, i can't place buildings on top of grass, cuz that makes PERFECT sense!". F**k me! Now i have to replan everything all over... I'm not happy.
I started playing both Riverland and Wilderness maps but Wilderness has become my favorite because it feels "smaller" in build making the buildings feel closer. The monsters that spawn, I've dealt with a bat one day, a slime the following, and the zombie(?) a few days later, aren't that big of a bother since you can either fight them like you would do in the mines or just run into the house if you want to avoid them.
Cleared out most of the area in front of the greenhouse on the forest map when I have the money I'll add a second coop and barn, between them looks like I can fit a slime hutch but I don't think I want one this time I'd rather have my sheds go there . Kind of like fitting in the pieces of the puzzle heh, although if I make the fenced off areas smaller I'd have more room...nope don't want . Edit: I saw on the beta thread that he added the ability to put buildings on most grass areas but I don't think it's official yet, as in still in the beta.
Well, i can confirm that you cannot build on any green grass. which is very inconvenient considering the forest map has a huge patch of grass right next to your house as well as several smaller patches across the intended farming area.
I feel like the Forest farm functions in the long-term game as well in that it effectively doubles your daily hardwood supply. It also opens up easier foraging for items you normally wouldn't find (common brown mushrooms in summer, morels in spring, etc) It seems perfect for an animal/artisan play through, which is what I'm doing right now. The plot immediately outside my house is being used to grow stuff, and I plan on filling the western field of land with buildings and animals. Looks like nice grazing!
I've only started a new file with the hill-top map so far, and honestly, I'm not a fan... It's incredibly complicated to get to the ore area, since the river cuts up the map weirdly (why is there even so much river, if it doesn't spawn more fish?), plus I can't figure out how to plan it with the weirdly shaped areas and all of the different stair/bridge widths.
I'm looking to make an evil farm on the river lands map. Maybe keep a bunch of bees, have a coop or two, make mead, marry Shane, support Joja, turn my children into doves. Can you activate monsters on any map when you get to late game? I'd read that somewhere. Anyhow, I think the maps need to be judged by their cosmetics and practicality for travel rather than ability to make tons of money. The reality is that they look a lot better than the default map but just are not as good mechanically if money is your game. Here is my ranking: 1. Original Map 2. Riverlands 3. Forest 4. Wilderness 5. Hilltop Here is my reasoning: 1. The map is a blank canvas. It can, and often will, look bland and overly structured. However, you get a ton of room to work with and with buildings, well placed grass/fences/paths, you have the freedom to make this map a true work of art. It takes effort though. Late game it's just better because the bonuses you get from the other maps just are not useful enough or have too long of a cooldown. 2. Beautiful map and fishing from home is amazing. If you don't like to fish or use crab pots, probably not as good. Fishing is a great way to make money though and the islands are just big enough to make little gardens for honey or crops. Don't expect many barns or animals here, but you can do some. The map lends itself to a more relaxed game. Less stuff to babysit means more time to focus on making the map work for you early on. It's just a really nice map and fishing here is more valuable than what the other maps offer, especially long term. 3. Pretty map, low on space. Hardwood is nice but you run out of uses fast enough. Foraging is slow to regenerate. Green ground currently can't be built on but that is likely changing. It's a nice enough map but does not offer a ton to replace what you lose on the main map. With a good eye, you can make the main map pretty as hell so that selling point kinda fades. 4. Nearly as much room as the main map, still large enough areas to set up substantial ranch set ups. It's a bit prettier than the main map but has less room. The outcrop on the left probably does not need to be as pronounced. The mobs are a nice little bonus but not highly valuable and at times annoying. From what I understand this can be turned off later; which is nice but negates any unique intrinsic value this map has. Overall not a terrible map though. 5. I like and hate the design. The river is nice but no fishing is weak. The hilltop is kinda jarring and I wish it took the place of grandpa's shrine and have the shrine moved. The map is easy enough to move around once you upgrade your tools but the hills are really limiting in how extensive you can get with design. It's nice that he's fixed the building in the cliff shadows thing. Before that, it was garbage. It looks nice enough but just is not worth the trade offs past very early game.
