Rocketeer [PKMN/Recettear/Rancher]
- Thread starter wdango
- Start date
1.4 - Y1201 M01 W1e (Farming)
wdango
Storyteller
- Location
- Bali, Indonesia
You decide to feed Casper Milk for the month, which it seems to enjoy just fine.
Bro instructs Casper on how to meditate, and it spends the week doing just that. You don't really see much change, but Bro assures you that it's making good progress for its age.
Soon enough, it's the weekend.
︵︵︵◓
"So do you think you've got the hang of training a Pokémon yet?"
"Uh... Yeah, sure." Well, he's been doing all the heavy lifting, to be honest. "How are we going to make money like this, though?"
"Once Casper's a little bigger, we'll start putting him into some tournaments. Just give it a few months."
You shake your head. "I can't wait that long... We only have a year, remember..?"
Bro grins. "I've already thought about that. You know, you've got half an acre of land on the estate, which is a waste to raise just a handful of Pokémon for competitive battles."
"What are you saying?"
"You know, we can grow some crops, raise Pokémon as livestock... Competitive ranching can net us the big money, but we have the facilities to turn some of the estate into a farm, too. That can be a safety net in case we don't do well in the tournaments."
"I don't know... Is farming really all that profitable?"
"Girl, how much do herbs and berries cost nowadays? Not to mention milk, eggs, wool..." Bro shakes his head. "Trust me."
"Mm, alright. There's no harm in trying. Where do we start?"
"We have about 2 ares of empty land right now, right? We can plant about 20 berry trees in that space." He shrugs. "Alternatively, we can start by buying a Pokémon to fill the empty stall in the barn. It's just about big enough to fit a Doduo or a Miltank, both of which aren't that hard to raise."
"We probably don't have time to do both in one weekend, right?"
"Yep. Just the one."
"Hmm... If we get a Miltank, does that mean we don't need to spend the money for Casper's food for a while?"
"Nah, it doesn't work like that. Only juvenile Miltank are typically for sale, if you're talking about livestock. They're usually about six months old, so you'll be waiting about half a year before they mature enough to produce milk."
"How much milk does an adult Miltank produce anyway?"
"Quite a lot." He grins. "The amount of milk a Miltank can produce in one day will easily feed a baby Pokémon for two months."
That's... "A really good investment..."
"Right? Don't expect to sell it for as high as we're buying it, though."
Of course. "What about Doduo? What can it do for us?"
"They lay eggs, obviously. But other than that, you can train them as a mount, too. You've heard of the Vermillion Cup, right?"
The Vermillion Cup is an annual race for mature Doduo that involves an obscene amount of gambling. "Does that mean we can participate?"
Bro nods. "It's not as profitable as competitive battling, but we can. It's not really worth it, though -- training a Doduo for racing is just as much effort, with comparatively less in the way of profits."
"Okay, let's forget about that for now, then. Is raising Doduo for their eggs profitable?"
"In the short term? On a daily basis, a Doduo will probably only earn you a fraction of whatever a Miltank does."
"We should get the Miltank, then!"
"But Doduo are a lot easier to take care of, and they're easier to breed, too. Plus, their eggs have a high protein content and nutritious for Pokémon of all ages."
"Ugh. This is complicated."
"Heh. Wait 'til I tell you about planting crops."
You massage your temple. "Let's just get it over with..."
"I'll make it as simple as I can. If you're planning to start planting crops now, I'd go with Oran or Sitrus trees. It's pretty much the ideal time to plant some. Orans bear fruit every Autumn, and if you take care of them, can continue to survive for decades. If planted now, Sitruses will give you fruit at the end of Spring, Summer, and Autumn, but then they will wither in the Winter and you'll have to dig them up before planting new crops for the next year."
"Sounds more straightforward than livestock, to be honest."
"Yeah, and we have the space to make it real profitable, too. But once we have a lot of trees, it's going to be a lot of work. Thankfully, your Mom already seems to have some basic farming tools in storage, so at least we don't need to spend any extra money on that."
That's quite a lot of things for you to consider, huh...
