Make Farming Great "Again"

[discospaceman]

Flame suit on, getting ready for hate from botters

EDIT: This is not a suggestion to deter botting. We know you're super good with coding and things like this are ezpz. While lots of people might be happy if your farming bots weren't as effective, some of us enjoy this part of the game and would like it to be more interactive.

I suggest the following features. Please discuss and add anything you like. Overall, I'd like to add some more spice and interactivity to farming. For such an interesting credo flavor text, we're missing out!

Crop rotation and 'overworking' the soil

Cultures from the dawn of time have discovered that, wow, when I plant this particular bunch of shit in a row or together things grow better. I propose a minor growth speed increase, stacking up to X, if you cycle through different crops on each tile. Conversely, if you plant too many crops of one kind in a row on the same tile, the soil will become 'depleted' and growth speed will suffer. You must change the crop on this tile until the soil is healthy again.

Of course, we can add some mystery and a higher Farming skill would allow you to see the 'satiations' of a specific tile, allowing skilled farmers to actively cultivate and reap (lol) the benefits from doing so.

Trellis crops would be excluded from this change because vines. We farmers may be masochists but we aren't that depraved.

Random farming events

Create a noticeable, not too mandatory, reason/reward for paying attention instead of alt-tabbing to porn or to check in on our cheese bots.

"In the Zone" - every now and then when working a tile, a temporary 'speed buff' - like entity will spawn, allowing you to collect a curio, farming speed, stamina buff, or higher-than-normal quality of seed. This will spawn in a random direction X distance away, and would disappear after X seconds. Open to ideas on this reward.

"Field Mouse" - Similar to above - if captured and released, a sizable temporary buff of some kind (or exp)

"Inspiration" - more flavor text XP events is always great.

"Heirloom Herb" - a random forageable curio, perc/farming revealed, that spawns when around other crops. Some special use. "wilts" after some time, find it when it pops up!

"Hardy Bunch" - Every now and then, a tile will mature unusually quickly. Collect these seeds while you can! (unsure what use they should have).

[Granger]

EDIT: as of the edit of the OP a revised, bot free, version.

The events would be a fun thing as they're not mandatory (so they can be ignored). Might help turning quantity farming from the current more AFK thing (draw rectangle, go cook another coffee) into something one would actually watch.

Not sure about the crop rotation thing, as it would be mandatory to do for everyone slightly interested in the quality race.

[Jackwolf]

+1 for field mouse, if only for new types of rat requiring recipes.

[Reyajh]

+1.