Draconis: /* Beehive Stages */

2025-12-21T22:25:03Z

Beehive Stages

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:25, 21 December 2025
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	These can be decorative world objects or placed items.		These can be decorative world objects or placed items.

	== Beehive Stages ==		== [[Beehive]] Stages ==
	There are three distinct stages in a beehive’s development:		There are three distinct stages in a beehive’s development:

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	; Producing		; Producing
	: After reaching maturity, the hive begins producing excess honey and wax.		: After reaching maturity, the hive begins producing excess honey and wax.

			See [[Beehive]]

	== Hive Health & Population ==		== Hive Health & Population ==

Draconis: /* Apiculture (Beekeeping) */

2025-12-20T18:58:21Z

Apiculture (Beekeeping)

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:58, 20 December 2025
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	* Water		* Water

	These can be decorative world objects or placed items ~~(as long as they count as flowers/water in your world)~~.		These can be decorative world objects or placed items.

	== Beehive Stages ==		== Beehive Stages ==

Draconis: Created page with "= Apiculture, Farming & Cooking Expansion Guide = This page explains the player-facing features of the Apiculture (Beekeeping) system and the related Cooking / Farming / Ranching / Dairy / Wax Crafting systems. All programming, installation, and developer-only details are intentionally omitted. TOC == Apiculture (Beekeeping) == Apiculture is the science (and art) of raising honey bees, also known as beekeeping. Bees live together in colonies and make their homes..."

2025-12-20T05:57:43Z

Created page with "= Apiculture, Farming & Cooking Expansion Guide = This page explains the player-facing features of the Apiculture (Beekeeping) system and the related Cooking / Farming / Ranching / Dairy / Wax Crafting systems. All programming, installation, and developer-only details are intentionally omitted. __TOC__ == Apiculture (Beekeeping) == Apiculture is the science (and art) of raising honey bees, also known as beekeeping. Bees live together in colonies and make their homes..."

New page

= Apiculture, Farming & Cooking Expansion Guide =

This page explains the player-facing features of the Apiculture (Beekeeping) system and the related Cooking / Farming / Ranching / Dairy / Wax Crafting systems.
All programming, installation, and developer-only details are intentionally omitted.

__TOC__

== Apiculture (Beekeeping) ==
Apiculture is the science (and art) of raising honey bees, also known as beekeeping. Bees live together in colonies and make their homes in beehives. Maintaining a hive takes ongoing care, but can be very rewarding.

To start, you need a beehive deed and an area with:
* Flowers
* Water

These can be decorative world objects or placed items (as long as they count as flowers/water in your world).

== Beehive Stages ==
There are three distinct stages in a beehive’s development:

; Colonizing
: The hive sends out scouts to survey the area and locate flowers and water.

; Brooding
: Egg laying begins in full force as the hive prepares for full production.

; Producing
: After reaching maturity, the hive begins producing excess honey and wax.

== Hive Health & Population ==
A hive is measured in two ways:
* Overall health
* Bee population

=== Overall Health States ===
Overall health indicates the average well-being of the colony:

; Thriving
: Bees are extremely healthy. Produces honey and wax at an increased rate.

; Healthy
: Bees are healthy and producing excess honey and wax.

; Sickly
: Bees are sickly and no longer producing excess resources.

; Dying
: If nothing is done quickly, bee population will begin to drop.

=== Bee Population ===
Bee population is a rough estimate of the number of bees in the hive. More bees can increase production, but large hives are more difficult to maintain:
* More water and flowers are required to support a large hive.
* The range a hive can check for flowers and water increases as the hive gets larger.
* If conditions become poor enough, bees may abscond (leave), resulting in an empty hive.

''Note:'' A single hive can support up to 100,000 bees. A healthy hive can last indefinitely, but older hives are more susceptible to infestation and disease.

== Caring for a Hive ==
Like any living thing, bees are susceptible to outside threats such as parasites and disease. Beekeepers have multiple tools (including potions) to manage these threats and improve productivity.

=== Potions & Their Uses ===
; Cure potions
: Used to combat diseases such as foulbrood and dysentery. Can also neutralize excess poison.

; Poison potions
: Used to combat insects (example: wax moth) and parasites (example: bee louse). Use carefully—too much poison can harm the bees.

; Strength potions
: Used to build up the hive’s immunity to infestation and disease.

; Heal potions
: Used to help heal the bees.

; Agility potions
: Gives bees extra energy allowing them to work harder. Boosts honey/wax output and increases the range bees can search for flowers and water.

=== Environmental Balance (Flowers & Water) ===
The hive depends on nearby resources:
* Flowers are used for building, food, and general colony function.
* Water is required, but too much water can increase the risk of disease-carrying bacteria.
* Too many flowers can bring the bees into contact with more parasites and insects.

== Hive Management (Apiculture Gump) ==
Managing and caring for a hive is done through the Apiculture gump. The left side shows status icons you can use to monitor and respond to problems:

; Production
: Opens the production screen where you harvest what the hive has produced.

; Infestation
: A warning indicator (red or yellow) means the hive is infested. Use poison to deal with pests.

; Disease
: A warning indicator (red or yellow) means the hive is diseased. Cure potions help fight sickness.

; Water
: Shows water availability. Too much water may increase disease risk.

; Flowers
: Shows flower availability. Too many flowers may increase parasite exposure.

== Daily Growth Check Results ==
The hive performs a growth check once per day (shown in the upper-right of the gump). The results may include:

* Not healthy
* Low resources
* Population decrease
* Population growth
* Stage increase / resource production

Most of this information is also available via in-game help.

