WAAAY OT: Farmville; Optimizing Seeds
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Well, it's the offseason, BBall and Hockey both look like they're going to miss tournament play, and even the Redwings are flirting with missing the playoffs in like 2 decades. I can't bring myself to watch and analyze the football replays because I already know the conclusion: we're not a very good team yet. Sports are not very entertaining to me right now.
So, what's a guy to do with all his spare time? A guy who's a bit anal and likes to think in spreadsheets...How about doing a cost/benefit analysis for all the seeds available in farmville!! And it's not even completely OT because I remember Brian and Tim talking about it once in a podcast.
The questions is; 'what to plant?' That depends on three major considerations. A) Do you want to maximize money? or B) Do you want to maximize experience and C) How much time are trying to waste on this stupid game? I think this calls for a chart!
Chart?
Chart.
seed | price | payout | time | xp | profit/hr | xp/day | xp/day M |
superpumpkin | 30 | 100 | 4 | 1 | 13.75 | 12.00 | 15.00 |
forgetmenot | 45 | 126 | 18 | 2 | 3.67 | 4.00 | 4.67 |
strawberries | 10 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 2.50 | 12.00 | 15.00 |
eggplant | 25 | 88 | 48 | 2 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
wheat | 35 | 115 | 72 | 2 | 0.90 | 1.00 | 1.17 |
soybeans | 15 | 63 | 24 | 2 | 1.38 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
squash | 40 | 121 | 48 | 2 | 1.38 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
pumpkins | 30 | 68 | 8 | 1 | 2.88 | 6.00 | 7.50 |
artichokes | 70 | 204 | 96 | 2 | 1.24 | 0.75 | 0.88 |
rice | 45 | 96 | 12 | 1 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
raspberries | 20 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 5.50 | 12.00 | 18.00 |
daffodils | 60 | 135 | 48 | 2 | 1.25 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
cotton | 75 | 207 | 72 | 2 | 1.63 | 1.00 | 1.17 |
cranberries | 55 | 98 | 10 | 1 | 2.80 | 4.80 | 6.00 |
bell peppers | 75 | 198 | 48 | 2 | 2.25 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
peppers | 70 | 162 | 24 | 2 | 3.21 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
morning glory | 60 | 123 | 12 | 1 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
aloe vera | 50 | 86 | 6 | 1 | 3.50 | 8.00 | 10.00 |
pineapples | 95 | 242 | 48 | 2 | 2.75 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
red tulips | 75 | 159 | 24 | 2 | 2.88 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
pattypan squash | 65 | 160 | 16 | 1 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 3.75 |
blueberries | 50 | 91 | 4 | 1 | 6.50 | 12.00 | 15.00 |
watermelon | 130 | 348 | 96 | 2 | 2.11 | 0.75 | 0.88 |
grapes | 85 | 270 | 24 | 2 | 7.08 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
tomatoes | 100 | 173 | 8 | 1 | 7.25 | 6.00 | 7.50 |
pink roses | 120 | 254 | 48 | 2 | 2.48 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
potatoes | 135 | 345 | 72 | 2 | 2.71 | 1.00 | 1.17 |
carrots | 110 | 200 | 12 | 1 | 6.25 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
coffee | 120 | 243 | 16 | 1 | 6.75 | 3.00 | 3.75 |
corn | 150 | 380 | 72 | 2 | 2.99 | 1.00 | 1.17 |
sunflowers | 135 | 315 | 24 | 2 | 6.88 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
ghost chili | 80 | 136 | 6 | 1 | 6.83 | 8.00 | 10.00 |
cabbage | 140 | 388 | 48 | 2 | 4.85 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
grean tea | 105 | 191 | 10 | 1 | 7.10 | 4.80 | 6.00 |
black berries | 75 | 117 | 4 | 1 | 6.75 | 12.00 | 15.00 |
red wheat | 180 | 449 | 72 | 2 | 3.53 | 1.00 | 1.17 |
lavender | 160 | 384 | 48 | 2 | 4.35 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
sugarcane | 165 | 239 | 8 | 1 | 7.38 | 6.00 | 7.50 |
peas | 190 | 381 | 24 | 3 | 7.33 | 4.00 | 4.50 |
yellow melon | 205 | 528 | 96 | 2 | 3.21 | 0.75 | 0.88 |
onion | 170 | 275 | 12 | 1 | 7.50 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
broccoli | 200 | 473 | 48 | 2 | 5.38 | 1.50 | 1.75 |
lilies | 195 | 369 | 24 | 2 | 6.63 | 3.00 | 3.50 |
acorn squash | 175 | 258 | 10 | 1 | 6.80 | 4.80 | 6.00 |
asparagus | 220 | 357 | 16 | 2 | 7.63 | 4.50 | 5.25 |
As you can see, the seeds that take the shortest amount of time to mature are the best ones to plant for experience due to the fact that you get 1 xp each time you plow the land. The seeds that take longer to mature generally give better profit because you don't lose out on the 15 coins for each plow.
