Farmhold Acres

01High-Level Concept

Farmhold Acres is a cosy medieval online farming life sim where every player owns and develops their own rural holding. The player can grow crops, raise animals, gather resources, craft useful goods, upgrade their land, complete NPC contracts, and take part in a living market economy.

The game is designed to be fully enjoyable as a solo farming/life sim first. Players should be able to progress at their own pace even if nobody else is online. As the community grows, player-to-player systems such as market listings, buy orders, farm visits, auction houses, guild projects, and player contracts gradually become more important.

The world is not modern. There is no electricity, no industrial machinery, no cars, no phones, and no modern technology. Production is powered by hand tools, animal labour, water wheels, windmills, charcoal, kilns, forges, looms, presses, and other medieval or early pre-industrial methods.

The game should feel warm, grounded, social, and practical. The player is not a chosen hero saving the world. They are one of many ordinary folk trying to build a life, work their land, improve their craft, trade with others, and become part of a growing rural economy.

02Design Pillars

03Target Player Experience

The ideal player thought process should be:

"I'll just log in and tend my holding."

Then they discover: crops are ready · animals need care · the carpenter posted a good wood contract · someone listed cheap charcoal · the blacksmith needs iron ore · a festival starts soon · their tool is ready for repair · a new building upgrade is affordable · a friend invited them to visit their farmhold.

This creates the "one more task" loop that makes farming/life sims compelling.

04Core Fantasy

The fantasy of Farmhold Acres is not power, combat dominance, or conquest. It is owning a piece of land, turning rough ground into something useful, building a home, becoming skilled at a trade, supplying a village economy, seeing your work matter, and being part of a world full of other working folk.

"This is my holding. These are my goods. This is my place in the world."

05Game World

5.1 Setting

The game takes place in a rural medieval region known as Farmhold Acres — a wider farming district made up of player holdings, a central market town, farmland, woodland, rivers, pastures, quarries, mills, roads, seasonal fairgrounds, guild buildings, and communal resource areas.

5.2 Tone

Warm · Rustic · Medieval · Grounded · Cosy · Slightly storybook · Not childish · Not grimdark · Not high-fantasy (unless added carefully later). There can be mystery, folklore, superstition, old ruins, strange woods, and seasonal traditions, but the main tone is domestic and practical.

5.3 Technology Level

5.4 Magic

The base design does not require magic. If added later it should be subtle: seasonal blessings, rare enchanted seeds, folk charms, weather shrines, old forest spirits, quality bonuses, ritual festivals. It should not turn the game into a combat-heavy fantasy RPG unless that becomes a deliberate expansion.

06Player Identity

6.1 Character Creation

At launch: name, gender/presentation, skin tone, hair style & colour, basic clothing, starting outfit colour, optional beard, and a simple portrait. Later: profession clothing, hats, aprons, cloaks, boots, guild badges, festival outfits, and cosmetic titles.

6.2 Player Role

The player is a new settler or inheritor of a small holding within Farmhold Acres. They begin with a small cottage, basic tools, some seeds, a small amount of money, overgrown land, limited storage, and access to the market town.

6.3 Progression Identity

Players should become known for what they do: reliable farmer · skilled woodsman · master shepherd · fine toolmaker · famous brewer · market trader · decorator · guild organiser · seasonal festival winner. The game should support identity through both mechanics and cosmetics.

07World Structure

7.1 Private Holding Instances

Each player has a private holding instance. It is persistent and saved server-side. Crops, buildings, decorations, animals, and stored items belong solely to that player. Other players cannot enter unless invited or permitted — preventing resource-stealing and griefing.

7.2 Shared Public Areas

Market town · Market hall · General store · Blacksmith · Carpenter · Livestock trader · Tavern/inn · Guild hall · Notice board · Fishing dock · Forest entrance · Mine/quarry entrance · Festival grounds. Players can see and chat with each other in all of these.

7.3 Semi-Shared Resource Areas

Some resource areas (forest, riverbanks, fishing docks, quarry, mines, foraging woods) may be shared or instanced. The recommended approach: a shared entrance/lobby with private or party-based instances for actual resource gathering, using personal loot or carefully respawning nodes. This prevents overcrowding and resource competition.

