After just a few months, the farm simulation game DCrops is still just in it's early alpha stages.
The game play is relatively simple, and the cards are basic in their function. You'll probably only need to check in once a day to keep things running.
However...since it's inception in May, DCrops has sold thousands of alpha packs to a hungry member base eager to participate. The community continues to grow, and development continues forward.
At this early stage, it might be wise to get a good grasp on the fundamentals behind the game before it grows and moves into beta. There might even be potential to profiting from the experience long-term. :)
The first half of this guide will breakdown the numbers on each of the cards. The second half will put it all together with a strategy for every growing season.
Part 1: The Numbers
Let's break down the cards into 6 different categories of numbers. The growing times for each seed card are mentioned, but not listed as a category. It is addressed more in part two.
All Cards
24 - The total number of cards currently available.
From this total, there are 2 types which are used to grow crops:
20 - The number of seed cards to plant in your land plots.
4 - The number of land plot cards where you can plant your seeds.
Seasons
DCrops moves with the 4 seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each season lasts 15 days over which you'll want to harvest and sell as many crops as possible.
5 - The total number of seed cards available in each season.
4 - All lands plot can be used in each season.
Cooldown
Each seed has a set number of days required for it to grow before it can be harvested. This ranges from 2-12 days depending on the seed. Cooldown can have a significant effect on the timing for when you plant your seeds.
14 - The number of days that a seed card goes into cooldown before it can be replanted.
15 - The number of seed cards that go into cooldown after harvest.
5 - The number of seed cards that don't go into cooldown and can be replanted during the course of the season. See 'special abilities' below.
Land does not go into cooldown.
Status
Like many games of this type, @DCrops have different status groups for their cards. There are 4 different types, each with an every decreasing drop rate when opening packs.
9 - The total number of Common Cards.
5 - The number of cards for each of the Rare, Epic, and Legendary status.
This includes Land cards which have 1 of each status.
Special Abilities
8 - The number of seed cards with special abilities.
Only the 4 Epic and 4 Legendary seed cards have abilities.
From this total, there are 2 types:
3 - The number of seed cards with a 25% chance of getting extra crops on harvest
5 - The number of seed cards which keep producing crops until the end of the season. These can be replanted multiple times without cooldown.
About Land
The status of the land determines how many seed cards you can plant in the plot.
It also determines how many potential bonus crops can be harvested, along with the chance of the bonus crop activating.
Common land - plots 1, bonus crops 1, bonus chance 2%
Rare land - plots 2, bonus crops 1, bonus chance 5%
Epic land - plots 3, bonus crops 1, bonus chance 10%
Legendary land - plots 4, bonus crops 2, bonus chance 10%
Part 2: Putting It All Together
The premise behind DCrops is simple: plant seeds onto your farmland, harvest your crops after a set number of days, and sell them for reward shares which are paid out at the end of each season.
The goal is to harvest and sell as many crops as possible!
Let's take all the numbers above and put them into a basic strategy for making the most of your cards based on each season. We'll be getting into the names and harvest time for every card.
As your set of cards will differ, the following should be used as a starting template only.
Priority
Based on the numbers, the basic strategy is to prioritize the highest level seed cards with the best abilities onto your highest level land cards first!
Land cards can be treated the same way for each season:
Fill the 4 plots in legendary Hi-Tec Lands first, the 3 plots in epic Awesome Lands second, the 2 plots in rare Fertile Lands, and then use the remains 1 plot in any common Average Farmlands.
Seed cards can be placed onto the prioritized land in the order of their status. Legendary first, Epic second, Rare third, and Common last. You'll harvest more crops using your legendary seed cards first no matter what type of land you have.
Seasons
For every season there are 2 Common seed cards and 1 each for Rare, Epic, and Legendary.
All seeds are listed in order of status priority.
Numbers are basic, and based on the planting (and re-planting) of just 1 of each type of card for the season, without any bonuses added.
Spring:
1st Strawberry, 2nd Potato, 3rd Cauliflower, 4th and 5th Broccoli and Kale
Strawberry - 4 crops every 3 days at 7 shares per crop. Re-plantable. No Cooldown!140
Potato - 7 crops after 7 days at 10 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.70
Cauliflower - 1 crop after 10 days at 24 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.24
Broccoli - 2 crops after 5 days at 7 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.14
Kale - 2 crops after 6 days at 7 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.14
Total potential shares at season end: 262
Summer:
1st Blueberry, 2nd Tomato, 3rd Watermelon, 4th and 5th Wheat and Turnip
Blueberry - 5 crops every 2 days at 4 shares per crop. Re-plantable. No Cooldown!
Tomato - 2 crops after 3 days at 7 shares per crop. Re-plantable. No Cooldown!*
Watermelon - 1 crop after 12 days at 24 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Wheat - 2 crops after 4 days at 7 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Turnip - 1 crops after 7 days at 14 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Total potential shares at season end: 269
*The only non-legendary card that keeps producing.
Fall:
1st Raspberry, 2nd Beetroot, 3rd Pumpkin, 4th and 5th Garlic and Carrot
Raspberry - 4 crops every 3 days at 7 shares per crop. Re-plantable. No Cooldown!
Beetroot - 5 crops after 7 days at 14 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Pumpkin - 1 crop after 12 days at 24 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Garlic - 2 crops after 7 days at 7 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Carrot - 1 crops after 7 days at 14 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Total potential shares at season end: 262
Winter:
1st Bell Pepper, 2nd Onion, 3rd Cabbage, 4th and 5th Peas and Radish
Bell Pepper - 5 crops every 2 days at 4 shares per crop. Re-plantable. No Cooldown!
Onion - 7 crops after 7 days at 10 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Cabbage - 1 crop after 10 days at 24 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Peas - 5 crops after 4 days at 3 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Radish - 1 crops after 7 days at 13 shares per crop. Goes on cooldown.
Total potential shares at season end: 262
A Quick Summary
Hopefully this all makes sense and is useful in calculating your own DCrops farming strategy. Scale and adapt the numbers above accordingly.
At this point in DCrops development...there is one clear path to a more profitable harvest:
The more cards the better!
Consider making it a goal to purchase enough cards that allow you to harvest enough to earn a couple thousand crop at the end of each season. You can then buy another card pack to grow your farm, or start cashing out on hive-engine. :)
Enjoy the harvest,
Michael
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