A modest proposal

Since it seems that farms are now accepted by the devs as a legitimate uses of MA, given the prevalence of them now, I would like to make the following request. I would very much appreciate a Farm tag added to the list of mission descriptions. That would make it easier for those of us who are not interested in this use of MA, as well as those who are, to make better use of the system.

So signed here.

Agreed and signed.

Wait, when did the devs pull a full 180 on their AE farming stance? Did I miss something?

i dont think they minded the farming so much as the exploitative farming. yes, a farm tag would be nice, but think about it...

you add a farm tag to ANYTHING and it will be hunted down by the AE worshippers that despise farming and be reported into oblivion. granted a tag on it *might* mitigate them into not caring as much, but thats what i see happening if a farm tag was added.

I agree completely. There are definitely lots of people out there who are in AE to farm. Many times someone asks to join me and as soon as I tell them I am playing a story arc they loose interest.

I think it should work as a toggle where an arc would need to be designated as farm vs story. This should help farmers find farms and help people looking for story arcs find stories. The default search should not include farms.

Anything reported as a farm should be tagged as a farm and if the author feels that it is a story rather than a farm, they can report the mistag.

Call it something else. Call it "simulation" as opposed to "story", perhaps? That way we can include all the "challenge" missions as well, things that have no story but aren't farms either because they are too difficult to be worth farming.

Then make sure that one or the other must be chosen, like we now have to choose whether an arc is final, looking for comment or work in progress. And make Simulation the default choice. Story writers will figure out how to set their arcs to the proper setting. Makers of farms are unlikely to bother.

Finally, make the selection in the search window default to Story. Farmers will be shown by more intelligent farmers how to find their desired setting, while casual players who are looking for a story might easily miss it if it's hidden in the "More" settings.

Perhaps even have farms accessible from some AE buildings, and other stories accessible from other AE buildings. Then players will more easily find team mates with similar interests. Any arc can be made anywhere, but the tag would define where the arc could be entered from.

Then the farm buildings could have rustic furniture, wheelbarrows and stuff.

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I think the OP was being a trifle tongue-in-cheek with the request...

The title alone should suggest it....its the original title of a sartirical essay from 1727 that suggests a solution to Irelands economic problems....

"Swift appears to suggest in his essay that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. By doing this he mocks the authority of the British officials. This is when Britain had taken over Ireland and put heavy restrictions on their trade, stifling their economy. The essay has been noted by historians as being the first documented satirical essay"

Heres the wikipedia link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

And now you know....and knowing is half the battle.....

How about "Trainer" for those missions that have no story and are just for either

1) working on battle techniques. Like how to take out specific type enemy
or
2) Geared to fast XP gain. Likely also gear to focusing on a combat technique.

This would be helpful, and remind the player not even bother looking for a story, there is not one. Might be some helpful hints on how to play better, Like "Prepare for Smash Attacks" or "Flying Is Suggested".

I thought this thread was going to have child eating in it.

Interesting proposal, but there's a big difference between the Devs understanding that a certain amount of players are going to use AE to farm and supporting that desire.

By making a Farm tag the Devs would, essentially, legitimize the behavior and, thus, encourage it. I doubt that's something they want to do.

Plus, it does nothing to quell the multitude of existing & abandonded farms that will still pop up in general searches.

It does if everything we have in the AE right now is set to "Simulation". Active authors will change their stories to the correct setting. Inactive authors... well, why do we have to cater to them?

A "Simulation," "Challenge," or "Test" tag sounds good (tho, we already have a Challenging tag)

But definitely no to "Farm."

I want to say I'm surprised that anyone noticed the cryptic reference for my thread title. It was meant to add a little levity to the thread as I am a fan of Swift's dark sense of humor. However, I am completely serious about the farm situation. I don't know whether the devs have truly reversed their opinion on the issue or whether they no longer have the motivation to shut down the farms, but the end result is the same in that it sends the message that they are currently ok with current level of farming in MA. To be honest, I genuinely don't care what the non-story tag name is, I just want one to exist so I can avoid the content.