Guide to Identification of Farming Games

This guide shows players how to identify Planets.nu games that can be used for farming Achievement points, Badges and Campaign Resources. It is unfortunate that, by describing how to identify a farming game, it is necessary to describe how to create a farming game. As the vast majority of players at Planets.nu are honest and trustworthy, it is expected that the information in this guide will be primarily used to identify farming games that were either accidentally created, or created by the minority.

It should be noted that it is very easy to accidentally create a game that can be used for farming, and the ability to use a game for farming does not imply that it was designed for that purpose. It is not the intention of this guide to describe any specific player as a farmer, or any specific game as a farming game.

For the purposes of this guide, the term "farming" indicates any process that causes players to accumulate Campaign Resources, Achievement Points or Badges at a rate that significantly exceeds the rate of system-generated games. Farming is not against any Planets.nu rules, but a player who intentionally farms, or who intentionally creates farming games, usually won't play as well as non-farming players of a similar rank.

To identify farming games, look for any of the following in the game settings:

• The maximum rank of the game is set to the rank of the Host player, and the Host is playing. This can indicate that the Host does not want players in the game with a higher rank than theirs, and may be trying to farm a win badge.
• There is a large difference between the minimum and maximum ranks. This is most likely to be a farming game when the minimum rank is either "none" or "Midshipman", and the maximum rank is at or near the rank of the Host. If the maximum rank is either "none" or at least 3 ranks higher than the Host, this is probably not a farming game, although low-rank players should enter such a game with caution. It should be noted that games with a large difference between the minimum and maximum ranks are necessary to allow players with a high rank in one race to start with another race.
• The number of players is less than 11, without a proportional reduction in number of planets. An 8-player public game is often a farming game, although it could also be a way to get the game into play sooner. If an 8-player game has the default 500 planets, it's more likely to be a farming game. The large number of planets per player (above 50) allows a player to expand farther before encountering another player, which makes it easier to earn the Turn-based badges. If the Minimum Rank is fairly high (approaching the creator's rank), this is less likely to be a farming game.
• The number of planets is greater than 500, without a proportional increase in the number of players. This makes it very easy to earn large amounts of Campaign Resources in the game. As above, the large number of planets per player (above 50) allows a player to expand farther before encountering another player, which makes it easier to earn the Turn-based badges. In addition, the larger number of planets increases the amount of Campaign Resources that can be earned in a game.
• The "maxallies" parameter is greater than 1, except for team games . This allows larger groups of players to work together to win the game. This is useful when farming for win badges.
• The map is larger than the default of 2000 light-years x 2000 light-years (square maps - the round map with a similar area is 2150 light-years x 2150 light-years), without a proportional increase in the number of players. A larger than normal map (with increased planet count) is a great way to accommodate more players, without putting homeworlds too close, so size alone is not a good indicator. The larger map increases player isolation, which makes it easier to earn the Turn-based badges. Additionally, a large map weights the game in favor of the races with Hyperdrive starships, especially the Cyborg.
• There are more than 10 Debris Disks. Large numbers of Debris Disks increase the amount of minerals available in the game, and slightly increase the Campaign Resources that are available. In addition, very large numbers of Debris Disks, while significantly increasing the available Campaign Resources, will decrease the number of planets (especially with a small map), which decreases the Achievement Points available in the game, and could increase the difficulty of achieving turn-based badges.
• The following parameters should be examined as a set. Sometimes changes in one parameter can be balanced by changes in another. The effect of changing these parameters is that it's possible to create a dense cluster of planets around a homeworld. This dense cluster has the direct effect of making initial planet acquisition quicker, usually increasing the resources available in the early game.

  It should be noted that these parameters are often adjusted in beginner and junior officer games. This is normal, and adjustment of these parameters for those games should not be considered to be farming.

  • The "verycloseplanets" parameter is set to 4 or more (default 2), without a reduction in the "closeplanets" parameter.
  • The "closeplanets" parameter is set to 15 or more (default 12).
  • The "otherplanetsminhomeworlddist" parameter is set to under 150 (default 155).
• The "nativeprobability" parameter is set higher than the default of 55. This setting is used to increase the amount of money that's available in the game, and to increase the availability of the native race bonuses. In addition, this is a boon for the Cyborg.
• The "nativegovernmentlevel" parameter is set to 3 (High - default 2). This setting is used to increase the amount of money that's available in the game.
• The "homeworldclans" parameter is set higher than the default of 25000. Increasing this parameter provides additional money immediately. This is useful for beginner games.
• The "minnativeclans" and/or "maxnativeclans" parameter is set to higher than default values of 1000 and 75000. This setting is used to increase the amount of money that's available in the game. Depending on the amount of the adjustment, this can also be a boon for the Cyborg.

  It should be noted that this parameter is often adjusted in beginner and junior officer games. This is normal, and adjustment of this parameter for those games should not be considered to be farming.

• The "averagedensitypercent" parameter is set higher than the default of 55. Increasing the value of this parameter makes it easier & faster to mine minerals from a planet, increasing the speed at which a fleet can be built. The long-term effect of this parameter is small, but, when farming for the Turn badges, it's handy to have those early minerals. In addition, when this parameter is increased, the Campaign Resources earned also increases.

The more of the above that are found in the settings for a game, the more likely it is to have been set up intentionally for badge farming.

The mineral levels, as shown by the "neutroniumlevel", "duraniumlevel", "tritaniumlevel" and "molybdenumlevel" parameters are not, at this time, able to be reliably predicted, or set by the Host, and are therefore not indications of a farming game.

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