Breesze's Full On Guide to Sand Box Farm (Finished For Now)

[DesertBreesze]

This is my official guide to Sand Box Farm, yes me DesertBreesze. Why spend hours typing and putting together all this on top of my newbie help program? Because so far no one else has has. That is a guide to everything, I want to aid new players and help them along their way. This is me doing my bit for the community, to also better the game. Teaching and nuturing responsible and rule- abding players who are effiecent.

Why not? After all Virtual Horse Ranch and Virtual Pups have programs and guides, so why not Sand Box Farm? This is a community and we therefore should be expected to give support and help to those who need it most. We should help newcomers! Not call them cruel names and look down on them! Don't you remember when you had just $3,000 and a dirt patch for a rodent cage?

- Thank You!

Foot Notes:

- The following speech was not meant to offend anyone, I just think this thing is long overdue!

- If you have any tips or advice please send a reply. It would be greatly appreciated!

- Other good sources for help is the Orbis's Sandbox Farm Help Guides. This is located during normal play* in the the lower left hand corner on your side options. Also the forums have a FAQ, Help and Contributions sections with guides and tips from other players.

- Lissie has agreed to help with the guide and program. As well she'll be doing her own guide too. So kudos to her!

*This is NOT the case in forums! Only when your out of forums in what is called normal play.

Thank you and Enjoy! - DesertBreesze

Introduction:

I know starting out can be hard, feeling lost and completly clueless are feelings we've all felt when we started out! Everyone has to start somewhere and this is where you start. With $3,000, no buildings ot animals and 100 acres of untouched land. I.E. nothing.

But fear not, you have stumbled onto my guide, this guide will take you step- by- step through every topic immaginable. Not a detail will be left out! By the time your done you will be the most clued up newbie around! Ready to face the world with confidence that you have mastered the game!

Soon you'll have millions and some of the best animals in the game! Well... that's up to you. This guide is to give you the knowledge and tools to success, the rest is up to you!

Chapter 1: The Basics

Examinations:

So why do you ask, must I start with this topic? Simple. Examinations are one of the key elements of the game. They will probably always be one of your main sources of income. So it's important we cover them early on.

You might be asking now what are exams for and how do you earn money from them? And you'll be pleased to know it's easy really. Exam's purpose is to help you make money, to complete tasks you've set for you animals and to age them. Also exams allow your bred animals to give birth.

How they work is each time you click to take an exam you earn money thanks to your prestige level. Prestige is affected by the amount of animals you have and their condition. The more animals that are in good condition you have, the higher your prestige becomes. In turn the higher your prestige is the more money you make.

Now when you click to examine the page you see will show your animal's task progress, in most cases increasing stats. As well if an animal's pregnant, it'll will show how much longer until she give's birth. At the bottom it also shows how much money you need to build the next building, your current exam earnings, cost etc.

Now each day your given around 70- 75 exams. Once you've used them all up you must wait until midnight until you are given another 70 or so exams. You can view how many examinations you have available by looking beside the SandBox Farm logo, in the top right hand corner. Also next to it it says Extra:.

This is generally at 0, but say if you missed a couple of days you'll notice the 0 changes. These are extra exams you can take whenever, meaning you don't lose money or precious training time! Just keep clicking 'Examine Animals' even after your day's 70 or so exams have reached 0.

FAQ's

Q:

How do I examine my animals?

A:

Under the game logo there is an orange bar with a clickable link named 'Examine Animals'. Click this to examine them.

Q:

What is the 'Examine without showing training' for?

A:

This simply won't show your animal's stats increasing, like they normally would on the examination status page. The only way to monitor your animal's stats increase is on their profile, there you can't see the animal's exact stats in numbers.

Q:

What is an examination cost?

A:

It's like a tax, each time you ake an examination you are charged a small cost for the exam. As you earnings increase so does the cost. You can reduce it if you set it as a task for you animal(s) on their profile. Though I'd not bother as it is a minute percentage.

Q:

Can I get more exams per day?

A:

Yes.You can buy goodies for SandBox cash and get extra exams. To get these you can go to the 'Goodies' link on the options side bar. Lower down to the right of your screen.