The trade off is that seeds with short incubation periods require much more time from you to be clicking away at them. This is reduced somewhat after you can afford the vehicles.
The efficiency numbers for profit and xp are actually exaggerated a bit for the quicker seeds because you usually waste some time between when the crops are ready and when you actually harvest them. So think of the chart as a best case scenario. This wasted time decreases as a percentage for the longer incubation seeds.
You also have to consider the risk of missing a harvest interval and losing your crops. So quick seeds carry two negatives, a higher risk of loss, and more loss due to time loss.
Another interesting point is to see what effect mastering a seed to level 3 will have. After you reach mastery, the crops will give extra experience what seems like a little more than half the time. So the last column is just an approximation. But what it does is make raspberries a much better tool for gaining xp quickly.
There are also two limited time seeds listed right now. As you can see, the super pumpkin is off the charts, so if you have the time to make harvesting appointments, you really shouldn't be planting anything else.
I really long for the days when facebook was open to college students only and you could only see your college's network.
But Falcon Seven, I'm decoupaging! If I leave now, it may bubble!
First this shit takes over facebook and now it's taking over MgoBlog!? Not on my watch!
For today, goodbye. For tomorrow, good luck. And forever, Go Blue.
And that goes for my wife who might be reading this. Where's my dinner??
Edit: she read all the comments and thought it was all hilarious. I still don't have my dinner.
Now we can all see what a lack of bowl games will do to the average Michigan fan.
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
i asked Carvin Johnson what he thought and he argued that the forgetmenot wasn't worth the time put into it. i immediately 'liked' his comment but that got Ricardo all up in arms bc apparently he's really big on those. it was SO hilarious, you should go check on there. it's this big comment thing on his wall right below Josh Tapleton of Ohio saying 'suck it, go OSU' and Ryan Friedman from Brighton saying 'KICK SOME ASS NEXT YEAR! Do you know anything about Baxter?'
I was finally able to drag myself away from farmville, but they way I used to handl it was planting berries all day and then an 8 hour crop overnight. I also used a program called gridclicker where you set the size and number of boxes in the grid, lined it up and clicked one button. That allowed me to save money for other things which could get me experience and help in expanding my farm more than a vehicle ever could.
FWIW I felt look an intense nerd using a secondary program to enhance a game on facebook.
I hate farmville, and bash my GF daily for playing it. but +1 for the effort you put into this lol.
All in for Michigan
Yeah me too...she is on it like all the time. More than I am on NCAA. Still prolly gonna show her this tho...
Mechanical Engineering in '12
I don't play Farmville, but sometimes my newsfeed has messages from one of my friends that read something like "So-and-so would like help fertilizing her crops."
I assume this means that she wants to use my excrement as fertilizer, so I take a dump in a box and mail it to her each time. Weird game, huh?
Ann Arbor: now the permanent home of the Little Brown Jug
66-22-3 all-time
For all the people calling out the nerdiness of the post... are you aware of the foundation on which this blog rests? Have you ever read a UFR? This isn't M football, but only because it's winter and we have football cabin fever.