[x] Buy 20 Oran trees. (₽5,000 each; Total: ₽100,000; 300-500 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽25.)
[x] Buy 20 Sitrus trees. (₽10,000 each; Total: ₽200,000; 200-600 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽100.)
[x] Buy a Doduo. (₽30,000; 1 Egg per day; Each Egg sells for ₽200.)
[x] Buy a Miltank. (₽60,000; 2 Milks per day; Each Milk sells for ₽375.)
[x] Let's just spend the weekend visiting your neighbours.
[x] Write-in.
Bro instructs Casper on how to meditate, and it spends the week doing just that. You don't really see much change, but Bro assures you that it's making good progress for its age.
Soon enough, it's the weekend.
︵︵︵◓
"So do you think you've got the hang of training a Pokémon yet?"
"Uh... Yeah, sure." Well, he's been doing all the heavy lifting, to be honest. "How are we going to make money like this, though?"
"Once Casper's a little bigger, we'll start putting him into some tournaments. Just give it a few months."
You shake your head. "I can't wait that long... We only have a year, remember..?"
Bro grins. "I've already thought about that. You know, you've got half an acre of land on the estate, which is a waste to raise just a handful of Pokémon for competitive battles."
"What are you saying?"
"You know, we can grow some crops, raise Pokémon as livestock... Competitive ranching can net us the big money, but we have the facilities to turn some of the estate into a farm, too. That can be a safety net in case we don't do well in the tournaments."
"I don't know... Is farming really all that profitable?"
"Girl, how much do herbs and berries cost nowadays? Not to mention milk, eggs, wool..." Bro shakes his head. "Trust me."
"Mm, alright. There's no harm in trying. Where do we start?"
"We have about 2 ares of empty land right now, right? We can plant about 20 berry trees in that space." He shrugs. "Alternatively, we can start by buying a Pokémon to fill the empty stall in the barn. It's just about big enough to fit a Doduo or a Miltank, both of which aren't that hard to raise."
"We probably don't have time to do both in one weekend, right?"
"Yep. Just the one."
"Hmm... If we get a Miltank, does that mean we don't need to spend the money for Casper's food for a while?"
"Nah, it doesn't work like that. Only juvenile Miltank are typically for sale, if you're talking about livestock. They're usually about six months old, so you'll be waiting about half a year before they mature enough to produce milk."
"How much milk does an adult Miltank produce anyway?"
"Quite a lot." He grins. "The amount of milk a Miltank can produce in one day will easily feed a baby Pokémon for two months."
That's... "A really good investment..."
"Right? Don't expect to sell it for as high as we're buying it, though."
Of course. "What about Doduo? What can it do for us?"
"They lay eggs, obviously. But other than that, you can train them as a mount, too. You've heard of the Vermillion Cup, right?"
The Vermillion Cup is an annual race for mature Doduo that involves an obscene amount of gambling. "Does that mean we can participate?"
Bro nods. "It's not as profitable as competitive battling, but we can. It's not really worth it, though -- training a Doduo for racing is just as much effort, with comparatively less in the way of profits."
"Okay, let's forget about that for now, then. Is raising Doduo for their eggs profitable?"
"In the short term? On a daily basis, a Doduo will probably only earn you a fraction of whatever a Miltank does."
"We should get the Miltank, then!"
"But Doduo are a lot easier to take care of, and they're easier to breed, too. Plus, their eggs have a high protein content and nutritious for Pokémon of all ages."
"Ugh. This is complicated."
"Heh. Wait 'til I tell you about planting crops."
You massage your temple. "Let's just get it over with..."
"I'll make it as simple as I can. If you're planning to start planting crops now, I'd go with Oran or Sitrus trees. It's pretty much the ideal time to plant some. Orans bear fruit every Autumn, and if you take care of them, can continue to survive for decades. If planted now, Sitruses will give you fruit at the end of Spring, Summer, and Autumn, but then they will wither in the Winter and you'll have to dig them up before planting new crops for the next year."
"Sounds more straightforward than livestock, to be honest."