Rescues:

When you start out you are given a set quota of rescues, they are totally free. Your first few rescues allow you to recieve one free pair of animals of every species that can be housed in an enclosure up to the pasture. Also when build buildings you recieve a free rescue. BUT you only get one animal not 2 per rescue. The animal can male or female.

Also important is that when you rescue an animal it will be already aged a tenth of it's average lifspan. For exmaple an animal like a camelid's lifespan is on average 25 years, so when you rescue one it'll be 2.5 years old. As well as that all the animal's stats are fair. A bonus is the animal is purebred, when you see the animal's bloodlines it'll be ?????. The parents are unknown but the animal is pure.

Rescues are good fo when you start out because they are free and give you untouched, purebred animals. You can also gain free breedings. When you run out of rescues you must pay tokens to rescue. Or another option you can buy rescues from other players. As well you can sell them.

Though when you rescue an animal it's species, variation, colour and details are by Orbis games. Basically your not going to recieve anything more than possibly an Extremely Rare animal. Threatend, Endangered and Almost Extinct variations etc. are generally created by other players. You'll have to trade, buy or possibly win these animals. On a rare event you might score lucky though!

FAQ's

Q:

Where do I go to rescue animals?


A:

In the top left hand corner, the orange link under 'My Farm' is 'Rescue'. Click this button.

Q:

I've used up my rescues but in the scrollbar of speices to rescue it says on some animals free rescue of 1 male and female. What does that mean?

A:

Simple you still have one free rescue of every animal able to live in a enclosure below pasture. You haven't used that rescue. The set quota of rescues you've used up allows you to rescue other animals from bigger enclosures. Not the ones you get for animals from pasture and below enclosures. Complex but basically you still have rescues but only for certain animals.

Q:

Where do I buy rescues from?

A:

People all over the forum make posts saying they're selling rescues. Go to Looking For Something?, Auctions and Animals For Sale, Stud & Service. I.E. the Farm Bay section. You should find people selling rescues their.

Finances:

I know this is a bit extra but this is my full on guide after all. The finances page is good to check up on how your doing financially wise. You can see how much income your making and how much your spending. It can be useful and show areas where you can work on and save money. Say your spending loads of money on entry fees but barely winning any of it back. Try to go for smaller events with cheap entry fees.

The whole purpose of the page is to keep a record of your money, so take advantage of it! Help you help yourself and become buisness savvy!

FAQ's:

Q:

Where do I access the Finances page?

A:

In the top left hand corner, the link is underneath the 'Rescue' link.

Q:

Can I reset it?

A:

No, you can't. Sorry but the numbers can't be put back to 0.

Behaviour Conduct:

Basic Do & Don'ts

Do be polite! Surprise, surprise! Hours your parent's (I hope) drilling them into your head, were not a waste! People appreciate even simple things as saying please, thank you and your welcome. Easy stuff you had learn't by the age of 6! You'll find people will be much more willing to do things for you and will be ten times more friendly. This is compared to being rude and moody, which is a huge turn off. So remember the 3 magic words (well really 5)!

Don't swear! Firstly it's another turn off and secondly it can get you banned from the forums. Besides there is no need! If you have that problem lock away that sailor tounge, just think of the repercussions.

Do let people have their own opinion! Just because people have an opinion you might not agree with don't sound off. This is the 21st century and people can speak their mind! BUT if someone swears, discriminates or seriously offends people report them. You can have an opinion but as with anything there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. Just be careful when you report, you need to be sure. You can't accuse someone without a good reason.

Don't bully! Do not discriminate, cruelly tease or bully players. For what ever reason it is not acceptable and you could banned from the forums. We are a community and therefore should and support eachother. Not pick on and harrass one another! If you see any bullying going on report * it immediately!

Do not beg! Let's face it begging is annoying! Imagine getting bombarded with messages "PLZ HELP ME I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDD MONEY! PLZ GIVE ME MONEY! AND UR STAT MAXD HORSE 4 FREE PPPLLLZZZ!!!!!" Trust me it doesn't work, if you ask nicely than people will be more willing to donate. And don't ask for stat maxxed animals and million dollar winners for free! People put time and effort into training and showing that horse! You'll just have to make due.

