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I have boats coming in asking for things that I can't make yet because I don't have the machines. Since I can only ask for help for 3 crates, would it be better for me to fill up what I can and get help from friends, or just let the boat go away empty and hope for a better one next time?
if you don't fill any crates, you can just send the boat away as soon as it arrives. I do that whenever i get dairy/sugar orders or when I get a boat that will use ALL of one of my premium items.
It's much easier to send off a bad boat and wait four hours for a new one than it is to spend 16 hours trying to fill an impossible order and asking your friends to fill sugar crates.
What you do with the boat would really depend on your style and what you have going on today. I personally, never send a boat away and do my best to fill it as I would like to collect as many xp points and coins as possible. I like the challenge of the boats. When I cannot fill a boat mathematically, I will trade for the needed items. There is a trading thread here for trading goods which is really helpful. If you don't have the time to "baby" your boat and trade items, then certainly send it on it's way, but don't forget the Captains Achievement where you have to fill 12 concecutive boats. Hope this helps.
I would try and fill it. I watch the DD before or see if my neighbors have it for sale. I've had ice cream several times and I just bought the maker yesterday. It's not finished and I have them on my next boat.
If you are working on your Captain I, II or III achievement then you can not turn away a boat. Once you are done with these achievements you can if you want.
I don't like to turn them away, but if they are asking for something that I've worked hard to produce (like syrup or juice) and I need it for something else then I turn the boat away. I've just started turning them away recently which has allowed me to build some inventory that I need for my new (more advanced and more resource intense) machines.
I do what other's suggested above which is check what the next boat will need immediately once the boat I just filled has departed. I then check the guide that is in one of the sticky threads here to see how many of the items will be required per case. I can guess how many cases the boat will want based upon the level that I am. If I then want to fill the boat I then start production of the quick items and check the Daily Dirt for the items I can't make or that I can't make enough of. I do employ Tom so I will use him to get me items that I need.
I have not yet asked my neighbors to help me with crates as I don't have many friends so I only have 5 slots available (just made my first friend here today!). I do help the people who I have in my 5 available slots with their boat orders. I also will help people that I find via the Daily Dirt. However if it's an item that I've spent a good deal of effort or resources to make or something that I need (sugar) then I don't necessarily fill my neighbor's order.
Dawn
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biancasmom
Ahh. I did my captain's achievement the first 12 boats after I unlocked my dock. I forget that folks have trouble with this! I guess I was just extremely lucky.
Anyone who is working on that achievement can add my GC: Cthulhu Sash. If I know you are working for a special goal, I will have my farm and my son's farm both producing stuff for you to make your goal.
I know this advice won't help the original poster, but if there are any new players reading this, my advice to you is to give higher priority to getting new machines than to getting your boat. I delayed getting the boat until about level 30, and I think I made the right choice. I had all of the machines available at that level in place by then (except the loom, which you don't really need except to generate XP after you are over level 50).
If you get the boat prematurely, you will get into the situation where you can't afford the new machines needed to fulfill your boat orders, and you may have to cast off boats. Don't worry about missing out on the boat points, coins, and XP from boat orders; you can always get those by filling other people's crates.
For dealing with your boats, it is a big help to have LOTS of friends. There is a friending thread on the forum, or you can friend players who are advertizing their GC name. To help you with your boat, you want friends who are your level or above, and to help other people with their boats, you want people who are at your level or lower. (Summary: look for friends covering the full range of levels.)
~powdermonkey
powedermonkey, some of that doesn't make sense to me, but I am glad that your strategy worked well for you!
Seems to me, the less machines available when you get your boat, the better. That would make boat orders consist of crops and far more common items easily found in the DD. Also would produce easy crates for you to fill.
I am not trying to be a butt or know-it-all here. I know I am new, and you guys don't know me. I have read the forums for months and have played this game for moths and am a veteran gamer in general. I hope my contributions to the forum are accepted and considered.
So far it seems that my couple of posts have been poopoo'ed, ignored, or contradicted.
Again: I am here to help anyone who is working towards an achievement. I am level 48, daily player, and I do everything in my power to help my friends. I'm even willing to dump my sugar inventory on your boat once in a while.
EDIT: I meant that getting a boat and doing Captain III should theoretically be easier the moment the dock is unlocked, not that skimping on machines will make things easier. (machine skimping would make it far WORSE) I'm sorry for not saying things more clearly.
Sounds to me like you and I play the same way with the exception of asking friends to help fill your boat. I try to always leave crates open unless i am going to fill the boat the moment it launches. Sometimes i REALLY need the help, but sometimes it just offers easy points and XP to my friends.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawnica
Also: nothing wrong with only having 5 slots in your shop! I'm not a huge social gamer, either, but I am trying to be more of one for this little game :)
powdermoney -- I hear what you say about holding off to buy the boat until all of the machines are purchased and I can also see what Cuthul is saying about having less complex orders to fill by not having all of the machines.
I opened up my dock before having my smelter, juicer, fishing boat, and ice cream maker. I didn't have much of a problem getting my Captain III achievement (I will admit that I do employ Tom every once in a while). I did not have help from my neighbors. I did need Tom to get me items that I could not produce even though I did not have the machines as I think if you are at the level and are entitled to purchase them, you can get requests for the goods they make as part of the boat orders.
I wish I had purchased the juicer as I got hit with orders for juice right after I achieved Captain III and I didn't realize I could turn boats away. In order to get the coins to purchase the juicer, I sold off every expansion item I had (no room in the barn for those items and I could not get or find enough bolts!). More than 50% of the coins for the juicer came from expansion items! Once I had that it was easier to fill the boat requests without constantly not having funds.
Now I turn away boats that will be disruptive to my work flow. I fill more truck orders, little people orders, and road side stand sales instead. Still do the boats when I want to (working on wheat, carrots and cream -- an easy one right now).