Flower Breeding

[Facethief]

While looking for some lupines, I realized how varied the flowers are, even in one patch- you don't just get purple lupines, you also get some white and blue ones in the same patch. It then struck me that a flower breeding system would suit the game very well and give players a variety of long-term goals and challenges, whether it be to get X color with only X other colors, or something else.

The only issue I can think of with this system is that while gene-specific flower seeds could be sold by traders, a gene system with the same depth as in ACNH would be hard to make use of in lore disabled worlds, as the random variation in genes would make wild flowers difficult to breed consistently and predictably. Maybe some kind of metal-age analysis kit would work, but that would feel anachronistic given that it'd be a gene analyzer in medieval times. Any rationalization for such a device is welcome. An alternative to Animal Crossing genes, where each set of genes gives a specific set of colors, could be having each individual gene make a variable color (eg. 555 = white, 554 = light yellow, 500 = deep red). This system also has its flaws, being that two dynamic colors may be needed for each type of breedable flower (stem color and flower color), and that many strange colors of flowers could be made if certain gene values were not disabled.

There is an additional issue with this whole idea: how are flowers supposed to be bred? If they simply passively breed, this could significantly slow the game in certain situations. One Idea I have for solving this is only allowing breedable flowers to breed on farmland, which could also allow for the future implementation of crop breeding, although that system may need to be more complex. Alternatively, flower breeding could be tied to bees or the spawning of butterflies, although these could get out of hand quickly. Maybe a combination of the two would work best; I don't know.

In summary, such a system would allow players to bring a personalized touch of color to their homes and landscapes (that sounded like a garden supply store ad).

As an aside, I feel intensely uncomfortable with how many times I wrote "breed" in that.

[Never Jhonsen]

12 hours ago, Facethief said:

[Y]ou don't just get purple lupines, you also get some white and blue ones in the same patch.

When it comes to Lupins (My favorite flower in the game), you have two types; large purple patches, and large blue patches. each patch will have a handful of a second color, that being White, Red, or Orange.

 

I would LOVE to be able to breed flowers ingame I have seen a mod where you can "craft" flower seeds with a knife and a flower, but I'd rather a more natural way, like how the mushrooms work. Areas that generate with flowers tend to regrow them there.

[Thorfinn]

I think it's a cool idea, but I also think it should remain a mod, just like any other niches.

4 hours ago, Never Jhonsen said:

Areas that generate with flowers tend to regrow them there.

"That there's [a good idea], I don't care who y'are." 

Shouldn't be too hard, either. The mushroom propagation code has got to be pretty easy to copy/adapt. Pretty sure there's a zone generated at mapgen, because while a mushroom region is tolerant of light terraforming, it is possible to change it so much that even though it's still dirt, it no longer grows mushrooms. But that also suggests that you should be able to spawn in a similar flower (or mushroom) zone if you meet certain conditions.

There was also a mod that added flowers to the pool of possible fallow spawns in farmland. By Staniboy if memory serves. That might also give a good guide as to how to go about it.

[LadyWYT]

I think being able to breed different varieties of flowers to create new varieties is a bit much and better suited as a mod. However, I do think that allowing players to propagate more flowers either from seed or from a crafting recipe would be a nice addition to the game. I've seen mods that handle it both ways. One allowed you to grow more flowers from seeds, provided that the growing conditions were right, while the other allowed you to create more flowers by crafting a piece of compost with the flower type of your choice.

Is it very useful for gameplay? Not really, but if you want to plant fields of color without stripping the countryside bare for miles around or going into creative mode, having a way to propagate your own flowers would be handy.

[MagpieOAO]

With herbalism planned I expect we'll get something to propagate herbs and flowers. We can farm animals, we can grow and harvest crops, forests, so I expect the same will be true of herbs.

[Solvieg]

There could be an interesting mechanic where flowers have to be near bees- the bees would pollinate them and you could get additional seeds or spreading flowers!