Do NOT and I mean it! Post your full name, address, telephone number or picture of yourself. Why? Simple in today's world there are unfortunately a lot of crooked people on the internet. They would easily jump on someone stupid enough to do that. Take advantage of you in the most horrible ways. So be safe and responsible! A pic of your pet or e-mail address is fine but anything more really is dangerous! This is not to offend anybody but is is sadly too true these days.

Don't solicit anybody randomly! What does solicit mean? Creating a trade or contract with someone if they are unaware of a deal or who you are. Contact them first and then set up the trade or whatever. People will find it weird for a random person the out of blue had 'em a contract without even talking to them! Especially if they have to pay!

* If you need to report someone contact:

Kholran
Site Admin

or

Jinxx
Site Admin

Grammar:

Mini Forum Dictionary:

SBF- Sand Box Farm

K- One thousand

M/ Mil- One Million

B/ Bil- One Billion

HB- Highest Bid (used with auctions)

SB/ LB- Smallest Bid/ Lowest Bid (used with auctions)

BIN- Buy Insantly (used with auctions)

MBI- Minimum Bid Increment* (used with auctions)

VHR- Virtual Horse Ranch (other game by Orbis)

VP- Virtual Pups (other game by Orbis)

* This means the minimum amount you have to add on in order to bid higher. Exmaple: MBI= 5k and animal has bid already for $10,000. To get the horse you have to bid at least $5,000 dollars higher i.e. $15,000 to get the animal.

Basic Do's & Don'ts:

Do choose colours for your text wisely! Don't choose Yellow, White or Cyan. It hurts people's eyes while struggling to read what you have to say. Use darker colours that are easy to see! It's ok to jazz things up or draw attention to your post, but just make sure the colour isn't to light or bright!

Don't type in CAPS! Or as I call it spazzy typing, example: hElLo My NaMe Is DeSeRtBrEeZsE! It is annoying and unnecessary! Write things how you would normally! Some people may take it the wrong way, like you yelling at them. It's ok in a couple instances. Like I use it to emphasize something important or you use it to show your happy or a little sad. Example: HURRAY! or WHOA! ...whatever. Just be careful!

Do write like you normally would! Chatspeak is not needed and annoying too. Write like a normal human being, some is ok. Sometimes words and phrases are long so you shorten it but do it in moderation. In my dictionary up above stuff like that is ok and lol etc. But this isn't: Hiya! How r u? Wat wuld u lik 4 ur 2 dogs? Plz rply bac plz! Thnk u! Remember 'Moderation'!

Stats:

Before we get to training, events and breeding I'll cover stats. Stats play a big role in the game. They affect the animal in many ways. If you look on your animal's profile you'll see under the name and bars is a line of stats. Each stat is different and equally important. Here is an example of an animal's stats.

Stats:
Strength:ZOMG!
Intelligence:Fair
Speed: Fair
Agility:Fair
Stamina:Fair

In examination you'll be able to see the exact stat i.e. the number. But on the profile the numbers are replaced with words. These are rough estimates or guidelines on how high or low the stat is. There is a scale seen below of the stats. The highest at the top the lowest at the bottom.

NO WAI
ZOMG
Inconceivable
Amazing
Awesome
Extremely Good
Very Good
Good
Average
Fair

Animals have 5 stats which you can increase.

-Strength
-Intelligence
-Speed
-Agility
-Stamina

To stat maxx a stat is to get the stat to NO WAI, you achieve this by simply going to the animal's profile page and set 'Increase ____' whatever stat and examine the animal, thus training them. The max you can train a stat in numbers is 129.9 BUT the stat once it reaches roughly 120 will show up as NO WAI on the profile. Training the stat to 129.9 is your choice but requires more time.

FAQ's:

Q:

How long does it take to stat maxx a stat?

A:

Well below is roughly the time it takes to get to each level and the total time to stat maxx a stat. I got this from milon's guide!

Fair>50 exams
Average>70 exams
Good>80 exams
Very Good>90 exams
Extremely Good>95 exams
Awesome>100 exams
Amazing>105 exams
Inconceivable>110 exams
ZOMG>115 exams
NO WAI>120 exams
Total to put each stat = 740 or 800.


