Provide a warning about garden crops dying during extended server downtime

[worldofneil]

provide suggestions for how to avoid losing items during such downtime.

Well the simplest solution is just don't plant things when we're told about a maintenance and you know you won't be able to tend them.

Sorry that probably sounds a bit harsh, but normal garden operations require frequent tending. If you know you're not going to be able to do that for whatever reason, don't plant something.

[AzhiDahaki]

Well the simplest solution is just don't plant things when we're told about a maintenance and you know you won't be able to tend them.

Sorry that probably sounds a bit harsh, but normal garden operations require frequent tending. If you know you're not going to be able to do that for whatever reason, don't plant something.

No, I think based on the number of players impacted by this issue the simplest solution would be to provide a warning. Not everyone sees a maintenance notification and thinks about how it will affect their garden, but a simple text reminder would alleviate this.

EDIT: Also, your solution is not really a solution-- the problem will continue to affect players unless you personally intend to inform every gardener what to do

EDIT: But, yes, if SE wants to include in their server downtime announcement something along the lines of, "don't plant any new crops for a week, and make sure you harvest everything by this day, or make sure you have watered it by this time for it to survive the projected downtime!" , that would be along the lines of what I'm suggesting.

[Lexia]

No, I think based on the number of players impacted by this issue the simplest solution would be to provide a warning. Not everyone sees a maintenance notification and thinks about how it will affect their garden, but a simple text reminder would alleviate this.

Cause apparently people need everything spelled out for them.

[SimonRose]

I have 17 gardens, most of of which I use for crossbreeding. I take care of 64 plants and pay friends to take care of the rest. Today I came on to find 8 Glazenut plants, 4 Blood Pepper plants, and 8 Krakka's dead. All the rest were ready for harvesting.

So, I not only lost those plants, but the expensive Than 3 soil they were planted it, and any possible crosses I may have gotten.

My friends have not checked in with me on how much damage was done in their gardens, but one of them grows my end-result crossbreeds of Blood Peppers and Thavnairian Onions. Those will be expensive losses.

I think it's bullshit that SE doesn't just freeze garden progress during lengthy maintenance when we have no control over tending our gardens.

[AzhiDahaki]

I have 17 gardens, most of of which I use for crossbreeding. I take care of 64 plants and pay friends to take care of the rest. Today I came on to find 8 Glazenut plants, 4 Blood Pepper plants, and 8 Krakka's dead. All the rest were ready for harvesting.

So, I not only lost those plants, but the expensive Than 3 soil they were planted it, and any possible crosses I may have gotten.

...

I think it's bullshit that SE doesn't just freeze garden progress during lengthy maintenance when we have no control over tending our gardens.

I agree, and wow, I thought I had it bad losing my one plot of 4 thav onions & 4 glazenuts. Obviously even highly experienced and responsible gardeners like you are negatively impacted by how downtime affects this gameplay mechanic.

[TarynH]

I have 17 gardens

You lost me at ridiculous. You'd think with that many assets, you would at least keep track of when maintenance will occur. Like checking the weather in real life; maintenance warning was your frost advisory. Also, if you're staying on top of that many gardens consistently, your loss would be the equivalent of dropping a quarter down a sewer grate.

Edit: The first notice for this data center move was 4/25/2017 at 7:45 AM.

[SimonRose]

You lost me at ridiculous. You'd think with that many assets, you would at least keep track of when maintenance will occur. Like checking the weather in real life; maintenance warning was your frost advisory. Also, if you're staying on top of that many gardens consistently, your loss would be the equivalent of dropping a quarter down a sewer grate.

Edit: The first notice for this data center move was 4/25/2017 at 7:45 AM.

Besides the ridiculous part, you are correct. I do keep track of everything, including maintenance, but I wasn't about to shut everything down 10 days early (Thav. Onions). So I took a chance, and lost. My gil loss was somewhere around 3 - 4 million in lost product and supplies. And again you're correct, that is like dropping a quarter down a sewer grate for me, but it doesn't lessen the fact that this should not be happening and SE should do something about it in the future.

[Maxsdad]

Well the simplest solution is just don't plant things when we're told about a maintenance and you know you won't be able to tend them.

Sorry that probably sounds a bit harsh, but normal garden operations require frequent tending. If you know you're not going to be able to do that for whatever reason, don't plant something.

Wouldn't it just be more prudent to SUSPEND PLANT GROWTH rather than expect every player and every GC to dig up what in many cases are weeks worth of nurturing? You can't always predict exactly WHEN the plant will bloom, and growing things like jute are a long term project. Sorry, but your answer is totally unacceptable! I lost 28 plants (all 3 garden plots, planters in my apartment and my house) because the game gave bad advice about plant survivability! With me it was an inconvenience... but if I'd been growing jute or something similar, I'd be... best keep my thoughts to myself.

[Penthea]

Wouldn't it just be more prudent to SUSPEND PLANT GROWTH rather than expect every player and every GC to dig up what in many cases are weeks worth of nurturing?

Aren't we given a week or more notice of when servers will be down for very long maintenance? Also as far as I know no plants take longer than six days to grow. I've been able to avoid plants dying while servers are down because I decided to not plant anything that I knew would have a chance of not blooming before maintenance. So unless you don't know plant growth isn't paused and/or don't bother to read the window that states when maintenance is, it is easy to avoid planting seeds doomed to die.

A warning similar to the warnings about weddings would at least help prevent players from planting seeds at bad times.

Yea ideally plant growth would be suspended but lets get real here, SE have far bigger things for devs to worry about given an expansion is around the corner. A text warning along with the warning about weddings would at least prevent some players from planting seeds they can never harvest, and that would require little to no dev intervention because it's just text.

[Melithalie]

Penthea:

Thavnairian Onions take 10 days.
Blood Pepper, Broombush, and Glazenut each take 7 days.