"Yeah, and we have the space to make it real profitable, too. But once we have a lot of trees, it's going to be a lot of work. Thankfully, your Mom already seems to have some basic farming tools in storage, so at least we don't need to spend any extra money on that."
That's quite a lot of things for you to consider, huh...
[x] Buy 20 Oran trees. (₽5,000 each; Total: ₽100,000; 300-500 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽25.)
[x] Buy 20 Sitrus trees. (₽10,000 each; Total: ₽200,000; 200-600 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽100.)
[x] Buy a Doduo. (₽30,000; 1 Egg per day; Each Egg sells for ₽200.)
[x] Buy a Miltank. (₽60,000; 2 Milks per day; Each Milk sells for ₽375.)
[x] Let's just spend the weekend visiting your neighbours.
[x] Write-in.
wdango
Storyteller
- Location
- Bali, Indonesia
I want to, tbh. I even have some mechanics from another quest that I can cannibalise for it.
But I like animated sprites, so yeah, nah lol.
Not for now, at least.
Archeo Lumiere
The Prince's Archivist
- Location
- Lumiose City, Kalos
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Are Berry Harvests for one tree or across all of them, as if it's the latter, then Oran trees are a monstrous money sink, taking eight years to successfully repay, and Sitrus trees are literally just a money pit. Doduo pays itself off in approximately five months, even taking into account saving on food, and Miltank pays itself in approximately seven months taking into account saving on food.
- Location
- Denmark
Are there multiple berries per fruit? And if so, how much? Otherwise, the berries don't seem worth it at all.
For Miltank vs. Doduo, I say let's go with the former. Sure, there'll be about six months where we've not getting any income from it, but in two months it'll have produced almost as much as the Doduo did in eight months, and in six months it'll give almost as much income as a Doduo would across an entire year.
For Miltank vs. Doduo, I say let's go with the former. Sure, there'll be about six months where we've not getting any income from it, but in two months it'll have produced almost as much as the Doduo did in eight months, and in six months it'll give almost as much income as a Doduo would across an entire year.
Okibruez
(Verified Mid-Boss)
- Location
- Dreams
Also: How many years are we doing this for? If we only need to manage profit for one or two years, the Doduo would be better; in part because it'll be cheaper long term and easier to breed.
- Location
- Denmark
Assuming that we're thinking two years out, then a Miltank will generate about 2.8 times more revenue than a Doduo. It'll probably also be more expensive, but I don't think Doduo being cheaper in upkeep will make much of a difference in terms of the profits.
Okibruez
(Verified Mid-Boss)
- Location
- Dreams
This is true, but there was mention of breeding, which means potentially multiplicative profits. And also remember, we have to pay the Miltank's upkeep with 0 profit until it's old enough; that's 6 months of net loss that it's later profits have to clear out before they count as actual gains.
... honestly, I'd love to know both the expected upkeep of the animals as well as how breeding works.
On the face of it, though, the Miltank's a better long term investment, and right now would be the best time to get started on long term investments; if they're made too late the 'long term' won't have time to come around to profit. Just that someone has to play devil's advocate here.
wdango
Storyteller
- Location
- Bali, Indonesia
Welcome back.For how long is it expected that a Miltank will produce milk?
Also, currently doing calculations for the profitability of the different things. Expect results in a bit.
Until the end of its lifespan around 4yo. May pass away sooner depending on how well or poorly you treat it.
Each tree.
As written. 300-500 fruits per Oran tree per harvest. 200-600 fruits per Sitrus tree per harvest.
That's just the cost to buy the Pokémon.
Either way you'll be getting milk/eggs for about 3 years. Maybe 2 if you treat them poorly.
Yep. There's action cost to everything but I'm still figuring out the mechanics. I'm planning something like Harvest Sprites, too.
Skewfiend
The Corruptor of All Things
- Location
- The Darkness Behind Your Eyes
Oh. OH!
It finally sank in for me that he managed to get us down to a decent interest rate COMPOUNDED ANNUALLY, and that that is our annual payment. not our monthly payment.
