Beginner: Beekeeping Simulator

Development Getting Started & Setup
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1

Hello All,

This may be the wrong place to ask, so apologies if so. I’m a complete newbie but have been playing around with a couple different platforms and think Unreal may be best for me. Even so, I find myself overwhelmed by the amount of material out there and determining what I need to be looking into to accomplish what I want.

I want to make a realistic Beekeeping Simulator because I don’t have the time to manage a hive anymore but I miss it! So, specifically I’ve been looking into hex grids as a possible means to physically represent different states of each cell. Every tutorial I’ve found on the subject appears to be for a hex map and maybe I’m just not thinking about this correctly but maybe someone can assist.

To make the cells of a hive using a hex grid on a 2 sided plane, would that be just a simple visual difference? Maybe I need to think about it like levels? Each side of a frame as a different level? Am I barking up the wrong tree? What guides do you recommend?

I’ve followed the basic ones and followed a tutorial to create a hex mesh but that’s as far as I’ve gotten and I’m probably making it more complicated than necessary.

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2

Hi there, welcome to the community!

I’d need to know a little more about what gameplay you’re trying to achieve to be able to answer this one. Are players interacting with each cell on the hex grid for example?

3

I think you’re making it a bit harder than it needs to be. I’d separate the visual side from the simulation side.

The hex grid is really just a way to display the hive. Under the hood, each cell can simply be an object or struct with values like nectar, pollen, brood stage, honey, temperature, etc. Then update those values over time and let the visuals reflect the current state.

I wouldn’t treat each frame or side of the hive as a different level unless there’s a gameplay reason for it. You can keep everything in one scene and organize the frames however you like.

4

I’m probably making it far too in depth but the basics of a beekeeper’s inspection are this:

Check for signs of a healthy queen

  • If no, are they raising a new queen?

    • If no, are they strong enough to introduce a new queen?(shipping and delivery could be weeks).

      • If yes, introduce new queen for 3 days before releasing her (or hive might kill her).
      • If no, combine bees and resources into another hive to improve survival chances(add a couple pieces of newspaper to slow down introduction).

    • If yes, what stage?

      • Queen Cups or Cells.
        • Check again in 10 days (sooner risks damaging the growing queens, later risks the newly hatched virgin queens killing each other).
      • Virgin queen or hatched queen cells.
        • Check again in a 1-2 weeks for signs of a laying queen (From hatching, to mating, to laying can vary in time and every time is not successful).

  • If yes, are they thinking about swarming?

    • If no, check back in a week.
    • If yes, consider giving the hive more space, taking resources, and/or simulate a swarm by dividing the resources and bees into 2 hives with the queen-less hive getting plenty of 1-3 day old larvae.

Check food and pollen stores and ensure they have enough surplus to raise brood and are putting on weight for winter.

  • If no, is the hive large enough or strong enough to defend their stores?
    • If no, combine bees and resources into another hive to improve survival chances(add a couple pieces of newspaper to slow down introduction).
    • If yes, begin feeding with sugar water ( 1:1 or 2:1 depending on season)
  • If yes, does the hive have empty frames to continue building into?
    • If no, frames of capped honey can be removed for extraction or given to weaker hives.
    • If yes, check again in a week.

Check for signs of pests and parasites.

  • Is there healthy brood of all stages of life?

    • If no, identify the the issue or consult with a state inspector (sunken brood, foul odor, discoloration, spotty brood pattern, large amount of dead larvae being removed from hive).
    • If yes, are there signs of poor health in adult bees? (deformed wing virus, dysentery, weakened or paralyzed bees, or a large amount of deceased bees in front of hive)

  • Do a mite check every few months and if mite load of 1 hive exceeds 1-2% of population, treatment of all hives is needed (euthanize approximately 300 bees via rubbing alcohol and shake vigorously to dislodge mites, count the mites).

  • Check for pests such as SHB and wax moths. (A healthy hive can generally manage these on their own so significant amounts of pests may be a sign of other health issues).

I’m not quite sure how to implement most of these but am wanting to start with the simplest part of checking the amount of brood and stores and splitting the hive(s) accordingly to start. Hopefully that makes sense!

Apologies for the delayed response, been a busy few weeks x.x

5

I think I understand what you mean, so forget the visual and just think of it as lots of boxes holding values. So say I have a apiary screen with a couple hives to inspect, each hive would generate values on scales like swarmy, overburdened, sick, etc.

So maybe I should just work on getting my scales and percentages set and having those generate before worrying about visuals?

I don’t need a hex grid for that. I just create visuals for the percentages later?