FrontierVille
Encyclopedia
The Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation
, role-playing video game
available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook
. It is developed by Zynga
and was launched on June 9, 2010. The game is a freemium
game, meaning it is free to play normally but players have the option of purchasing premium content.
. Instead of a farm, though, the player plays the role of a pioneer of the American Old West
.
The player creates an avatar which resembles a pioneer
. The player then may complete a total of 46 collections which can be traded for coins, experience point
s (XP), decorations, livestock, trees, craftable items, energy and horseshoes (rare money that can be bought with real money). The player can also finish goals which include tasks such as gathering money, buying energy, clearing land, chopping down trees, raising livestock and trees, creating items such as beds, furniture, and clobbering unwanted pests like bears, snakes, foxes and groundhogs. Eventually the player may acquire a spouse and have children. The player can also have them perform tasks. They can perform tasks simultaneously with their spouses and children.
Other tasks include collecting from buildings, building inns, wagons, general store
s, cabin
s, schools, chicken coops, barns, trading posts, barber shops, churches, and sawmills as well as seeding, growing and harvesting crops. Completing goals yields rewards.
Coins enable the player to purchase decorations, buildings, crops, trees and animals. Horseshoes, which can be earned in-game or purchased through real-world credit card
s, allow the player to buy mules and horses, paint buckets, hand drills, nails, bricks and hammers. These items are essential for completing certain goals. Friends may also "gift" these items to the player.
Crops may be planted and must be harvested before they wither. As in FarmVille, the wither time of a particular crop is twice the maturation time. Also, as in FarmVille, crop maturity varies from 5 minutes (clover
) to 4 days (peanuts
). Crops with longer maturation times provid larger payoffs. Harvesting can trigger encounters with ground hogs, which must be "clobbered" to avoid using extra energy within their area of influence. Clobbering pests and harvesting crops yields coins, xp and food. Food can be used to get energy, which is necessary to do any action in the game except for planting crops. Energy can be purchased in exchange for food or horseshoes. Every 5 minutes the player gains 1 energy. When you run out of energy, you must either purchase more energy with food or horseshoes, or wait for your energy to build up. You can also gain energy by visiting your neighbor's farms and performing up to 5 tasks daily on each neighbor's homestead.
Animals may be purchased and harvested routinely for resources, or sold outright for a large one-time reward. They start out as juveniles and must be fed several times to grow into adults. There are two main types of animals. Mammals (goats, sheep, pigs, cows, oxen, mules and horses) and birds (chickens and geese). Mammals take somewhat longer to produce resources but generally provide a larger payoff. Birds take less time to produce resources, but there is a chance of triggering a fox encounter when you feed them. Unless the fox is "clobbered" (killed), all birds within its area of influence (as seen with a red aura) can only be "sold" (i.e. "hunted"), not harvested.
Players can also plant fruit trees. cherry
, apple
, pear
, peach
and apricot
trees are available. They are bought as seedlings and must be watered (in a manner similar to animals being fed) to reach their full potential. They provide somewhat fewer resources than crops and animals do, but they never wither, or risk triggering the appearance of a pest.
Leveling up
rewards the player with full energy, coins and sometimes advances the limit of a player's maximum energy. Leveling occurs by accumulating experience points (xp). They are earned by doing most actions in the game.
Initially, oak and pine trees, grass, cacti, wildflowers, rocks and cow skulls fill the player's "homestead". At least some must be cleared to obtain usable land. Chopping down trees yields 1-3 wood, which is needed to construct buildings. Chopping down trees can trigger a bear encounter. Bears, while "harmless" (as there is no real danger in the game), prevent the player from doing some things. They are removed by scaring them off (and the bear "dies"), which expends energy, but yields rewards (coin, food, xp, etc.). Clearing land may also trigger a snake encounter, which is handled in the same manner as a ground hog encounter, that is, "clobbering".
Collections are an intrinsic feature of the game. Collection items are found while doing most actions in the game (feeding animals, harvesting crops, clobbering pests). Collection items are automatically added to collection sets. When a set is complete, it may be redeemed for in-game rewards, such as food, energy, xp, etc. The player can request collection items and can receive them as gifts via Neighbors (i.e. friends).
Simulation video game
A simulation video game describes a diverse super-category of computer and video games, generally designed to closely simulate aspects of a real or fictional reality.-Sub-genres:-Construction and management simulation:...