Edit: Seriously, Inuyama is a fucking legend. Swinging that with anm actual bank, yet alone a loan shark would be damn hard. They like annual rates compounded monthly.
Some harvest sprites would be nice to have around to help out. Maybe some brownies, or house-kobolds.
... Oh, you meant the other kind of sprite.
anyway, We want the most profitable things with a payback period under a year, preferably that will last us a few. Gunna do some numbered crunches. Please wait warmly.
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Skewfiend
The Corruptor of All Things
- Location
- The Darkness Behind Your Eyes
Gaze upon my financial planning, ye mighty, and despair.
Effort be damned, Sitrus trees give over half of oran trees lifetime, multiple-decade profit, and do so in their single year of life.
Maxing out our current capacity of 20 oran trees and 2 miltanks would give us a measly 250k in the first year, and about 740k in subsequent years, which is only a third of our 2,400k interest.
Contrariwise, at 2,200k, 20 sitrus trees damn near pay for the interest on their own, and combined with a pair of miltanks, we'd be sitting at a ~2,740k income, which will allow us to start paying off both the interest and some of the principal without even needing to rely on championship money.
So, yeah, let's plant 20 sitrus now, then get two miltank at the next opportunity. Once we have the opportunity to expand our berry patches, poke stalls and options for both, we might look into swapping some of them out for lower-maintenance things, but this should give us the capital to have that chance.
[x] Buy 20 Sitrus trees. (₽10,000 each; Total: ₽200,000; 200-600 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽100.)
Investment | Cost | Prod. delay | Unit return | Avg Units/period | periods per year | Years of production | Payback Period | 1-year profit | Annual income | Lifetime profit |
Oran Tree | 5,000 | 0 | 25 | 400 | 1 | 20 | 1 year | 5,000 | 10,000 | 195,000 |
Oran Tree x20 | 100,000 | 0 | 25 | 8,000 | 1 | 20 | 1 year | 100,000 | 200,000 | 3,900,000 |
Sitrus Tree | 10,000 | 0 | 100 | 400 | 3 | 1 | 4 months | 110,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
Sitrus Tree x20 | 200,000 | 0 | 100 | 8,000 | 3 | 1 | 4 months | 2,200,000 | 2,200,000 | 2,200,000 |
Doduo | 30,000 | 0 | 200 | 1 | 365 | 3 | 150.00 | 43,000 | 73,000 | 189,000 |
Miltank | 60,000 | 183 | 375 | 2 | 365 | 3 | 80.00 | 76,500 | 273,750 | 624,000 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Current Balance: | 1,959,500 | | | | | | | | | |
Interest (12m left): | 2,400,000 | | | | | | | | | |
Remaining debt: | 40,000,000 | | | | | | | | | |
Effort be damned, Sitrus trees give over half of oran trees lifetime, multiple-decade profit, and do so in their single year of life.
Maxing out our current capacity of 20 oran trees and 2 miltanks would give us a measly 250k in the first year, and about 740k in subsequent years, which is only a third of our 2,400k interest.
Contrariwise, at 2,200k, 20 sitrus trees damn near pay for the interest on their own, and combined with a pair of miltanks, we'd be sitting at a ~2,740k income, which will allow us to start paying off both the interest and some of the principal without even needing to rely on championship money.
So, yeah, let's plant 20 sitrus now, then get two miltank at the next opportunity. Once we have the opportunity to expand our berry patches, poke stalls and options for both, we might look into swapping some of them out for lower-maintenance things, but this should give us the capital to have that chance.
[x] Buy 20 Sitrus trees. (₽10,000 each; Total: ₽200,000; 200-600 fruits per harvest; Each berry sells for ₽100.)
wdango
Storyteller
- Location
- Bali, Indonesia
Casper is already using up one of your stalls lol. You have one empty stall.
Skewfiend
The Corruptor of All Things
- Location
- The Darkness Behind Your Eyes
D'oh! But yes, one Miltank would juuust push us over the line of having more gross income than our interest payments, after the first year.