08Core Gameplay Loop

8.1 Daily / Session Loop

1. Check crops, animals, machines, and mail
2. Water or tend crops
3. Feed and care for animals
4. Collect produce
5. Start processing goods
6. Review contracts or market prices
7. Visit town — sell goods or buy supplies
8. Gather resources, craft, decorate, fish, or mine
9. Start long-term production timers
10. Log off with progress continuing safely

8.2 Progression Loop

1. Produce goods
2. Earn money
3. Buy tools, seeds, animals, materials, or buildings
4. Improve production
5. Unlock better goods
6. Increase reputation and skill
7. Access new systems
8. Become more specialised

8.3 Economy Loop

1. Raw resources are produced
2. Resources are processed
3. Processed goods are sold to NPCs or players
4. Money is reinvested into holdings, tools, buildings, and upgrades
5. Better holdings produce higher-value goods

09Time, Seasons & Persistence

9.1 Real-Time vs. Game-Time

This is an always-online game — it should not require all players to sleep to advance time. The recommended model uses a shared server clock, real-time crop/production progression, a visible day/night cycle for atmosphere, meaningful seasons, and timers that continue while players are offline.

9.2 Suggested Time Scale

9.3 Offline Progress

The server should not simulate every farm every second. Instead use timestamp-based calculations: record when a crop was planted and watered, define growth intervals, and calculate elapsed state when the player loads their holding. This is scalable and efficient.

The same on-load resolution applies to animals, but with a cosy floor: time away decays animal happiness slowly rather than starving or killing livestock (see 14.5).

9.4 Sleep

Sleeping is not required to advance the global day. Possible uses: restore stamina faster, trigger a personal daily summary, end a private session, apply farm calculations, set respawn/home point, or allow story events.

10Stamina & Energy

10.1 Purpose

Stamina prevents players from endlessly farming, mining, and gathering in a single session. It creates meaningful choices without feeling punishing.

10.2 Stamina Actions

10.3 Stamina Recovery

• Eating food
• Sleeping/resting
• Visiting the tavern
• Certain drinks
• Better tools reducing stamina cost
• Skill improvements

10.4 Avoiding Frustration

Players should always have non-stamina activities available: market trading, planning the farm layout, visiting other farms, chatting, managing crafting queues, NPC conversations, decorating, and reading contracts.

11Holdings

11.1 Definition

A holding is the player's owned land and production base. It includes land, buildings, crops, animals, storage, crafting stations, decorations, and access permissions — the player's home, business, and progression hub.

11.2 Starting Holding

Every player starts with a basic homestead: small cottage · small field area · some trees · stones/weeds/debris · basic tool shed · small storage chest · shipping crate or sell box · path to town.

11.3 Holding Types

11.4 Homestead

Strengths: Medium crop space, small animal capacity, basic trees, flexible layout, good for new players. Weakness: No strong specialist bonus.

11.5 Woodland Holding

Strengths: Faster tree growth, more trees, higher hardwood chance, charcoal pits, sawpit/sawmill upgrades, better foraging. Weaknesses: Less open crop space, harder early layout, needs tool upgrades. Produces: Wood, hardwood, planks, charcoal, sap, bark, mushrooms, herbs, fence posts, beams.

11.6 Pasture Holding

Strengths: More grazing land, happier animals, higher-quality animal products, better manure/fertiliser, lower feed costs. Weaknesses: Less crop space, more daily care, animals have upfront cost. Produces: Milk, eggs, wool, hides, cheese, butter, fertiliser, animal feed by-products.

11.7 River Holding

Strengths: Better fishing access, reed and clay gathering, water-based crops, easier irrigation, good for pottery and fishery paths. Weaknesses: Irregular land shape, less building space, possible seasonal flooding. Produces: Fish, reeds, clay, water herbs, bait, smoked fish, pottery materials.

11.8 Workshop Holding

Strengths: More workshop space, faster crafting, better quality crafted goods, more storage, specialist machines earlier. Weaknesses: Limited raw resource production, more dependent on NPC/player market, requires supply chain planning. Produces: Tools, nails, hinges, buckets, barrels, furniture, chests, loom parts, cart parts, repair kits, processed goods.

