Summary
Lightyear Frontieris a cozy farming sim with quite a few twists on the formula.Set on an uninhabited faraway planet, the game features plenty of secrets to discover, from alien civilizations to the intricacies of farming. One unique element is the ever-present mech, a large machine built not for combat but for farming, sporting multiple guns designed to irrigate and plant seeds deep in the soil.
Another uncommon but not entirely original twist is thatLightyear Frontieris a crafting farming sim with plenty of exploration and upgrading to do, all elements that often go hand in hand, but featureno elements of survival games. There are no hostile creatures, no fall damage, no way to break or lose the mech. Not even drowning is an issue, though water does pose an obstacle to progression.
1Help, I’m Stuck
It’s Faster Than Wiggling Out Of An Awkward Position
For a game that just entered Early Access,Lightyear Frontieris surprisinglypolished and bug-free. Still, players will see a stark reminder of just how much work is to be done. Often, this reminder comes as a stuck mech that refuses to budge. Thankfully, the developers have come prepared, including a handy way to free the players from those situations.
The in-game menu comes with all the usual options – preferences, save, exit – but one entry is not like the others. Pressing “Help, I’m Stuck” in the menu will teleport the player and their mech to a predetermined location in the region, hopefully freeing them from their impediment.
2The Spike Saw Has Two Fire Modes
Thrusting for Rocks, Slashing For Trees
The first of the five base tools at the player’s disposal inLightyear Frontieris the Spike Saw, which is used to break all kinds of objects into useful materials. Not every material is produced by slashing away with theLightyear Frontier. For example, some small plants are meant to be harvested with the Vacuum Harvester.
To properly use this important tool, players should keep in mind that the Spike Saw has two actions that are always accessible. The first, bound to the primary tool action button, is a thrusting blow. It only works on one object at a time, and it’s best used tobreak down rocks, minerals, and similarly hard materials. The slash action, bound to the secondary action button, is best used against trees and plants and can hit multiple items at once.
3Build Your Farm Near Water
It Will Make Farming Much Easier
Being primarily a farming sim,growing a garden is an important activityinLightyear Frontier. The main ingredients required to start growing plants in the game are soil, seeds, and water. And as the game goes on, fertilizer becomes another important item, even if it’s not essential. The best way to find seeds and soil is to explore and craft, while water is a different story.
Putting the rain aside for a moment, which makes watering plants temporarily unnecessary, watering plants every day is extremely important. The best way to make this manual job faster is to build the farm next to a source of water and invest in the right mech upgrades.
4Plant Trees As Soon As Possible
Sprouts Take A Long Time To Grow
As the saying goes, you reap what you sow, meaning that there is no reaping without sowing. Players who only slash away at Colorflowers and trees will soon find themselves surrounded by nothing but endless plains, the only forests remaining isolated far away from their home base.
To avoid this situation, players would do well to immediately plant any plant and tree sprouts they find in their inventory. Sprouts are different from regular plant seeds, which are grown in Farming Plots. Unlike seeds, players can plant sprouts directly into the ground with the Sprout Cannon.
5Build Decorations For A Cozy Bonus
Coziness Makes Work More Efficient
Lightyear Frontierseems to like thegenre description of “cozy game,“but unlike most other games in the genre, it gives coziness its own mechanic. Resting, by default, doesn’t give any benefit inLightyear Frontierunless one considers advancing into the next day a benefit. But for most players, that won’t be the case for long.
Not all the items that players can craft have a specific use. Some are just decorations, or at least that’s how they initially appear. The items that appear under the label Decorations, like the Beach Chair, the Birdhouse, and fences, give a bonus to nearby homesteads, from tents to large houses. Upgrading one’s homestead is mandatory to reach higher levels of coziness.
6Don’t Be Afraid To Move Things Around
Recycle Old Constructions To Reposition Them
Lightyear Frontierdoesn’t have a “move furniture” function. It does, however, have a very generous Recycling function. Recycling, in this game, means destroying an item previously built by the player in exchange for all the materials used in the construction. This means that recycling a crate that requires ten pieces of wood to be built will reward the player with just as much material.
Disassembling a previously built object is as easy as opening the build menu, entering Recycling Mode by pressing the appropriate key or button, and then clicking on the item in question. This functionality allows players to move contraptions around even without a dedicated repositioning mode.
7Feed The Animals And Their Nests
Receive Random Materials And Regional Boosts
Feeding the animals of this planet isn’t just a nice thing to do; it’s also a great way to get additional materials. Friendly neighbors can make the work go by more easily, even if those neighbors are colorful, feathery dinosaurs or tiny alien mice.Feeding an animalwill grant the player some random resources while putting enough fodder in a nest, which will make mineral production in the area faster.
Different animals and nests will want a specific kind of fodder. Fancier critters won’t accept old, basic fodder. And as the game opens up, new kinds of fodder will become available, and the animal will become more picky.
