Okay, dumb questions from a newbie...

[TurtlePie]

Okay, I've been playing Bakery and Restaurant for a while now (level 96, add me!!) but Farm Story is a different animal to me. So I've got a few questions:

1) I've been looking at community member's lovely farms to try and understand what the point is. First off, why do some trees look different, even though they're the same type? For instance, I've seen both white and purple plumb trees??
2) Why does the stuff I grow have water droplets on it? Even some of the animals do?! What does this mean?
3) Are there levels to achieve in planting things? For instance, in Restaurant and Bakery, it clearly shows you if you're on level 1, 2, 3 or 4 as far as how many times you've cooked/baked something, but I'm not seeing that on Farm. Or maybe I just don't know what to look for.

Thanks for helping!!!

TurtlePie

[WendingWanderer]

1. Some people enjoy decorating their farms. It's not required. Trees have a leaf-only phase, a flower phase, and a fruiting phase. Thus, a plum tree can be purple during it's leaf-only phase, but white when in flower.

2. People water your plants (and you should water theirs). Each water droplet is worth 20 more coins and an extra experience point. You can water 5 plots for community members, 10 plots for neighbors (plus a gift). The animals get an "exclamation mark" over them when they're ready to harvest.

3. When you choose what crop to plant, you will see a bar with four leaves over the crop (in the store). The leaves are dull. As you gain mastery, the leaves brighten - 1 leaf = level one mastery, 2 leaves = level 2 mastery, etc. The bar will show you how close you are to the next level of mastery.

[nmishii]

This may help:

http://forums.teamlava.com/showthread.php?16823-Get-Out-On-the-Farm-(FAQ-for-Beginners)

[TurtlePie]

Ohhhh, okay, I'm tracking. Right now, all I have is a whole bunch of flowers with water droplets on them. I've read that some people don't want to harvest them, (since I guess they're pretty much good forever and don't wilt?) so what do people do, just leave them there with the water droplets on them? Cuz if I touch them, they'll be gone, right?

Sorry I sound so stupid...I hate playing these things if I really don't know what I'm doing...

:)

[nmishii]

There are some flowers that cost gems. People don't want to harvest them because they cost 1 or 2 gems and harvest like any other flower.

Some people have flowers that they would rather not harvest, for various reasons. I have white poinsettias that are no longer available in the store so I don't want to harvest. They have water droplets on them and I wish they didn't.

Some people plant flowers to master and want those watered.

The flowers won't wilt, so do whatever you want with them.

[pinkster73]

Ohhhh, okay, I'm tracking. Right now, all I have is a whole bunch of flowers with water droplets on them. I've read that some people don't want to harvest them, (since I guess they're pretty much good forever and don't wilt?) so what do people do, just leave them there with the water droplets on them? Cuz if I touch them, they'll be gone, right?

Sorry I sound so stupid...I hate playing these things if I really don't know what I'm doing...

:)

Flowers and trees don't wilt. You can harvest and grow your flowers just like crops to master them, or keep them as decoration.

[TimeForACuppaTea]

I play bakery and Restaurant too, as well as farm.

In BS and RS the food has 3 phases. Cooking, ready and spoiled. In farm the crops have 4 phases and trees and flowers have 3 phases. Crops have seed, sprout, ready and dead (spoiled). Trees have leaf only (blank), flowering, and ready (fruit). Flowers and trees do not die ever.

The water droplets are the "tips". You get to collect them when the crops or trees are ready. You can't collect them the same as in RS and BS. You must wait until the crops are ready for harvest. Thus adds an extra challenge to the game. If you have a lot of neighbors you can get "full" pretty fast and nobody can water you until you replant.

Also if you plant fast crops like strawberries and someone waters you, then you'll need to "refresh" the game to see the drops in order to get the extra xp from them. You can do this easily by posting something on your wall, deleting something off your wall, or posting on someone elses wall. Once you can see the drops then you'll get the points.

Yes, there is mastery. It's the same as in BS and RS. When you go to cook and item again you see your rating, same in farm. When you go to plant the item again you see the rating. In farm your rating is across the top of the item rather than the bottom. The leaves are very pale and hard to see if you don't have any yet.

[jensteed]

If you have only just started playing farm story (within about 2 days) the crop mastery doesn't show. It's the same in all the 'story' games.
But it will show soon although any crops you've already grown won't count towards going up a rank.

[DerGelbeKaiser]

:-) I also have always hated it when people watered my flowers - especially when the {} drops where still animated.
Eventually I had told all my neighbours DONT' WATER MY FLOWERS :-) Now it's less of an issue but I still don't like it. It's also more polite to water trees and crops first since flowers take a long time to grow and most people don'T harvest them.
Still, it's a nice gesture for someone else to water your stuff

A thing about gifts: Everything can be sold but only dogbowls are worth the effort with 400 coins each - that's why they are the most common gift. Other popular gift for higher level players are tool shed parts. Building a toolshed gives the person a ton of experience points for 'just' 10,000 coins.
Android users have a somewhat lesser game than iOS users (no goals) but at least we were spared the nasty 2.0 update which has people leaveing in droves because of a very nasty gem trap. If you are on iOS and have a version from before last week: Don't update!!!!!

Farm Story is more ... sedate than RS and BS but check out the Cool Farms thread and you'll see that the decorating options are great. It's not animated and full of gemtraps but the crop system is the largest and most beautifull of all the farm games I have tried.
And before you buy a box, check out the thread. Most 4th level items in the older boxes are atrocious, not something I would want to gamble real money on.
Have fun.

[jensteed]

If you don't harvest your trees/flowers after they've been watered about a week later all the water gets automatically removed from your farm. So if you keep a post near the top off your wall asking neighbours not to re-water them you might be able to keep them clear.

And I checked up, it's at level 8 that the plant mastey appears.

[SmokeyMtnGirl]

There are no dumb questions. You don't know if you don't ask.

[olderthandirt]

New ?....how does it happen that you get coins when you first visit a neighbors farm each day? How do I give my neighbors coins when they visit me?

[pinkster73]

New ?....how does it happen that you get coins when you first visit a neighbors farm each day? How do I give my neighbors coins when they visit me?

You can't. You get a daily bonus for visiting your neighbors. When they visit you, they automatically get a bonus too.