Archeo Lumiere
The Prince's Archivist
- Location
- Lumiose City, Kalos
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Is this accounting for the net ₽125 gain once a month for using a milk for our months food from Miltank instead of buying a milk at ₽500 and selling one of ours for ₽375?
Skewfiend
The Corruptor of All Things
- Location
- The Darkness Behind Your Eyes
No it doesn't, but in principle it should.
Anything we produce and use, that we would otherwise need to buy "produces" the amount it would otherwise cost.
In practice, however, the fact that 6 of the ~365 units in the first year, and 12 of the ~700 we produce thereafter are worth a little more only results in a ~1% increase in the first year, and maybe a ~0.5% increase in subsequent years, so it doesn't affect much of anything.
When we have a larger stable of pokemon, however, that may start to become something to worry about.
Edit: also, wow, miltanks produce 2months of food a day, and Doduo a solid 1 month.
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wdango
Storyteller
- Location
- Bali, Indonesia
*Baby Pokémon portion lol.
Different Pokémon eat different amounts of food.
A real cow eats about 50kg of food per day and produces around 25L of milk a day so lol. If a magic cow produces about double that (on less food) I'm guessing that's reasonable.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
Just found this, an enjoyable quest so far. But seeing people talking about getting Miltank and talking like they're expecting profits right away... Ummm...
That's at least 6 months worth of feed added to the initial investment (initial cost of the Miltank.) A miltank would eventually pay for itself, yes, but that doesn't add to the amount of money to pay off the first annual bill. An older one would likely be more expensive, and a younger (and theoretically cheaper,) one would mean that much less money toward the bill and that much longer to get toward the Miltank making money.
Better to go with the plan Skewfiend proposed, crops now and Miltank later. When we've built up more money, we can either buy a new stall ( WDango said we had 2, one of which is being used by our Gastly, and it sounds like crops and stalls take the same amount of space,) or switch to the Miltank next harvest. As is, we need to keep in mind that $2.4 mil we owe at the end of the year period.
Though, here's a thought - since this is a crossover of the mechanics of Pokemon, Recettear, Monster Rancher, and similar games, will we get to do any dungeon diving? Risks involved of course (like injuring our Pokemon and laying them up and making them unavailable for tournaments,) but in theory it could be profitable.
Also, is there any benefit to catching Pokemon ourselves (we do have a license,) and trying to raise them (whether for breeding, selling, or competing,) ourselves, or is that far-off dream at this point? I could just imagine leaving Pokemon traps with food in them on our land, making sure our own Pokemon know not to go into them. I mean, currently we don't really have the room for doing that and producing crops and / or getting a producer Pokemon (Miltank or Doduo,) but maybe something to think about in the future.
That's at least 6 months worth of feed added to the initial investment (initial cost of the Miltank.) A miltank would eventually pay for itself, yes, but that doesn't add to the amount of money to pay off the first annual bill. An older one would likely be more expensive, and a younger (and theoretically cheaper,) one would mean that much less money toward the bill and that much longer to get toward the Miltank making money.
Better to go with the plan Skewfiend proposed, crops now and Miltank later. When we've built up more money, we can either buy a new stall ( WDango said we had 2, one of which is being used by our Gastly, and it sounds like crops and stalls take the same amount of space,) or switch to the Miltank next harvest. As is, we need to keep in mind that $2.4 mil we owe at the end of the year period.
Though, here's a thought - since this is a crossover of the mechanics of Pokemon, Recettear, Monster Rancher, and similar games, will we get to do any dungeon diving? Risks involved of course (like injuring our Pokemon and laying them up and making them unavailable for tournaments,) but in theory it could be profitable.
Also, is there any benefit to catching Pokemon ourselves (we do have a license,) and trying to raise them (whether for breeding, selling, or competing,) ourselves, or is that far-off dream at this point? I could just imagine leaving Pokemon traps with food in them on our land, making sure our own Pokemon know not to go into them. I mean, currently we don't really have the room for doing that and producing crops and / or getting a producer Pokemon (Miltank or Doduo,) but maybe something to think about in the future.
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