Q:

How long do I set the task to increase my animal's stat for?

A:

Roughly 1,000 as this is roughly how long it'll take to stat maxx the stat. It also ensures you don't have to constantly reset it.

Q:

My animal's in the Rodent Cage are taking longer to train then in my Kennel. Why is that?

A:

Some spieces are easier to train than others. Horses, dogs, wolves, cats are generally faster to train then say snakes, rabbits and fish.

Q:

Do stats of the parents affect the baby's stats?

A:

Yes. If 2 animals are bred with all fair stats their baby will be born with all fair stats. But if stat maxxed animals are bred their baby's stats will be different. It'll range from Extremely Good to Inconceivable across the board. This means it'll be easier and faster to train the animal.

Training:

Ok so here we go, basically training will improve your animal's stats. This means it'll perform better in events(though this can depend), a better animal for breeding and overall better the game. The ultimate aim in training is to stat maxx your animal, having all 5 stats with NO WAI. It'll take time but will be rewarding I promise.

Basically to train you go to your animal's profile where you can set tasks. You can chose whatever stat you please and you check the bubble next to the task say 'Increase Speed'. Below that you can type in how many turns you'd like to work on this stat for say 1,000 and click change task. The page will refresh and you'll see on the page above the task options Current Task: spd for 1000 more turns.

Now you need to keep tabs on this as eventually you'll reach 0 and you'll need to reset your task. Whether it be continuing maxxing that stat or moving onto another.

When your animal has maxxed out it's stat, it'll will show up a notice on the exam status page by the animal's name. It will be in blue and say something like "____ has reached the highest level on it's stat NO WAI!" You then want to change the animal's task. If you don't you'll waste precious training time!

So what do you do when you've stat maxxed your animal? Well you can reduce the exam cost which is not needed , as it is a small percentage of your earnings. Maybe find special details? It's up to you! Whatever you'd like to do I say go for it!


Q:

Which stat do you start maxxing first?

A:

Well if the animal's stats are say:

Strength:ZOMG!
Intelligence:Fair
Speed: Fair
Agility:Fair
Stamina:Fair

I say stat maxx the Strength stat first because it's the highest and will be the quickest. I.E. The highest stat first. But if the stats of the animal are all fair or the same start with stamina. Your other stats will increase faster if this stat is stat maxxed first.


Q:

What if I don't wan't to train my animals myself?

A:

Some people offer training to other players. Some you pay others offer it for free. Try the Looking for Something? & Animals For Sale, Stud & Service sections.

Events:

Ok events as you can easily assume are important and if not here's why. You make money, raise your animal's value if they win and you can improve your animal's breeding quality and potential. Each day loads of event's are hosted for every species and every enclosure. Why you can even host your own event's!

So how do you enter? Simple you look at your side options in normal play an you'll see in orange text Events. Click it and it'll bring up the page. You can search for events for a specific one for say dogs or if you want the event to have a paticular max variation rarity. On the the side is a selection of the newset events, up of that are 2 options in bold. The newest events and ones already completed. Sift through until you find one you'd like to enter in.

Click on the event's name and the event's profile will show up. It will show you all the info on that event. If you scroll down you'll see a list of your animal's which can enter in the event. There will we a link that says 'Enter' click that and your animal will be entered! The animal's name and some basic details will show up in the list of entrees.

Now you need to be careful of the entry fee, some event's will only have a $10 fee while others it'll be $1,000,000. So check this before you enter! I say start out in cheaper events first if you low on cash and you have an untested animals.

Below your 'Events' link is 'Event Entries' where you can click to monitor your animals who have upcoming events as well as those already completed. If your animal has placed in the top five then on your farm house page it will appear. BUT only animals that have won money. The earnings will immeadiatly show up on the animal's profile.

Now to create your own event, go to the event's page and just under the top orange bar in small text it'll say 'Create Event'. Click this a page will show up. You then can choose a name for the event, the prize money and set specifiacations. If you want it to be a pasture event or only for horses, if the max variation is 6= exotic or colour 0= almost extinct. You can even enter a description.