12Farm Access & Visiting

12.1 Farm Privacy

Holdings are private by default. The owner controls access settings per visitor.

12.2 Permission Levels

12.3 Invite Flow

1. Player clicks another player in town → selects "Invite to Holding"
2. Other player receives invite popup → accepts or declines
3. On accept, they load into the owner's holding with permissions applied
4. Owner can kick guests at any time

12.4 Guest Activities

13Crops

13.1 Basic Crop Loop

13.2 Crop Attributes

Each crop defines: ID, name, season, growth time, growth stages, water requirement, base yield, quality chance, seed cost, sell price, processing compatibility, required soil type, optional special requirements, and an optional regrow interval. If a regrow interval is set, the crop is not consumed on harvest — it returns to a pre-harvest stage and produces again every interval (berries, hops, grapes), making it a key pacing and economy lever. A null interval means single-harvest (replant required).

13.3 Crop Categories

Grains · Vegetables · Fruits · Herbs · Flowers · Fibre crops · Root crops · Orchard crops · Rare crops

13.4 Example Crops by Season

13.5 Crop Quality

Quality affects sell price, contract eligibility, cooking results, crafting outputs, NPC preferences, and market value. Common → Fine → Excellent → Masterwork fits the medieval tone best.

13.6 Crop Failure

• Crop grows slower if not watered
• Crop quality decreases if neglected
• Crop dies if season changes and crop is incompatible — but the player must be warned before the season rolls over (in-world notice / calendar flag), never a silent overnight loss
• Pests may reduce yield unless scarecrows/herbs are used
• Frost or drought may affect certain crops

13.7 Fertiliser & Soil

Fertiliser is a headline system, not a minor buff — it is the primary lever players pull to raise crop quality, and a major reason to run animals and a compost chain. Tiers improve different axes:

Fertiliser is applied to a tile (stored in fertilizer_id, see 29.6) and feeds directly into the harvest quality roll (13.5). It is a deliberate material & gold sink and a tradeable good, tightening the loop between animal-keepers, foragers, and crop farmers in the player economy (19).

14Animals

14.1 Animal Loop

14.2 Animals & Products

14.3 Animal Needs

Shelter · Feed · Water · Cleanliness · Care/petting · Space · Protection from bad weather

14.4 Animal Happiness

Happiness affects product quality, production frequency, breeding chance, rare product chance, and contract rewards. As with crops (13.5), produce quality is a single weighted roll when the product is generated — odds scale with the animal's happiness/affection, not a continuously-tracked quality number. Deluxe products (large eggs, deluxe wool) unlock above a happiness/affection threshold.

14.5 Offline & Multi-Day Care

• Feed troughs and water hold a buffer (auto-consumed over time) so animals are not starved by a few days away
• Auto-feeder and auto-care buildings/upgrades maintain animals while offline — a meaningful gold/material sink (and the reward for investment)
• Animals never die from neglect in the cosy baseline; they lose happiness and product quality until cared for again

14.6 Ethical Tone

Keep animal systems cosy and non-cruel. The game may include hides/leather through NPC systems or abstracted ranching, but avoid graphic slaughter mechanics unless the tone changes.

15Gathering

15.1 Woodcutting

Gathers: Wood, hardwood, bark, sap, branches, resin, mushrooms, wild herbs. Tools: Axe, saw, billhook. Woodland holdings produce more and better wood.

15.2 Mining & Quarrying

Resources: Stone, clay, limestone, copper ore, iron ore, coal, gems, salt, sand, slate. Tools: Pickaxe, hammer, chisel. Quarry/mine areas use shared entrances with private gathering instances.

15.3 Foraging

Items: Berries, herbs, mushrooms, flowers, nuts, roots, wild greens, medicinal plants. Supports: Cooking, herbal remedies, dyes, animal feed, NPC gifts, contracts.

15.4 Fishing

Sources: River, pond, lake, sea/docks, marsh, mine pools. Variables: Time, season, weather, bait, rod quality, location. Products: Fresh fish, smoked fish, fish oil, bait, shells, river weeds, rare catches.

