APIARY NOW AVAILABLE!

Realistic Farm Automation

by AifiasGaming

Overview

Realistic Farm Automation is a modular system designed to streamline resource generation from your creatures — without breaking immersion.

No magic. No instant spawning.

This mod focuses on grounded, believable automation systems that feel like a natural extension of ARK’s world. Your creatures still matter — this just removes the tedious parts.

Unlike many automation mods that hide creatures away or generate resources automatically, this system is designed to keep your base alive, with creatures visibly contributing to production.

Current Features

Milking Station

The original system in the automation lineup.

Automatically collects milk when Bison is ready (Vanilla Mode) Optional Custom Mode: Adjustable production intervals Optional baby requirement (separate from vanilla system)

Slime Station

A contained system for your Achatina.

Produces: Achatina Paste Organic Polymer Automatically feeds Achatina using Sweet Veggie Cakes stored in the station.

Fertilizer Station

Built around Dung Beetle mechanics with added utility.

Collects: Fertilizer Oil Automatically distributes fertilizer to nearby crop plots

Algae Station

Automatically collects and stores Archelon Algae Activates only when algae is available

Wool Station

Automatically collects and stores wool Works when Ovis has wool available

Aquarium

Storing aquatic creatures while trapped in a fish basket within this Aquarium will produce a mix of useful resources. A new Super Fish Basket has also been added with additional health and more importantly can catch a few creatures the original couldn't. Also it only takes normal wood to craft vs the Fungal Wood requirement of the original.

Current Creatures Supported: Coel - Raw Fish Meat Salmon - Raw Fish Meat with a chance of Raw Prime Fish Meat Trilobite - Chitin, Oil, Silica Pearls, chance of Black Pearl Cnidaria - Biotoxin Ammonite - Ammonite Bile Leech - Leech Blood Angler - Angler Gel Lamprey - A new resource "Lamprey Slime" that mimics the affects of an Auric Mushroom (radiation resistance).

*Only one of each fish will display visually for a nice looking tank, but having more of each creature will produce more resources for each creature type.

Apiary

A bee and flower-based honey production station.

Requires a Bee Hive in the station inventory to operate. The Apiary can produce honey in two ways:

Basic Mode: Store Rare Flowers directly in the Apiary inventory to feed the hive and allow honey production.

Self-Sustaining Mode: Grow a Rare Flower Patch inside the Apiary using the custom Rare Flower Seed resource, fertilizer, and irrigation. Once healthy and mature, the flower patch will support honey production without needing to constantly add Rare Flowers manually.

Flower Patch Health / Wilting: The flower patch must be maintained. If the Apiary is neglected, such as running out of fertilizer or irrigation, the flower patch health will begin to decline. If left unhealthy for too long, it will wilt and stop supporting honey production. A wilted flower patch must be nursed back to health before honey production can resume.

Fertilizer Station Support: If a Fertilizer Station is nearby and stocked with Fertilizer, it will automatically transfer fertilizer to the Apiary, similar to how it supports nearby crop plots.

Design Philosophy

Automation should feel earned, not instant.

Uses real-world inspired machines Respects creature mechanics Avoids “spawn items out of thin air” systems Keeps creatures visible and important Keeps your base feeling alive and active

Optional quality-of-life features are included, but always with respect to the vanilla experience.

Status

Early release — actively being expanded and refined.

This has been a large first project for me, and while there is still plenty to improve and expand on, I’m really happy with how it has turned out so far.

Config Settings

Feedback

Feedback is welcome and will directly shape future systems.

Author

Created by AifiasGaming

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