Crafting

Crafting is an optional though potentially significant part of the player's Shadowcrest experience. Through the purchase of special interactive items, the player can create countless items that benefit them in a variety of ways. There are many forms of crafting and each one entails a unique process to create items for the player's various needs.

The Benefits of Crafting
Crafting opens up many new ways for the player to enjoy the game. Crafting is a skill that must be developed and players can set their own goals (obtaining the right items, recipes, etc). Some forms of crafting even allow the player to make completely unique items of their own design, such as writing and publishing their own books or designing their own clothes to wear. The items that result from crafting can be sold, traded or given to friends.

Basics of Crafting
Though the process and end results can vary, some things are consistent between each crafting experience. A player cannot craft anything without first purchasing the corresponding furniture (ex. writing desk, sewing kit, a tool shed for gardening, etc). After said furniture has been purchased, the player can get to work by clicking on the furniture which takes them to where they can begin crafting.

Recipes and Ingredients
Every crafting kit comes with some basic 'ingredients' and a 'recipe' as a way for players to learn the basics of how to craft, but for further endeavors the player must gather/purchase their own ingredients and collect recipes through exploring the game. Ingredients are any items that can be combined in some way to produce something new via a crafting kit.

Recipes are lists of ingredients required and instructions that allow the player to make whatever it is the recipe is for. When the player first begins crafting with anything besides the basic tutorial ingredients, they have a 100% chance of failure. This goes down by 10% each time a new craft is completed, though some charms give players the bonus of the percentage going down by as high as 20% each time.

Writing
If the player purchases a writing desk, they can start writing. This form of craft deviates from the others in terms of how it works. There is no chance of failure and the player can write absolutely anything they want, saving the books to their bookshelves to read or edit privately later. The player can also submit their book to be reviewed and potentially published to the Shadowcrest library if they have a premium account and their writing quality and subject are deemed appropriate. Those who get their books published earn a significant ammount of money and an exclusive item- enchanted ink- that guarentees the dandipuff egg it is used on hatches into one with an intelligent personality. Additional ingredients can be purchased to customize the look of the chosen book's color, ink and paper but there are no recipes that need to be followed.

Sewing
Sewing becomes accessable with the purchase of a sewing basket.

There are recipes (referred to as patterns) that are required to make the corresponding item (for example, one cannot craft a skirt without the skirt pattern.) Players can potentially craft highly customized stuffed animals, quilts, dandipuff accessories, charms (which can be used as ingredients for the magic kit), and all manner of clothing for their avatars to wear.

Customization
Like writing, the things players can sew are highly customizable. Unlike with other crafting types, there are multiple 'categories' of ingredients- lace, fabric, thread, patches, buttons, stuffing, etc.

Unlike most crafting recipes which call for specific ingredients, sewing recipes only require a certain minimum number of ingredients from specific categories. For example, if a blouse calls for 5 buttons, those buttons could be any variety of button, so long as they are categorized as 'buttons'. Some craftable items are more customizable than others, but players can choose what fabric, buttons, trim, etc for most of them, as well as being able to add patches and extra embellishments to just about anywhere.

In some cases, there are even patterns for additional ingredients- items that can't do much on their own, but can be added to other items you are crafting. For example, a player could design a collar and then attach that collar to a dress with a pattern that calls for one.

During crafting, players see a basic 'blueprint' for the item they're designing, broken down into shapes that specify what type of ingredient is required to be placed there. The player can then click and drag their chosen ingredients into the appropriate sections to determine the color and overall design of the item, as well as having the option to click and drag patches, ribbons, embroidery and other embellishments to customize it further, if the recipe allows it. Like other forms of crafting, players start out with a failure rate which goes down as the player gains experience by creating new items. All ingredients are returned to the player's inventory in case of failure.

When they're done, they can sell these unique items, use them to dress their avatars or dandipuffs, just for decoration or for magic, depending on what is applicable.

Cooking
Players with kitchen appliances may craft new items using recipes. The results of their crafting can create food for their dandipuffs that fills them up longer, makes them happier and increases their bond if the food was made by their owner. They may also craft human food, which they can consume themselves (eating certain foods before sleeping may cause different dreams) or make for quests that call for specific items. Like with sewing, players may create unique foods such as cupcakes, candies and cookies, which can be kept as collectables. Players can also change the state of an item so that it may be used in hatching baskets or for making potions, such as removing seeds from a fruit, harvesting 'zest' from fruit peels, altering certain items by cooking them, etc. There is an initial failure rate with cooking and the ingredients can't be recovered in most cases after a backfired crafting attempt.

Gardening
With the purchase of a tool shed, players can customize their backyards by developing their gardening skills. Different plants may be cultivated at different skill levels, and each plant provides different benefits to the player. Some plants attract creatures that provide harvestable items, such as butterfly bushes providing wing scales. Virtually all plants produce at least one kind of harvestable item on their own. Gardening provides items that can be used to further other skills, as well.

Some plants can produce ingredients for dyeing material, food for cooking with, ingredients for magic recipes, etc. Some plants may also provide bonuses to your dandipuffs such as providing them with another food source or making them happier. The player may also simply enjoy landscaping and decorating their backyards.

Gardening is slightly more challenging as there are no recipes to follow, simply seeds that can be planted with a specific set of 'rules' that must be followed to get them to grow successfully. The player must also be patient as plants can take a long time to grow. Some plants may have to be planted during a specific season, or in a place with a certain amount of sunlight. Plants may be more likely to successfully grow if the player uses fertilizers or magic. Plants also need watering and weeding. Weather may also effect the hardiness of your plants. For example, if the weather is listed as rainy the plants will require less water. Overwatering can also damage plants.

Plants, once fully grown, may need much less maintenance depending on the type of plant. Players may also dig up and sell their fully grown plants. Depending on a mix of luck, skill and care, plants will be of differing levels if quality once they are grown. Plants of the highest quality yield more items and require less care. They may also be more likely to win contests the player may enter them in.

Magic
The player can purchase an altar to begin their forray into magic, often a good skill for players to start out in because of the lasting effects of the items they make and the ability to change an item's state to be used in different, even non-magic-related recipes. Included in the altar is a grimoire where all their collected magic-related recipes (referred to as spells) are kept. They also have a cauldron used to make potions which, depending on its intended use, can create beneficial effects for the player or dandipuff that consumes it. Then there is the mortar and pestle that can change the state of an item so that it can be used in hatching baskets or in recipes that require it to be in a specific form. (for example, grinding robin's egg shells into a powder.) Finally, there is a magic wand that can be used to 'activate' the magical abilities associated with certain charms players can make with the sewing kit. Players may also combine certain magical items to create items with multiple effects.