16Crafting & Production

16.1 Crafting Philosophy

Crafting should be central. Raw resources become more valuable through processing. The player should feel they are building a working medieval economy, with each production chain creating economic dependencies on other players and NPCs.

16.2 Production Categories

Food processing · Toolmaking · Woodworking · Smithing · Pottery · Textiles · Brewing · Animal goods · Construction materials · Decorations

16.3 Crafting Stations

Workbench · Forge · Anvil · Furnace · Charcoal pit · Kiln · Loom · Spinning wheel · Cheese press · Butter churn · Smokehouse · Drying rack · Millstone · Watermill · Windmill · Cider press · Wine press · Tanning rack · Carpentry bench · Pottery wheel · Storage barrels

16.4 Processing Chains

17Tools

17.1 Basic Tools

Hoe · Watering can or bucket · Axe · Pickaxe · Sickle · Hammer · Fishing rod

17.2 Tool Progression

17.3 Tool Durability

• Durability decreases with use
• Low durability reduces efficiency
• At 0%, tool becomes unusable until repaired (never permanently destroyed)
• Better tools degrade slower

17.4 Repair

NPC blacksmith always repairs basic tools. Player smiths can eventually repair cheaper/faster, improve max durability, add small modifiers, and craft specialist tools.

17.5 Tool Modifiers (Later)

18Buildings

18.1 Building Philosophy

Buildings should represent meaningful progression. A new building should unlock new production, more storage, more animals, better processing, new trading options, or better aesthetics.

18.2 Core Buildings by Stage

18.3 Building Upgrades

Buildings upgrade in tiers. Example barn: Small Barn → Sturdy Barn → Large Barn → Great Barn. Each tier adds animal capacity, storage, a production quality bonus, weather protection, and a visual upgrade.

18.4 Construction Materials

Buildings require: wood, planks, stone, nails, clay bricks, thatch, roof tiles, hinges, rope, cloth, and money — directly supporting the crafting economy.

19Economy

19.1 Philosophy — Scaling by Population

19.2 NPC Shops

General store · Seed merchant · Blacksmith · Carpenter · Livestock trader · Fisher · Herbalist · Miller · Innkeeper · Clothier/weaver · Potter

19.3 NPC Pricing Reference

Players can undercut NPC sell prices or offer better-quality goods.

19.4 NPC Contracts

NPC contracts guarantee demand. Examples: Carpenter needs 100 wood · Inn needs 20 eggs · Blacksmith needs 10 charcoal · Weaver needs 15 wool. Contracts should expire, pay above basic NPC value, provide reputation, and scale with player level.

19.5 Player Market Board

Features: fixed-price listings · item quantity · price per item · listing duration · listing fee/tax · search · filters (type, quality, price, quantity, seller, expiry, holding type) · sort · NPC price comparison · sale notifications · cancel listing.

19.6 Buy Orders

Buy orders let players request goods without requiring live interaction:

Need: 200 Oak Planks
Price offered: 4g each
Expires: 24 hours

19.7 Auction House (Later)

For masterwork tools, rare seeds, rare animals, high-quality goods, collectibles, festival cosmetics, unique furniture, and recipes. Do not use for common bulk goods at launch.

19.8 Dynamic NPC Supply

If player supply is low → NPC stock increases. If player supply is healthy → NPC stock decreases. If an item is oversupplied → NPC buy prices may drop. If scarce → NPC contracts pay more. This lets the economy transition naturally from NPC-backed to player-led.

19.9 Inflation Control — Gold Sinks

Building upgrades · Tool repairs · Market listing fees · Auction fees · Cosmetic items · Furniture · Animals · Land expansion · Guild projects · Transport upgrades · Festival stalls · Carefully used taxes or town dues.

20Reputation & Skills

20.1 Skills

20.2 Skill XP

Players gain XP by doing related tasks: harvest crops → Farming XP · feed animals → Animal Care XP · chop trees → Woodcraft XP · craft tools → Smithing XP · sell through market → Trading XP.