Remember the entry fee is a tenth of the prize money and you can only host 2 events a day unless you buy special goodies! Also an event needs at least 4 animals from at least 2 different players to run! If not the event will show up on your notices at your farm house page as an unran event!

FAQ's:

Q:

I've entered my animal into an event and want to withdraw from it. Can I?

A:

Nope, sorry this isn't possible. Once the animal is entered it can't be taken out.

Q:

My animal is pregnant, can she still be entered in an event?

A:

Yes, you can actually. Being pregnant doesn't matter at all.

Q:

I went to enter an event and found my animal couldn't enter in it. Why is this?

A:

Well it's probably one of these following reasons below:
- The event's set for paticular species which isn't your animal's.
- The event's set for paticular enclosure which your animal doesn't live in.
- Your animal's variation or colour rarity isn't within the event's specifications.
- One of it's green bar stats (loyalty, health etc.) is to high or low for the event's standards.

Q:

I created an event and won't be logged in when it runs, is that ok?

A:

Of course, the event will run regardless anyways. You don't need to be online to run it because it does it automatically.

Breeding:

Breeding is one of the most important parts of the game, period. It allows you to make money and if you breed responsibly better the game. Filling the data base with good animals. Animals that have good stats and good lines. I boosts the game over all. So what is responsible breeding? Well here are some do's and don'ts to basic good breeding rules.

Do wait to breed your animals! You should wait to breed your animal's when they are aged a bit. Don't breed it when it's not even a year old, besides in all likely hood the animal won't produce great offspring because it hasn't been stat maxxed.

Don't overbreed!!! Do not breed your Endangered horse over a 100 times! Why? Because your animal's rarity will be knocked down and decrease it's value! I have seen animals with over 100 offspring! I generally only breed my animal's 4 or maybe 5 times max.

Do be careful when you offer animal's for stud! It is better to offer your animal's, especially rarer ones, for private stud. So often animals are bred with terrible animals, bred too many times and are crossbred. I.E. Bad! I've sterilised a couple of animals because of this. Purity isn't so important but being overbred and having poor statted offspring is! Private stud allows you to decide the female and stop these things from happening!

Don't breed with bad studs! If you have a statmaxxed, Almost Extinct female that has won 1 mil in earnings do breed with a suitable stud. Don't go for a un-statmaxxed, overpopulated animal with 0 earnings.

To breed anmials, you first choose your female. You then go to marketplace located on the left side of your screen. You then are given options to pick, the animal' s species your looking for or the maximum price etc. And you find your suitable stud. Go to his profile and click the button 'Stud for _' (whatever his stud price is). You choose your female, remember it has to be the same species. You can't breed a dog to a parrot. Click then breed.

Wha- la! It'll will take a few hours for the animal to give birth, the length depends on the species of animal. You will then need to take an exam once the time's up to have the animal give birth properly.

FAQ's:

Q:

I can't breed my animal because it says their too closely realated! Why is this?

A:

Simple like in real life it's a bit weird for say you uncle to also be your father. It messes up the lines and makes things all too complicated.

Q:

Why can't I breed my rabbit to a lion?

A:

Uhh... why would you want to? You can only breed animals together of the same species, variations and colours don't matter. And again why would you?

Q:

How long does it take for an animal to give birth?

A:

It depends on the species, generally anywhere from 2 to 12 hours.

[Chilly Girl]

[Misty Glen]

I like this guide. It seems very thorough and has much more detail than the official help files the game has. The official ones are good for the basics, but this has a lot of detail that can usually only be learnt after months of game play (including plenty of mistakes).

Well done.

[DesertBreesze]

Thanks, next I plan to make links to other guides to help players too. Some of the other guides focus on aspects of the game in detail so it'd be good.

[ChocolateGal]

Wow, well done on the guide, that must've taken ages!

[DesertBreesze]

Yeah got cramps in my hands! Again I'll add the links but it'll take time and I'm busy at the moment!

[DesertBreesze]

Some links to other player guides. Some are full on like mine while other focus on one topic.

lissie's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=18679

milon's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=15388

tiger lily's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=15732

tanitsja's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=18770

silvery pheonix's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2606

luckygirl's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=13538

bezzella's
http://www.sandboxfarm.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4470