, role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. It is developed by Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
and was launched on June 9, 2010. The game is a freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
game, meaning it is free to play normally but players have the option of purchasing premium content.
Gameplay
In art treatment and gameplay, The Pioneer Trail is very similar to one of Zynga's most popular games, FarmVilleFarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
. Instead of a farm, though, the player plays the role of a pioneer of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
.
The player creates an avatar which resembles a pioneer
American pioneer
American pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...
. The player then may complete a total of 46 collections which can be traded for coins, experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s (XP), decorations, livestock, trees, craftable items, energy and horseshoes (rare money that can be bought with real money). The player can also finish goals which include tasks such as gathering money, buying energy, clearing land, chopping down trees, raising livestock and trees, creating items such as beds, furniture, and clobbering unwanted pests like bears, snakes, foxes and groundhogs. Eventually the player may acquire a spouse and have children. The player can also have them perform tasks. They can perform tasks simultaneously with their spouses and children.
Other tasks include collecting from buildings, building inns, wagons, general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
s, cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
s, schools, chicken coops, barns, trading posts, barber shops, churches, and sawmills as well as seeding, growing and harvesting crops. Completing goals yields rewards.
Coins enable the player to purchase decorations, buildings, crops, trees and animals. Horseshoes, which can be earned in-game or purchased through real-world credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s, allow the player to buy mules and horses, paint buckets, hand drills, nails, bricks and hammers. These items are essential for completing certain goals. Friends may also "gift" these items to the player.
Crops may be planted and must be harvested before they wither. As in FarmVille, the wither time of a particular crop is twice the maturation time. Also, as in FarmVille, crop maturity varies from 5 minutes (clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
) to 4 days (peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
). Crops with longer maturation times provid larger payoffs. Harvesting can trigger encounters with ground hogs, which must be "clobbered" to avoid using extra energy within their area of influence. Clobbering pests and harvesting crops yields coins, xp and food. Food can be used to get energy, which is necessary to do any action in the game except for planting crops. Energy can be purchased in exchange for food or horseshoes. Every 5 minutes the player gains 1 energy. When you run out of energy, you must either purchase more energy with food or horseshoes, or wait for your energy to build up. You can also gain energy by visiting your neighbor's farms and performing up to 5 tasks daily on each neighbor's homestead.
Animals may be purchased and harvested routinely for resources, or sold outright for a large one-time reward. They start out as juveniles and must be fed several times to grow into adults. There are two main types of animals. Mammals (goats, sheep, pigs, cows, oxen, mules and horses) and birds (chickens and geese). Mammals take somewhat longer to produce resources but generally provide a larger payoff. Birds take less time to produce resources, but there is a chance of triggering a fox encounter when you feed them. Unless the fox is "clobbered" (killed), all birds within its area of influence (as seen with a red aura) can only be "sold" (i.e. "hunted"), not harvested.
Players can also plant fruit trees. cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
, peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
and apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
trees are available. They are bought as seedlings and must be watered (in a manner similar to animals being fed) to reach their full potential. They provide somewhat fewer resources than crops and animals do, but they never wither, or risk triggering the appearance of a pest.
Leveling up
Level Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
rewards the player with full energy, coins and sometimes advances the limit of a player's maximum energy. Leveling occurs by accumulating experience points (xp). They are earned by doing most actions in the game.
Initially, oak and pine trees, grass, cacti, wildflowers, rocks and cow skulls fill the player's "homestead". At least some must be cleared to obtain usable land. Chopping down trees yields 1-3 wood, which is needed to construct buildings. Chopping down trees can trigger a bear encounter. Bears, while "harmless" (as there is no real danger in the game), prevent the player from doing some things. They are removed by scaring them off (and the bear "dies"), which expends energy, but yields rewards (coin, food, xp, etc.). Clearing land may also trigger a snake encounter, which is handled in the same manner as a ground hog encounter, that is, "clobbering".
Collections are an intrinsic feature of the game. Collection items are found while doing most actions in the game (feeding animals, harvesting crops, clobbering pests). Collection items are automatically added to collection sets. When a set is complete, it may be redeemed for in-game rewards, such as food, energy, xp, etc. The player can request collection items and can receive them as gifts via Neighbors (i.e. friends).