20.3 Skill Rewards

Levelling skills unlocks: recipes · efficiency bonuses · stamina reduction · quality chance · new buildings · tool use improvements · contract access · titles.

20.4 Professions (Skill Milestones)

At fixed milestones in each skill (e.g. level 5 and level 10), the player chooses one of two professions — a permanent branching perk. This is cheap to build but gives builds real identity and drives the specialisation the economy relies on (19.1). Example for Farming: Cultivator (higher crop quality odds) vs Rancher (better animal-product value); at level 10 each branch forks again. Professions are respec-able only through a rare, gold-sink item.

20.5 Reputation

Reputation is split by group: town, carpenter, blacksmith, market, guild, festival. Higher reputation unlocks discounts, special contracts, recipes, cosmetics, better NPC trust, and new story events.

21NPCs

21.1 NPC Purpose

NPCs provide: economy support · tutorial structure · story flavour · reliable shops · contracts · basic progression · world personality.

21.2 Core NPCs

21.3 NPC Relationships

NPC friendship benefits: new dialogue · recipes · discounts · story scenes · special orders · cosmetics. NPC marriage is optional and later. In an online game, NPC romance should not be the main focus unless designed carefully.

22Quests & Contracts

22.1 Quest Types

Tutorial quests · Personal progression quests · NPC friendship quests · Daily/weekly contracts · Town projects · Seasonal event quests · Guild quests · Player contracts

22.2 Tutorial Quest Chain

1. Clear five weeds
2. Till three soil tiles
3. Plant three turnip seeds
4. Water crops
5. Harvest crops
6. Sell crops
7. Buy more seeds
8. Repair a tool
9. Visit the market board
10. Complete first NPC contract

22.3 Contract Example

Contract: Timber for Repairs
Posted by: Carpenter
Need: 50 Wood
Reward: 200g + Carpenter Reputation
Expires: 12 hours

22.4 Town Projects

Shared server/community goals. Examples: repair old bridge · build market shelter · restore watermill · open forest road · expand docks · build festival grounds · repair town walls · construct guild hall. Players contribute resources and receive reputation, rewards, and unlocks.

23Social Systems

23.1 Chat

Channels: Local · Town · Trade · Guild · Private message · System notifications. Moderation tools are required.

23.2 Friends

Add/remove friend · Online status · Invite to holding · Visit permission · Whisper/chat

23.3 Guilds (Post-MVP)

Guild chat · Shared goals · Guild hall · Guild storage · Guild market stall · Guild projects · Guild rankings · Guild professions

23.4 Farm Showcases

Public visiting · Guestbook · Likes/favourites · Seasonal showcase board · Farm screenshots · Decoration contests

24Market & Trading UX

24.1 Market Board UI

Sections: Browse listings · Sell item · Buy orders · My listings · Price history · NPC comparison · Filters (item type, quality, price, quantity, seller, expiry, holding type).

24.2 Listing Schema

seller_character_id  ·  item_id  ·  quantity  ·  quality
price_per_unit  ·  expires_at  ·  listing_fee  ·  market_tax  ·  status

24.3 Taxes & Fees

Listing fee — small upfront cost to prevent spam.
Sale tax — percentage when sold, controls inflation.
Auction fee — higher for rare goods.

24.4 Direct Trading (Later)

Nearby only · Both players confirm · Any change resets confirmation · Server validates all items · Trade logs stored.

25Player Safety & Anti-Griefing

25.1 Server Authority

The server must validate all inventory changes, market purchases, trades, crop harvesting, building placement, tool use, money changes, and contract fulfilment. Never trust the client for item or money ownership.

25.2 Farm Protection

Protected from unauthorised players: harvesting · chopping · building · moving items · opening chests · selling goods · releasing animals · using expensive machines.

25.3 Market Abuse Prevention

Track: suspicious trades · rapid price manipulation · item duplication patterns · multi-account abuse · bot-like behaviour · unusual wealth transfers.