WARNING: MASSIVE WALL OF TEXT This is a hard one for me as I really like all the new farm layouts. There are some i like more than others but they are all cool. I don't really care about the efficiency of the maps or usefulness of what they uniquely offer. For me, it's all about aesthetics. And boy do the new farms look pretty, I love the challenge and fun of trying to make things fit and make things look/function awesome on the maps. Of course, I could be biased as I love fishing in this game and almost exclusively usually just grow and raise things necessary for the bundles, then after that do things like honey farming and renewable diamonds, crabpots forever, and maybe a winery with the greenhouse. For the sake of this thread though I'll go ahead and make my personal 1-5 list of what maps I love. For my list I go with a mix of both functionality and aesthetics to make them up. 1. Riverlands Farm For a fishing nut like myself, this map is the pinnacle of perfection. It has the best layout IMO for crops and fishing/crabpots on the same map. Plus it's just...beautiful what with the water and bridges everywhere. Plus all the islands make it very easy to keep things compartmentalized and structured without having to spend a billion years walling off and planning your farm. It may not have the most space but the aesthetic of the layout captures my heart more than any of the other maps. 2. Hilltop Farm Now I can hear you say "This map may be beautiful but there is almost no workable land and the quarry is useless after the first season!! Plus you can't fish in the river Mr. Fishing Hobo!!" And... you would be correct on all accounts, but although there isn't a lot of usable land, it is more than enough to suit the needs of a fisherman who only dabbles in farming and uses mostly crabpots, fishing, and honey to make most profits. It is very refreshing to see a map so focused on looking rugged and rusty over game changing benefits. It is again also easy to structure the farm without spending too much time planning it out due to the limited space and layout. 3. Forest Farm Now I am somewhat torn on this farm being 3 and not 2 but hear me out. This is also a very nice looking map and feels very cozy in comparison to the others. The addition of more hardwood and foraging items (love the mushrooms) along with more usable land makes this a good map. Now, the bad points of this map (To me) are the fact that there is so much grass and I can't do anything with it... at all. It hurts but then again if you never screw with the foliage on the grass it ends up looking very cool alongside buildings and crops and such. It's harder to structure but not too hard... and it has lots of space for crabpots so.. bonus points. 4. Wilderness Farm This farm's design both vexes and delights but I like it for how quaint and yet open it feels. It has really good open space and a good design...but it also comes with mobs and that oh so annoying fact that it's difficult to structure all that land. That being said, just like the map below it can be a lot of fun to plan it out and make the farm look well thought and designed, but I usually can't be bothered to do such things as I'm lazy. Still good space for crabpots...so still bonus points. 5. Standard Farm Now you may call me crazy for putting the map that favors freedom of play and economical power on the very bottom of my list..but this map is fugly to me. Sure it has TONS of space and you can do anything you want with it. Whether it be making massive croplands, a factorium of of crystalariums, massive orchards, or the worlds largest brewery, this map has it for you. But that's the problem, it has TOO much space for me and often I have to actually make myself use most of the space on this farm as i don't really use tons of space anyways. Also this maps lends itself to a grid structure to look the best and have the best efficiency and as someone who has lived in grid structured places my entire life.... I can't stand it. Also not much crabpot space... for shame Well that's my list of favorites!! Hope you found it as boring to read as I did to write!! G'day!! P.S. And don't forget to hail our Lord
I'm not sure what the details are, but, for those not following the Beta release thread, CA is still tinkering with the maps, and has apparently added some ability to fish on /all/ the farm maps now. The river map will still be superior and offer more variety and quality, but it's been reported that all the farm maps will now allow at least a few actual fish to be caught, aside from just trash. You need a deity! Why not Zoidberg?
Has anyone noticed that the possessor of the Hilltop farm seems to get a bonus in the form of copper ore appearing in the early levels of the Mine? I hope it was intentional on CA's part (or he's likely to remove it), but copper showed up on the second level down.
Ok, so i just figured out there is a BETA which includes among the many tweaks the ability to set buildings on grassy areas and all i gotta say is "THANK YOU!!!" Now i can proceed with what i had originally planned for my forest map.
Not just building on grass but the ability to remove those bushes with an upgraded axe, too. For those interested in the BETA changelog, you can find it here. I'll definitely go Forest Map with these changes. It looks great, you don't need that much space/money anyway and - as Mrminot already wrote - it fits with the Junimos etc.
