Harvest Moon SNES: Scoring

Harvest Moon SNES

The game ends after two and a half years when the characters parents returned after the third summer, and you will be scored depending on how you lived your life in the game. You are going to be scored based on your Development Score, Happiness Score, and Ranch Master Score.

So what does these three (3) categories means?

According to Admiral

-- Development Score - The total part of the farm that is covered and developed.
-- Happiness Score - Measures how satisfying Jack's life is.
-- Ranch Master Score - How well Jack manages the his FARM life.

These scores are loosely independent. For example, it is possible to receive a high Happiness score but low Ranch Master score, and vice versa.

To achieve the Perfect Game I am talking about, you should balance all these categories, by balance I mean you must reach the perfect score for each categories without leaving a single one behind. You should:

-- Get married and have two children
-- Max heart diaries on each single girls in town.
-- Upgrade your house with all two (2) extensions.
-- Sell all types of crops.
-- Reach max affection of cows and the horse.
-- Max your barn and coop.
-- Cover untouched land with grass and fence.
-- Have money at least 100,000 money.

How to Max each Category

The following section describes each of the categories factored into the ranch master score. Several of the categories are likely bugged, and this is discussed here as well.

MONEY
Money is simply your gold total on the status screen at the end of the game. You receive 1 point for each 1280 G you have, up to 78 points. This corresponds to 99,840 G. You do not receive additional points for any amount over this, so don't waste your time trying to become a millionaire in the hopes of improving your score.

COWS

This is the number of cows you own at the end of the game. The number used in this calculation is he one from the log book in your house, so calves and even unborn cows are included in this total. You receive 3 points for every cow up to a maximum of 36 points, which occurs when you have 12 cows.

CHICKENS

As with cows, this category measures the amount of chickens you currently own and matches the total in your log book. This number includes chicks as well as adult chickens. You receive 3 points for every chicken up to a maximum of 36 points, which occurs when you have 12 chickens.

STAMINA

Stamina is the amount of stamina you have over the starting value of 100. For each additional 10 stamina, you receive 5 points. This is analogous to the number of Power Berries eaten. At 200 stamina or 10 Power Berries eaten, you will receive 50 points.

TOMATOES / CORN / POTATOES / TURNIPS

For all four crop categories, you are scored based on the total sold to the shipper (anything sold to the peddler does not count). This is the amount displayed with the scores at the end. Typically, you receive 1 point for every 16 crops sold, with a maximum score of 31. However, once you reach 512 or more crops of any kind, the game resets your score to zero and begins the count again. The same thing happens again and at every 512 crop interval thereafter. The table below shows how the score is calculated at some of the values near 512, 1024, and 1536.

Crops Sold RM Score

480 - 495 30

496 - 511 31

512 - 527 0

528 - 543 1

544 - 559 2

...

992 - 1007 30

1008 - 1023 31

1024 - 1039 0

...

1520 - 1535 31

1536 - 1551 0

Odd as it may be, you lose 31 points when you sell the 512th crop. Same thing with the 1024th and 1536th. And yes, even though the text glitches during the scoring, you can have over 1000 of every crop. This rollover is likely a bug caused by the game's mishandling of the higher byte in the crop equations, but it's something you need to keep in mind. It will take careful planning (and using the end-of-game cheat) to ensure that your crop totals end up in one of these categories.

COW AFFECTION

The ending credits display the cow with the highest affection score, but you are actually scored on the affection of ALL cows. Cow affection rate is the single biggest component of the ranch master score. You receive 1 ranch master point for every 8 points of affection score for every cow, with a maximum of 25 per cow. Only adult cows are factored into this calculation. If all 12 cows have affection rates of 200 or higher, you will receive 300 points to your ranch master score.

GIRLS' AFFECTION

You are scored based on the affection of each of the five town girls. This calculation works in the exact same way as the one for crops. You receive 1 point for every 16 points of affection score for each girl, with a reset occurring at 512. The maximum ranch master score occurs when all five girls have affection scores of 496 to 511, and this translates to a 155 ranch master score. This is almost certainly a bug, as you would actively need to lower your wife's affection score after she has a second child to ever end up in this range.

HOUSE UPGRADES

You receive 16 points for each house upgrade. This contributes 32 points in total with both upgrades.

CLOCK

If you upgrade your house by the end of the first summer, you will receive a free clock from the carpenters. Having this clock adds 22 points to your ranch master score.

TURTLE SHELL

One of the prizes you receive from winning the egg hunt at the Egg Festival is the turtle shell. This shell adds 21 points to your ranch master score.

MARRIED

You receive 32 points if you are married. You will receive these points even if your wife has "left you" at the time the game ends and is living with her parents.

CHILDREN

You receive 16 points for each child you have. The child does not even need to be born when the game ends. So long as your wife is pregnant, you receive credit for that child.

DEVELOPMENT RATE

For each 2% of development rate, you receive 1 point to the ranch master score. The maximum is 50 points. See the Development Rate section for more on computing that score.

HAPPINESS

For every 32 points of happiness, you receive 1 point to the ranch master score. The maximum contribution from happiness is 31 points. See the Happiness section for more on computing that score.

THE PERFECT SCORE

Now that the scoring criteria have been listed, the table below shows the value you need for a perfect score. Given the bugs described above, I show criteria for both a "perfect" game score and a "100%" game score. A "perfect" score is one that gives you a ranch master value of 999, but it involves playing the game in a very unintuitive way and would never normally be reached by anyone. A "100%" score is the one you would achieve if you did everything and collected as much as you could. You can think of this as a true perfect score, and it will result in a ranch master value of 994.

Category	Perfect Game		100% Game
	Value	RM Score	Value	RM Score
Money	99,840+	78	99,840+	78
Cows	12	36	12	36
Chickens	12	36	12	36
Stamina	200	50	200	50
Tomatoes	511,1023	31	511,1023	31
Corn	511,1023	31	511,1023	31
Potatoes	511,1023	31	511,1023	31
Turnips	511,1023	31	511,1023	31
Cow Affection (for all)	200-255	300	255	300
Maria’s Affection	496-511	31	999	30
Ann’s Affection	496-511	31	999	30
Nina’s Affection	496-511	31	999	30
Ellen’s Affection	496-511	31	999	30
Eve’s Affection	496-511	31	999	30
House Upgrade 1	Yes	16	Yes	16
House Upgrade 2	Yes	16	Yes	16
Clock	Yes	22	Yes	22
Turtle Shell	Yes	21	Yes	21
Married	Yes	32	Yes	32
First Child	Yes	16	Yes	16
Second Child	Yes	16	Yes	16
Development Rate	100%	50	100%	50
Happiness	999	31	999	31
TOTAL	999		994