25.4 Moderation Tools

Mute · Report · Block · Chat logs · Admin warnings · Temporary bans · Permanent bans · Trade investigation logs

26User Interface

26.1 Core HUD

Character portrait/name · Money · Stamina · Current tool · Hotbar · Time/day/season · Weather · Notification area · Chat · Mini-map or map button

26.2 Inventory

Item grid · Stack count · Quality indicator · Tooltip · Sort · Split stack · Move to chest · Use/drop/sell

26.3 Tool Hotbar

Tools · Seeds · Food · Common items · Quick swapping

26.4 Building Mode

Grid placement · Rotate object · Move object · Confirm placement · Show invalid placement · Preview footprint

26.5 Market UI Principles

• Make prices clear — show whether player or NPC is seller
• Show cheapest listing prominently
• Show item quality and quantity at a glance
• Show tax/fees before confirming purchase

27Art Direction

27.1 Visual Style

2D pixel art or clean 2D illustrated tile art · Warm palette · Medieval countryside · Clear silhouettes · Cosy detail · Readable UI.

27.2 World Visuals

Wooden beams · Thatched roofs · Stone paths · Market stalls · Fields · Fences · Lanterns · Watermills · Carts · Wheat · Tools · Cloth banners · Workshop signs

27.3 UI Style

Rustic · Wooden · Parchment-like · Clean · Not cluttered · Easy to read on desktop and mobile.

27.4 Logo Direction

Wooden sign · Cream serif title text · Wheat decoration · Crest with farm scene · Warm rustic palette. Should communicate: farming, medieval countryside, warmth, ownership, community, craft.

28Audio Direction

28.1 Music Style

Cosy · Rustic · Medieval-inspired · Gentle · Loop-friendly · Not too orchestral or dramatic.
Instruments: Lute, harp, flute, recorder, fiddle, dulcimer, hand drum, soft strings, mandolin, gentle bells.

28.2 Track Types

Main menu · Morning farm · Evening farm · Market town · Tavern · Woodland · Rainy day · Winter · Festival · Workshop · Fishing · Mine/quarry · Night ambience

28.3 Key Sound Effects

Hoe soil · Water crops · Harvest crop · Chop wood · Mine stone · Open chest · Coin gain · Market sale · Animal sounds · Door open · Craft complete · Hammering · Forge · Windmill · Rain · Birds

29Technical Design

29.1 Engine & Stack

29.2 Always-Online Architecture

Farmhold Acres is consistently online with no offline mode — a live server connection is required to play. The server is fully authoritative: it owns all game state (holdings, crops, inventory, economy, time) and is the single source of truth. There are no local save files. While a player is logged out, their world does not stop — timers advance using server timestamps and are resolved when they next load in (see 29.7).

29.3 Client Responsibilities

Render maps · Handle input · Display UI · Animate sprites · Send action intents to the server · Interpolate other players · Light local movement prediction. The client never authoritatively creates items, money, or state.

29.4 Server Responsibilities (headless Unity + Fish-Net)

Authentication · Character & holding state · Movement validation · Live instance hosting · Crop & production calculations · Inventory · Economy · Market board · Contracts · Trading · Chat · Friends & social · Anti-cheat validation. Game rules run as C# on the headless server; persistent state is read/written to PostgreSQL.

29.5 Core Data Model

All state lives in PostgreSQL — there is no BaaS providing built-ins, so accounts, social, chat and wallets are our own tables. Two access shapes, both in the same database:

29.6 Tile State Schema

{
  "holding_id": 102,
  "x": 12, "y": 8,
  "terrain": "tilled_soil",
  "crop_id": "turnip",
  "planted_at": "2026-06-29T12:00:00Z",
  "last_watered_at": "2026-06-29T13:00:00Z",
  "watered_windows": 3,
  "total_windows": 4,
  "fertilizer_id": "basic_compost",
  "object_id": null
}

A single watered_at timestamp cannot express “watered window 1, skipped window 2.” Instead the tile tracks hydration coverage: each growth window the crop was watered increments watered_windows against total_windows. That ratio feeds the harvest quality roll (13.5); fertilizer_id mulch/loam reduces the effective number of windows that must be watered. last_watered_at drives the “needs water” visual.

