Farming Optimization
Farming optimization is the management of Rodent Farm's ordinary production, storage, and named material commitments. It centers on capacity, the next Civic Need, and the conversion of materials into a specific construction, recipe, order, or delivery.
- Primary constraint
- Ordinary production stops at storage capacity.
- Planning anchor
- The current Civic Need and permanent Work.
- Crafting role
- Converts materials for named destinations.
- Route comparison
- Combines travel time with input replacement time.
Capacity and returns
Collect All settles ready ordinary output in a grouped receipt. The Storehouse increases the room available for that output, making longer intervals between collections more accommodating. The Lost-and-Found Cart recovers only a limited eligible share of post-cap production and therefore operates differently from storage.
A processing batch has its own cancellation and Apply state, while a blocked Work Order identifies its material, capacity, expiry, or category cause. Stockpile is the normal destination for uncommitted output after a Work Order is cancelled or no longer needed.
Material sequencing
Material choices are shaped by the next stated requirement. Wood can remain raw for a construction or Public Work, or it can become Plank Bundles when a named contribution needs them. Cheese follows a similar pattern: Aged Cheese serves hospitality and selected recipes, while plain Cheese remains an input for other uses.
Pondworks introduces this distinction early, since its Petition can accept donations across multiple sessions. The Workshop later extends it to recipes and Craft Work Orders, where the batch's destination gives the conversion its purpose.
Equal-value choices
Road, River, and Aerial Dispatch routes exchange goods against travel time. Their comparison depends on stock and refill time, so equal-value published rewards can produce different useful schedules. The Foreman's Clipboard similarly presents a choice when two Civic Needs are within about 5% of one another.
Public Work dedications and presentation systems add map identity, scenery, and story records alongside the economic loop. Their placement and appearance form part of the settlement's visual development, while production planning remains attached to capacity and named material uses.