During the explanation of how to do overlapping, I will refer to “Offsets”. Since overlapping is done via opening multiple tabs like crop layering, it is impossible to show an in-progress example of what the overlaying looks like but I have created this example of overlapping horizontally and vertically. Keep in mind that these are examples of MULTIPLE LAYERS and not how each layer should look.
This is overlapping horizontally. Remember...each row in this example represents an entire tab of plowing. Note the offset from the bottom row to the row above? That is the offset. Each tab you do will have an offset. That's where Overlapping generates its name.
This is overlapping vertically. Note like the horizontal overlap example there is an overlap but this time it is in a vertical direction. As you go from left to right, each row is offset one unit higher than the preceding row. Again, remember, however, that each row is actually an entire tab of plowing.
As the warnings in the beginning of this section detail, I recommend that you do NOT create an overlap for your entire farm until you have experimented with overlapping sections of a farm to understand where the limits of your machine and Slashkey's servers lie. Overlapping along with layering can produce an exponential amount of crops but if you exceed the resource limits it can become a time consuming headache to correct.
Consequently, for this example, I have begun with a strip that is 1/3rd of my farm.
As you can have 3 horizontal offsets per plow square and 3 vertical offsets, it is possible to have a maximum of 9 overlaps per plow square. However, I have found this many overlaps to be very difficult to seed and harvest and I have limited myself to 3 horizontal overlaps. I find this is much easier to seed and harvest without missing any squares and my example will be built upon this assumption. Later I will I will illustrate how to do the 9 overlap example.
After you have cleared off a section (or farm if you are doing an entire farm), save the changes and open up three tabs. Each tab should be on the farm you want to overlap and should be in OFFLINE mode. If the tabs are not opened correctly it will affect the overlapping on your farm. Make sure this is done before you start.
TAB 1:The plowing in this tab is done with zero (0) offset so it is plowing like normal. See the example below. Plow the entire strip (farm if you are doing a whole farm) and then save the changes and X the tab closed.
TAB 2: The plowing in this tab is done with one (1) HORIZONTAL offset. See the example below. Unlike plowing the first tab, will find that plowing with one or more offsets takes a tiny bit more time when setting up each row. Make sure you set them correctly or part of the overlap will not be correct. After plowing the whole strip (or farm), save the changes and X the tab.
TAB 3: This tab is done with two (2) horizontal offsets. Again, take care in setting up each row correctly. See the example below.
When you are finished with this third and last tab, like crop layering, save the changes but do not X the tab. Instead, go back to ONLINE mode and refresh by either clicking PLAY or going to the Inn or Marketplace and returning to the farm. When you return to the farm, you will see your first successful overlapped strip (or farm). It will look like this:
Now you can use this overlapped strip (farm) as you choose. You can plant a single layer of crops or if you choose, you may actually do crop layering on this overlapped strip (farm). If you do choose to layer the farm I offer a few words of caution. Because you are layering an overlapped strip (farm) you are increasing the number of plowed squares expotentially. Consequently the resources of your machine and Slashkey's servers will be likewise used expotentially. It's a good way to raise a lot of non-gifted crops such as tomatoes and onions or purple and green grapes for the winery but if you exceed your system resources it will be a headache to correct. I would not recommend a lot of crop layers at the beginning. Slowly expand the size of the overlap/crop layering. Having to correct a lot of layered overlaps will take a good amount of time.
Also, remember that if you use the seeder/harvester to seed and harvest your crops you will also expotentially use fuel units as well. Make sure you have enough fuel on hand before you begin to overlap/layer.
One final note of explanation: Unfortunately, unlike crop layering alone, when you harvest the last (or only) layer, the left over unplowed squares CANNOT be replowed by you, but you CAN hire others to plow the overlaps for you! This is an excellent way to earn XP's for both you and the Plow-hand, as well as saving you coins and time!
