Harvest Moon ParadiseRanch master is really the "ultimate" score in the game. It takes into account both the development rate and happiness scores and adds in many other productivity factors. The maximum ranch master score is 999. Unlike happiness, ranch master is not tracked throughout the game; it is calculated at the very end based on the numerical progress you have made in numerous categories. Also unlike happiness, there are not multiple ways to reach a 999 ranch score. There is only one exact method, and you need to play almost perfectly to achieve this total. Before going any further, I think it is important to point out that it is nearly impossible to reach a perfect score in the course of a normal game without being aware of the scoring criteria below. I believe this is due to several bugs in the game's calculation. The game gives more points for lower values in some categories than it does for higher ones, which is likely due to errors in the algorithm when values contain more than one byte in the memory. More on this is discussed below.
===================== CALCULATING THE SCORE ===================== Below is a list of the categories that effect the ranch master score and their maximum impact on the final value. Category Effect on RM Value Max RM Value -------- ------------------ ------------- Money 1 pt for every 1280 G 78 Cows 3 pts per cow owned 36 Chickens 3 pts per chicken owned 36 Stamina 5 pts per eaten Power Berry 50 Tomatoes* 1 pt per 16 crops sold 31 Corn* 1 pt per 16 crops sold 31 Potatoes* 1 pt per 16 crops sold 31 Turnips* 1 pt per 16 crops sold 31 Cow Affection 1 pt per 8 affection per cow 300 Maria's Affection* 1 pt per 16 affection 31 Ann's Affection* 1 pt per 16 affection 31 Nina's Affection* 1 pt per 16 affection 31 Ellen's Affection* 1 pt per 16 affection 31 Eve's Affection* 1 pt per 16 affection 31 House Upgrade 1 16 if upgrade made 16 House Upgrade 2 16 if upgrade made 16 Clock 22 if you have it 22 Turtle Shell 21 if you have it 21 Married 32 if you are 32 First Child 16 if you have it 16 Second Child 16 if you have it 16 Development Rate 1 pt per 2% developed 50 Happiness 1 pt for every 32 happiness 31 ===== ============= TOTAL 999 * Likely bugged. See next section.
======================== 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 the 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. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o | | Perfect Game | 100% Game | | |------------------------|------------------------| | Category | 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 | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o
