Forums

So far, I'm impressed with the ability to farm at all on Aven Prime, much less be able to turn native plants into food through research.  After reading the Pern series, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that the colonists brought geneticists that could modify earth crops to adapt to Aven Prime's environment, but still be edible.  

I am curious, though.  Didn't the colonists bring animals as a source of food too?  Surely you don't expect them to be purely vegetarians.  I know that one crop can provide useful protein, but eventually, the colonists are going to need nutrients that can only be found in animal products.  I remember reading in both Dragonsdawn and Legacy of Heorot, how the colonists settling on the alien planets brought embryos and DNA of farm animals they wanted to cultivate in their new home. 

Granted, that would probably bring in its own problems for Aven Prime.  Earth animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and other creatures raised for food would have to live in a pressurized environment too.  A suggestion for that could include larger versions of the greenhouses with miniature herd animals moving about inside, or pressurized buildings similar to the farms, but with barn fowl inside.  That could also bring in new ideas about Aven Prime's local wildlife.  

You could have colonists go out (with proper precautions, of course) and capture local animals and have the people in the Research Center study them, possibly find new sources of food for everyone.  Since the game is still in Beta, all I've seen so far in regards to native animals are these funny, orange lizard-birds, the floating spores, dragonflies (though I can't tell how big they are in proportion to the colonists), and sand worms.  

Oh!  That brings me to another question I asked in an e-mail last month!  I'll post it here:

Now that I think about it, would you include "fish farms" in this game?  One of the quickest easiest way to get food in some of the other city-building games was to go fishing.  However, since Aven Prime is an alien world, the native fish might be questionable as a food source.  But that doesn't mean the colonists didn't bring the DNA of edible fish from Earth.  You could start special "fish farms" in the lakes or rivers and have a controlled water area for the earth fish.

Just a subject I wanted to float out there. 

Agree. Schools as well are a necessity or are there hidden contraceptives in the food? 🙂