Dev Question: Why must plant maintenance have ToD timers?

[EvilPixieWorks]

(ToD = Time of Day)

I know it's nearly pointless to suggest this...

But in having very fond memories of our old “Power Hour” that was stripped away a long time ago... I can't help ask myself, every single day, why our plant system has to be time sensitive per the time of day vs. actually just allowing us to service them at the start of each day.

In other words... why can't they just GROW with shard down?

Like the plant beds does.

If you didn’t know the difference... say you plant your seeds, on your character at 10am. You must wait till at least 10am the next day to do your maintenance. If you are LATE, you could very well be messed up the next day. If something happens that really throws the time off, you have to skip a day and then restart your maintenance when you want it to continue. I believe there is a small buffer around this “grow time” so it's not so rigid, but I still can't help wonder this seeing I grow over 300 plants a day... over the last few years.

Plant beds... you plant your seeds, loose the first day entirely. Then they grow every day after shard maintenance. It doesn’t matter if you use fertile dirt or not. The fertile dirt may bump the grow time up 1 day along the way, but is extremely worthless. Better to keep it uniformed so you can harvest at the same time. When dealing with another 100-300+ plants in the plant beds, we have to keep it simple. Hehe. These don’t really need service as far as water + potions, yet they do need cross pollination for the most part. Still, this is about the grow timer.

Developers? Please consider it. Shard maintenance times, not grow/service times? Please.

 

[4gregu]

I am 4gregu, and I approve this message.

 

[Barok]

Are you talking about plants locked down in your house or in your backpack?
Don't plants locked down get a growth check at server up? I've never grown plants that way so I'm not sure. I always grow my plants in my backpack so they don't die if I miss a day or two (or more).

 

[Mirt]

Using game day as opposed to time of day is a better idea across the board for everything in game. It allows those of us with shifting schedules a chance to do things based on our time.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Are you talking about plants locked down in your house or in your backpack?
Don't plants locked down get a growth check at server up? I've never grown plants that way so I'm not sure. I always grow my plants in my backpack so they don't die if I miss a day or two (or more).

I didn't touch on the locked down plants... its been a long time sence I've done them that way, so I forgot. They work the same way as the plant bed plants, but with a large need for water/potions like the ones in your backpack. They still stay on the shard-up time. Still, I don't think this area is much of a big deal these days seeing its bed or backpacks now. Skipping days holds up production! hehe Not an option.

 

[Barok]

So you are saying you want the way plants in backpacks work.

I vote no.

 

[old gypsy]

I like the way the plant system works now. If I can't log in for days or weeks, the plants in my backpacks don't grow or need tending. Also, although the new planting beds are a nice convenience, most serious growers don't rely on them entirely, and continue tending most of their plants the regular way.

Actually, I'd hate to see plant growing (or anything in UO) become so effortless that no one even had to think about it.

 

[Old Man of UO]

... why can't they just GROW with shard down?

Like the plant beds does...

You should send this in for a Five on Friday question...

err... I mean Ask The Devs...

err... dang, if you don't use Twitter, you're out of luck getting a response.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

So you are saying you want the way plants in backpacks work.

I vote no.

Well... for slackers with no rush, you always have the blue beetle. Just load your bug with your plants and you can work on them any time you like. OR go with the beds. The plants never die in the beds.

Old Man of UO... lol!

 

[yars]

its that way to keep the leet hacks out i guess

 

[elspeth]

So plants in backpacks aren't supposed to grow unless you tend them??? I was wondering. I thought they grew every day no matter what unless you put them in a secure or a beetle of course. I was very surprised to not have dead plants after a few days of not being able to get online.

However, I wasn't certain because I do know that I have never grown plants any other way but in my backpack and I have seen them manage to get wilted so sometimes they don't grow if I don't take care of them but sometimes they do grow! Ah well, guess I should ask about it in the gardening forum.

 

[Tanivar]

Plants growing in your characters backpack do a growth check when you log that character in. If it's been more than 23 hours since the last growth step, the plants will do another one, if not, then it doesn't do one.