Greenhouse Depth Roadmap

This document records systems that deepen the greenhouse itself. They should be introduced only after the preceding layer is legible, useful, and substantially automatable.

Active: observation and research

Observation notes fund one-time research, not ordinary shopping.
Every project requires an observed behavior and grants a permanent capability or a genuinely new species.
Plant research adapts to the save. Before wildberry discovery, the woodland branch identifies wildberry; afterward it studies wildberry harvests and unlocks cornflower.
Cornflower is a companion plant that increases bee visits. It is the first bridge from species collection toward managed pollination.

Active: information-light play

Routine decisions must be readable from shape, color, icon, and number before prose.
Pots show identity, stage, water, soil, growth, and danger as a compact instrument panel. Full explanation belongs in selected-pot details and the codex.
Orders lead with a material equation and payout. Research leads with progress and permanent outcome. Flavor text is optional disclosure.
Temporary CSS marks establish asset slots for later creator art without changing information hierarchy.

Accepted: pollination workforce

A future bumblebee hive is a greenhouse facility and an ecological worker, not a decorative visitor card.
Flower availability, temperature, pesticide use, and hive condition affect activity.
Active pollination raises flower count, seed yield, or reliability for compatible crops.
First implementation keeps the biology legible: bees visiting an open bloom build two visible pollination levels and return up to two extra seeds at harvest. Already-open flowers do not multiply retroactively.
Bumblebees do not produce a sellable honey reward in this system. A honeybee and honey-production branch would be separate if ever added.
Biological controls and pesticides must create understandable tradeoffs rather than hidden punishment.

Accepted: production automation

Machines handle deterministic physical work: watering, nutrient dosing, moving trays, grading, packing, and routing output.
A mechanical arm belongs to the mature production line, after manual handling has become a real volume problem.
Staff handle policies across systems: stock reserves, order priority, harvest quality, event preparation, and cash limits.
Automation should expose its rules and exceptions; it must not silently consume rare seeds or protected flowers.

Active: water and operating costs

Rainwater capture, water recirculation, filtration, and biomass heating are candidates for a later utility layer.
Utilities should arrive together with meaningful climate zones or operating bills. Adding water and energy meters before they create choices would only add maintenance.
The intended loop is investment -> lower recurring costs -> capacity for more demanding plants -> higher-value output.
Waste leaves and failed crops may feed compost or biomass, closing material loops without making failure worthless.
Watering automation intentionally retires repeated watering input. A later bill prices scale rather than reintroducing per-pot checking.
The first water-cost slice begins only after the central tank. Six automatic refills are free commissioning; later refills accrue cost from the actual amount restored rather than time online or raw pot count.
Bills settle automatically in small batches. Insufficient cash defers settlement without stopping water, adding penalties, or harming plants.
After ten observed tank refills, an 80-coin and 12-note recirculation retrofit permanently lowers later water cost by about 60% and reports lifetime savings.
Manual watering and temporary drippers remain free. Electricity, shutoffs, debt interest, heating, and climate zones remain outside this slice.

Accepted: standard production and special cultivation

Common plants gradually move into reliable, high-volume production supported by machines.
Rare, tropical, off-season, or genetically unusual plants remain in a smaller specialist area with closer care.
This creates two compatible pleasures: scaling a smooth production system and personally cultivating exceptional plants.

Deferred

Genetics, plant disease, pesticide development, competitive sabotage, trained seed lines, employees, loans, and branded retail remain recorded but are not current implementation targets.
New events and store expansion remain secondary until the base greenhouse can sustain longer play through research, production choices, and visible rewards.