Hate to break it to ya, but by default you are a nerd just by being here. Welcome to the club! The Kool-Aid is in the corner, we have monthly burnings of "Rudy" on DVD as well as VHS, and don't forget to sign up for the "Meme of the Month" newsletter.
... called a penis...
Is it possible that Diaries have jumped the shark?
/sarc
Pronounced Ahh-Neh-Muh
NERRRRRDDDDDDSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
That is all.
Do you play for your football team, by chance?
"Gentlemen, this is a football."
- Vince Lombardi
I showed this post to my wife who is a Farmville addict and even she rolled her eyes and said, "Someone needs to get a life." NOTE: only six days and 13 hours till signing day (Scout has a countdown clock) NOTE 2: Farmville has Superbowl themed items so you can mix your love of football and Farmville at the same time...
The end of August cannot come soon enough...
Go Blue!
I think Farmville gets boring fast, but they're starting to add some things to pick it up, like the new collections.
Best tip I got was to trap your farmer in the center of your farm. Then you don't have to wait for it to walk over to your chicken coop (or whatever) when you're clicking on stuff. As long as your farmer can't move, Farmville will go a lot faster. Just clear the center square (where your farmer is when you open the game) and surround the square with hay bales. Voila, trapped farmer.
Mafia Wars is my bigger time waster.
negged for trapping my farmer? I didn't realize Human Rights Watch were MGoBlog readers.
NERD ALERT
I played farmville for a while but I have up on it.
Now I play D&D Mini adventures (lolgeek) and phpDiplomacy (a facebook version of the board game. It's great)
Would anyone be interested in some Mgodiplomacy? It would be a good way to kill time in the offseason and make some new enemies.
I got totally burned out on Farmville when I got to the point where I had unlocked everything and have the 24x24 farm - even with the machines it just takes way too freakin' long. As opposed to Cafe World where the most stoves you can have is 16 and they actually do give you more XP the longer your food takes to cook. That keeps the ultra bored people from beating the people who only have time once or twice a day to play. Of course I've now unlocked everything on that game as well so hopefully they'll come up with something new soon...
I'd say Mafia Wars which has been my obsession, since I'm at level 260 and have yet to master the game but it gets boring quick!
UM football is my heroine
I used to play some kind of that on my iPhone. I was playing that and Kingdoms Live, Racing Live, Rock Star Live and World War - needless to say I got burned out on all of them after a while since I was playing all of them. I can't remember what level I was but I think I was pretty well off - not like 260 or anything but maybe it took longer to level up on the one I was playing. Like with Farmville you max out at level 35ish but on Cafe World you max out around 64 and I got there a lot quicker than I got to 35 in Farmville.
Well in my defense I've had mafia wars for about 2 years and only check it maybe once or twice a week now, but I just can't get into a game about farming. I am currently wanting for someone to make a game about managing a football team. I think I could get into that. Maybe?
UM football is my heroine
Late last night I briefly considered going to the main Farmville fansite and posting a longform piece about Michigan football in their "Diaries" section.
I thought better of it.
that is the most funny thing i've ever heard
(this post is really about how every single sport in the southeast michigan area is tanking at the same time, without being so direct about. But don't tell anyone)
I haven't played Farmville either, but I know it is a Facebook thing and no doubt a huge time-waster. I am not on Facebook despite my wife's pleas because MGoBlog is my time-waster of choice. I would have been very happy to never have Facebook brought up on MGoBlog at all (yes, including re: recruiting) and seeing diary entries about silly Facebook games is depressing on a Wednesday morning. Thanks for the OT but this is board material IME.
"If left isn't right, then right is all you have left. Right?" - Beagly Beagly to the Great Grape Ape /
www.seaandlearn.org
I haven't played Farmville but, seeing that I need a cure for my depression, I might pick it up. I loved Harvest Moon on the N64 10+ years ago, how similar is Farmville to that?