29.7 Crop Calculation (Timestamp-Based)

Do not run constant background simulation. Compute on demand when the player loads or interacts with their holding. This keeps thousands of holdings cheap — idle holdings are just storage records.

29.8 Networking Model

Clients send intents (“plant seed at tile X”, “list 100 wood”); the server validates against the rules, persists the result to Postgres, and broadcasts authoritative state via Fish-Net. Two layers:

• Persistent layer (PostgreSQL) — every holding is a saved DB record that exists whether or not anyone is present. Crops grow by timestamp delta on load.
• Live layer (Fish-Net) — a headless Unity server instance only exists while players are present (their own holding, a friend’s holding, or a public space). Created on entry, torn down when empty. Only occupied spaces consume real-time compute.

29.9 Shared World & Market Scaling

The market town is a single shared space — players who want to gather in the same place can, without being split into separate copies by default. Target: comfortably support large crowds (100+, soft cap ~200–300) in one authoritative space using:

• Server-side snapshot aggregation — the server bundles all nearby players into one snapshot per tick, turning O(N²) message storms into O(N) fan-out.
• Low tick rate (5–10 Hz) + client interpolation — the cosy, non-twitch pace makes this smooth and cheap.
• Quantised / delta-compressed positions and optional area-of-interest for extra headroom.
• High soft cap with overflow instancing only as a rare safety valve — sharding is a fallback beyond the cap, never the normal experience.

29.10 Instance Types

Private holding (instanced) · Shared market town · Resource instance · Festival instance · Guild hall. Each live server instance manages: connected players, map state, entities, movement, chat range, and interactions.

29.11 Scaling Path

Scale horizontally by instance count — run many headless Unity server instances (private holdings + shared hubs) across nodes, fronted by a login/gateway that routes players. Later: queue market transactions · cache static item data · wrap economy changes in Postgres transactions · worker jobs for contracts and maintenance · move to a Postgres-compatible distributed DB and multi-node self-hosting for capacity.

30Data Design Examples

30.1 Item Definition

{
  "id": "wood",
  "name": "Wood",
  "category": "resource",
  "stack_size": 999,
  "tradable": true,
  "base_sell_price": 1,
  "npc_sell_price": 5
}

30.2 Crop Definition

{
  "id": "turnip",
  "name": "Turnip",
  "season": ["spring"],
  "growth_hours": 6,
  "stages": 4,
  "regrow_hours": null,
  "seed_item_id": "turnip_seed",
  "harvest_item_id": "turnip",
  "base_yield": 1,
  "quality_base_chance": {
    "common": 0.75,
    "fine": 0.20,
    "excellent": 0.05
  }
}

regrow_hours: null = single-harvest (replant required); a number = the crop regrows and re-yields on that interval without replanting (13.2). quality_base_chance is the baseline roll before Farming skill, fertiliser tier, and hydration coverage shift the odds (13.5) — it is not a fixed outcome.

30.3 Market Listing

{
  "id": 5501,
  "seller_character_id": 42,
  "item_id": "wood",
  "quantity": 200,
  "quality": "common",
  "price_per_unit": 3,
  "expires_at": "2026-06-30T12:00:00Z",
  "status": "active"
}

30.4 Contract

{
  "id": 9001,
  "issuer": "carpenter",
  "required_item_id": "wood",
  "required_quantity": 100,
  "minimum_quality": "common",
  "reward_gold": 350,
  "reward_reputation": { "carpenter": 5 },
  "expires_at": "2026-06-29T20:00:00Z"
}

31MVP Scope

31.1 MVP Goal

It is fun to log in, tend your holding, produce goods, sell them, buy upgrades, and feel like you are part of an online rural world.