== Honey & Wax Production ==
Once mature, hives can produce:
* Honey
* Raw beeswax

Honey can be processed into jars:
* ''3 Honey + 1 Bottle = 1 Jar of Honey''

Raw beeswax must be rendered before it can be used for crafting.

== Wax Rendering ==
Beeswax production includes a processing step:

* Hives produce ''Raw Beeswax''
* Raw beeswax must be rendered into usable ''Beeswax''
* Rendering may fail, producing ''slumgum'' waste (a by-product)

''Tip:'' Rendering requires you to be near a heat source.

== Wax Crafting ==
Wax crafting turns beeswax into useful items, primarily centered around candle-making and decorative wax items.

=== Base Wax Resources ===
From wax, you craft the base resources needed for candle-making, such as:
* Blank candles
* Candle wicks

=== Candle Items ===
Examples of craftable candle items include:
* Short candles
* Long candles
* Colored variants (often involve dyes; may be randomly hued)
* Specialty candles (may require rare components depending on your world)

=== Decorative Wax Items ===
Examples include:
* Dipping sticks (decorative; may be flippable)
* Blank candle piles / decorative stacks
* Wax busts (a decorative bust that can take on a player’s face under special conditions)

== Cooking Expansion Overview ==
The Cooking Expansion adds breadth and realism to food creation and consumption. It includes:
* Expanded cooking tools and utensils
* Reorganized food categories (meals, bowls, beverages, dairy, etc.)
* Beverage systems (brewing / juices / wine in supported worlds)
* Witchcraft-themed food crafting (in supported worlds)
* Animal feeding/hunger integration (see Animal Husbandry)

== Food Effects & Buffs ==
Many foods can provide bonuses such as:
* Skill boosts
* Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence boosts
* One or multiple stat boosts depending on the food

=== Duration ===
Food bonuses last based on hunger / fill factor behavior:
* The duration of boosts is tied to the food’s fill factor.
* Some foods can define custom durations, but generally follow hunger timing.
* Effects typically do not stack—if you already have an active boost, eating again may not refresh it until it expires.

=== Raw Foods ===
Some foods may be marked as raw and can be eaten, but raw consumption may carry risk depending on your shard’s rules.

== Milk & Cheese System ==
This system allows milking animals and producing cheese.

=== Milking ===
Players can milk animals such as:
* Cows
* Goats
* Sheep

Milk can be stored and then:
* Bottled for drinking/recipes
* Used to fill a cheese form for cheese-making

=== Cheese Making ===
Cheese-making is a timed process:
* Fill a cheese form with enough milk
* Begin fermentation
* Harvest cheese when complete

Results can vary by player skill, with a small chance to fail and a small chance to produce special “magic” cheeses.

=== Cheese Types & Portions ===
Cheese comes in multiple forms and can often be carved into portions:
* Full wheels
* Large wedges
* Small wedges

Magic cheese types may grant temporary stat benefits, similar to special fish-style foods.

== Animal Husbandry & Ranching ==
Animals behave more like real animals and support deeper farming gameplay.

=== Realistic Animal Behavior ===
Examples include:
* Prey animals running from threats
* Predators hunting prey
* Animals interacting with food sources and farms

=== Aging & Breeding ===
Animals can:
* Age over time
* Reproduce
* Produce offspring
* Die naturally (or be killed)

=== Farming & Ranching Gameplay ===
A ranch system supports farm ownership and livestock management, often including:
* Ownership/branding concepts
* Ranch tools and ranch management interfaces
* Livestock control and containment (fences/gates in supported worlds)
* Specialized breeds (milk vs meat vs wool, etc.)

== Crops & Wild Agriculture ==
A crop system supports naturally-spawning (wild) crops designed to exist in the world. These are intended to be harvested rather than planted by players, depending on your shard’s setup.

Crops provide ingredients for:
* Cooking
* Brewing / beverages (in supported worlds)
* Animal feeding (in supported worlds)

== Beekeeping Quest ==
A quest may exist that introduces players to beekeeping:

* An old man sends players to collect honeycombs
* Honeycombs can be gathered from wild beehives and honey bears
* Honey bears resemble normal brown bears but carry a honeycomb
* Trading in honeycombs can reward specialized equipment that helps separate honeycomb into honey and raw beeswax

== Tips & Notes ==
* Beekeeping is long-term and rewards consistent care.
* Balance is important—too much of a good thing (water/flowers) can create problems.
* Larger hives produce more but require more resources to sustain.
* Older hives are more vulnerable to infestation and disease.
* Wax production supports candle-making and decorative crafting.
* Food systems may provide meaningful buffs—use them before hunting, gathering, or crafting sessions.

== Quick Summary ==
* Apiculture adds realistic beehives, honey, and wax.
* Hives progress through stages and require maintenance.
* Honey can be jarred and used as a valuable resource.
* Raw beeswax must be rendered before crafting.
* Wax supports candle-making and decorative wax items.
* Cooking Expansion adds broader food crafting and consumable buffs.
* Milk & Cheese adds milking and cheese-making with possible special results.
* Animal Husbandry adds aging, breeding, and deeper farming/ranching gameplay.
* Crop systems provide world-grown ingredients for the expanded food ecosystem.

Harvest & Hearth - Revision history

Draconis: /* Beehive Stages */

Draconis: /* Apiculture (Beekeeping) */