31.2 MVP Features

• Account login & character creation
• One starting holding · tile-based movement
• Basic farm map & public town map
• Chat · inventory · tools
• Soil tilling · planting · watering · crop growth · harvesting
• Selling to NPC · buying seeds · basic NPC shop
• Basic contracts · save/load
• Simple market board with NPC listings
• Other players visible in town

31.3 MVP Crops

Turnip · Wheat · Cabbage · Onion · Flax · Pumpkin

31.4 MVP Items

Resources: Wood · Stone · Wheat · Turnip · Cabbage · Onion · Flax · Fibre · Basic planks
Tools: Hoe · Axe · Pickaxe · Sickle · Watering can/bucket

31.5 MVP Buildings

Cottage · Storage chest · Sell box · Small field · Tool shed · General store · Blacksmith · Carpenter · Market hall

31.6 MVP Exclusions

Marriage · Large guild systems · Complex animals · Auction house · Combat · Full crafting tree · Player-run shops · Advanced weather disasters · Massive world map · Multiple holding types. Keep first version focused.

32Development Roadmap

33Monetisation

Model: free-to-play base with a cosmetic-only IAP shop — hair/outfit/accessory packs, seasonal cosmetic passes, decorative building skins, founder supporter packs. No ads. No gold or resource purchases. The economy must remain fair at all times — the shop is cosmetic only, never pay-to-win. This protects the shared market from inflation and whales, and fits the ethical tone of the game.

34Risks & Solutions

35Unique Selling Points

Farmhold Acres is a cosy medieval online farming sim where you build your own holding, grow and craft useful goods, and trade through a living market economy.

In Farmhold Acres, every player owns a rural holding in a growing medieval farming district. Play at your own pace, grow crops, raise animals, gather timber, craft tools, complete contracts, and sell goods through a market economy backed by NPCs and shaped by players over time.

36Example: First Hour Player Flow

1. Player creates account & character
2. Player arrives at their small overgrown holding
3. The Steward explains basic tools
4. Player clears weeds → tills soil → plants turnip seeds → waters crops
5. Player visits town
6. General store introduces seed buying · Carpenter explains building upgrades · Market Clerk explains market board
7. Player returns when crops are ready → harvests → sells some to NPC
8. Player completes first contract → buys more seeds
9. Player sees another player in town — realises the world is shared
10. Player starts planning their holding's future layout

37Example: Mid-Game Player Flow

A player with a Woodland Holding logs in.

1. Checks tree growth
2. Chops mature trees
3. Collects mushrooms and herbs
4. Converts logs into planks
5. Burns low-grade wood into charcoal
6. Checks market prices → sells charcoal on market board
7. Accepts carpenter contract for planks
8. Buys a fine axe from another player
9. Visits town fair
10. Invites a friend to view their woodland layout
11. Saves money for a sawmill upgrade

38Example: Late-Game Player Flow

A workshop player logs in.

1. Collects completed iron fittings from the forge
2. Buys hardwood from market board · buys charcoal via buy order
3. Crafts Excellent Iron Hoes → lists basic tools on market board
4. Auctions one Masterwork Sickle
5. Repairs tools on NPC contract · contributes nails to town bridge project
6. Visits guild warehouse → decorates shopfront
7. Checks reputation rank → plans next production chain

39Naming & Branding

39.1 Title: Farmhold Acres

"Farmhold" suggests owned rural land. "Acres" suggests many small plots. Together it describes a populated farming region — catchy, to the point, and it supports the multiplayer idea of many holdings in one region.

39.2 Tagline Options

• Build your holding. Grow your trade. Live among the folk. (Recommended)
• A cosy medieval online farming sim.
• Grow, craft, trade, and settle your land.
• Your holding. Your harvest. Your place in the market.
• A farming life sim in a living medieval economy.

40Final Design Summary

Farmhold Acres should begin as a strong solo farming/life sim foundation and gradually grow into a living online economy.

The most important design decision is to avoid depending on players too early. NPC shops, contracts, and fallback systems must make the game complete even with low population. Once enough players are active, the market board, buy orders, auction house, farm visits, and guild projects can take over more of the experience.

The game's identity should be clear:

• Medieval, not modern
• Farming and craft, not combat-first
• Online, but not forced-social
• Player economy, but NPC-backed
• Cosy, but mechanically deep
• Cross-platform — desktop, Steam & mobile
• Built around holdings, not just farms

The strongest version of this game is not merely "Stardew Valley online". It is:

A cosy medieval online life sim where every player owns a holding, contributes to a growing rural economy, and helps shape Farmhold Acres through farming, craft, trade, and community.